Dax (The Theriot Family 4)

Once he lost his grip on the knife, Dax used a solid punch to his jaw to knock him out. Dax slammed his fist into the ground as if he needed to hit Jean-Charles again but was afraid he’d kill him. I had no doubt he could snap the man’s neck with little effort.

When Dax didn’t say anything or turn around, I moved a little closer. I knew that was foolish. I knew better than to approach someone when they were caught up in that kind of rage, but I took the risk anyway. I tried to focus on Dax, not the bloody man on the ground. I’d never had a strong stomach, and I did not want to throw up in front of Dax.

“Dax? Look at me.”

As he turned my way, a car skidded to a stop by the gate, and two men hopped out.

Fuck. Could Dax take them out too, or should I just shoot them? I raised my gun, and Dax grabbed my arm so fast I barely saw his hand move. “They’re with me.”

I studied the men more carefully and realized they were two of the guards Dax had tailing me.

“I texted them before I left the garage,” Dax said.

“You could’ve told me.”

“You could’ve stayed put like I told you to.”

“I don’t take orders from—”

“Enough.” Anger burned in Dax’s eyes. “We’ll talk about that later.”

The men hopped the gate and rushed over to us. “Everyone okay?” one of them asked.

Dax nodded and gestured toward Jean-Charles. “He works for LePlatt. Travis has had dealings with him before. He needs to be restrained and heavily guarded until I have time to extract information from him.”

Dax smiled as he spoke, looking as evil as I’d ever seen him. He was going to enjoy torturing Jean-Charles. That should scare the shit out of me, but somehow, at that moment, I wanted Dax more than ever. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just watched as Dax and his men zip tied Jean-Charles’s wrists and ankles together, gagged him, and put a hood over his head. I worried he might suffocate like that, but I figured they must know what they were doing, and if he died, it wasn’t like I’d be sad.

I started toward the office, but Dax grabbed my arm. “Don’t you dare leave my sight.”

Once they’d dumped Jean-Charles in the back of the SUV and the men had taken off, Dax turned to face me. I knew I was in trouble.

“I told you to stay put.”

“I wasn’t letting you do this by yourself.”

He glared at me, and I was tempted to take a step back, but I held my ground. “Get back in the goddam garage.”

“There’s no reason to hide. You took care of the problem.”

“Are you going to do what I said?”

I shook my head. I wanted to find out how far he’d push me. “Dax, you can’t—”

He picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. I held onto his back pockets to keep from falling and watched his fine ass bounce with each of his purposeful steps. What was wrong with me that I was thinking about his perfect body when I should be fighting so he’d put me down?

You don’t want to get away.

I should, but I didn’t. The tension between us had gone on for too long. I felt the heat of Dax’s body beneath me, and I knew it was time to let it burn me.

Dax stomped into the garage, grabbed the strap to pull down the bay door, and jerked it closed. Then, still balancing me with one arm, he swiped all the tools off the top of a workbench and set me on it, forcing my legs wide as he moved between them.

I could barely draw in a breath. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might pass out. I leaned back, not because I wanted to get away but because the intensity of Dax’s expression was too much. He looked like he might eat me alive, and I knew I’d welcome it.

“I can’t keep you safe if you don’t fucking listen to me.” His hands squeezed my hips harder, making me gasp. He was going to leave bruises. “I expect you to do what I say.” His voice was so low he was basically growling at me. I just managed to understand the words.

I had no idea what to say. I wanted to protest, to tell him he didn’t have any right to tell me what to do. I should have reminded him that I was an adult, that I made my own choices. But I’d managed to fuck my life up over and over. Right then, all I wanted was for Dax to control me. I’d let him do anything he wanted to me. I was his.