What I did not appreciate was the fact it was outside. As in, sleeping outside. As in, no bathroom anywhere close.
Axel had set up the small tent and bedroll that had been hooked to the back of his bike within mere minutes.
“Done this before?” I asked with a quirk of my brow.
“A time or two,” he nodded, not elaborating.
“I think you can take that thing off now,” I gestured to the shoulder holster he’d worn since we’d left Hawthorne, and when I thought about it, most of the time when we weren’t at home.
“Nope.” he shook his head simply.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” I protested.
He shrugged, telling me without words that didn’t matter to him. I knew even if we were in a high-class hotel somewhere, it’d be the same thing.
I sat on a picnic bench, swinging my legs, watching him work.
“You gonna get up off that sweet ass and help me out?” he demanded with a grin.
“I’ll make dinner,” I offered with a shrug.
He tried to hide his apprehension but didn’t succeed.
“What?” I demanded.
“Uh, babe, you burn macaroni and cheese.” He replied, biting back a smile as my eyes narrowed. “I didn’t even think that was possible,” he added with a stifled chuckle.
“Fine, then you can cook,” I snapped.
“I’ve got my hands full with you, don’t I?” He grinned, seeming absurdly pleased.
“You don’t have to have your hands full of anything,” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Christ, what crawled up your ass?” he chortled. He moved close, his large hands moving to my hips. “Why don’t you tell me what’s got you so pissed off all of a sudden?” his large body moved in between my legs, effectively caging me in.
I looked everywhere but at him as I felt him stare intently at me. He wasn’t going to let this go.
“Well?” he prompted.
“There’s so many things I can’t do! I can’t even cook macaroni! That was the only time I’ve tried to cook it and I couldn’t even do it without cooking the noodles to mush.”
He took my chin, forcing me to look at him as his expression warmed. “You want to cook for me?” he asked with a smile.
“Well…yeah,” I shrugged, my face flaming.
He leaned in, kissing me softly. “I’ll eat your mushy macaroni anytime, darlin’” he winked.
I wrinkled my nose but bit back a smile in response.
“There’s a few things you can’t do,” he allowed with a shrug. “There are so many things you’re amazing at. You know that. So you can’t cook?” he shrugged.
“I still can’t drive,” I mumbled.
“I’ll give you another lesson when we get home,” he agreed.
I scoffed. “You practically had a heart attack with the last one!”
“I’ll get better; we both will,” he replied and I knew he meant more than just the driving lesson.
“Yeah,” I murmured, taking in how close he was. I pulled on his shirt to draw him closer.
I saw him visibly swallow as his eyes darkened. His phone rang then, breaking the sexual tension between us. “Yeah?” he asked gruffly, his eyes still locked on mine. “Oh, yeah?” he asked, a smile breaking out across his face. “That’s awesome. I’ll let her know. Yeah.” He listened for a moment, his hand high on my thigh. “Good to hear, man. Will do, later.” He shut his phone off as I cocked my head to the side, curious. “That was Sal; Mad’s doing great.”
“Oh good,” I breathed a sigh of relief, looking up at the trees and wilderness around us.
“Did you camp much as a kid?” I thought to ask.
He snorted, delivering me a quick kiss before he moved back over to the stove to continue making dinner. “My parents never took us anywhere. I’ve always loved the outdoors,” he explained. “I feel like I can really breathe out here.”
I thought back on the house where he’d grown up and understood why he’d feel that way.
“Yeah, I can see that,” I agreed softly. “You gonna teach this city girl some new tricks?” I teased.
He turned to me, his eyes heated. “Hell, yes,” he answered without hesitation.
******
“I have to pee,” I whispered, for what felt like the tenth time that night.
“No, you don’t,” Axel muttered through the darkness of our tent.
We’d had a campfire dinner and some beers; I’d even peed in the woods for the first time with moderate success. Axel stood with his back to me, giving me crap the entire time about making sure I didn’t fall over or let anything bite me on the ass.
Then we turned in.
At first I liked the tent and snuggling close to Axel, especially the snuggling part. But the moment we said goodnight and I realized there wasn’t a bathroom nearby I felt like I had to pee. I’d already gotten up once to try, dragging Axel with me.
“I do,” I insisted.
“You don’t; it’s just in your head, babe, would you relax?” he mumbled, rolling over and pulling me close. We’d opened up two sleeping bags, one for the bottom and one serving as a quilt.
I let the silence wash over us for a little while, taking in the night sounds of the wilderness in a way I’d never experienced. It was beautiful, peaceful even. My mind just couldn’t seem to rest.
“What’s the plan here anyway?” I whispered after a time.
“The plan is to sleep and not go piss in the woods again,” he grumbled.
I socked him lightly in the shoulder. “You know what I mean. I keep thinking about my father. He’s been quiet. Too quiet.” I shared my anxiety through the darkness.
He sighed and rolled to his back, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I know. I have a plan. I just need you to trust me and let things play out for now. Do you think you can do that?”
“Why can’t you tell me the plan?” I asked with a knitted brow.
