Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jaxon sat on the back deck of the Sabre warehouse with a cold beer in his hand, the night air cool against his still smoke-scented skin.
The massive celebration inside had finally started to wind down.
Laughter and music still spilled through the open doors, but out here it was quieter.
Just the low murmur of the Daddies who had gathered with him — Reid, Hutch, Gage, Deke, Connor, Sawyer, Law, and Ravage.
They had all done what they needed to do. The General was gone. Tazzy was safe. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Jaxon could breathe without the constant weight of dread sitting on his chest.
Reid lifted his bottle in a quiet toast. “To the man who didn’t wait for backup. You did what you had to do, brother.”
The word hit Jaxon square in the chest. Brother. He had earned that tonight.
Hutch nodded, clinking his bottle against Jaxon’s. “We’d have done the same damn thing. Any one of us. You protected your girl. That’s what matters.”
Gage leaned back in his chair, a rare grin tugging at his mouth. “You went through fire for her. Literally. No one is surprised, but damn, Jaxon. You set the bar high tonight.”
Deke chuckled. “The rest of us are gonna have to step up our game now. Can’t let you show us all up.”
Not to be left out, Connor raised his beer. “Welcome to the family, brother. Officially.”
Jaxon swallowed hard. Family, the simple word meant more than he could say. These men had stood with him when it counted. They had his back, and they had Tazzy’s. That kind of loyalty wasn’t something you found every day.
Jaxon looked over at Ravage. He stood up and jerked his head toward the edge of the deck. “Walk with me for a minute.”
Ravage followed him a few steps away from the group. They stopped near the railing and, for a moment, neither spoke. They just stood there looking out over the dark fields and sipping their beer.
“I owe you thanks,” Jaxon said quietly. “For everything you did tonight. For protecting Tazzy. For standing with us. You’ve proven yourself more than once, but tonight… you showed exactly what kind of man you are.”
He clapped a heavy hand on Jaxon’s shoulder. “You’re deep in the inner circle of the Ruthless Saints now. You ever need anything — anything at all — you call me. You’re family.”
Jaxon nodded, the weight of the words settling warm in his chest. “Appreciate that. Means a lot coming from you.”
They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, talked about bikes, the Society, and the long road still ahead with the remnants of the General’s network. Tension crept back in. There were still things to do.
“So, what’s the deal with Ghost? He came through for us today.”
Ravage sighed. “Yeah, I guess he did. I’m still workin’ on the details, but he’s proven himself as far as I’m concerned.”
Then a small, familiar figure appeared at Jaxon’s side.
Tazzy pressed herself against his leg, looking up at him with that mischievous sparkle in her eyes that always meant trouble. She reached up and poked his nose once. Then twice. Then three times in quick succession.
Jaxon raised an eyebrow, trying his best to look annoyed. “What are you doing?”
She grinned, completely unrepentant. “I’m looking for your stop talking button so you can take me home.”
Ravage barked out a laugh beside him.
“That’s gonna cost you.” Jaxon gave Ravage a chin lift, “Catch you later.”
Ravage took the hint and sat back down with the Sabre team.
Jaxon turned back to his sassy darkling. “I don’t have a stop button, babygirl. But you do.”
She put her hands behind her back and twisted on her heels.
“Oh, really?”
“Really. Let me show you. I know just where to look.”
Before she could dodge, he scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder in one smooth motion. She squealed with laughter as he brought his hand down in a firm, playful smack on her bottom.
“See? Here’s your stop button, right here,” he said, landing another solid swat that made her wiggle and giggle. “Let’s go home, Darkling, so I can explain it to you more thoroughly.”
He shoved the door open and walked through Deep Dive, smacking her ass the whole way.
Tazzy kicked her feet lightly, not really trying to get away. “Daddy! Everyone’s watching!”
“Let them watch,” he growled, voice dropping into that low, possessive tone he knew made her melt. “You’re mine. And I’ve waited long enough to have you all to myself tonight.”
As he carried her toward his bike, a chorus of good-natured teasing from the Daddies chased after him. The Musketiaras broke out in applause.
The ride home was short but charged. Tazzy clung to his back, her arms wrapped tight around his waist. Every bump in the road pressed her closer, and he could feel the heat of her body through their clothes.
