Perceive by K E Osborn
AXEL
HOURS LATER
“Keep the motor running,” I order the driver, throwing the door open and climbing out. “I won’t be long.”
I’m exhausted.
My mind, my body, and there’s this heavy weight that feels like it’s settled on my soul. That’s what happens when you have friends who are like family. You feel their struggles and pain. You aren’t an outsider, you live that shit with them.
And I know just how heavy the universe feels for Kace right now.
He’s barely said a word.
Barely even moved during the nine-hour flight back to DC.
It’s hard to see someone you look up to and admire be so destroyed. Maybe it isn’t the shit Camilla said to him or even the memories of the hell she put him through, it’s the weight of the choice he had to make in response.
And I have no idea if I could have done what he did.
I shove the clubhouse door open, the smell always the first thing to hit me like a slap in the face. Old timber, leather, smoke, rubber—everything cliché you can come up with. That’s what my childhood smells like, and it instantly eases and comforts me. The house in the suburbs, it isn’t the same as this. It was never what I imagined for myself and my future.
I want to wear my patches.
I want to ride.
I want to be the man my father is—loyal, respected, and proud.
“Hey, baby boy.”
The corner of my mouth curls up into a smile at the sight of my mom, legs crisscrossed on the sofa, a sketch pad in her hands, and her glasses sitting low on her nose while she chews on the end of a pencil.
“Hey, Mama,” I respond, slipping onto the arm of the chair and leaning down to get a look at whatever she’s drawing. However, it’s quickly whipped away, tossed onto the sofa beside her before I can even make out what it is. “Um, rude?”
“It’s not for your eyes,” she scolds, placing her glasses down on top just to make a point. “Not yet, at least.”
My brows pinch together, and I shake my head, my brain too tired and cloudy to even begin piecing together what she could be talking about. It’s a well-known fact Jinx is a master at almost fucking everything, but I guess you have to be when you are the president’s old lady, and honestly, almost like a mother figure to a lot of the men who join the club.
She can stitch them up and beat them up, as well as be the one person they can turn to when they need someone. My mom, she wears the biker bitch look well—red lips, leather, and the I’ll-rip-your-weave-off-if-you-touch-one-of-my-boys look perfected.
And she is so much more than that.
One of those skills includes drawing.
She doesn’t do it often, but since she gave up nursing to be at the clubhouse full-time and look after this group of assholes, there are times when she needs a break, a breather away from it all. And the art that comes from those moments to herself is something else.
My dad has had most of them tattooed on him somewhere.
It’s become a thing for them.
Though he’s beginning to run out of space on his body, and Ruin and I have sworn that one day, we’ll start doing the same.
“Kenzi here? I’ve got an SUV waiting out the front to drive us back to DC,” I tell Mom, offering her my hand and pull her to her feet.
She looks up at me with a deep frown. “You’re not staying for a bit?”
I shake my head, my shoulders slumping. “It’s been a long, few days. Shit went down. More shit still coming at us from all angles. I just need…”
“Her,” Mom finishes for me.
She knows.
But the best old ladies always do.
They get it.
They know when to step forward. When to step back. And when a man just needs his woman.
Is that what Kenzi is?
Sweeping my hands through my hair and pulling it back from my face, I take a deep breath in before letting out an airy laugh. “Yeah.” I roll my shoulders, finally looking down at Mom’s warm smile. “I just need her right now.”
“Then go get her,” she whispers, cupping my cheek in her hand before reaching up on her tiptoes to press her lips to my forehead. “She’s out back.” Then, as always, she uses her thumb to wipe away the red lipstick that I know will be there.
It’s a dance we’ve done a million and one times.
And one we’ll do a million and one more.
“Out the back where?” I question, my head falling to the side.
Mom points to the swinging doors through to the kitchen. “Out the back.”
Grinning and shaking my head, I slowly back away, Mom watching me with this satisfied smile for a second before she turns on her heel and practically skips away, heading for Dad’s office. I chuckle, making my way through the kitchen, noticing the backdoor slightly ajar.
A sharp thud against the shed out the back instantly propels me forward, my curiosity eager to see. I slide up beside the open door, peeking out the small gap just in time to see Kenzi’s arm pull back, the ball basically disappearing as she throws it toward the net at the other end of the small alley.
