Chapter Twenty-Seven
AXEL
The next few days pass in a blur of spending time with Sienna and losing my fucking mind over when we’ll hear from Saint to move in on Cain.
It’s been five days since his last update, and there’s something brewing just below the surface that doesn’t feel right to me.
I’ve learned to live with threats constantly looming at our door, especially the last two years, but this is different.
The pattern has changed over the last week, and the silence has gotten under my skin like a virus.
Every instinct in me is telling me to brace for impact, and with Sienna as the catalyst, I’m not willing to make any mistakes.
I’ve never been good at waiting, so when I don’t hear from Saint this morning, I decide to take matters into my own hands.
Sienna rests curled into my side, and I force myself to breathe slowly and steadily enough that she doesn’t feel the violence humming right under my skin.
Something is right on the horizon, circling us. I can feel it.
If I’ve learned anything since becoming a Hell’s Heathen, it’s that you don’t survive by ignoring instinct.
Mine has kept me alive through fights, ambushes, rival clubs attacking our home, accidents, and a particularly rough run-in with Malice and a knife.
Instinct is sacred. And mine keeps whispering the same thing over and over.
Protect what’s ours.
My hand drifts down her bare thigh that’s currently draped over my pelvis, soaking in the soft feel of her body next to mine.
My lips find her hairline, pressing a firm kiss to the spot, breathing in a deep inhale of her scent.
The jasmine is faint this morning; she smells all me instead. And I’m obsessed with it.
Waking up every morning with her like this has made me realize how much I’d give up in order to keep it.
It’s no longer just about retribution for Rolo’s death or giving Sienna the freedom she deserves.
It’s about not losing the one goddamn thing that’s reminded me that Axel James exists behind Wrath.
Men like Cain will pillage and destroy at all costs to get what they want, but they don’t have anything worth protecting and fighting for. I have it all. My club. My brothers. Myself. And most importantly, Sienna.
I’ve always considered myself a decent man.
I use my head, I’m calm and collected, I use restraint when absolutely necessary, but there’s nothing decent about the desire for vengeance I’m feeling right now.
Every fiber of my being, down to the marrow of my bones, is telling me that our time is up, and it’s either hunt or be hunted.
I’ve never been prey, and I’m not going to start now.
Reaching over to my end table, I grab my phone, pulling up my text thread with Otto.
Me: Need some help tracking down anyone close to Cain, any of his ranking members, someone who has access to him that isn’t a grunt
Otto: Sure thing, boss
Otto: What are we gonna do with him once we find him?
Me: Pick him up and bring him in
Otto: Can I come?
Me: Did you enroll in classes yet?
Otto: No
Me: Then no
Otto: Can I at least watch what you guys do to him?
Me: No
Otto: So I just get to be the computer bitch
Me: Safer that way
Otto: This blows
Me: That’s life. Now shut up and get me the info by lunch
Rolling my eyes when the shithead sends me a salute emoji, I put my phone back down and wrap my arm around Sienna.
She snuggles into me, her chest rising as she wakes from sleep.
I don’t hold back from kissing her forehead, brushing the blonde strands from her face, letting her wake up slowly in the safety of my arms. What a fucking privilege.
“Good morning, sweetheart. How’d you sleep?”
“Mmm. Good.”
“I’ll never get used to hearing that. I told you it would happen.”
“Cocky this morning, are we?” she says, her voice all groggy. She’s so fucking cute.
“Just stating the facts.” My phone vibrates again next to me, three rapid-fire texts. It’s not the burner, so I know it’s not Saint, but I need to answer it, especially with everything going on.
Malice: Monroe’s at work and now I have no one to raid Daily Rise with
Malice: Who’s coming with me?
Malice: I’m hungry
Sin: Can’t, dealing with prospects this morning
Malice: Chaos? Buddy? Dear ole pal?
Sin: He’s probably been told to sit like a good pup and waiting for his next command
Chaos: Will you all shut the fuck up
I think for a moment about how reckless it could be to take Sienna out of the compound during the day, but with Malice and me with her, I feel confident nothing is going to happen.
