Page 11 of Hard as Stone (Stoneheart MC #2)

POPPY

T he ride back to the trailer park is too fast. Not fast in terms of speed. Too fast because the thrum in my chest—the one that started the second he kissed me—is begging for more time, more speed, more him .

As we slow down and turn into the main driveway of the Stoneheart ‘Paradise’ Trailer Park, my arms stay wrapped tight around Axel’s waist, and I press my cheek against his back.

It’s then I realize that this is the first time in weeks I haven’t felt like my head would implode from everything weighing on me.

No permits, no angry Felix breathing down my neck, no passive-aggressive voicemail threats from some bureaucrat named Doug.

Just wind in my hair and the solid warmth of my biker between my thighs and the memory of his mouth on mine.

“Pull up over here,” I murmur in Axel’s ear as we approach my family’s trailer. I don’t want my brothers seeing me climb off the back of his bike in this dress.

Axel nods, slowing to a stop a few trailers down from mine. The engine cuts off, leaving us in silence, broken only by the insistent chirping of crickets and the distant sound of a TV blaring through someone’s open window.

As I swing my leg over to dismount, I wobble slightly, my legs feeling like jelly after the ride. Axel’s hand shoots out to steady me, his touch sending another jolt through my system.

“Easy there, troublemaker,” he says, voice low and gravelly. “You good?”

I nod, not trusting my voice. My whole body is humming, every nerve ending lit up from the ride and that kiss. God, that kiss. I can still taste him on my lips, feel the phantom press of his body against mine.

Axel climbs off the bike, his movements fluid and graceful despite his size. He turns to face me, and even in the dim light, I can see the heat still in his eyes.

“You OK to walk?” he asks, his mouth quirking into a smile. “I can give you a piggyback ride the rest of the way if you need it.”

I shake my head with a laugh. “I’m good. Just need a minute for my legs to remember how to work.”

Axel chuckles, the low rumble sending another shiver through me. “Take your time. I’m in no rush.”

We stand there for a moment, the tension between us thick enough to cut with a knife.

Part of me wants to throw caution to the wind, to grab him by that leather cut and pull him down for another kiss.

But the rational part of my brain—the part that sounds annoyingly like Hugo—is screaming at me to say goodnight and walk away.

“So,” I say, breaking the silence just as a cool breeze rustles through the trees, creating goosebumps on my skin.

“Cold?” He’s already shrugging out of his leather jacket before I can respond.

“A little.”

Axel drapes his jacket over my shoulders, the leather still warm from his body heat. The familiar scent of him envelops me, and I can’t help but burrow deeper into its warmth.

“Better?”

I nod. The jacket is huge on me, the sleeves falling past my fingertips, but it feels like being wrapped in his arms. Safe. Protected. Wanted.

Axel takes in the sight of me in his leather. His hands come up to grip the lapels, tugging me closer until I’m pressed against the solid wall of his chest.

“Christ,” he growls. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me right now, looking like that in my jacket.”

Before I can respond, his mouth is on mine again. But it’s different from the one we shared on his bike—slower, deeper, like he’s trying to consume me a little piece at a time. My hands slide up his chest as I melt against him, all thoughts of caution evaporating the moment our tongues touch.

Axel’s hands roam my back, pulling me impossibly closer as his tongue teases mine. I can feel the hard planes of his body through the thin fabric of my dress, and a small whimper escapes me at the contact. He swallows the sound, deepening the kiss until I’m dizzy with want.

When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing heavily. Axel rests his forehead against mine, his hands still splayed across my back, holding me close.

“I’ll call you,” he growls against my lips.

“Promise?” I don’t want to sound needy, but the word slips out before I can stop it.

He grins in a way that feels dangerous to witness. “Count on it, trouble. Now get inside before I change my mind about this gentleman nonsense.”

I take a step back, reluctantly putting some distance between us. My fingers trail over the smooth leather of Axel’s jacket, savoring its warmth and the lingering scent of him. But as much as I want to keep it wrapped around me, I know I can’t.

“I should probably give this back,” I say, even as my hands clutch the lapels tighter.

Axel shakes his head, his eyes roaming over me appreciatively. “Keep it. Looks better on you anyway.”

“I can’t wear this in there.” I gesture toward my family’s trailer. “As oblivious as my brothers can be sometimes, even they know what it means when a girl comes home wearing a biker’s jacket.”

