Chapter Nineteen
Alexia
As soon as I stepped into Jed’s house, I started stripping out of my clothes. I left a trail all the way to his shower, and I was underneath the water before it even got warm.
“You okay in there, gorgeous?”
My panic had dissipated, and my tears had subsided. A part of me thought I should be afraid, but I never was when I was with Jed. Instead, I felt a little lost—like I didn’t know what to do next.
I must have taken too long to come up with an answer because, before I could decide what to say, Jed was naked and in the shower with me. He slid his hands across my belly as he shrouded me with his body, and I let my head fall back against his shoulder. I’m not sure how long we stood there; but the longer we did, the better I felt.
I was alive .
I turned in his hold and wrapped one arm around his shoulders, cupping my opposite hand around the back of his neck. I barely had to apply pressure and he was there, giving me what I wanted. He kissed me hard and with a desperation I felt from my lips to my toes.
I was alive —and his kiss heightened the realization of that truth.
I moaned into his mouth as I clung to him, my longing unrestrained and growing by the second. Just when I thought I couldn’t get close enough, Jed grabbed me around the waist, lifted me off my feet, and propped me against the shower wall. I opened my legs, raising my knees to hook around his hips, and he blindly found my entrance, filling me with a forceful thrust.
I cried out in relief, burying my fingers in his hair as he pounded in and out of me. He grabbed onto my outer thighs, the pressure of his fingertips digging into my skin another reminder that I was alive , and I relished the feeling.
“ Papi ,” I whimpered, my eyes locked with his.
He felt so incredible, I could hardly breathe from excitement.
Steady and true. Each time he filled me was a reminder, a reassurance, a promise that my man was steady and true. Reliant and strong. He had me in his grasp, and I was safe. No longer on a deserted island, but there—with him— alive and whole.
My orgasm came out of nowhere, and I gasped as I trembled in delight—but Jed wasn’t done. With a groan, he rode me harder, never breaking his stride.
Hypersensitive, I felt another orgasm come to life on the heels of my first.
“Jed,” I moaned, my grip in his hair tightening as I panted.
“Breathe,” he told me, touching his forehead to mine.
“I’m—I’m—oh, papi,” I cried before I had no words left.
And I had no words because he moved one of his hands in order that his thumb could make contact with my bundle of nerves. One touch, and the crescendo of my encore climax was epic. All I could do was moan as my body shook, my sex clamping hard around his length. This time, pleasure overtook my man, and his thrusts became erratic before he came, grunting as he spilled his seed inside of me.
He thrust deep and stilled, then sealed his lips with mine, thrust once more, and gave me back my breath as he kissed me languidly.
I was alive and whole.
He was steady and true.
This was us . I was far from alone.
When he broke our kiss, he let go of one of my legs in order to take hold of my jaw—my chin fit snuggly between his thumb and forefinger. His blue-green eyes stared straight into mine, and he semi-repeated, “You okay, gorgeous?”
“Yeah, papi,” I whispered. “I am now.”
After we washed up, I didn’t bother getting dressed. I slipped into a pair of panties and one of Jed’s shirts and called it good. He got me a fresh bandage for my hand, and then I curled up under a blanket in the corner of his sectional couch. When he brought me a glass filled with two fingers of whiskey, I didn’t hesitate.
Whiskey wasn’t my drink—but after being shot at, I wasn’t feeling picky.
Jed ordered Thai takeout to be delivered for dinner, and he sat with me and let me scroll aimlessly for something to watch on Hulu while we waited.
When the doorbell rang thirty minutes later, I was still scrolling.
“Where is she? Is she okay?”
I shifted my attention toward the door at the sound of Winnie’s voice, then watched as Jed stepped aside and motioned an invitation for her to come in. She spotted me on the couch and headed my way, Tess right behind her. My vision grew blurry with tears as unexpected as my guests upon their approach.
“Hey. We heard what happened,” said Winnie, occupying the cushion next to me.
Tess sat across from us on the edge of the coffee table. “Are you okay?”
Evidently, as far as club business was concerned, attempted murder was need-to-know .
“I’m okay,” I managed to say around the knot lodged in my throat. “I cut my hand, but I wasn’t hit or anything.”
“I can’t even imagine how terrifying that must have been,” said Winnie. “Bull told me an entire magazine was shot into your apartment.”
“Uh, yeah. Definitely not the welcome home I expected.” I swiped at my cheeks, brushing away my tears with a sniffle. “It was really nice of you guys to come see me.”
“Are you kidding? Of course, we did. Talk about traumatic,” cried Tess. “Anything you need, we’re here. Jenna, too. She’s working the night shift, but Maverick went to the hospital to fill her in. We knew she’d be pissed if she didn’t find out until tomorrow morning. I promised I’d text her after we checked on you.”
The doorbell rang again. Jed, having not gone far, was quick to answer it. This time, it was the food.
“Oh, good. You’ve got dinner covered,” murmured Winnie as he carried the delivery to the kitchen.
“Y’all stayin’?” asked Jed.
Both women looked back at Jed and then at me.
“That’s up to you, Alexia.”
I stared at them, beside myself they’d come in the first place. We were friends, and I knew it—but their presence in the moment was more than I could ask for. It was them following through with their promise to have my back. It meant so much to me.
