by Naomi West
“Don’t you have a second in command?” She didn’t know much about MCs, but any organization had a second in command, then a third, fourth, and so on down the chain of command.
“That’s not the point.”
“Well, can you at least wait until I’m here? I’ll work a few more hours into this evening, then come back with Ian and I’ll help you get into the shower.”
“Fine. But I can’t be held accountable if I stink this place up. It’s been days since I showered.”
“Oh, I know.” She pinched her nose and waved her hand in front of it. “You already stink the place up.”
She winked at him, and he rolled his eyes in response.
“I’ll bring something home to eat from the diner, okay?” After the words were out, she realized that she’d said “home.” Saxton didn’t react. Maybe he hadn’t heard her. Or maybe it just hadn’t registered. She couldn’t start thinking of this place as home. Not even close.
She had to remind herself that Saxton wasn’t her type. He was too much like Carter. Too dangerous, too much risk for being arrested. She couldn’t be one of those wives who had a husband in jail and spent her days visiting him. She didn’t want that sort of life. She needed a steady man who would care for her and be there for Ian.
Sara had always been self sufficient, doing things on her own as much as she could without anyone’s help. Of course people like her neighbor were vital to helping with Ian, but she didn’t need a man in her life. She managed to pay the bills, even if things were tight, and she had Ian to keep her from feeling lonely. She had given her son all of her attention and affection for six years now, and didn’t think she wanted it be divided.
That was, until she met Saxton. Somehow, he was stirring up old feelings, old desires for that loving relationship she hadn’t had in so long. When she had been with Ian’s father, it hadn’t been good, but it was nice to have someone to call her pet names and kiss her and hug her. He’d been there when she found out she was pregnant. He’d held her while she cried and they talked and he said they’d figure it out together. Then, he stopped returning her calls and dropped out of thier lives entirely.
As hard as she put a romantic relationship out of her mind, it’s not like she could avoid hearing about someone’s love life. If it wasn’t the occasional romance on TV, then it was her friend’s bragging about their latest boyfriends. Seemed like every week, Jessica had a new man. Sara would show up for work and Jessica would have a huge grin on her face. It took less than a minute or two before she started gushing about her latest date. Sara always listened and tried to look excited, but didn’t care much. No matter how great the guy seemed, in a few days, a few weeks, maybe a few months if Jessica was lucky, she’d be there with a frown or some tears, ranting about how this guy did her wrong. And then Sara would be glad again that she hadn’t bothered with a relationship in years.
Saxton was changing all that, and Sara didn’t think she liked it. She didn’t want to start feeling lonely or to miss having someone like that. But staying with Saxton, cleaning his house, cooking for him, and taking care of him, felt so much like being a wife that it both scared her and excited her. She couldn’t deny that it felt nice. But she tried.
She almost felt like she should hug or kiss him goodbye when she left, that’s how real it was starting to feel. Like she should say, “Hi honey, I’m home,” when she returned. That made her want to run out the door and never look back.
“I’m off to work,” she said. “Call me if something major happens.”
“Something more major than being stabbed?”
“Something like… tearing open your stitches or falling out of bed, or hearing a burglar break in.”
“You’re going to come save me, are you?” He smirked at her.
“If a burglar comes, no. I’m going to call the cops.”
She got to work and had to fight thoughts of Saxton all day. Several times, she resisted the urge to pick up her phone to call and check on him. He was fine, she told herself. He was a grown man who didn’t need her, and she had very little responsibility to him. They were not in a relationship and she wasn’t any sort of family. She barely knew him. She only owed him as much as her guilt forced her to repay. And that would be taking care of him until he could get up and walk and be back on his feet. Once he could get up on his own, she didn’t need to be there any longer.
That night, after she’d fed them all dinner and cleaned up, she got Ian settled watching TV and went up to Saxton’s room.
“Ready to do this?” she asked.
“I don’t think I need your help.”
“Well, let’s just make sure.”
He flung the blankets back and swung his legs over, then slid his feet to the floor. Sara was right by his side, and put her arm around his waist as he stood. He took a step forward, somewhat shuffling as he moved his other foot. Together, they made their way to the bathroom. He was right, though. He probably didn’t need her help as much as she thought he did. Maybe he was much closer to being healed up and ready to get out of bed than she wanted him to be, if she was being honest with herself.
She’d decided that when he could get up and get moving, she could go home. But she wasn’t ready for that to happen just yet. A few more days with him, maybe. A few more days of this pretending, then she could go back to her old life, to her normal routine of work and caring for Ian. Then she could go back to not needing or wanting any sort of romantic relationship.