This time it hits the target pad and drops right into the net below. Her excited gasp mixed with the fact she’s out here throwing that damn ball, knowing how fucking important it is to me—those memories, those moments.
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath, unable to stop myself. I shove the door open, sending it flying back against the banister.
Kenzi jumps, her entire body lifting off the ground as she swings around. “Jesus, Axel!” she scolds, her hand on her heart.
I don’t stop, though, leaping off the small stoop, landing directly in front of her. She moves to take a step back, but my arm sweeps around her waist, tugging her hard against my chest. Her mouth falls open, her breath catching for a second in surprise.
Or maybe something else.
I reach up with my free hand, twisting my fingers into her hair and pulling it gently to the side to expose her neck. I dip my head, pressing my lips just under her jaw, feeling her swallow the nervous lump in her throat. “We’re going,” I murmur, letting my mouth graze her skin as I speak.
“I’m not done,” she rasps defiantly, and though I can’t see, I know there’s just the hint of a smile on her lips. This Kenzi may not remember me, or the club, or who she is, but the girl I fell in love with, she never left.
I just have to let her know that I never did either.
“Oh, you’re done,” I reassure her, taking one last taste of her skin before I pull back. The wide grin on my face catches her off-guard for a second, but before she can open her mouth with some smart-ass reply, I dip my shoulder, pressing it into her stomach and lift her off the ground.
“Axel!” she screeches, grabbing my shirt in her fists as I toss her over my back, holding her legs to my front and making a beeline through the clubhouse out to the car. “Axel, I swear to God—”
My hand comes down hard on her ass, the clap echoing through the clubhouse lot outside, drawing the attention of several brothers who are scattered around. Most of them just grin and laugh as I pass by with a wave. It isn’t exactly a strange occurrence around here to find a man with his old lady or some other woman tossed over his shoulder.
Bikers are like that.
Fucking cavemen.
I pause at the car door, yanking it open and bending to deposit my huffing and puffing woman inside. Maybe I could be a little more polite about it, maybe I could just tell her we’re leaving and let her walk on her own, but I don’t. Because there’s something about a woman who looks at you like she wants to kill you, knowing she’s about to use that same energy to fuck you harder than you’ve ever imagined. It’s like playing a game of Russian roulette.
Is she going to make me come or knock me the hell out?
I jump into the SUV, Kenzi huffs as I slide in next to her, and I slam the door shut behind me. Tapping the driver’s seat twice, he nods, starting the car. “Yes, sir,” he says without me even having to say anything as I move back, a black shield screen slides up into place between the driver and us.
Kenzi widens her eyes as I turn to face her before the screen is even finished its ascent. “Kenzi, take off your pants,” I demand.
She lets out a mocking laugh, her eyes moving to the now completely blacked-out shield, but I don’t miss the way her tongue darts out licking her bottom lip. “Axel…”
My hands slide up her thighs, toward her pussy, and she wriggles beneath my touch as my eyes lock with hers. “Kenz… I’ve had the worst day… all I want right now is you.”
Her hardened glare softens, she shuffles closer to me, her hand coming out to caress my face. Kenzi’s touch sending a jolt of electricity right through me. “You want me to make you feel better?”
My chest squeezes tight. “Just you being here already does that, pretty girl.”
A slow smile creeps on her lips as her fingers slide into the back of my hair, pulling me forward. My lips crash to hers, the tension building inside me releases as I kiss her. I’ve been needing her ever since we left Alaska. Her tongue slides into my mouth, making it hard for me to keep myself together. My hands slide up her torso, pulling her closer to me—I just need her as close to me as fucking possible. Pulling her leg over the top of mine, she straddles me, coming to rest on top as she continues to kiss me, furiously. My cock hardens beneath her, I need her so fucking bad right now.
She grinds down on top of me, causing a low growl to emanate from my chest. She whimpers into my mouth, the sound so damn erotic, I almost come in my jeans. If we don’t hurry this along, I swear I’m going to have a coronary.
She grinds down on me again, making my cock ache so fucking much I can’t stand it.
My hands move to her ass, and I flip her down to the seat beside me. She giggles as I break our kiss, leaning back.
