Page 88 of Bound By Temptation

But it wasn’t just that. It was last night before Ax got there. I hated the feelings I was having. My gut told me I needed to tell Ax. After dinner. I’d tell him. It was eating me alive holding it in.

“Give me that.” Ax took the platter in one hand and my hand in the other. He squeezed tight, and I let out a huge breath.

Ax and I were still deciding what we were. Or, at least,Iwas still deciding. He proclaimed to already know what he wanted, and I was still terrified about putting my trust in him. He hadn’t shown me a reason not to have faith, but I was still very leery.

Having a family dinner wasn’t on top of my list of figuring us out. If nothing else it put another layer of confusion on top of all the other shit we had between us because I loved his mom.

Always had. Always would.

Bella had always treated me with respect, never harshly. When I was young, I didn’t know how biker chicks were. While I knew my family would do anything for me, women like Bella were more take charge and fix the problem. She’d mentioned ‘ride or die’ several times to me.

When I asked her what it meant, she told me it was a symbol of family in the Ravage MC. No matter what happened, every single person in the club had each other’s back. If one went down for something, they’d all go down and not think twice about it.

It was how I felt about Ax at one point.

Bella was a cut above the rest.

I didn’t want to let her down if this didn’t work. Hell, I didn’t want to let myself down either. If I could scream, I would. Life was so tangled and twisted. I really didn’t need any more kinks.

He stopped us by tugging my hand and pulling me to him. His lips met mine and everything around us washed away. It was just him and me on an island far away with no notes freaking me out. No creepy feelings of someone around me. All of it was gone. I absolutely loved kissing this man.

Ax pulled away and looked into my eyes. “Relax and have fun. Who knows what crazy shit Mom is gonna wanna do. She always comes up with somethin’ that irritates my old man. Which is half the fun.”

A smile graced my lips. “Okay. I’m good.”

“If not, I can kiss you again. It would be a hell of a sacrifice, but for you—anything,” he teased on a grin.

I shoved him playfully. “Smartass,” I said just as the door opened, and Bella stood there.

“Smartass. It depends on the day. There’s also dumbass, hardass, jackass, lazyass…” Bella started, making me burst out laughing.

“Ma, come on. She gets it. I’m an ass. Everyone knows it. Can we come in?” Ax asked his mom who opened the door and ushered us in.

“I know she does. I was just helping to move your conversation along. I’m that helpful, ya know.” Bella made me laugh hard, and I felt it down in my gut.

“Truly, if you’d like to continue, I’m more than happy to listen,” I replied, watching Bella smile wide.

“Oh, honey. The list is so long we’d be here for a year.”

“Ma, seriously?” He leaned down and kissed his mom on the cheek. “She really doesn’t need help figuring that shit out. She already knows, but thanks.”

“What did you say to your mother?” Buzz came into the room, and I sucked in a breath at the look glittering his face. Holy shit. Was he going to deck his son?

“Hey, old man. Mom’s givin’ Indie a lesson in how I’m an ass. Told her she didn’t need help in that area.”

A slow smile crept on Buzz’s lips as he wrapped his arm around Bella. “You wanna tell him. You go for it.”

“Geeze,” Ax responded.

A warm feeling came over me and filled me with something I didn’t know I’d been missing. These people. This man.

“Well, come in and have a seat,” Bella told us. “I’ll go get some drinks.”

“Oh, Mrs. Monroe. I’ll help.” I knew my mistake as soon as it left my lips. My hand went to my mouth, trying to take the words back, but they were out there swinging in the wind.

Her eyes narrowed. “What did I say about Mrs. Monroe?”

“Ma, you’re welcome to lock us in a room, but when you hear moaning, you better not open the door.”

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