One second.
Two.
Three.
And then—holy shit—he tilted his head, drawing achingly closer.
My brain short-circuited, rifling through a highlight reel of moments I’d been trying to ignore. The image of him sleeping with his back to the wall the night when he was worried about my safety. The way he’d admitted he’d been attracted to me all those years ago, before Knox had made me off-limits. How he’d caged me against that couch with fire in his gaze, tellingme exactly what he’d do to my body and how explosive it would be. The way he’d just protected me from Rebecca’s snarky comments.
But mostly, I realized in this moment that I wanted his lips on mine again. This time without influencers or cameras. Wanted to taste him, pull him closer, feel the heat of his mouth work down my neck and?—
The elevator hummed to life.
Axel froze, his mouth inches from mine. His gaze snapped to the door, then back to me. We locked eyes in silent understanding. Heat and desire and disappointment swirling between us like a storm gathering strength.
What do you do when you start to fall for the guy you absolutely shouldn’t want?
No. I couldn’t think about that right now. Had to keep my mind sharp and focused. Because we were about to face a room full of suspicious people, and we had a story to sell.
The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, spilling the first of our guests into the foyer. Reality crashed back in, but something fundamental had shifted in those stolen moments when the world had narrowed to just us.
Axel stepped back, his professional mask sliding into place, but his eyes lingered on mine for one more heartbeat. A silent promise that we were in this together.
“Mathew.” I smiled, pretending not to notice his glare. “Jennifer.” One of the influencers. “It’s so nice to see you.”
“Are we the first to arrive?” Jennifer’s eyes widened, and she checked the time. “I didn’t mean to get here this early. Chicago traffic is so unpredictable.”
“It’s fine,” I managed, though my voice sounded strained, even to my own ears.
Jennifer being early was clearly a mistake. The genuine surprise on her face said as much. But Mathew? Based on theway he stood there, hands shoved deep in his pockets, shoulders tense, this wasn’t an accident. He’d planned this.
Of course he had.
We had at least twenty minutes before anyone else aside from the waitstaff would show. And they were currently confined to the kitchen. Maybe more than twenty. And suddenly, the spacious penthouse felt like it was shrinking around me.
It was strange how quickly everything could shift. Minutes ago, I’d been floating on cloud nine, wrapped in Axel’s intimacy, feeling like maybe, just maybe, I was exactly where I belonged. Now, with Mathew standing in here, it felt like someone had flipped a switch.
My pulse kicked up in my throat, a trapped-bird flutter that made swallowing difficult. I forced my feet to stay planted when every instinct screamed to move as my mind painfully replayed all the awful things Mathew had said to me.
Funny how your heart can break for someone who doesn’t deserve it.
“This way,” Axel said, his voice cutting through the tension. “We can have some drinks while we wait for the others.”
We made small talk for a couple of minutes, but Axel’s worried gaze kept glancing at me, taking in my discomfort. Then he’d tighten his jaw and look at Mathew, the source of my obvious pain.
“Please”—Axel drew our guests into the dining room, the one with privacy and a magnificent view of the city—“take a seat. If you’ll excuse us, Dakota and I need to attend to something.”
“Oh, what a view!” Jennifer smiled, sitting down.
Mathew glared at Axel. Like he knew he was up to something.
Which, in fairness, he was …
36
DINNER PARTY 101: FIRST ORGASMS SHOULDN’T BE WITH YOUR EX IN THE NEXT ROOM. #SITUATIONALAWARENESS
DAKOTA
