DAX

THE THERIOT FAMILY 4

SILVIA VIOLET
 CONTENTS

1. Dax
2. Travis
3. Dax
4. Travis
5. Dax
6. Travis
7. Dax
8. Travis
9. Travis
10. Dax
11. Travis
12. Dax
13. Travis
14. Dax
15. Travis
16. Dax
17. Travis
18. Dax
19. Dax
20. Travis
21. Dax
22. Dax
23. Travis
24. Dax
25. Travis
26. Dax
27. Travis
28. Dax
29. Travis
30. Travis
31. Dax
32. Travis
33. Epilogue

Marchesi Universe Books

About the Author
Also by Silvia Violet
Dax by Silvia Violet

Copyright © 2021 by Silvia Violet

Cover art by Cate Ashwood
Edited by Susie Selva

All Rights Reserved. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Published in the United States of America.

Dax is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the
author’s imagination or are fictionalized. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
 1

DAX

“I can take him home with me. I’ve got plenty of room.” The words
tumbled out before I’d thought them through, but Travis looked so
damn hurt I couldn’t help myself. He’d shown up to save his brother, and he
was afraid he’d be sent away. I couldn’t let that happen.
No matter how much he’d done to hurt Beau, I still remembered Travis as
the sweet boy he’d been when I’d first met him and his brother. I hadn’t
seen Travis in years, though, and he sure as hell wasn’t a boy anymore. He
was all man, all fucking gorgeous man, but I would never take advantage of
that. He was my friend’s little brother, and he had a lot of healing to do. I
would offer him a room and food and absolutely nothing else, no matter
how attractive his shy smile was when he glanced at me.
“You remember Dax, don’t you?” Beau asked. I know you only met him a
few times, but I promise he’s trustworthy.”
I hoped to hell Travis remembered me, and we’d all hung out more than a
few times. Did Beau think Travis had been too young to remember our
earliest meetings?
Travis nodded, then glanced at me. Was I imagining the appreciation in his
eyes? What the hell was that about?
He looked away again and mumbled, “I guess that’s… okay.”
Was he scared of me? Could I really blame him if he was? How much did
he know about the man I’d become? I didn’t want him to be scared, though,
so I decided he thought I lived like my brother. “I have real plumbing and
everything,” I assured him. “I wouldn’t last more than a day with
Ambrose.”
Travis smiled, and I instantly felt better about the whole situation. Beau had
promised him I was trustworthy, and I would show him I was. Beau talked
to his brother like Travis was a wounded animal. I was a monster but not
enough of one to take advantage of someone in Travis’s position. I’d give
him food and shelter like I would anyone in need. That was as far as things
would go. He and Beau had a long way to go to repair their relationship.
Travis had proven himself today, but what did that mean for the future?
Whatever it was, my dick wasn’t going to be involved.
“How did you get here? Do you have a car or anything you need to pick
up?” He was carrying a backpack, but it couldn’t hold much.
“I just have this bag. I borrowed a car. The… um… guy who lent it to me
will pick it up.”
I assumed that meant the car was stolen, but that was the last thing I cared
about.
Travis was mostly silent on the ride to my house, only speaking when I
asked him direct questions like whether the AC was cold enough for him. I
didn’t mind. I wasn’t a person who needed a lot of unnecessary chatter.
When I turned into my driveway, Travis spoke up. “What are we doing
here?” He gestured to the Garden District home in front of us.
“This is my house.”
“Your… No way.”
I put the car in park and looked at him. His eyes were wide, and he was
glancing back and forth between me and the house. “This is your house?”
“Yes. Is that so impossible to believe?”
“I just… I thought someone like you would… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Someone like me? A mobster? A badass? I can’t have a nice house?”
“Nice like a mansion or some shit, yeah, but this is… cute.”
“Fuck right it’s cute, and it’s a bitch to maintain. It was built in 1875, and as
soon as I get one thing fixed, another breaks.”
“So you’re remodeling it?”
I shook my head. “I’m preserving it. If I wanted some modern-ass
abomination, I would have bought one.”
“Couldn’t you… um… hire someone to do the repairs.”
I snorted. “Trust someone else with my place? Trust them not to fuck it up?
No thanks.”
“Okay, now that sounds like you.” He was clearly trying not to laugh.
“Tell me more about what you think of me?”
Travis chewed his lip and stared at me. “I… um…”
What was I thinking? He was scared, and I was putting him on the spot
because I liked that he had an impression of who I was. It told me he did
remember me. I wanted him to know me. “Never mind. Let’s get inside. I’m
starving.”
The tension went out of his shoulders. “Me too.”
I studied him closely. “When did you last eat?”
“Um… yesterday some time. I don’t really know. Beau left me plenty of
food and all, but I… I’ve been”—he ran a hand through his thick wavy hair
—“not feeling so great.”
“Nerves?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“If you need a doctor…”
He shook his head. “No. I… No doctor.”
I’d see that he ate and send him to bed. If he still felt bad after he woke up,
I’d call a doctor to come look at him whether he liked it or not. I wasn’t
going to let him suffer.
“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked as I unlocked my house and
turned off the security system.
Travis didn’t answer. He was looking around the room, open-mouthed.
“This is gorgeous.”
I’d worked damn hard on my house, and I knew it was impressive, but
Travis’s praise made me warm all over, and damn if I didn’t feel a flutter
like butterflies in my stomach. What the hell was wrong with me? Travis
was young and unsure of himself. Why was I nervous?
“No wonder you didn’t want anyone else to work on it. You weren’t
exaggerating when you said you were spending a lot of time. This is
incredible.” He walked around the room, looking at the built-in shelves I’d
redone and the fireplace that—while I never needed it—was still fully
functional. He extended a hand toward a picture on the mantel, then drew it
back.
“You can pick it up. I don’t mind.”
“Is this…”
“Yeah, it’s Uncle Etienne’s cabin, and that’s my grandad as a kid.”
“Wow. I thought that was you, but I couldn’t understand why everything
looked so old-fashioned. I don’t ever remember you wearing overalls, only
your uncle.”
“You probably rarely remember me wearing anything but ripped-up shorts.
I wasn’t much for clothes in those days.”
Travis looked me up and down. He turned away quickly but not before I
saw him blush. Fuck. Why the hell did I mention myself being nearly
naked? “So… um… what do you want for breakfast?”
He shrugged. “Whatever is fine.”
“Travis, what do you want to eat?”
He glanced at me, then looked away again. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”
I imagined what Beau would say to that. The trouble Travis had caused
Beau had landed Beau in prison for years, but my gut told me Travis was
sincere now. My best guess was that Travis was starved for attention, but
he’d never found the right kind. He probably wasn’t used to having choices.
“Right now, I’m hungry enough to eat the grilled nutria Ambrose tries to
push on me,” I said. “Any less grotesque food choice is fine with me. I’ve
got eggs, bacon, sausage—”
His eyes lit up. “Do you have the sausage we would get out in the bayou?
The handmade kind they sold at the little store?”
The wistfulness in his voice made me happier to have a well-stocked
freezer than I’d ever been, even during a hurricane. “I sure do. I try to
always keep some on hand. No other sausage even comes close.”
“I’d like that, please.”
“With eggs? Pancakes?”
“Both?”
“Absolutely.” I’d do whatever I could to see that smile on his face again.
“Do you need anything before I start cooking?”
Travis shook his head.
“Okay. Let me at least show you your room.”
“Oh, I can sleep on the couch. You don’t have to—”
“I have a spare room. It’s fine. Why don’t I show you around so you know
where everything is?”
“You don’t have to. I’ll be leaving once I’ve rested. I really don’t want to be
a burden for you.”
I shook my head. “You will stay here as long as I think you need to.”
Travis sucked in his breath. I was a demanding bastard, but I wasn’t taking
my statement back. He would stay here. He wasn’t safe unless he was with
one of us.
I started his tour in the kitchen, which had a vintage stove and refrigerator.
They weren’t quite as old as the house, but they were from a time when it
had still been in its original state. I’d removed the hideous paint the
previous owner had put on the cabinets and refinished them. Even the
cabinet pulls were authentic. After a lot of searching, I’d finally located
what I wanted at an antique store.
“Wow, this is even more impressive than the living room.”
“Thank you.” I kept my voice gentle, wanting to soothe him so he would
keep telling me what he thought of the house. I was going to savor every
one of his comments. Eventually, he’d ask me something about my life
now, and he’d stop being so impressed with me.
From the kitchen, we entered a tiny room that had originally been a sewing
room. It was now set up as a mancave-slash-office for me, but the
wainscoting and blue paint were correct for the time period.
“You managed to make this modern but, like… not. I can imagine you in
here gaming or watching a movie.”
I wanted him there with me, curled against my side, relaxed, happy. Fuck. I
needed to stop thinking like that.
I walked into the adjoining room and realized that was a mistake. We were
in my bedroom, the last place we needed to be when all I could think about
was how he’d respond to me picking him up, carrying him to the bed, and
using my body to soothe him. What was wrong with me? This was Travis,
Beau’s little brother.
You’ve always had a soft spot for the wounded ones.
And that had always ended in disaster. Having Beau beat the shit out of me
was about the best outcome of me seducing Travis.
But I knew the moment Travis looked from the big bed that barely fit across
the small-by-modern-standards bedroom that it wouldn’t take much to
persuade him into it. His eyes were huge, and he was worrying his bottom
lip so hard I thought he might make it bleed.
“This is—” My voice came out so rough I had to pause and clear my throat
“Your room?”
“Yeah.”
Travis’s huge smile had my heart skipping a beat. “It’s… perfect.”
Goddamn, the longing in his voice nearly did me in. What exactly did he
think it was perfect for?
“Is this bed…” His tone was low and soft, and he licked his lips when he
paused.
Was he trying to fucking break me? He should know I was used to getting
what I wanted. I wasn’t known for my self-control.
“Um… is it from the 1800s?”
He wanted to know it’s provenance, not… He turned to look at me, and his
eyes were so dark they were blue-black instead of their usual jewel-like
sapphire.
Home restoration. I needed to focus on telling him about the restoration.
That’s all this conversation was about. My dick twitched as Travis kept
watching me with his fucking hungry eyes, reminding me I was fooling
myself.
“It’s a reproduction. They didn’t make beds this big back then, and I’m a
big man, so—”
Travis’s eyes widened, and I realized what I’d said. I needed to shut up.
Why couldn’t I talk about something other than beds and things related to
beds, or touching, or…
Travis walked toward the door that led into the small central hallway, and I
followed him, showing him the bathroom, which I’d modernized more than
any other room. I had to give myself some luxuries.
Once we were done there, I opened the door to the final room in the house.
“This is your room. The bed in here is from the 1890s.”
Fuck. Beds again. Thank God I knew this frame wasn’t sturdy enough for
what I wanted to do to him. Maybe once I fed Travis, he’d get some sleep,
and I could go see which one of my—we’ll call them acquaintances with
benefits—I could rouse out of bed at this time of day. If my dick got some
action, maybe I could stop thinking with it.
A moment later, I knew that wasn’t going to work. No way in hell was I
leaving Travis alone. If he woke up and I wasn’t there, he might run. I
would not let that happen. He’d been on a path of self-destruction, and now
that he’d started turning himself around, I would do everything I could to
help him see that through.
 2

TRAVIS

I t was all I could do not to sigh when Dax smiled at me.

“I’m going to shower and then start breakfast. You can do whatever you
need to settle in, then meet me in the kitchen. Do you need a change of
clothes?”
I laughed. “As if yours would fit me?”
“I’d find something that would do.”
I wanted to wear Dax’s clothes, to have his smell on me, but I had some
clothes in my backpack that were at least reasonably clean. “It’s okay. I
have something to change into.”
I stared at Dax’s gorgeous round ass as he walked out of the room, then
looked down at my dirty, worn-out backpack, which held ninety percent of
my belongings. There wasn’t much settling in for me to do, and despite
what he’d said, I would not stay here more than a day. I couldn’t be around
Dax—strong, fucking gorgeous Dax—for longer than that without making a
fool of myself.
I’d nearly tripped over my feet when I’d stepped into his bedroom and seen
his big, luxurious bed. This whole house was like a dream. I wasn’t stupid
enough to believe in dreams anymore.
I set my backpack on the floor by the bed, pulled out my phone, and
plugged in my charger to revive it. Beau would be pissed if he realized I’d
let the battery run down, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t call Dax if he wanted
to check on me. He didn’t need to check on me now anyway. Guidry, the
man who’d been after Beau and probably me as well, was gone and so was
his accomplice. Beau didn’t need me anymore.
After I showered and dressed, I sat down on the edge of the bed and closed
my eyes for a moment. I needed some time before seeing Dax again.
Grown-up Dax was even more potent than he had been at eighteen. I’d had
a crush on him back then, but I’d been a kid, and the attraction felt much
different now. If only my dream of Dax telling me I was the only one he’d
ever loved had come true, my life would have gone so differently.
I knew Dax was mixed up in some scary shit, but if my brother trusted him,
then he was honorable. I had no doubt Beau no longer trusted anyone he
hadn’t thoroughly investigated, not after what had happened with Rob. No
matter what kind of villain Dax might be, he was nothing like my fucking
ex—if I could even really call Rob that. I’d thought he was my boyfriend,
but all he did was use me. How had I not seen how evil he was sooner?
The smell of sausage frying brought me back to the present. Rob was gone;
Beau had seen his body. I had a chance to reconcile with my brother. I was
safe, and I was about to eat a delicious meal cooked for me by a gorgeous
man. Maybe I could just enjoy this day, even if I couldn’t let myself get too
comfortable here.
Beau thought I was nervous about staying with Dax. I was, but it had
nothing to do with me doubting I could trust him or that he would take care
of me. I’d been taking care of myself for a long time, often while living
with untrustworthy men. I was nervous around Dax because the second I
saw him, everything I’d thought and felt about him the last time I had seen
him came rushing back stronger than ever. Dax was way out of my league,
and I needed to focus on getting my life together.
I had no job and nowhere to live now that I’d skipped out on work and rent.
I didn’t want to go back to the family shack in the bayou, even if Beau
would let me. I wasn’t even sure who it belonged to—him, both of us, or
someone else.
When I entered the kitchen, Dax was facing the stove. He had pancakes
sizzling on a griddle and sausage in a pan. As good as it smelled, all I
wanted to eat up was Dax. His hair was still damp from his shower. He was
wearing a pair of sweat shorts and a t-shirt that clung to every muscle of his
arms and back. Part of me wished he’d left it off, and part of me knew if he
had I might not be able to stop myself from walking up behind him and
running my hands over the lines of his back. Jesus, I wanted to know if he
felt as good as I thought he would.
I wished I had something better to put on instead of the ratty sweats I’d
chosen and the white t-shirt that had once been Beau’s. I’d borrowed it a
few months before I’d helped Rob set my brother up to go to prison. The
worst fucking day of my life, except for… No. I didn’t need to think about
either of those things.
I probably looked like a kid in the oversize t-shirt, but that was for the best.
If Dax thought about me as the kid he’d once known, he’d keep his
distance. He wouldn’t look at me the way he had earlier and make me think
maybe a man like him could want me. I was way too fucked up for that.
Dax glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “You look like you feel a lot
better.”
“The shower was nice. Even your bathroom is vintage.”
The look of it is, but that room used to be two closets. The house only had
one bath, and I wanted a second one. My bathroom has an original claw
foot tub. You should try it out one day.”
I couldn’t imagine soaking in his tub without thinking of him in there with
me. Heat filled my cheeks, and Dax turned back to the stove.
“This will be done soon. Have a seat. I made coffee, but you need to sleep,
so maybe—”
“I’m still having coffee.”
“No.”
“You can’t tell me what to drink. I’ll have a horrible headache if I don’t get
some caffeine. I haven’t slept well in weeks, years really, so what difference
will it make?”
He whipped around and glared at me. “Getting good sleep matters. You
need to take better care of yourself.”
I snorted. “I was trying to keep myself alive.”
“You don’t have to worry about that now. I’m here to protect you, so it’s
time for you to think about your future. What do you want to do?”
“Wow, that’s a heavy question after the night we’ve had.” And one I didn’t
want to answer because Dax was going to be all encouraging, but it wasn’t
what I wanted. Reconciling with Beau would be nice, but I wasn’t sure that
was possible, and if not, I wanted to slink away and hide. I didn’t want
more trouble or excitement or anything that would make me hurt like I had
when I set Beau up or when I thought he was going to die tonight. “Can we
just eat?”
Dax studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. But we’re going to talk
later.”
Not if I snuck out of there.
I hadn’t had my favorite sausage in years, and it was as good as I
remembered it. Dax’s pancakes were fluffy and perfectly textured, and the
eggs were cooked through without being dry, just like I liked them. “Where
did you learn to cook like this?”
Beau had cooked for us growing up. There was nothing wrong with his
cooking, but all of it was simple and serviceable. This was a restaurant-
quality breakfast.
“Marjorie.”
“She’s Corbin’s mom?”
“Yes, and Remy and Lance’s stepmom. She taught all of us how to cook,
but some of us paid more attention than others, and I took every chance I
could to have her teach me.”
“This is amazing. I wish I could make food like this or that I had someone
to make it for me.”
“I already said you can stay as long as you need to. I’ll cook for you while
you’re here.”
Damn. As if he wasn’t hot enough, now he was offering me a beautiful
home and amazing food. Could I accept his offer?
No. I couldn’t hang around here mooning over him. And if he brought a
man back here, I’d want to murder whoever it was. I didn’t want to think
about Dax with someone else. The longer I stayed here, the more I was in
danger of thinking Dax could be mine.
I rose from the table to refill my coffee, but Dax took the mug from my
hand. “I’ll get you some water.”
“Are you this bossy with everyone?”
“Most people just do what I say because they know what’s good for them.
You need to drink some water.”
“I—”
“It’s nonnegotiable. You can have more coffee afterward.”
“Yes, sir.” His eyes widened for a moment. He liked that. And I had to
admit that having Dax dominate me sounded delicious. Would it be so bad
to let him tell me what to do?
Dax schooled his face and didn’t say anything, which was for the best. He
went to the fridge, pulled out a filter pitcher, and poured me a glass of
water.
I drained half of it as soon as he handed it to me, then went back to silently
finishing my food.
“Have you thought about staying in the city?” Dax asked a few minutes
later.
I shook my head. “Not really. I don’t think there’s anything here for me.”
“I could help you find a job. Do you have a place to go back to?”
“I had a shit hole of an apartment, but I skipped out weeks ago and didn’t
pay my last rent, so I won’t be going back there. My manager at the place I
was working made it clear I wasn’t welcome to return since I disappeared
without warning.”
“See? You need a fresh start.”
“I need a job and an apartment.” He made it sound so easy, like I could just
pick something I wanted to do and I would magically have an entirely new
life. I knew better. My life had been fucked up for a long time. Some of that
wasn’t my fault, but plenty of it was, and I didn’t believe in miracles.
At that moment I just wanted to go lie down. I wasn’t actually feeling tired,
though I was sure I should be. What I needed most was to get away from
Dax, away from his hopefulness, away from his perfect body, away from
the memories of how well he treated me when I was a kid. He was never the
one to brush me off or send me away. One time he even carried me on his
back when I got tired of walking.
“Thank you for breakfast or dinner or whatever this was.”
Dax was watching me thoughtfully, but his expression was neutral. I wanted
to ask him what he was thinking, but I didn’t dare. I just carried my dishes
to the sink.
“Sleep well, Travis.” His voice was so soft I barely heard it.
“You too.”
I thought I heard him mutter “I wish,” but I kept walking.
I lay in the bed tossing and turning, thinking about Dax being so close and
about what the hell I was going to do now. I did need to start over. Dax was
right about that, but how could I have a fresh start when all my choices
seemed as stale as they had since the day I’d left rehab to face life with no
good prospects and no more ways to hide from reality.
For the last four years, my life had been stagnant, just a series of
meaningless jobs and meaningless places with no friends that stuck around.
Most people I met turned out to be junkies or were too disturbed by my
past. And sex? I’d hardly even been interested. For a long time, I felt like I
was waiting for something.
Something like the opportunity Dax is offering you?
Could I really stay in New Orleans and keep myself out of trouble?
And if Beau didn’t forgive me, would I really have that chance?
Eventually, sometime after the sun had fully risen, I fell asleep. I was
disoriented as hell when I woke, thinking I was still out in the swamp. Then
I remembered shooting Guidry to save Beau and Dax bringing me home.
My heart banged against my chest as soon as I thought of Dax.
He was as inspiring as he had been when I was a kid, but I couldn’t stay
with him. No matter how much I wanted to. I needed to go figure things out
for myself. Guidry wasn’t the only enemy I had to worry about. I’d
managed to avoid contact with everyone from my old life for years, but I
doubted that would be possible in New Orleans.
There was way too much criminal business conducted in the city, and much
of it was run by men Rob had pissed off. Now that they couldn’t get back at
him, they were likely to take revenge on me if they got the chance. It didn’t
matter that I hadn’t wanted to do most of the things Rob forced me into.
He’d fucked people over, and I’d been his associate.
I slipped out of bed and put my dirty clothes and my phone charger in my
backpack. If Dax was here—and he’d said he would be—avoiding him
wouldn’t be easy in the small house, but if there was one thing I was good
at, it was running away. I’d only worn boxers to sleep, so I pulled on the
clothes I had worn at breakfast, creeped across the room, and cracked the
door. After several seconds of careful listening, I started to step into the
hall. That’s when I heard Dax’s voice.
At first, I worried there was someone else in the house, then I realized he
was talking on the phone. He was distracted, so it was the perfect time to
slip out unnoticed. I moved silently down the hall, a skill I’d perfected
quickly once Rob made me move in with him.
I was especially careful as I moved closer to Dax’s office. The door was
slightly ajar. I tried to remember the layout of the furniture to determine
whether he’d be able to see through the crack. I’d moved to the far side of
the hall and pressed myself against the wall when I heard him say, “So I
can’t kill him, but you want me to hurt him?…Can I leave marks on him?…
Fine.”
I told myself to keep moving. I didn’t need to know who or what he was
talking about.
 3

DAX

I ’d checked on Travis several times in the last two hours, but he was still
sleeping soundly. I’d ignored two calls from Remington, and I knew
sooner or later I was going to have to call him back. I was hoping I could
wait until Travis was up and I’d had a chance to talk to him.
My instincts told me Travis was still in danger. I wasn’t sure why, but I’d
learned to never go against a gut feeling. We were as certain as we could be
that Elandra and Guidry didn’t have other accomplices, but I wasn’t taking
any chances.
Once I’d made myself some lunch, I sat down at my desk. I’d taken a short
nap, but I knew if I didn’t do something, I would fall asleep again. I gave in
and called Remington but left my office door cracked so I could hear if
Travis was moving around. Remington would be pissed as hell if I hung up
on him, but Travis was my first priority. I couldn’t say why I felt so strongly
about him, but I knew he was meant to be my responsibility.
“What do you need?” I asked when Remington answered the phone.
“For you to fucking answer when I call you.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping? We all should be.”
Remington snorted. “I hardly have time to sleep on normal nights.”
“Yeah, but that’s Henri’s fault, isn’t it?” Henri was my cousin’s beautiful
boyfriend, and they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“Don’t push your luck. Is Travis still there?”
“Yeah, he’s sleeping.”
“Good.”
“He gets to sleep, but I don’t?”
“I’ve got things for you to do, and Travis is… young.”
“He’s older than Corbin.” Shit. Why did I sound so defensive? Remington
wasn’t implying Travis was too young for me. Hopefully he had no idea I’d
ever think of Travis that way.
“True.” Remington’s voice was too flat. What the hell was he thinking?
“But last night was a lot for him.”
I could argue that being shot at in the alligator-infested bayou in the wee
hours of the morning was a lot for anyone, except maybe Ambrose, but I
didn’t want to talk about Travis anymore. “I was about to do some more
digging on the assholes who’ve been fucking with our weapons suppliers.”
“Good. Send anything you’ve learned over to Lance.”
“Lance? He’s going to take care of it?”
“I’m sending him out to bring the fuckers in. He plans to put them on ice
for you.”
“And while that’s happening, I will…”
“Stick by Travis.”
That was exactly what I’d plan to do, but why did Remy want me to?
“What’s up with Travis?” I asked.
“He’s in trouble.”
Shit. I knew my gut wasn’t wrong.
“Beau asked Blackjack to look into more of what Travis had been involved
in.”
Blackjack was a man we kept on retainer for his wizard-level hacking skills.
I’d assumed Beau had found out all he could before seeking out Travis for
information on Guidry. “He hadn’t already done that?”
“He hadn’t had access to Blackjack.”
“Yeah, but he could’ve found somebody.”
“I don’t think he wanted to know. I think he wanted distance.”
I tried to imagine ever not wanting to know where Ambrose was and what
he was doing, but everybody said twins were different. Maybe that was
true, or maybe I just couldn’t imagine Ambrose ever betraying me. I didn’t
know the details of what had happened when Travis fucked Beau over, but I
wanted to find out. I didn’t want Travis to have been as horrible as it
sounded like he was. I had to admit if I was Beau, I’d have a hard time
forgiving him as well.
“Did Blackjack find something?” I didn’t want Travis to be mixed up with
assholes again. Was that the real reason he didn’t want to stay?
“What he found indicates Rob was abusing Travis, that he was essentially
Rob’s prisoner.”
“That motherfucker. However he died, it wasn’t painful enough.” I wanted
to scoop Travis out of bed and hold him. He needed all the comfort he could
get.
“I agree, but we have to focus on what we can do. Rob apparently thought a
lot of himself, and he got himself involved with some men who weren’t at
all forgiving. They weren’t small-time like Guidry. He was in deep with
Louis LePlatt.”
“Oh, fuck.” LePlatt was a drug runner who had a reputation for being
insane and ruthless. His power and reach were nothing compared to ours,
but he was dangerous as fuck.
“He’s not the only one, but he’s the most likely candidate to come after
Travis because… I really think it ought to be Travis’s story to tell, but let’s
just say he definitely has a vendetta against Rob. The fact that he sees
Travis as Rob’s accomplice means he thinks Travis knows things that
shouldn’t be public knowledge.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. “If I knew anyone who could raise the dead,
I’d pay them whatever they asked for the chance to kill Rob again. Slowly.
Over days, maybe weeks. I would enjoy the hell out of it.”
“I’m sure Beau will feel the same way.”
“Will?”
“I haven’t told him yet. I asked Blackjack to report to me first. I think Beau
needs a chance to talk to Travis before this information comes out.”
“But if he knew about Rob, wouldn’t he better understand—”
“Like I said, some of this should be Travis’s story to tell.”
I understood Remy’s point, but I didn’t think it would work like that. “He’s
not going to tell Beau anything if he hasn’t yet.”
I’d only met Rob once, and I’d thought he was a slimy piece of shit. I didn’t
know how he’d ever managed to be friends with Beau, and I hadn’t been
shocked when he’d betrayed their friendship and seduced Travis. I knew
Travis had felt like an outsider most of his life, and Rob preyed on that.
Travis had been so damn young, still in fucking high school, when Rob
started sniffing around him.
What had that bastard done to him? I’d known Travis was wounded, but
this… I’d at least thought he’d gone with Rob willingly.
“We don’t know what he might say to Beau now, but let’s focus on our most
pressing problem of the moment.”
“Fine. How do you want me to handle the bastard Lance is bringing in?” I
was ready for some strenuous torture. The idea of ripping somebody apart
with my bare hands would actually suit me just fine.
“I need him alive.”
“So I can’t kill him, but you want me to hurt him?”
“Yes. Badly. I want you to make a very clear point.”
That would help me relieve some tension. “Can I leave marks on him?”
“I don’t care how much fucking damage he takes as long as he’s able to
talk.”
“Fine.” I froze. I heard something like fabric or a hand brushing against the
wall. I listened more closely and thought I heard an intake of breath. Travis
was awake, but he didn’t want me to know he was there. How much had he
heard? “Remy, I’ve got to go.”
“I’m not—”
I heard more movement. “It’s Travis. He’s awake, and I need to check on
him.”
“Call me back when you have more info.”
I ended the call without saying anything else and rushed into the hall. Travis
had his hand on the front doorknob. How had he moved that damn quietly?
Because he’d learned to. Because he’d fucking had to. Why hadn’t he run
from Rob? Anyone in my family would have helped him, especially me.
Maybe he thought we wouldn’t have after what he’d done to Beau. Why
hadn’t he left before then? I was going to find out. I wanted the whole story,
but I knew I had to go slowly and carefully to get it.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Home.”
“And where’s that? You said you lost your apartment. Are you going back
to the bayou?”
He shook his head. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You’re not leaving.”
“Dax.”
“No. You’re going to come in here and talk to me.”
“Or what? You’ll torture me until I do?”
Fuck. Did he really think I would hurt him? “You’ll always be safe with me,
but I’m not letting you leave.”
“I’m not your prisoner.”
“No, you’re my responsibility.”
Travis huffed. “That’s worse.”
What the fuck did that mean? “How?”
“If I’m your prisoner, then you want to keep me. If I’m your responsibility,
I’m just a fucking burden. Goodbye, Dax.”
He reached for the door again, but I grabbed his arm and swung him
around. “Travis, I’m not fucking kidding. I won’t allow you to just
disappear.”
“Why? Because you’d have to answer to Beau?”
“I can handle Beau. I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you really have a safe
place to go?”
The fear in his eyes told me he didn’t. “Come in and let me explain what
you heard.”
“Dax, I know what you do. I’m not worried about that.”
“What I do?” Did that mean he’d only heard the last words I’d said and not
what I’d said about Rob.
“I know about your family business, and I understand your role in it is…
violent.”
Violent hardly described the things I did. “I want you to feel safe with me,
so I’m going to explain anyway. Then if you still want to leave, I’ll find
somewhere you can stay. I know most people can’t accept what I do.”
“What you do keeps people safe, doesn’t it?”
Did he mean that? Did he really see it that way? There were times I fucking
enjoyed extracting information from our enemies. I let myself revel in that
sick desire to hurt, to maim, to kill because it served something greater. I’d
never tortured or killed anyone who was a decent human being, and that
was why I could live with what I did and stay sane. Maybe that was why
Ambrose struggled with what he’d done in the army. He’d had no way to
know the true character of the enemies he’d killed.
No matter how much I justified it, most people couldn’t stomach what I did.
Even other criminals shied away from those of us who did the most
gruesome jobs.
“I make sure we get the information we need. Sometimes that helps keep
the people I love safe. Sometimes that helps us keep our business going.”
“You wouldn’t hurt somebody who wasn’t evil.”
Travis speaking with such conviction made something flutter in my chest.
“Most people say I’m evil.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why are you trying so hard to run away.”
“Because if I stay on…” He paused and licked his lips, keeping his eyes
cast down at the floor.
I took hold of his chin and tilted his head up, forcing him to look at me. The
heat of his skin seemed to burn my fingers, and I almost let go from the
shock of it. This was wrong, so very wrong.
“What will happen if you stay?”
He shook his head. “I need to be on my own. I need to make my own start.”
“You’re in danger.”
“I’m always going to be in danger.”
“Not with me watching out for you.”
He shook his head. “That’s not your job.”
“Then whose is it?”
He stepped back, freeing himself from my grasp, but he didn’t try to leave
again. “Nobody’s. I got myself in this fucking mess.”
“No, you didn’t. Rob got you in this mess.”
“I wanted Rob.”
“You wanted things Rob promised you.”
“You don’t know anything about it.” He tried to step around me, but I
blocked his path. “Move, Dax. You don’t want to get involved in my
problems.”
I could tell how hard he was trying to keep himself together. Had he ever
been able to relax in the years since Rob had manipulated him? “Whether I
want to or not, I already am.”
“What the fuck does that mean? You don’t even know what’s going on with
me and you don’t need to. Just let me walk away.”
“What about Beau? He said he’d come over later today. He wants to talk to
you.”
Travis shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. He just feels like he has to. He
doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what he’s thinking.”
“I know what he was thinking a week ago, and that was that he wanted me
to stop bothering him, even when I was scared Guidry was coming for me.
He doesn’t want me in his life.”
“Then why did you come to rescue him last night?”
“Because I don’t want him to die. I still love him.”
“Travis, I do know some of what happened when you were with Rob.”
A look of horror came over his face. “No.” He shook his head frantically.
“No, you can’t. How would you?”
“Come sit with me, and I’ll explain.”
When he looked at me again, his eyes were damp with unshed tears. “I
didn’t want anyone to know. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Travis, please.”
His eyes widened, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. It was clear he
knew I didn’t use that word often.
“Come on.” I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he let me lead him
to the sofa.
 4

