77. Thea
Chapter 77
Thea
K idnapped by another Cox. At least this time I’m not handcuffed, and I wasn’t the one fighting. I just hope Pax didn’t ruin things for me. He sits across from me, blood caked on his lip, waiting for me to answer his question about what I was doing at the diner.
“You should probably clean those cuts.” I say, pointing to his face.
“They’re fine.”
“Potential infection is not fine.”
“I’m not turning my back on you so you can try to run out of here again. Where did you think you were going, anyway, with no vehicle?” He asks.
“There’s a perfectly good vehicle in the driveway.”
“I have the keys, Nem. You can’t drive without them.”
Is that what he thinks? If this situation wasn’t so delicate, I’d prove him wrong. “You’re right. So how about you just drive me back to the diner?”
“I’m not taking you back to where the biker gang was waiting to do something to you. That kinda defeats the point of rescuing you.”
“Who said I needed rescuing?” I was following up on a lead. I knew it was iffy, but I had to try. I didn’t actually expect for a gang of bikers to be waiting for me.
As soon as I saw the bikes in the parking lot, I knew it was a setup. I let them walk me out of the diner, never expecting to see Pax rolling around on the ground. Now, things are gonna be so very messy. He thought he was protecting me, and for that, I guess I can help patch him up. “You got a first aid kit?”
“In the bathroom, under the sink.”
I stand, going to retrieve the kit. When I get back, I lay the items out on the end table. Using a warm washcloth and bowl, I clean the blood from the knuckles on his right hand. When I finish, I move to the left. He slips his free hand under my dress, sliding his fingers under the thin strap of my panties. My hands still over his. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not going to waste my breath answering that.”
“Fine. Then why are you doing what you’re doing?”
He says, “We didn’t get to finish our conversation earlier.”
“Talking doesn’t require you to put an open wound inside of me.” He’s not listening. He slides that finger higher, brushing it across my clit. My inner walls clench. The reaction is unexpected, considering there’s nothing sexy about this moment. “You know you could’ve been killed tonight, don’t you?”
“Nobody threatens you, Nem. Nobody disrespects you and walks away without punishment.”
He’s looking over my shoulder, and when I turn to look, I see Finn and Holden standing behind us. I glance at the still locked front door and ask, “Where did you two come from?”
“Secret access.”
Of course there is. Pax adds another finger, slowly working it inside me. I shift, dislodging them and ask, “Ya’ll just gonna stand there?”
Pax grips my hip, pulling me back between his legs. “Yes, they are.” He eases his fingers back inside me. “This is between you and me.”
I intend to tell him there is no him and me, but the thought dies on my lips, as his thumb brushes over my clit. After watching him fight and a high-speed chase, my body definitely thinks it should be rewarded with an orgasm.
I shift my hips, as I’m contemplating that very normal reaction. Pax reaches up, pulling my ponytail loose. My hand braces on his shoulder so I don’t fall over. My hair slides forward, creating a curtain blocking us off from Finn and Holden. Our faces are close. If I lean down just a little, we’ll be kissing.
A small warning sounds in my head. No kissing Pax. He might be working my clit, but this changes nothing. This will be over and he’ll be the same lying bastard I know and hate. He just likes to wind me up and humiliate me. That’s his thing. I need to put an end to this and let one of the other two finish me off. I push against his shoulders, trying to get away. His hand tightens on my hip as he asks, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“I’m not in the mood for this. Let me go.”
“Nope.”
I shove against him again. His arm curls across my back, crushing me to him as his fingers quicken. “Don’t.”
He ignores me, working to push me to the edge. My brain is telling me this is fucked up, but my body rocks against him, wanting release. I’m in control of my body and I’m not in the mood to play this game with him. Kind and caring one minute, cold as ice the next.
“Pax, I said-” I’m half standing, half sitting, when my orgasm hits, freezing me in place. He takes advantage of my paralysis and pushes me onto the couch, spreading my legs before pushing my panties to the side and licking through my slit. My back arches off the couch, my hips rock, chasing the last seconds of my release. I pause, waiting for it. Waiting for him to do something or say something to remind me Eloise is always his number one choice.
He continues to kiss and lick me with soft flicks of his tongue until I’m totally still and pliant. “I’m sorry, Nem.” He murmurs against my thigh. “I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry for what my father did to you. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make it up to you. I swear it.”
He kisses my clit, my thigh. My lower stomach. I feel none of it. It’s like I’ve been doused in cold water. Did I hear him correctly? Does he know what his father did to me?
Deacon
Fucking idiots. These three have absolutely no sense of self preservation. They’re always inserting themselves in situations that don’t concern them. Pax, of all people, shouldn’t have followed Thea to that diner. Then he had the nerve to take off with her and bring her out to the mountains.
She didn’t put up a fight to protect her cover, but her security detail is chomping at the bit to breach the cabin. I’ve convinced them I can handle her retrieval on my own and will signal them if needed.
I’ve been to this cabin with my grandfather, and know all about the secret access door to get inside. Which is why it’s stupid of Pax to have brought her here. I step into the hallway between the living room and kitchen, as Thea asks, “You two are okay with this?”
Finn answers, “Why wouldn’t we be?”
There’s snark in her voice when she says, “Because he’s a backstabbing, lying, kidnapping sonofabitch.”
Pax says, “We’ve buried the hatchet and they’ve accepted that I’m marrying her.”
Finn says, “We’ve accepted it, and are working together, but that doesn’t mean we’re okay with you bringing Thea here and trying to trick her into being your mistress or whatever you’re planning with orgasms.”
“I’m not tricking her.” Pax grumbles. At that, I step into the living room, looking around the space. Their mouths gape open, but Thea chuckles quietly to herself.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Pax looks to his friends. “Did you bring him?”
“Of course not.” Holden answers, staring at me, also waiting for an explanation about what I’m doing here. I’m not interested in creating any more tension between them. They have issues to work out that neither Thea nor I need to be a part of.
“Nobody brought me. I heard there was a bit of forced captivity happening here and came to see the prisoner.”
Pax gets to his feet. “You couldn’t have heard shit, because I didn’t tell anyone shit. If you’re here, that means you followed them.” He takes a menacing step towards me. “As for what we’re doing here, that’s none of your business.”
“Thea. Is my business.”
“Are you working security for The League?” Finn asks, staring at the tactical vest I’m wearing. “Is that why you’re here?”
“I’m here for two reasons. One. Your cabin isn’t secure. Two, and this will probably be the one you struggle to grasp the most. Thea’s special and needs to be protected.”
Pax steps toward me, as if expecting me to back up. “We know Thea’s special.”
“You know she’s hot. That’s an opinion based on emotion. You know nothing about the reasons that make my statement true. If you did, you wouldn’t have snatched her from that diner in the middle of the night and brought her to a league cabin.” I glance down at my watch. We have about three more minutes before the league security council is alerted that the camera feed to this place is on a loop, and the sound is cut out.
In my ear, the team leader says, “Two minutes, Beauwolf.”
Thea’s already walking over to me. “Ready to go, LaReaux?”
She nods, and I tell the guys, “There are better ways to get alone time with Thea. If I were you, I’d avoid any future kidnapping attempts.” I grab her hand, walking her out the front door as I inform the team. “We’ll meet you at the extraction point.”