Chapter 12
12
GAVIN
T he fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting a warm, flickering glow across the bedroom. Gavin sat in one of the soft leather wingbacks, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, staring into the flames. The silence stretched, broken only by the occasional pop of wood burning.
As the water turned on, Gavin made a decision. Standing up he removed his clothes and joined Roxie in the bathroom. Apparently, she had discovered the steam function. He joined her in the large standalone glassed-in shower.
Roxie screeched when she realized she wasn’t alone and would have slipped and fallen if he hadn’t been there to catch her. He held her for a moment but then smiled as he felt his cock stiffening between them.
“You’re gorgeous. I thought you might need a hand.”
“I can assure you, I’ve been washing myself for years.”
“Perhaps, but it’ll be so much more fun when we do it together. I might point out to you that you disobeyed me when I told you to stay put.”
“I did, but I also kept that guy from shooting you.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to overlook your disobedience. I want you to turn around, bend over and put your hands on the bench.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I can.”
He might have been concerned had it not been for the shiver of desire that seemed to wash over her in the hot, steamy shower as her nipples stiffened in response to his command.
“Feet shoulder width apart.”
“Seriously?”
“Right now, it’s a count of five. Keep arguing and we’ll make it ten.”
He folded his arms over his chest and waited, watching a myriad of emotions cross her face. Making her decision, she assumed the position he’d instructed her to take.
“Good girl,” he crooned and watched her shiver again.
Without further preliminaries, he brought his hand down on her ass with a fair amount of sting. She really could have been killed, and in dangerous situations, he meant for her to obey him. Roxie gasped and then shuddered. It seemed his little sub was liking this far more than either of them had anticipated.
He smacked her again, watching as her skin pinkened. He’d need to be careful when they played not to mark her or really hurt her. She squirmed, but held position.
When he landed the third swat it was to the opposite cheek, trailing his finger down the crevice of her ass, letting his fingers slide between her thighs to test her arousal, hoping like hell he hadn’t misjudged her. He hadn’t. Roxie’s sex was wet, ripe and ready, which was good considering he was hard as a rock and his cock was throbbing in anticipation.
He slid two fingers into her, plunging them in and out until her breath was thready. Pulling them out, he smacked each of her cheeks a final time, and she cried out, not in pain, but in need. Taking hold of her hips, he lined his cock up and slowly began to press in. As he’d anticipated, she tried pushing back to impale herself, but she needed to learn, especially in matters of sex, he had full and total control.
Holding her in place, he said calmly. “Try that again and not only won’t you get my dick, you’ll earn yourself another spanking.”
“Fine.”
He released her hip with one hand and smacked her again. “That’s ‘yes Sir’ unless you’d like me to stop this and edge you for the next couple of hours.”
“No, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”
“Better,” he chuckled, wrapping his hand back around her hip and beginning to bury his cock, painstakingly slow. “Damn. You feel so fucking good.”
“So do you, Sir,” she said, moaning as he began to draw back before thrusting back in.
There was no way he was going to last at this point, but fortunately he had the rest of the night to fuck her slowly to his heart’s content. It felt so right to be inside her, more right than anything else in his life.
Holding her steady, he began to fuck her with relentless abandon, holding nothing back and pounding into her.
“Yes. God yes,” she moaned, flexing her fingers on the bench’s edge.
The telltale tingle at the base of his spine told him his release was imminent. Reaching beneath her he rubbed her clit with his thumb before pressing down. As he buried himself deep inside her, jettisoning his cum, Roxie cried out, her cunt clamping down before she went limp in his hands.
Pulling her up and against him, he began to gently soap her body, washing her clean. There was a deep peace and happiness that came with being with Roxie, and he would never let anyone take that or her from him. If her in-laws and Dugan wanted a fight, they’d picked the right man.
The following morning, Roxie emerged from the walk-in closet—where he kept a small coffee bar, complete with a pod coffeemaker, several kinds of whiskey and a small fridge for cream, soft drinks and beer—carrying two steaming mugs of coffee. She hesitated before stepping forward and handing one to Gavin.
“Thanks,” he said, his voice low.
She sat down between his legs, her knees drawn up, her fingers wrapped around the mug. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The strain and exhaustion from the ambush the night before as well as their night-long, marathon sex session still lingered.
“Do you ever get tired of this?” Roxie asked suddenly, her voice quiet.
Gavin glanced at her, his brow furrowing. “Tired of what?”
“Being the strong one,” she said, looking into her coffee. “Always having to hold it together, always having the answers. Doesn’t it ever feel like too much?”
