Page 36 of Axel (Belles & Bratva Beasts #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

RUBY

“What do you mean we’re staying another week?” I spew baklava flakes, challenging Scarlett, “We fly to Bali tomorrow.”

“Change of plans. We stay in Greece,” Scarlett answers, rubbing her belly under our dinner table, and I raise an eyebrow.

“Fine by me,” Rose chimes in. “I met a lipstick last night. She’s staying here all week and wants to smash, so I’m here for it.”

“And that DJ is swole and giving me life.” Cherry elbows Rose. “Think I can pull him?”

“He’s totally DTF,” Rose answers, and Scarlett cuts me a confused look.

It’s like our little sisters are speaking a foreign language, but I’m so used to Rose and Cherry, I translate, “Rose found a femme pussy that wants to play and Cherry wants to spin on muscular DJ dick.”

Nick and Zar laugh, but I clock how they’re too relaxed, when I know Zar was excited about Bali. It’ s like they’re behind this change of plans, and once they got Scarlett on board, I bet it was a done deal.

Usually, Scarlett would be like me, stubborn and fearless. We’d be in Bali tomorrow, so…?

I catch Zar sneaking a look at Scarlett. They’ve grown so close subbing for Luca, and…

“Oh, my god,” I huff, my detective brain sounding the alarm. “He didn’t. ”

“He did.” Scarlett doesn’t lie to me. “Michael Cummings asked to meet with Luca and me, and he brought his friend, Sire Rutledge. And I don’t know what kind of dangerous shit you’re into at work, but I know that your boss is in love with you and asked us to protect you.”

Axel went behind my back and risked exposing his true identity to meet with my family about my safety?

That’s how much he cares?

That’s how much danger I’m in?

It’s my turn to cut Nick a secret look, and like an ex-Bratva prince, he subtly nods back, confirming my deadly suspicion.

My sisters can know about some of my new life, but not all of it. I understand, but I’m not used to lying to them—not ever—and it’s awkward. My silence hangs heavy in the summer air.

“So, we stay here.” Zar saves me. “Tomorrow, we’ll sail to Delos on a day trip. The next day, Santorini and…”

Zar makes the most of Axel’s command that we stay here in Greece, where he, Nick, and Scarlett can keep me safe.

The old me would feel trapped and angry. I’d want to run.

The new me feels … like I wish Axel were here.

But I make the most of it, too. After dessert, we go up to Luca’s lavish penthouse suite with five bedrooms, and I disappear into mine to change for the club.

Even with the sun down for hours, the nights are warm, and the dance floor is hot.

I tie the halter top of my white, gauzy minidress in place.

It’s paper-thin and toga-style, but I don’t bother with heels.

The dancefloor is smooth, with wooden planks scattered with occasional sand, and perfect for dancing barefoot until dawn.

For hours, we do. Dancing replaces my morning runs, relieving my stress. I smile with sweaty bodies pressed against mine.

I love seeing Rose happy and dancing with a hot brunette. Cherry is flirting with the DJ. He’s invited her to stand with him, showing off his deck of mixers.

Scarlett lounges in the VIP section, catching up with Luca’s security team. She’s not drinking. She’s not dancing. I know my sister is pregnant, and I love her. I understand her fears. I’ll let her tell me when she’s ready.

Nick and Zar dance beside me. They’re drinking. I’m chugging water. They muscle all the men away from me while I laugh, rolling my eyes at their protection.

The DJ drops a new beat. It’s erotica electronica, and what the Mykonos Mercier with its hedonistic vibe is known for. It’s all primal tension building into a euphoric climax, like a musical orgasm for a hundred people.

Half-naked bodies—sweating perfume, cologne, and musk—writhe around me. Couples kiss. Groups touch. Solo dancers get lost in the carnal rhythm.

Closing my eyes, I feel the visceral beat, all the way to my lonely, wet core, and all I can think about is Axel.

I wrap my arms around my waist, like he did every night. My nipples pebble, missing his touch. My sex tingles, like he’s near, but I’m shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers.

I’m surrounded and happy, though my heart aches alone. I’m in love for the first time, and it doesn’t scare me. This raw, new mix of emotions keeps me company while everyone seems to have someone, but I don’t. I feel so much, as if Axel’s here with me, but … he’s not.

It’s how I’ve felt every night, dancing alone, and?—

A granite body crashes against my back, strong arms suddenly capturing me, trapping me and I gasp, trying to twist to smack the shit out of the man. He’s obviously a big, handsy one.

My eyes snap open to see Nick and Zar kissing and not paying attention while I’m being mauled on the dance floor.