TRAVIS

I t had taken me a long time to admit to myself how badly Rob had
treated me, and I’d never talked to anyone else about it. I was ashamed
to have been so stupid, and I wasn’t sure anyone would actually care. I
didn’t want to tell Dax now. I didn’t want him to think less of me than he
already did.
“Travis, look at me.”
I took a shaky breath and did as he said. I might not like how pushy he was,
but I couldn’t resist the command in his voice. It was nothing like the way
Rob would talk to me. Rob ordered me around, but he always twisted his
commands, making them seem like reasonable requests. He even used a
soft, sickening voice. Rob didn’t take charge like Dax. Rob had made me
believe I was a brat or an ungrateful bitch for not wanting to do what he
asked. He tried to remind me of everything he’d done for me, but all Rob
had done was take me away from Beau and make me his servant.
Dax took my hands in his much larger ones. He enveloped my hands
completely, warming them instantly. I wanted to lean into him. I wanted a
lot of things I couldn’t have.
“Travis, if Rob wasn’t dead, I’d be out hunting him down right now. I
would use every one of the skills I’ve honed to make him suffer. This isn’t
your fault. He hurt you. He manipulated you.”
“How do you know that? How do you know anything about it?”
Dax took a big breath. I knew he didn’t want to tell me, but I had a right to
know, and the idea that others might know all about the humiliation of my
past was freaking me out.
“Remington had our favorite hacker do some investigating.”
“Fuck. What did you think I was going to do? And how did you find all that
out so fast?”
“He started gathering information weeks ago.”
“When Beau tracked me down?”
“When Beau found Rob’s body in the trunk of that car at the shop.”
I shuddered. I was so glad there was proof the man was dead, but thinking
of him still gave me chills. At least he wasn’t ever going to come back into
my life.
“What did your hacker find out?”
“That Rob was even more of an asshole than we’d realized. That he hurt
you. I don’t know many details, but I know you didn’t stay with him by
choice.”
I shook my head. “It’s complicated.”
“No, it’s not. Rob was a fucking bastard who hurt you. You really didn’t
have a choice about setting Beau up, did you?”
“That’s not really true. I could have…”
Dax laid a hand on my shoulder. “Travis, be honest with yourself. You
deserve that.”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’ll listen to anything you want to tell me, but I won’t listen to you put
yourself down.”
“I fucked up. I’m not innocent.”
“Maybe you’ve made some bad choices in your life, but Rob lured you in
and used you. He is responsible for that. How old were you when he first
started making his interest known?”
Travis looked down at his lap. “Seventeen.”
“Much too young to defend yourself against his vileness. What did Beau
say about that?”
“Beau didn’t know about it at first.”
“Why didn’t you tell him?” Beau and Travis had been close until Travis had
moved in with Rob.
“Rob said not to. He said Beau wouldn’t want anyone dating me, that he
wouldn’t understand, and it would ruin their friendship.”
“Fucking bastard.”
“I wanted Rob to myself, so I went along with him.”
“You were a kid, Travis. How old was Rob then?”
“Twenty-six, but I wasn’t like most seventeen-year-olds. I didn’t exactly
have a normal childhood.”
“No, you didn’t. You went through a lot of shit. Beau and your grandmother
made sure you were cared for. They also sheltered you.”
“No, that’s not…” I didn’t want to believe that. I’d thought I was so grown-
up, so ready to have a man like Rob, a man who made plans for himself,
who wanted to be rich and was ready to go after whatever he wanted.
“Rob took advantage of that, and he hurt you.”
“He…” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t… I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dax rubbed my arm. His touch was warm and soothing. “It’s okay. You
don’t have to.”
I nodded, keeping my eyes closed.
“I’m sorry. I want to help you, but I’m fucking all this up,” Dax said. “I
wanted you to know. I wanted to talk about it so you wouldn’t feel so…
guilty, but I don’t know shit about talking about stuff like this. I try to
ignore my feelings as much as I can.”
As upset as I was, he made me smile. “You don’t ignore them all the time or
you wouldn’t be so kind to people.”
“Not many people see me that way.”
I met his gaze. No way in hell was I letting him get away with that. “If I
can’t put myself down, you can’t either. “
“Travis, I torture people. That’s my job.”
“And I…”
Dax studied me for a moment. “What? Tell me.”
I didn’t finish my thought. Instead, unexpected words spilled out of me.
“Rob told me I could either set Beau up to go to prison, or he’d send
someone to kill Beau. I knew Rob had the kind of friends that could pull
that off. I chose the option that kept my brother alive, but if I’d just been
stronger, if—”
“What do you think would’ve happened to you if you’d refused to do what
Rob said?”
“Maybe he would’ve killed me, maybe something worse, but I could’ve
tried.”
I’d been holding back my tears, but they spilled over when Dax looked at
me with deep sadness in his eyes. I wanted to run, but I wasn’t sure I had
the strength, and I thought I might pass out if I tried to stand up, so I curled
into a ball. Dax wrapped his strong arms around me and held me while I
sobbed.
When the tears finally stopped flowing, I knew I was eventually going to
have to uncurl myself and convince Dax to let me leave. He released me as
soon as I started to move, and I scooted back on the couch, wanting to put
some distance between us. It would be too easy to beg him to hold me again
and to ask him to protect me from Rob’s former associates who wanted to
take their anger out on me. Now that Dax and his family—and probably
Beau—knew about Rob, I couldn’t stay. They would pity me, and that was
worse than them thinking I was a selfish piece of shit.
“Tell me what I can do to help you,” Dax said.
“Let me go.”
“No, you’re in danger. That’s another thing Remington learned.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Damn it!” I looked up when Dax yelled. “You know LePlatt is after you,
and you were going to walk away?”
“Yes, because I don’t intend to bring any more trouble down on Beau or
your family.”
“You think these enemies of Rob’s won’t know your connection to Beau?
Do you think they won’t know that coming for him is another way to hurt
you? You’re better off if you stay here and we handle this together.”
“I don’t…” I’d reached a point where I wasn’t beholden to anyone. Sure,
my life was kind of shitty. I didn’t have much, and my job—former job—
sucked, but I was handling things myself. “I don’t want to owe your family.
I know how this works.”
“No, I don’t think you do. Beau is family now. He practically was before,
but now that he and Corbin are together, he’s one of us, and that makes you
one of us too.”
“No. That’s… You don’t owe me anything. I don’t want to be…”
“Like me?”
Was he serious? “I’d give anything to be as good as you.”
“Damn it, Travis. You aren’t bad. You were manipulated and abused.”
I sighed.
“Travis.”
His rough tone made me look up. When our eyes met, I sucked in my
breath. The way he was looking at me with such intensity made me dizzy. I
swayed, and he wrapped his hands around my upper arms.
“Are you all right?” Before I could answer, he laughed at himself. “That’s a
stupid question. How could you be when I brought all this up?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will, but it would be a lot easier if you’d let your friends help
you.”
“Are you my friend, Dax?”
“Always.”
“Then why don’t you let me—”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “I want to protect you.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
My breath caught, and I swear my heart stopped. The way he was looking
at me then, like he wanted me, not like a brother, not even like a friend…
He looked hungry. Heat rushed over me, but I stayed completely still,
waiting.
Dax ran his finger over my lower lip, and without thinking, I licked the tip
of it. He groaned and cupped the back of my neck, pulling me toward him.
 5

DAX

M y phone buzzed, and I jumped. Travis and I stared at each other. I

didn’t know whether to kill whoever was calling me or thank them.
Travis’s lips looked so soft. I wanted to taste them. I wanted a hell of a lot
more than that, but kissing him would have been a mistake, one I would
have regretted, though maybe not for a while.
Travis’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes big and bright, but as soon as I
reached for my phone, he looked away.
“It’s Beau.”
He shook his head and started to get up, but I held onto his hand and
mouthed, “Stay.”
He leaned against the back of the sofa and laid an arm over his face. I let
him be while I took the call.
“Is Travis still there?” Beau asked.
“He sure is.”
“Is it all right if I come over? I need to talk to him, and thank him, and
figure out what the hell we should do now.”
“I agree. Come on, but be gentle, okay?”
Travis looked up at me, scowling, and Beau laughed. “That’s cute coming
from you.”
“I’m serious.” I hadn’t meant to snap. I didn’t need Beau questioning my
motivation too deeply. That would only lead to trouble. “Sorry, he’s just—”
“I know he saved my life. I’m planning to offer him a job.”
I relaxed then. I hadn’t expected it would be easy to convince Beau that
Travis needed to stay close by.
“I’ll be there soon.”
“See you then.” I ended the call.
“He knows everything, doesn’t he?” Travis asked.
I shook my head. “We haven’t said anything to him.”
“Really?”
“Remington thought it should be up to you to decide how much to tell him.”
He sighed and brushed a hand over his hair. “I don’t want to tell him
anything.”
“Why not?” I tried to keep my voice neutral. Beau needed to know, but I
didn’t want Travis to think I was judging him for not telling.
“I don’t want pity from him or for him to think I’m so weak that I—”
“No.”
The force of the word made Travis jump. I reached for his hands again.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so angry Rob made you think… That you ever felt like
you were less than worthy. Travis, you were still a kid when he started this
shit with you.”
“I could have told Beau what was happening, but I didn’t because I liked
having a secret. I liked having a part of my life that he wasn’t in charge of.”
“That’s understandable, but Beau needs to know you were in danger, that
Rob used Beau’s safety to manipulate you. I think it would help the two of
you forgive each other.”
He frowned. “What do I need to forgive Beau for?”
“For not fighting for you.”
Travis sucked in his breath. “What? How was he supposed to—”
“He knew Rob was a piece of shit long before Rob forced you to set him
up.”
“Beau told me to walk away from him. At first, I didn’t want to, then I
couldn’t. You can’t blame him for what happened.”
I knew I wasn’t being fair. I was sure Beau had tried to make his brother see
what a mistake he was making, but why didn’t he understand Rob was
manipulating Travis just like he had Beau.
Just like you were supposed to know Ambrose was unhappy enough to run
off and join the army without saying a word to you?
Fuck. It was easy not to see how pissed off Ambrose had been, but when I
was in the middle of that shit, it was like I was blind to everything Ambrose
felt.
“Do you want me to stay while you talk to Beau?”
“I want to leave before he gets here.”
I laid my hand over his. “Don’t. He’s… He wants to thank you, and he
needs to know about LePlatt and the others who might come for you.”
“That’s exactly why I need to leave.”
“It’s why you need to stay. I’m going to protect you, and I’m going to keep
you right here.”
“You can’t…”
“Try me.”
“Fuck, Dax. I…”
“Hear Beau out and tell him—”
“Or you will.”
“No, but I’ll make sure you stay with me until you’re ready to, and I’ll
make sure Beau and my cousins are well protected.”
“Is Corbin living with Beau now?”
“Yes, and they are very much in love and—”
“Fine. I’ll tell him, but I’m not promising anything else.”
He would do what I wanted. I was going to make damn sure of that, but
right then, he needed care, not more demands. I wished like hell I could kiss
him.
What if that kiss was exactly what he wanted?
It wasn’t what he needed. He needed someone sweet and nurturing,
someone who could help him heal, not a man like me. I hurt people; I didn’t
fix them, but I could make sure Travis lived long enough to find that kind of
man.
Beau knocked on the door a few minutes later. I left him and Travis in the
living room and stepped into my office, but I kept the door cracked. I
couldn’t stand not knowing how their conversation went. Travis was
bringing out every protective instinct I had.
Beau pulled Travis into a hug as soon as he got into the house, and I knew
things were going to be all right. I also knew I was going to have to let
Travis go and let his brother be his main protector. Until then, I was going
to make absolutely sure Travis was watched over every second of the day.
Beau offered Travis a job at his body shop just like he’d told me he would.
“Are you serious?” Travis asked. I hated how shocked he was that anyone
could forgive him.
“I wouldn’t joke about shit like this. I’ll make you work your ass off, but
there’s a place for you there as long as—”
“I don’t betray you.”
“As long as you want to be there. Fuck, Travis. I should’ve come for you. I
should’ve fought for you.”
I peeked through the door, needing to see Travis’s reaction. He was shaking
his head and wiping his eyes. “I should never have believed Rob.”
I wanted him to tell Beau about what Rob had done to him, but he didn’t
say anything else about that situation.
“I found a place for you to live down the street from the shop,” Beau said.
“It’s a garage apartment, and I know the guy who owns the main house.
He’ll work out a payment plan with you.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
An apartment. That was good. Getting Travis out of my house was what
needed to happen. I’d come so damn close to losing control with him today.
I wouldn’t last much longer. If Beau hadn’t called… No, I wouldn’t think
about what might have happened then or how part of me really wished it
had.
I wanted to keep Travis with me, but I was willing to let him go as long as
we kept a guard on his apartment.
“The owner might not want me there,” Travis said. I tensed. Was he about
to tell Beau?
“Why not? You told me you weren’t using, and—”
“I’m not.” The fierceness in Travis’s voice made me smile. I was damn
proud of him.
“Some of Rob’s enemies still want revenge. He pissed off a hell of a lot of
people. Now that he’s gone, they might come for anyone who was
associated with him.”
“And that means you?”
“Yeah, so if you want to take back the offer or…”
“What I want to do is make sure you stay safe.”
“The best way to keep you, Corbin, and everyone around you safe is for me
to leave.”
Beau shook his head. “That’s not how we do things here. I finally have you
back. I’m not sending you away.”
“I sent you to prison.”
“Rob sent me to prison.”
“I helped.”
Dammit, why did he have to say that. Why couldn’t he tell Beau the truth?
Why couldn’t he accept the truth himself?
“What did Rob do to you?”
I hated the stricken look on Travis’s face.
He glanced at the office and saw me watching. Shit. I shook my head,
hoping he understood I truly hadn’t told Beau anything.
“What do you mean?”
“Whenever I mention him, you looked scared and like you want to run
away.”
“I’m really glad he’s dead, and I’m sure I’ll never see him again. That’s all I
want to say.”
“I want to know what he did to you. I know there are things you’re not
telling me.”
“There’s no point in telling you now. It’s over. He’s dead. You’re alive.”
“And so are you. I intend for us both to stay that way.”
I should’ve given Beau more credit. I should’ve realized he’d notice
something was off with Travis if they talked about Rob at all. I wondered if
that had been part of the reason he’d asked Blackjack to look into things for
him.
If Beau truly still believed Travis chose Rob over him and that he willingly
worked with Rob to send him to prison, I didn’t think even what Travis had
done the night before would’ve turned Beau around so quickly. He had to
know something.
“You’ll take the job and the apartment?” Beau asked.
Travis smiled at his brother. “Yes, as long as I’m not going to be putting the
homeowner or anyone else at your shop in danger.”
“If we went too long without some shit coming up at the shop, everybody
would be shocked and maybe a little bored. My friend with the apartment
isn’t going to mind. He’s also an ex-con and not used to living a safe life.”
Was Beau putting Travis in even more danger by arranging for this
apartment? He better not be.
Calm down, Dax. What are you going to do about it? Buy Travis a cute
little house in a safe little neighborhood? Or keep him here, lock him up,
and claim him as yours?
That was damn tempting, but I’d already decided against keeping him here,
and Travis wouldn’t accept a gift like a house, not even if I assured him it
was just something I would buy for anyone I considered family or a friend.
That’s what Travis was, family and a friend. That’s all he was going to be to
me. Beau was making him a good offer, and I would make myself celebrate
it with him.
 6

TRAVIS

I ran my arm across my forehead, wiping away sweat and grime. Damn, it
was hot in Beau’s shop. Couldn’t he turn the air down some more and
maybe get some mosquito netting for the garage doors that were constantly
open?
As much as I wanted to protest out loud, I kept my suggestions to myself
and worked on cleaning the tools Beau and the other mechanics had used.
Beau paid well, and I was lucky to have a job, but my last few jobs had
mostly involved me sitting on my ass and ringing up the shit customers
bought, occasionally breaking up a fight or surviving a robbery.
I’d avoided Dax as much as I could during the past few days. I stayed with
him before moving into my own apartment. He seemed to be keeping his
distance from me too. Did he regret nearly kissing me, or had I read
everything wrong. Maybe he’d just meant to comfort me, and then I’d made
things weird, but I’d really thought he wanted me.
No matter how many times I told myself it would be a disaster to let myself
fall for him, it was already happening. If he kissed me, I would be all in. He
wasn’t a man I could say no to, and ultimately, I’d end up with my heart
broken. So why, when I was fighting so hard to prevent that from
happening, did I feel like shit when he didn’t touch me again before I left?
My new apartment was tiny and run-down but still better than the last place
I’d lived. I could walk to work, which was a plus since I didn’t have a car of
my own, and I wasn’t going to ask Beau for a loaner, at least not yet. He’d
been as generous as I could expect.
I’d done whatever jobs needed doing at the body shop from cleanup to basic
maintenance and simple repairs. I’d never been as into cars as Beau but
growing up with him and his racing friends, I’d managed to pick up plenty,
even if Beau thought I never listened.
As weeks passed, Beau slowly let me do more and more. Things had
remained tense between us at first, and the other employees didn’t seem to
know how to react to me, but Corbin became my first true friend, and
eventually, the others had followed his lead.
I hadn’t been at all sure what to expect from the youngest Theriot. He was
clearly crazy in love with Beau. They seemed complete opposites, yet it
was obvious Beau was just as nuts about him. It was also obvious that
Corbin drove my brother crazy. I enjoyed watching that.
Much to Beau’s horror, Corbin and I started hanging out after the shop
closed. He sincerely wanted to get to know me better, and I wanted to know
the man who had made my brother willing to put up with just about
anything.
Corbin kept insisting we go out to dinner, but I knew the sort of restaurant
he’d choose, and I couldn’t afford it. When he made it clear that he’d pay, I
still refused. I was not going to be a charity case. Beau convinced me by
explaining that Corbin spent money on whoever he wanted, whenever he
wanted, and he didn’t take no for an answer.
Corbin took me to Commander’s Palace where I was sure even the least
experienced employee was way classier than me and probably made more
money than I ever had. I didn’t count any of the money Rob let me spend.
He’d controlled every cent I helped him illegally earn.
Corbin told me to order whatever I wanted. I was still uneasy with the idea
of how much he was paying, but I chose turtle soup and Gulf shrimp and
greens. Corbin ordered a glass of wine for himself and didn’t seem
surprised when I ordered seltzer with lime. I wasn’t sure if Beau had told
him I was sober or if he just took it in stride that I didn’t drink. I wouldn’t
have known what kind of fancy cocktail to order anyway, and I didn’t think
I could figure out all the silverware while sober; after a drink, it would have
been hopeless.
Once the server had taken our order, Corbin gave me a mischievous smile.
“Tell me all about all the awful things Beau did as a kid. I need shit to hold
over him.”
“Is that why you wanted to take me to dinner? So I could rat out my brother
without the chance of him overhearing?”
He grinned. “Maybe. But I really just want to know the funny stuff, things I
can use as ammunition. I know about the darker things already.”
I’d assumed he knew about our past if he and Beau had gotten as close as
they were. I doubted Beau had told anyone else, and I hoped Corbin had
resisted spilling the whole story to his brothers. Dax knew because he’d
witnessed some of it, though not as much as Ambrose.
“Beau was bossy as hell as a kid.”
“So that has never changed?”
I shook my head. “No, definitely not. He was always more confident than
me, more willing to take charge. It’s a damn good thing because I didn’t
have anyone else who was actively taking care of me. Once both our
parents disappeared, it was just me and Beau. I don’t know how I would’ve
made it if it hadn’t been for him. He was bossy, but I guess he had to be.” I
sighed. “That’s not the shit you wanted to hear.”
“No, that’s… It’s nice to hear that too. I know he’s amazing, but it never
hurts to have it confirmed.”
“Don’t get me wrong. He drove me fucking crazy. If I didn’t do chores just
right, he’d make me do them over and over until I’d met his ridiculous
standards. We were living in the middle of the swamp in a shack that was
falling down around us, but he insisted on keeping it perfectly clean.”
Corbin grinned. “Just like he insists on keeping the shop as spotless as a
body shop can be.”
“Yeah, and don’t tell him I said so, but he was right because, considering
where we were, we had few roaches or rats. I guess they found better spots
to go, like the shed farther into the swamp where our dad hid the shit he
stole. Car parts, electronics, drugs I don’t even know all what. Beau would
never let me go in there. He told me it was scary when I was little, and the
one time I tried to look, I saw some nutria and ran like hell. I was more
afraid of them than I ever was of gators.”
I shuddered thinking about the huge swamp rats. Beau hated rats of any size
almost as much as I did. Jesus, I hope he didn’t have them in prison.
Our server returned with bread and butter and the soup we’d each ordered.
It had been years since I’d eaten soup that didn’t come from a can, and this
was unlike any I’d ever had. This soup reached a whole new level of flavor.
It was even better than my grandmother’s, which I didn’t think was
possible.
“I’m not doing a very good job of revealing any secrets,” I said once we’ve
both made good progress on our first course. “You probably want to know
about all the shit Beau and Ambrose got into.”
Corbin smiled. “Tell me whatever you want, but yeah, I bet those stories are
amazing. Give me all the dirt you’ve got on them.”
“That would take a very long time, but I’ll share a few stories tonight.”
I told him about Beau and Ambrose sneaking some of our dad’s moonshine
and heading out into the bayou where they never should have been. “I
followed them, and when he found out, Beau had a fit, telling me I could
have been eaten by an alligator. I asked him what made him think he was
any safer, especially since he could barely stand up straight. The asshole
told me a gator was no match for him, then fell right into the water, trying
to demonstrate how he would wrestle one.”
Corbin laughed so hard he had to cover his mouth to keep from spitting
food across the table.
“Beau stank so bad on the walk home that I kept gagging, and I don’t think
Ambrose quit laughing until he left us at our house. Fortunately, my dad
was passed out on the couch and never even noticed.”
It took Corbin several moments to get himself under control. “That is so
awesome. I’m going to ask Beau if he wants to go take a dip in the bayou
one night.”
Before I could start another story, our server cleared our plates and brought
our main courses. The food was incredible. It took me a few moments
before I could even speak. After I’d finished gushing about my shrimp, I
told Corbin about the time when we were living with my grandma, and she
caught Beau and Ambrose smoking a joint on her porch in the middle of the
night.
“I thought she was going to beat them to death. Ambrose managed to
escape and make a run for it, but Beau got smacked with a flip-flop and told
off for what felt like hours. I don’t think they ever realized I saw the whole
thing from the living room window.”
“Ooh, so I can ask Beau about it, and he won’t know how I know?”
Corbin’s grin was completely wicked.
“Yep. Beau was too busy trying to defend himself to look in my direction,
but every time he got a few words out, Grandma cut him off. She told him if
he didn’t mind her, he was never going to get another bite of her cooking. I
think it might have been the last time Beau ever smoked.”
Corbin laughed so hard people from other tables began to stare.
A few moments later, our server asked us if we would like dessert. Corbin
told me refusing wasn’t an option. He ordered us both the bread pudding
soufflé, one of the menu items Commander’s Palace was most known for.
I wasn’t going to argue with him. I would’ve happily devoured anything off
the dessert menu. For a long time, desserts for me had been limited to store-
bought cookies and candy bars.
The server headed off to put in our order, and Corbin surprised me by
asking how I’d gotten along staying with Dax.
He couldn’t have any idea how I felt about Dax, could he? I wasn’t even
sure Beau knew I’d had a crush on his friend. I doubted he’d realized I was
more likely to tag along with him and Ambrose when Dax was with them,
especially since he’d acted like I hardly knew Dax. “It was fine. I
appreciated having a place to stay.”
I could tell my answer didn’t satisfy Corbin. “Most people are scared of
Dax, and even though he’s my cousin, I sometimes find him a little chilling.
Don’t you dare tell him I said that, though.”
“I’m not afraid of him. I mean, not really. I definitely didn’t mind staying
with him. I watched him play around the bayou with Ambrose and Beau on
the rare occasions when he came to his uncle’s place with his twin. I also
got to spend time sitting on the porch with him because he didn’t like
rampaging through the bayous as much as the others. He was always
complaining about the bugs and the heat and trying to get them to go back
and do something inside his uncle’s air-conditioned house.”
Corbin studied me for a moment, and I tried to keep my expression neutral.
“I’m sure he’s a whole lot different now than he was back then.”
I shrugged. “Not so much.”
“Really?” The curiosity in Corbin’s gaze worried me. I didn’t need him
finding out that there was more between Dax and me than an old friendship,
at least on my part. “How much do you know about his role in the family?”
“I know what he does now, but I also know he’s still as kind and protective
as he was when I was a kid, at least as long as you’re a friend and not an
enemy. He’s always been ready to defend his family and friends.”
Corbin’s lip curled in a mischievous smile. “I see.”
Fuck. I’d been way too defensive about Dax. “No, you don’t. He was like
another older brother. I…” Shit. I was just making it worse.
Corbin held up a hand. “There’s no need to explain, and I won’t say a thing
except that he is single, and I’m always here to help.”
I snorted. “I got the impression Dax doesn’t take help from anyone.”
“Much like your brother.”
“Yes.”
Corbin smiled. “Things can always change.”
“Maybe in your world.”
“You’re in my world now.”
I managed to change the topic back to Beau and his antics as a teenager for
the rest of the meal. I hated to think how much it would cost, but I told
Corbin I could get a ride home. He still insisted on driving me. His Porsche
Cayenne was going to look way out of place on my street, but I was eager
for another ride in it. When we were nearly to my driveway, Corbin waved
at a man in a much less ostentatious black SUV.
“Who’s that?”
“Lenny. He’s watching your place.”
“What? Why?”
Corbin glanced at me, then bit his lip. “Shit, you didn’t know?”
“Corbin, tell me what’s going on. I swear I’m not going to fuck Beau over
again. I never wanted to. I—”
“He’s not here because Beau doesn’t trust you. He’s here because Dax
insisted on someone watching you at all times. He’s worried about you
being in danger from Rob’s former associates.”
“He’s got people watching me?”
“They’re watching your apartment, making sure no one suspicious comes
by.”
“I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”
“But you don’t have to now.” Corbin put the car in park and looked at me
with narrowed eyes. “What was it you said about Dax not accepting any
help?”
My instincts were against it, but maybe I could use some protection. Still,
sending people to follow me around without even telling me was not going
to cut it. “I didn’t give anyone permission to spy on me.”
“Our family doesn’t usually ask permission.”
I huffed. “That’s why… Look, it would have been easier for everyone if I’d
just left town.”
“No, and it would never have worked. Beau or Dax would have come after
you.”
“What the fuck? I don’t get to make decisions for myself anymore?”
Corbin grinned. “Trust me. There are a lot of benefits to being under the
protection of my family. If you’d let us, we’d help you a hell of a lot more.”
“There’s no need to have anyone watching me. I’ve got a gun and—”
“Rob’s enemies have a hell of a lot more resources than you. We want to
even the field. But if you really don’t want the protection, you’ll have to
talk to Dax.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t play games with me.”
“Dax requested they watch you, so they’ll want his orders or Remy’s before
they back down. I could make sure Dax comes by the shop tomorrow.”
My heart pounded at the thought. Did I really want to see him? Was there
any chance I’d convince him to call his men off? “Fine. Do it.”
 7

DAX

I woke late the next morning to a cryptic message from Corbin

summoning me to Beau’s shop. What the hell did he want?
I was way too hungover to deal with my little cousin and his scheming
ways. He probably wanted me to do something for Beau that I wasn’t going
to like but would inevitably do anyway. I sat up and ran a hand through my
hair. Why the hell did I drink so much last night?
I knew the answer, but I wanted to pretend I didn’t. I couldn’t get Travis out
of my head. I’d forced myself to stay away from him since I’d helped move
his stuff to his apartment. The men I had watching him had checked in with
reports on how he was doing. I knew he’d hate me spying on him, but it
was for a good cause. Someone needed to make sure he was safe at night.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, about what it would’ve been
like if I kissed him, about what it would be like if I was actually his full-
time protector, what it would be like if he were truly mine. I’d wrapped my
hand around my cock in the shower, in bed, wherever and whenever I
jerked off, imagining him under me as I held him down and thrust into him.
I imagined him straddling me, riding me faster and faster as I urged him on.
I imagined him on his knees, swallowing my cock.
I kept thinking I needed to bury myself in someone else to put Travis out of
my mind, but every time I’d gone out, I’d turned down all the propositions
I’d received. I wanted Travis, not someone else. How the hell had this all
come on so fast? I’d never believed in fate bringing two people together.
Hell, I’d never really believed in love until I’d seen my cousins fall for their
men. Now I was questioning everything because my mind was screaming
that Travis was the one. He was mine, and I needed to go claim him, but I
held back. There would be so many consequences if I did.
Now I was finally going to see Travis again… unless I ignored Corbin’s
message. Maybe seeing him would actually be a good thing. Maybe I’d
realize I was blowing my attraction to him out of proportion,
misremembering the intensity of the feelings he inspired in me.
Or maybe it would make everything worse. What did Corbin mean he had
someone I needed to talk to? He was being vague, and that was never a
good sign. I texted him for clarification, but even after I’d showered and
eaten breakfast, I’d gotten no reply, not that I was surprised by that.
My AC was working overtime to combat the midsummer heat, so I’d eaten
in my boxers, then reluctantly pulled on a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt. I
would’ve had to leave the house eventually. Remy would be fussing at me
soon to get on with some of the tasks he’d assigned me. As much as I
dreaded going out into the swampy heat, if I stayed home, I’d just spend
every second thinking about Travis.
It was possible I wouldn’t even see him. He might be working under a car
the whole time. For all I knew, it was his day off, though the fact that my
man reported he’d left his apartment at the usual time and gone to the body
shop told me I wasn’t going to be that lucky.
When I pulled to a stop in the lot in front of Beau’s shop, I took a deep
breath of the cool air blasting from my car vents before cutting the engine. I
headed for the main office, assuming Corbin would be lurking somewhere
near there since he rarely did any of the dirtier work.
Leland, the youngest of the mechanics, was at the front desk sorting
through some work orders. “Is Corbin around?”
“Um… yeah… but I think he’s in Beau’s office.” Leland’s nervous frown
told me everything I needed to know.
“He’s in there with Beau? And the door’s shut?”
Leland blushed as he nodded.
Dammit. Those two would fuck anywhere. They didn’t care who heard it.
“I guess it’s time to piss them off.” I headed down the hall. I heard a
muffled laugh from Leland as I pounded on Beau’s office door. “Get decent.
It’s Dax. I’m coming in.”
“The door is fucking locked,” Beau shouted.
“You think I can’t pick it?”
“Give us a few minutes,” Corbin yelled.
“You shouldn’t have called me if you didn’t want me showing up
unannounced.”
I heard scrambling as I fiddled with the doorknob. I could pick the lock, but
I decided to be slightly more patient.
A moment later, Corbin open the door. His hair stood up straight. His t-shirt
was on backward, and Beau’s coveralls were partly unzipped and hanging
at his waist.
“I’ll get you back for this,” Beau said.
“Blame Corbin, not me. He’s the one who called me at an indecent hour and
didn’t even tell me what the hell he needed.”
“What did you want?” Beau glared at his man.
“Don’t worry about it. Go back to whatever it was I distracted you from.”
Beau slapped Corbin’s ass and walked out the door, pulling his coveralls
back up as he went.
“You might want to do something about that.” I gestured to Corbin’s t-shirt.
He rolled his eyes and turned it around. “Why the hell did you call me here?
Who wants to talk to me?”
“Last night, I took Travis to dinner, then dropped him off. Apparently, you
failed to tell him you had someone watching his place, and when I waved to
our guy—”
“Fuck. Travis knows?” I should never have kept it from him. “How mad is
he?”
“Pretty damn mad. I told him he had to take it up with you.”
“Travis is the person you called me here to see?”
“What did you want me to do? You’re the one who gave the order. I told
Travis I couldn’t do anything about it. That only you or Remy could.”
I squeezed my hands into fists. “You little shit.”
He shrugged. “I might be, but I’m also an excellent matchmaker.”
“Oh, fuck no, Corbin.” I could not have him trying to push me and Travis
together.
“He talked about you a lot at dinner, and anytime I even tried to criticize
you, he jumped to your defense.”
I tried to ignore the way that made my pulse accelerate. “What’s there to
criticize?”
Corbin just smiled.
“Do you have any idea what a fucking mess that would be?”
“Look at me and Beau.”
I snorted. “That has got to be some kind of miracle.”
There wasn’t going to be any easy way to get out of this. “Where is he?”
“In the back garage.”
Of course he was. “Alone?”
“If not, I can arrange it.”
“No thanks. If we need privacy, we’ll step outside. I don’t need Beau pissed
off at me about slowing work down as well as interrupting his morning fun.
Didn’t you two just get out of bed a few hours ago?”
“Beau gets up at five.”
“Okay, four hours ago.”
Corbin smirked. “He likes me. What can I say?”
“I don’t.”
“That’s what families are for.”
I flipped him off and left to find Travis. I wasn’t a man who usually got
nervous, or I wouldn’t have succeeded in my line of work. But I was
nervous now. Every step I took, my heart pounded harder. Despite the heat,
I felt cold sweat on the back of my neck. I didn’t want to argue with Travis.
I’d faced down men who carved their enemies into tiny bits. I’d faced down
drug lords, gunrunners, and all manner of mobsters without being scared.
But I didn’t know if I could deal with my friend’s little brother who I’d
known since I was a kid? That wouldn’t do. I was no fucking coward.
When I stepped into the garage, I saw Travis immediately. It was as if my
gaze was pulled to him and nothing else existed for me. If any of my family
knew I was having thoughts like this, they wouldn’t stop making fun of me
for years, maybe ever.
I watched Travis for a moment. He was concentrating on returning tools to
their location on the wall hooks. When he turned and saw me, he froze.
“Dax? What are you doing here?” As soon as he said the words, he shook
his head. “That was a dumb question. I mean, Corbin’s your cousin, but…”
Travis’s nervousness eased mine. I smiled as I walked closer. He tracked
every step I took, and the look on his face did nothing to calm my desire for
him. “Corbin said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Oh.”
“So what’s up?”
“I… um… You can’t keep spying on me. I want you to call your men off.”
“Cher, I’m not going to do that. You know better.” I took another step
toward him, and he leaned back and gripped the counter.
He swallowed hard. His eyes were huge as he watched me. “Are you
always this fucking difficult?”
I laughed, squeezing my hand into a fist to keep from cupping his cheek.
“Yes.”
“I don’t—” His phone rang.
I tilted my head toward it. “Go ahead and answer it. I’ll wait.”
Travis answered the call. Within seconds, the color drained from his face.
He didn’t say anything, but a few moments later his frightened expression
turn to anger. “Leave me alone.”
He ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
“Who was that?”
Travis shook his head. “Wrong number.”
“Travis, do you really think I’m that stupid?”
“It’s nothing, Dax. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“I worry about everything that concerns you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re… Because I promised to protect you. You were scared by
whatever the person said.”
“When Beau was in jail, I was scared every day. I’m used to it.”
“Let me help you. Let all of us help you.”
“What’s going on?” Beau called. I turned to see Corbin right behind him.
He’d probably been trying to stop Beau from coming out to the garage.
“Travis just got a call that shook him up,” I said, knowing Beau would want
details as much as I did.
“Who was it?” Beau demanded.
Travis rolled his eyes. “Does anyone around here understand privacy?”
“Nope,” Corbin said. “There are a lot of good things about my family, but
that is one of the downsides.”
“It was some guy claiming to work for LePlatt, telling me they wanted to
see me.”
This was not good. “They’ve probably traced the phone by now.”
Corbin’s expression hardened. “How long did the call last?”
I held out my hand. “Let me see your phone.”
Travis glared at me. “I can look it up myself.”
There was no point in arguing. He was right. “I’m calling Remington. I
want to be sure we’re fully prepared.”
“You don’t need to do that. It was just a threat. It’s not like this is the first
time they’ve called me.”
Anger burned through me. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me they’d
contacted you before? How long has it been since you’ve heard from
them?”
Travis shrugged. “I don’t know. A month or so.”
“Jesus.” Beau ran a hand over his hair. “I can’t believe you kept this from
me.”
“I didn’t. I told you they wanted revenge.”
“You didn’t say they’d already tried to come for you.”
“They haven’t. They just make threats. Nothing has come of it.”
Beau’s face was red. He looked ready to explode, and I was fighting just as
hard to stay calm. I’d known Travis was in danger, but now I was ready to
tear everyone in LePlatt’s organization apart.
“That will change now that they know you’re here,” I said. “Once they
realize you’re in a position to spill information to the Theriots, they aren’t
going to leave you alone.”
“I told you I should just leave. I didn’t want to involve any of you in this.”
“Too bad,” Beau snarled. “We’re involved, and that’s exactly where we
want to be.”