He leaned back, his hand resting on the back of the couch as he studied her. “Yeah,” he admitted. “All the time.”
Roxie turned to face him, surprise flickering in her eyes. “You do?”
“I’m not a machine, Roxie,” Gavin said, his voice soft but firm. “There are days it feels like the weight is too much. Days I wonder if I’m doing enough or if I’ll ever get it right. Days when everything feels completely out of control. It’s part of what being a Dom does for me. It allows me to focus and control everything to make it right for me and my partner. As much as you needed to know I would spank you, I needed to know you would accept my discipline. But also...” He paused, looking at her. “I remember why I do what I do. Who I’m doing it for.”
Her breath caught, and she looked away, her voice wavering. “It feels like I’ve been fighting my whole life. Fighting to prove myself, to survive, to not let them win. And now... now it feels like I’m losing anyway.”
“You’re not losing,” Gavin said, his tone sharp with conviction. “You’re here. You’re alive. And you’ve got people in your corner now.”
Roxie’s lips curved into a faint, bittersweet smile. “I’m not used to having people in my corner.”
“You better get used to it,” Gavin said, his voice softening. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
The silence stretched again, but this time it felt different—heavier, more charged. Roxie turned to face him fully, her eyes searching his face. “Why?”
“Why what?” Gavin asked, though he already knew the question.
“Why do you care so much?” she whispered. “Why are you risking so much for me?”
Gavin set his coffee mug down on the table, leaning closer to her. “Because somewhere along the way, this stopped being about the job,” he said, his voice low, almost rough. “Because you’re not just some case, Roxie. You’re... more than that to me.”
Her breath hitched, her chest rising and falling as she tried to process his words. “Gavin, I...”
“I know,” he said, cutting her off gently. “I know this is a lot. But I need you to know that you’re not just some responsibility to me. You’re important. You matter.”
The vulnerability in his voice made her throat tighten. She looked down, her fingers trembling slightly around her mug. “I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted. “I don’t know how to let someone care about me like that.”
“Then we figure it out together,” Gavin said softly, his hand brushing against hers. “No pressure. No expectations. Just... trust me.”
Roxie looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears—it felt like the world outside in this time and in this moment didn’t exist—just the two of them, the crackling fire, and the unspoken connection growing stronger by the second.
The moment was interrupted by the sharp knock on his door. “Damn.” He didn’t want to give up this peace of having her sitting between his legs, but he knew no one would have disturbed them unless it was important. “Come,” he called, his tone instantly professional.
Reed cracked open the door and stepped in. “I hate to disturb you, but we’ve got something. It seems Bones has been doing his own investigating of the staff at the Iron Spur. One of the guys he suspected finally cracked.”
“Do I want to know exactly what that means?” asked Roxie.
“No,” Reed and Gavin said simultaneously.
“Turns out,” Reed continued, “the guy has been passing information to the Albrights.”
Gavin’s jaw tightened, his free hand clenching into a fist. “Who?”
“Guy named Joey. Works as wait staff on the dungeon floor. Says Margaret Albright’s been paying him to keep tabs on Roxie, pass along her schedule and any... vulnerabilities.”
Gavin’s stomach churned with anger. “Where is he now?”
“Still at the club. Says he’s willing to talk, but I wouldn’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”
“I’ll handle it,” Gavin said, his voice cold.
“Be careful,” Reed warned.
Roxie looked up at Gavin, worry etched across her face.
Her eyes widened. “You’re going after them, aren’t you?”
He nodded, his expression hard. “This ends tonight.”
As he turned to leave, her voice stopped him. “Gavin.”
He turned back, his eyes meeting hers.
“Be careful,” she said softly, her voice trembling.
“I will,” he promised. “And I’ll be back. I always will be, but you stay here. I mean it.”
With one last look, he kissed her and then moved off to shower and dress. The big shower felt lonely without her and his cock stirred when he remembered what she looked like, bent over taking her spanking, before he’d fucked her. That was a memory he would treasure for the rest of his days. He gave her another kiss before leaving her in their room— their room, that sounded right—and stepped out into the morning, his resolve solidifying.
Those responsible weren’t just targeting Roxie anymore—they’d made it personal. They’d violated the club and its patrons. And Gavin wasn’t going to stop until they paid.
The war room was alive with purpose, the team huddled around the massive oak trestle table. Documents, photos, and digital maps covered the surface. There were two whiteboards up, showing more connections, more information. All of it was a visual representation of the tangled web they’d spent days unraveling. Gavin stood at the head of the table, his arms crossed, his sharp eyes scanning the evidence.
