Axel (Ride Series Book 3) (13 page)

And I did.

I brushed everything aside and I gave him a mock thrust to the groin, shove to the throat and rolled us so I straddled him.

He looked up at me with pride lighting his normally somber face. “Good job, baby,” he grinned.

I sagged into him, not caring we were both covered in sweat. I laid my body down on top of his, my face buried in his neck, breathing in his richly masculine scent. “Thanks,” I murmured.

His arms came up around me, caging me in the most delicious way, rewarding me for challenging myself by offering me what I’d needed all along…comfort in its purest form. Our bodies pressed together like this in any other situation would have set every synapse I had on fire, but hot and sweaty on the gym floor as we were, it just offered calm and safety.

“You did good,” he whispered in my ear.

“Thanks,” I sighed.

We laid there for an indeterminable amount of time against the blue mat in the nearly empty gym, the sound of treadmills droning in the distance the only sound.

“Let’s go get our little man,” he suggested, sitting up with me still plastered to his front. Mad had been with his Auntie Kat for the morning. We had so much help with Maddox; it was amazing.

I reluctantly pried myself away, moving to stand and straighten myself. “Yeah,” I agreed.

“Here,” he said, handing me my long since discarded shirt.

“I’m still so hot. I’m just headed to the showers anyway.” I wrinkled my brow.

His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. “You’re not walking through the gym like that. Put it on,” he ordered.

“Fine,” I huffed, snatching it out of his hand and pulling it over my head. “Put this on then,” I challenged with a raised brow, handing him his own shirt. If I had to cover up, then he did too.

He rolled his eyes but took the shirt from me, yanking it down over his head. “Happy?”

“Thrilled.” I grinned as his phone rang.

“Hey, Ry,” he greeted his brother, his eyes trained on me. I watched his brow crease before his expression grew hard. “No, I’ve got Soph, but I’ll take care of it.” He paused for a minute, his stance tense. “No, Ry, I got it. Call you later.”

“What is it?” I asked quietly after he ended the call.

“Some shit with my ma,” he grumbled. “I’ll drop you at Sal’s and head out for a while,” he told me.

I studied him for a moment, taking in his guarded expression and stiff posture. I knew his childhood had been dysfunctional at best. Aside from that, I didn’t know much. He was always protecting everyone else, even his brother. I wanted him to know he could rely on me to do the same for him.

“I want to come,” I replied firmly.

“What? No.” He shook his head as he stalked past me.

“Kat will watch Mad a while longer,” I grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face me. “Let me come, please, babe,” I practically pleaded.

His hand went to the back of his neck in a gesture I recognized as stress. “Why?” he asked, seeming positively bewildered by my request. “It’ll be a total shit situation. I can pretty much guarantee that.”

“That’s why I want to come,” I explained gently.

We regarded each other for a moment in a battle of wills before he sighed. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Deal,” I agreed, trying not to tap dance in satisfaction that I’d won this round. We’d both be better for it; I could feel it.

We rode for a good thirty minutes, passing the club on our way out of town. I loved being on the back of his bike, the motor humming beneath me and the wind whipping through my hair.

We entered a part of Nevada I’d yet to see. The area grew more remote as we sped along the highway, pulling off along a long dirt road.

The dilapidated houses I caught glimpses of fought with the desert for survival against the intensity of the sun. The bike slowed as we pulled onto a dusty drive that led to a small single-story house. It must have been yellow at one time but the paint had long since faded with the power of the sun. The front yard was littered with weeds, a bit of trash and a lone garden gnome.

It was the saddest goddamned gnome I’d ever seen, despite his tenacious smile.

“Wait here,” Axel growled, clearly not pleased I’d practically demanded I come along.

He swung off the bike, stalking toward the tiny house, practically swinging the front door from its hinges as he pushed his way inside.

I got off the bike, removed my helmet and eyed the house with morbid curiosity.

Was this where he’d grown up? The thought made my heart clench.

I sat, leaning against the bike for what felt like forever with the sun beating down on me.