It wasn’t so long ago I felt like I lived on an island of my own making. Now, everything was different. With Jed and the Wild Stallions family, I was far from alone. I didn’t have to shoulder the weight of the world all by myself.
That said, the last thing I wanted to do was put on a bra.
“Um, I’m not wearing any pants,” I admitted lamely.
Winnie grinned and Tess laughed, “Alexia, you’ve more than earned the right to go the rest of the week without pants.”
“No need to dress up for us,” added Winnie.
I laughed a little and then pointed at the TV. “Any recommendations on what to watch?”
Tess glanced back over her shoulder then gasped as she moved to sit beside me. “Have you heard of that show about the Mormon moms on TikTok? Mind numbing garbage but click bait for sure.”
I handed her the remote, and we all settled in to watch.
A few minutes later, Jed lowered a plate of food onto my lap, pressed a kiss into my hair, and mumbled, “Eat, darlin’.” He then told Winnie and Tess they could help themselves, and he called in another order for himself.
Jed didn’t have any interest in the show, but he stayed close—taking my plate when it was empty and refilling my glass of whiskey. The girls and I binged half the season, pausing only for bathroom breaks. We were getting ready to start our fifth episode when my phone started to ring.
Winnie grabbed it off the coffee table and handed it to me. It was Alejandro calling. I wasn’t sure why. We hadn’t had a real conversation since our fight, and I didn’t have it in me to deal with our relationship just then.
I let it ring through to voicemail, but I didn’t return my focus to the television.
Thinking about my brother made me think about getting kidnapped—and neither of us had told mami or Bella about what happened with Rocco. But no one in my family knew about the second kidnapping or the threat Hoffman issued, either. I couldn’t keep it all a secret anymore. Someone tried to kill me that afternoon, and I had to tell them.
How I was going to convince them I was okay and I had people keeping me safe, I wasn’t sure. They were going to freak. I needed to figure out a way to relay as little as possible without leaving too many holes in my story.
Not two minutes later, Isabella was calling.
I frowned down at my phone. It was after ten.
It was possible they were calling because something happened with mami. If that was the case, I was poised and ready to lose my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer the phone. I didn’t want to hear it. If it was serious, they’d leave a voicemail or send a text.
“Hey,” murmured Tess, resting a hand on my wrist. “We can go if you need to take some calls.”
When my phone started to ring a third time, it was mami calling.
“Take that,” insisted Winnie. “We’ll say goodnight. Call us if you need anything?”
I nodded as they stood and then took a breath before picking up mami’s call.
“Hello?” I answered.
“ Where are you? Are you okay?” she practically shouted.
Instant panic caused my heart to race. “What? Mami, what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? It’s all over the news, Alexia! The shooting at your apartment. They didn’t say which unit was targeted. Tell me you’re okay, hija .”
“Oh. Right. The news. I didn’t think about that,” I murmured, deflated.
“Were you there? Did you hear anything?”
“Mami—mami, it was my unit. The shooter was aiming for my unit.”
“ What? ”
She went off in Spanish, something she did when she was really upset. I wasn’t fluent, so I didn’t understand most of what she was saying.
“Mami—mami. Mami!” I cried, trying to get her to listen to me. “I’m okay, alright? I’m okay.”
My phone beeped, alerting me to another incoming call. I glanced at my screen and saw Alejandro was calling again. All at once, I felt completely exhausted.
“Where are you? I’m coming over right now.”
“No, mami, it’s late. I’m with Jed. You don’t need to come over.”
“Jed. I don’t know this Jed . Tell me where you are, Alexia.”
“I’m safe, mami. I promise, okay? It’s late. I’ll come over tomorrow. We can come for dinner. Okay? I’m fine. I promise.”
She was silent, but I could hear her breathing on the other end of the line, trying to calm down.
“I’ll call you in the morning,” I repeated. “Please let Bella and Alejo know I’m okay. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I don’t understand. Who would do this to you, hija ? What are the police saying?”
I sighed, wishing I had more patience, but certain my well had run dry.
“The detectives on my case are looking into it, mami. Just—please don’t worry. I’ll explain tomorrow. Please, can we do this tomorrow?”
“Fine. Fine. Tomorrow . If I don’t hear from you in the morning—”
“You will, mami. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
As we said our goodbyes, Jed came to stand in front of me.
“So, they covered the shooting on the news,” I told him, tossing aside my phone.
“Gathered that.”
I nodded and added, “Also, we have dinner plans tomorrow.”
He smirked. “Yup. Heard that, too.”
“I think I need to go to bed now.”
“Thank fuck,” he muttered, offering me his hand. “I don’t think I could stand to listen to another episode of that show.”
I laughed as I stood—a real, unstoppable laugh—and it felt good.
“Ah, come on. Admit it. You were kind of into it,” I teased.
“Negative.”
I dropped his hand and reached up to wrap my arms around his shoulders as I goaded, “But I bet if I asked you to stay home tomorrow and cuddle me while I watched the rest of the season you’d do it.”
He shook his head, but he did it smiling, and I knew that meant yes .
Before I got the chance to tease him any further, he bent down, grabbed hold of the back of my thighs, and lifted me off my feet. I hugged him close, wrapping my legs around him, and he carried me through the house this way—checking doors and windows, turning out lights as we went.
We were in bed shortly after, Jed’s body curled protectively around mine. When I closed my eyes—there was only darkness, but no fear.
So long as he was close, I didn’t need to be afraid.