My lips curved up in a tiny grin at how relieved he sounded. “Yeah.”
He turned off his bike, and the background noise on his end quieted. “Maybe we just had a bad connection. I couldn’t hear you for a minute there.”
“Um, no. The connection is fine. That was all me,” I admitted softly, twirling a lock of my hair around my index finger.
“Did you call me just to hear my voice because you missed me?” I swore I could practically hear his smug grin just by his tone alone.
I rolled my eyes before replying, “No, I really did have a reason for calling.”
“Were you surprised I answered?”
Crap, he wasn’t going to let me tell him why I needed to talk to him until I fessed up to why I’d been quiet for so long. My cheeks filled with heat as I awkwardly whispered, “I, um, might’ve thought that you thought someone else was calling you when you answered the way you did.”
He zoned right in on my issue. “Because I called you baby?”
“Yeah.” Nobody could see me, but I still ducked my head and let my hair fall around my face so there was another barrier between me and the world. Being into a guy was a whole new experience for me, and my heart just had to go and pick a guy who could have anyone he wanted, leaving me feeling extra vulnerable.
“I should’ve been clear when I warned you about other guys, so you wouldn’t worry. There’s nobody else for me either, Arya. Just you, baby,” he swore.
My lips formed a perfect circle as I gasped, “Oh.”
“Yeah, so don’t you ever fucking worry about me when it comes to some other woman. I’d never pull that kind of shit on you,” he added.
Loving how Dax put himself out there for me and didn’t try to play games, I had a huge smile on my face when I asked, “Because my brother would kick your butt if you broke my heart?”
“Nova is gonna kick my ass regardless, baby.” His deep chuckle sent goose bumps up my arms. “But I’ll take whatever he gives me with a smile on my face as long as you’re mine.”
My heart melted at the idea that Dax was willing to fight with my brother if that was what it took to be with me. Not that I ever wanted it to happen. “Maybe he’ll go easy on you if my plan to surprise him with a visit in a couple of weeks to celebrate our birthdays works.”
“You’re planning on coming down here to surprise Nova?”
“Yup.” I gave him all the details for what I wanted to do—without mentioning that the biggest reason I wanted to do all of this was because I couldn’t wait to see him again. “Could you maybe help me throw the party together and keep everything a secret from Nova?”
There was a long moment of silence that made me a little nervous, but then Dax rasped, “Damn straight, I can.”
3
Dax
I doubted the smile on my face could get any bigger. Arya had unknowingly given me the perfect opportunity to set things in motion. I’d been prepared to go retrieve her, but having Arya come to me would make things much smoother.
And arriving while Nova was out on a run...Yeah, this was perfect. Unfortunately, she’d be missing the party she was planning, but I couldn’t muster up any guilt over it. Not when it meant Arya would finally be mine.
I intended to kidnap her the moment her car entered the compound.
Through a connection of Patriot, the MC’s Captain, I’d borrowed a cabin in the mountains—after threatening to beat him to a bloody pulp if he breathed a word of my location to Nova. The threat was enough to shut the Captain up, but Patriot wasn’t a chatty guy in the first place. Plus, I outranked them both.
Going through another brother gave me a little more time because the cabin wasn’t directly connected to me. The extra degree of separation should make it harder for Nova to track us down. I intended to make sure Arya was irrevocably tied to me before that happened.
I’d be putting a ring on her finger as soon as possible, but that didn’t guarantee Nova wouldn’t do anything stupid. Brother or not, I would kill Nova if he tried to take my woman from me. But I knew that would make Arya unhappy, so I wanted to avoid that scenario.
The only thing that was fool proof was putting my baby in Arya. I’d been dreaming of her with a big, round belly since the first moment I’d thought of it. I couldn’t wait to bury my cock in her tight little pussy and fill her with so much come there was no doubt she’d be pregnant.
A frown creased my brow as I thought about the one obstacle to my plan. I’d have to take care of that shit immediately.
“Dax?” Arya’s sweet voice came over the line, drawing me back into our conversation.
“How can I help, baby?” I asked while my mind was turning over options for how to find out what I really wanted to know.
Arya began speaking and I catalogued everything she said, but the only information that really stuck with me was her arrival date and time. I’d help her orchestrate the party, though. It would give us an even better head start.
My girl paused for a moment, and my mouth blurted out my question before my brain thought better of it. “Are you on birth control?” I immediately wanted to bang my head against a wall. Smooth, Dax. Real smooth.
Other than a quick intake of breath, she was silent long enough for me to worry that I’d freaked her out. I knew I should say something to brush it off and put her back at ease.
“Arya,” I growled in warning. “Answer me.” Fucking hell, dude. Are you trying to send her running away from you? I’d obviously lost all control over my mouth.
“Um, no,” she replied softly.
It was what I wanted to hear, but I wasn’t quite relieved yet. “Why not?”
“I never needed it...um, should I be?” She sounded a little disappointed by the idea, and my mouth curled back up into a wide smile.
“No, baby. Stay away from that shit.”
She was quiet again for a few beats then breathed, “Okay.”
I decided if that question hadn’t freaked her out, I might as well learn everything I wanted to know. “Arya?”
“Yeah, Dax?”
Holy shit. Hearing her say my name had all the blood in my body rushing straight to my cock. I shook my head, trying to clear away some of the lustful fog. My voice was a little gruffer than I’d intended when I asked, “Are you a virgin, baby?”
“Would it bother you if I was?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not, baby. Knowing you’re all mine is hot as hell.”
“Oh.” I was pretty sure I heard a smile in her voice, and I contemplated throwing all my plans out the window and just hopping on my bike to go and snatch her right now. It helped to remind myself that her birthday was still a week out. “Yes,” she whispered in a breathy tone.
I needed to get off the phone before her voice made me come in my pants like a fucking teenager. “Good. Keep that pussy safe for me. I’ll handle everything for the party. See you in a week.”
“But his birthday isn’t until—”
“One. Week. Arya,” I bit out each word through clenched teeth. I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself any longer than that. It was Tuesday, and Nova would leave for his run on Friday. He’d be back the following Friday, and she’d been planning the party for Saturday. “I need you to be here early.”