Chapter Twenty-Five
AXEL
We’re on complete lockdown, which means nobody in unless we say so, and nobody leaves alone, but that doesn’t stop the club from partying on a Friday night.
I stand on the front porch, a cigarette between my fingers, watching the last strip of orange and red disappear behind the mountains while the music slowly picks up behind me until it’s a roaring, thundering sound through the walls and rattling the windows.
The bass rumbles through the floorboards and my chest, and I wonder how Sienna is handling the abrupt change, even though she’s safe and isolated in my bedroom.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I quickly pull it out, never knowing when we’ll get the call from Saint that it’s time to move in. Much to my disappointment, it’s just the front gate.
“Yeah?”
“Got a visitor. Said he’s best friends with Rogue.
” It takes me a second, but then a laugh bellows out of me.
Oh, this should be interesting. “Let him in, I’ll meet him out front.
” I stub out my smoke, throwing the butt into the trash, and lean against the large beam of the porch, watching an old-ass bright-red truck coast down our gravel driveway.
He parks to the side of the bikes, hopping out as I walk down the stairs to greet him.
His dark brown hair is pushed back out of his face, his beard much shorter than the last time I saw him.
“Sawyer Hayes,” I greet, slapping his hand and pulling him into a side hug.
“Axel James.”
“I take it this is a surprise visit?”
“Can’t go that long without seeing my sister and Reid, I guess. Aspen Ridge isn’t the same without them.”
“I can agree with that. We miss him here, nothing is the same without him.”
“So where are they? Got news and need to tell them in person.”
I shrug. “Not sure, a lot going on here right now. War is brewing.”
Sawyer’s eyes narrow. “If any of you ever need anything . . .”
“We know. Or at least most of us. Chaos still needs some convincing.”
“I brought a gift to smooth over the fact that I’m here.” Sawyer moves to the back of his truck, handing me a large, heavy case, picking up another for himself. I nod for him to follow me, even though he’s been here before, years ago.
When we walk through the common area, my face lights up, finding Sienna standing behind the bar, filling up a cup of beer from the keg, helping out Morgan.
The woman I met months ago would barely look up from the ground when serving us, and now she’s slinging drinks behind a bar with a smile plastered to her face.
I’m so fucking proud of her.
Sawyer and I drop the boxes off at the bar, and I slide around it, like a moth to a flame, wanting to get as close as I possibly can to her. I don’t deny myself the pleasure of touching her, my fingertips tracing over the curve of her shoulder and down her arm, hooking my pinky with hers.
“Hi, sweetheart. Doing okay?”
“Doing good, thank you. Morgan was showing me the ropes, and I don’t hate it. I always wondered what bartending would be like. Seemed way more fun than waitressing.”
“I’ve never done either, but you look beautiful doing both. Whatever makes you happy.”
Sienna smiles up at me, her eyes flicking down to my lips, her tongue slipping out and gently wetting hers. It would be so easy to lean forward and claim her right now, to kiss her senseless. I’ve never felt that desire before, but it’s so strong with her.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Chaos barks, breaking our moment, his eyes squinting as he looks at Sawyer, facing off with him. The two men fight over Rogue like he’s their favorite toy. It’s actually quite comical.
“Thought you could use another friend.”
“Not from you. Go back to Aspen Ridge. He’ll return when he’s ready.”
“Reid’s a big boy, I’m not worried about him or my sister. Just needed to see them and talk to them.”
“That’s what a phone is for. Now fuck off. Who let you in?” Sawyer doesn’t snitch on me, but I snort when Chaos shoots daggers my way. Sienna leans into me, whispering, “What’s going on?”
“That’s Sawyer, Rogue’s other best friend. They fight over him.”
“Are they children?”
“Yes.” Sienna laughs under her breath, and I can’t help but smile down at her, amused.
“I brought a gift. You can say thank you, I know it won’t kill you, Camden,” Sawyer tells him.