I heard some sort of commotion inside that sounded like breaking glass and immediately grew concerned. I hadn’t come along to be kept at arm’s length and decided I’d given him enough time before I joined him.

All I could hear from the front stoop was a low grunt of effort and what sounded like a quiet murmur. It didn’t sound like any sort of struggle or imminent danger so I pulled the screen door open, the creaking sound echoing through the vastness of the desert at my back.

“Ax?” I called softly.

“Back to the bike, Soph,” he grunted with impatience, sounding like he was trying to carry something heavy.

“Let me help,” I said, bravely entering the house. Immediately, the stench of vomit filled my nose and I recoiled. It was both fresh and stale making for a stomach churning combination. I stood in a tiny living room that was surprisingly neat with two couches and a small coffee table filling the space. The pictures on the mantel caught my eye, a young clean-shaven Axel smiling in what looked like a high school photograph. Beside it, an even younger looking Ryker.

I heard another noise from down the hall and rushed to help. When I came to the first bedroom on the right, I stopped short.

Axel was trying to haul an older, very drunk woman into bed. I was frozen for only a moment; such was my shock that this formidable, nearly invincible appearing man came from someone so fragile.

She groaned and mumbled something incoherent as he got her top half onto the bed with a grunt of effort. She was dead weight and it made her harder to handle from the way she seemed to come out of unconsciousness to struggle.

I didn’t say a word. I moved into the room and lifted her legs as he carried her upper body, helping to lift her on to the bed.

He looked at me with surprise and then anger before muttering something unintelligible.

“I’m fine, honey,” she was mumbling over and over, shaking her head against the pillow. Then she appeared to notice me through her drunken haze. “Who’re you?” she slurred, looking at me through bleary eyes.

I looked to Axel wondering how he’d want to answer that.

“She’s my girl, Ma,” he responded impatiently.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” I answered awkwardly, my eyes darting to Axel’s and offering what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Ma’am,” she sighed, throwing her head back against the pillow. “I like her, Axel,” she laughed to herself. “It’s ‘bout time you settled down.”

“Ma,” he sighed in exasperation, all while stroking her hair back from her forehead with a tenderness that made my heart hurt.

Then with a sudden groan, she leaned over and threw up all over the side of the bed missing Axel’s boots by inches as he jerked back.

“Fuck,” he muttered, looking up to the ceiling as though searching for divine intervention. His lack of surprise made it clear this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

“I drank too much,” his mother groaned.

“Ya think?” Axel grumbled, seeming unclear where to start with the mess.

I darted from the room on a mission. I found the bathroom, a washcloth and a glass of water.

When I returned, I moved to the side of the bed that didn’t have fresh vomit on it and sat carefully on its edge. I wiped her slack mouth with the washcloth and tried to coax her up to drink some water.

“Did I throw up on you?” she asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

“No,” I replied quietly with a small shake of my head.

She threw her head back and sighed. “That’s good.”

I looked over to Axel who still hadn’t looked me in the eye.

“I’ll get a trash can,” I murmured rising from my seat on the bed.

He grabbed hold of my arm as I moved to pass him. “You are not cleaning up my ma’s puke. Go outside and sit your ass on the bike,” he growled.

I looked at his grip on my arm and then up to his eyes that were filled with too many emotions to name. But I recognized one, shame. I wasn’t about to let him feel embarrassed about this. Not with me.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” I replied quietly. “I know something about having parents you’re not proud of,” I murmured, looking over at his mother who was now completely passed out, with her mouth hanging open. “I’m going to help you get this cleaned up. I know you’d do the same for me,” I added with conviction.

He looked at me intently for a few moments before he swallowed audibly. “Fine,” he groused as though it pained him to give in, again.

Together, we cleaned up the room relatively quickly. Once done in the bedroom, I started on the dishes in the sink. The house wasn’t in that bad a shape given the circumstances. I had a million questions about how often she drank like this, what she’d been like when the boys were young, but I held my tongue, sensing it wasn’t the time.

“Come on, Soph, we’ve been here long enough,” he grumbled from behind me as I was drying one of the plates I’d washed.