No one came after Travis or any of us that day or during the next few
weeks. I spent a lot of time at Beau’s shop. I often caught Travis watching
me. More than once, he dropped tools or forgot what he was saying
midsentence whenever I was close by. I hoped I wasn’t as obvious, but
Travis was distracting as fuck.
I was thrilled when Beau and Corbin moved to a new house and offered
Travis the apartment over the shop. I had much better control over the
security there than I did at his other apartment. When Sam, Beau’s manager,
needed to take some time off for a family emergency, I said I would fill in
for her. Beau was skeptical because Sam was a fucking genius mechanic,
and I was barely adequate, but he agreed to it, knowing I would probably
hang around anyway, and my presence would help keep his brother safe.
After several full days at Beau’s shop and long nights doing other family
business, I was exhausted. Keeping hold of my self-control around Travis
grew more and more difficult. To make things even worse, my cousin
Lancelot had jumped on the fall-in-love-with-someone-completely-
unsuited-for-you bandwagon like his brothers.
Every day I considered whether I could get away with pulling Travis into
the bathroom or the supply closet or if the only way I could pin him against
a wall to take what I wanted was if I waited until he was heading up to his
apartment for the night. How much longer would I last before I either made
a wrong fucking move or spontaneously combusted?
 8

TRAVIS

L ance and his new boyfriend, Julian, stopped by at closing time on

Saturday to thank Beau for the work he’d done on Julian’s Corvette. I
liked Julian, and I enjoyed chatting with them, but I kept being distracted by
Dax. Whenever he was close by, I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. As Lance
and Julian drove away, I gave into my urge and let myself look my fill
while Dax talked to Beau. When Dax glanced over and noticed me, heat
filled my face. I spun around and began walking to the garage, wishing I
could make myself invisible.
I was about halfway to the door and fighting the urge to run when Dax
called, “Hey, Travis!”
I looked behind me and saw him jogging to catch up with me. I told myself
not to get too excited. He’d been keeping his distance again. Why would
that change now?
“What do you need, Dax?”
“I was just wondering if you’d help me change the oil in my motorcycle.
It’s nice to have someone to talk to while I do it. Unless you have other
plans. I assumed you’d be staying here since you’re living here now.”
“I’d love that.” The words came out automatically. And really, what other
answer could I give. I didn’t think I’d ever have the strength to say no to a
chance to spend time with him. I’d caught him watching me several times.
He tried to play it off, but I’d started to wonder if he was as aware of me as
I was of him. That made absolutely no sense, though. Dax could have
whoever he wanted. Why would he want someone as fucked up as I was?
Maybe because he’s fucked up too?
I knew what he did, and no sane person could torture people on a regular
basis without it affecting them, but he seemed so together, so in control. I
longed for him to take charge of me.
But if he wanted that too, why had he stayed away from me for so long?
Did he just feel sorry for me? Did he think I was lonely?
“Don’t feel obligated to ask me. I’m fine on my own.” I turned toward the
garage and started walking again.
“Travis.” He said my name in such a serious tone that I stopped and looked
at him. “I want your help.”
The way he said the words in a low, rich voice, he might as well have said I
want you. My cock reacted, and I hoped to hell Dax wouldn’t notice. Was
there any chance I could be close to him and not make a fool of myself?
“Okay, so let’s… um… get your bike.”
I opened the bay door so he could pull it inside.
We didn’t say much as he wiped down the engine around the oil filter, and I
grabbed a drain pan, a funnel, and a wrench.
His hand brushed mine as he reached for the wrench to loosen the drain
plug. I felt the tingles all the way down my spine. When Dax leaned over
me, I drew in his scent. How could he work here all day and still smell so
damn good?
As the oil drained into the pan, I let my gaze linger over his body, the
defined muscles of his arms, the strong line of his jaw, his hands that looked
so damn powerful. What would it feel like for him to hold me down as he
fucked me?
Dear God. I needed to stop. My cock was half-hard, and if he noticed, I
might die right there on the spot. It had been so damn long since I’d been
with a man, and I’d never been with a man like Dax, a big, strong,
confident, beast of a man.
He turned and looked at me, making me realize he’d asked me something
while I was lost in my fantasy.
“What did you say?”
He didn’t answer. He just looked at me like a predator studying his prey. He
was scary as hell, but I wanted him to scare me. I wanted the thrill of it, and
I knew no matter how fierce he was, he also knew how to be gentle.
“I asked you to hand me a quart of oil.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
He smiled. “No problem.”
I reached for the oil on the counter behind me and gave it to him.
“Thanks.”
It was clear he didn’t really need help, so why had he asked me? Did he
have a reason why he thought he needed to keep a close eye on me?
But if that was it, why would he have let me walk away first?
I watched Dax as he tipped the oil can, not the funnel, but a noise drew my
attention. At first, I dismissed it as someone pulling a car around to the
back. Then I realized everyone else had left.
“What was that?”
Dax froze. We were both silent. The air around us seemed to hum, then I
heard a car door slam. “It’s probably just someone who didn’t realized
we’re closed.”
Dax shook his head. “Beau never forgets to arm the gate after hours.” He
reached for his gun. “Have you got a weapon?”
I shook my head. He pulled another gun from his ankle holster and handed
it to me. “Stay here, and I’ll check it out.”
“Dax—”
He was already moving toward the bay door. I prayed Beau had just been
careless, but I knew better. We’d lived too much of our lives under threat
from someone or something for him to ever let his guard down, and it
wasn’t like Corbin was going to be lax about security either.
I followed Dax to the door. He turned and scowled at me, motioning for me
to go back.
I didn’t retreat, but I stayed where I was, giving him a chance to look out
and survey the yard. I intended to have his back. That was nonnegotiable.
He glanced back at me, rolled his eyes, then motioned me closer. Despite
the danger, I shivered as he whispered against my ear. “Look out there and
tell me if you recognize the guy.” He looked once more as if to confirm the
man was still visible. When he spoke again, his lips touched my ear, and the
room spun around me. “He’s standing by his car in the lot.”
Surely if it was one of LePlatt’s henchmen, he wouldn’t be so obvious,
would he? Not unless he was that damn confident he could get to me. Did
he think I’d just willingly go with him? No way in hell was that happening.
If I left with him, I wasn’t coming back, no matter what he might say. I
doubted even the Theriots would find my body.
I tried to move around Dax, but he forced me to stay against the wall. He
covered me as I looked out. When I saw the man by the car, I sucked in my
breath
“I take it you do know him,” Dax said.
I nodded, then rose on tiptoes so I could speak close to Dax’s ear. He pulled
me closer, nearly lifting me off my feet. “It’s Jean-Charles. He works for
LePlatt.”
“Fuck.” Dax forgot to muffle the word, but I doubted Jean-Charles could
hear us from where he was unless he was superhuman. Of course, he sure as
hell seemed to think he was.
Dax pulled out his phone and typed something quickly. “I just alerted the
guy we have watching the place. I’m going to make Jean-Charles regret
daring to show up here.”
As I kept watching him, Jean-Charles brought his fingers to his mouth and
whistled loudly. “Travis!” he called. “I know you’re back there. It’s been
too long since we’ve had a chat. Come out and talk to me.”
Did the bastard actually think I was that stupid? Possibly. I’d played dumb
plenty of times to keep from being treated even worse than I was.
“How useful would this asshole be as a prisoner?” Dax asked. When I saw
his expression as he looked at Jean-Charles, I understood why Corbin said
everyone was scared of him.
“He’d be very useful, but you should kill him before he sees you. He’s too
dangerous.”
Dax kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry. I got this.”
I’d seen Jean-Charles mow down three boys who couldn’t have been more
than sixteen, then have a business meeting while their bodies lay there. I’d
seen him chop a man’s head off, wipe his knife on the man’s clothes,
sheathe it, and go back to a cocktail party to dance with the guy’s wife.
When she’d asked if he’d seen her husband, he just shrugged.
“Travis,” Jean-Charles called again. “It’s time to come out. I don’t have all
night.”
“Stay put,” Dax said. “I’m going to bag this bastard.”
I let Dax think I would stay behind like he told me, but once he started
moving around the building hoping to surprise Jean-Charles, I followed
him. I knew he’d eventually hear me, but I kept far enough back not to
distract him. I wanted to have his back, but I didn’t want to divert his
attention. I had no doubt Dax was fucking deadly. From what I’d heard, the
Theriots learned how to shoot as soon as they could walk, and I’d seen Dax
in action years ago. Even then he was scarily precise, but unlike Jean-
Charles, Dax had a soul, and that put Dax at a disadvantage.
Dax managed to move so quietly Jean-Charles didn’t notice him. Pride was
the man’s greatest weakness. He probably didn’t think anyone could sneak
up on him. If Dax had a sniper rifle, the fucker might already be dead, but I
was sure Dax hadn’t taken my advice about killing him. He wanted to get
damn close before he took a shot. Wounding and taking a man prisoner was
a lot trickier than killing him.
Dax stilled. I moved a few steps closer, but he didn’t turn around.
“Hey asshole!” Dax called.
Jean-Charles turned his way, weapon ready to fire, but Dax was faster. He
shot Jean-Charles in his right arm, and Jean-Charles dropped his gun. As
Dax rushed him, he used his good arm to pull out a knife.
Dax plowed into him, knocking him to the ground. I raised my gun, but
there was no way for me to be sure I wouldn’t hit Dax by mistake, not with
them grappling like they were. Dax shoved Jean-Charles to the ground and
gripped his knife arm. He slammed Jean-Charles’s arm into the ground
again and again. Dax was absolutely brutal. Jean-Charles wasn’t a small
man, and I knew he was strong as shit, but he was clearly no match for Dax.
Once he lost his grip on the knife, Dax used a solid punch to his jaw to
knock him out. Dax slammed his fist into the ground as if he needed to hit
Jean-Charles again but was afraid he’d kill him. I had no doubt he could
snap the man’s neck with little effort.
When Dax didn’t say anything or turn around, I moved a little closer. I
knew that was foolish. I knew better than to approach someone when they
were caught up in that kind of rage, but I took the risk anyway. I tried to
focus on Dax, not the bloody man on the ground. I’d never had a strong
stomach, and I did not want to throw up in front of Dax.
“Dax? Look at me.”
As he turned my way, a car skidded to a stop by the gate, and two men
hopped out.
Fuck. Could Dax take them out too, or should I just shoot them? I raised my
gun, and Dax grabbed my arm so fast I barely saw his hand move. “They’re
with me.”
I studied the men more carefully and realized they were two of the guards
Dax had tailing me.
“I texted them before I left the garage,” Dax said.
“You could’ve told me.”
“You could’ve stayed put like I told you to.”
“I don’t take orders from—”
“Enough.” Anger burned in Dax’s eyes. “We’ll talk about that later.”
The men hopped the gate and rushed over to us. “Everyone okay?” one of
them asked.
Dax nodded and gestured toward Jean-Charles. “He works for LePlatt.
Travis has had dealings with him before. He needs to be restrained and
heavily guarded until I have time to extract information from him.”
Dax smiled as he spoke, looking as evil as I’d ever seen him. He was going
to enjoy torturing Jean-Charles. That should scare the shit out of me, but
somehow, at that moment, I wanted Dax more than ever. I wasn’t sure what
to do, so I just watched as Dax and his men zip tied Jean-Charles’s wrists
and ankles together, gagged him, and put a hood over his head. I worried he
might suffocate like that, but I figured they must know what they were
doing, and if he died, it wasn’t like I’d be sad.
I started toward the office, but Dax grabbed my arm. “Don’t you dare leave
my sight.”
Once they’d dumped Jean-Charles in the back of the SUV and the men had
taken off, Dax turned to face me. I knew I was in trouble.
“I told you to stay put.”
“I wasn’t letting you do this by yourself.”
He glared at me, and I was tempted to take a step back, but I held my
ground. “Get back in the goddam garage.”
“There’s no reason to hide. You took care of the problem.”
“Are you going to do what I said?”
I shook my head. I wanted to find out how far he’d push me. “Dax, you
can’t—”
He picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. I held onto his back
pockets to keep from falling and watched his fine ass bounce with each of
his purposeful steps. What was wrong with me that I was thinking about his
perfect body when I should be fighting so he’d put me down?
You don’t want to get away.
I should, but I didn’t. The tension between us had gone on for too long. I
felt the heat of Dax’s body beneath me, and I knew it was time to let it burn
me.
Dax stomped into the garage, grabbed the strap to pull down the bay door,
and jerked it closed. Then, still balancing me with one arm, he swiped all
the tools off the top of a workbench and set me on it, forcing my legs wide
as he moved between them.
I could barely draw in a breath. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I
might pass out. I leaned back, not because I wanted to get away but because
the intensity of Dax’s expression was too much. He looked like he might eat
me alive, and I knew I’d welcome it.
“I can’t keep you safe if you don’t fucking listen to me.” His hands
squeezed my hips harder, making me gasp. He was going to leave bruises.
“I expect you to do what I say.” His voice was so low he was basically
growling at me. I just managed to understand the words.
I had no idea what to say. I wanted to protest, to tell him he didn’t have any
right to tell me what to do. I should have reminded him that I was an adult,
that I made my own choices. But I’d managed to fuck my life up over and
over. Right then, all I wanted was for Dax to control me. I’d let him do
anything he wanted to me. I was his.
“I’m sorry.” I cupped his face, pulled him to me, and kissed him. When our
lips touched, it ignited a spark. I’d thought Dax was fierce before, but I
realized he’d been holding back when his mouth crushed mine. The kiss
was an assault. He drove his tongue into my mouth, and I didn’t have any
choice but to open for him. I might’ve started the kiss, but I’d lost all
control of it.
When Dax released my mouth, I sucked in air, trying to remember how to
breathe. He moved his lips along the line of my jaw and down my throat,
nipping at the tender skin hard enough to make me cry out. He let go of one
of my hips so he could seize the side of my neck and push my chin up with
his thumb until I met his gaze. “Do you know what I’m going to do to you
now?”
I shook my head frantically. Whatever it was, I was sure it was going to be
both wonderful and terrible at the same time.
Dax ran the pad of his thumb up and down the front of my throat. The
pressure he used was gentle, but I still felt suffocated. “I’m going to fuck
you right here in this garage. I’m going to fill you full of my cock so you
know you’re mine. No one touches you but me, and I expect you to do
exactly what I say. I won’t go easy on you, but I’ll make you love it.”
 9

TRAVIS

A whimper escaped me as I stared at Dax. Had he really just promised

to…
“I told you I was a monster. I tried to warn you. Once my control breaks,
that’s it. The guys I hook up with, they know the score. They know I need it
rough and harsh, and I demand complete control.”
Jesus. Dax really was everything I craved.
“I tried to keep my hands off you, but I can’t do it anymore. That bastard
could’ve killed you as you stood right there in the open. All he had to do
was aim for your heart, and you would’ve been gone. I won’t have that.”
I started to protest, but he shook his head. “I don’t want any excuses. I just
want to teach you a lesson.”
Was he serious?
“Who do you belong to?”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at him. The only word I could get out was
“Please.”
“I already told you. You don’t get any mercy for me. Who do you belong
to?” He squeezed my throat harder than he had before
I licked my lips and drew in a raspy breath. Dax wasn’t cutting off my air,
but his hand around my throat still spiked my fear, reminding me how
dangerous he really was. I wanted that danger. I wanted him to push me to
the edge. I liked the fear, but this time, I could truly trust the man I was
with.
When I didn’t answer, Dax added a little more pressure. Instinctively, I
reached for his arm with both hands, trying to free myself. Somehow, he
seized both my wrists in his free hand. “You knew who I was. You knew
how easily I could own you.”
“Yes.” I was barely able to make the word audible.
He eased up the pressure on my throat so I could speak more easily. “I… I
don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Neither do I, but I’ve given up on that. Now come here.”
He kissed me again, and I kissed him back just as hard. I slid my hands into
his hair, needing something to hold on to. It felt like we were fighting as
much as kissing, and it was glorious. Dax pushed his hands under my ass
and pulled me against him. The hard ridge of his cock rubbed against mine,
and I groaned. I needed him inside me.
“Please. Dax, please.”
“I told you I’m not letting you go.”
“Show me how much you want me,” I begged.
“Jesus, how much proof do you need?” Dax took his hand and pressed it to
his dick. “Stroke me.”
His thick shaft felt so fucking good. I wanted to be touching his bare skin. I
fumbled with the button of his pants, but he took over for me, opening them
and freeing his cock. I stared down at it, fascinated by his size and the
precum beaded at the tip. “You’re so fucking big.”
Dax grinned. “Did you ever doubt it?”
I laughed. “I shouldn’t have. It’s so like you to have a dick like this.”
“Worried you can’t take it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want you to give me a choice.”
“I’m not.”
I sucked in my breath and tried to find the courage to ask for what I wanted.
“I…”
“What? Tell me, Travis.”
“I want to take it in my mouth.”
His eyes widened. “You’re going to fucking kill me. Lie down.”
I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but when I didn’t move, he pushed at my
chest and turned me longways on the counter so I could hang my head off
the edge.
My heart pounded so hard I worried I would pass out. “You’re r-really not
going easy on me, are you?”
“Fuck no.”
This felt so wrong, so absolutely filthy, but my cock was about to break
through my coveralls.
Dax shoved his pants down and positioned himself so he could tease my
lips with the tip of his cock. “Is this what you want?”
I whimpered and tried to reach for him, but he pinned my wrists at my
sides. For just a moment, reality burst in on this perfect fantasy. “What if
Beau comes back?”
Dax growled. “You should have thought of that before you disobeyed me.”
“He’ll kill you.”
Dax grinned. “No. He won’t. No one will. Now open your mouth and quit
arguing.”
10
 DAX

H e did as I said, and I pushed into his mouth. I did my best to use
shallow thrusts at first. I was a monster, but I had a few manners left.
It took only seconds for his hot mouth to break what little control I had.
When he moaned around me, I drove in deep, making him gag. He fought
my hold, but I held him down, choking him a few more seconds before
pulling back. He gasped and tried to sit up, but I didn’t let him. I pushed
right back in. I knew how wrong it was, but there was so much darkness in
me, so much aggression and desire to take exactly what I wanted. Travis
said I had a soul, but some days I wondered if that was really true.
I worked my cock in and out in slow strokes. It was killing me not to ram
myself all the way into his throat, but if I did, I wouldn’t stop until I drained
every drop of cum from my balls, and I wasn’t ready for that. Finally, I
forced myself to pull all the way out. I couldn’t help but stare at his puffy,
spit-slick lips. “Jesus, you’re gorgeous.”
He tried to speak but ended up coughing.
“I hope you weren’t about to disagree with me,” I said as I used a hand
under his back to help him sit up, then guided him to turn so his legs hung
off the counter where his head had been.
I cupped his face and pulled him to me for a kiss, needing to taste myself on
him.
His hands went to my waist and clung to me, pulling me closer and pressing
his body against mine.
You need this, don’t you?
“Yes. Please.”
“I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll never forget who’s in charge, who
you belong to.”
“God, Dax, this is so…” I reached between us to cup his dick, and his
words trailed off as he shuddered.
“I need you naked. Now,” I snarled as I yanked down the zipper of his
coveralls and shoved them off his shoulders. He lifted his arms without
needing to be told so I could pull his t-shirt up and over his head. I tossed it
on the floor, not caring where it landed.
I also didn’t care that he was sweaty and dirty. In fact, I reveled in it as I
breathed deeply at the base of his neck before kissing and nibbling his
collarbone. I shoved at his chest until he leaned back on his elbows so I
could easily access his tight pink nipples. He moaned and begged as I bit
and sucked at the tight buds.
“After I fill you up with my cum, I want to watch it drip out of you.”
“Oh fuck. Dax, that’s…”
“Can I do that? Can I take you bare?”
He nodded frantically. “No one… since… tested.”
“And you trust me?”
“I’ve done way stupider things.”
I did not want to think about any of that. “I would never endanger you.”
“You just choked me with your cock.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Lie down so I can get your fucking pants off.”
Travis reached for the zipper of his coveralls, pulling them down the rest of
the way, obviously eager to obey me now. When he raised his hips, I tugged
on his pants. He toed off his work shoes, and once they dropped to the floor,
I yanked the coveralls off.
I paused then, giving myself a moment to just look at him: his pale skin, the
light covering of hair on his chest, the darker treasure trail that led down to
his dick, which was rock hard and standing up like it was begging me for
more. I wrapped my hand around it, working him slowly. He lifted his legs,
trying to brace them on the edge of the counter, but I shook my head. “Hold
them up. Open yourself wide for me.”
His eyes widened as he obeyed, grasping himself behind each knee. I took
hold of his ankles, pushing them into the air as I bent and licked the length
of his cock before letting my gaze rest on his hole. I teased it with my
thumb, pushing against it, feeling it give only slightly.
My cock was going to stretch him so wide. It would hurt and, beast that I
was, I wanted to hear him cry out as he fought to adjust to me. I wanted to
know he was suffering as he tried his best to accommodate me.
I leaned over him, crushing his legs to his chest. “Do you know what you’re
doing?”
He looked up, scowling at me. “I’m not a virgin.”
I burst out laughing, and he squirmed, trying to get free. “Don’t laugh at
me. Just because I—”
“No.” I took hold of his chin and forced him to look up at me. As he did so,
he wrapped his legs around my waist.
“I’m not laughing at you, and don’t you dare say you’re not skilled. Your
mouth… God, it was all I could do not to come in five seconds. I meant did
you know what you were doing with a man like me? Do you understand
what I am?”
“You’re arrogant and violent and scary as fuck, but you’re also my
protector.”
Warmth surged through me then. Unlike the scalding heat of desire, the
sensation warmed my heart and made me believe Travis might truly be able
to care for me. “Damn right I am. I’m going to keep you safe, and you’re
going to obey me.”
“Dax, I—”
I put a finger over his lips. “No arguing. And don’t move.”
I stepped back, and he let his feet fall to the edge of the counter. “Where are
you going?”
“To find some lube.”
“Oh, shit, I…”
“Did you think I was going to fuck you dry? Baby, I don’t need to hurt you
that badly.”
He moaned. “That shouldn’t be hot. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
“You were made for me.”
“Fuck. I… I think you might be right.”
I stepped into the bathroom and found some unscented lotion. I was already
slicking up my cock as I walked back to Travis. He’d obeyed perfectly. He
was lying there on the counter, legs bent double, head turned to watch me,
mouth open as he stared at my hand moving on my cock. The garage looked
like a scene from a porno, but it was so much better because Travis was
mine, and I could do whatever I wanted with him.
I teased his hole with the tip of my cock. He sucked in his breath, and his
eyes met mine. I was torn between wanting to watch his hole open to
accommodate me and watching his eyes to see the expression on his face as
he fought the pain and tried not to struggle.
“Mine,” I growled as I pushed forward. I held his gaze and saw both pain
and determination in his eyes.
“You can take it.”
“I don’t—”
“You don’t have any choice.”
Travis shook his head and sank his teeth into his lower lip as I eased in
more.
“God, you’re so tight. You’re squeezing me so hard, but I’m going to
stretch you wide, fill you up, mark you as mine.”
“Please,” he begged.
“You want that, don’t you?” I ran my tongue over his lower lip, trying to
keep him from making it bleed.
He sucked my thumb into his mouth, and I lost it. He cried out as I drove
into him, head dropping back. His eyes flew open as I gripped his throat
and slowly pulled back, readying myself to go all the way on my next
stroke. “Take it,” I demanded. “Take all of it.”
11
 TRAVIS

I looked up at Dax again and held his gaze. The intensity in his eyes
seemed to electrify me. I couldn’t think, but I needed more from him.
“Never thought… I would… More.”
“You’re fucking perfect for me.” Dax pulled out and pushed in again. This
time he didn’t stop until he was as far in as he could go. He rocked against
me, making me writhe. I wasn’t sure I could take anymore.
I was near panic when Dax pressed his hand against my sternum. “Relax.
Breathe. Let your body get used to me. It’s mine now.”
“Jesus. Can’t. Too much. Too full.”
“Never. You were made for me.”
Was I? He could almost make me believe it. I’d loved him since I was a kid.
Oh shit. Love? That couldn’t be what this was. But what else could it be?
Dax pulled almost all the way out, and it no longer mattered that I thought
he would split me in two. The pleasure of having him there, of knowing he
wanted me, knowing I could drive him wild like this was worth it. “Need
more. Need you inside me.”
“That’s right. It’s where I belong.” He started fucking me for real then,
driving his full length into me.
I hooked my legs over his shoulders as he slammed against me over and
over. My balls ached. I needed release, but instinctively I knew he wouldn’t
want me to come until he told me to. He said he wanted to be in charge of
everything, and apparently, I wanted it that way.
He slid a hand up my body and grasped my throat. I could still breathe, but
I loved the feeling of his strong hand pressing against me. “Are you going
to listen to me next time?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to
promise him something that wasn’t true. I loved him like this, wild, rough,
out of control. “Do I get this again… if I… listen?”
He narrowed his eyes and growled, squeezing my throat harder and fucking
me mercilessly. I grew desperate for air. I grabbed at his arm, and he smiled
down at me. The evil in his eyes made my cock jump.
When he finally let go, I sucked in air and rubbed my neck. Would I have a
handprint there?
“Don’t fucking play with me, Travis.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. I…”
“No more talking.”
He leaned over me, and I wrapped my legs around him, hanging on as he
fucked me so hard I thought I would pass out. Then he reached between us
and took hold of my cock.
I arched into him, driving my shaft into the circle of his fingers. “Please.
Need to come. Need to come so bad.”
“Do it. I want to watch you. I want to feel your ass squeezing me and your
cum all over my hand.”
I worked my hips as hard as I could, and he jerked me off with rough, harsh
strokes. It probably would’ve hurt if I hadn’t been so far gone with need,
but it was exactly what I wanted.
Dax groaned. “You feel so fucking good.”
“I… Fuck.”
“Who do you belong to?”
“You!” I cried out as release overtook me. Dax kept working my cock,
wringing more and more cum from me until I was so sensitive I didn’t think
I could take it anymore.
Finally, he let go of my cock and seized my wrists, dragging them over my
head and pinning them there. He fucked me harder and harder until I felt
him tense and saw pure ecstasy on his face. He looked into my eyes, and I
was sure he saw far too much of my feelings. I felt naked in a way that had
nothing to do with my lack of clothes. I’d been as physically exposed to
him as I could be. But this was… so much more.
His hot cum flooded my ass, and it felt incredible. I truly felt like he was
marking me as his own. I never wanted this to end.
Dax released my wrists and stretched out over me. “Mine,” he murmured
before his lips met mine. The kiss wasn’t harsh like before. It was tender
and sweet. I melted as he worked me over. The counter no longer felt solid
under me. I should be sore from being slammed into the rigid surface.
Instead, I felt like I was floating.
When he ended the kiss and pulled away, I tried to pull him back. “More.”
“Don’t tell me you’re more insatiable than I am.”
“No. I mean… I just want… Shit.” I closed my eyes and laid my hand over
my face. I wanted him to hold me longer. I couldn’t say that, could I? This
man tortured people for a living. He didn’t cuddle men after sex.
“Look at me.”
My eyes opened. I couldn’t disobey him. Did he have me under some kind
of spell?
“Tell me what you want, Travis.”
“I… um…” The sound of a car door made us both freeze. Then I heard
Beau’s voice.
“Oh my God.”
Dax pulled out of me, making me wince.
“Sorry, baby.” He tossed my coveralls to me. “Get dressed.”
I jumped down from the counter, but I had to grab it to steady myself. I was
not ready to move around yet. I somehow scrambled into the coveralls and
pulled my t-shirt back over my head. I was tying the sleeves at the waist
when I heard the garage door begin to open.
“Travis? You in here?” Beau called.
I glanced at Dax, panic rising, but he was completely dressed. His hair was
a little messy, but it could easily have gotten that way from him running his
hands through it.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward his bike. “Answer him,” he
mouthed.
“Hey, Beau. I’m here with Dax.”
“Thank fuck. Lance called Corbin. Are you all right?”
I nodded, hoping he thought I was rattled from the attack rather than from
Dax fucking the hell out of me. Dax was so damn good I’d almost forgotten
about Jean-Charles.
Corbin narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I…”
“He’s shaken up,” Dax said. “The fucker came here to take him. He must
have thought Travis was here alone.”
Beau exhaled loudly. “Thank fuck he wasn’t.”
“I can take care of—” Dax’s look made me stop. “Yeah, I’m glad I wasn’t
alone.”
He nodded, but I had the feeling I was still in trouble.
Beau looked around the garage and noticed the mess Dax and I had made.
“What the fuck? Did he break in here? I thought you got to him while he
was still outside.”
“We did,” Dax said.
Then why are there tools all over the place. Heat rose in my cheeks, and I
scrambled to think of an explanation.
“Well,” Dax brushed a hand over his hair. Shit. Was he going to tell the
truth? “I was angry. The man came here to take Travis. He thought Travis
would just go with him. He thought he was so fucking superior and—”
“So you threw my tools around?” Beau asked.
I prayed Beau would buy Dax’s story as I bent to pick up a screwdriver.
That’s when I realized my boxers were still on the floor. I’d just pulled on
my coveralls and not thought about anything else. I grabbed them and
stuffed them into my pocket as I cleaned up a few wrenches. I glanced up
once they were hidden. I didn’t think Beau had noticed, but I was worried
Corbin had. At least he didn’t say anything.
“I’ll clean everything up,” Dax said. “And if anything is broken, I’ll fix it.”
Beau sighed. “Fine. Why don’t you go take out your anger on the fucker
you shot?”
“I can now, but I wasn’t going to leave Travis here alone.”
“You could have—”
Corbin laid a hand on Beau’s arm. “He wanted your brother to have the best
protection. Don’t argue about that. Things could’ve gone a lot worse
tonight.”
“Thanks for keeping Travis safe,” Beau said, and I knew he wasn’t really
angry with Dax. “We’re here now, so go get us some answers.”
When I glanced at Dax, he smiled and gave me a nod. I knew he was trying
to reassure me that things were going to be fine, but I didn’t like thinking
about what he was about to do. Was it fair of his family to expect him to
provide such a gruesome service? Maybe. Someone had to do it, and Dax
said he needed that outlet to keep himself in check.
If that were really true, what the fuck was I doing? Whatever it was, I was
in too deep now to back out. I’d never been known for making good
choices. Why should that change now?
It had, though, hadn’t it? All the men I’d been with before had only been a
means to an end, a way out from poverty or from under my brother’s
control. I thought they were a ticket to wealth, a way to get what I wanted. I
thought I was using them when really, they were using me, but I hadn’t
gone after Dax on purpose. I hadn’t even tried to impress him. I’d just…
never grown out of the crush I had on him as a kid. Now I’d fallen harder
than I ever had back then. Could I really turn that off if I needed to?
“Don’t leave Travis alone for any reason,” Dax demanded.
Did they really think I was completely helpless? “I’m—”
Dax cut me off. “Any reason.”
Beau nodded. “We won’t.”
He looked at me then. “Promise me you’ll stay here until I come back for
you.”
“Beau and Corbin don’t need—”
Dax’s murderous look made Corbin smile. Damn, he was way too
perceptive. “We don’t mind you staying with us tonight if—”
“No.” Dax growled. “I’ll be back, and I’ll take him home.”
“You don’t—”
Corbin laid a hand on my arm. “Dax is right. You shouldn’t be alone. Beau,
why don’t you take Travis up to the apartment. Dax and I will clean up
here, then I’ll join you.”
If I’d used that patronizing tone on Beau, he might’ve killed me, but all he
did was roll his eyes, then motion for me to follow him.
12
 DAX

C orbin was up to something. He only got calculating when he had an

agenda.
My cousin studied the cleared counter and the mess on the floor. “What
really happened, Dax?”
I shrugged. “You know my temper.”
“I know you being angry didn’t make Travis’s boxers fall onto the floor.”
“No. You’ll have to ask Travis about that.”
“Will I?”
I scowled at him. “Yes.”
“What are you doing, Dax?”
“Don’t start in on me.” I ignored him as I picked up tools from the floor and
laid them on the counter.
“You think Beau will consider that cleaned up?”
“Do I fucking care?”
“Since you’re fucking his little brother, you probably should.”
Dax glared at him. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh, I see. Was he modeling for you or—”
“That’s enough, Corbin. I’m not fucking kidding.”
Corbin smiled then, and I knew I’d made a misstep. That calculating
bastard. I was used to dealing with men who had straightforward goals.
Usually their primary focus was surviving an encounter with me, begging
for mercy, or staying silent while I went to work on them. The latter two
were pointless. I didn’t believe in mercy once you crossed my family.
“So you do care for him?”
I was not ready to start making fucking confessions. “Let’s just clean up the
damn tools.” I made a pile on the counter, then began moving them to the
hooks where they belonged. Corbin worked silently with me for several
minutes before he spoke again.
“Beau’s not going to like it.”
“Beau abandoned him, so—”
“That’s my fiancé you’re talking about. Maybe you should think before you
say anything else.”
“Fuck, Corbin. Travis was a kid. He was seventeen when Rob started
fucking him, and Rob was twenty-six. No matter what hell Travis had been
through, he was also sheltered. He grew up seeing few others, and everyone
in the racing crew tried to protect him.”
“Beau sacrificed a hell of a lot for Travis.”
I let out a long breath. Corbin was right. “There are things you and Beau
aren’t aware of. I want to share them, but it’s Travis’s story, and he doesn’t
want to tell it. I think Beau suspects some things. Maybe he should ask his
brother about what really happened with Rob?”
Corbin’s eyes widened. “Dax, you can’t say that and leave me hanging.”
“Yes, I can. I’ve already said”—and done—“too much.”
“Go on,” Corbin said. “I’ll finish here, and I’ll talk to Beau, okay?”
“Just keep Travis safe. He thinks he can handle this, but he shouldn’t be
trying to fight this on his own.”
“I know. Beau and I will protect him.”
13
 TRAVIS