I start to open one of the boxes, having an idea already of what it is. Sienna peers into it, eyes going wide. She quickly snatches a bottle, pulling it out and looking at the amber liquid, running her fingers over the embossed label.
Aspen Ridge Distillery
“Where did you get this? This is expensive,” Sienna asks, looking up at Sawyer.
He looks around at all of us with confusion. “It’s mine?”
“What do you mean it’s yours? This is Aspen Ridge whiskey. It’s the best.”
“I’m Sawyer Hayes. It’s my whiskey. The distillery belongs to my family. I run it with my brothers.”
“Holy shit,” Sienna says, clearly starstruck. I don’t know whether to be happy for her or jealous, but my hand finds its home on her waist regardless. Sawyer laughs, running his hand through his hair.
“I think you got a fan, Sawyer. Thought the only person in the world who would like you is your woman and maybe Rogue,” Sin says, the dumb fucker.
“She doesn’t like him, shut the fuck up,” I snap. “Sweetheart, why are you so excited about this?”
“My dad. This was his favorite whiskey, Axel. We would drink it together. He raised Maddox to be this strong, badass biker, and he knew I always got left out. But we had this. He said he wanted to make sure his daughter knew how to take a good drink.”
My heart warms for her. “Your dad sounds like he was a smart man,” Sawyer tells her, clearly picking up on her past tense.
“He was. The best.” If she only knew just how great he was, raising a son that wasn’t biologically his, knowing he was a product of such vile abuse.
It’s flipped my perspective of Saint, and for the first time since I found out, I feel for him, and I can understand why he would want to keep that to himself.
Even if I disagree with keeping Sienna in the dark.
“Well, let’s have a drink in honor of him, yeah?” Sin suggests, opening up a bottle. Sienna looks up at me, eyes glassy, searching my face.
“Only if you want to, sweetheart.” She nods at me, so I pull out glasses, filling them up with shots of whiskey.
We all hold them up, all my patch brothers and their old ladies surrounding us.
I hope Sienna feels the family that I have here, sees the love and loyalty and knows she’s safe and welcome here with us.
Because I don’t want her to leave when all this shit is over with.
“To Sienna’s father,” I shout, looking down at her.
“Matthew Graves—Ruin.”
“To Ruin!” they all shout, slamming it back. Sienna sips on hers, eyes fluttering closed as the taste hits her tongue, a tear cascading down her fair cheek. I gather it up with the back of my middle finger, then tilt her head to look up at me.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.”
“Heard you have a war brewing. If you ever need to make someone disappear, I’ve got an idea,” Sawyer speaks up.
Chaos whips his head at Rogue, eyes squinting.
The look is lethal enough to make a grown man cower, but not Rogue.
He and Chaos have been through enough together that he knows Chaos is all bark and no bite when it comes to his family.
Too bad he’s assuming Rogue was the one to tell him about the shit at our doorstep. I’d be the guilty party, though.
“Just hear him out, Prez,” I urge, curious what he’s got up his sleeve.
“You need someone to disappear, no evidence, no body, no DNA or scent? I’ve got what you need.”
“Yeah? And what the fuck is that?”
“A whiskey barrel.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“People have been doing it long before us—body snatchers, sailors . . . Whiskey will mask the scent. No one will ever find him.”
I don’t want to ask how he knows this, but it’s not a bad idea, and I save that little bit of information for a later date. You never know when it may come in handy.
The party picks up after that, the music cranking up, a sea of leather playing pool, dice, and darts, patch bunnies draped across laps and shoulders.
It all used to be so tempting, right within my reach.
I would have already been balls deep inside a tight pussy right here in the middle of it all.
I was the brother who always had one of them bent over, who had all eyes on me while I gave a show, not caring whose pussy I filled, or whose eyes were on us while I did it.
But that’s all changed now.
Sienna has no idea what she’s doing to me.
She’s mine.
She may not know it yet, but everyone else seems to.
