Page 3 of Reckless Pawn

Axel leaned forward, getting right in my face. "You've got to let it go, Isabella. You and Houston ain't never going to be. The sooner you get that through your pretty little head the better off you'll be. Until then, stay the fuck in your cabin unless someone comes to get you."

More anger surged through my veins at his words. "I've never been very good at taking orders. Especially when it comes to keeping me inside a box. Why bother rescuing me if you just want to keep me a prisoner? What does the club want with me?"

"Jesus, fuck." Axel raised his voice, leaning into me and I tried not to cringe. "Right now the club wants you to do as you're told. Is that really too much to ask in exchange for your safe-keeping? You really want to be out on the street with nothing and nowhere to go?"

I stared at his slightly raised hand, waiting for him to strike me with it. I kept pushing my luck even though I knew it would lead to disaster. On some level he was right. I was well fed, had a roof over my head and no one was trying to make me suck their cock.

I should've been somewhat satisfied. Still I pushed. It was as if I had a death wish. Hell, maybe I did. I didn't care. I refused to live as a prisoner for the rest of my life.

Except every night I replayed my last words with Houston over and over and vividly remembered the resignation stamped across his face. What was I supposed to do with that? Or better yet. How was I supposed to forget? As much as I wanted to let it go, the pain never went away. His abandonment hurt far more than it should have and after all this time the ache to see him again still tormented me.

"If the club expects me to sit here and do nothing indefinitely, then yes, it is too much to ask." It was then it finally sunk in how close Axel was to me. Every breath he took fluttered across my neck. His scent filtered through my mind, an interesting mix of male sweat, generic soap and motor oil. The last from the massive bike he rode with the club. I couldn't count on two hands the number of times I watched him leave the compound on his Harley with the loud pipes.

Despite everything I'd been through, it struck me how sexy Axel really was. Like Houston, he towered over me by more than a foot. His longish jet-black hair had the look of a man who just tumbled from bed and hit the ground running. The jeans and white T-shirt pretty much the same. As before when I spent time with Axel, the tattoos coming out of his shirt and running up the sides of his neck grabbed my attention.

"Is it some sort of motorcycle club code that you have to have all these tattoos?"

I felt his body jerk before he eased away from me. "What?"

I bit my lip to keep from grinning. Yes, I was using his appearance to distract my mind from the other shit mucking it up, but I didn't care. Whatever it took to forget for even a minute. And if it happened to come with me being able to distract Axel from his threats, even better. I wasn't above using every tool in the box if that’s what it took.

"It's just that I've noticed everyone in the club has a lot of tattoos."

His face hardened at the same time his eyes warmed. "Don't go there. The last thing I need is you checking out my brothers."

"But it's okay to check out you?" The words came out more breathy than I'd intended, but the sudden molten look in his eyes made it worth it.

In the weeks I'd been there no one had made any kind of move toward me in any physical manner. So I knew at the moment I was playing with fire. But I was getting damn tired of the situation and I only had so many weapons at my disposal. That was one of the lessons I learned fromhim.

My captor and former fiancé. Marco the evil bastard.

I wasn't proud of the thoughts running through my head, but desperate measures and all…

"I think you're trying to play a game you're not equipped to play, little girl. So you should stop while you're ahead."

"I think I left little girl behind a long time ago, don't you? Little girls don't exist in Frank Mazzeo's world." I nearly shuddered at the sound of my lying, deceitful father's name on my lips. They made my stomach churn.

I quickly shoved that down to continue, "In fact, this is what I've been trained for. It makes sense the club would want to use my skills, not hide them. I could help you, you know." I moved closer, leaning in to force my shirt to reveal a lot more cleavage. I was about to lose my lunch and my nerve.

Hard, dark eyes narrowed. "You better not be talking about what I think you're talking about. You want to try housekeeping or waitressing, I'll consider it. Anything else, I'll lock your ass in your room and you won't get out for a very long time."

A shudder swept down my back. I couldn't expect him to choose his words more carefully when all I did was poke at him. These guys were very different from other men I encountered. Rougher. Even harsh if you took them too seriously. They could be as loud and as deadly as the motorcycles they rode. They fought any kind of restraint and every one of them reminded me of an animal that refused to be caged. They were as feral underneath their leather and denim as any wild beast. And I still couldn't help myself from poking the tiger.

"I don't care what you want me to do as long as you let me do something. Please, Axel. I can't take being cooped up any longer and I can't, no won't, make any promises about what I will or won’t do next."

"Is that a threat?" His gaze raked me as his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and the muscle in his jaw jumped perilously.

Fear should have shut me up, but I'd gone long past that stage. I lowered my voice and tipped my head down a slight bit. "Just the truth. It's all I can give you. I'll do anything, Axel. Just name it."

His face twisted in a way I knew he wrestled with more emotions than just anger. He felt bad, too.

The big bad motorcycle dude didn't know what to do with the little girl who'd been assaulted and abused. Hell, I didn't know what to do with her either. One minute I was confident and ready to take on the world and the next I wanted to hide in the corner and pray no one noticed me. With my gut churning, I twisted away from him and put some much needed space between us. I'd pushed to my limits and now I needed to retreat.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you or threaten you with a gun. It's just that living here is—hard. I'm an outsider. I have no family anymore. No boy—" I'd almost referred to Houston as my boyfriend. Now there was a ridiculous sentiment. I cleared my throat and finished. "My friends have probably forgotten me by now and I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm lost."

"I don't think you're listening to me," he said. "I get that you don't want to stay in here alone anymore. But JD is not going to give you a job if he can't trust you. And there's no trust for someone who snoops through the clubhouse. You may not be a princess anymore, but you are under our protection. You belong to us and we're a family. If there's one thing you need to get through that thick skull of yours, it's that Wrath takes care of their own."

My mouth opened and closed as the meaning of his words sunk in. I wasn't a part of their gang family and I never would be. And I certainly did NOT belong to them. Now, however, did not seem like the right time to argue his point. I would exercise some restraint if it killed me.

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