A s soon as I closed and locked the apartment door, Beau grabbed us

each a bottle of water. When he held mine out to me, I drained half of
it in one go. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was.
We sat on the couch, and he turned to face me. “I want to know exactly
what happened tonight.”
“Lance didn’t tell you?”
“I want to hear it from you.”
“Are you going to trust what I say, or will you need Dax’s verification?”
Beau glared at me. “Tell me what happened and why. There’s background
you know that we don’t.”
“You trust the Theriots completely? All of them?”
“To have our backs on this? Absolutely.”
“On other things?”
“I’d be very careful what I promised them.”
I thought about the way I’d promised Dax anything he wanted. Would he
really take me up on that, or had he just been crazed from seeing me in
danger? Did I want his feelings for me to be real?
It only took me a second to be certain. I wanted—needed—the feelings
between me and Dax to be real, but if they were, I was going to have to
open up to Beau about what had really happened five years ago. If I was
going to have a new start, I needed everything out in the open—or at least
the parts of it that affected Beau.
“Rob was working for LePlatt.”
“And the asshole who came after you works for LePlatt too?”
“Right. Rob couldn’t meet the sales quota LePlatt expected. He was
struggling to move the product. From what I’ve heard it was because Rob
had gotten a reputation for selling doctored shit. Rob stole some cash to
make up the difference in what he owed, but that wasn’t good enough for
LePlatt. He seemed to think it fucked with his reputation if he couldn’t
corner the market.”
Beau snorted. “Fucking son of a bitch. He wanted Rob to push it on kids,
didn’t he?”
“Yeah, and Rob tried, but he couldn’t gain their trust.”
“Were you selling this shit too?”
I shook my head. “There’s a lot about the situation with Rob that I’ve never
told you. Rob didn’t like to let me out in public unless I was the
entertainment. He thought I was too stupid to be a salesman, and he didn’t
want to risk me finding someone else to be my sugar daddy.”
Beau’s expression grew murderous. “What do you mean he didn’t let you
out?”
“It was part of the agreement when I moved in with him. I did what he said,
and he provided for me, except… He never made good on most of his
promises.”
“Travis, why didn’t you—”
“Don’t ask me why I didn’t leave. Surely you can understand that.”
Beau nodded. “I won’t ask more now, but we’re going to talk about this
later. Right now, I want you to finish telling me about tonight. What
happened here, and how are you mixed up in it?”
I’m only mixed up in it because I was Rob’s plaything, and LePlatt thinks
Rob passed information to me. He thinks I was in deeper than I ever was.
Rob didn’t tell me shit, and even if he had, I’m not interested in telling
anybody else. I just want to pretend I never knew these people.”
“If Rob fucked this up so badly, how did he manage to stay alive?”
“Apparently, he had some information on LePlatt, something the asshole
didn’t want getting around. Rob threatened him, then walked away. The
bastard thought he was so smart. He thought that would be the end of it.”
“But Guidry killed him, not LePlatt.”
“Right. Rob went into hiding, headed somewhere out west. I still don’t
know what brought him back here.”
“He didn’t take you with him?”
“No, he told me he didn’t ever want to see me again after I… after you…
He was done with me. He took me out into the middle of the bayou. I
thought he was going to kill me.” I’d begged and pleaded with him on the
drive. I’d reminded him I’d done what he asked. It made my stomach churn
to think of it now. My chest constricted, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
“Here. Sit down.” Beau guided me to the couch. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t
have pushed you.”
Those unexpected words were enough to anchor me, to keep the memories
from pulling me back into the past. I tried to speak, but Beau laid his hand
on mine. “Take a few minutes. We have plenty of time.”
“But you need to know so we can—”
“Dax will find out what we need to know, and we have Corbin and the rest
of their family to help us.”
That really did bring me back to the present moment because my brother
had never been willing to rely on anyone else, not even me. He taken on
running our household when I was just a toddler. He always believed that if
something was going to be done right, he was going to be the one to do it.
“Corbin really has changed you.”
Beau grinned. “He has, but the rest of my crew here has made an impact
too. Sam especially. It took me a while to learn to trust them and accept that
I can’t run this place by myself, but I’m finally there.”
“I’d like to help you too.”
Beau squeezed my hand. “What did Rob do to you, Travis?”
“I can’t tell it all at once. I don’t even know how much of it I can say out
loud, but please just believe me when I say that once I was with him, I
couldn’t leave, not without consequences I wasn’t going to accept. If I
hadn’t followed his plan to set you up, he would have had you killed. I
didn’t want you to go to prison, but at least it gave you a chance.”
Tears shimmered in Beau’s eyes. I’d never seen my brother cry, not even
when our grandma died. “I should have—”
“No.” I pulled Beau into a hug. “I chose to go with him.”
“He manipulated you.”
“Yeah, and I was stupid enough to fall for it.”
“So was I.”
“No. You thought I chose him over you.”
Beau shook his head. “I thought he was my friend. I trusted him. I knew he
was spending a lot of time with you, but I… I saw what I wanted to.”
“It’s easier to be angry at your brother than at your best friend.”
Beau scrubbed a hand over his face.
“If he were still alive, I’d fucking kill him right now or hold him down so
you could have the pleasure.”
I gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. Can we just talk about Jean-Charles
now? It’s going to take some time before I can tell you more about Rob.”
“Yes, and you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
“You believe me?”
“Of course I fucking believe you.”
“And you…” I squeezed my eyes shut willing the tears to stay put. “You
forgive me?”
“Yes.” He folded me in his arms. “Do you forgive me?”
“You didn’t—”
“I could have come after you. I could have taken you away from him. I
could have known better than to think you would betray me that way. You’d
yell at me, tell me off, defy me, yes, but… I knew something was wrong.”
“You are completely forgiven. I just want… I just want you to love me
again.”
“Travis, I always loved you. Why the hell do you think I tracked you down
and forced you to stay in the family shack… or at least tried to?”
“You’re lucky I didn’t listen.”
“That time, maybe.”
“I thought you just wanted information from me.”
“That’s what I said, but I also wanted to keep you safe, even if I didn’t want
to admit it. I had guys from the old crew watching over you the whole
time.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They were already there when you called me for backup. I wasn’t
going to leave you in the middle of the bayou unprotected.”
We hugged each other for a long time, and I allowed myself a few moments
to enjoy the idea that Beau and I could truly put our relationship back
together. That this was more than him just having me here out of duty.
Corbin came in just as Beau released me. “Wow, I didn’t think things would
move this fast, but thank God you two got right with each other. We’ve got
some assholes to catch, and that’s what we need to focus on.”
“If we’re going to make plans, I need some coffee,” Beau said.
I nodded. “Same.”
Corbin grinned. “Make some for me too. A lot of shit has come out tonight.
I assume you two talked about Rob and what a completely fucking useless
excuse of a human being he was.”
Corbin glanced at me, and I was sure then he knew about me and Dax. Why
had I left my fucking underwear on the floor?
While Beau made coffee, I took a shower to clean off the grease and dirt
and dried cum. I couldn’t believe we’d really fucked right there in the
garage. A few moments later, Beau, Corbin, and I sat down with mugs in
our hands.
I explained what I knew about Jean-Charles and gave them more details
about the threats I’d received so far.
Corbin headed off another round of Beau arguing with me about why I
didn’t tell him when I got the first threats. “You hadn’t spoken to each other
in years. Why would he come to you?”
Beau shook his head. “Fine but promise from now on you’ll tell me
everything.”
Corbin pressed his lips together, and I knew he was trying not to laugh.
Thank God Beau was looking at me and not him. “If anybody from
LePlatt’s organization, or anyone else who’s a former associate of Rob’s,
contacts me or comes after me, I promise to tell you.”
“Damn right,” Beau said.
Corbin winked at me, and I had to look away. This situation was spiraling
out of control quickly. Beau and I might’ve just repaired things between us,
but if he found out I was fucking Dax, what would that do to the peace we’d
found?
A knock on the door made me jump.
“It’s ok. It’s Dax,” Corbin said.
“How do you know?”
“I know his footsteps and his knock.”
As sure as he sounded, he still went to the door with a gun in his hand.
14
 DAX

W hen I knocked on the door of Travis’s apartment, Corbin answered

the door with a gun aimed right at my heart.
“Put that damn thing down. You knew it was me.”
“I don’t take chances. You know you don’t either.”
Corbin didn’t move the gun, and his hand remained steady. I liked to tease
him, but I was damn proud of how far he’d come. If it came to it, he just
might shoot me to protect Beau and Travis. “Corbin, seriously, what the
fuck are you doing?”
He grinned. “Debating whether to let you in.”
“I’ll come in if I want to.”
“No, you won’t.”
I grabbed his gun arm, spun him around, and twisted his arm behind his
back.
Travis jumped up from the couch, but Beau put out an arm to stop him.
“That’s how their family shows affection.”
“Seriously?”
Corbin laughed as Dax let him go. “Someday I’m going to win against
you.”
Dax rolled his eyes. “Not in this lifetime.”
“What did you learn?” Beau asked, suddenly serious.
“Not as much as I’d hoped.”
“Is he…” Travis was pale. If he had this much trouble with what I did, how
the hell was this going to work?
Corbin took my arm. “Have a seat.”
“I’m okay. I just… This is all…”
I helped Corbin lead him back to the couch. “You shouldn’t care what
happens to that bastard.”
“I don’t. I want him dead. I just… I don’t like thinking about it.”
Memories from our childhood came flooding back. “Shit, you’re still
squeamish.”
I remembered one time when Ambrose had slipped on the bank and slid
into the bayou. He’d cut himself on something metal that was hidden under
the murky surface. The gash was long and deep, and I had tried to make
him go to the ER, but our uncle insisted that pouring some whiskey on it
and using a few butterfly bandages would work just as well as anything
“those damn doctors would do.” He still had a wicked scar.
Ambrose had been fine, and my main concern had been infection, but
Travis had nearly passed out. Beau ended up piggybacking him back to my
uncle’s house.
Travis’s cheeks turned pink. “Yeah, I am.”
Beau stepped into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. “Drink
this.”
“Jean-Charles isn’t dead yet. He just wishes he was. We’re holding him in
case he can be of further use. I walked the perimeter of the property here,
and there was no sign that anyone has the place under surveillance, but I’ll
be staying here just in case.”
I refused to look at Corbin because if I did, I might give myself away. I
could keep my face blank in front of any enemy, but my little cousin was
really good at taunting me.
I explained the few details I’d learned about LePlatt’s organization, and we
all agreed to talk more the next morning.
Once the door closed behind Beau and Corbin, Travis laid his head back
against the couch and let out a long breath. “I really didn’t want to involve
all of you in this.”
“Too bad. You’re getting help, like it or not.”
“I think Corbin knows about… us.”
I nodded. “Yeah, he does, but don’t worry. He’s not going to tell Beau.”
“How long will it take Beau to figure it out himself? Are you sure this is…”
“I said you were mine, Travis. I wasn’t playing with you. There’s no going
back now.”
“So you’re… You still… want me?”
I forced myself to really think about my words. Instinct had kicked in, and
I’d asserted my need to possess him, but when I thought about who I was,
how much I’d enjoyed making Jean-Charles bleed and suffer, how I’d
laughed when he’d screamed as I’d burned his skin, I couldn’t help but
think Travis deserved better.
“I do, but I also want what’s best for you. Maybe you should try to get some
rest, and I should stay on guard outside.”
I turned toward the door, but Travis stopped me from leaving.
“Dax, I talked to Beau. I told him everything… or at least enough for him to
understand. I don’t ever want to relive all of that.”
He needed comfort. I couldn’t possibly walk away now. I pulled him into
my arms, and he rested his head against my chest. “It’s okay. You don’t
need to tell us the details. It’s just good that he knows you wouldn’t have
willingly hurt him.”
“Talking to him made me realize something.”
“What’s that?” My heart pounded. I was afraid I wouldn’t like what he was
going to say. I’d just told myself I wasn’t right for him, but now that he was
in my arms again, I didn’t want to let him go. Was he going to tell me he
needed a fresh start, one that didn’t involve me?
“I realized you were right.”
I instinctively squeezed him tighter. “Right about what?”
“I’m not a bad person. I could let myself have something good, something
that I wanted.” His voice shook as he said the words, and I pulled back to
encourage him to look up at me.
“Travis, that is absolutely true. If you need time to think about what you
want, if you need—”
“What I need is you.”
“Are you sure? There’s darkness in me, Travis, and you deserve to be in the
light.”
“You do a dark job, but it’s not always for a terrible purpose.”
“Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s just because someone crossed us.”
“Those people you hurt, are they good people, or have they done far worse
than you would ever contemplate?”
“They’re not good, but I’m not either.”
“Good or bad, you’re right for me.”
“How do you know that? I meant every word I said to you earlier, but it’s
been such a short time.”
Travis shook his head. “It’s been years. I’ve wanted you since I was way
too young to feel that way.”
I’d suspected he might’ve had a crush on me the last few times I’d seen
him, but at that point, I’d still thought of him like a little brother. Then I’d
seen him again, and… Wow. Before I could think of the right thing to say,
Travis went to his knees in front of me.
“I’m yours, Dax. I want you to claim me, and for the first time in a long
time, I think maybe I could deserve to be happy.”
“I want you to be happy. I want that so much.”
His smile warmed me all over. “No one has ever made me happy like you
do.”
Travis reached for the fastenings of my pants. There were so many things I
should say, but I couldn’t speak then. All I could do was watch, fascinated
as he pulled my cock from my pants, took it into his mouth, and encouraged
me to slide my fingers into his hair. I kept my hold on him, but I wasn’t
rough the way I’ve been before.
He took me deep and licked and sucked me. I didn’t think I’d ever felt
anything better. I’d gotten blow jobs from plenty of men, but it had always
been either a race to come or rough and harsh because I knew that was what
the guy wanted, and it was what I’d needed. Travis had wanted that too
earlier, but I didn’t think that was what either of us needed now. He seemed
to want to explore me, and I let him until I was so close to coming I didn’t
know if I could hold back.
I pulled away from him, not wanting this to be over too soon. I wanted to
savor every moment with him because I still worried that the more he found
out about me, the more he saw my darker side and realized exactly what I
was willing to do, the greater the chance he would eventually label me a
monster like so many others and walk away.
I reached for Travis, pulled him to his feet, then encouraged him to walk
backward until we were both standing on the rug in front of the couch. “Lie
down on your back.”
He looked apprehensive, but he did what I said. “Don’t worry. You’ll get
my dick again.”
I shoved my pants down, nearly falling in my haste to get my boots off,
then I straddled his shoulders, letting my cock dangle close to his mouth.
When he reached for it, I raised up. “Not yet.”
He moaned, and it nearly did me in.
15
 TRAVIS

I reached up, trying to pull Dax down to me. I needed more of him, more
of his taste, more of him taking charge, more assurance that he wasn’t
going to walk away from this, but he was much too strong for me. No
matter how hard I gripped his ass and tried to pull him down to my mouth,
he stayed immobile.
He undid my pants, pushed them down, and gripped my cock. I sucked in
my breath when he leaned closer. Was he… Would he really…
His mouth closed over me, and he drew me deep into his throat. The tight
heat almost made me come instantly.
I’d never imagined a man like Dax would suck my cock. Most of the men
I’d been with didn’t believe in sucking cock. They thought they were too
good for it. I lifted my hips, pushing deeper into his mouth. Dax wasn’t just
willing; he was so fucking good.
He lowered his hips, brushing the tip of his cock over my mouth. I opened
for him, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take the feel of him filling my
mouth while he pleasured me using his tongue, his lips, and even the gentle
scrape of his teeth to drive me insane. Dax kept a steady rhythm moving in
and out of my mouth, and I let him, relaxing into it, letting him take me.
This give-and-take was unlike anything I’d ever had before. It was like
pampering and surrender all in one. There was no way I could hold back. I
tried to speak around his thick shaft, even though I knew I couldn’t. I
pushed at his hips, trying to get him to lift off me, but he wouldn’t.
He pulled off me for a moment. “I want you to come down my throat. This
isn’t about lasting. It’s about me driving you crazy.”
“Fuck.” The word was unintelligible, but it didn’t matter. I groaned around
him, letting him feel the vibration, and he shuddered. I loved that I could do
that to him. It made me feel so powerful. He sucked me deep and hard, and
I let go, shooting my load into his mouth.
He took it all, swallowing again and again, groaning as he did so and
working himself faster and harder. I choked around him as I fought to take
his whole shaft. This was exactly what I wanted. I wanted him to use me. I
wanted him to feel as good as I felt. I gripped his ass and tentatively moved
my fingers toward his hole.
“Yes. Keep going,” he demanded as he fucked me even faster. I tried to
relax and open my throat for him. It was hard not to fight when he cut off
my air, but I knew he was so close. When I pushed a finger into him, he
flooded my throat with his cum, and I savored every drop.
When he was done, he sat up and pulled me up with him, drawing me onto
his lap. I straddled him, then brought my mouth to his, longing to taste
myself on his lips. The kiss was dizzying. If I’d been able to, I would have
gotten hard again.
Dax was everything I’d dreamed of. How could he think he wasn’t good
enough for me, a man who’d betrayed his brother, a man who had let
himself be manipulated by a sick fuck. I knew most people would be
horrified that Dax was a criminal who tortured people, but I’d seen true
evil, and I knew how different if felt from Dax and his family.
When we ended the kiss, he pressed his forehead to mine, and we both took
ragged breaths. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kept them there.
The last thing I wanted was for him to change his mind. I needed this to be
real. “Dax? I… Please stay.”
“I was always going to stay.”
“I mean stay here with me, sleep with me. Don’t reject me.”
“Oh, baby.” He brushed his thumb over my cheekbone. “That will never
happen. I just want you to know that you can walk away, and I’ll figure out
how to be all right. As much as I want to, I can’t force you to stay here with
a man like me. You deserve real change, a true new start.”
“This is a new start, Dax. No man has ever treated me like this.”
“Like he owned you? Like he could do whatever he wanted to with you?”
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
“Then tell me.”
“No other man has ever cared about making things good for me, about
pleasing me, about protecting me other than as their property or to keep
their enemies from having me. I was nothing but a hot piece of ass to them.
And you…”
“I care about you because you’re an amazing man, Travis. That’s why I
won’t let you go.”
“For the first time, I don’t want to be let go. I want to belong to you. I love
when you’re in charge. It’s nothing like the others. It’s what I wanted to
have with them. It’s what I need.”
My tears began to fall, but Dax kissed them away.
“I know you think I’m caring and good. When it comes to you and to my
family, I can be, but when I need to be, I am a monster. I enjoy the
darkness. I have to fight to keep it from consuming me.”
“Let me help you with that.”
“Jesus, Travis. How could I ever say no to you?”
“You couldn’t even when I was a kid. You’re always the one that would
carry me when I’d walked too far, bring me things, read to me.”
Color rose in Dax’s cheeks. “I’d forgotten that.”
“I never could.”
“Back then, I only really read when I had to for school until you told me all
about the books you were reading. You got me all interested.”
“And I forced you to read to me.”
“You couldn’t sleep, and I wanted to help.”
My father had gotten into a fight with someone, then come home drunk and
ready to take his bad day out on me and Beau. We’d ended up sleeping at
Dax’s uncle’s house. Dax had known a story would help me be able to
sleep. He always knew how to help me.
My memory was interrupted by Dax’s stomach growling.
“Did you have any dinner? Or is that a stupid question? I guess you don’t
eat when you’re… working.”
“Only if it’s part of the torture.”
I studied him for a second, trying to determine whether that was a joke or
not. I decided I really didn’t need to know. “Beau, Corbin, and I ordered
pizza. There’s some left. Do you want me to heat it up for you?”
“We should get cleaned up first.” Dax rose to his feet, lifting me with him
as if I weighed nothing. When we reached the bathroom, he set me on my
feet again. I was already naked, so I just watched as he pulled his t-shirt off
and pushed down his pants.
Finally, I managed to look away long enough to turn on the shower. Dax
motioned for me to step into the shower first, then came in behind me,
wrapping his arms around me and pulling me back against his big body.
“Are you ever cold?” I asked.
He chuckled. “On occasion.”
“Your body always feels so warm to me.”
“I just run hot,” he whispered against my ear as he reached for my
shampoo.
He sure as hell did. As he washed my hair, he drew noises from me that
sounded like those I’d made when we were on the floor with our dicks in
each other’s mouths. It felt almost as good too. His strong hands were
perfect for giving me a deep scalp massage.
“You’re so fucking sexy. You love being taken care of like this, don’t you?”
All I could do was nod my agreement. He’d relaxed me to the point I
couldn’t form words anymore. He turned me around and rinsed the
shampoo from my hair, then he tended to the rest of my body. I’d never had
anyone wash me before. It was sensual and amazing. I wasn’t sure if I
wanted him to fuck me again or tuck me into bed when he was done.
When I was all rinsed off, I reached for the shampoo, intending to give him
the same treatment. He shook his head.
“I can take care of myself. Get out, wrap yourself in a towel, and go relax.
You deserve it.”
I didn’t want to be separated from him for even a minute. I knew how
ridiculous that was, and the depth of my feelings for him scared me. If he
changed his mind, if he walked away, I didn’t know if I could put myself
back together.
Instead of leaving the bathroom, I levered myself up onto the counter and
draped a towel over my shoulders. The steam from the shower made the
room warm and cozy. When Dax turned off the water and stepped out, my
gaze roamed up and down his sculpted body. “You are just… Wow.”
Dax shook his head. “I have to stay strong to do what I do.”
“Strong and sexy as fuck.”
“Didn’t I tell you to go lie down?”
“I wanted to wait for you, and I told you I’d get you some dinner.”
Once he dried off, he tied his towel around his waist, then he scooped me
off the counter and carried me into the bedroom.
“Are you just going to carry me around all the time?” I asked after he set
me on the bed.
“Do you want me to?”
“Maybe.”
“Then yes.”
I raised my brows. “What else are you willing to do for me?”
“Anything.” Dax’s phone rang, but he ignored it.
“Shouldn’t you…”
He groaned. “Fuck. Yes, it’s Remington.”
16
 DAX

I reluctantly accepted the call from my cousin. “What do you need?”

“Good evening to you too.” I could just see his arched brow and the
disapproving look on his face. Remy took himself way too seriously.
“It’s been a long day.”
“I’m sure it has. You’re with Travis?”
I pulled Travis to me and kissed the top of his head. “I am, and I intend to
stay here.”
“Lucky for you, that’s where I want you. We found out some more
information about LePlatt.”
“Spill it,” I demanded.
“Someday your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”
“Remington, I don’t want to dance around this. You should also know I’m
planning to call Ambrose and bring him up to speed.”
“I’m all for that, especially since one thing we learned is that LePlatt’s
minions are handing off their product around St. Claireville.”
“That’s in the middle of fucking nowhere.”
“Correct, just the sort of place where your brother operates best. My
assumption is that keeping their operation off the main thoroughfares is
how they’ve managed to operate so long when they’re a bunch of fucking
idiots. LePlatt is way too volatile to be in this business. He runs through
henchmen like you run through bullets.”
I snorted. “Jean-Charles seems to have been with them for a while.”
“True. He’s some distant relation, and he’s just crafty enough to keep
himself from being taken out and replaced. What we need now is an exact
location where these handoffs happen.”
“And we’ll hit them there once Ambrose gets us the location.”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll talk to him tonight, and tomorrow I’ll make another go at Jean-Charles
before silencing him for good.”
Remington cleared his throat. “It would be better to talk to Ambrose in
person.”
“I have enough trouble getting him to answer his phone. You know how
much he hates visitors.”
“I do, but this assignment could be complicated if he’s going to be as
protective of Travis as you are.”
What the hell did he mean by that? Of course Ambrose would want to keep
Travis safe. What was wrong with that? “He thinks of Travis as a little
brother.”
“Your brother has never had to deal with you having someone special. What
happens if he wants to protect Travis from you?”
Oh fuck. “Did Corbin fucking tell you?”
Remy snorted. “He didn’t have to. It’s obvious as hell how you feel about
him.”
“Then why hasn’t Beau—”
“Because he doesn’t want to see it. He doesn’t want to think about it.
You’re his friend, and you have been for a long time. I want to head off
trouble. We need the situation taken care of. Even if Travis weren’t
connected, I want LePlatt rotting in a grave. I don’t like the way he does
business.”
“Neither do I.” One of the things I’d learned from Jean-Charles was that
he’d intended to recruit Travis. Most of their transporters were young,
attractive men that they brought in with promises of wealth and power.
They operated just like Rob did, and I wanted to kill every single one of
them.
“You expect me to go see Ambrose tomorrow?”
“Yes, and take Travis with you.”
“I’m not sure how he’ll feel about that.”
“I want him there to consult. He may have knowledge he doesn’t even
know is significant. You know how good Ambrose is at coming up with
unique angles.”
I huffed. “You just want me to have to confront the situation with
Ambrose.”
“No time like the present for that.”
“Then what about Beau? How is this supposed to work with everyone
knowing but him?”
“Let Corbin handle that.”
“I’m not asking Corbin to take this hit for me. Travis is mine, and I’ll claim
him in front of his brother whenever I have to.”
“Good for you.” I could hear the smile in Remy’s voice. You’re ahead of
where I was at this point in your relationship.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Fuck off.”
“That’s just what I want to do. Travis is making me dinner.”
Remington huffed. “Deal with Jean-Charles first thing, then take your boy
to the bayou. Update me after you talk to your brother. We need to move
fast. LePlatt’s men are likely looking for Jean-Charles.”
“You know the quality of my work. They aren’t going to find him.”
“Go eat your dinner. No one wants to be around you when you’re hungry.”
He ended the call.

After I’d eaten several slices of pizza, I did a walkthrough of the property,
assessing security. I didn’t see any sign of someone being sent to follow up
on Jean-Charles’s failure to bring Travis in. When I let myself back into the
apartment, Travis had fallen asleep reading in a chair. I loved the fact that
he still read fantasy novels.
The one in his hand had a woman on the cover astride a unicorn with a
sword in her hand. After the first time I read aloud to him, I’d quickly
worked my way through the series he’d gotten me started on and picked up
several others he recommended. Eventually, I went back to rarely reading
anything but nonfiction about weapons, hunting, cars, and then late
nineteenth-century architecture as I finished up project after project on the
house.
I carried Travis to bed, but I wasn’t ready to sleep, so I picked up his book
and began reading. I’d only meant to sample a chapter, but hours passed
before I realized how late it had gotten. The woman on the cover was strong
and loyal. She underestimated just how much she could accomplish, but
when a wizard invaded her kingdom, she ended up leading a rebellion. I
was sure she would win in the end because nothing else could possibly be
right. The woman who had struggled so much to find her own strength
needed to take back the place that she loved.
Finally, I forced myself to set the book aside, pulled Travis against me, and
held him tight. When I woke the next morning, his body was still pressed
against mine. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the warm musky scent of him.
Travis stirred and wriggled against me. I clasped my hand tight on his hip,
stilling him. “Unless you want to be worn out before you even get out of
bed, you need to stop that.”
Travis wriggled again, more purposefully this time. “What if I would like
that very much?”
I wrapped my arm around his body, pinning him against me. “I’ll give you
what you want, but I’m guessing you haven’t got long before you’re
expected at work.”
He fought my hold until he managed to turn over to face me. “I’ve got long
enough.”
“And if Beau comes looking for you?” I asked, brushing my hand through
his hair.
He groaned. “Dammit. Why are you being so fucking sensible? I thought
you told me you had very little self-control.”
I rolled him onto his back and pinned him down, holding his wrists above
his head in one hand while I reached between us and grasped both our
cocks. “You want to see me lose control?”
He gasped and arched into my touch.
“I can show you that, but if I do, you won’t be fit for work today, and we’re
going to visit Ambrose later. That’s a long, rough ride deep into the bayou.
I’d hate to make it even harder on you.”
He glared at me. “Would you really?”
I laughed. “No.”
He sighed and tried to buck me off. “You win. Let’s get some breakfast.”
“Believe me, nothing about holding myself back with you is a win.”
When we reached the shop, Lancelot was there waiting for me. “Remy
thought I should ride along on your morning assignment.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need any help. You can stay here and keep watch
over Travis and everyone else.”
Lance shook his head. “I’ve pissed off Remy enough lately, and he’s right.
You’re too close to this.”
“I can do my fucking job.”
“Come on, Dax. I’ve helped you with your job plenty of times. You’re
going to need somebody there to hold you back.”
“We’re ending this fucker. There’s no holding back.”
“Every detail we can get about the location of the handoff could help us.”
“I got information yesterday, and I’ll get more today. If I was going to flip
out and kill him, I would’ve done it before I ever called for cleanup help.”
“I get the impression your situation may have changed since then.”
I shook my head. “My situation changed long before that.”
Lance clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Let me be there with you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“When it comes to the men we love, we all do.”
“I…”
“Don’t even try to deny it.”
“Corbin needs to learn to keep his fucking mouth shut.”
Lance grinned. “Possibly.”
I snarled at him. “Wait right here.”
Travis was working on a car in one of the bays, but I headed right over to
him and pulled him to me, not carrying that grease smeared onto my
clothes. “Don’t you dare leave the shop. I want you near Beau or Corbin at
all times.”
“I’ve got work to do. I’ll be right here.”
“You damn well better be. When I get back, we’re going on a road trip.”
“I’m supposed to work until five.”
“Exceptions are made when your life is in danger.”
“Beau’s got a full schedule today, and—”
“We’ll work it out.”
“You’re going to see Jean-Charles again, aren’t you?”
“I am, but you don’t need to worry about that. He will never bother you
again.”
“Okay.” I started to walk off, but Travis grabbed me for a brief kiss. “Be
careful anyway.”
“Always.”

It was a short drive to the place near the docks where we often held people
for interrogation. We needed a location where no one asked questions
because sometimes our prisoners got noisy, and we like to keep them on ice
as long as we could. A waiting game was often the best way to get
information.
I felt Lance’s presence behind me as I unlocked the door of the cell where
Jean-Charles was being held.
Our prisoner was slumped on the far wall. The cell stank of piss and the
copper tang of blood. One of Jean-Charles’s eyes was swollen shut, and he
had cuts and bruises on his neck and chest. He was naked from the waist up
but still wearing his pants even though they’d been soiled when I worked
him over yesterday. “You ready to talk some more, or do you want another
round?”
“Let me go. I swear I’ll make it worth your while.”
I laughed. “You know that’s not going to happen. The best deal you’ll get is
a quick death.”
“Believe me,” Lance said, stepping into the cell. “From him, that is mercy.
I’ve seen him drag a good torture session out for days, weeks even, constant
torment, no food, just enough water to keep the prisoner alive long enough
to suffer.”
Lance gave Jean-Charles his best crazy-eyed expression. Even I would be
nervous around him if I didn’t know him better. Tony, his pet monkey, was
perched on his shoulder, and he screeched at Jean-Charles, who looked as
afraid of Tony as he was of me and Lance.
“You aren’t afraid of a little monkey, are you?” Lance asked.
“What the fuck is it doing in here?”
“Tony goes everywhere with me, and he always does my bidding.” Lance
turned to me. “What do you think? Should we have Tony bite his fingers off
or maybe rip out his tongue with his sharp little claws?”
Claws? Lance really was fucking crazy.
“Monkeys don’t have claws,” Jean-Charles said, but he didn’t sound very
sure of himself.
Lance shrugged. “Maybe mine does. Maybe I modified him.”
Jean-Charles’s eyes grew huge, and he looked around as if there might be
someone else there who could save him. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Lancelot Theriot, at your service.” He bowed, and Tony scrambled over to
his other shoulder. Jean-Charles didn’t take his eyes off the monkey.
Jesus, Lance was having fun with this. Was that why he’d come? To lighten
things up and keep me from falling too far into the darkness?
“So what’s it going to be?” I asked. “Are you going to answer our
questions, or should I unleash the monkey on you?”
“If you let me go, I can make sure LePlatt stays out of your territory. I have
a lot of connections. I swear.”
Even if he wasn’t lying, it wouldn’t matter. I would still kill him. I squatted
in front of him and leaned right into his face. I knew in that moment I
looked even crazier than Lance. “You came after my man. Nothing you say
will change that. I’ve already thought up plenty more ways to make you
sorry you ever interfered in Travis’s life. I can kill you and bring you back
to life and kill you all over again. Make a fucking choice right now. More
pain or the easy way out?”
His eyes grew huge. Lance lifted Tony and set him on the floor. Tony
looked back at him, then he looked at Jean-Charles, expression full of
mischief.
I pulled out a knife and pushed the tip of it into a cut I’d already made along
Jean-Charles’s throat. He gasped and tried to get away, but I took hold of
his hair, yanking his head back. He didn’t have any strength left to fight me.
“I’ll talk. Okay. I’ll talk. Just keep that knife and the fucking monkey away
from me.”
“The monkey is staying,” Lance said. “He likes to watch Dax work.”
I bit back a laugh. Lance wasn’t making it easy to hold my menacing
expression.
“Where do you hand off the product after it comes through New Orleans
and heads north?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It’s out in the bayou somewhere.”
I tightened my hold and pressed the knife in again until blood trickled down
his chest. “It doesn’t matter who you tell. You’re going to be dead. There’s
nothing they can do to you.”
“My family—”
“You don’t have any family. We’ve already checked.” We had a policy of
making sure any truly innocent wives or children didn’t get harmed by what
we did. Our business was with the criminals, not the innocent.
“It’s near St. Claireville, but I don’t know exactly where. I don’t do
deliveries, and no one gets all the information, only what they need to
have.”
“You seem to have plenty of information you don’t need.”
“That’s cause I’m—”
“You were. You’re nothing now.” He whimpered, and asshole that I was, I
relished it.
“Come on. I’ve got a lot to offer you.”
I wrapped a hand around his throat and squeezed. His eyes widened as he
struggled.
“Dax!”
Lance’s voice broke through the haze in my mind, and I let Jean-Charles go.
He gagged and coughed. “Please.”
“It will all be over if you answer my questions.”
“Or,” Lance said, “Tony could help you with your answers.” Lance reached
up, and I knew he was tickling the little monkey. Tony let out a screech that
made Jean-Charles jump.
“They’re thinking of moving the operation,” he said. “The sheriff out there
—in Albertine parish—has been poking around too much. He’s new, and
he’s not taking the bribes we’ve offered.”
“That’s very interesting. I wonder what the sheriff would have to say to the
Theriot family.”
I grinned at Lance. “We might have to find out.” I focused back on Jean-
Charles. “You have to know more than that. Where in the bayou is it?”
I signaled to Lance to put Tony down, and the little monkey raced over to
me. I scooped him up. “He really does have a wicked bite. I could get him
to take each finger off knuckle by knuckle.”
“I don’t know. There’s some shack or something. I really don’t know where
it is.”
I believed him. I’d had enough experience with interrogation to be pretty
damn good at telling when someone was lying versus telling the truth. I
continued on with a few more questions like who else was involved, how
much the police knew, when a shipment was expected, and finally where
LePlatt was.
He answered them all, and when I was done with him, I grabbed hold of his
head and snapped his neck.
Tony pointed a finger at him and chattered away.
“Don’t worry. We wouldn’t really make you bite him,” I said. “That
couldn’t be healthy for you.”
“Come here, Tony.” The monkey ran back to Lance and was rewarded with
an offer of dried mango. He grabbed a piece in each hand and began
nibbling.
“I can’t believe the fucker was scared of Tony,” Lance said.
“You were something else.”
“I figured you needed some entertainment.”
Lance typed out a text, letting our people know it was time to come in and
make Jean-Charles and any evidence of his presence disappear.
“What now?” Lance asked as he pocketed his phone.
“Now it’s time to go visit my brother.”
“Is he expecting visitors?”
“We’ll know when we see if he shoots at us or not.”
17
 TRAVIS

