My parents’ house was just twenty minutes from the farm. Twenty minutes was the only distance that kept me from my mother. Since I’d gotten a letter from my aunt a few years ago, letting me know that my father had passed away—well after he had been buried because my mother hadn’t cared to let me know, this was the closest as I’d come to any contact with any of my family members.
My gut churned at the thought of the cold, nasty bitch that had raised me. Or so she had told me countless times growing up. She hadn’t had much interaction in the process of parenting me, other than to look down her nose at how I wanted to live my life. It had been left up to the two nannies and the housekeeper to take care of me from the day I was born until I was old enough to fend for myself. After that the housekeeper had been the only one to care if I ate enough, came home at a decent hour, or even went to school. My mother had only cared if I was embarrassing her and the family name.
Anthony Xavier Huntington was not supposed to be running around with piercings, tattoos, and wanting to rule to rock world. He was supposed to go to law school, take over the family business, and marry a respectable girl that Sharon Huntington approved of. So when my eighteenth birthday came around, I’d done what would piss Sharon Huntington off the most: changed my name, dyed my hair, got my first tattoo, my first piercing, and joined OtherWorld. Anthony Xavier Huntington became Axton Cage. ‘Cage’ because I was finally out of the fucking cage my mother had tried to keep me in.
At the time, my father had simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head with a grin on his face. I was nothing like him, but that hadn’t mattered to him. I reminded him of the only person he had ever really cared about—his sister, Tink. Tink, or Tammy as my mother had always insisted on calling her, was one in a million and the only saving grace in my life until I met Emmie. Tink had enrolled me in my first music lesson, and had supported and encouraged me when we realized that I was a musical prodigy. For about ten seconds my mother had supported it too, until she realized that I didn’t want to go to Julliard, instead wanting to make my own path in the rock world.
Julliard was respectable. Becoming a rock star, not so much.
When I had joined OtherWorld, taking over for the vocalist who had left because of some bullshit reason, my mother’s head had nearly exploded with rage. When I told her that we were being signed by one of the most popular managers in the music world, she’d completely disowned me. It hadn’t bothered me. You could seriously get frost bite being too close to Sharon Huntington for very long. But I did regret having to say goodbye to my father and my aunt. My father might not have been the best dad, but he hadn’t been the worst. And my aunt Tink had loved me in her own way, seeing as her only real love was horses.
Lifting my beer, I took a long swallow and glared out into the distance. Everyone who knew me knew that I hated being here, so they knew that I was only here for one reason and one reason only. Dallas. Nothing, abso-fucking-lutely nothing else would have brought me here. The need to be close to her, to breathe in her scent, to hear the sound of her voice and the adorable way she constantly dropped her g’s outweighed this constant itching inside to get away from here.
Blowing out a frustrated sigh, I watched my breath fog in the cold night air. Dallas hadn’t been here three hours and I was already about to blow my top with jealousy over Liam. Damn. I knew that she had to help him, it was why she was here after all. But why the fuck did she have to help him shower? Why did she have to be the one to see him naked? Couldn’t Linc do that?
The only man she needed to see without his clothes on was me.
Behind me the front door opened and just as quickly closed. I kept my eyes on the dark horizon as I felt Wroth sit down in the chair beside me. He had a beer of his own that he set down on the small round table between us. For a good fifteen minutes we just sat there, both of us freezing our asses off, but not seeming to care.
When Wroth finally spoke, the sound of his voice made me jump a little because I hadn’t been expecting it. Wroth’s voice was the deepest voice I had ever heard in my life. Full of gravel and slightly husky, he sometimes scared little kids with it, but it seemed to drive women crazy. He didn’t speak often, and he sure as hell didn’t sing backup in the band. But give the man a guitar and he could make you weep with the pure beauty of the music he made. Between Wroth and Drake, it would be hard to decide who played better because they could both shred like kings. For me, Drake would always be like a brother, but Wroth would always be the man I picked as my bandmate.
“You eat dinner?”
“Nah, man. I’m not hungry.” I lifted my beer to my lips and took another swallow, wishing not for the first time that it was a Corona instead of the brown bottle labels that Wroth seemed to favor so much.
“Dallas, or your ma?”
I shrugged. “A little of both.”
Wroth nodded but didn’t say anything else. That’s what I loved about Wroth so much. Normally he was a man of few words. We sat there in companionable silence until both our beers were gone. When Wroth had drained his, he grumbled a good night and went back inside. I figured that we would be doing that for the duration of our stay at the farm. Wroth didn’t like to drink in front of Marissa so he always drank his beer on the porch.
The tip of my nose was numb and a glance at my iPhone screen told me that it was nearly eleven, but I wasn’t ready to go inside yet. Zipping my parka closed a little more, I stuffed my hands into the pockets and leaned back in the chair.
How long I sat there, trying to empty my mind of all the bullshit that was crowded in my brain, I couldn’t tell. Despite the cold of the January night and the snowflakes slowly adding to what was already on the ground, I was comfortable, and my eyes started to drift closed…
“Ax...?” Warm hands touched my face and I jerked awake. My eyes blinked open and I met a beautiful, clear-blue gaze in the dim lighting coming from the porch light.