He sighed, feigning patience. “Because it’s not ready,” he answered simply.
What the heck did that mean?
“What the heck does that mean?” I voiced my question aloud.
Axel shifted beside me, pulling me close as his mouth moved to my neck. “Trust me.”
Even though I wanted to know what he was thinking, I trusted him implicitly. Something, I realized I’d never felt for another person in my life.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” I told him, feeling extraordinarily brave in the darkness.
He kissed me. “Oh, baby, we’re a lot more than friends.”
“Of course we are. But I never had true friends. People I could trust. I trust you with everything, even my life. You and Mad mean more to me than anyone else has in my entire life,” I told him seriously, needing him to understand.
He pulled me close, as his breathing changed to something deeper. Something more ragged. What I’d said had touched something deep. I knew that.
His lips found mind in a desperate kiss, much different from the light fooling around we’d done earlier. I felt his hardness against my belly and answered with a soft moan. His hand lifted my shirt up and off, his mouth latching on to my nipple with vigor.
I surged into his mouth, wanting more, wanting everything. My hands caressed his bare chest before wandering lower. I stroked him over his boxers thinking not for the first time that he must be larger than normal. Surely this wasn’t typical, was it? I certainly didn’t have anything else to compare him to.
“Christ,” he bit out as my hand explored the expanse of his hardness. He felt so smooth and yet hard, like velvet wrapped over steel.
His hands removed my pajama pants and underwear as we continued to explore each other’s bodies.
His hand moved to my core, cupping lightly before his fingers honed in on their destination. In mere moments, he had me gasping and calling his name.
I was still recovering when I heard him rustling around in his discarded jeans and I reali
zed he was putting on a condom.
My entire body hummed with anticipation.
Then his big body was between my legs, poised at my entrance that was slick and ready for him.
“Fuck,” he breathed through labored breaths as he slid home. “Never felt anything like this, like you,” he told me as he slid out and back in with a smooth glide.
He kissed me then, his tongue dueling with mine in a beautiful feud as his movements picked up.
I pulled him closer, loving the closeness and the feel of him inside me. His mouth moved back to my breast, sucking hard at my nipple as his hand slid down lower. The sensation from all pleasure points was nearly too much. It was so overwhelming.
Unbelievably, I felt that same wave build again, ready to overtake me if I let it.
“I’m close,” he panted as his movements became less controlled – more out of sync. “You are too. I can feel it,” he grunted.
I nodded, wrapping my legs that much tighter around him, wanting all of him, relishing being the cause of his loss of control.
Then I was there – hurtling over the edge, calling his name.
He surged inside me with desperation before he stilled, releasing a groan so sensual, I knew I’d remember it for the rest of my life.
He lay on me and in me for many long moments, our panting breaths the only sound to be heard. Then he slipped out and I sighed at the loss of him.
I heard him do something with the condom before his warm body returned to mine. “Come on, baby. Let’s go get cleaned up,” he murmured, kissing my neck.
I grinned up at him, raking my hands through his soft hair. I loved being with him like this – hell, I loved being with him any way I could get him. I’d never felt so safe to just be …me with anyone.
We dressed clumsily in the dim light of the little LED flashlight he had and stepped into the cool air outside the tent. He shocked me by hoisting me up in his arms and striding us into the darkness.
“You don’t have to carry me,” I giggled, feeling practically buoyant.
“Yeah, I really do,” he returned, breaking stride briefly to kiss me.
“Where are we going?”
“Bathrooms, babe,” he replied.
I smacked his arm. “You didn’t tell me there were bathrooms! Why have I been peeing in the woods?” I huffed while stifling a laugh. I wasn’t mad, not really. I was too blissed out.
He chuckled. “Too far to walk for a piss, baby. Plus, it’s part of the experience.” He shrugged with a smile.
“You don’t have to squat down in fear of something biting your ass. You can have the pissing in the woods experience all you want,” I returned with an eye roll. “I’ll stick to the bathrooms.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, “Fair enough, darlin’. But you gotta pee in the middle of the night, you’re on your own if you want to take a trek like this.” He chuckled.
Dammit.
The showers were so much nicer than I expected and completely private at this late hour. We got naked again and took our time cleaning each other up.
It was playful and intimate, and like we were the only two people on Earth. By the time we made it back to our little tent in the woods, I was exhausted and yet content down to my bones.
He pulled me close, nuzzling the back of my neck as he spooned me. “Night, baby.”
“Night,” I murmured.
As it turned out, I really liked camping after all.
Despite the fact that an hour later, I woke him up to take me to go pee in the woods.
Chapter 16
I felt lighter, happier as we rolled back into Hawthorne the next morning. We’d taken our time getting up, stopping for breakfast on the way in. Axel had been right. We’d needed that time together. But I was now impatient to get back to Mad. We both were.
We rolled up to the house to swap the bike for the truck and headed into town to get our boy.
My phone rang as we were driving in and my heart’s pace picked up as it always did when I saw an unfamiliar number flash across the screen.
“Who is it?” Axel asked brusquely.
“I don’t know, should I answer it?” I asked him.