I had a hell of a time trying to concentrate on work that morning. Between

constantly looking behind me to see who was entering the garage,
worrying that someone else here would get caught in the crossfire, and then
thinking of Dax and what he was doing, I hadn’t completed a single fucking
task.
Every time I saw Beau, I asked if he’d heard anything from Lance or Dax.
Finally, he asked me if I wanted to take a break or take the rest of the day
off.
I shook my head. “I know I’m doing shit work today, but I need something
to focus on.”
About an hour later, Dax returned. When I saw him step into the garage, I
couldn’t help myself. I ran to him, and he opened his arms and pulled me to
him. Thank God I was the only one around. If Beau had seen my reaction,
he would have known.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I know you don’t want anyone to know.”
Dax kissed my forehead gently. “I don’t like hiding what’s between us, but I
don’t want Beau to find out like this. We’ll figure out how and when to
break the news, and we’ll tell him soon.”
“He’s going to freak out.”
“Then he’ll just have to work through it.”
Dax’s words warmed me. “He wouldn’t say that if he wasn’t truly
committed to me. “How did things go?”
“I learned part of what I needed to, and it’s over now.”
“Are you okay?”
Dax tilted his head as if considering my words, and a terrible thought hit
me. “Has anyone ever asked you that, or does everyone just assume this
kind of work is just what you do and that you’re always fine with it?”
“Ambrose asks. Sometimes. It wasn’t like I interviewed for the job or
anything. As I got old enough to be part of the business, everyone could see
where my skills lay.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not affected by all that evil.”
A look of horror crossed Dax’s face, and he took a step back.
“No.” I reached for his arm. “I think that came out wrong. I don’t mean that
it rubs off on you. I meant that you having to be the one who pushes back
the hardest, the one who has to talk to all these evil people, has to take a toll
on you.”
“Do you really think I’m not as bad as them when I do things that are
equally gruesome if not more so?”
“You do what is necessary.” I placed a hand over his heart. “You’re a good
man.”
He laid a hand over mine. “Are you ready to go see my brother.”
“The night I shot Guidry is the only time I’ve seen him since… since he
came back from the military.”
“It fucked him up real bad.”
“I know. Beau’s in touch with him, but it sounds like they only see each
other occasionally.”
“Since he came back, Ambrose prefers to keep to himself. Beau and I are
pretty much the only people who can hope for a good reception if we show
up at his place. Hell, we might be the only two people who could find his
place.”
“What’s he going to think about you bringing me there?”
“He’ll get over it once I explain. I might not even have to. As soon as he
sees me, he’ll know.”
“Know what?”
“That you’re mine now.” He said the words so low I could barely hear them
because Leland had come into our part of the garage to start work on a GTO
we’d just acquired.
“We can talk more in the car.” Dax motioned for me to follow him.
“Hold on. I’ve got to clean up. Beau will kill me if I leave tools out.”
“I’ll take over,” Sam said as she entered the garage. “You’re going with
Dax, right?”
“Yeah, we need to go talk to his brother.”
She smiled. “Take the rest of the day. I’m sure an afternoon with Ambrose
will be enough excitement. We’ll keep things moving here.”
Once we were in Dax’s truck heading out of town, I asked what Sam meant
about excitement. “I thought Ambrose just kept to himself and didn’t talk
or…”
“If he hears anyone approaching his property, he shoots first and asks
questions later.”
“But you said it was fine if you visited.”
“That’s if he’s had warning. I called him, but he didn’t answer. Sometimes
he goes on hunting expeditions and doesn’t take his phone, and reception is
shit out there at the best of times.”
“So you’re saying he might shoot us?”
“As soon as he realizes who we are, it will be fine, and who knows, he
might check his messages before we get there.”
“That’s—”
“Just keep your head down when I tell you to, and it’ll be fine.”
How was he so casual about this? “How will he know?”
“That it’s us? He’ll recognize my car, but honestly, twins just know
sometimes.”
I shook my head. “I mean how will he know you and I… That we…”
Beau chuckled at my inability to get words out. “I know that at times you
and Beau have been really close. Brothers often have a special bond, unless
one of them is a total asshole.”
“Sometimes Beau is an asshole.”
Dax laughed. “I mean really an asshole. You know, like if Jean-Charles was
your brother.”
I thought about what Rob had wanted me to do to get Jean-Charles off his
back. That definitely wasn’t brotherly.”
Dax frowned. “Travis, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, trying to push the memory away. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
I didn’t think he believed me, but he didn’t push any harder. “With twins,
the bond is much stronger. It probably sounds crazy, but we can sense what
the other is feeling… or at least we could until Ambrose shut me out.”
I laid a hand on his thigh. “I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “It’s okay. Things are slowly getting better. I hope eventually
our bond will feel like it used to, but I’m not sure how much further his
recovery can go unless he’s willing to step out of the bayou for something
other than planning an attack with the family.”
“Maybe something will change that.”
Dax sighed. “I wish I knew what.”
We were silent for a few moments, then he squeezed my hand. “Tell me
what made you looked so scared when I mentioned Jean-Charles.”
“I don’t know if I can talk about it.”
“Okay, but if you want to, I’m here to listen.”
If he’d pushed me, I would have protested, but his acceptance of me
moving at whatever pace I wanted made me feel safe. “I never intended to
tell anyone this, but when Rob couldn’t meet the quotas LePlatt demanded,
LePlatt sent Jean-Charles to shake him up. Jean-Charles made it very clear
what would happen to Rob if he didn’t come up with the money in the next
twenty-four hours. I hid during the whole encounter, but I heard every
word. Rob came looking for me when Jean-Charles left. He told me there
was no way he could get the money, so he was going to offer Jean-Charles
the use of my body as payment.”
“That motherfucking bastard. I can’t believe—”
“I’m here with you now. It’s okay.”
“Nothing about this is okay.”
“I told Rob no. It was the first time I’d ever had the courage to do that. He
told me I would do exactly as I was told, then he locked me in a closet and
refused to give me food or water. He left me there until just before Jean-
Charles returned the next day.” As I talked, I fell deeper and deeper into the
past until it was like I was there, watching the whole scene play out again…
Rob jerked me out of the closet and forced me to shower and fix myself up.
When Jean-Charles demanded his money, Rob said, “I need a little more
time, but you can have him until I’ve got the money.”
Jean-Charles stared at him like he was crazy. “You think I’m fucking gay?
What do you want me to do with him?”
“He sucks dick like nobody’s business. Just close your eyes and you won’t
even notice the difference.”
“LePlatt wants the money you owe him, and we’re not in the business of
waiting around to take payment.”
“I can give you some of the product back.”
Jean-Charles shook his head. “You take the product. You buy it. That’s how
this works.”
Rob had gone white as a sheet. I had tried to shrink into myself and
disappear. Thankfully, Jean-Charles never looked at me after his initial
assessment.
Rob cleared his throat and managed to speak again. “If you don’t want the
boy to fuck, you could hurt him. I hear you like to cut people. You’d enjoy
messing up his pretty little face.”
Jean-Charles shook his head. “It’s your pretty face I want to mess up.” He
glanced at me again. “My boss might want him.” The thought of that made
my stomach turn. I’d never met LePlatt, but I’d heard rumors that when he
was done with men or women, they disappeared, and no one ever saw them
again.
I blinked, and reality seemed to return. I wasn’t trapped back there. I was in
Dax’s truck. I realized he’d pulled off the road. I hadn’t even felt the truck
stop.
Dax’s hands were shaking where he still clutched the steering wheel.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I wish I could kill Rob. I wish I could hurt him. I wish I could do every
goddamn torturous thing I’ve ever done to anyone to him.”
“It’s okay. It’s over.”
“When Jean-Charles said he wanted to take you back, he… I’m going to
find LePlatt, and I am going to end him, and everyone associated with him,
and everyone who’s even thought about touching you or harming you or—”
“Dax, really, it’s okay. I just want to be with you.”
He started to speak and then stopped. A moment passed, and he took a slow,
steady breath. “What happened next?”
“Jean-Charles shot Rob and left him to die. After he was gone, I ran. Rob
begged me to save him. I should’ve shot him again and made sure he was
dead, but all I could think about was getting away. He found me a few
weeks later. He hadn’t died after all. Somehow he’d managed to drag
himself to his phone and get some help from some of the other fools he’d
manipulated. I thought he was going to kill me.”
“And that was when he dropped you off in the bayou and told you he never
wanted to see you again?”
I nodded.
“Is that the worst of it, or is there more?”
“There are plenty of other ugly things, plenty of times he hurt me, but that
one scared me the most. I didn’t think I was going to come out of that
alive.”
“Jesus, baby, I wish I’d been there.”
I’d tried to hold back, but I started to cry. “I wish you had too.”
Dax cupped my face and kissed me. His lips were gentle. There was no
force, no demand. It was all about soothing and comfort.
I kept crying, and he pulled me against him. I clung to him as I let out all
the emotion I’d been holding inside.
When no more tears would come, I sat back and wiped at my eyes. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean for this to take so long.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re just giving Ambrose more time to see my
message. We’ll stay here as long as you need to.”
“Thank you for listening.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” Dax dried my cheeks with his thumbs. “Does
Beau have any idea how bad things were for you?”
“Maybe after we talked last night he can guess, but you’re the only person
I’ve ever told about that night.”
“I would never share anything you told me. Whether or not you tell him is
totally up to you. There’s no reason Beau needs to know unless you need to
talk about it more.”
“I didn’t think I needed to talk about it all, but actually…” I paused to take
a deep breath. I was shocked by how much lighter my body felt having been
purged of that awful night. “I feel better.”
“I’m glad. I’ll listen anytime to anything you want to tell me.”
“Same for me.”
Dax shook his head. “Oh God no. You don’t want to hear the details. You
don’t want to know about how I became what I am.”
“Dax, I’m here for you just as much as you’re here for me. I will listen to
anything you need to tell me.”
“But you’re… you’re squeamish and—”
“I’ll get past it. I’ll be strong for you.”
“You are strong, Travis. So damn strong.”
“I’m trying.”
“Are you up for this?” he asked.
“For getting shot at by your brother then told off?”
He grinned. “Basically. Yeah.”
“I am.”
Dax put the truck in gear and eased back onto the road. He hadn’t looked at
me with pity. He just been angry on my behalf. I knew if Rob was still
alive, Dax would track him down, and Rob’s death would be far more
gruesome than it likely had been.
I didn’t care about that. What I cared about was that Dax hadn’t treated me
differently afterward. Sure, his kiss had been soft, but he hadn’t been afraid
to touch me. He hadn’t thought he needed to back away, and he hadn’t been
horrified or told me what a mistake I’d made ever going with Rob.
“When we get back tonight,” Dax said, “I’m going to do everything I can to
make you forget you ever had ugliness like that in your life.”
“Dax, I…”
“Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve it. I want to pamper you. What’s
your favorite dinner?”
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to. I want to make you happy. I want to give you the world.”
“I would give you anything. I want to be yours. I… I like you being in
charge. I like you taking care of me. You don’t scare me. You never have.”
“Good. Now tell me what you want to eat.”
“Steak. There were several times when Rob took me to dinner meetings
with associates he was cultivating. They had steak, but all I got was a salad
because he expected me to watch my weight.”
“I’m going to get you the biggest steak I can buy and everything you want
to go with it. We’ll have pie for dessert or cake if you’d prefer.”
“Chocolate cake is my favorite.” It shouldn’t be that hard for me to say that.
I knew it was all right to have preferences, but I’d gotten so use to not being
able to ask for what I wanted when I was with Rob, and afterward I
couldn’t. I just felt lucky to be alive. There’d been a few other men after
Rob. They weren’t as evil, but they were pieces of shit. Finally, I realized I
just needed to be on my own. I thought that would be the rest of my life. I
didn’t think I could trust a man again, but this was Dax. He’d been
trustworthy since I was a kid
“What are you thinking?” Dax asked glancing at me before focusing on the
road again.
“I can’t believe this is happening. That you really want me.”
“I swear to you, this is real. I would never lie about my feelings for you.”
We didn’t talk much for the rest of the drive. Once we turned off the main
road, Dax had to concentrate as he drove down paths I didn’t think were
wide enough for a vehicle and made turns where I saw no road at all. I
would never be able to get out of there on my own. I’d felt the same way
when I’d gone in looking for Beau. I’d assumed if I didn’t find him, I’d end
up as dinner for a gator, and I wasn’t sure I cared.
Now I sure as hell did. I had Dax, and things were right with my brother
again. I had a good job, and for the first time, a real chance at a decent life.
Dax made one more turn, then reached over and unhooked my seatbelt.
“Get down to the floorboard.”
“What?”
“Now.”
My heart thundered as I did what he said. A few seconds later, I heard the
crack of a rifle, then a man shouted. “You son of a bitch.”
“That’s your own mother you’re talking about,” Dax yelled out the
window.”
“Fuck off.”
“I’ve got somebody with me,” Dax said. There was silence for a moment. I
could almost feel the chill of it, and that was impressive considering the
thick muggy air of the bayou that was leaking in through the open window.
“Who?” The anger in Ambrose’s voice made me shiver. Dax glanced over
at me, and I shook my head, trying to communicate that I’d stay right here
the whole time he talked to his brother.
“It’s Travis.”
“Beau’s brother?”
“Yeah. What other Travis do we both know?”
“You’re sneaky. You could be bringing anyone.”
“Would I do that to you?”
“Something’s up with you. You don’t sound like yourself,” Ambrose said.
Damn. How could Ambrose tell a difference from their short conversation?
“It’s a good something. Can we come in and talk about it? I’ve got other
questions too.”
“Yeah, I got your message.”
“Then why did you shoot at me?”
“Keeps you on your toes. I don’t want you going soft living in the city in
your fancy house.”
“I’ve always lived in the city, except in the summer when you would drag
me out to Uncle Etienne’s.”
“Things weren’t quite as good for us Theriots in those days.”
“You could live as well as I do now.”
He snorted. “I like it here. I like it simple.”
Dax motioned for me to come up onto the seat. I didn’t want to, which was
silly. I’d never been afraid of Ambrose. I trusted him like I trusted Dax. I’d
also known he would help me because he was Beau’s friend.
When I’d seen Ambrose in the bayou the day I’d saved Beau, he seemed so
withdrawn, so separate from everyone else. He hadn’t been like that as a
kid. He’d been tough, but he’d been a leader, and he’d interacted with all of
us. He’d smiled and laughed. I could imagine some of the horrors he must
have seen in the desert, but I wanted to know what had brought him back
like this.
Slowly, I eased myself up. Ambrose glanced my way and nodded. I waved
at him, then felt stupid for doing it.
“Come on in.” Ambrose turned and walked into his house.
18
 DAX

“T hat was… exciting,” Travis said.

I laughed. “Yeah. That’s about the welcome I expected.”
“Maybe I should wait out here.”
“No, he wants to see you. He would’ve made it very clear if he didn’t. He
doesn’t worry about social niceties. You might’ve guessed that from him
stepping out with the rifle.”
“I guess he doesn’t have a lot of visitors way out here.”
“No, which is another reason he’s suspicious of any that come along.
They’re either very lost, or they’ve come out with a purpose.”
“What if someone is just lost, and he shoots them?”
I shrugged. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
Travis followed me into my brother’s house. House was really too generous
a word for it. It was a shack with no indoor plumbing and only a living area
with an extremely rudimentary kitchen tucked in the corner and a closet-
sized bedroom. He had as much money as I did—and I suspected he did
work he wasn’t telling us about that brought in plenty more—but this was
how he chose to live. Maybe he really did like it better, but I felt like he was
punishing himself.
“Things are better with your brother now?” Ambrose asked Travis.
He nodded.
“Did you finally tell them how Rob treated you and how you wanted to get
away from him but you couldn’t?”
My eyes widened as I stared at my brother, and Travis looked as confused
as I was. “How the hell did you know that, and why the fuck didn’t you tell
Beau if you knew?”
Ambrose held up a hand. “I know now. I didn’t know when it first
happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell Beau when you found out?”
Ambrose shook his head at me like he found me disappointing. “Because
it’s Travis’s story.”
I thought about how I’d said the same damn thing. If Ambrose had known
when Travis was still with Rob, that would be different, but if he’d found
out recently, then I had to admit he’d done the right thing.
Ambrose looked back and forth between the two of us. “What’s going on
here?”
“LePlatt sent one of his—”
“No,” Ambrose said. “You told me about that in your message, and I’d
already heard the rumors.”
How Ambrose got as much information as he did when he never left the
bayou was something I still didn’t understand. There were people who
thought I could perform miracles, but my abilities were nothing compared
to what my brother could do.
“I want to know why you’ve brought Travis here.”
I reached for Travis’s hand, and he threaded his fingers through mine.
“Because I’ve sworn to protect him no matter what.”
Ambrose grinned. “You know he’s had a crush on you since he was, like,
twelve.”
Travis made a strangled sound, and his cheeks grew adorably pink. “I…
um… I never thought Dax would feel like that about me or that I would feel
the same about him after all this time, but when he offered to help me after
that morning in the bayou, all of it came back stronger than ever.”
Ambrose smiled, but I could see there was pain behind it. “So Travis is it
for you?”
I nodded.
Growing up it had always been just me and Ambrose. Neither of us had
ever had a best friend or a girlfriend or boyfriend. No one was more
important to either of us than we were to each other. Now there was
someone for me, someone I wanted to be part of my life every day,
someone I cared deeply for. I wasn’t sure how he was going to take that.
“So…” Travis looked from me to Ambrose, obviously feeling the tension.
“Are you okay with this, with us being together?”
I squeezed Travis’s hand and prayed Ambrose wouldn’t say something
hurtful. If he said something to me later in private, I’d be okay. I just didn’t
want him to make Travis feel like he was coming between us. Years ago, I
would’ve known Ambrose wouldn’t do something to hurt Travis’s feelings,
but he was way more unpredictable now.
“I think you’re perfect for each other.” I stared at my brother. Had he really
said that?
“Really?” Travis asked.
Ambrose smiled, a rare thing for him. “Yes, I do. I always thought you
might get together when Travis was old enough, but then he and Beau left,
and—”
“I behaved like an idiot,” Travis said. “I thought I needed excitement. I was
ready to do anything to escape from Beau bossing me around.”
“You were manipulated,” I reminded him. “You were young and vulnerable,
and Rob took advantage of that.”
“But he was able to do that because I was angry with Beau, which was
stupid. Beau had sacrificed so much for me.”
I started to speak, but Ambrose held up a hand. “That’s true, but it doesn’t
make you a bad person. You had little chance to explore anything as a kid,
and Beau did everything he could to change that. Neither of you were in a
good position, but no matter what happened between the two of you, no
matter what you would change about how you treated Beau, what Rob did
to you makes him the worst kind of fucking scum. He should be glad he’s
dead because I can only imagine what Dax and I would do to him if he were
alive.”
It had been so hard on Travis to tell me about what Rob had done, but he
truly looked like he felt better afterward. Now, though, he practically lit up.
He understood what it meant for Ambrose to give us his blessing and tell
Travis he wasn’t to blame for what happened to him. He knew Ambrose
didn’t mince words.
I hadn’t heard Ambrose speak that much in years. It meant a hell of a lot to
me too, and it helped me have hope that, given more time, my brother might
become the man he was before he ran off and joined the army.
“Thank you,” Travis said. I know you always say what you mean.”
Ambrose nodded. “That’s never changed. So now that were clear on why
Travis accompanied you here today, tell me how I can help bring this son of
the bitch down.”
I told Ambrose everything I’d learned from Jean-Charles. “Do you have
any info that can help us narrow down the location where they’re making
transfers?”
Ambrose frowned. He seemed to be thinking. “Not offhand, but I’ve got
people who can look into it. I’ve heard about this sheriff, though. He came
here from Baltimore. He thinks he can change how things are done around
here, but he’s never going to succeed. I have no idea how he got elected in
the first place.”
“Normally I prefer to keep my distance from cops, but we might be able to
use him.”
I nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. The enemy of my enemy and all
that shit.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait.” Travis held up a hand. “You think this guy would work with us?”
I nodded. “Law enforcement works with criminals all the time as long as
they’re getting the bigger fish.”
Travis looked back and forth between me and Ambrose. “You’re the
Theriots. Are there bigger fish?”
Ambrose grinned. “There are ones that are more easily caught and look
damn fine on your resume.”
“We’re old school,” I explained. “We’re diversified. We have our
connections established, and we know how to not get caught. LePlatt is
already on plenty of people’s radar, law enforcement and others who’d like
to eliminate him and make way for their own ventures.”
“So you really think this guy might work with us?” Travis asked.
“Possibly.”
“If not, then what?”
Travis’s worried expression made me want to pull him into my arms.
“Then we evade him and take care of the problem on our own. We’re more
than capable, but if we can keep ourselves from fending off law
enforcement on one side and LePlatt’s people on the other, this will be a lot
easier.”
Travis smiled. “Yeah, I see that.”
“I’ll see what I can find out about the location and do some scouting,”
Ambrose said.
“Shouldn’t we try to get this sheriff on our side first?”
“He’ll never know I was there.”
I smiled at my brother’s confidence. He might’ve stopped participating in
society after he came back home, but he hadn’t lost any faith in the skills
that had gotten him into a special forces unit and that he’d continue to
develop while he was in the desert. He’d always been able to melt into the
bayou and make his way around. Nothing scared him, not gators, not the
half-feral people who lived out there, not the criminals who used the terrain
to hide.
Travis looked concerned, and I patted his thigh. “He’ll be fine.”
“I’ll let you know what I learn.” Ambrose pushed back from the table. “It’s
time for a toast.”
I looked at Travis with unease. It was tradition any time I came to see
Ambrose that he forced me to endure the moonshine he made. I was
absolutely sure the stuff could revive the dead. It burned all the way down
and just kept burning, usually until I passed out. I was more than happy to
forgo the ritual, and I was worried Travis might be uncomfortable with the
whole situation. He wouldn’t want to refuse something Ambrose offered
him, but—
Travis set three bottles on the table. They were standard brown beer bottles,
not the mason jars he stored his moonshine in.
“Ginger ale,” he said. “It’s homemade.” He popped off the lids and set one
in front of Travis and one in front of me.
Travis gaped at him. “How did you know?”
“I told you, I listen when people talk.”
That hadn’t changed either. Ambrose had always learned things by being
quiet. I’d never had anywhere close to his level of patience. When I wanted
to know something, I demanded the answers. There were times for each of
those methods, and I missed getting to work side by side with my brother
the way I had before he’d left. “Since when do you brew ginger ale?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been making it for years.”
“And you’ve never offered me that. Instead, you make me drink that foul
moonshine.”
He laughed. “It keeps you strong.”
“It keeps me disgusted. You know there are better things to drink.”
Ambrose ignored me as he held up his bottle. “To the two of you and to
giving LePlatt what he deserves.”
I fought back tears as our bottles clinked. I took a sip and realized the burn
of the ginger was nearly as potent as the burn of his moonshine.
Travis coughed and waved his hand in front of his mouth. “You didn’t tell
me it was”—he paused to cough some more—“lethal.”
Ambrose grinned. “I like it spicy.”
He drained his bottle, but Travis and I only made a small dent in ours. After
he was finished, Ambrose rose to take the bottles to his wash basin. “The
two of you should stay here for the night.”
The invitation surprised me more than the ginger ale. “I thought you didn’t
believe in overnight guests.”
“I don’t believe in any kind of guest, but you’re not a guest. You’re my
brother.” Damn him for bringing me close to tears. I needed to remember to
thank Remington for insisting we talk to Ambrose in person. I glanced at
Travis and saw him smiling. He knew what I was feeling, and if anyone
would understand the significance of Ambrose’s offer, it was Travis.
What had come between me and Ambrose wasn’t something he or I had
done, but Travis knew the pain of losing the closeness and comfort a
brother could provide.
Having apparently had enough conversation and certainly enough
sentiment, Ambrose rinsed the bottles with a jug of water he kept by the
basin. “See you in the morning. Breakfast is at first light.”
When he closed the bedroom door behind him, I could tell Travis was
trying hard not to laugh. “He’s so…”
“Fucking insufferable?”
“Not exactly. It’s like he’s the same as he used to be, just magnified.”
I considered Travis’s observation. “He’s ruder, more difficult, more abrupt.”
“I heard that,” Ambrose called.
Of course he had. “Well, it’s true.”
“Fuck off and go to sleep.”
Travis glanced around the room, then mouthed, “Where do we sleep?”
I held up a finger, telling him to wait. I opened a cabinet that was hard to
see if you didn’t know about it since it faded into the wall. Inside were
sheets and blankets for the couch bed.
I stripped down to my underwear and Travis did the same. He almost fell
over getting out of his pants because he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off
me. I ate up every bit of the attention.
Travis looked nervous as he climbed into bed with me.
“Is something wrong?”
He glanced toward the bedroom, then whispered. “Your brother is right
there.”
“My brother knows I’m not a virgin.”
Travis covered his mouth as he laughed. “Yeah, but—”
“He knows you’re not one either. “We’re adults. You’re mine, and you’re
sleeping in this bed with me.”
“Sleeping.” Travis emphasized the word.
That had been my intention until he said it so definitively. Right then, I
decided I didn’t care about Ambrose’s proximity or how well developed his
hearing was. Travis and I were both coming before we went to sleep.
19
 DAX

I slid my hand down Travis’s stomach and pushed his briefs out of the
way so I could grip his rapidly hardening cock. His eyes went wide, but
he didn’t say anything to protest because Ambrose would surely hear that.
I worked him slowly up and down, brushing my thumb over his slit. He
crammed his fist into his mouth to quiet his moans. I loved how turned on
he was, how quickly he lost control. I let go of him, scooting slightly away.
He looked at me questioningly.
“More?” I asked barely giving the word voice.
He looked so damn conflicted. I considered sliding under the covers and
sucking him off, but I didn’t think he could keep quiet for that, and I didn’t
really want Ambrose listening in. Travis’s cries were only for me.
“Yes,” he finally said like I’d pulled the word from him.
The monster in me needed to push him. “Ask nicely.”
His eyes widened at the demand, and I waited, holding his gaze and trying
my best not to let him see that I was about to lose it, pounce on him, and
fuck him hard enough that the whole bayou would hear.
“Please,” he whispered.
Jesus, could anyone be sexier? I pushed my underwear down, freeing my
own cock, then I gripped his hips, roughly pulling them back to me. I
rubbed my cock against his, and his teeth sank into his lower lip. I
wondered if he’d really be able to hold in the sounds he wanted to make. I
loved how fucking loud he’d been the night before.
I slid my hand under his head and pulled him close so I could whisper
against his ear. “I intended to take my time with you tonight, to play with
you, to please you, to take care of you. I didn’t mean for us to be stuck here
on this pathetic excuse for a bed, but no way in hell am I letting you go to
sleep unsatisfied. We’ll save everything else for tomorrow.”
“Please,” he said again, sounding far more desperate this time. I smiled
against his ear, then sucked the lobe into my mouth as I wrapped my hand
around both our cocks and started stroking us.
Travis worked his hips, making his cock slide along mine. I wished I had
some lube. I was sure Ambrose had something we could use, but I didn’t
want to leave Travis to look for it, so I spat on my hand and made do.
Travis didn’t seem to care. He clung to me working his hips faster and
faster. When I knew he was close and keeping quiet was going to be more
than he could handle, I kissed him roughly, taking his gasps and cries into
my mouth as his cum shot over my hand. His release triggered my own, and
I kept up the kiss until we were both completely out of breath. We held each
other, both desperate for air but trying not to be too loud.
A few moments later, Travis brushed my sweaty hair off my forehead. I
loved his sex-dazed expression and his huge smile. That was exactly what I
wanted, for him to remember life could be good, so good. I wanted to give
him that feeling every single day. I slipped from the bed and moved silently
across the room.
I used muscle memory to find the panel that opened the cabinet, pulled out
a hand towel, and wet it from the jug of water on Ambrose’s tiny counter. I
wished I could warm it up, but since he didn’t have air conditioning and the
fan did next to nothing to cool the room, it wasn’t like the water was all that
cold. Still, Travis sucked in his breath when the towel touched his stomach.
I wiped him down and gently cleaned his spent cock, then I took care of
myself, reluctantly pulled my underwear back on, and got into bed with
him. We were both hot and sticky, but I couldn’t stand the thought of not
touching him, so I laid my arm gently over his waist, and he twined his
fingers with mine. When I woke hours later to the sound of a car engine,
we’d kicked the sheet off in our sleep.
Ambrose appeared, fully dressed, rifle in hand. “Stay there,” he ordered. He
must’ve heard the car coming from much farther away. I wondered what
time it was. My instincts told me it was still the middle of the night. I pulled
out the gun I’d placed under my pillow.
Travis stirred, turning over and blinking sleepily at me. He jumped at the
sound of gunfire.
“It’s okay. That was probably a warning shot.”
“Someone’s out there?”
“Yes, but we don’t know who. We heard a car.”
We heard shouting, then Beau burst through the door followed closely by
Ambrose. If he’d been anybody else, he would’ve been dead or seriously in
need of a doctor, but Ambrose would never hurt Beau. Next to me, Beau
was the person he was closest to.
I stood by the side of the bed, wearing nothing but boxer briefs, gun pointed
in Beau’s direction. I’d jumped up, ready to defend Travis the second the
door began to open. I hadn’t lowered my gun because Beau looked ready to
kill. Travis was still sitting on the bed looking back and forth between the
two of us.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Beau yelled.
“We came to talk to Ambrose about getting rid of LePlatt.” I did my best to
keep my voice neutral.
“Talking to Ambrose doesn’t require you sleeping with my brother.”
“It was dark by the time we finished talking, so it was safer for us to stay.”
“To stay like that? With him in your bed?”
Travis started to protest, but I cut him off. I’d promised Travis protection,
and if I needed to protect him from his brother, then so be it. There was
absolutely no reason he needed to defend what we were doing.
“He could either sleep with Ambrose or sleep with me. You’ve been here.
There aren’t any other beds.”
“You could sleep on the fucking floor.”
“How do you know I wasn’t?”
Beau looked pointedly at the bare floor. I shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.
Who needs blankets in this heat?”
“You’re telling me you haven’t touched him?”
“Enough.” Travis stepped in front of me. I laid a hand on his back, wanting
him to know I was there. “You both need to stop talking about me like I’m
not here. I’m twenty-three years old, and I can sleep with whoever the fuck
I want.”
Beau shook his head. “You might be an adult, but you’re recovering from
hell.”
“I’ve been recovering for years. I’ve managed on my own all that time, and
I can keep going.”
“You were barely keeping yourself alive before I found you.”
“Alive is alive. I didn’t need you then, and I don’t need you telling me what
to do now.”
Beau turned back to me. “I won’t have you taking advantage of my
brother.”
“I’m not taking advantage of him. I’m taking care of him, and like he said,
he’s a grown man and can make his own decisions.”
“He’s still my little brother, and his decisions in the past have fucking
sucked.”
“Are you comparing me to Rob and the other pieces of shit who tried to
manipulate him.”
Beau relaxed his stance a little. “No, but you’re rarely with any man twice.
You don’t believe in anything permanent, and if you’ve been making him
promises, he doesn’t need that. He’s been through enough.”
“Yeah, some of which you could’ve saved him from.”
Beau took a step back. He looked like he’d been hit, and I knew I had gone
too far. I started to speak, but Travis clasped his hand tightly around my
wrist and shook his head.
“Beau didn’t realize how bad it was.”
“All I saw then was that my friend betrayed me, and my little brother took
up with him,” Beau said. “I wish to hell I’d known Travis wasn’t staying
with him willingly.” The anger seemed to drain out of Beau completely.
“I would never set your brother up for a broken heart,” I said.
“I tried to fucking tell you that,” Ambrose said. “Are we done now?
Because my house is not a fucking therapy center. I was actually sleeping.
Do you know how rare it is for me to fall asleep at night and stay asleep?”
I looked at Beau, then at Travis. They seemed as stunned as I was by
Ambrose’s outburst. “Are you kicking us out?”
“If it weren’t for Travis, I sure as hell would. You two”—he gestured at
Beau and me—“can get eaten out there for all I care, but he deserves to be
protected.”
“I’m not helpless,” Travis insisted.
“You can’t fight a gator,” Ambrose said.
“But you can?”
Ambrose looked at Travis like he’d lost his mind. “Of course.”
“Don’t you remember in high school when one came for a sandwich and—”
Travis gaped at him, then turned to his brother. “All you told me was that
you got away. You didn’t tell me—”
“We got away because this fucker took the gator on and won.”
“Fuck.”
Beau looked back and forth between me and Travis. “You’re telling me this
thing between you is real.”
I nodded. “Real as fuck.”
“Travis, you agree? He’s not taking advantage of the fact that you always
liked him.”
Travis gaped at him. “Did everybody know?”
I smiled. “Yeah, pretty much.”
He huffed. “Beau, I reminded you yesterday that I was seventeen when Rob
started toying with me. I’ve learned a lot since then. I bought all the shit
Rob told me, and I shouldn’t have. I was with some other assholes after
him, but I saw through them quickly. What I have with Dax is completely
different. This is like what you and Corbin have. Don’t act like I can’t tell
the difference.”
“I love Travis, and I will do everything in my power to make him as happy
as he can possibly be.” Travis’s eyes widened. Had he really doubted I felt
that way?
Beau sighed. “Corbin’s going to spend the next week telling me how right
he was.”
“What did he think about you charging out here?”
“That I was a fucking idiot and that he wouldn’t have any sympathy if I got
the shit beaten out of me.”
“It’s going to be fun getting back into his good graces,” Ambrose said.
I held up a hand. “Don’t you dare tell us how you’re going to do it.”
“It’s Corbin who doesn’t care about oversharing, not me.”
I looked at my brother then. “We’ll get out of here and let you try to sleep
some more.”
“I can lead them out,” Beau said.
I snorted. “I’ll lead you out.”
Travis groaned. “I think I might be better off with the alligators.”
“No way, baby. I’ve got this.”
Beau growled, and I rolled my eyes.
Ambrose pointed toward the door. “Get out.”
Travis and I dressed quickly. I let Beau take the lead, but there was one time
when I honked at him because he’d gone the wrong way. He pulled over,
and we argued about the route. It turned out he was right after all. I would
have been pissed as hell if I hadn’t been busy thinking about how much I
wanted to get Travis alone as soon as we reached the shop.
20
 TRAVIS