I nodded in understanding that he’d want to get out of there. “Is she…” my voice trailed off as I looked toward the bedroom down the hall. “Will she be okay by herself?”

He snorted. “She’ll sleep it off like she always does.”

“Okay,” I replied, watching his jerky movements as he shoved his jacket on. He was well and truly pissed off.

“I’ll drop you home,” his deep voice rumbled as I followed him outside the house.

I eyed him steadily for a moment, trying not to be deterred by his curtness.

“You don’t want to eat?” I asked lightly, following his long, angry strides to his bike. It was well past lunch and I was starving. We had some time yet; Kat had texted not long ago saying Mad was down for a nap.

Aggravated, he rubbed his hand through his hair and looked off to the side, helmet in hand. “My ma always puts me in a shit mood. I should just drop you home. Take care of some shit,” he shrugged. I didn’t miss the inference that said ‘shit’ would be done alone.

He was trying to protect me like he always did, even from himself.

I snorted. “When are you not in a shit mood?” I teased. “You’re like a growling bear half the time but somehow I still love you,” I smiled before realizing what I’d said.

His demeanor shifted entirely from something foreboding to a different kind of intensity altogether. He moved into my space, his large hands cupping both sides of my face. “What did you just say?” his voice was a hoarse murmur as his thumbs traced the outline of my lips.

“You heard me,” I whispered.

“I want to hear it again,” he growled. “So I can say it back,” he added, his words making my heart pound.

“I love you,” I repeated, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“And I love you, baby,” he replied, his full lips covering mine. “You couldn’t have picked a better day to tell me that,” he said between kisses.

I pulled back slightly, looking up into his face. “I’m glad. Because you know, if anyone knows we’re not defined by who we came from, it’s me,” I assured him.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “I know. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

I nodded as he took my hand, leading me to his bike. “I’m starving. I’ll even eat Mariachi’s.” I wrinkled my nose and he chuckled.

“Shit, you must really be hungry. All right, darlin’, hop up.” He nodded with a grin that warmed me from the inside out.

I wrapped myself around him as we roared off, giving him my support by holding him close as we put his past behind us, kicking up dust as we barreled toward our future.

Chapter 13

“W
hat’re we havin’?” Ryker asked enthusiastically, already poking through the Chinese takeout we’d picked up for a late dinner. I seriously needed to learn how to cook. We ate take out entirely too much. He’d let himself in as we were getting ready to eat. Rather than be annoyed that Ry had a key, I thought it was sort of sweet.

“We’re not having anything,” Axel retorted, tossing a bottle cap at Ryker when he’d begun rummaging.

I laughed at the brothers’ antics and got Ry a plate. “Geez, at least someone is nice to me around here,” Ry winked, dropping a swift kiss to my temple.

“I think we’re going to watch something if you want to hang out, Ry,” I offered, plopping on one of the two huge sofas that made up the living room.

“Thanks, sis, but I got plans,” he replied, stuffing a huge bite of chow Mein in his mouth.

Ryker usually had ‘plans’ and they usually involved a woman. Lots of women.

“Uh huh,” I nodded with a lifted brow.

“You got that run for Cole tomorrow, bro,” Axel reminded him gruffly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryker mumbled, scooping Mad up from his play mat and making a ridiculous face at him. He always had Maddox giggling.

“Say good night to Mad,” I smiled, taking Maddox out of his uncle’s arms.

“Night, bud,” Ry replied.

“Night, little man,” Axel added, coming over to move his large hand over Mad’s head and back.

I took my time putting Maddox down, giving the two brothers some time to talk. I could tell Axel had more to say and probably didn’t want to reprimand Ry in front of me.

When I headed back out to the living room, Ryker was on his way out. “Thanks for the grub.” He shot me a chin lift, his mouth still full of food.

“Have fun, Ry,” I waved.

We soon heard the boom of his bike and its resonating rumble as it took off down the road.

“He can be such a little shit,” Axel shook his head, though his tone held no anger.

I continued to eat without reply, knowing he wasn’t really expecting one.

“Mad go down okay?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“He might sleep a little better with a real crib in there,” he hinted.