He gave a terse nod as I slid my finger over the screen.
“Hello?”
“Sophie,” my mother’s rushed voice hit my ears.
I sat up straighter, shocked to hear from her and more so by her tone. Gone was her usual poise and standard calculated manner of speech.
“What do you want?” I replied coldly. “How did you get this number?”
Axel deftly pulled to the side of the road and mouthed to me to put it on speaker. I complied with shaky hands.
“I found it on your father’s desk,” she answered breathlessly. “I don’t know how he got it but I think he’s had it for a little while. He knows where you are.” She delivered the news like a crushing blow.
I shot a look at Axel and he reached over and took my free hand, pulling it into his lap.
“Why can’t he let this go?” I demanded furiously. “You both need to let me go!”
“I know.” She shocked me by agreeing in a subdued voice. “This past year, Sophie, not knowing where you were – if you were safe. Knowing what we made you do.” Her voice turned hoarse with an emotion I’d never heard in her before. “I just want you to be okay, Sophie. I don’t want to lose both my children. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me just to hear your voice.”
I wished I could say the same.
“What does he want?” I asked, choosing to ignore her emotional plea. It was too little, too late.
“He’s scaring me,” she admitted. “He’s a different man than I knew. I don’t know what’s driving it. He’s convinced himself that you need to come home and marry Benjamin,” she told me, referring to the senator’s son that they’d tried to force on me so long ago.
I saw Axel visibly stiffen beside me at the very mention of Benjamin, as he made a motion that I should mute the phone.
“Just a minute,” I told her, doing as he asked.
“You tell her you’re already married, babe,” he instructed.
“What?” I exclaimed.
“Not quite how I’d hoped to share my plans, but I knew all along we would need to play this card. Your brother and I have looked deep into the state of play with your father. You being spoken for in the eyes of the law puts a serious wrench in his plans. It might even make him back off altogether.”
“But we’re not married,” I protested.
He leveled me with a heated look and I gasped, not quite ready to take in what he’d said without needing words.
“What about Mad?” I asked quietly.
He shook his head. “Don’t mention him. I want him out of this. It sounds like she’s still under the impression you didn’t have him.” My heart clenched at the very thought as I nodded in agreement.
“Mother,” I began in a shaky voice as I took her off mute. “You need to tell Dad that I’m already married,” I shared. “Whatever plans he has, he needs to keep me out of them.”
Her intake of breath was more controlled than I would have expected. “When? Who?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut her off. “All you need to know – all I’d hope you’d care about – is that I’m safe and happy. Despite everything, I hope the same for you,” I murmured. “Goodbye, Mother,” I hung up swiftly, my hands moving shakily through my hair.
“Good job, baby,” Axel praised me, pulling me forcefully into his lap so I straddled him.
“That sucked,” I groused, burying my face into his neck and relishing the feel of his huge arms pulling me close and holding me tightly.
We sat there by the side of the road for several minutes before I pulled back to look him in the eye.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this card you’d thought we’d need to play?” I demanded. “That’s a pretty big plan to keep to yourself.”
He looked me in the eye, his hands mov
ing to either side of my neck so his thumbs could stroke my lower lip. “Because I wanted to be able to propose to you properly,” he shared. “I love you. I love Maddox. I want to have more babies with you. I want you to have my last name. I want to share my life with you. Marry me.” His voice was thick with emotion.
My eyes filled with tears as I tried to grapple with my world tilting on its axis. “And it’s not because you feel like you have to?” I hedged, admitting my worst fear aloud.
He grinned. “It’s the only thing I could thank your father for, baby. He pushed up my timeline. This way I get a ring on your finger now rather than later. Marry me, Sophie,” he whispered, pulling me closer still.
In the end, there was only one answer to that question. Despite everything, I’d never felt so sure of anything.
“Yes,” I grinned at him before he took my mouth in a searing kiss.
His mouth opened up over mine, our tongues tangling as his fingers raked through my hair. My entire body liquefied as I pushed myself closer.
“I love you,” I murmured against his mouth as our ragged breathing steamed up the windows.
“I love you, too, baby,” he replied, pressing his forehead to mine. “If we weren’t on the side of the road, we’d celebrate. Tonight,” he promised, his eyes dark with desire.
I nodded, biting my lip in anticipation.
“Let’s go get our boy.”
“Yeah,” I grinned.
Maddox greeted us with a gummy grin as Kat passed him off to me.
“How’d he do?” I asked, kissing his chubby cheek and holding him close.
“Great,” she beamed. “It’s good practice for us.” Sal came to wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“Not looking forward to changing all those diapers.” He shook his head as she poked him in the side. “Fuck! How are they so rank? He hardly eats any solid food.”
“Get ready,” I teased.
“Did you guys have fun?” Kat asked.
I blushed furiously and looked up at Axel. “We did.” He confirmed for me with a sly grin. “So much fun I got this girl to agree to marry me,” he added proudly.
“No shit?” Sal smiled as Kat squealed.
“No shit,” Axel nodded, accepting the handshake my brother extended.
Axel (Ride Series Book 3) Page 13