W hen we arrived back at the shop, it was almost three in the morning.
Dax and I showered as soon as we got into my apartment. It felt so
good to clean off the sweat and grime from our trip to the bayou. We fell
into bed, and as much as we tried to fight it, we were both too exhausted to
do anything but sleep. Dax assured me Beau wouldn’t expect me at work
first thing in the morning and promised to make it up to me then.
As I fell asleep in his arms, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said.
Had he really meant it when he’d said he loved me, or was he just saying it
to get Beau off his case? I hadn’t yet found the nerve to say it back, but I
wanted to.
My alarm buzzed as usual a few hours later. I turned it off and considered
ignoring it like Dax had told me to, but the shop needed either Beau or me
there, and he’d been out as late as I had. I’d worked on barely any sleep
plenty of times. It wouldn’t kill me.
I slipped quietly from the bed. Dax stirred, but I kissed his neck and rubbed
his back, encouraging him to fall back asleep. When he did, I grabbed a
protein bar, quickly slipped into a clean pair of coveralls, and headed
downstairs.
Beau was there, so I was damn glad I hadn’t slacked off in bed. Sure, the
whole incident had been his fault, but I didn’t want him thinking I wasn’t
tough enough to deal with it and show up to work on time.
“Good morning,” Beau called when I entered the garage. Sam and Joey
were also there, so all I did was return his greeting. I wasn’t about to bring
up what had happened last night in front of anyone else.
An hour or so later, Beau brought me a cup of coffee that was as sweet and
creamy as I liked it and set it on the bench behind me. “I was an idiot.”
“Yeah, you were. How’d you find out about us?”
In all the insanity of the night before, I hadn’t asked. I assumed Corbin let
something slip, whether intentionally or not. It was always hard to tell with
him.
“I overheard Corbin and Lance talking about the two of you. When I
demanded they tell me what they meant, Corbin explained that the two of
you had been together for days, and I lost it. I couldn’t stand the thought of
you being hurt again.”
“You really think Dax would do that?”
“Not on purpose.”
“Did you even stop to think about what I wanted?”
“Fuck, Travis. I’m so used to taking care of you. Now that things are
cleared up between us, I feel even more protective.”
I sighed. “At least that’s a hell of a lot better than you not caring.”
“I always cared. Always.” We hugged, only pulling apart when we heard
someone enter the garage. It was probably Leland coming to finish up one
of the projects he’d started the day before.
Beau let me go. “Get to work,” he said as he walked away. He wouldn’t be
my brother if he weren’t bossy.
“Is he on your ass again already?” Leland asked.
“When is he not?” If only he knew the whole story.
“Yeah, what else is new?”
We both focused on our jobs, and I hardly noticed the time passing, but it
must’ve been a few hours. My back was aching, and I really needed a
break. I decided to head to the front to get a bottle of water and maybe also
another cup of coffee.
The trash was full, so I pulled the bag out. Beau had a rule that once the bin
started to get full, we should take it out and not wait until the end of the day.
I circled around to the back of the building to toss it into the dumpster.
That was when I saw him.
I didn’t know his name, but he had been with Jean-Charles the first time
he’d come to threaten Rob. The man aimed a gun at me, and I threw the bag
of trash at him, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him over.
The gun flew from his hand, and I managed to kick it out of the way before
he got on his feet again. He came at me, but I was ready. I didn’t care that
he was a good six inches taller than me and probably weighed nearly as
much as Dax. I fought harder than I ever had in my life, harder than I’d ever
considered fighting with any of the pieces of shit who had mistreated me,
because now I truly had something to fight for. I had the possibility of a
future, a real future with a good man, a man I loved and who loved me. I
wasn’t going to fuck that up. I just managed to slam my knee into the guy’s
balls when Leland ran out with Sam not far behind him.
They were both yelling, and Sam fired a shot into the air. The man broke
free of my hold, and he took off running toward the front gate. Sam leveled
her gun at him, but she couldn’t risk a shot. There were customers here—
and valuable cars. I wanted to chase the man, but I knew the best thing for
now was to let him go. There were too many innocent people around.
Beau ran out to us just as the guy hopped the gate. “What the fuck is going
on?”
“That guy attacked Travis,” Leland shouted.
Beau looked me up and down. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. I was banged up from the struggle, but I’d be fine.
Dax ran out then. “Travis is fine,” Sam called. “His attacker is getting away.
Beau took off after him.”
Dax followed Beau, leaping the fence as easily as my attacker had.
I wanted to beg them not to follow the guy. I didn’t want them putting
themselves in danger for me. Thank God, a few moments later, they both
returned unscathed.
“He got away?” Sam asked.
“Yes, goddammit.”
“I’ll go see if I can settle everybody down. Leland, come with me.” Leland
looked like he’d much rather stay right where he was. I knew he was shaken
up.
Dax was scowling at me, and I could practically feel the tension in his body.
As soon as he got me alone, he was going to explode.
“What the fuck happened?” Beau asked.
I expected Dax to start badgering me about why I’d gone down to the shop
without waking him, but he stayed silent. Somehow that was worse.
I explained about taking out the trash and the man seeming to come out of
nowhere.
The whole time Dax watched me, making no visible reaction. By the time I
stopped talking, my heart was racing as fast as it had when the man had
tried to grab me, and butterflies were having a dance party in my stomach.
Dax glanced at Beau. “We’ll find him. He’s not going to get away with this.
And you”—he turned to face me—“I’m getting you out of here right now.”
“What? I’ve got work to do, and—”
“What about needing protection are you failing to understand? Why the hell
did you leave without waking me up?”
“Because there’s a lot to do and—”
“I appreciate your dedication,” Beau said. “But Dax is right. You need
protection, and we need less liabilities.”
Everyone who worked there as well as the customers would be in danger if
someone else came after me. Things could’ve ended much worse today, but
being sent away still hurt. I liked working for Beau. I’d resisted working on
cars all through my teens because that was what Beau did. Mechanics was
his thing, and he was so damn good at it. I wanted something of my own.
I’d been such an idiot. I loved helping figure out what was wrong with a car
and even just doing the simplest things.
Beau must’ve seen how upset I was. “This is only until LePlatt isn’t a threat
anymore. I’ve gotten used to having you around here, and I want you back.”
“Where am I supposed to go?”
“With me,” Dax said. He grabbed my arm and started walking. I stumbled,
then managed to match his pace.
“Don’t we need to—”
“Beau will take care of everything.”
“Corbin’s already working on increasing security here. Don’t worry about
us.”
I looked up at Dax. “Where are you taking me?”
“My house.”
“But then you’ll be a target.”
“That’s exactly what I want. I want them to come for me because I will
make them regret it. I want to take them out so they can’t ever come after
you again, and you can’t scare the hell out of me like that.”
“And you’re not scared at all, inviting men like them to come for you?”
Dax shook his head. “I’m confident in my abilities. I know what to expect
in a fight, but knowing that you… That this asshole could have… That’s
what I can’t handle.”
“But then I have to watch them go after you.”
“The hell you do. You will hide and stay where I tell you.”
“Maybe that’s not so easy for me.”
“Travis, I have to know you’re safe. Protecting you is my job.”
“Right. You can’t disappoint Remy.”
He turned to me, and I saw anger blazing in his eyes. “Do you actually
think that’s why I’m doing this?”
I ran a hand over my hair and closed my eyes. “No… Yes… Fuck it. I don’t
know.”
“Why did you leave this morning? You knew I didn’t want you to go
anywhere without me.”
“You were sleeping, and for once you were so calm and relaxed. I didn’t
want to disturb you.”
“I told you Beau wouldn’t expect you to be there, not after the night you’d
had.”
“I know, but I wasn’t sure if he’d be there, and they couldn’t run the shop
without one of us. Besides, I was awake and restless.”
“I could’ve taken care of that.”
The husky tone in his voice made me shiver. “Yeah?”
“Don’t do that again. Don’t leave without telling me. I woke to the sound of
gunfire and you not there.”
I stared at him. I saw the tension in his jaw. His hands gripped the steering
wheel so tightly the tips of his fingers were white. He’d truly been scared.
“I didn’t think…” He’d said he cared for me, but I never thought my
leaving would hurt him that badly. “I’m sorry. I won’t leave again without
telling you. At least not until this is over.”
“Until what is over?” Dax asked, anger in his voice once more.
“The shit with LePlatt.”
“Good. Because this”—he gestured between the two of us—“is never going
to be over.”
“Dax, you don’t have to make promises like—”
“How long have you thought I could be the one for you?”
My face heated as I thought about it. I’d admitted to having a crush on him,
but I didn’t want to tell him the truth. I didn’t want to tell him how young
I’d been when I’d already started to feel that way about him, to wish, to
hope. “Since I was eleven.”
Dax smiled. “By then, I considered you my friend. I didn’t understand why
Ambrose and Beau were so insistent that you not tag along. I enjoyed you
being there. I enjoyed your company, even though you were so much
younger than me.”
“So when did you…”
“I thought about you often. When Beau told me what happened with Rob, I
was angry, and I felt this weird jealousy. It didn’t make sense to me, but
then you came back into my life. The moment I saw you in the woods and
realized who you were, it was like a switch came on. All that concern and
brotherly affection I’d felt for you changed in that instant.”
“How can you be so sure when it’s only been a few days?”
21
 DAX

“H as it really, though, or have we always been meant to be?”

Travis smiled. “Do you really believe that?”
Did I? “Yes. I sound crazy, don’t I?”
“Not to me.”
“I don’t really talk about feelings. This is all so fucking new, but I know
what I feel. I know that you’re mine, and I know I’m not going to let
anyone hurt you, but you have got to listen to me. You’ve got to do what I
say.”
Travis studied me for a moment. “Do you really expect me to listen to you
all the time?”
“Fuck yes. I already told you I like to be in charge.”
“And what happens if I disobey?”
My cock jumped at the thought. “Jesus, Travis, don’t even go there.”
“What would you do? Are you going to punish me?”
“Is that what you want?”
“Maybe.”
I would love to punish him, but I wanted him to enjoy it as much as I did.
“I’ll give you what you want, what you need, but you don’t have to change
anything about yourself for me to care. You please me because you’re you.”
Travis sucked in his breath, and I wished to God I wasn’t driving. I wanted
to be able to look at him. I reached for his hand and tangled our fingers
together. “Let’s wait till we get to my house to talk anymore.”
“I don’t… I don’t know if I’m ready for this…”
“For someone to care about you? For someone to be kind to you?”
Travis blew out a long breath. “All that.”
“It’s not easy. You have to trust a whole lot to let someone care for you and
protect you.”
“It’s not you. It’s that I don’t trust myself. Shit. You said not to talk more
now.”
I squeezed his hand. “It’s fine. Say what you need to say. I just wish I could
see you and hold you.”
“If you were looking at me, I…” Travis cleared his throat before
continuing. “I don’t think I could say any of this.”
“Then talk.”
“I thought Rob was going to give me what I wanted. I thought I knew what
I wanted. I thought I wanted to be pampered and taken care of. I thought I
wanted somebody to do my bidding. I was so tired of being ordered around
by Beau and told that I was too young for whatever I wanted to do. I
thought having money and power would fix everything. I was really
fucking wrong.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever hated anyone as much as I hated Rob. “With the right
person, money and power can do a hell of a lot.”
He laughed. “You’ve made that very clear.”
“You can trust me. I’m not a good man, but I won’t hurt you.”
“Dax, I don’t think you’re like him. You didn’t even choose your position in
the family business. You were born to it.”
“I can’t say I wouldn’t have ended up doing wet work anyway. I told you.
I’m a natural.” We’d reached my house now. Travis didn’t say anything else
as I pulled into the driveway.
But once we were inside, he spoke so softly I barely heard him. “How did
you find out you were skilled in… um… torture?”
There were so many other things I’d rather talk about. There were plans we
needed to make. I needed to check in with Ambrose, but I walked Travis
over to the couch, then slid to the floor, kneeling in front of him and
holding his hands. “I’ve never told anyone outside the family this, but I
consider you family now, and I’m going to tell you. If you change your
mind about me afterward, I’ll understand.”
Travis shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“I got into plenty of fights growing up. By the time I was eight, I was
getting in trouble at school. Ambrose was sneaky. He’d find a way to get
revenge on people without using violence. It wasn’t that he minded
fighting, it was just that he had other methods. I was always more
straightforward. If you fucked me over, I was going to beat the shit out of
you.”
Travis smiled. “I don’t mind straightforward. I’ve learned that it’s really
good to know where you stand with someone.”
“I’ll never hide shit from you. I’m exactly what you see.”
“I think you’re really so much more than that.”
“By the time Ambrose and I were fifteen, we were already doing work for
the family.” I sighed and took a shaky breath. I wasn’t sure he’d think that if
I finished my story. “Ambrose was tracking down people and information,
and I was tagging along with Remy and his father, my Uncle Bébé, learning
how to intimidate our enemies and show them the consequences of being
uncooperative. One night, someone pushed me too far. They insulted my
mother, and I lost it. My dad and Remy were both shouting my name, trying
to get me to stop, but I kept beating the guy. I finally stopped because, like I
told the asshole, I wasn’t going to let him die. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to
hurt him anymore.”
Travis’s eyes were huge. He looked scared, and he damn well should be.
“After I’d stopped, Remy laid a hand on my shoulder, and I connected with
the world around me for the first time since I’d lost it.”
All my uncle had to do was snap his fingers, and a guard stepped forward to
deal with the bloody mess of a man who was barely breathing.
My uncle turned to me, and I thought I was in trouble. “We’ll talk more
about your gifts later. Remy will take you home now.”
“After he left, Remy asked me if I was all right. I didn’t know how to
answer him.”
Travis leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. I knew he was there, I
felt his concern, but my mind was stuck in the past.
“Did you hear us calling your name?” Remy had asked.
I had to think for a moment. “Yeah, but it was like you were far away and
there was a fog around me. God, what’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing. Do you think that guy didn’t deserve what you did?”
“No, it’s not that. He did, and if Uncle Bébé didn’t approve, he would’ve
had the guards pull me off him. It’s that…”
“Could you have stopped?” Remy asked. When I met his gaze, I saw fear in
his eyes. That freaked me out more than what I’d done. Nothing frightened
my cousin. Remy was good at everything and so fucking controlled. He
would never lose his shit like I just had.
“I don’t know.”
“You did, though,” Travis said, bringing me back to the present. “You
stopped before you killed him.”
I blew out a long breath. “Yeah, I did. The crazy thing was, my uncle wasn’t
horrified or angry, he was pleased because he knew if I could step outside
of myself to hurt people, that made me a weapon, a damn fine weapon.
From that night on, I was sent out whenever we needed to extract
information from someone. By the time I was eighteen, I was torturing men
on my own.”
Travis brushed my hair from my face. “Did being used like that make you
angry?”
“I don’t think at that point I even knew to be angry. I was proud to be
praised by those in my parents’ generation. They valued me, and that meant
a hell of a lot in our business, and…” I closed my eyes. No way could I
look at Travis and say these words. “I liked it. It was a release. All the anger
and tension in me melted away when I used my skills. What does it say
about me that I enjoy hurting people?”
“Would you enjoy hurting someone innocent? Have you ever had the urge
to do that? Do you want to hurt me?”
I sucked in my breath and scooted back from him, but he reached for my
hands and tried to pull me back. “It’s okay. I just want to know.”
“No. I… It’s not like that. I… I never want to hurt you, not unless you…
want me to.”
Travis gave me a soft smile. “I trust you. Nothing you’ve told me changes
that. And there are things, rougher things I’ve always wanted to try, but no
matter how stupid I was to believe Rob’s bullshit, I knew better than to ask
Rob or any of the other men I’ve been with to tie me up or…”
“God, Travis, don’t play with me.”
“I wouldn’t. I’m not. I want that. I want you completely in charge, and I
want… I want you to punish me when I’m bad. I know you won’t truly hurt
me.”
I had to shift the conversation, or I was going to drag him onto the floor and
fuck him as thoroughly as I could.
“I wouldn’t hurt you, but LePlatt would without any hesitation. That’s why
you have to listen to me.”
“I know. I learned that today. I was scared as shit. I didn’t know if I could
fight that guy off. I just knew I had to try.”
“You put up a damn good fight. I just wish I’d been there.”
“I won’t go anywhere without you again. I promise. But I might not always
listen when my life isn’t on the line.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. “Do you want to know what I would do
to punish you?”
“Y-yes.”
“You might be surprised. There are so many ways to torture people.”
“Jesus, Dax.” He leaned back and ran a hand over his cock, which was a
hard ridge against his coveralls. I wanted to unzip him and suck him until
he squirmed and whimpered and begged, but I wouldn’t let him come, not
now, not for a long time.
He wanted me, even though he knew about the darkness inside me. There
was no reason to deny either of us the pleasure or torment we needed.
I reached for his zipper and began dragging it down his body.
“Dax? What are you doing?”
“Whatever I want.”
“But you… I thought…”
“I thought you were going to show me you could obey. I thought you were
going to be a good boy for me.”
He tilted his head to look at the window behind him. “The curtains are
open. Someone could walk by and see us.”
“I don’t fucking care.” I unzipped his coveralls the rest of the way, pulled
his cock through the slit in his boxer briefs, and drew it into my mouth. He
gasped, arching up, driving himself deeper. I took hold of his hips and
pinned them to the seat, making it clear I was in control. If he wanted to
know what I would do to him, then I would show him. I’d see just how
much torture he could take.
I sucked him harder, and he gripped the sides of my head, trying to hold me
down to get more. “Please. God, Dax, please.”
Was he begging me to let him move, begging me to take him deeper, or
begging me to stop? It didn’t matter because this wasn’t about his choices.
This was about me doing what I wanted with his body.
22
 DAX

I slid my lips along Travis’s shaft, licking, sucking, making him moan and
whimper. I wouldn’t let him move no matter how he struggled. He fisted
his hands in my hair, trying to hold me against him, but I was stronger, and
I was damn determined. He wanted me to punish him, and I was going to,
but I was also going to do exactly what I’d promised him the night before. I
was going to worship his body and make him feel so good. I was going to
make him lose his fucking mind.
I’d never realized before him that good and evil could go together so well.
Maybe he was right, maybe I was both, and what we had could be both.
I flicked my tongue over his slit, then sucked just the head. He writhed so
hard under me that he almost broke my hold on his hips. I let go of him and
sat back. “That’s enough for now.”
His eyes were huge. He stared at me as his chest rose and fell with his
ragged breaths. “You… You’re stopping?”
I ran a finger down his cheek. “That’s right. I’m taking you to bed now.”
“Bed?”
“Yes. My bed. Our bed.”
“Dax, it’s not—”
“Hush. I’m calling the shots tonight. You’re supposed to just obey.” I had
guards out front watching the house. They’d learned how to be
inconspicuous since I had respectable neighbors. My home was my safe
place, and no one was going to violate it.
I stood and scooped Travis into my arms. I loved hearing his sharp intake of
breath. “Do you like it when I carry you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. But I thought… I thought you were going to punish
me.”
“Oh, I am, but I’m going to give you good things too. I’m not punishing
you because I hate you. I’m punishing you because I have to teach you a
lesson. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it, and I enjoy carrying you. I get to
do what I want with you today.”
He licked his lips and looked up at me. “I…”
“You’re going to obey me.”
“I’ll try.”
“You’ll get punished when you don’t, and you’ll learn. You’ll learn how
good it can be when you do what I say.”
“Dax, are you…”
I shook my head. “Do you know what this is? Do you know how serious
this is?”
“Yes, and I know you won’t hurt me.”
I set Travis down next to my bed. As soon as his feet touched the floor, I
began undressing him. “I want you naked. I want to look at you.”
Travis trembled as my gaze ran over his body. When I’d looked my fill, I
cupped his face and pulled him to me, pressing my lips gently against his
forehead. “Are you scared?”
“N-not really.”
“Do you want to be scared?”
He licked his lips. “Maybe. Does that make me crazy?”
“Not at all.” I pressed my thumb against the front of his throat, running it
down to the dip between his collarbones, then up over his Adam’s apple.
“You should be scared of me. I’m dangerous. Anyone sane would be afraid
of me.”
“I… I don’t think I qualify as sane.” He shivered under my stroking thumb.
I chuckled. “Maybe not.” I cupped the sides of his neck and ran my hands
over his shoulders massaging the tight muscles there.
“You’re here now, and you’re not going to escape. You might as well relax
and enjoy what I intend to do to you.”
He nodded as I slid my hands down his chest. I teased his nipples with my
thumbs, brushing roughly over the hard tips. He groaned, then bit his lip to
stop the sound.
“Make all the noise you want. It won’t change what I’m going to do to you,
and I like hearing you. I like all the little sounds you make.”
“Please?”
I shook my head. “You won’t get any mercy from me. I already warned you
about that, cher.” I brushed my lips over his, barely touching him. “I’m not
ever letting you go.”
He whimpered as I knelt and explored the rest of his body. I ran my hands
over his stomach and traced the line of hair that led down to his cock. I
kneaded his ass, pulling his cheeks apart and making him suck in his breath.
I teased his inner thighs and pulled his legs wider apart to give me better
access. He groaned when I cupped his balls, teasing them gently, reverently.
I ran my hands over his calf muscles and felt them tense. Finally, I bent and
kissed the arch of each foot.
He watched me with his brow wrinkled in confusion. “I… I don’t know
what to expect from you.”
“Good. That’s exactly what I want. Goodness, evil, pleasure, pain. I don’t
want you to be able to guess what’s coming next.” I reached up and pinched
his nipple viciously, making him cry out.
“Dax. I—”
“Go lie on the bed.”
He swayed as he took a step, and I laid a hand against his waist to steady
him. “Go slowly. You don’t have to rush. I intend to toy with you for a long
time.”
“What about—”
“No questions. No worrying about anything outside this room. Right now,
there’s just you and me and my hands, mouth, and cock on and in your
body. You’re mine, and I intend to make you understand exactly what you’d
miss if you run from me and get yourself killed.”
“All I did was go to work.”
“You went to work unprotected.”
“Beau was there.”
“But I wasn’t.” I pressed my hand to the center of his chest, forcing him to
walk backward. He hit the edge of the bed and fell onto his back.
“Turn over, bring your knees under you, and stick your ass in the air.”
He did as I said, folding his arms and bracing his forehead on his hands.
I ran a finger down his spine and felt him tremble underneath me. His cock
was so hard it was dripping precum. There was going to be a puddle on the
sheet before I was done. I dug my fingers into his ass cheeks and pulled
them apart, exposing his hole. I teased his perineum with the tip of my
tongue.
“Dax?”
“I’m not going anywhere, not for a long time.”
“What are you…”
“What do you think I’m going to do?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“I think you do. Has anyone ever eaten your ass before?”
He shook his head. “Rob would have found it degrading, and I…”
“Don’t ever think about that asshole again. Your job is to relax and enjoy
yourself, but do not come.
“I don’t know if I can do that. I’m already so close. I… I almost came when
you sucked me.”
“I know you did. I wanted you right on the edge. I want you right on the
edge now too, and I want you to learn to obey, and I’m ordering you not to
come.”
“Jesus, Dax. How am I supposed to—”
I leaned closer and blew warm breath over his hole. “You’ll figure it out.”
When I dragged my tongue from behind his balls up to the base of his
spine, I felt muscles in his ass clench. I flicked my tongue over him again,
and he squirmed so much I had to tighten my grip on his ass. “Stay still.
You can take it.”
“I don’t… I can’t. It’s so fucking good. This is what you meant, isn’t it?
About me not knowing what to expect, about torturing me but not.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. You wanted the evil side of me, and now
you’re getting it.”
Before he could reply, I pushed my tongue into him. The sound I forced out
of him was somewhere between a scream and a moan, and it made my cock
pulse. “That’s right, baby. Show me how much you need this.”
I kept going, tongue-fucking him, licking him, pressing my tongue as deep
inside as I could and sliding my fingers in alongside it. I lifted his balls
back and sucked on them, but I never touched his cock. He fought my hold
on his hips and begged me to stop or to let him come.
I sat back and watched him tremble as he shifted back and forth lifting his
knees, then setting them down.
“Can’t do this,” he whined.
“You can. You’re doing so good right now.” I ran a hand over his ass,
caressing him.
“Even you touching me like that is… If you touched my cock, I would go
off.”
“I’m not going to touch your cock. Not yet.” I smacked his ass hard, and he
yelped. “Maybe a little pain will help calm you down.”
“Oh God. Please. I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You want to. That’s what you were hinting at earlier, isn’t it?
You thought I would spank you. Has anyone ever disciplined you like that?”
He shook his head. “No. Not… not as a grown-up.”
I didn’t want to think about what might have been done to him as a child,
but that wasn’t what this was about. Both of us knew this was about need
and comfort and maybe a little desperation. This was about him needing
sensation—harsh, gentle, it didn’t matter. His body craved stimulation, and
I could give that to him.
I smacked his other ass cheek, and he worked his hips, letting me know he
wanted more.
“Don’t you dare touch your cock. Stay right like this. Legs apart. Ass in the
air.”
“Yes, sir.”
I looked him over. “Mmm. I like that.”
I brought my hand down again, hitting him firmly but nowhere near as hard
as I could. I needed to ease him into this. He didn’t need babying, but I
wasn’t going to go hard at him to start. A few slaps later, he was pumping
his hips, squirming, and arching his back, trying to stick his ass out farther.
“Harder,” he begged, and I almost lost it. I almost pulled his cheeks apart,
drove into him, and grabbed his cock so I could work it until he eventually
exploded. He was fucking perfect.
23
 TRAVIS

D ax spanked me again and again without a break. I fought him at first,

but then, slowly, it started to feel better, almost good. I arched my
back, pushing my ass out for more. It no longer felt like punishment. It felt
like the sweetest release ever. By the time he stopped, I was sobbing,
begging him to keep going, to give me what I needed.
He rubbed my sore ass and ran his hand up and down my spine. His touch
was soothing, and he kept it up until my tears stopped and I was able to take
longer, steadier breaths.
“You needed that.”
“I… I did. I haven’t cried since the day I got away from Rob.”
“You trust me to give you what you need?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good, because I’m nowhere near done with you.”
“You—you’re not?”
“No, baby. I have so much more torment to give you and so much more
pleasure.”
I’d thought I was wrung out, but his words made my cock swell again. “Do
it. Use me.”
“I will, but right now, I’m going to explore you, tease you, taste you, see
what you can endure.”
“That’s… terrifying.” I shivered as Dax kissed his way up my spine. He
kissed the back of my neck. Then he bit down, and I cried out. He wrapped
a hand around the front of my throat, choking off the sound.
He kept me there, breathless, for just a few seconds, then he let go. “Fuck,
I’m crazy to be here with you, aren’t I?”
He growled. “No, this is where you belong. Turn over.”
When I did, Dax looked down at me like I was a treasure, like he couldn’t
decide where to touch me next, like he worshipped me. I brought my hand
to my throat and rubbed where his fingers had pressed in. He could be so
gentle and so rough at the same time, and I fucking loved it.
Dax pushed my legs apart and settled between them. He licked and sucked
and bit my nipples until I was nearly crying again. I never knew they could
be so fucking sensitive.
After kissing his way down my body, he nearly ended me by running his
tongue along the underside of my cock, then lapping up the precum that
was dripping from my slit.
“Look at me, Travis.” When I did, he licked his lips and moaned. “You taste
so fucking good.”
“Can’t you undress? I want to see you too.” And maybe if he was naked, it
would be easier to convince him to just fuck me.
“Not yet. I’m not done punishing you.”
How was I going to survive until he finally let me come? “Can’t you just
spank me some more?”
“No. Would that really be easier?”
“Yes. No. I’m really not sure.”
My ass ached, and even his smooth sheets felt rough against it. I was going
to be so sore when this was over. I would do anything for him right then,
anything to please him, to let him know he’d punished me enough and he
could let me come.
He blew over my damp cock, making me shiver. I wondered if I could come
just from that if he kept it up.
“Don’t move,” he ordered. He slid from the bed and walked around to the
nightstand. My legs trembled with the effort of keeping my hips still. I
pressed my ass into the mattress, letting the pressure on my sore skin
distract me from my throbbing cock. I dug my fingers into the pillow to
keep me from wrapping a hand around my shaft. It wouldn’t take more than
a few strokes to bring me off. What would Dax do to me then? How much
longer would he deny me what I really wanted—his cock buried inside me.
I somehow managed to be still except for the slightest twitching of my hips.
Fucking the air did nothing for me, and I was close to tears. I’d do anything
to get some friction on my dick.
Dax moved back between my legs with a bottle of lube in his hand. He
squeezed some onto me, letting it run down my crack. The cold gel made
me jump. My skin was so hot where he’d spanked me. It still burned, and I
wondered how long the imprint of his hand would be there. I wanted to see
it.
I started to ask him if he could show me, but he pushed a finger into me. I
groaned as my ass spasmed around it. I was so ready, so needy. He worked
the digit in and out then added another, stretching them wide and twisting
them to open me up.
“Please, Dax.” I needed him to go faster, but I knew telling him that might
make him slow down. This was my punishment. I should never have left
him lying there in bed this morning, but if I had been good, I might never
have experienced this, never felt him so focused on nothing but me.
He pushed his fingers deeper. My legs trembled, and I curled my toes into
the mattress. When he pressed against my sweet spot, I cried out and
writhed.
He just laughed. “You like that?”
“Fuck you.”
He laughed harder and did it again.
“If you keep that up. I’m going to… to come.”
“No, you won’t. I haven’t given you permission yet.”
“How the hell am I supposed to stop it when you’re doing that?”
“Figure it out.”
“Jesus. You really are a bastard.”
“I told you.”
“I want to see.”
“See what?”
“I want to see how red my ass is from your spanking, and I want to see your
fingers stretching me open.”
“Goddamn, you really are a fantasy come true.”
“Show me, Dax.”
He pumped his fingers in and out a few more times, then he pulled his
phone from his pocket. I hated that he was still dressed, but at least I could
see the outline of his cock, hard, thick, and ready for me. I didn’t have to
worry that this wasn’t affecting him. He might not be as desperate as I was,
but he needed me. He needed to come. Eventually, he was going to have to
give me what I wanted.
He positioned his phone, and I heard the click of the camera. He took a few
more shots, then he held the phone up so I could see.
I sucked in a breath when I saw the images. They were obscene. I could see
the outline of his handprint on one of my cheeks. It was bright red, and the
sight of his fingers buried in me, stretching me wide, was captivating.
“You like that? Like seeing yourself stuffed full of me with my handprints
on your skin?”
“Yes. So much.”
“Good. This won’t be the last time.”
I shook my head. “No, please.”
He tossed the phone aside and began finger-fucking me again, pushing in so
deep. By the time he stopped, I was pumping my hips wildly, ready to cry
my cock hurt so bad.
He stood at the end of the bed and slowly removed his clothes, taking care
to fold them and place them on a chair. I felt like I was going to come out of
my skin. Every time I twitched, he ordered me to be still.
Then, when he was fully naked, he wrapped his hand around his cock and
began to stroke it.
I watched, mesmerized.
“Sit up,” he demanded. “On your knees.”
I tried. The world swam around me, and I had to brace myself on my hands.
He cupped my face and forced my gaze up so he could kiss me. His cock
brushed against mine, and I jumped.
“Are you my good boy?” he asked. “Are you going to do exactly what I
say?”
“Yes. Yes, please.”
“Come here.” He used a hand and pulled my hair. I opened my mouth, and
he stuffed his cock in, choking me. I struggled instinctively, but he held me
there, forcing me to keep his full length down my throat. I couldn’t breathe.
I beat my hands against the mattress and writhed. Finally, he let me go. I
sucked in air, and then he pulled me down again.
“I want my cock good and wet. Get it sloppy and dripping with your spit.”
I tried to nod with his thick shaft in my mouth. He brushed my hair back
from my forehead. “Look at me.”
I tried to hold his gaze while I bobbed my head, working the length of his
shaft.
“You’re doing so good. You’re going to learn to obey. You’re going to learn
that you’re mine, that I’m here to protect you, and I’m taking care of you.
It’s always best to do what I say.” I nodded frantically, wanting so badly to
please him.
He worked himself into me faster, harder, and then finally he pushed me
off. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Touch yourself,” he demanded.
I stared at him, wide-eyed. Was he going to order me to come without
fucking me? Would that be my ultimate punishment, that I didn’t get his
cock?
He must’ve understood my concern. “I know what you need. You have to
trust me.”
“It’s so hard to trust anyone.”
“I know, baby, but we’re made for each other.”
I wanted to believe that. I felt it deep inside, but I’d learned not to expect
good things. I no longer believed I’d ever get what I desired.
“Lie back,” he ordered. “Wrap your hand around your cock and work it.”
24
 DAX

I watched Travis fall back against the mattress. He was sweaty, his eyes
dazed, precum dripping onto his belly. I wondered how much longer he
could last. How much more could I push him? How much torment would he
take for me? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that because I
might take everything he was willing to give, and I never wanted to go too
far. I only wanted to give him pleasure.
He moved his hand tentatively at first, barely touching his dick.
“No.” The word made him jump. “Touch yourself like you mean it, like you
would if you were home by yourself, like you would if all you wanted was
to get yourself off as fast as you could.”
“But if I do that, I’ll—”
“Do it.”
He gripped his cock tighter, and his hand moved up and down in a steady
rhythm. I was sure he wasn’t working himself as hard or as fast as he would
if he were home and thinking of all the dark and evil things I might do to
him. But if I pushed much harder, he might come, and I wasn’t going to let
that happen, not yet, not until I was buried deep inside him. He slowed his
pace again, and I shook my head. “Keep going.”
“Dax,” he sobbed. “I can’t.”
“You can. I want you to do it, so you will.”
“Oh God.”
He worked himself a few seconds more, then I wrapped my hand around
the base of his cock and squeezed tightly. “Let go.”
He stared up at me, breathing hard as I kept a firm grip on him.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you come.”
“Oh my God, I think this might kill me.”
I laughed. “No chance, but you will remember this night forever, and you
will remember how important it is to let me take the lead.”
“I will. I promise I will.”
“Never scare me like that again?”
“No, I won’t. I… Please.”
“Tell me what you want.”
“Your cock. I need you inside me.”
“Is that all you need?”
“I… I need to come.”
“Yes, you do, but not until I say you can.”
“I’ll try.”
“You’re doing so good.” I caressed his sweaty chest. “I’m so proud of you.
You’re taking your punishment so well.”
“I think you really are evil.”
I smiled. “I told you that too.”
“But I… I think I like evil.
“You like me.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I like you a lot.”
“You’ll like me even more when I’m buried inside you, fucking you so hard
you can’t breathe.”
Travis whimpered. “Please.”
I released his cock, and he gasped. The intensity of blood flowing back into
his shaft had to hurt like hell. I pushed his legs onto his chest. “Hold them,”
I ordered.
The tip of my cock brushed against his hole. He squirmed. “Please.”
I gave him what he wanted. He cried out as I drove in, filling him all the
way in a single, brutal stroke. He tossed his head back and forth,
murmuring unintelligible words.
“You’ll adjust. Just breathe.”
“I don’t think… I don’t think I can take it.”
“Yes, you can. You were made for this. Inhale.” His chest rose, pressing
against my hand. “Now let it out.” He exhaled and I pushed gently, helping
him empty all his air.
Again he drew in a breath, and his chest rose. “Exhale slowly.” He wasn’t
exactly slow, but he was no longer frantic.
“It’s so good to have you inside me.”
“You’re perfect, baby. I’m going to fuck you now. I’m not going to be
gentle, and I’m not going to stop.”
“Can I come? Please, Dax?
“Not yet. I’ll tell you when.” He looked ready to cry, so I stroked his cheek.
“You can do this. For me.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
I pulled out and pushed back in slowly. He squirmed, trying to get more. I
ran my hands up and down his inner thighs, soothing him. I kept my rhythm
slow for a few moments, but I couldn’t keep it up for long. The hot, tight
clasp of his ass was just too good.
I started pummeling his ass hard and fast. He pumped his hips, trying to get
more, begging, pleading. I felt as desperate as he seemed. It didn’t matter
that I hadn’t been tormented, just not being able to touch him was enough.
I’d wanted to finish myself off and come all over him since I’ve gotten him
in the door.
I reached between us and grasped his cock. He arched into the grip of my
hand. “Please! I can’t take it anymore.”
“Are you going to obey me?”
“Yes, always. Please.”
I knew he would challenge me. He wasn’t always going to be the picture of
obedience, but that didn’t bother me. I just needed him to know I was here
to protect him, and I wasn’t going to let him make stupid choices.
“Come for me, Travis. I want to watch.”
He gasped, making a strangled sound, then his body stiffened, and I felt the
hot splash of his cum on my hand. I kept working him, keeping a study
rhythm and a solid grip on his cock. He writhed and thrashed, crying out as
I drained his balls. Then finally, the tension bled from him, and he sank into
the mattress. I let go of his dick and brought my hand to my mouth. He
watched as I licked my palm and sucked each of my fingers.
“Dax, I want to see you come too.”
“I know, baby.”
I pulled out of him. I loved spilling deep inside him, but this time I wanted
my cum all over his body. I wanted him marked with it, covered in it. I
wanted him to smell like me.
Travis’s eyes widened. He lifted his arms above his head. “Come on me.
Cover me. I want to see. I want… I want to be yours.”
“You are. You’re perfect for me.” I moved my hand faster and faster. I was
right there, so close, then I was giving him all I had. Hot cum splashed
across his chest. Some even reached his chin.
When I was done, I sat back on my heels, and Travis smeared my seed all
over him before licking his hands clean just like I had. Afterward, I seized
his hands and pinned them over his head as I crushed my mouth to his,
tasting my cum in his mouth as I kissed him and ground our bodies
together. If I’d been capable of it, I would’ve gone for round two right then.
I only pulled away from his mouth when I was desperate for air. He looked
up at me, his eyes bright, his cheeks flushed. “I love you, Dax.”
25
 TRAVIS