Every man in here has kept a respectful distance from her without needing to be told.
That’s the thing about our club, the observation, the subtle pick up on change in behaviors.
We all knew the moment Chaos, Sin, Rogue, and Malice were goners.
Hell, we knew before they did. Just like they called it before me.
Every man and woman in here has to see that I’ve stopped looking around the room and started staring in one direction only. Hers.
I lean against the doorframe, finishing up my smoke, unable to look away, watching the way she smiles, the way she tucks a rogue piece of hair behind her ear, the way she talks with her hands, the way she laughs with Monroe like they’ve been friends their entire lives.
She fits in like she’s been here all along.
Familiar nails drag across my shoulder and down my arm, grating on me, feeling all kinds of wrong.
Cora steps in front of me as I shrug out of her touch, blocking my view of Sienna laughing with Monroe and Malice.
Normally I would spin her around without thinking, flipping up her skirt to find her without panties, already primed and ready to go.
But that was then. Now, my attention is locked on the woman across the room.
Mine.
I’ve had the thought before, the possessive feeling settling deep in my chest, but it’s not because I own her, it’s because something inside me, from the moment I met her, already decided there wasn’t going to be anyone after her.
“Wrath,” Cora purrs.
“Cora. We had fun, and I appreciate everything you do for the club, but that time with me is over. I’m only going to say this once, if you start any bullshit with my woman, or push my boundaries, you’re gone.”
Cora looks up at me, a little startled and slightly hurt. I was never going to settle down with Cora, or Becca, or any of them. I was always meant for Sienna. Which is why I had rules that I never crossed. I just didn’t know it until now.
Cora nods. “I’m happy for you, Wrath. You deserve it.”
“You do, too. If you ever want more than club life, just let us know how we can help.”
“I appreciate that,” she replies with a smile, fluttering her fingers at me as she walks out of my view. The music changes its beat, and there’s only one thing I want to do.
On autopilot, I walk up to Sienna, and as if she’s in tune with me, her attention shifts, her eyes glimmering in the overhead lights, face softening, her pretty pink lips turning up in the corners. I hold out my hand to her in offering. “Dance with me?”
Sienna doesn’t hesitate. She doesn’t look around the room, doesn’t second-guess anything, she just takes my hand, standing and following me to where some others are already dancing.
I pull her into my arms, wrapping them around her body, putting my thigh right between her legs, and then we’re swaying, rocking against each other to the sultry beat.
“It’s not a dance, and we aren’t dressed up fancy, but I hope this’ll do,” I whisper against the shell of her ear.
Her hands are everywhere, rubbing up my chest, over my neck and the shaved sides of my head. “This is better.” Fuck yes, it is.
We dance together, my hands rubbing up and down her spine, over her ribs, squeezing and kneading, loving being able to touch her like this and have her welcome it, want it.
My heart rate is through the roof, my breaths coming harder.
Sienna looks up at me with the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, that emptiness that used to sit behind her pretty blues now full and open.
Everything seems to disappear around us, our dancing having slowed to a gentle sway.
Sienna bites her bottom lip, eyes flicking down to my own.
She’s killing me. The tension around us has finally gone taut, and it won’t take much more before it snaps altogether.
“Fuck, the way you’re looking at me right now, baby girl. Makes me want to do reckless and dangerous things.”
“Like what?” she presses, her hand flat over my chest, right above my heart.
I’m keenly aware of how rapid it’s beating right now; how completely and utterly gone I am for her.
I lean down, running my nose along her jaw from chin to ear.
Her skin breaks out in goosebumps, her body shivering in my arms. I pull back just enough to look at her, our breaths mingling, that tension crackling.
“Like kiss you.”
“So, what are you waiting for then, Axel James? Kiss me.”
I only hesitate for a fraction of a second, and it’s because I was too stunned to believe she actually said those words. My hands thread into her hair, angling her head backward as my nose rubs against hers, sweet and tender, then I’m kissing her.
Finally.