Once they got into his bathroom, she closed the door and turned on the water. He had already pulled down his sweatpants and had a hand on the counter, trying to step out of them. She bent down and helped get the elastic over his foot, then the other. His shirt was more difficult, since it required moving his arms in a way that affected his wound. He grunted as she pulled his shirt up and over his head, making him raise his arms just enough to slip out of his sleeves.
He stood before her in just his boxer shorts and she tried not to look. But his muscular body was every bit as perfect as she imagined it would be and the parts of him she had seen before had not been exaggerated in her memory. He was gorgeous.
The hair on his chin had grown in since he hadn’t been up to shave, giving him a slightly softer look in the face. His beard hid the sharp lines of his jaw and made him come off much warmer than he had with a closely trimmed beard.
Being so close to him made his eyes even more intense. They sparkled dark, outlined by his dark beard and hair. They stood out against his light skin. When her eyes moved away from his face, every inch of him was tight and thick with muscle. He looked like he could lift a truck or crush a skull in his bare hands. Except for the white padding covering his stomach wound.
“Guess we need to take this off.” Sara looked at the bandage. Did he have more bandages to replace this one, or would she need to run out and get more?
“Just pull it off real fast.”
“This isn’t a band-aid, Saxton. You can’t do that with something like this.”
Sara picked at the corner of the white silk tape and pulled back on it carefully. Once the tape was removed from around the bandage, she even more carefully peeled it back, stopping anytime he breathed sharply or jerked back. The bandage stuck in places, and she scrunched her own face as if she was in pain removing it.
“Wait,” he said.
She looked up at him and his face was twisted in pain. Sweat had broken out on his forehead. He seemed to no longer be a fan of the fast yank and pull.
“Let me just get in there,” he said.
“But what about the bandage?”
“It’ll come off much easier if it’s wet.” He pushed his boxers to his knees.
Sara quickly stepped back and turned away.
“Really?” He let out an audible sigh. “You’re going to make me bend over to get these off just so you don’t have to look at my junk?”
She turned back around and as quickly as possible, pushed his boxers to the floor and held
them while he stepped out. She didn’t look. Even if she wanted to.
The shower door reached all the way to the floor, which made it easy for him to step into the hot water. The water drenched the bandage and it fell away, landing on the floor of the shower in a wet glop. Sara sat on the toilet’s lid, waiting for him to finish.
When the water shut off, she grabbed a towel and walked it over to him.
“Is it bleeding at all?” she asked.
He glanced down. “Don’t think so.”
“Do you have other bandages? I can run out and get some.”
“Check the closet.”
Sara went to the closet and searched through the items, coming away with a package of large bandages.
“I don’t see any tape, though.”
“I have some duct tape downstairs.”
“Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “Why not?”
“It’ll hurt when you take it off again.”
“I doubt it’ll hurt worse than being stabbed.”
She sighed. “Okay.” After retrieving the duct tape from downstairs and getting him patched up again, she helped him get back into bed. “Need anything?”
“Nope.”
She spent a quiet evening with Ian before heading up to bed. She checked on Saxton one more time, found him sleeping already, and went to lie down with Ian.
Chapter Fourteen
Saxton could not fall back asleep. He’d woken at least a half hour ago and lie staring at the ceiling, trying to get back to sleep. He knew that sleep was his friend and it was the best way to heal. If he was going to get back out there and find Liam’s killer, he needed to be fully functioning. Who knew what other fights or attacks awaited him on the streets. But it was hard to just lie in bed, hard to have Sara wait on him like he was a helpless child.
He felt like he needed to use the bathroom, but stopped to consider whether he should try going alone or not. But the more he thought about it, the more it pissed him off. He didn’t need her or anyone to help him pee. He was a grown man, capable of doing whatever needed to be done on his own.
Saxton pushed himself up and threw back the covers, ignoring the slice of pain across his abdomen. He let his feet his the floor and stood. Okay, not too bad. There was pain, but it was manageable.
He shuffled to the bathroom. Again, not too bad, but hurt a bit. That pain needed to go before he could be out searching again. One look at his limping figure and he’d be an easy target.
He pushed his pants down just enough to get his dick free and peed, then flushed. See, he could do this. He didn’t need someone acting like his old lady to come and hover over him all the time.
It was nice to have her there. Nice to have someone cook and clean and all that, but he didn’t need to be babied.