Without thinking about it my hands came out of my pockets and covered hers. I expected her to roll her eyes in annoyance, but all that was on her face was concern. “Are you okay?”
“If I say no, will you play nurse for me?” She did roll her eyes at me then, but she didn’t back up. Taking advantage, I turned my head and kissed the softness of her palm. The small hitch in her breathing would have had my dick rock hard if I weren’t so cold at the moment. When she started to take a step back, I tightened my hands on hers and pulled her down onto my lap. “I’m freezing, baby. Will you warm me up?”
“No, Ax…” she protested, but she wasn’t trying very hard to get away as I freed one of my hands to tangle it in her hair. My name was still on her lips as I stole the first kiss.
The moment that I got a taste of her mouth—minty with just a hint of something deliciously exotic—my body said fuck the cold and hardened. Dallas’s mouth was intoxicating and all I wanted was to drink my fill. She remained unmoving in my arms until I nipped at her bottom lip, causing her to gasp in delight. Yeah, I still knew what made my girl feel good.
Her warm hands felt scalding as she wrapped them around my neck, holding on as I deepened the kiss. When my hands developed a mind of their own, wanting to explore the body that was made solely for me, I quickly got them back under control. There was no denying the fact that all I wanted was to be balls deep in her sweet, hot pussy right then, but that wasn’t going to get me what I really wanted in the end.
I was going to have to take it slow and steady with Dallas this time around or face losing her completely. So for now, I just wanted to kiss her. I savored every inch of her mouth, every crease in her lips. Every moan that escaped her I stored away for later.
When her hands drifted down over my chest and inside my coat, I felt her tremble. Pulling back I realized that she was just in a hoodie and pajama pants. “Baby, you’re gonna freeze.”
“Kiss me some more,” she whispered.
I didn’t want to deny her. I quickly unzipped my parka and pulled her close before zipping it back
up. Fuck yeah, I could get used to this. Her arms were around my waist and her head on my shoulder. Her face angled up, ready for more of my kiss. Groaning I dived inside the hot recesses of her perfect mouth.
The kiss went on and on and on. It might have lasted all night if the porch light hadn’t suddenly gone out. I realized that it was Wroth letting me know that he figured I’d been outside a little too long and would be coming out to check on me any minute. With a sigh I reluctantly pulled back and pressed my forehead against hers.
We were both panting, our bodies screaming out for more than just damn kisses. Her lower body was rocking against mine, trying to seek some kind of relief from the need I’d awakened in her. “We should go in.”
Dallas nodded, but didn’t try to move. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you gonna hate me again in a few minutes?” I couldn’t help but ask, needing to know.
She stiffened and began to pull away. Her face was cloudy and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking since the lights were now off. “I wish I could hate you, Axton. It would make my life so much easier.”
“Baby…”
“I need to check on Liam. Please unzip us so I can get up.”
I didn’t want to let her go, but knew that trying to push her to talk when she wasn’t ready would only set us back even more. With a sigh I unzipped my parka and she hastily got up. With my dick trying to burst through the zipper of my jeans, it took me a little longer to get up without hurting myself in the process. By the time I was on my feet she was at the front door, but she didn’t go in right away.
Needing to touch her one more time tonight, I moved in behind her, trapping her between the door and my aching body. But she had her hand on the doorknob, so she could get away from me whenever she wanted. If she wanted…
“I miss you every damn second I’m not with you,” I breathed against her ear, making her shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. “There is no one—not one fucking person—that makes me feel what you do… Remember that, Dallas. Always remember that.” Reaching around her I covered her hand and opened the door. With a little nudge she entered the house.
Warm air against my cold face made me grimace as it caused more pain than pleasure. My hand was still at the small of her back. She didn’t take more than a few steps in to the house before stopping. She didn’t say a word, just stood there as if waiting for me.
“Baby?” I moved her hair so that I could kiss the back of her neck, right on her newest tattoo. “Are you okay?” I’d expected her to rush off to Liam’s room as soon as we were inside.
“One more kiss.”
I would cut out my own heart before denying her anything as simple as a kiss. Wrapping her long blonde hair around my wrist, I turned her and let my lips skim over her bottom lip. When her mouth parted on a small whimper, I sucked it deep, making her moan in pleasure. Without thinking, I backed her against the wall, pressing my aching body against hers. As hard as I was I knew that my resolve to keep this to just kissing was going to fade fast.
Someone clearing their throat from the family room down the hall pulled us both back from the brink of insanity and I finally stepped away from her. Her lips were swollen from my kisses, her hair a mussed-up sexy mess. When those blue eyes, glazed with so much passion, met mine I nearly said to hell with it, wanting to be as deep inside of her that neither of us knew where one began and the other ended. Somehow I found the will to keep my hands at my side.
“Good night, baby.”
Dallas didn’t say anything, just moved past me and down the hall toward Liam’s room.
Knowing I wouldn’t get any sleep any time soon, I went up to my room and took a long shower. I had to jerk off twice before my body calmed down enough that I felt I wasn’t going to hurt myself if I rolled over in my sleep.