“All roads lead back to the Albrights,” Reed said, stabbing a finger at a printout. “The payments to Joey at the Iron Spur, the shell company funding Kessler, even the private investigators who tracked Roxie after Jeremiah’s death. They’ve been pulling the strings the whole time.”
“And they weren’t all that subtle about it,” Jesse added, leaning back in his chair. “They didn’t think anyone would dig this deep—too confident in their money and influence.”
“They underestimated us,” Gavin said, his voice calm but steely. “And that will turn out to be their biggest mistake.”
Gavin glanced up and spotted Roxie standing at the edge of the room, her gaze fixed on the team. There was a blend of awe and admiration in her eyes as she watched the men work. They weren’t just sorting through evidence—they were systematically taking apart the walls her in-laws had built to trap her.
At the center of it all, Gavin kept his focus steady, his presence grounded and calm, like an anchor in the chaos. When his gaze met Roxie’s, something shifted—her expression softened, and for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw her guard slip. He gave her a small nod, a silent gesture that said she wasn’t just a bystander—she was part of this fight, and she belonged here.
Reed’s spoke. “We’ve got enough to go to the authorities, but that won’t stop them entirely. Margaret and William will lawyer up, and Kessler will stall as long as he can.”
“We need to draw them out,” Gavin said, his mind already racing ahead. “Make them think they’ve got the upper hand.”
Hawke raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got a plan?”
“I do,” Gavin said. He turned toward Roxie, his expression softening slightly. “But it involves you.”
“Me? What do you mean? Never mind. If it means I get to be a part of taking my life back from them, I’m in.”
Gavin nodded. “We’re going to need to set you up so they see you as bait they can’t resist,” Gavin said bluntly, though his tone was gentle. “You’re the key to all of this, Roxie. If they think you’re vulnerable, they’ll come for you.” Gavin said, stepping closer. “I’ll be with you every second, and the team will have our backs. We control the environment, we set the terms. But if we don’t confront them head-on, they’ll just keep coming.”
Roxie swallowed hard, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. She glanced around the room, taking in the steady, unwavering gazes of the men who’d worked tirelessly to protect her. Finally, her eyes settled on Gavin.
“I’m in,” she said, her voice steady.
Gavin’s lips curved into a faint smile, pride flashing in his eyes. “That’s the Roxie I know.”
Later, as the team finalized the plan, Gavin found Roxie sitting on the front porch, her knees drawn up to her chest. The sun beginning to set in the sky. The stars had yet to stretch out above them, but they would come. The quiet hum of the encroaching twilight was broken only by the faint rustle of the breeze as it made the windchimes tinkle together.
“You okay?” he asked, stepping onto the porch.
She glanced up at him, her expression thoughtful. “I think so. It’s just... a lot. But for the first time, I don’t feel helpless.”
Gavin sat down beside her, the wooden boards creaking under his weight. “You were never helpless, Roxie. You’ve been fighting this whole time, even when it felt like you weren’t winning.”
She looked down, a small smile tugging at her lips. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re... you. Strong, confident, unshakable.”
Gavin chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You think I don’t have doubts? That I don’t second-guess every move I make? I’ve made mistakes, Roxie. Plenty of them. But the one thing I’ve learned is that strength doesn’t mean you don’t feel fear. It means you don’t let it stop you.”
Her breath hitched, his words cutting through her lingering insecurities. “I guess I’ve been letting it stop me for too long.”
“Not anymore,” Gavin said, his voice firm. He turned to face her. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. And you’ve got people who believe in you now.”
Roxie smiled fully this time, the stiffness in her shoulders easing. “You’re a good guy, Gavin Briggs. Even if you’re bossy as hell.”
He grinned, his gaze softening. “Good thing you like bossy.”
The sound of the door creaking behind them broke the moment. Reed stepped onto the porch, his expression serious. “We’ve got confirmation. Margaret Albright made a call to Kessler tonight. They’re planning to make their move in the next 48 hours.”
Gavin stood, his jaw tightening. “Then we stick to the plan.”
Roxie stood beside him, her determination matching his. “Let’s finish this.”
Gavin looked down at her, his chest tightening with equal parts admiration and protectiveness. “We will,” he said, his voice low but resolute. “And I’ll be right there with you.”
As the night began to settle around them, Gavin’s resolve hardened. The Albrights thought they could crush Roxie, but they’d underestimated her—and the man who would stop at nothing to keep her safe.