D ax stared down at me, and I instantly regretted the words. “You don’t
have to… I mean, if you’ve changed your mind, or…”
He stood, and I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I’d really fucked things up.
But he shocked me by lifting me in his arms bridal style and carrying me
over to the window seat. We were quite a mess, but he had the presence of
mind to grab a t-shirt and toss it over the cushioned bench.
Dax arranged us so I was in his lap. He ran his hands up and down my
arms, then laid his hands against my cheeks and encouraged me to look at
him. Before he spoke, he placed the gentlest of kisses on my forehead.
“Travis, I love you too. You do know that, right?”
“I… I know you said it in front of Beau, but I… I was afraid to believe it.”
“I knew when I first saw you and brought you here. I’d seen it happen to
my cousins, but I still didn’t believe I could fall in love so fast or at all.
Then there you were, and my instincts screamed at me to protect you. At
first, I told myself that was normal. I’d wanted to make sure you were safe,
to watch out for you when you were a kid, but I knew this was different.
When you put yourself in Jean-Charles’s line of fire to protect me, I
couldn’t pretend anymore. I have no doubt my family would fight for me in
anyway necessary, but that’s the first time someone’s taken a risk just for
me.”
“But you told me not to ever do that again.”
“You shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand the significance of
it. What did you think this was about if you didn’t think I was in love with
you?”
“Sex? Fun? Protection? A really hot game?”
“I don’t play games like this. I would never say the things I’ve said to you
to another man.”
I shifted position, straddling him. “That’s good because I don’t want anyone
but you, and I want all of you.”
“I want all of you too. I don’t need to know everything about the ugliness in
your past, but I want you to tell me all your dreams for the future and all the
things that make you who you are.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve really thought about that. I’ve kind of just been
existing.”
“You’re going to have so much more than that now.”
For the first time in a really long time, I thought that might actually be true.
I hoped to hell I wasn’t fooling myself. Maybe I wasn’t. My instincts told
me I was allowed to relax around Dax. I realized the whole time we’d been
at his house I hadn’t thought about anything but him—and the wonderful
and terrible things he might do to me. It had been ages since I’d gone that
long without worrying about my safety, my future, and all the wrong things
I’d done.
“I’d like to travel. I want to see more and experience more. I thought I
would get to do that if I found a man who would take me away from Beau.”
“You found the wrong man. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I haven’t done enough traveling either. I told you how I ended up in
the role I have in the family. Some of my work has taken me to Central and
South America a few times, but mostly I’ve been right here. I love New
Orleans, but there are lots of places I’d like to see too.”
“Remington won’t like that.”
Dax grinned. “Remington needs to get out more himself.”
“Isn’t he the big boss now?”
“More and more my uncle is resisting interfering, but if we’re not in the
middle of a crisis, there’s no reason why Remy shouldn’t be able to take
some time for himself with Henri. What’s the point of all this money if we
don’t ever use it?”
“If you’ve really been thinking about taking time away…”
“I have. I was afraid I might have pushed myself too far. That I’d gotten so
used to the violence, to hurting people, that maybe I wasn’t fit for normal
society anymore.”
“But now you don’t feel that way?”
“You helped me change my mind. If I can love you, then the part of me I
thought might be destroyed isn’t.”
“So where would you want to go?”
“Anywhere that you are.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s a little much.”
Dax laughed. “Spain. Italy. Maybe a Mediterranean cruise.”
“Wow. You think big.”
“I’m sitting on a fortune, babe. The only thing I’ve really spend money on
is my house and my weapons, so you can think as big as you want.”
“That sounds wonderful. I never thought I would be able to see all those
places. I was just hoping I might be able to drive out west and see the
desert. I’d like to experience something really different from the swamp.”
“We can do that too. I like the thought of me and you in an RV.”
Heat filled my face as I imagined us snuggled together in a too-small bed.
“We might get kicked out of the campgrounds.”
Dax laughed. “I could handle it. Are you hungry? Because I’m starving.”
I leaned back and looked him slowly up and down. “It must take a lot of
fuel for you to keep that body going.”
“It does, and teaching you a lesson really wore me out.”
“It wore you out?”
Laughing, he picked me up again. This time he lowered me to my feet right
away. “Let’s go see what we have.”
“Shouldn’t we get dressed first?”
I suppose so. It’s nice to have the windows open and let some light in, and
we don’t want to scare my neighbors. You go ahead and shower and get
dressed. I’ll get started in the kitchen.”
I came to the kitchen dressed in one of Dax’s t-shirts and a pair of his
sweatpants that were threatening to swallow me whole. He was at the stove,
grilling ham and cheese sandwiches.
When he looked at me over his shoulder, he grinned. “Damn. I like you in
my clothes.”
“Your clothes are a little ridiculous on me, but you didn’t exactly give me
time to pack when you dragged me over here.”
“We’ll take care of that later. Sit down. These are almost ready. It’s nothing
fancy, but—”
“Remember, I’ve been living on Ramen noodles and boxed mac and
cheese.”
Dax shook his head. “I still don’t understand how you lived in the middle of
nowhere all that time and never learned how to cook.”
“Beau babied me. You know he didn’t trust me in the kitchen.”
“If you want to learn, I’m more than happy to teach you. I can think of all
kinds of ways to make cooking together fun.”
I was suddenly desperate for him to teach me. “I bet you can.”
Dax served us sandwiches, chips, and cans of Coke.
“It’s okay if you drink around me. I don’t mind if you want a beer.”
“I don’t drink when I’m working. You’ve seen how hard it is for me to hold
onto my control. Alcohol would push me over the edge.”
“But you’re not working now.”
“I’m your bodyguard, and I need all my wits about me. We have no idea
when another attack might come, and I’m expecting Ambrose to check in
soon so we can make plans for our next move.”
“I want to be a part of whatever you do.”
Dax shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“If I’m not part of it, I won’t be able to stay by your side.”
Dax scowled. “One of my cousins will stay with you. I trust them.”
“But you don’t trust me to help?”
“I will not risk you. These assholes are after you. I will not put you in their
sights.”
“I want to help put an end to this. I deserve that closure.”
Dax’s phone rang.
“It’s Ambrose. We’ll talk about this later.”
26
 DAX

“W hat did you learn, Ambrose?” I asked.

“I’m on my way there. I’ll be at your house in about twenty minutes. I’ll tell
you then.” My twin ended the call before I could protest.
“Fucking bastard,” I grumbled as I stuck my phone back into my pocket.
“What did he say?” Travis asked.
“That he’s on his way, and he’ll talk when he gets here.”
“I still want to be part of whatever plans you make.”
“Travis, that’s—”
“This sandwich is so good,” Travis said. He was right, it was good,
especially after the workout we’d had, but I also knew he was trying to
change the subject. I went along with it, but it didn’t mean I’d changed my
mind. I would not let him put himself in danger.
When Ambrose showed up, I knew immediately that he had a plan. I
doubted anyone but me would be able to read his expression, but I knew his
look of satisfaction.
“Do you want a sandwich?” I asked.
Ambrose nodded. “Fuck yes. I’m starving.”
“Start talking,” I demanded as I got the ham and cheese back out.
“Did you find the drop-off spot?” Travis asked.
Ambrose nodded. “And Sheriff Eric Winston.”
“Was he what you expected?” I asked.
Ambrose snorted. “Worse. He thinks he is going to change everything in his
backwoods parish.”
“Is he young?” I asked.
“Fuck no. He’s probably at least forty. He’s just fucking pigheaded. He
moved here from Baltimore. He said he wanted a new experience.”
I snorted. “He’s probably running from something.”
“I agree, and I have every intention of figuring out what,” Ambrose said.
“We need all the leverage we can get.”
“You think he’ll work with us?” Travis asked.
“We’re not going to give him a choice, but it won’t be easy to get a private
meeting with him. He’s squeaky clean. He basically goes to the office, then
home where he stays.”
“So he’s the real deal?” I asked.
“That’s how it appears, but why is he here when he had a promising career
in Baltimore? He’s got secrets. Everybody does.”
“Have you contacted Blackjack?”
He raised his brows, giving me a look like he was insulted. “As soon as I
located the guy, I got Blackjack working on it. We should have some info
later today, so let’s put a plan together.”
“You already have one, don’t you?”
The ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I do, but you’re not going to like it.”
I rarely liked Ambrose’s plans.
“Maybe we should call Beau before we make plans,” Travis said. “He’ll
want to be in on this.”
I glanced back and forth between Travis and Ambrose. “Do we need
anyone else?” Ambrose didn’t like plans that involved too many people.
“No, but he’ll badger the hell out of us until we tell him what’s going on.
You think we can run a plan with his little brother involved and not include
him?”
“What do you mean with his little brother involved?” I asked.
He ignored me and turned to Travis. “Give him a call and tell him to get
here as fast as he can.” When he looked at me again, he gestured toward the
stove. “Don’t burn my fucking sandwich.”
I glanced down at the pan and quickly flipped the sandwich over. It was
darkly toasted but not burnt. He would just have to deal with it, or he could
make his own.
We didn’t talk much while we waited for Beau. Ambrose ate. Travis kept
giving me wary looks, but I could also see determination in his eyes. I was
going to have some serious fighting to do, especially if my stupid ass
brother thought he was going to put my man in danger. He’d known Travis
as a kid too. Surely he didn’t think putting him in the middle of this was a
good idea.
Beau pounded on the door a few moments later. The heaviness of his knock
was enough to tell me he was already riled up. At least he’d be on my side
when it came to Travis’s involvement.
He walked in looking ready to lay into all of us, but Ambrose held up a
hand. “I’m going to tell you my plan, and no one’s going to talk until I’m
finished.”
I often wondered what it had been like to serve under Ambrose. It must’ve
been hell for anyone who didn’t like to quietly listen and follow his
commands. My brother might basically be a hermit now, but when he was
around people, he was bossy as hell.
“We need to play on Sheriff Winston’s good nature in order to lure him
somewhere private.”
Beau interrupted. “What if we just say we—”
Ambrose glared at Beau and received an eye roll. “Just because he’s
idealistic and doesn’t understand all the aspects of our culture here doesn’t
mean he’s stupid. He smart as hell based on what he accomplished up north.
He’s not going to come meet some random informant in the middle of the
bayou. He doesn’t know the terrain, and he’s aware of that. Whenever he
has to go deep into the bayous, he takes one of his deputies that grew up
there.”
“What do his deputies think about all the ways he wants to change things?”
I asked.
Miraculously, Ambrose didn’t yell at me for asking a question. “One of
them seems to idolize him. He’s the type who has always wanted to get out
of town and see something new, one of those guys who thinks anything that
comes from somewhere else must be superior. Another one is a good
Christian boy who respects authority, even when he doesn’t agree with it.”
“So stirring up dissent from inside the department is not going to work?”
Ambrose glared at Beau. “We want to work with this man, not fuck up his
job. That’s the parish’s problem. They can deal with him however they
want, but there is another deputy who’d very much like to run Winston out
of town. In his mind, the man stole his rightful place, but I don’t think that’s
the right angle.”
I nodded. “I agree. Keep talking.”
“Yes, let’s get to the point of this plan,” Beau said.
Ambrose glared at him again, and he held up his hands. “I’ve got to get
back to my shop. I left a car in pieces, and it needs to be back together
before closing time.”
“I think we should use the sheriff’s protective nature against him. He’s sure
to respond to a distress call outside town from a young boy whose truck is
trashed after he runs off the road.”
I looked at Travis, then back at Ambrose. “Oh, hell no.”
“We’ll be there the whole time,” Ambrose said. “And this guy’s not a
danger to Travis.”
“You’re sure of that after one day of research?”
The look Ambrose gave me sent chills down my spine.
“Fine. You’re damn good at what you do. I know that.”
“Fuck right you do. Winston will come to help Travis, then we insist he talk
to us.”
“How do we know he’ll be the one to come out?” I asked.
“We’ll make sure anyone else on duty is busy.”
That would be simple enough. Creating a distraction was second nature to
all of us.
“What will you do if he doesn’t agree to talk?” Travis asked.
“He will,” Ambrose said.
“We’re not killing this guy, are we?” Travis looked like he might be sick.
“No. He might be an asshole, but he’s done nothing to harm any of us.”
“But if he tries to arrest you—”
Ambrose shook his head. “Didn’t I already say he’s not stupid?”
“You also said he didn’t understand how things work here.”
“If he’s worked in a big city, he’s plenty used to people cutting deals. He
might not be used to ignoring moonshine stills, or not asking questions
when things resurface from the bayou, or ignoring what goes on past the
edge of town on a Saturday night, but he knows how to make deals with
informants. That’s all this is.”
“Wouldn’t an informant just be giving information?” Travis asked. “Not
demanding his cooperation or a role in the takedown of a dealer?”
Ambrose waved off his concern. “We’re offering him a service. We’re
going to take care of a major problem in his town. If he can’t handle that,
he’s going to have to go away for a little while.”
Travis frowned. “Go away where?”
I loved that he could still seem so innocent after the hell he’d been through.
It also made me even more furious that Rob had manipulated him. Travis’s
inner nature was good. How could he think he was to blame for the evil
Rob wanted to involve him in?
“This all sounds fine.” Travis’s eyes widened as he watched me. “But we
need to find someone other than Travis to play the person in distress.”
Ambrose shook his head. “No. Travis is perfect. Look at him.”
Dax growled. “I will not let him put himself in that kind of danger.”
“But I want to help,” Travis said.
“See?” Ambrose gestured toward him.
“No.”
“I agree with Dax,” Beau said. “We can find someone else.”
“Who? Which of our employees is going to look like someone who would
be upset, someone who would need to be calmed down, someone who
would need a ride?”
“We’ll find someone. What about Corbin?”
Beau snarled. “No way.”
Ambrose huffed. “Y’all are getting too soft. Travis wants to help, and he’s
perfect for the role. Do we have a plan?”
“Not until we find someone else,” I said.
Travis blew out a long breath. “Dax, I got myself into this shit. I want to
help get myself out. I need that. I need to know I can do things for myself.”
“There’s no reason for you to do this. I’m here to take care of you.”
“But you’re not always going to be there,” Ambrose said.
“The hell I’m not.”
Ambrose rolled his eyes. “If he doesn’t come with us, then you’re going to
have to leave him here.”
“Then Beau or Lance or Corbin or someone else can watch over him.”
“You know you want to be the one to do it. Bring him with us, then he’ll be
right there under your watchful eye.”
This was spinning out of control way too fast.
“Travis,” Beau said. “You don’t need to do this. You don’t need to prove
anything.”
“Maybe not to you, but I need to prove it to myself.”
“You may have gotten pretty damn far in the world of organized crime,”
Ambrose said, “but you still make assumptions and refuse to see people’s
potential if they don’t fit into the box you think they should fit in.”
I studied my brother, then looked at Travis. I knew he wasn’t weak. He
wasn’t defenseless. He’d fought like hell today, and thank God he had. He’d
also stayed sane through all Rob had put him through. He’d gotten sober on
his own, and he’d been surviving on his own for years before Beau
intervened.
But I also knew how vulnerable he was, how fragile. I’d seen him doubting
himself, and I didn’t want to put him through anything that might make that
worse. I wasn’t concerned about the sheriff or any of his deputies, but we
didn’t know who might be watching us. Ambrose was damn good at
scouting, and most likely he’d find anyone who was out there, but if we
ended up in a fight with LePlatt’s men, Travis would be right in the middle
of it.
Travis glared at me as if reading my thoughts. “If I’m going to be with you,
if I’m going to truly be part of your life, I’m going to be in dangerous
situations a lot. You can’t shelter me from everything.”
I could damn well try.
27
 TRAVIS

I pushed away from the table and stood. I wished my brother was sitting
down like Dax and Ambrose. I hated how all of them towered over me,
but I’d feel even more ridiculous if I stood up on my chair.
“I appreciate all that you two have done for me,” I said, looking back and
forth between Beau and Dax. “But I’m tired of you talking about me like
I’m not here. I’m not a child.”
Beau started to speak, but I cut him off. “Yes, I know I’ll always be your
little brother, but the days of you having to take care of me are over. I’ve
grown up. I chose to walk away from everything you did for me. I’m sorry
for that, but it doesn’t mean I need you doing that now.”
Beau nodded, and I turned to Dax. “I know you want to keep me safe. I
know you want to protect me, but if this is going to work between us, I have
to be able to do what I need to do for myself.”
I held Dax’s gaze as I said the last statement. I saw the moment he realized I
was right. He slumped forward and let himself lean against the counter.
“As long as you’re never out of my sight, then fine, we have a plan.”
I looked at my brother. “Beau?”
“For so many years, I wasn’t there to protect you. Now that I can be, I hate
the idea of sending you into danger, but you’ll be with two men I trust more
than anyone else. Yes, we have a plan.”
Ambrose grinned at me. “In case you’re wondering, they are always this
difficult.”

By the next morning, we were ready to put our plan into action. Blackjack
had come through with information we could use against Winston. He’d
been the lead on a murder investigation that gained national attention when
the police were accused of a cover-up. The primary suspect was a friend of
the chief, and a reporter uncovered evidence against the suspect that should
easily have been found by the police.
“You think he was part of it?” I asked.
Ambrose shook his head. “I think he was tricked into it. He was trapped in a
position where he had to go against his chief and his partner, and there’d
been so much tampering he wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. I
think he quit because he wasn’t going to be manipulated like that again.”
“Which means he’s not going to want to be manipulated by us.”
Ambrose nodded. “True, but we’re offering him help. The chief had nothing
to offer him but continuing to do his bidding like a good little stooge.”
I wasn’t sure our offer would be enough to convince him, but we had to try.
“Go on and get ready.” Ambrose waved me toward Dax’s bedroom.
Ambrose thought it would be best if I dressed to look younger than I was. I
could still pass for eighteen or less if I needed to. I was sure that was one of
the things that had attracted Rob and his friends to me.
Remington had gotten Henri to order me some clothes, and he’d had them
sent over. I still couldn’t get used to the fact that they could just buy
whatever they wanted whenever they wanted with top-notch service. Dax
wasn’t as flashy as his cousins, but I knew he had access to the same kind
of money. How was I ever going to fit into this world?
I pulled on the outfit Henri had chosen: skinny jeans, a baseball shirt, and a
hat. I combed my hair out, making it extra shaggy, then slid my feet into the
vans Henri had gotten me.
“What do you think?” I asked Dax
He frowned. “It’s unsettling.”
“You look just like you did at sixteen,” Ambrose said. “It’s perfect.”
Dax shook his head. “I don’t like it. You should just wear your regular
clothes.”
Ambrose snorted. “You just don’t like it because he’s hot, and it bothers
you.”
“It’s not just that. He looks so young. And those jeans… They’re obscene.”
Ambrose rolled his eyes. “He’s not going to get hit on. He’s just trying to
look young and clueless.”
Dax growled.
“Get over yourself,” Ambrose said. “Let’s get in the truck.”
I laid my hand on Dax’s arm. “The sheriff is most likely straight. You don’t
have anything to worry about.”
Ambrose cleared his throat. “Actually, he’s not.”
Dax scowled at him. “You’re telling me he’s gay, and you knew that, and
Travis is—”
“Winston’s sexuality was the first secret Blackjack found. Winston
managed to keep his relationships hidden from the guys he worked with in
Baltimore, and I assume he wants to stay in the closet here. I couldn’t use
that against him, so I told Blackjack to keep digging.”
Dax’s anger seemed to dissipate. “Thank you for that. I would do anything
to protect Travis, but—”
“There are always more secrets. We’re allowed to pick and choose.”
I was glad Ambrose had looked deeper. I wasn’t sure I could have gone
along with the plan if we were going to use the sheriff’s sexuality against
him. I’d had my gayness used against me more times than I could count. I
wasn’t someone who could easily pass for straight, not like Dax and Beau.
Winston was probably like them. I imagined him being big, masculine, and
clean-cut.
Beau had found a beat-up rusty truck for us to use. Dax and Ambrose
argued over who would drive. Ambrose had won because he knew where
we were going, which seemed sensible to me, but I wasn’t about to say that.
When we reached the spot where we hoped to lure Winston, Ambrose drove
the truck off the side of the road, sending the front end way down into the
ditch. The vehicle looked completely stuck, but he and Dax assured me they
could get it out when it was time to go. I’d seen Beau get cars out of worse
predicaments, so I had to assume they weren’t just bluffing.
I heard a vehicle coming long before I saw the sheriff’s SUV. When he
pulled up behind me and stopped, I couldn’t help but glance toward the
woods where Dax and Ambrose waited. Dax was positioned so far back I
couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there, and I was sure he was keeping
his eyes on me. I could just make out Ambrose, though his gaze was
focused on Winston, never wavering as the man approached.
I’d guessed right. The sheriff had that clean-cut look—short, military
hairstyle, broad shoulders. He wore his uniform well. He was muscular but
not overly bulky. I was sure Dax and Ambrose could easily take him in a
fight, though most drunks and common criminals were probably easy for
him to put down.
“Hi there. I’m Eric Winston, the sheriff. I understand you’ve got a problem
with your truck.”
Why did cops always state the obvious? Of course there was a problem with
the truck. The back bumper was hanging off, and it was nose down in a
ditch. I was surprised the pile of junk had made it this far. It didn’t look
worth saving, but I had to convince him I was desperate to get it back on the
road.
That wasn’t really a stretch for me since a few months ago, I would have
given anything for a truck just like it. I wouldn’t have cared if I had to hold
it together with a prayer and some mechanical knowledge.
“Yeah, I… I don’t know what happened, sir. Maybe the steering went out or
something, but it just slid right off the road, and I couldn’t do anything to
stop it.”
“Hmm.” He approached the truck, and I glanced nervously up and down the
road, praying no one came by. Ambrose had assured us this road was rarely
used by anyone except a few people who lived back in the woods past the
end of it.
“It’s going to take a tow truck to get this out. I wish I’d known that before
heading out here. I would’ve brought somebody with me.”
Thank God he hadn’t. We didn’t need anyone else involved. “Well, I… I
just didn’t know. I thought maybe you’d have one of those, you know,
pulley things. And you could, like, put it on the front of your SUV.”
“A winch?”
“Yeah, that sounds right.” It was fucking painful to act this dumb. Beau
might think I didn’t know as much about cars as him, but I was far from
stupid. Still, this bullshit would be worth it if we could bring down LePlatt.
It was all I could do not to look for Dax and Ambrose again. Dax was
probably ready to kill his brother as he watched me interact with Winston,
but there was absolutely no sign the man was attracted to me. He was as
polite and mannerly as one of those small-town sheriffs in a Hallmark
movie.
“I do have a winch, but even if we get your truck out, I won’t have any way
to get it to town.”
“I was hoping I could just drive it then.”
The sheriff studied the truck. “I wouldn’t count on that, and even if it’s
technically drivable, you’d probably damage it more. Let me call—”
“Please don’t. I can’t afford it. I’ve got to get the truck out and make it run,
or I won’t have any way to get to work. I don’t have money for repairs.” I
scrubbed my hands over my face, hoping I looked like I was about to cry.
“What am I going to do?”
He frowned, studying me closely. I was waiting for him to ask if I had
insurance, but he didn’t. Could he really be nice enough that he didn’t want
to have to cite me for that? If so, we shouldn’t be doing this. He deserved
better, even if he was fucking law enforcement.
What choice did we have, though? Ambrose said we’d be better off
working with Winston than against him, and Dax agreed. They’d promised
me he wouldn’t come to serious harm in the end unless he was extremely
uncooperative.
The sheriff glanced between his SUV and my truck and sighed. “All right,
let’s give it a shot.”
Success. Now I just needed to get him down in the ditch examining the
truck where Ambrose and Dax could approach and encourage him to talk to
us. I was fairly certain they’d be encouraging him at gunpoint which made
my stomach jumpy. I knew they did far worse than this on a regular basis,
but this was a decent man, not someone like Rob or Jean-Charles.
Winston opened the toolbox on his truck and started lifting out rope and
tools.
“Shouldn’t we get a closer look at how stuck it is?”
He looked at the mucky ditch, then down at his pants.
“I guess this isn’t how you wanted to start the week, huh?”
He laughed. “No, but you’re right, we need to make a better assessment.
You stay up here. You’ll lose those shoes in that muck.”
I glanced down at the sneakers I had on and then at his sturdy boots. He was
probably right. I wasn’t supposed to be dressed like I was ready to wade
into swampy water, but I wished I’d brought something to change into.
I insisted on crossing the ditch with him, but we found a place where the
water was shallower, and I could leap across it with his help. I could almost
hear Dax growling when the sheriff took my hand to help me.
We walked along the far bank of the ditch until we were parallel with my
front left tire. Water almost covered the tire, and I was sure it was sunk deep
into the soft mud at the bottom.
Winston frowned. “You’re really in there good.”
“Yeah, I thought I was going to flip right over.”
He nodded. “At least you’re safe. I can’t promise much for your truck, but
I’ll give it a try. If I can’t get it, we’ll have to call for a tow.”
“I bet you can do it.”
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I needed to keep him talking
so he didn’t turn around. The goal was to avoid a standoff. If Dax and
Ambrose could approach without the sheriff drawing his weapon, we stood
a much better chance of keeping this from escalating.
28
 DAX

W hen the sheriff reached out to help Travis across the ditch, it had
been all I could do to sit quietly and watch. I didn’t want the man’s
hands on Travis, even if he was just trying to keep him from falling in the
ditch. Protecting Travis was my job. Shit. I really was fucked up. How
many times had I made fun of Remington for wanting to challenge men
who even looked at Henri? No way in hell would I ever apologize for that,
even though I now understood why he acted that way.
When Sheriff Winston and Travis had their backs to us, focused on the
truck, Ambrose signaled me with a bird call, and we both began a slow
approach.
I stepped on a twig, and the sheriff started to turn, but Travis pretended to
slide down the bank, and the sheriff leapt into action to save him from
falling into the nasty water. I wanted Travis safe and dry. I also wanted to
shoot the man’s head off.
Ambrose glared at me, and I flipped him off. No one moved as silently as
he did. When we were within a few yards of the ditch, we stepped out from
the cover of the trees and raised our weapons. We moved in perfect
synchronicity. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that, the ability to
silently communicate with my twin, to be in perfect sync with each other.
I’d spent more time with Ambrose in the last few days than I had in months,
and it felt good, really good. Could I possibly lure him back into truly
becoming part of the family again?
“We have a proposal for you, Sheriff,” Ambrose said. “Turn around slowly
and keep your hands up.”
He didn’t go for his weapon, but he didn’t turn around either. “So this was
all a setup?”
Travis nodded and gave him an adorable smile he didn’t deserve. “Sorry.”
“Turn around,” Ambrose ordered, his tone colder this time.
The sheriff did as he said. As he raised his hands, he took in both of us and
the weapons pointed at him. I was certain he was assessing his surroundings
and his chances of escape. Travis raised the gun I’d given him and pointed
it at Winston’s back, but I could see Travis’s hands shaking.
“We have a proposal for you,” Ambrose said.
“I could listen a lot better if you lowered those weapons.”
I smiled, knowing I looked menacing as hell. “I’m sure that’s true, but I
doubt you’d be as cooperative then.”
“I might be if you asked nicely.”
Ambrose huffed. “Don’t try that good old boy shit on me. You’re a city cop,
and you’re the last person I’d trust.”
“You seem to know something about me. Why don’t you tell me who you
are?”
“Ambrose Theriot, this is my brother, Dax, and our friend.” He gestured
toward Travis.
He studied us for a moment. “Any relation to Remington Theriot?”
“He’s our cousin,” I said.
“I see, and what can I help you with?”
The sheriff was being way too accommodating. Either he was
underestimating us—which was unlikely if he knew Remington by
reputation—or he intended to pretend to go along with us until he had a
plan.
“Maybe we should bring him back to the city with us,” I suggested. “We’d
be a lot more comfortable there while we discussed our proposal.”
Ambrose turned to me, and I had no doubt he was pissed as hell. I wasn’t
supposed to go off script. I kept my attention on the sheriff. No way in hell
was he making a move on us while we were arguing.
“We can get all the answers we need here.”
I thought hard about how dangerous it would be to let the sheriff walk away
after we made our deal. I didn’t truly believe Ambrose could read my mind,
but I wished he could right then. I couldn’t say anything else. The last thing
we needed was the sheriff thinking he could pit us against each other or that
we didn’t have a clear plan.
“I understand you’re having some trouble with drug runners in your
parish,” Ambrose said.
The sheriff made no response.
I softened my expression, trying to look a little more friendly. “We don’t
like the way they do business, and we’d like your cooperation in making
that problem go away.”
“I don’t work with criminals.”
“Now that’s just not true,” Ambrose said. “I understand you made a deal
with a very shady character in order to bring down a murderer.”
His eyes widened. “How did you find out about that?”
I grinned. “It’s in the reports from the investigation.”
“No, it isn’t, and even if it was, those records aren’t available to the public.
“Do you really think that would stop us?” Ambrose asked. “And did you
just admit to leaving out information about an investigation.”
“The chief was protecting the fucking murderer. I didn’t have a lot of
choice.”
“So sometimes it’s all right to go outside the law when there aren’t other
choices.”
“That was—”
“A special situation?” I asked. “So is this.” I was loving how in sync
Ambrose and I were. I could almost believe things were like they used to be
between us.
“If you have information about a current investigation, you should pass it
on to me so I can do my job.”
Ambrose shook his head. “You know you’re not going to bring this
organization down without help. At best, you might take out the local
connection, but the leader will just replace him. Everyone down the chain is
expendable.”
The sheriff glared at my brother. “Do you think I don’t fucking know that?
I’ve not been citing people for shooting gators and stopping bar fights all
my life. I’ve put away some real pieces of shit.”
I had no doubt he was sincere. He was proud of the work he’d done. He’d
probably truly believed in justice until his chief taught him a hard lesson.
“We may not always work within the same rules as you,” I said. “But there
are things we won’t put up with. When someone crosses one of those lines,
we eliminate them. We’re a hell of a lot more efficient than the justice
system.”
“I’m sure you are, but that doesn’t make it right.” He sighed. “Let’s hear
this plan.”
Ambrose explained what we wanted to do, except he changed the end result
to sound more palatable to Winston. He said we’d make sure all the culprits
were in custody. We had no intention of leaving any of them alive.
“You’re going to trust the inefficient justice system with these men?”
He wasn’t stupid. He had to know that wasn’t acceptable to us.
“Are you saying you have other ideas?” Ambrose asked.
“I’m saying I don’t trust you, and I’m not going to take part in your plan. If
you leave now, I won’t press charges.”
Ambrose laughed. “We’re not giving you an option on this.”
“Are you going to shoot me?”
“How could we have your cooperation if you were dead?” I asked. “That
doesn’t make any sense.”
When Winston turned and yanked Travis’s gun away from him, I rushed the
sheriff.
29
 TRAVIS

F uck. Why hadn’t I been paying better attention. I’d let my grip on my
gun go slack as Winston went back and forth with Dax and Ambrose.
They both had weapons pointed at him, and I didn’t think he’d take any
chances. I was supposed to be there for them, and I’d totally underestimated
Winston. He’d been a cop in a big city. I was sure he was used to being
threatened by men who were scary as hell, but it was so easy to be taken in
by how nice he seemed.
The sheriff was a good fighter, but Dax was fucking masterful. In seconds,
he had one of Winston’s arms pinned behind his back and an arm around
Winston’s neck.
The sheriff kept struggling. I expected Ambrose to shoot him, but he must
have been afraid of injuring Dax.
The sheriff kicked out at Dax, making him stumble. They bumped into me,
and I overbalanced. I thought I was going into the ditch after all, but Dax
reached for me, catching hold of my arm and dragging me back onto the
bank while keeping the sheriff in a chokehold.
I stared at him, hardly comprehending how easily he’d rescued me. Despite
the danger and fear, my body reacted to him. He really was the protector I’d
always wanted. As soon as we were alone…
Winston had his hand wrapped around Dax’s arm, trying to pull it away
from his neck, but Dax held on tight.
“Let him go, Dax,” Ambrose ordered.
Dax ignored him. The sheriff was going to lose consciousness soon.
“Dax! Travis is okay. Let him go.”
I laid a hand on Dax’s back. “I am. Please.”
Dax released the sheriff, and the man dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
“We’re going to take care of this problem with or without your help,”
Ambrose said. “If you want credit for it and a chance to participate, you’ll
work with us.”
“And if I don’t?” Winston asked, voice strained.
“We’ll have to release information about your participation in the cover-
up.”
He froze. “What information?”
“All your communication with the chief. Your agreement to do as he
asked.”
“I never—”
“But you did, or, at least, you pretended to.”
“Fuck you.” He scrambled to his feet. Ambrose raised his gun when the
sheriff moved toward him.
“If you don’t believe I have it, check your email. I sent proof of what I
know. LePlatt has set up a drop-off in three days. That’s when we put the
plan into action. Are you in?”
He shook his head, and I hated the defeated look on his face. “Fine, but I’m
fully in. I want full participation and full knowledge of what’s going down.”
Ambrose held out his hand to shake. “Done.”
Dax glared at his brother. He wasn’t happy, but he went along with him.
Seeing the two of them together, I could understand what Dax meant about
their ability to communicate without words. Dax needed that bond, and he
would do anything to make his brother happy. How could he think he was
evil?
He was loyal and caring, and damn if watching him fight hadn’t turned me
on. Some primitive part of my brain had taken control and told me to jump
him the minute he pulled me up the bank. He was so fucking impressive. I
wanted to drag him deeper into the woods and get on my knees for him.
Maybe being with him was making me crazy?
The sheriff turned to Dax and extended his hand.
Dax looked down at it then back up. “Travis is mine. Don’t do anything else
that puts him in danger or the deal is off.”
The sheriff looked back and forth between the two of us. “So that’s how it
is?”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Dax challenged.
A sad expression crossed the sheriff’s face, but he covered it quickly. “No.
No problem at all.”
Even after we were back at Dax’s house and Ambrose had sped away on his
bike, I still hadn’t come down from the adrenaline rush of Dax grabbing me
and lifting me into the air with one arm as I fell.
Dax locked the door then caught me staring. “What’s that look for?”
“Do you have any idea how hot you are when you go all crazy-ass
protector?”
“You liked that, huh?”
“I liked watching you subdue the sheriff so easily. Then you saved me while
keeping him from getting free. You’re so fucking strong.”
Dax smiled. “I sure am.” He cupped my ass and lifted me until I could wrap
my legs around his waist. “I could hold you like this and fuck you. Would
you like that?”
“Oh my God, yes.”
“Then why are you wearing clothes?”
I knew we needed to talk about what had happened, about how he’d
struggled to rein himself in, about the fact that we were walking much too
thin a line with the sheriff. Yes, we had dirt on him, but I wasn’t convinced
blackmail would stop him from doing what he thought was right. If he’d
been willing to try to take down a corrupt department, would he just roll
over for us?
But right then, pressed against Dax’s body, feeling the hard ridge of his
cock rub against my own, I couldn’t make myself believe those were real
problems. The only real problems were the barrier of clothes between me
and Dax and my need to come.
“Dax. I need…”
He kissed me then, hard and thorough, taking my breath. “I know.” He
whispered when he pulled away. “I need you too.”
He lowered me to the ground and started pulling my clothes off. He was in
such a hurry I was surprised he didn’t rip anything. It took me much too
long to get his pants unbuckled, and once I had, he took over, shoving them
down his legs along with his briefs. He didn’t bother taking off his shirt. He
just picked me up again and started walking toward the kitchen as if holding
me up was no burden at all.
He pulled open a cabinet, and I tried to see what he was doing over my
shoulder.
“Lube,” was all he said as he took out a bottle of olive oil.
He braced me against the wall as he poured some out into his hand. I clung
to his neck as he slicked up his cock. Oil dripped onto my belly and my
legs, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was how incredible he was
going to feel inside me.
When his cock was lubed up, he used both hands to lift my ass. I reached
for him, my hand slipping along his slick length as I positioned him so he
could drive inside me.
“Let go,” he ordered.
I did, but he only pushed in the tip, barely opening me up.
“Please. Take me. Make me yours.”
“You. Are. Mine.” He thrust into me, burying himself fully in one powerful
stroke.
It hurt but in the best way possible, and Jesus, the way he was holding me
up, moving me up and down on his cock, the way his arms flexed had me
so hard. I clasped the back of his neck with one hand and caressed his arm
with the other. The feel of his muscles flexing made me groan.
There was no attempt to hold anything back. We were like animals going
hard at each other. He bounced me on his cock, then held me still as he bent
his knees to change the angle, thrusting even deeper. His cock dragged over
my prostate, and I knew I was minutes from spilling between us.
“Please. More. Don’t stop.”
“Never. I’ll never stop. I’d stay inside you all day long if I could.”
I cried out on his next brutal thrust and reached for my cock.
“Yes,” Dax groaned. “Touch yourself. Work your cock. Come for me.”
I whimpered. My cock was so fucking sensitive. I felt like I hadn’t come in
weeks, but it had been less than a day since Dax had fucked my brains out
in bed.
He drove into me even harder, and I let go. Cum shot from me, streaking
our chests and stomachs and coating my hand.
“More,” Dax demanded, and my cock erupted again as if he could pull the
cum from me.
His hands squeezed my ass, fingers digging into the muscles. He slammed
into me one more time, then I felt the wet heat of his release. He filled me
again and again as he rode out his climax. When he finished, he lifted me
and turned me around. “Brace yourself,” he ordered as he pushed at my
back forcing me to bend over. I wasn’t sure my legs could hold me, but I
pressed my palms against the wall and trusted Dax to keep me upright.
He pulled my ass cheeks apart, and I felt his cum running down my legs.
“Fucking beautiful.”
I gasped as he licked my hole and moaned. He kept going, eating his cum as
it ran out of me. My dick twitched, trying it’s best to get hard again.
“Dax, I… You’re…”
“Hush,” he whispered against my ass, then bit down on my cheek, making
me cry out. “I need this. Needed to see you covered in my cum. Needed to
taste you.” He licked and sucked and kissed me, and I thought I would lose
my mind. I was half-hard when he reached around and gripped my cock.
Somehow, he drew another orgasm from me, then caught me as my legs
gave out. The last thing I remembered was him wiping me down and
tucking me into bed.
30
 TRAVIS

“T ravis. Travis, wake up.”