My hands race to her jeans to undo them. “I swear to God, Kenzi, if I don’t get inside of you soon, I’m gonna fucking burst.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip, lifting her ass off the seat to help me with her pants. I pull them off her awkwardly, along with her panties and Converse and ditch them on the car’s floor. Then I move to my jeans, unbuckling my belt and unzipping myself, then slide them down over my ass a little as she moves back.
Both of us are panting frantically as she slides in over the top of me, my cock so hard against the seam of her already slickened pussy. I run my hand up to her face, caressing her cheek, pulling her face to mine to kiss her again. She tastes like fucking candy. Sweet as sin.
I move my other hand down between us, grabbing my cock and line it up with her as she moves into place. My eyes lock with hers, the emotion of the moment, knowing she’s the only person I need right now, the only person I will ever need, sinks in as she slides down on my length.
Her warmth envelops me as I let out a groan, her eyes closing just for a second as she embraces my size. “Fuck, Axel…”
“You feel like home,” I tell her as she starts to move.
“You are my home,” she whispers, staring in my eyes.
Her words knock the breath from me. I wasn’t sure I would ever hear something like that from her. The old Kenzi maybe, but the Kenzi with no memory of me, I just wasn’t sure. And after the day I’ve had, she couldn’t have said anything fucking better.
I pull her lips to me again, kissing her with everything I have as I thrust up inside her. Kenzi’s pussy wraps tightly around me, her nails scratching through my hair, making this all the more exciting. My hands move to her ass, helping her on and off me as we move together in beautiful harmony. We’re fucking, but it’s more intimate, the connection is there too, like our two souls are finally uniting back together.
I can’t explain it, I just feel it.
Kenzi has always meant everything to me, and now as we rock together, our bodies joining as one, it’s because we are one. The energy in the air is cracking and popping with the electricity surging between us. It’s pure undeniable, unfathomable, chemistry, and we have it in spades. We tried to deny it as kids. I even tried to deny it after Kenzi was taken there for a while, tried to deny that I loved her, that she was just a friend who I needed to save out of duty.
But she’s not.
We belong together.
We’re each other’s missing puzzle piece, each of us don’t fit without the other.
And together we’re unbreakable.
Her breathing increases, and I know she’s getting close. So, I run my hand down in between us, my finger pressing on her clit. She throws her head back in pleasure, letting out a small moan as she continues to ride me with so much fucking gusto my balls begin to tighten.
“Axel… fuck, Axel!”
“Come for me, pretty girl. Don’t hold back.” I press harder on her clit to bring her to the brink.
Kenzi’s chest heaves as she rides out her orgasm with her eyes clenched tight as she holds her breath. Her pussy tightens around my cock making me groan in satisfaction as she trembles on top of me.
“Oh, God!” Her entire body shudders, her hands clenching on my shoulders as she lets out a long drawn-out moan. Her head flops onto my shoulder as she tries to keep going to help me reach my climax.
She pants heavily as she straightens back up, her eyes meeting mine, her lips moving in, taking me hostage. She kisses like she means it, and I smile, kissing her back. I thrust inside her, the tingling starting in the base of my spine and working its way up. My balls draw tighter, my toes curling as my fingers pull her body closer.
I open my eyes, hers locking onto mine as she grinds down on me at the same time, and it’s all I need. Our eyes stay locked as heat washes over me, my body shudders, my limbs begin to tingle as my balls pull up so tight, and I feel like they might explode completely with the force. A low growl reverberates from my chest as tension wracks through my body. Then the endorphins hit, and I explode inside of her with so much force it knocks the breath from me.
Kenzi lightly kisses my jaw, letting me come down from my climax as slowly as I need. My arms instinctively wrap around her body, pulling Kenzi to me in an embrace. My head falls into the crook of her neck. She smells like she always did, and I’ve missed her so fucking much.
She pulls back, looking at me, her hand gently caressing my face. “You okay?”
I weakly smile. “I am now.” I lean up to kiss her again, my tongue slowly dancing with hers.
“You wanna talk about it?” she asks.
I wish I could.
“I just want to forget all that shit and be with you at home tonight.”
She moves her body, so I pull out of her, then she edges me so I lay back on the seat. She follows lying on top of my chest. And honestly, it’s fucking heaven as she cuddles into me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her in place, my fingers playing with the loose strands of hair.