When they pulled into the driveway, he didn’t even wait to put the bike away properly. He killed the engine, swung off, and lifted her into his arms again.
“Daddy, what are you doing?”
“Well, this is our wedding night. It’s customary for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold.”
“Well, groom away, Daddy.” She threw her arms out wide.
He carried her inside, kicking the door shut behind them.
He didn’t bother with lights. He carried her straight to their bedroom and laid her face down on the bed.
Following her down, he covered her body with his own, knowing the controlled pressure of his weight would help her release the stress of the day.
The relaxing of her muscles told him all the fear, the rage, had drained out of her as he kissed her shoulder and the curve of her neck.
He kissed the faint red marks his smacks earlier had left on her ass, murmuring soft praise against each one. Then he rolled her to her back, licking and nibbling his way along her jaw. Tazzy moaned into his mouth, her hands sliding under his shirt, nails scraping lightly down his back. “Daddy…”
“That’s right,” he growled against her lips. “Your Daddy. Only yours.”
He stripped her slowly, savoring every inch of skin he revealed. When she was bare beneath him, he took his time exploring her with his hands and mouth. Even though they’d both showered at the Warehouse, he still tasted the salt of dried tears on her cheek.
When he reached up to play with her nipples, she playfully slapped his hand away. Her eyes widened as she stared down at her hand as if it belonged to someone else. Yeah, his naughty girl had just given him the opportunity he was looking for. And from the way she squirmed, she knew it.
Her deer in the headlights look made his cock pulse.
“Daddy, I—”
“Is it ever acceptable to hit your Daddy, Darkling?” he said slowly as he brought her fingers to his lips.
“No, Daddy. But I didn’t mean to.”
“Never known your hand to act on its own before. Tell me, naughty girl, what happens to bad girls who smack their Daddy’s hand away when he’s trying to touch what’s his?”
The quickening of her pulse and the darkening of her eyes told him she was in just the space he wanted her.
“N-no, Daddy. But I thought—,”
“You thought what, little girl? You thought Daddy would just ignore it, didn’t you?” He deepened his tone and spoke in his darkest Daddy voice. “You thought wrong.”
Her breath caught. She bit down on her lower lip.
His mouth twitched with satisfaction. Fresh tension crackled between them, thick and undeniable.
“Take back the button comment.”
He slid one hand to the nape of her neck and fisted it gently in her hair. The soft strands wrapped around his fingers, and he felt the little shiver that ran through her at the light tug.
“No,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She could barely breathe.
His mouth curved into a slow, predatory smile. “Darkling,” he warned, voice low and rough, “you either take it back… or I’ll make you.”
He pulled her face toward his and brushed his lips against hers — a teasing, barely-there touch that made his blood heat and his control fray at the edges.
“Oh yeah?” That challenging look he adored lit her eyes.
If she thought he wouldn’t follow through, she’d seriously underestimated him. It was time to play, and that look told him his sexy girl was all in.
She lifted her head and bit his bottom lip. Not hard enough to hurt, but her intent was easy to read.
He flipped her back over onto her hands and knees, bringing his hand down three times on her round ass, enough to sensitize her skin but not to punish.
She looked over her shoulder and said, “Make me.”
He sucked in air. Fuck. He wasn’t sure what had come over her, but he liked it. If she needed the response she knew would come if she challenged him, everything inside him was happy to oblige.
“Careful, Darkling,” he said, his voice deep and dangerous. “You have a Daddy who bites back.”
He felt a quiver shake her as she slid her legs open and arched her ass up, showing him her slick pussy.
When she arched even farther, he grabbed her hips and pressed his thick cock against her.
At the heat of her pussy, everything else disappeared.
There was only Tazzy and the passion all but exploding around them.
“You’re making a lot of promises, Daddy,” she murmured.
He grabbed her hips and flipped her back over.
Pinning her to the bed with his body, he claimed her mouth, all traces of gentleness gone.
The kiss turned hard and demanding, fierce enough to bruise, as he held her exactly where he wanted her.
What started as hunger quickly burned into something darker, more primitive, a raw male need that clawed its way free from deep inside him.
Tazzy melted under the assault, her body going soft and pliant one moment and rocking against him the next, like some kind of erotic ballet.