“Hey, baby girl. Are you up for a short ride this morning? Mal is going to that bakery with the cinnamon rolls you love so much, thought we could go with.” Sienna sits up quickly, nearly knocking my teeth out in the process. She bites her bottom lip, eyes tracing all over my face.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it safe?”
“You should know by now that if I thought for a split second it wasn’t, I wouldn’t jeopardize you.”
“Then yes!” Sienna’s stomach rumbles not a moment later, and I grab her quickly, tossing her onto her back, her legs falling open as I lay on top of her.
Her wrists are secured above her head in my hand, stretching her body out, perky nipples straining against the fabric of my thin white T-shirt she slept in last night.
“Is my baby hungry?” I ask as I run my nose along the soft skin at her jaw to right under her ear. “I know how she feels. I’m starving,” I whisper, biting the flesh of her lobe before working my way down her body.
“What are you doing, Axel?” I grin up at her as I sink lower, pushing the T-shirt up just to expose her belly button, where I drop open-mouthed kisses against her skin.
“I told you, baby, I’m starving. Are you going to deny me what I want to eat?
” I pepper kisses along her hip bone, my eyes focused on hers, loving the way her body chases my mouth, the way her eyes grow heavy, the way her lips part and form a sexy little “O.” “What’s it gonna be, baby girl?
Can I eat your pussy?” I nuzzle my nose into the short red hair that leads to her cunt, my mouth salivating already, desperate to get my tongue on her.
“I’m not going to deny you, Axel. I want your mouth on me any way I can have it.”
A low, appreciative growl reverberates through my chest. “Such a good fucking girl.” I don’t deny either of us by waiting; I use my thumbs to spread open her pussy lips, and I take a long, languid lick from ass to clit.
Her back bows, hands immediately combing through my hair.
I fucking love when she holds my head like this when I’m going down on her, it reminds me who’s in charge.
Her. Always her.
I use my tongue to tease her clit, alternating between flicks, swirls, and long licks, her hips gyrating against my face. My lips and chin are coated with her arousal, and I can’t get enough of it, but I want to make her see stars, and there’s one surefire way to get her there.
I drag my finger down to her tight little hole, rimming for a moment before slowly sinking it in.
Her walls clench around me, but then she’s relaxing, letting me fuck her with it, twisting my hand every time I enter her.
I lap at her clit while I work to stretch her open, then I’m adding a second.
Sienna moans, and it’s such a sexy sound, so satisfied and blissful.
I love seeing her let go to the things she enjoys, whether it’s fooling around with me, doing a puzzle, or boxing with Kinsey—something she’s done nearly every day since the first time. She’s exploring, she’s living.
“Oh, god, Axel, don’t stop.”
I moan into her wet flesh, not willing to pull back for anything.
I press both fingers in deep, curling them upward, searching for her sweet spot while my lips gently suck her clit into my mouth.
The response is immediate. Legs shaking, back arching, hands digging into the pillow above her head.
Sienna is fairly quiet when she comes, like she’s almost afraid to make too much noise.
But not right now. Her scream probably echoes through the entire clubhouse as the force of her orgasm slams into her.
I lick her through it, keeping my fingers working in a come-hither motion deep inside her.
It seems endless as she cries out, tears leaking from her eyes, but then it starts to ebb slowly, cradling her back to Earth on a gentle wave.
I pull back, leaving her legs falling boneless to the side as I climb up her body, using the back of my hand to wipe away some of the moisture from my mouth. She reaches for me instinctively, her arm wrapping around my torso.
“That was . . . holy shit.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah, Axel. The things you can do with your tongue and what you did with your fingers . . . just. I think you may have to carry me to your bike. I’m sorry if that’s a problem.”
I laugh against the top of her head. “You could never be a problem, and I’ll carry you wherever you want to go, sweetheart.”
Because making you feel good is everything.