* * *
Axel takesup my hand and whisks me to the exit as if swiftly guiding us out of a burningbuilding.
The Jepson Towers is an alarmingly posh architectural wonder, nothing gaudy, simple marble floors and counters, the elevators sheathed in mirrors, and for the first time I see us there, standing hand in hand, looking every bit like a couple, and there’s a familiarity about it that startlesme.
Axel doesn’t dare say a word. He’s frozen stiff as a statue right up until we board the elevator. It zooms us to the top so fast it’s as if all of his anxiety about me changing my mind had boosted its efforts. We step out into the quiet hush of the carpeted hall. A giant set of ficus plants tower next to a set of heavily carved doors, dark mahogany with a Spanish flare. Axel lets us in and secures the door shut behind us, bolting it twice in hopes to at least slow me down once I decide to hit theexit.
“It’s stunning,” I say, my breath bated at the sight. Axel’s penthouse is cavernous, dark wood floors, high ceilings, impeccably furnished with a plush gray sectional large enough to easily accommodate fifty people. A large screen television floats against the wall, but my eyes dart to the kitchen. It’s an open floor plan, so the holy trinity—kitchen, dining room, and living room—are all more or less conjoined. I don’t waste a moment before traipsing over and examining the high-end appliances, the impeccable marble countertop that looks new as the day they laid it. That double oven has me drooling, and is that a steamer? It’s safe to say Axel is outgunned in his very own home. From what I remember, his specialty was burning waffles in the toasteroven.
“Do you approve?” He gives my hand a squeeze, and it’s only then I note he’s still holdingit.
“I more than approve. I take it you don’t spend much time in here, though. It’s a waste if you ask me.” I scowl over at the appliances as if they’ve just personally offendedme.
Axel leans in with the side of his face pressed to my neck as he makes his way to my ear. “They’ve been waiting foryou.”
The scent of his cologne sets my senses on fire, and my eyes close initially as I tilt my head back. The world spins in a blissful way I haven’t felt in oh so long, and for a brief moment I never want to open my eyes again. I never want this feeling to end. His arms find their way around my waist as he spins me into him, his stubbled cheek lies flush to mine and feels surprisingly soft, his breath warms my lips as his mouth inches ever soclose.
My heart drums within me at unsafe speeds, my blood pressure skyrockets as fight-or-flight kicks in. Axel presses me close to him by the small of my back, my body adhering to his rock-hard chest, and I can make out each chiseled detail with my flesh. My thighs begin to shake and quiver, my breathing quickens, and suddenly everything about this scenario has melightheaded.
“Lex,” Axel groans as his lips brush over mine, and my entire body jolts from theirtouch.
My hands slap over his chest, and I push him away in one swift move. “Cheese and rice, what have I done?” I jump back, suddenly aware of my surroundings as if I had somehow teleported here instead of striding right in on my ownvolition.
“Wait, Lex.” Axel reaches for my hand, but I pull away in fear I won’t be able to resist his charms if he gets ahold of me one moretime.
“Don’t youwait Lexme! Wine plus Raven equals stupid,stupiddecisions! I played right into both your grubby little hands.” I spin on my heels, slapping my palm over my forehead. “How could I have fallen so far sofast?”
Axel pops up and wraps his arms back around my body as if they belonged there—as if I wasn’t about to pluck them off at theshoulder.
“Keep your hands where they are and I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your days brushing your teeth with yourfeet.”
Those blessed by God features openly frown at me, those dimples depress, and something about those watery gray eyes pinches my stomach. There are only a handful of people who have that effect on me. There are only a few people in general whom I’ve ever wanted anything to do with, and once upon a time Axel Collins was one ofthem.
He holds his arms up in surrender but doesn’t bother to widen the gap between us. “I like my hands right where God put them. How about adrink?”
“A drink?” I lean in until we’re just about nose-to-nose. “I bet you’d just love that, wouldn’t you?” I poke my finger hard in his chest. “Me—staggering drunk, begging you to have me, doing a strip tease on your coffee table, dropping to my knees and biting you in all the right places!” He winces when I say it. “Ha!” I laugh right over his lips, and he sheds an annoying smile that shakes me to my core with rage. “How dare you laugh at me. How dare you think you have the upper hand in thisrelationship.”
“Is that what we have? A relationship?” His forefinger caresses my cheek, and a chill runs down my spine, tingling all the way to my toes. My God, just one night. What could it hurt? Wait—what am I saying? Why am I suddenly so confused? I’m Lex the Ice Queen Maxfield. Things happen when and where I dictate them. This won’t happen to me. This will happenforme.
“I know you, Lex,” he rumbles so deep the words resonate like thunder deep down in my bones. “You want us back just as much as Ido.”
“The hell Ido.”
His eyes widen with theexpletive.
“The only thing I want is this.” I press my lips to his, my entire body wrapping around him like a vine. Those cushion soft lips of his open and I fall right in, our tongues touching for the first time in so long my entire body swims with relief. I want this. I need this. And I hate Axel Collins for making me feel both of thosethings.
His tongue does a hungry revolution around my mouth, and we both expel a hearty groan at the very same time. A dull chuckle rattles both of our chests, but we don’t break our stride, our mouths still very much fused as this kiss permeates every last part of my being. It’s as if I had been holding my breath for all these years, and this, the first perfect breath I’ve craved for so long, is healing something deep inside ofme.
But he’s not. The only thing this mouth to mouth will produce is more confusion, and if there’s anything I hate more than Axel Collins it’sconfusion.
“Stop.” I pull back and crash my open palm over that sexy stubbled cheek, and the action alone makes mesmile.
“Geez!” His fingers dance over ground zero as he gives a stunned, wild-eyedlook.
“I’m not doing this with you!” I slap my hands over his chest and send him flying back a good three feet. “We areover,Collins! Get that through your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed brain! All of your nefarious intentions for the evening have come to naught.” I pounce over and smack my hands over his chest once again. “Take that!” I pound my fists over that granite he’s housing under his shirt even though I realize the effort is futile. Axel is built like a brick wall. “You may not stomp all over me one more time. I’m not some silly little plaything that falls in and out of your bed whenever the heck you feel like it.” I slam my fist into his stomach in a ridiculous attempt to hurt him, and his body doesn’t flinch. I look up to meet with his eyes, a raging fire exuding from myown.
“Feel better?” He’s somewhere between stern and bored, and it’s all I can do not to scream in his face. Oh, what thehell.
