‘I get why you’re worried,’ Dax said. ‘Why didn’t you call me?’
‘You’re already dealing with one drama,’ she said. ‘I knew you would tell me not to follow her, but this is my sister, Dax. I can’t leave her to a guy like Trystan, I had to act. You don’t have to come out here to Vegas, I appreciate that you’re on your way, but I can handle this. You stay in LA and—‘
‘And what? Track down the person who wants to kill you?’ Dax asked. ‘Keeping you safe is the priority, remember? I could only be sure that you were safe at the beach house because security was there keeping an eye on you. But you ditched them and took off, again! Not every mess can be fixed, and I’m sorry, but your sister getting fucked up because she screwed the wrong guy is not my problem, you are my problem.’
She smiled and returned to the bed. ‘You’ve told me that before.’
‘And nothing has changed,’ he said. ‘I am coming there, to you, stay where you are, don’t go outside—‘
‘But Trystan—‘
‘Is a problem that I will take care of because you’ve forced my hand, understand? You can’t go to The Strip, you can’t hang out in bars and clubs looking for them. Someone will see you, and you’re more recognisable there because you lived there, people in Vegas know you. All it takes is for one person to say your name and you’ll have every criminal in the state parked on Saul’s front lawn, get me?’
‘I know you’re worried about me, but you’re overreacting, I know that I’ll be safe here—‘
‘Ok. Fine. If you think you’re safe at Saul’s, then stay at Saul’s until I get there. I’ll come and check on you, get the story and then I’ll go after Trystan. What are you planning to do with him anyway? Do you think that he’ll just hand over your sister and admit defeat?’
‘What if she says no to him?’
‘You just told me that she wouldn’t,’ Dax said. ‘She’s a party girl, so she and Trystan are a perfect match. She’ll be fine until I get there. I’ll go to the GoldSpring and find her then I’ll bring her back to you. After that, I’ll be driving you back to the beach house and if I have to crack open the cell in the basement to keep you there, Minx, I will fucking do it.’
His worry might be understandable, but that wasn’t a threat that she took kindly. ‘Don’t even joke about that, Dax. I’m sorry that I upset you, but… that’s not funny.’
‘I wasn’t joking,’ he said. ‘I don’t give a damn about your memories or about your fears. If I have to do it to keep you safe, to trust you to be safe, then I will do it, and I don’t care how loud you scream. You’re my wife, and it’s my responsibility to ensure your safety. No matter what lengths I have to go to, I will keep you safe, Minx.’
Pushing up from the bed, she rolled her lips and tried to calm her seething, but it was no use. ‘You fucking jerk, you would, wouldn’t you? You would let me rot down there.’
‘No, I’ll come back for you when I’ve taken care of the threat. But it’s the only place I know where there are chains attached to the concrete foundations.’
‘I won’t go, I won’t go back there if—‘
‘If you go to Trystan now alone, he’ll bait you. He’ll ask you inside and rile you, he’ll take pleasure in seeing you upset. He’ll ask you to have a drink, you’ll say no, but he’ll make you a deal, you drink, and he’ll send Rosie home with you.’
‘Fine, then I’ll have a drink.’
His laugh startled her. ‘That’s what he wants, then it’ll be “have another drink, take a line of coke, take off your shirt, dance,” where do you stop? You gonna get naked for him? Kiss him? Suck him off?’
‘Stop it,’ she hissed. ‘I won’t do any of that. I can’t stand the guy. I wouldn’t be able to touch him or—‘
‘Then he’ll force you, you’ve seen it before. You’ve fought him off once.’
‘And I’ll do it again if I have to, Dax,’ she said.
Angry as she was, she knew that facing Trystan would be difficult for her, and she wouldn’t hold up well if Trystan tried to ruffle her. Having Dax at her side was the only way to be sure that she would come out of the scenario intact and unviolated.
‘I don’t know what drugs he has, he could have anything,’ Dax said. ‘If he injects you with something then he could do whatever the fuck he wanted with you while you were unconscious. Do you want that?’
‘No,’ she whispered.
‘For all I know he’ll kill you and collect the bounty for kicks, you don’t know him like I do, Minx. Please, just wait there, and I will deal with Trystan.’
‘And if he hurts you?’
‘I’ve been looking for an excuse to kill the guy for a long time, maybe today he’ll give it to me.’
‘I don’t want you to kill anyone,’ she said. ‘I’ll wait here, and then we’ll go over there together.’
‘Wait there,’ he said. ‘That’s what I want you to do.’
Whether or not they went over there together was a fight they’d reserve for when he was here. For now, Ivy had given him what he wanted, and they would both have time to recharge their batteries and rethink their arguments before they were together again.
‘Drive safe,’ she said, worrying that Dax on the road in a rage might not end well. ‘I’ll be here, at Saul’s, I won’t go anywhere, I promise.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Try not to get into any more trouble.’
‘I’ll try my best.’
They hung up, and Ivy returned her phone to her purse. She wouldn’t go looking for trouble, but for some reason it always managed to find her.
Chapter Twenty
Although she hadn’t intended to, Ivy had fallen asleep on the bed in the second bedroom after she’d enjoyed her shower. A hand pushed her bare shoulder, she moaned in protest, but it kept on shaking her.
‘Dax,’ she said, throwing out an arm to toss aside the one prodding at her. She blinked up at the person sitting on the edge of the bed to see that although she’d still been asleep her subconscious had guessed right.
‘What the fuck do I do with you?’ Dax asked, but didn’t expect an answer. Whipping her towel out from beneath her, he stood up to throw it aside, then pushed her onto her back. ‘I know you like to challenge me, but for fuck sake, Minx.’
‘Can I have my towel back?’ she asked, stretching. ‘Anyone could walk in here.’
‘Saul told me that Carina went for a walk, and he’s tied up with the piece of ass he picked up last night. So that gives me some time to teach you a lesson.’
Digging a hand under her shoulder, he rolled her onto her front and smacked her ass. ‘Come on, Dax we don’t have time for this.’ Much as she complained, it was nice to be together again. The sting of his hand on her ass warmed more than just the flesh he’d touched.
Climbing onto the bed, he knelt over her thighs and rested his weight on her. Despite her trying to hit him, he got hold of her wrists in one of his hands and held her imprisoned hands against the small of her back. Leaning down, he swept her hair away and licked the back of her neck, around to her ear, where he whispered to her.
‘We have all the time I say we do, Minx. You ran away from me, again, came here to this place and put yourself in danger. You want to be hurt, you want to be punished, it’s the only way I can figure it.’
Sitting up on her thighs, he spanked her again, then rubbed his flat palm up and over the globes of her ass. Pushing her still locked wrists higher, he smacked the other cheek then leaned down again, urging the thick length of his erection, which was still enclosed in denim, into the mounds he was punishing.
‘I came to help my sister,’ she said, biting into the pillow to try and stop herself from whimpering out the pleasure it gave her to be dominated by the man she loved. ‘You would’ve done the same thing.’