Safe.
Chaste.
Empty.
With an inward curse, he shoved down his rising desire and reminded himself that, when it came to Gemma, he had three simple rules: Keep your hands to yourself. Keep your dick in your pants. See rules one and two.
He took a slower pass over the dungeon but still didn't spot Gemma. Then he caught a whiff of cinnamon and apples mingling with the usual scents of leather and sex in the air. A smile tugged at his lips. Of course. She had known he was coming home today. The little vixen was busy in the kitchen whipping up a batch of his favorite apple spice muffins. He turned and headed her direction.
He'd only taken a couple of steps before the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. The stares of the club members pricked like needles. He'd been so focused on finding Gemma, he'd missed the anxious undercurrent humming around him.
Something was wrong.
He tossed a glance over his shoulder, seeking the source of his disquiet. No one would meet his gaze except Kenneth Beckman, Shadows' most enthusiastic sadist and one of his good friends.
When he caught sight of Beck's grim expression, Axel stilled. Alarm bells rang in his head.
Beck glanced toward the kitchen, and Axel turned his gaze to follow. Gemma stood in the portal, her long, inky tresses framing her delicate face. She met his stare for a moment. Guilt glimmered in her blue eyes. She quickly jerked away, turning her back on him.
No smile. No welcome. No unpracticed flirtation.
Apprehension burned through him. What the fuck had happened?
Gemma usually wore her feelings for him on her sleeve. Now she barely looked at him. And the spitfire he had left three days ago? Long gone.
She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Axel frowning at an empty doorway while a million unanswered questions rolled through his brain. Before he could chase her down and interrogate her, Beck stepped into his path.
"We need to talk," his burly, tattooed friend muttered in a low, grave tone. "And no, it can't wait."
Annoyed, Axel craned around Beck to look at Gemma. He scowled at the wilted line of her spine. That worried the hell out of him.
"I'm listening."
Beck shook his head. "Not here, dumb ass."
That made Axel zip his gaze back around. Yeah, it was serious. "My office. Let's make it quick."
Without another word, the two strode down the hall to Axel's private quarters. After closing the door behind them, he pinned Beck with an impatient glower. "What?"
Scrubbing a hand through his dark hair, his friend exhaled heavily. "I have to tell you something because nobody else will. But before I do, you have to promise you won't lose your shit."
"Spill it before I beat the fuck out of you."
"You'd die trying," Beck quipped. "It's about Gemma."
Axel had guessed that, but his stomach pitched when Beck confirmed his suspicion. Somehow he managed a blank expression. "Go on."
"While you were gone, she and Zak got together."
Axel froze, a dozen images assaulting his brain that all made him want to commit murder. "Got together…how?"
"C'mon, do I really have to explain how to insert tab A into slot B? They had sex."
Axel rocked back on his heels as if he'd been sucker-punched. As the words rolled through his brain, rage, hot and atomic, exploded inside him. She'd given that motherfucker her virginity?
Axel should have known by Zak's leering glances that the prick would try to slide under his radar and get to Gemma one day. Now Axel wished like hell that he hadn't gone to New York. But he owed the dead the respect he hadn't given her in life.
Damn it.
"Where is he?" Axel pounded his fist on his desk. "I'm going to kill him."
Beck sighed. "This is why no one wanted to tell you. You have to calm down."
"I don't have to do anything except murder that fucking bastard."
"Stop being so dramatic. As much as I'd enjoy cheering you on because no asshat is more deserving, you can't do that. Besides, you'd look shitty in orange."
"I'll settle for castrating him. Slowly. With a dull, rusty knife."
Beck sighed again. "I get it. Zak fucked your woman bu..."
"She's not mine. I'm just protecting her from shitbags like him."
"Oh, please… Anyone with eyes knows she's yours. But you refused to grow a pair and fuck her yourself so..."
"Shut up," Axel barked because Beck didn't understand. "Where is Pike? He was supposed to be keeping an eye on her."
"Home with the flu. I offered to fill in for him, but last night I had my hands full."
"Full of what, tits and pussy?" Rage pressed in on Axel until he thought his head might explode.
Beck scowled and clenched his fists. Good. Axel was ready for a fight.
"I had to break up a brawl in the parking lot before the cops showed. By the time I mopped that up, Zak had culled the princess from the herd. But Gemma is legally allowed to make decisions about her body and sexuality."