I’m being unfair if I deny him the chance to be himself.
Only when I’ve seen all of it can I make an informed decision.
I turn and walk toward the door, shoving past it and heading downstairs. Lady is standing in the living area, staring blankly at the television. I know it’s still bothering her, and I can’t say I blame her. I would hate to be in the position she’s in. I walk over, placing a hand on her arm. She jerks and turns to me, forcing a smile.
“What’s the matter, love?”
“I need you to take me to Axel.”
She stares at me. “What for?”
“I have things to sort out, and I need to do it now.”
She sighs. “Sweet, I have direct orders not to let you go. I can’t take you, you know that.”
Dammit.
“Please, Lady, this is important to me.”
She looks sorry. “I’m afraid I can’t, I’m sorry.”
She’s not going to take me, which means I need to find another way. I plant a fake smile on my face, and nod. “I understand, I’m sorry. I’ll just call him.”
“Give him a little time. He’ll come to you.”
She’s wrong, but I don’t tell her that. “I hope so,” I say in a timid voice.
“You should get some rest. You must be exhausted.”
At her words, my body tingles with warmth. I know I need to rest, and I know the better time to go to Axel is at night. I’m safer if I go at night. So, I hug her, and head back up the stairs. When I reach my room, I close and lock the door behind me. I change into a pair of panties and a long shirt, and then I climb into bed, feeling my body ache with exhaustion.
Within minutes, I’m out.
When the sun begins to set that night, I decide it’s time to find a way to get out of here and to Axel. Lady is resting right now, but I know I can’t walk past her, or she’ll hear me. I remember Axel climbing through my window, and decide it may be the only way I can get out without raising alarm. I walk over, staring down. It’s only one story, and if I do it right, she shouldn’t hear me.
Deciding this is my only option, I pull on some jeans and a tank, then I throw my hoodie on, and my best pair of sneakers. I have to prep myself to get the guts to climb out that window, but I think of Axel, and I know it’s something that has to be done.
It takes me a solid ten minutes to get down without making noise, and I come close to slipping at least four times. By the time I reach the bottom, my heart is pounding, and a fine trickle of sweat is running down my face.
God.
I turn and quickly rush down the driveway. It’s getting darker by the minute, and a cool air is whipping across my skin. I wrap my hoodie around myself, and keep running. When I reach the road, I head the right direction back into town.
It takes me forty-five minutes to flag down a car. It’s an old woman that pulls over, and she seems to take pity on me because she goes out of her way to turn around and take me where I need to go.
“What’s a girl like you doing out on your own?” she asks, just as we get into the city.
“I got a bit lost after a party,” I lie.
“Young girls these days.” She shakes her head. “I never went to parties when I was young.”
I smile, but it’s forced.
“Where do you need to go, love?”
I give her that address and her eyes widen. “Isn’t that a biker lot?”
“My...father is there.”
“You shouldn’t be hanging around with them. They’re scoundrels, the lot of them.”
I don’t bother arguing with her.
“I just need to get my dad, that’s all.”
The minute we arrive at the Angels compound, I jump out of the car, quickly thanking the woman before she has a chance to argue with me, then I run through the open gates. I’m surprised they’re open, but it makes sense as soon as I get to the front door of the clubhouse, and I hear the pounding music coming through the door. They’re having a party.
I open the front door, and step inside. The scene before me has my head spinning. There are men and women everywhere, and the brothers are all up in the women. Some of them are having lap dances, others have their women bent over the bar, driving into them like mad men. Well then, I guess this is the real side to an MC club. I shake my head, and push my way through the people, looking for Axel.
“Meadow?”
I hear Colt’s voice, and turn. He smiles down at me, taking my shoulders. “What are you doin’ here?”
“I came to see Axel.”
He frowns. “Aren’t you meant to be with Lady Matilda?”
“It’s a long story. Is he here?”
His eyes grow a little hard. “He’s...busy.”
“Busy?” I say loudly, so he can hear me over he music.
“Meadow...he’s...ah...got someone with him.”
My blood turns to ice, and I feel my fists clench. “He what?”
“Look, I don’t think tonight is the right time for you to be here...”
I roll my eyes. “Do you think this shit shocks me?” I mutter, waving my hands around, indicating the room in general.
He looks confused. “I thought...”
“Look, just tell me where he is...please Colt?”
He sighs loudly, and rubs his forehead with the palm of his hand. “He’s in his office.”
I shove past him, and rush toward the hall. I don’t know what I’m going to find when I go into Axel’s office, but I have to go in. I push past a couple fucking against a wall, and only once I’m past do I recognize that it was Jax, and one of the whores. Nice. I get to Axel’s door, and I don’t wait, I just swing it open. The first thing I see is the blonde-headed girl on his lap. She’s got hair halfway down her back, and she’s wearing nothing but a thong.
She’s grinding against him, shoving her big fakies in his face. He’s got his hands on her hips, but I can’t see his face. My heart beats wildly, and I want to be sick, but I step in further, slamming the door loudly behind me. Axel jerks, and his head whips around the girl. His eyes lock directly onto mine. His entire body stiffens, and we hold eye contact for the longest moment. I see a challenge in his eyes, and I imagine he can also see it in mine.
The girl doesn’t stop giving him a lap dance. She doesn’t even notice I’m there.
She’s probably off her face.
“You said I didn’t want to know what you are, that I wouldn’t like it, but you haven’t given me the chance to find out. So, here I am. I want to know, Axel,” I say, my voice stern and determined.
I spot the handcuffs on his desk, and I lean over, taking them, and holding them up. I keep my eyes locked on his as I snap them on my wrists, binding my own hands in front of me. “Show me.”
His body stiffens, and his eyes fill with lust and need. He searches my face, to see if I’m for real about this.
“I’m not walking out of here, so you either throw that whore off your lap, and give me what I want, or I’ll walk out, and I’ll never come back. You choose, Axel.”
His jaw ticks, and he growls to the girl. “Get the fuck out.”
She frowns, turns her head, and shoots me an icy glare. “But Pres...”
“You heard me,” he snarls at her, not taking his eyes from mine. “Get the fuck out.”
She gets off his lap and without putting her shirt on she walks past me, and out the door, slamming it loudly behind her. Axel doesn’t move from his chair, but his eyes are filled with something deadly, something terrifying that has my body spiking with need.
“You want to give me what I want?” he says in a gravelly tone.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“You fuckin’ sure about that?”
“We’ve been dancing around this for long enough. Show me what you are, and I can decide if it’s something I want in my life.”