“Then let’s go home so we can do this all over again.”
I smirk. “I like the way you think. We have a little drive ahead of us to get back to Washington, so for now, rest your head and let’s get some sleep because I don’t know about you, but I’m wiped.”
She nestles into the crook of my shoulder and neck as I hold onto her tightly, like this is the only place for her to ever be. I lean in kissing her head as I feel the blackness of unconsciousness wafting over me.
Then, I’m out like a light.
“Um…” Kenzi murmurs drowsily, her head lifting from my chest and her eyes blinking furiously. “I thought we were going home?”
Sleepily, I blink my eyes a few times waking up fully, then push my body up. The painful twitch in my back forces a groan from my mouth. Leaning forward, I hit the button to lower the screen slightly between the driver and us, catching a flash of buildings out the window as we pull into the Museum parking lot. “What’s going on?” I question, my voice thick and scratchy with sleep—my body aching to just lay back down and be done with the world for at least a fucking week. It’s one of the hard parts of this job. There are times when we are up and alert for days on end, working on little to no sleep for a week or more. Then there are times where we aren’t needed for weeks, sitting on edge, training, preparing for that next phone call to come in and for the cycle to begin again.
“Jack called about twenty minutes ago,” the driver answers, carefully navigating the tight bends of the parking lot levels. “He said you need to come in ASAP.”
“Goddammit,” I curse and scrub at my face with my hand. “This better be good.”
Kenzi quickly searches the floor for her panties and pants tugging them on urgently followed by her converse sneakers, leaving the laces undone. I pull up my pants, putting myself together too as the car jolts to a stop at the elevator doors, and I tap the back seat headrest. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Not a problem, sir,” the driver responds with a sharp salute. “Have a good day.”
Kenzi slips out silently, with her head hanging low and her cheeks a sexy color of crimson. I grab her hand and drag her toward me, my arms circling her body, holding it tight against mine. “You’re blushing,” I tease, brushing my thumb over her cheek, noting they’re just as hot as they look. “Trust me when I tell you that guy would have seen things that you couldn’t even imagine. He ain’t going to be thinking about how you sound when you come.”
“I hate you,” she hisses, shoving at my chest but failing to separate us even an inch.
It’s not a lie.
These drivers, they’re here for a reason.
Well, several reasons actually, but mainly because they’re skilled at what they do. Whether you want to get somewhere fast, get out of somewhere fast, or move a body—they’re the guys to call. Every part of The Agency has a purpose, and transport is theirs.
What, where, how, when, or why—it doesn’t matter.
“Come on.” I grab her hand, pulling her reluctantly toward the elevator. “Let’s get this over and done with because my body is ready to give out.”
I need rest.
I know it, and technically, I should listen to that screaming alarm that’s telling me to slow down, to fucking pause. But as we slip into Jack’s office alongside the rest of the team, I know I’m about to kick my shit into overdrive.
“Brandon wants to make a deal,” Jack announces the second mine and Kenzi’s asses hit the seats.
“Unless the deal is that he hands himself in, and I get to ram my steel-capped boot up his ass so far, it’ll break his teeth… then that’s a hard pass for me,” Luca announces, his head reclined back against the back of the sofa, his eyes closed, and looking like I feel.
Everly tries to hide her weak smile as she looks over at Luca from beside Jack.
“What does he want?” Kace questions, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees, the strangest part of this meeting being the presence of Lily who’s curled into his side, her fingers rubbing his neck.
Lily isn’t a part of The Agency. She’s been here before, but technically, she shouldn’t have access.
Though right now, I know why.
The same reason I’ve gotten off a nine-hour flight and taken a car two hours to the clubhouse and back.
Because Kace needs Lily.
“A passport and flights out of the States in exchange for Hendrix’s hidey-hole,” Jack answers, propping himself at the edge of his desk.
“Let me guess,” Noah scoffs. “He wants flights to a country with no extradition treaty so we can’t drag his traitor ass back here when we’re done with this shit.”
Jack doesn’t answer, but I know Noah is on the fucking money.
Brandon is a coward.
Ready to hand over whatever he needs in order to protect his own ass.
How the fuck he managed to get into The Agency, I will never know.