“Fuck off, you piece of?—”

“Oh, we’re fucking, Wildfire.” A deep voice steams over my ear. “Trust that I chased you halfway around the globe, and I’m fucking you right here.”

Axel doesn’t let me turn around. He lets me melt into him, happy tears weeping down my cheeks.

I glance down at his corded forearms, bare and covered in ink, seizing me in his embrace. My back, bare in this halter dress, sweats against his naked chest. His muscles are like slick rocks, gliding over my flesh. His erection, thick and threatening, wedges against my ass.

He has to be wearing pants, and I know he always wears shoes, but he’s not wearing a shirt. I can feel it. I can smell his intoxicating aroma—cologne and masculinity—and I glance around to catch eyes turned, admiring his menacing form.

Nick and Zar smirk, like they knew he was coming, and go back to kissing, their tongues dancing together, and proud.

Axel presses his bearded lips to the shell of my ear. “Are you going to be a good girl and obey? Or are you going to fight me? Just know, either way … I’m about to fuck you.”

I could be a good sub and kneel on the dance floor for him.

Or I could be a queen and make him kneel for me.

But I know him. I need him. Axel grinds into me, surprising me with how he can dance, how he’s melding his body against mine, my fire melting with his ice. We’re elemental. One can’t exist without the other. An undeniable attraction of opposites. A sacred alchemy.

He dropped everything. He walked away from his family. He flew in their jet. He gave up hours; he sacrificed all, I know…

To chase me.

“Fuck you,” I hiss, trying to break free from his grasp. “You want a fight? You got one.”

It’s his kink, his primal play.

It’s what he wants, and I do, too.

“Oh, fuck yes, Wildfire.” His hand grabs my throat, squeezing. “Fight me. Scream for me. Bite me while I violate you, while I won’t fucking stop claiming your pussy.” His other arm traps my waist, forcing his erection against my ass. “And don’t forget your safe word.”

My eyes flick up to the VIP section, to Scarlett and her security, two of them leaping to my rescue, but she grabs their arms, reading the look in my eyes. I bet it’s the same one she gets when Luca straps her to his torture tower.

I want this.

I want him.

So she lets it happen.

Rose tries to shove through the crowd to intervene, but Nick grabs her and whispers in her ear while Axel gently chokes me, his body fused to mine. Whatever Nick says makes Rose grin, before she salutes us and returns to her new girlfriend.

Cherry clocks us, too. How I’m in the menacing clutches of a huge, beautiful, inked beast, holding me hostage on the dance floor. How Nick’s not doing shit about it. How Zar’s smiling … and she smiles, too, whispering to her new DJ friend, who glances up and notices our sadistic bond .

Approvingly, he nods, flicking switches on his mixer, and the song changes, thumping into an iconic, unrepentant, lustful, and animalistic grind from the nineties.

“You want to fight me?” Axel’s hand moves from ensnaring my waist to my halter top, stealing inside it to palm my breast, his lips never leaving my ear. “Are you saying you don’t want this, Wildfire?”

He pinches my nipple, his other hand gently choking me, and I sigh, “Fuck you.” I squirm like I’m resisting him, like I want to be free, when really … I’m rubbing my ass against his hard cock.

“Such a good girl, fighting me. This is what you get for being so sexy for me.” He pulls my halter top aside, exposing my breast, my nipple tingling and aroused. “Such a good girl, when you really want to be bad for me, don’t you?” He tugs the gauze aside, baring my other breast, too.

Nudity is normal on Mykonos. Half-exposed bodies surround us. But the way Axel does it to me? It’s lewd, it’s possessive, and perverse, and I love it.

He tugs, pinching my exposed nipples for anyone to watch, and many are. They lick their lips at our display, and the rush of lust between my thighs is instant.

“I’m getting your proud pussy soaking wet, aren’t I?” He taunts, leaving my nipples hard and aching for his touch, before he reaches down my front, his grasp slowly bunching the fabric of my dress up to my waist. “Let’s see what a good girl you can be for me.”

In front of everyone, he plunges his hand into my white lace panties, and I moan.

His other hand still chokes me while he rubs my clit, his lips teasing my ear, “Fight me, Ruby. Fight how wet I’m making your pussy.

We’re doing this right here, for everyone to see how you’re mine no matter how hard you resist me. ”

Desire crashes into me, making me moan and throw my chin up.

Resting my head on his chest, I close my eyes and crane my neck for Axel’s kiss.

I desperately need it while he gets me off.

While he’s exposed my breasts, making them heavy and ache.

While he strums my aching clit in public.

While no one can see it, but all can watch him do it.