Page 14 of Deviant

“Are you still camping?” Jax asked, bypassing a hello. I hadn’t talked to him in a couple of weeks since the last time Alex and I went to the nearest town to re-up on essentials. Our reclusive spot in the woods hadn’t had a cell signal.

I kind of missed that now.

“Hello to you too.” Tucking the phone between my shoulder and ear, I hauled the cooler from the Jeep’s cargo space and set it on the ground. “We packed up camp,” I answered. “Figured it was time to move on. Why?”

“Where’re you at?”

“Just got to the safe house about an hour ago.”

His fast exhale whooshed out over the line. “So you’re still off the grid.”

“For now. I decided to take a detour before heading home.”

“Good. Stay put, okay?”

Narrowing my eyes, I slammed the back of the Jeep shut. The camping gear could wait until morning. “Why? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain when I get there.”

“Explainnow.”

He hesitated, and I was about to ream his ass, but his words iced my veins instead. “It’s about Alex’s old man.”

“What’s going on, Jax?”

“Just sit tight until we get there tomorrow, okay?”

“Hold up a second.We?”

Three beeps ended the call. The fucker hung up on me in typical Jax style, and I cursed him for putting this place at risk by bringing company. What was the point of having a fucking safe house? Trying to find a shred of patience, I tilted my chin skyward and took a deep breath. The night’s first stars twinkled overhead, but the universe didn’t hold the answers to dealing with asshole friends and melting down women.

I lugged the cooler into the cabin and put the perishables away in the fridge, then I unpacked my laptop and took a seat in the living room. I knew Jax as well as I knew myself, down to the ink on his skin and the tone of his voice.

And his habit of keeping up with local news.

Whatever he was holding back was bound to be on the Internet. I fired up the computer, foot tapping at the horrendous snail-like speed of my cell’s hotspot out in the middle of these woods. Loss of modern conveniences were a tradeoff for living off the grid.

Or as close to off the grid as we could get without living like primitives on the edge of a lake.

I pulled up a search of local news and scrolled through the info, looking for anything relating to Abbott De Luca. Alex had fallen silent, no more crashes or fist-pounding or screaming coming from the bedroom. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d fallen asleep already. Darkness had set in, only chased off by a soft light coming from the kitchen. It was late, and she’d had a long day. I’d bent her will, then pushed even further before we’d packed up camp.

And I was still high from taking that switch to her skin. I’d already fucked her three times in the last twenty-four hours, but my dick wanted more.

Always more when it came to Alex.

More pain, more tears, more howls of ecstasy.

She wanted more, too. She wanted to exchange vows and take my last name. Goddamn, that turned me on like crazy.

Alex Mason.

Mine.

Her last tie to the De Luca name severed.

Forever.

A photo on the screen slammed my thought processes to a halt, and I drew in a sharp breath. Her father’s frowning face stared at me, accompanied by the headline that he’d been released from prison early on good behavior.

---