He went back into his room. There was no way he’d be able to sleep now. He went to his bedside table and bent over just enough to take out a pen and notepad. It hurt, but he could handle it.
“Saxton?” Her whisper came from just the other side of the door.
He looked over as she pushed the door open and stepped tentatively inside. He set the notepad and pen back down.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “I heard something.”
“I’m fine.”
She was wearing just a tank top with thin straps and short shorts. The top barely covered her breasts and the shorts barely covered her butt. Her nipples stuck out through the thin fabric. One look at her and he felt himself stiffen. He made a subtle adjustment in his pants. He wanted her now even worse than he had before. And now that she wasn’t there because she was being paid to be there, it made her that much more desirable. A willing partner was preferable to one who was only letting you screw them for money.
“You shouldn’t be up,” she said. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“I already did. I’m not an invalid.” He couldn’t help the anger that heated his face. He had already been annoyed at her babying him and it just kept getting worse. But looking at her and wanting her, he didn’t want to seem any sort of helpless at all if he was going to make her want him back.
“You went to the bathroom by yourself?”
“Yes, Mom. And I even washed my hands.” He crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to react visibly to the pain as he moved.
She dropped her head. “I’m sorry. I guess it’s in my nature to be a mother. I just want to do whatever I can to help you.”
“Cooking and cleaning is plenty. I’m not a helpless child.”
“No.” Her eyes trailed over his bare chest and stomach. Was she checking out his muscles or seeing if his bandage was bleeding? “I know you’re not.”
She met his eyes and for a moment, and he swore he saw desire in them. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he needed to see if anything was there. He softened his face and made his voice more gentle.
“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Really. I couldn’t ask for any better care than what you’ve given me.”
“I’m glad. I want to do whatever I can for you.”
“And you’ve done a lot.”
She smiled and he took a step toward her. She responded by walking a few steps closer.
“Can I get you anything right now?”
He nodded and motioned with his finger for her to come to him. When she came in arm’s reach, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him loosely. Probably trying not to hurt him.
“It’s been really great having you stay here,” he said.
“Thanks for having us. It’s been nice to stay somewhere I feel so safe.”
She looked up at him, her big round eyes full of adoration. He put his hand to her cheek, stroking her chin with his thumb. She closed her eyes at his touch and leaned in slightly.
He tilted her head up and leaned down until his lips touched hers. They kissed for a few moments, then he pulled back to look in her eyes, to make sure this was okay. Her eyes glinted with the desire he thought he saw before. Now there was no question. She wanted him like he wanted her.
He went back in for another kiss. This time, his lips pressed harder against hers. He slipped his tongue between her lips, letting it caress hers. Her hands ran over his back, then tangled in his hair. He pulled her closer, pressing against her with his erection. She let out a soft moan.
He picked her up and sat her on the bed. Pain ripped through him, but he ignored it. She gasped as her bottom rested on the bed.
“Careful,” she breathed.
He wrapped her legs around his waist and continued kissing her. He twisted his fingers through her hair and kissed along her neck. She made a soft murmuring sound, and he pressed against her again in response.
He was all too aware how little clothing separated them. He could feel her heat as she moved her hips to press herself into his stiffness. His hand found its way under her tank top. He caressed her breasts, letting his finger trail back and forth over her hard nipple. He pinched it gently between his thumb and forefinger, and she responded with a moan.
He kissed down her chest, pulling at the top of her tank until her breasts popped over its edge. He took one of her breasts into his mouth and sucked at her nipple. He kissed around and over to her other breast. Her nails dug deeper into his back.
He let his finger move farther down, to her stomach, where it danced over her skin, then down to dip under the waist band of her shorts. She sucked in a breath as his fingers slid under her panties. His fingers brushed over her folds, damp and ready for his touch.
He rubbed around her clit for a moment, enjoying the sound of her moaning. He felt like his dick would explode soon if he didn’t so something. He pulled her tank over her head and let it fall on the floor. With her chest bare, he covered every inch of her in kisses and caresses.
Then, he gripped the top of her waistband and pulled down, sliding her clothing out from und
er her. Her shorts hit the floor. She reached for him and pushed his pants down. They only fell to his knees, and he moved his legs closer so that they fell the rest of the way to the floor. He held one side of his pants in place as he stepped free, then did the same to get the other foot out.
She reached down and gripped his cock. Heat tore through him and he had to shift his thinking quickly so he wouldn’t finish too fast. She was so hot, he could just shoot all over her right then. She moved up and down his shaft until he had to put his hand over hers to stop her.