As I finally laid my head on my pillow, there was a smile on my lips for the first time since Shane and Harper’s wedding. I was proud of myself for taking things slow.
Now, if I could just keep it slow, I figured I could get my girl where I wanted her. Back in my arms, in my bed… In my life forever.
Dallas
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I wasn’t sure if I said the words out loud or not, but I knew that they kept screaming in my head. I was so stupid. So weak. So fucking easy. All tonight proved was that all Axton Cage had to do was cock his finger—and damn it, even his fingers were sexy—and I came panting and wet for him. I should have just let him freeze to death instead of waking him up.
But I had been worried about him. What had kept him outside all evening? Yeah, I’d noticed and mentally yelled at myself for noticing. When Wroth had come inside I’d started getting anxious when Axton hadn’t come with him. It was in the thirties outside and just barely snowing, which meant that the temperature was dropping. So I’d finally talked myself into going out to check on him.
Ten seconds later I was letting him devour my mouth. My protests had been pathetically weak and hadn’t lasted more than a moment before I was giving in and kissing him back just as greedily. Why did his mouth have to taste so good? Why did his hands have to feel so perfect on my skin?
When it was all over, I still wanted more, and nearly begged for another kiss. If he had denied me, I might have died with embarrassment. I’d never begged for anything in my life and I sure as hell wasn’t going to start with the man who could cripple me emotionally all over again.
Now, with my body still aching with a need that only he could satisfy, I made sure that Liam was sleeping peacefully before going up to my room. I’d showered earlier, but I was so wet from Axton’s kisses that I felt like I needed another one.
Stripping, I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up. A cold shower wasn’t going to ease the painful need inside of me so I wasn’t going to torture myself with the icy water. I pulled my hair up into a tight bun on top of my head and stepped in. The shower itself was huge, with a bench you could sit on and just let the water flow over you. The showerhead was detachable and I grabbed it, turning it to the most forceful flow before dropping down onto the bench.
I started with my shoulders, just letting the water run over me. As droplets dripped from my nipples, I rubbed the dampness in, not bothering to smother the moan that escaped me from my soft touch. With a sigh I leaned my head back against the tiled wall and closed my eyes. I knew that this wasn’t going to do the job completely, but fuck. I needed something to help me or I wasn’t going to get to sleep anytime that night.
The warm water rushed over my flat stomach, making the little red ball charm on my belly button ring jingle softly like a bell. Harper had sent me the charm as a Christmas present, and I hadn’t taken it out since I’d received it. My best friend, however, was not on my mind as I lifted my legs onto the bench and spread my thighs as wide as they would go.
Axton loved it when I was this open for him. His lean hips would fit just right, while he would ease his thick, long cock inside of me. No matter how crazy we were for each other, he always went slow the first time he entered me. I would feel every hot, pulsing inch of him as he fed his cock into me. When he was as deep as he could go, when his tip was touching my cervix and making me burn with a need that would start to consume every fiber inside and out, he would just wait. Every damn time, he would wait until I opened my eyes and looked up at him.
“Do you want me?”
How could he not know I wanted him? I was dripping wet, practically gushing around his shaft. “Yes,” I always told him, because I knew he needed the assertion.
“You feel so fucking good, baby. Tell me how you want it. Fast? Hard? Slow? Gentle? I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Tonight, as I let the memories work as my own form of porn, I wanted it fast and definitely hard. The jets of the showerhead brushed over my swollen clit and I nearly screamed from the pleasure as I remembered how much attention Axton would give that little nub. I could get off on that stimulation alone, but I wanted more. Needed
to be filled up. My fingers were trembling from how worked up I was as I spread the lips of my pussy more and let the pressure of the water do what I so desperately wanted Axton to do.
I wasn’t going to last, which was what I wanted, but at the same time I didn’t want it to end. When I was with Ax, I never wanted our lovemaking to end. When I would feel myself starting to build up toward my release, I would almost panic because I didn’t want him to leave me. I needed him to stay inside of me for as long as humanly possible. Craved the connection with him as much as I craved the explosion that was about to erupt inside me. Axton had always seemed to need the same thing, because there had been plenty of times when he would fall asleep still buried in me. The jets of the showerhead couldn’t give me that, so when my orgasm hit me just as fast and hard as I had wanted, a few tears escaped my tightly closed eyes.
A while later, when my legs had stopped trembling from the force of my release, I crawled into bed and pulled my extra pillow against my chest. When we were outside, Axton had asked me if I was going to hate him later. I’d given him the only answer I could. I might spew all kinds of hate-filled venom at the man but, sadly, I couldn’t hate him like I wanted to.
Maybe if I hated him I wouldn’t have felt so hollow right then, wanting Axton in bed beside me. He might not have been my first lover, but he had been the first man to ever spend the night with me. I couldn’t handle too much physical contact because my mother had drilled it into my head that it was never something that was good. She had never hugged me, never touched me unless it was to take a brush to the parts of my body that couldn’t see the welts and bruises when I did something wrong in her eyes. With Axton, my anxiety over being hugged or cuddled hadn’t even reared its head.
The sound of my text message chime going off made me jump and I reached for my phone that I’d plugged into my charger a few hours ago.