I left Dre and his woman speechless. Good. The assholes deserve it.
Heaven
What in the hell just happened?
One minute I’m chilling on the beach, and the next, I’m making a beeline to the bronzed Adonis emerging from the water. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t expect him to humor me, and I definitely didn’t expect him to jump into his role so convincingly.
Everything has been a blur since I’d approached Axel. It’s like I am watching events unfold outside of my body. Luckily, I had the presence of mind after the awkward encounter with my ex to make a mad dash to my spot to grab my personal items. Axel had waited like the doting boyfriend while I threw my items and his towel in my beach bag, then he reclaimed my hand.
Now, my legs are burning since I’m power walking through the hotel lobby, trying to keep up. My fingers are intertwined with the strong, warm fingers of a complete, yet ridiculously attractive, stranger, and I’m wondering if he is actually planning to take me to his room. I’m appalled, and it’s not because he would have the audacity to try. I’m appalled because I’mhopinghe would.
I shake my head to get a hold of myself. I need to derail this train and fall out of his spell. It’s not his fault. I’d approached him while he was minding his business, but I didn’t know he’d be… so mesmerizing, so accommodating, and so damn sexy.
Axel stops in front of a glossy granite service desk and trades smiles with the clerk. She pushes her long, black hair over her shoulder and tries her best to not stare at his bare chest.
Poor girl.
“Back so soon, Mr. Behr?” She flutters her eyelashes as she speaks. “I didn’t expect to see you for at least another hour.”
“Leilani, darling. I’m highly unpredictable,” Axel murmurs. The sexy timbre of his voice seduces me with every word.I can definitely attest to that fact. “But if you must know, my head wasn’t in the game today.”
He releases my hand, and I’m shocked at how quickly I’ve become accustomed to his touch. I instantly miss holding his hand the moment he let mine go. I watch as he carries his surfboard to a holding area behind her. Once he has it situated just the way he wants it, he pats it as if he’s saying goodbye to a friend. Leilani openly checks him out during the process. She almost drooled while she ogled his body. I am miffed at the pang of jealousy I feel. It is irrational. Hell, I hardly know him. I have no claim.
Besides, I’m doing the exact same thing. Axel’s bare chest and muscles are almost art. I didn’t think men who didn’t work in Hollywood actually walked around looking the way he does. His back muscles flex deliciously as he repositions the surfboard. His biceps bulge as he swipes a long, blond lock out of his face. His now drying hair frames his face in soft, golden waves. His blue-gray eyes are intense and expressive. Axel has a slight scar that slashes diagonally through his left eyebrow that somehow makes him sexier.
Ah, shit, he caught me. A smug grin slides across his almost full lips.Stop staring at his lips!My eyes slide up to his nose. Even his nose is attractive.What in the hell is wrong with me?Axel tilts his head to the side as he studies me. There is a glimmer of something intense floating around his irises.
“Your eyes shouldn’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.”
“I…” Leilani starts to protest. She clamps her mouth shut when she realizes Axel is looking at me.
“Who said I wouldn’t?” It’s my turn to clamp my mouth shut. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but I didn’t expectthatto fly out.
Leilani's eyes blink several times as she studies me. It’s as if her brain is trying to reconcile my presence. She didn’t notice me until the exchange. I see the moment her eyes shift from curious to challenging. I’ve officially been pegged as competition for Axel’s affections. I’m suddenly happy she doesn’t know how we met. Leilani looks like the kind of person that would use the information against me.
I briefly wonder if Axel knows his favorite hotel employee has snakelike tendencies. I can’t focus on the subject too long because he is in my space again, his body two inches away from mine.
“Do you know what your eyes are saying to me?” he asks, his voice just above a whisper.
I don’t have time to answer. He gives Leilani a dismissive wave and grabs my hand again. His strides are long and powerful as he navigates the lobby. People scurry out of his way as if he is the only one who has the right to be there. He stops when we arrive at the bank of elevators. Our reflections bounce off the shiny doors, and the coolness of the marble starts to sink into my feet. The hall is surprisingly empty for it being the middle of the day.
I don’t have time to speculate because I find myself pressed snugly against Axel’s body. I feel a thrill that I’m not supposed to feel. He’s essentially a stranger, and I am not a one-night-stand kind of girl, but he smells like soap and sunshine. I haven’t been touched by a man in almost a year. That knowledge hadn’t bothered me until now. Now, I feel deprived.
Axel is warm, solid, and strong. He makes me feel petite. His big hand grips my hip. His other hand tips my chin, so I can look at him. He studies me for a moment before leaning into my space; I freeze with my hands gripping his biceps. I feel relief and despair when he doesn’t kiss me. Axel’s five o’clock shadow tickles my cheek, I shudder when his lips graze the shell of my ear as he starts to whisper.
“Your eyes are telling me you’re willing to do everything I told your ex we’d do and more.”
The intent in his voice rocks me. I want nothing more than to follow him to his room and lose my clothes. It scares me that I want him so badly. We just met; I don’t know anything about him. He could be crazy. It took me weeks of dating before I wanted to get intimate with Dre, but Axel…he could have had me on the beach. I need to get away from him and clear my thoughts. I think it would help if he’d put on some damn clothes.
“Maybe you need glasses, Thor,” I whisper, praying the joke will break up our sexual tension.
Axel’s chuckle rattles my entire body. I get a glimpse of what it would be like to be wrapped up in his arms post sex as we talk about…anything. I like the idea too much. We each take a step back.
“Maybe…” he quips as he presses the up button on the elevator panel. His eyes rake over my body. “1101.”
“What?” I’m confused.
The elevator door opens, and he holds the door. “1101 is my room number. Now, you know where to find me.” He turns to get on the elevator then peeks out. “You don’t need the cover-up.”