Axel’s eyes darken, a possessive gleam flickering in their depths. He reaches out, his fingers brushing mine where they clutch the lapels of his jacket. The simple touch sends sparks skittering across my skin.

“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”

I swallow hard, heart racing. The implications are clear—he wants people to know I’m with him. The thought is as thrilling as it is terrifying.

“Axel...” I start, but he cuts me off with another kiss, this one deep and possessive.

His hands slide into my hair, cradling my head as he claims my mouth with a hunger that leaves me feeling as though I’ve forgotten how to breathe.

I melt against him, my fingers clutching at his shirt as I match his passion with my own.

The kiss goes on and on, stealing my breath and my sanity until the only thing I want in this world is to get back on that bike and run away with him, never to return.

“Don’t take it off.” Axel’s breath fans hot against my lips.

My eyes flutter open. The heat in his eyes makes my breath catch. He leans in again, his lips brushing mine softly as he whispers once more, “Don’t. take. it off.”

A shiver runs through me at the possessiveness in his tone. Part of me wants to give in, to keep his jacket wrapped around me like a shield, marking me as his. The leather is warm and comforting and infused with his scent. It feels right, like it belongs on my shoulders.

But another part of me—the part that remembers Hugo’s stone-cold glare when he caught me sneaking in past curfew last summer or Felix’s tirade when I came home with a hickey at nineteen—knows wearing Axel’s jacket inside would be like walking into a storm holding a lightning rod.

My brothers are fiercely protective, relentless even, and while I’ve always handled them with sass and laughter, this feels different.

This feels like inviting trouble I might not be able to manage.

“I can’t keep it on,” I say finally, my voice barely above a whisper as I take a half step back from Axel.

The air between us cools instantly without his body heat against mine, but his hands linger on my arms, grounding me in place.

The possessive gleam in his eyes softens, replaced with something almost tender. Almost.

“All right,” he rumbles. “But you and I both know it won’t stay off for long.”

I swallow hard, trying to ignore the butterflies that erupt in my stomach. His confidence is maddening and magnetic all at once, and I hate how easily he gets under my skin. Steeling myself, I shrug off the jacket carefully, gripping it in one hand as though it’s something fragile.

“You’re awful sure of yourself, Road Captain,” I say, pressing his jacket back into his chest. My attempt at snark falls flat when my fingers linger a moment too long against the warmth of him. The way his lips curve into that knowing smirk tells me I’m not fooling either of us.

He takes the jacket from my hands, his smirk widening into something dangerously close to a grin. “Not sure of myself, just sure of you.”

I roll my eyes, but it does nothing to cover the rush of heat that climbs up my neck. Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I take a deliberate step back. “Goodnight, Axel,” I say in a singsong tone, and spin on my heel before he can see the flush creeping into my cheeks.

The gravel crunches under my boots as I make my way to the trailer, but I can feel his eyes on me the whole time.

It’s like his gaze is a physical thing, heavy and warm, trailing over me with every step.

I know if I turn around, I’ll see him standing there, watching me with that same dark intensity that knocks the wind out of me every time.

So, of course, I turn around.

Sure enough, Axel hasn’t moved. He’s still standing by his bike, his leather jacket slung casually over one shoulder now, watching me with an intensity that makes my insides flutter. He looks like something out of a dream—all dark and dangerous and utterly irresistible.

“Go home and work on your spelling,” I stage whisper as I pause at the corner, my hand resting on the rough bark of the old oak tree that marks the turn to my family’s trailer.

Axel’s deep chuckle carries on the night air. “Sweet dreams, troublemaker,” he calls back softly.

I duck around the corner, listening as Axel’s bike roars to life.

The sound fades as he rides away, leaving me to practically float down the dirt path to our trailer, my lips still buzzing from all his kisses.

I’m halfway up the steps when the porch light flicks on, illuminating my brothers’ faces.

They’re both wearing identical expressions of disapproval that would be comical if I wasn’t about to catch hell.

“Really, Poppy?” Felix’s voice drips with judgment. “A biker?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I try to breeze past them, but Hugo blocks the door.

“We heard his bike.”

“Lots of bikes in Paradise.” I gesture vaguely at the neighborhood. “It’s practically a requirement to live here.”