“Dakota?” Mathew barked.
I opened the door.
Mathew’s face shifted through a symphony of emotions: relief, surprise, then slow, dawning realization. His gaze swept over the flush painting my cheeks, the dewiness at the base of my throat, my thoroughly mussed hair.
Any lingering doubt about what he’d interrupted evaporated when hurt flashed across his features, followed immediately by something darker.
For a split second, I almost felt bad for him.Almost. But watching him take in my satisfied glow, seeing the exact moment he realized another man had just claimed me completely?
God, it felt empowering after Mathew had tried to emotionally cut me off at the knees.
“Mathew.” I kept my voice steady. “Did you need something?”
He pushed the hurt aside and swallowed hard, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. “I wanted to apologize. And I thought …” His voice trailed off as his eyes tracked over my appearance again. “I really thought this whole engagement thing was just for show. For the cameras.”
“There’s no need?—”
“But you’re really with him.” It wasn’t a question. The realization seemed to hit him like a hammer to his chest. “This is real.”
I felt a flicker of something. Pity maybe? “Mathew?—”
“Dakota, I love you.” His attention dropped to my bare ring finger, and hope flickered desperately in his eyes. “I made a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life.”
“We’ve been over this,” I said, this time not hiding my irritation. “It’s over. I love Axel.”
The words came out easier than I’d expected. Clear. Definitive. Real. I loved Axel.
He studied my face, searching for any crack in my resolve. When he found none, his jaw ticced.
“First the live stream.” His voice went flat and cold. “Now this.”
Wait, what? Why did he care about the live stream?Something niggled in my mind, something I couldn’t place.
“I moved halfway around the world for you.”
“You also called me worthless,” I reminded him.
“Just give me one chance. Let me prove?—”
“He called you worthless?” Axel materialized beside me like an avenging angel. Shirtless, his tattooed torso still glistening with a fine sheen of sweat from our lovemaking. Every inch of him radiated dangerous masculinity and absolute possession.
The contrast was devastating. Mathew in his perfectly pressed business casual, and Axel, raw, powerful, unapologetically male, with the satisfied air of a man who’d just thoroughly claimed his woman.
Mathew’s body almost vibrated with disbelief as he took in Axel’s state of undress. “I’m talking to her, not you.”
Axel took an aggressive step closer to him.
“You called her worthless?” Holy shit. Axel’s voice was like a razer, sharp and cutting. Ominously dripping with warning.
“Couples argue,” Mathew retorted.
When I put my hand on Axel’s shoulder, he spared me a quick glance, then snapped his attention to my ex.
“Only reason you still have an unbroken nose is because I promised Dakota I would try to control my rage. Do yourself a favor and leave before I lose that battle.”
Mathew stared at Axel’s arm around me, then narrowed his eyes. “I thought you loved me, Dakota.”
“You’re really going to play the victim card now?” Axel’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. You walked away from the best thing that ever happened to you. Your loss became my greatest gift.”