I opened my eyes just enough to see Dax kneeling by the bed, smiling at
me. I rubbed my eyes and opened them more fully. “What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain. “When did you put
me to bed last night?”
He grinned. “Around eight.”
“And I slept that whole time?”
He stroked my hair back from my face. “You did. I really wore you out.”
I caught his wrist and turned to press a kiss to his palm. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. I would have let you keep sleeping, but I’ve got to go
check something out. Remington got some intel, and it could be important
for our operation with Winston.”
“Go ahead. I’m fine.” I wasn’t. The idea of being here alone scared the shit
out of me. I needed all this over and done with.
“I’ve got men watching the house. That’s the only reason I’m willing to
leave you here. Corbin will come over later if this takes longer than
expected, but I need you to promise not to leave the house. Not to go to the
shop, not to run an errand, not for any reason.”
“I won’t. I swear. I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.”
His smile turned wicked. “I might have to reward your good behavior
then.”
“I’m counting on it.”
I forced myself to get up after Dax left. I had no doubt I could’ve fallen
back asleep, but I didn’t want to end up staying in bed all day. Surely over
twelve hours of sleep was enough.
I made myself some eggs for breakfast. Dax hadn’t gotten very far in
teaching me to cook, but thanks to him I could make decent scrambled eggs
now.
After I ate, I needed something to distract myself from worrying about him.
What kind of information had Remington gotten? How dangerous was the
mission Dax was on?
Maybe I could lose myself in a book. That had always been my favorite
way of escaping as a kid and during my years with Rob. I looked through
the titles on Dax’s bookshelves. When I realized he’d started reading
fantasy novels after I’d introduced them to him, I’d gone all warm and
mushy inside. I chose an old favorite and stretched out on the couch under
the whirring ceiling fan. The day was already so hot the air conditioning
was straining to keep the house cool.
I’d read almost half the book when I heard something that sounded like a
dog barking in the backyard. I stepped onto the screened-in porch and saw a
German shepherd puppy looking up at me and whimpering. She looked
barely old enough to have been separated from her mother. Poor little girl.
One of the neighbors had probably just gotten her and she’d gotten under a
fence or something.
I moved toward her slowly. She backed up a little bit, but she didn’t try to
run. I held out my hand and talked in a low, soothing voice. I crouched
down in front of her, and she let me scratch her ears.
She wasn’t wearing a collar. Maybe she’d slipped out of that too. Was she
microchipped? At what age did dogs have that done?
I couldn’t leave the puppy outside in this heat. I slowly scooped her into my
arms so I could take her inside until Dax returned. Hopefully he’d know
who this baby belonged to.
The puppy nuzzled my hand and whimpered. As I rose to my feet, I felt
something sting my neck. I thought it was a bee or something, but when I
reached up, I felt something there. I yanked it out and stared at it.
My vision was already starting to blur as I registered it was a dart. What the
fuck?
I saw two puppies in my arms instead of one, and I knew I was going to
collapse. I tried to scream, but I’m not sure I got any sound out before my
knees hit the ground and I slumped forward, rolling to keep from crushing
the puppy.
I came partially awake and saw two men in cable company uniforms staring
down at me. My head throbbed and even the slightest movement made me
queasy, but I was able to figure out that I was in the trunk of a car. A
whimper told me the puppy was there too.
“Shouldn’t we get rid of the dog?” one of the men asked.
I tried to reach for the puppy, but my hands were tied. The little dog pressed
up against my side and whimpered again.
“Nah. We can throw it in the cell too. The boss will decide what to do with
it.”
The first man slammed the trunk lid shut, leaving me in darkness.
As the car started to move, I lay there, barely conscious, head pounding,
and arms aching. Would Dax find me? Would he think I’d left the house
when I’d promised I wouldn’t? I thought I was safe in the backyard.
Something must have happened to the guards because Dax said he had men
watching the house. It never even occurred to me that the puppy was a trap.
I was in and out of consciousness for the remainder of the ride, and once
one of the men pulled me out of the car and threw me over their shoulder, I
pretended to still be out of it, but I was listening.
“The boss wants him in good condition, right?” This came from the one
who’d wanted to get rid of the puppy.
“Yeah, until he decides if he’s useful to us.”
“Is he going to use him to get the Theriots off his back?”
“I think he plans to lure them in with this little bitch.” He slapped my ass,
so I knew he meant me, not the puppy.
Shit. Now I didn’t know whether to hope Dax would find me soon or hope
he never did so he’d be safe.
31
 DAX

M y mission only took a few hours, and I hurried back to be with

Travis. I didn’t see him when I entered the house, and he didn’t
respond when I called. My stomach knotted as fear chilled me. I’d checked
in with the guard out front. He hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual.
“Travis!”
No response. I hurried through the house and saw the back door standing
open. Maybe he was in the yard.
When I stepped outside, all hope that Travis was okay fled. There were
tracks in the yard as though someone had been dragged through the grass,
and the back gate was unlocked. I hurried into the alley behind the house.
Tire tracks marred the grass by the gate. Where the fuck was the guard?
Seconds later, I found him slumped over his steering wheel. I ran to his car
and immediately knew he was beyond help. No one survived a hole in the
head like that.
I bent over, bracing my hands on my knees and fighting the urge to vomit.
The gore didn’t bother me, but the thought of Travis being hurt was more
than I could take. What had they done to him? Was he still alive? I had to
find him. I had to save him.
My instincts screamed at me to run, to do something, but I knew I needed
help. I couldn’t do this alone, and I couldn’t charge in without thinking. If
LePlatt had Travis, we needed a plan to free him, and if… No, I couldn’t go
down that path, but I knew if Travis was beyond saving, I’d rip every one of
them apart. I wouldn’t care what the consequences were.
I called Remy first. I needed to get everyone focused on finding Travis, and
that was the quickest way to do it. I also didn’t want to talk to Beau. He was
going to blame me for leaving his brother home alone. Why hadn’t I had
someone in the house with him? LePlatt’s men had gotten to him so fucking
easily.
I pushed those thoughts away. I had to focus on finding him.
Remington immediately gathered everyone to coordinate a search. He put
Blackjack on it and offered to call Beau.
“We’ll find him. There’s no other option.” Remington’s words echoed in
my mind. He sounded so certain, but he also had to know how scared I was.
When Henri had been kidnapped, Remington had been closer to falling
apart than I’d ever seen him. He also knew what I was capable of if I lost
control.
An hour later, I was pacing the length of Remington’s house, feeling like I
was going to come out of my skin. A knock on the door made me jump. I
was way too fucking on edge, but Travis was missing, maybe hurt, maybe
being… No. The thought of someone doing the things to him that I did to
evil men had me swallowing back bile.
Travis was everything to me.
I heard the door open, then Ambrose’s voice. “Is Dax here?”
I spoke before Remy could answer him. “What did you learn?”
“Not much yet, but LePlatt’s second-in-command is at the warehouse
waiting for you to learn everything you can from him.”
“What?”
“I saved him for you.”
“You took him yourself?” Since Ambrose had come back from the desert,
he’d mostly stuck to scouting and intel. I’d assumed he didn’t want to be
part of takedowns anymore.
“I did, and I’m going with you now. You’ll need someone there to keep you
sane.”
Torture had been one of the few things Ambrose and I had never done
together. By the time it was clear that was my role, Ambrose was gone. And
after he’d come back, he rarely left the bayou.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You need me.”
As he said it, I realized how much I did. He pulled me in for a hug. “We’ll
get him back, and I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
Ambrose didn’t do sentimental. He never had, even as a kid, but this felt
damn close.
“Get going, and report back with what you learn,” Remington said as soon
as Ambrose let me go.
Ambrose and I didn’t speak as we headed to the warehouse, but we didn’t
need to. Something had shifted in the last few days, and our bond felt solid
again.
The man Ambrose had captured was chained to a chair. It was clear my
brother hadn’t been gentle with him. His face was banged up, and blood
trickled from a wound on his neck.
“I wanted to kill him, but you deserve that honor,” Ambrose said. “And
you’re the best at making them talk.”
I’d been questioning my role, wondering if I could truly deserve Travis
when I was willing to peel back a man’s skin or pull out each of his teeth
one by one while I listened to him scream, but doing my job was going to
save Travis. I might be a dark, twisted son of a bitch, but there was a
purpose to what I did. Travis needed me, and this was how I was going to
find him.
“Where is Travis?” I demanded.
“I don’t know anyone by that name.” The man had the fucking nerve to
smile at me. That would be the last smile that was ever on his face.
I unzipped my duffle bag and pulled out a long, slim knife. “Let me help
you jog your memory.”
It took less time than I’d anticipated to get the information out of him. Just
when I started to feel the dark fog taking over, Ambrose knelt in front of the
man.
“Jesus. He’s got no fucking stamina.” My twin looked at me and shook his
head. “The little bitch wouldn’t even make it through boot camp.”
“So true. At least he’ll never have to find out.” I plunged my knife into the
man’s heart, and seconds later, he was dead. I’d gotten what I needed, and I
hadn’t lost myself. Travis and Ambrose had become my anchors.
My brother clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go get your man.”

Travis was being held in the shack where the handoff was set to take place
that night. The bastard I’d tortured had told us LePlatt expected an attack,
and he’d intended to use Travis to lure us in before he killed him. He’d been
alive and unharmed when that fucker had left him there with the men who
were going to receive the shipment guarding him.
We’d originally intended to let the sheriff have the local contacts so he
could process them and they’d go through a mockery of a trial. They were
small-time, but now that we knew they had a part in holding Travis,
everyone was going to die. Winston would have to fucking deal with it.
We hadn’t been able to nail down a time the handoff would take place. Our
prisoner had told us LePlatt always left that vague and made his pickup men
wait. That meant Ambrose, Winston, and I would spend the rest of the day
watching from one side of the shack, and Remington and Lance would take
up another position.
As the afternoon dragged on with no sign of LePlatt or any of his men,
Ambrose and Winston had to continually talk me down from rushing the
shed. Travis was in there. Did I really believe he was unharmed?
“If we wait, we’ll get them all,” Ambrose reminded me for the thousandth
time.
Remington radioed us to let us know Blackjack had broken in on some
chatter, and LePlatt wouldn’t be heading this way for several more hours. I
was going to lose my mind. I was also fucking starving. “Can we at least
get some food. All I’ve had all day is a fucking protein bar.”
“You think there’s Door Dash out here or something?” Ambrose asked.
“No, I think one of us can go get something in town since we’ve got to sit
on our asses for hours.”
“That’s a lot of hassle. I could just shoot something out here.”
The sheriff looked at him like he’d grown another head, then he turned to
me. “Is he serious?”
“Maybe.”
“Of course I’m serious. I could shoot a few nutrias, start a fire, and have
them roasted for dinner before you could drive into town, order some
mediocre burgers, and bring them back here.”
“You’re complaining about burgers, but you’re fine eating unseasoned,
unevenly cooked swamp rat?”
“I make a damn fine roast nutria, and I’m sure there some herbs growing
around here.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Miss Leigh Ann’s burgers are the best I’ve ever had,” Winston said. “And
I could be back here with them in less than an hour.”
Ambrose pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at the sky. “This.
This is why I like to stay in the bayou where no one bothers me.”
Winston snorted. “Except when you’re holding law enforcement officers at
gunpoint and blackmailing them.”
“Well, that’s fun.”
I hadn’t seen Ambrose smile like that in a long time. He seemed to actually
be having fun, not just getting a job done.
“Too bad it won’t be happening again, at least not in my parish. I won’t be
fooled by a pretty boy and his accomplices again.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt and twisted it. “Don’t talk about Travis like
that.”
“Hey!” Ambrose yanked me away from him. “Calm down. The sheriff
doesn’t want your boy.”
“Travis is—”
“Enough.” Ambrose used his command voice, the one that no doubt had
had the soldiers under him pissing their pants.
Even I wasn’t immune to his power, though I couldn’t hold back a smile.
He was so much more like his old self today. I’d been trying for years to
bring him back to life, but I’d barely made any progress, and now, Winston
starts working with us, and suddenly… Holy shit. Did he… Was he…
I’d seen Winston looking at my brother like he’d enjoy a good hard hate
fuck, but Ambrose was straight. Wasn’t he? Except if he was, why was he
giving Winston a sly grin that looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to
fight or fuck. My brother and a small-town sheriff? That was ridiculous.
Even if there was a chance for them, after we went against our agreement
with Winston and slaughtered LePlatt and all his associates, Eric Winston
was going to hate us.
Ambrose reluctantly got us burgers, and I somehow survived until go time.
When LePlatt’s car pulled up, Remington and Lance stepped out of hiding,
and we followed suit.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” he said.
He gave us a wide smile. “I thought I would see you here. I believe I have
something of yours.”
I wanted to rush him and wrap my hands around his throat. Reading me
easily, Ambrose laid a hand on my shoulder. “Wait for the signal, then he’s
all yours.”
We’d discussed our plan several times, and we felt even more strongly
about it once we learned that LePlatt was expecting us. Surprise was our
best option.
32
 TRAVIS

I ’d been conscious for a while now, but I wished I wasn’t. My head felt
like little men were inside beating the interior of my skull with
hammers. My jailers hadn’t offered me any food, but I knew if I tried to eat
it would come right back up. I was in some sort of DIY cell in the middle of
a large shed. There were two men there with me. They’d been playing on
their phones most of the afternoon.
The puppy was whining. I was sure she was hungry. She’d already pissed in
the corner of our cell, but it didn’t smell nearly as bad as the two men who
watched me.
I tensed when I heard cars pull up outside, then the rumble of voices.
The two men stood. After one of them checked that the cell door was
secure, they stepped outside.
Gunfire erupted as soon as they exited. It sounded like a hundred men were
firing at once. The puppy pressed herself against me and whimpered. I
wanted to tell her it was okay, but I had no idea what was happening. Was
Dax out there? Were the drug runners fighting with him and his family? If
so, I had to believe the Theriots would win. Please don’t let Dax get hurt, I
prayed.
A few moments later, the shooting stopped.
“What the hell have you done?” a man yelled. Was that Sheriff Winston?
Did that mean—
The door to the shack slammed open, and Dax rushed in. The moment I saw
him, I started to cry with relief.
“Travis! Are you all right?” I nodded, unable to speak.
Dax rattled the cell door. I thought he was going to pull it right off its
hinges, but Ambrose appeared behind him. “Get back. I’ve got the key.”
Dax growled and took the key from him.
“They gave you a dog?” Ambrose asked.
The puppy was hiding behind me and whining. The need to reassure her
helped me find my voice. “It’s okay. They won’t hurt you.” I faced Dax and
Ambrose again as Dax swung the door open. “They used the puppy to lure
me outside. I was petting her and trying to figure out where she belonged
when they shot me with a tranquilizer dart. “
“Fuck. That makes me want to go out there and shoot them all over again,”
Ambrose said.
Dax snorted. “Be my guest.”
He held out his hand for the puppy to sniff, then made sure she stayed away
while he cut the bonds on my ankles and wrists.
“I thought…” I had to take a breath before I could continue. “I thought
you’d be angry with me that I went outside.” I pulled the puppy against me,
and she started licking my face.
“No. Never. You went into the yard. You should have been safe, but they’d
killed the guard I had stationed in the alley.”
Guards. Where were the ones who’d been watching over me? “Where are
the men that were here?”
“LePlatt is dead. They’re all dead.”
“But we were supposed to—”
“Plans changed when they took you. Nobody hurts you and lives.”
The puppy barked then as if to agree, and Dax scratched her behind the
ears. She’d clearly gotten the message that Dax was a safe person.
“Can we keep her? Please.”
Dax cupped my face, brushing away my tears with his thumbs. “Travis, you
can have anything. You can run a whole dog rescue if you want. I’m just
thankful you’re here and alive and uninjured. I should never have left you.”
“Dax, it’s not your fault.”
“If I were you,” Ambrose said, “I’d take his offer and start naming your
price.”
Dax flipped Ambrose off, then he scooped me and the puppy up in his arms.
“You should be checked out by a doctor.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me. I just feel a little bit hungover from the
tranquilizer. Otherwise, I’m just scraped and sore from trying to get free.
That’s all.”
Dax huffed. “I want to be sure.”
“I just want you to take me home as soon as you can. I know there’s
probably—”
“There’s nothing he needs to do here,” Ambrose said. He clapped a hand on
Dax’s shoulder. “Take him home. I’ll deal with Winston. Remy and Lance
can handle everything else.”
I didn’t want to take him away from family business. “If you need—”
“He’ll be useless if he stays. He needs to be with you now.”
Dax nodded. “He’s right.”
“Damn, I don’t hear that often.”
“You’re too busy saying it yourself.”
Ambrose flipped him off.
“Thank you,” I said to Ambrose, and he grinned.
“Anytime.”
Once we were outside, Dax reluctantly set me down so he could talk to his
cousins, but he kept his arm around me.
We gave them a brief explanation of what had happened to me, and I tried
to keep from looking at the corpses on the ground.
“Can I go see if the puppy needs to—”
Dax’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, you’re way too pale.”
“Get him out of here,” Remington ordered. “We’ve got this.”
We let the puppy run around by Dax’s SUV long enough to do her business.
Then I picked her up and kept her on my lap for the duration of the ride
back to Dax’s house.
Dax insisted I tell him everything that had happened to me after he’d left
me that morning. Recounting the day was easier with a puppy on my lap. I
petted her rhythmically as I talked. When I was done, I asked Dax to
explain how he’d found me. He was much too vague, but I knew he didn’t
want to share too many gruesome details.
Dax made one stop on the way home—a pet store. He ran in for a few basic
supplies.
When we got home, the puppy gobbled down some food and then flopped
onto her new bed and fell asleep instantly. Dax took my hand and led me
quietly to the bedroom.
I was too tired to stand, so I sat on the edge of the bed, and Dax knelt in
front of me. I opened my legs, encouraging him to come closer. He wrapped
his arms around me and pressed his face against me. I slipped my hands
into his hair and bent to kiss the top of his head. We stayed like that for
several moments.
When he finally pulled away, he looked up at me and said, “You anchor me,
Travis. You make me feel like I can stay in control. I want to use all my
skills to keep you safe and give you everything you want.”
“Dax, when I’m with you, I feel seen. I feel like someone cares about me
for who I am.”
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too, and I…”
“Want me to fuck you until you don’t know what year it is. I’m hoping
that’s what you’re about to say because I can’t wait much longer. From the
moment I saw you in that damn cell, I needed to touch you, to claim you, to
prove we were both here and alive and together.”
Travis smiled. “That’s exactly what I need.”
Dax rose, pulled me to my feet, and undressed me. Unlike before, he took
his time, caressing me, savoring me. I’d never felt more loved. When I was
naked, he stripped off his own clothes then lifted me and laid me on my
back on the bed.
I held my arms up, reaching for him. “Come here. I need you inside me.”
He held up a finger as he walked around the side of the bed. “We’re using
real lube this time.”
I laughed and waited impatiently for him to find what we needed, settle
between my legs, and stretch out over me.
“Kiss me,” I demanded.
He brushed his lips over mine, then slowly explored my mouth, but soon
the kiss grew harder, needier. We both worked our hips, rubbing our cocks
together. It felt so good to be with him like that, our bodies pressed
together, our desire running so hot all we could do was rut against each
other.
“Need you so much,” he murmured against my neck.
“Me too. Need you.”
He reached between us, taking both our cocks in one hand. He stroked us,
and I groaned, arching up and begging for more.
He had me so damn close to the edge before he stopped, and I whimpered
when he let go.
“I want to make you come in every possible way. I want to keep you in this
bed for days. I don’t want to do anything but pleasure you and hold you.”
I smiled. “That sounds good, but I have a feeling Beau will expect me at
work.”
“There’s no need for you to work. I can give you everything you desire.”
I shook my head. “I’m not just going to live off you.”
Dax frowned, but he didn’t protest. “All right. I won’t insist on that, but you
are going to live with me.”
“You want me to move in?”
Dax shook his head. “You are moving in,” he said. “It’s not optional.”
“So fucking bossy.”
He traced the line of my jaw. “You love it.”
“Maybe.”
He reached for the lube, slicked himself up, and then he was pressing
against my ass. “I’m going to fill you so full all you’ll be able to think about
is me.”
“You’re already all I think about.”
“I love you.”
I tried to say the words back, but he pushed into me, and I gasped instead. I
still wasn’t used to the size of him, but that didn’t matter. He felt so good
inside me I didn’t mind the burn. I wanted all of him, every inch.
“More,” I demanded.
Dax pulled out, slowly tormenting me. Then he drove back in, giving me
everything I wanted. He fucked me hard and fast, and I met every stroke.
By the time I cried out his name as cum shot from my dick, we were both
slick with sweat and gasping for breath.
Before my climax had ended, he buried himself deep, and I felt him spilling
inside me. When he’d emptied himself, he collapsed onto me, and I
wrapped my arms and legs around him.
Minutes passed before either of us could move or speak. Finally, I forced
myself to open my eyes and come back to the present moment. “You did it.”
Dax propped himself up on his elbows. “What did I do?”
“You fucked me so hard you made me forget what year it is, what day it is,
what time it is. I’m not sure I can think at all.”
He grinned. “That’s exactly how it should be right now, baby. You don’t
need to think. All you need to do is feel.”
I took a slow, deep breath. “I feel fantastic. Better than I have in years.
Maybe ever.”
He smiled. “So do I. You do that to me. You make me feel things I didn’t
think I could.”
“I never thought a man would love me, actually love me. I thought that I
either had to be alone or be nothing more than an accessory.”
“Those fucking bastards never deserved a man like you. You should be
treasured, taken care of, protected, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do
for you.”
“I thought I didn’t want that. I thought I needed to be on my own to protect
myself, and I think I did for a while, but now I want to be yours. I want to
move in with you. I want you to be my protector.”
“And I want to give you the world.”
“I don’t need that much, but maybe a trip to see some more of the world
would be nice. I think I’m ready for that now.”
“Then we’ll plan a vacation as soon as possible. We can talk about that
later.”
“Do you have plans for right now?” Surely he wasn’t ready for round two
yet.
A yip and a scratch at the door interrupted him. “I think someone has plans
for us.”
“Let her in. I’m sure she’s scared. I don’t know where she came from or
how those assholes found her, but I want her to know she safe here.”
I gasped when Dax sat back and his softening cock slid from my body.
“You okay?”
“Yes, just sore in the best kind of way.”
“Good.” He opened the door and the puppy bounded in. “You’re going to
have to think of a name for her.”
“I already have. I think we should name her Hope because that’s what you
gave me.”
Dax smiled, that relaxed, genuine smile I loved so much, the one I
remembered from all those years ago when I first had a crush on him. “I
think that’s perfect.”
He let Hope into the room, and she joined us on the bed. “What will we do
with her if we take a trip? She’s too young to leave anytime soon.”
“That’s when having close family comes in handy. Maybe we can get
Ambrose to watch her.”
“I don’t want him taking her out to the bayou. An alligator could snap her
up in a second.”
“This might be a good chance to lure him back to the city. I could ask him
to stay here.”
“I doubt he’d say yes, but it’s worth a try.”
“I do have plans for us,” Dax said.
I looked down at the puppy. She was rolling on her back and making
adorable, contented sounds. “Let’s not kick her out yet.”
“Not those kind of plans. We both need food, and we need to get your
things from the apartment at the shop.”
“You want me to move in today?”
“You’ve basically been living here already, and I’m not spending another
night apart from you.”
“You took care of my enemies. I should be safe on my own.”
“Your safest with me, and that’s where you’re going to stay.”
I grinned. “That’s where I want to stay.”
Dax pulled me to him for a gentle kiss, and Hope snuggled her way
between us. I had a family again. How incredible was that? My brother and
I had reconciled, and I was starting my own family unit with Dax and Hope.
“I really thought I was going to spend the rest of my life alone.”
“Then it’s a good thing Beau was taken prisoner because we clearly needed
to meet each other again.”
“It’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me.”
Dax kissed the top of my head. “You give me hope too, you know.”
“That’s exactly what I want to do. For the rest of my life.”
Dax kissed me then, and Hope jumped up and down giving us both kisses
too. I was happy, truly happy, and for once, I believed it would last.
33
 EPILOGUE

One Month Later

Dax

I looked at Travis’s single suitcase and backpack. “Are you sure that’s all
you need?”
He tilted his head, seeming to think that through. “I can’t think of anything
else. I mean, it’s not like I have closets full of clothes like Remington and
Henri.”
“No one has as many clothes as those two.” Remington insisted on
impeccable fashion, and he showered Henri with custom-tailored items on a
regular basis. “We can always buy something if we don’t have it. There will
be plenty of shops on the ship and even more at our destinations.” We were
going on a transatlantic cruise and visiting several stops in the
Mediterranean. This was the trip I’d wanted to take Travis on since he’d
mentioned his desire to travel. We also had a New Year’s trip to the
Southwest planned.
“I’m not going to need that much. We shouldn’t—”
I laid a finger over his mouth. “You promised me you would let me spoil
you on this trip.” Travis had been very reluctant to let me buy things for
him, but he’d finally agreed to let me pay for our travel, and I was going to
buy him everything I saw that I thought he would like. I didn’t care how
many extra suitcases I needed to buy. I had money sitting around doing
nothing. It might as well be used to make Travis happy.
He sighed. “Fine. You can buy me whatever you want.”
I grinned. “I have so many ideas.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but I didn’t have to argue with him anymore
because Hope came bounding into the room and demanded his attention. I
couldn’t believe how much she’d grown in the last month. She was going to
be a big girl, but I loved her more and more each day, and watching Travis
play with her was one of my favorite things. Hope was happy to play with
me or let me take her on walks, but it was clear she and Travis had a special
bond.
Travis squatted down to pet her. “She knows something is up. Look how
jumpy she is. She won’t sit still.”
“Travis, baby, I’m not sure she ever sits still.”
“She usually rolls over for belly rubs when she comes to me for attention,
but she’s just circling me. Are you sure it’s okay to leave her?”
“Yes.” I sat on the floor and scooped Hope onto my lap. “She’s going to be
fine. Ambrose is going to take great care of her. He likes animals a lot better
than people.”
“I still can’t believe he agreed to watch her.”
It had taken a lot of persuasion, but I’d finally worn him down. He was
doing it for Travis, not for me, but that was fine. It was getting him out of
the bayou for ten days. Even if all he did was take Hope on walks and to
puppy class, it would be good for him. Things had remained better between
us since we’d taken down LePlatt. He’d even called me a few times just to
check on me. Well, he said he was checking on Travis, but he’d had a hell
of a lot of questions for me about how I was handling a real relationship.
Better than I ever imagined was my answer. I loved Travis so deeply, not
one time had I doubted he was mine, my partner for life.
Our front door opened, and Ambrose stepped inside. He would shoot
anyone for doing that at his place. “Asshole. You could have knocked.”
“Why? I have a key.”
“I might have shot you.”
Ambrose shook his head. “You’re too busy cuddling your puppy.”
That was true, but I wasn’t going to discuss it. I handed Hope to Travis and
stood.
Ambrose was frowning at my collection of bags. “What’s all this? What do
you need that can’t fit in a backpack?”
“It’s a cruise, not a backcountry camping trip.”
Ambrose just snorted.
“Do you have any questions about taking care of Hope?”
“I can keep a dog alive.”
“You did read the instructions I wrote up, didn’t you?” Travis asked.
Ambrose smiled at my boyfriend. “I did, and I’ll follow them all. I may not
like it, but I used to be very good at following orders.”
That was something I had trouble imagining. I’d never understood how
Ambrose’s lack of filter and intolerance for bullshit hadn’t gotten him
kicked out of the army before he’d finished bootcamp.
“Don’t you need to go?” Ambrose asked.
He didn’t want a sentimental scene. I knew that, but I forced him to endure
a hug from me, and Travis did the same. Hope jumped up and down until he
picked her up and let her give him kisses. I couldn’t hold back a smile.
Seeing him there in my house, holding my dog, and obviously loving the
affection she gave him made me so happy.
“You know how to call us if there’s a problem, right?” Travis asked.
“I could find you even if the CIA couldn’t. Don’t worry.”
Travis and I collected our luggage, and I held the door for him.
When we were settled in the car, I pulled Travis to me and gave him a long,
thorough kiss. When I pulled away, he stared at me wide-eyed.
“I couldn’t resist.”
He glanced at the clock and frowned. “It’s going to be hours before the ship
takes off, and now all I can think about is kissing you again.”
“Just kissing?”
Travis held my gaze as he licked his lips. “I want you. I always want you.”
“As soon as we board the ship, I’m locking us in our cabin, and no one is
going to disturb us until you’re thoroughly satisfied.”
“But shouldn’t we, like, figure out our way around, or…”
“There are crew members to help with anything we need. All you need to
think about is enjoying yourself.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I kissed him once more, then started the engine.

Ambrose

My phone rang a few minutes after Dax and Travis left. I actually checked
the damn thing since it was probably Travis with one more concern about
Hope. It wasn’t. It was Eric Winston. What the hell was he calling me for?
My thumb slid across my phone screen before I’d consciously decided to
answer. I couldn’t resist another chance to argue with the good sheriff.
“Good morning. I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”
“You owe me.”
“I could possibly be persuaded to believe that. Are you saying you need a
favor from me? I didn’t think we were on speaking terms.”
“You know how you said if I just took down one guy, someone would
replace him. Well, the same rule applies to taking down a small-time
operation.”
I tensed. “You’re telling me someone has taken LePlatt’s place?”
“Yes, an enemy of yours.” I knew before he even said it. “Valentino
Carlotti.”
“Fuck.”
“You not only went back on our deal, you made things worse, and now
you’re going to help me fix it.”
“You’re right. I am.” No way in hell was Eric equipped to deal with a man
like Carlotti. And for some damn reason, I liked the idea of Eric being
under my protection. He might be a bitchy as hell cop, but no way was
Carlotti getting his hands on him. I’d brought Eric into this, and I was going
to get him out.

Thank you for reading Dax. The series continues with Ambrose: getbook.at/
Ambrose
The Theriot Family is part of the The Marchesi Universe which starts with
The Marchesi Family. Check out those books here: getbook.at/
MarchesiFamily
I offer a free book to anyone who joins my mailing list. To learn more, go to
silviaviolet.com/newsletter. You can chat with me on Facebook in Silvia’s
Salon, and you can email me at silviaviolet@gmail.com. To read excerpts
from all of my titles, visit my website: silviaviolet.com/books.
Please consider leaving a review where you purchased this ebook or on
Goodreads. Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are vital to
independent authors.
T HE M ARCHESI U NIVERSE

The Marchesi Family

Lucien
Angelo
Devil
A Devilish Christmas

Vigilance
Giorgio
Niall
Leo
Xavier

The Theriot Family

Remington
Corbin
Lancelot
Dax
Ambrose
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Silvia Violet writes fun, sexy stories that will leave you smiling and satisfied. She has a thing for
characters who are in need of comfort and enjoys helping them surrender to love even when they
doubt it exists. Silvia's stories include sizzling contemporaries and paranormals. When she needs a
break from listening to the voices in her head, she spends time baking, taking long walks, curling up
with her favorite books, and hanging out with her family.

Website: silviaviolet.com
Facebook: facebook.com/silvia.violet
Facebook Group: Silvia’s Salon
Instagram: @silvia.violet
Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/silvia-violet
ALSO BY SILVIA VIOLET
 Single Titles
Ranch Daddy
If Wishes Were Horses
A Chance at Love
Lace-Covered Compromise
Coming Clean
Revolutionary Temptation
Of Hope and Anguish
 Series
Thorne and Dash
Professional Distance
Personal Entanglement
Perfect Alignment
Well-Tailored

Love and Care

Father of the Groom
After the Weekend
Demanding Discipline
Painfully Attractive
Hungry (short story)

Fitting In
Fitting In
Sorting Out
Burning Up
Going Deep
Getting Hitched

Anticipation
Anticipating Disaster
Anticipating Rejection
Anticipating Temptation

Ames Bridge
Down on the Farm
The Past Comes Home
Tied to Home
 Lonely Dragon’s Club
The Christmas Dragon’s Mate
The Snow Dragon’s Mate
The City Dragon’s Mate
The Island Dragon’s Mate

Howler Brothers
Claiming Bite
Bodyguard’s Bite

Trillium Creek
Love at Lupine Bakery
Love at Long Last
Love Times Three
Love Someone Like Me

Law and Supernatural Order

Sex on the Hoof
Paws on Me
Dinner at Foxy’s
Hoofing’ It To The Altar

Wild R Farm
Finding Release
Arresting Love
Embracing Need
Taming Tristan
Willing Hands
Shifting Hearts
Wild R Christmas