“I don’t regret it,” I said quickly, looking down at my hands.
“Do you regret waiting as long as you did?” Again, his tone was kind, curious.
And for a minute, just a minute, I wondered if he was asking because he wanted to know.
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“Is that why you were so pissed the night you took that picture of me? Seeing me with yet another woman?”
I sighed.Axel is like a human lie detector.I suppose I could have avoided the answer, but honestly, with him knowing I’d only ever been with Mathew, what was the point?
“Maybe I was jealous of how free you are with your sexuality,” I said. “You don’t care what people think; you just go for what makes you happy. Meanwhile, I’ve spent my whole life trying to be what people want me to be.”
That tasted bitter, but there it was.
Something shifted in his expression. Surprise, maybe even understanding. For a moment, the air between us felt different. Less hostile. Almost … tender.
We weren’t supposed to be connecting like this. This wasn’t part of the plan. But here we were, sharing pieces of ourselves we’d never shared with anyone else.
Then something dark and dangerous flashed in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively calm. The kind of calm that comes before someone punches a wall.
“You saved that part of yourself for three decades because it meant something to you. Something sacred.” His knuckles went white with tension. “Please tell me that asshole at least made it worth it. Tell me he made you feel like the fucking goddess you are. Tell me he worshipped you the way you deserved.”
Goddess?Axel saw me as a goddess?
Heat crawled up my neck. “He was … fine.” I took a massive gulp of wine.
Axel’s head snapped back like I’d slapped him. “Fine?”
“I’m not discussing this.”
“Fine isn’t exactly a glowing review, Sunshine.”
“This is a complete violation of Mathew’s privacy. I’m not telling you how he was in bed.”
“You don’t have to.” He stilled, massaging his hands. “I can see it written all over your face. He never made you lose control, did he? Never had you screaming his name or seeing stars.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the lie wouldn’t come.Damn him for being right.
“Jesus Christ, Dakota.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking genuinely tortured. “You waited all that time forfine?”
Something about the way he said it, like it personally offended him, like my disappointing sex life was somehow his problem to solve, made heat pool low in my stomach.
The silence stretched between us, heavy with everything I wasn’t saying. His breathing had changed, gone deeper, and when I looked up from my glass again, his eyes were practically black with something that looked like fury. Or hunger. Maybe both.
“You have no idea what you’ve been missing,” he said, standing slowly. The predatory way he moved toward me made my pulse race.
I stayed curled on the couch as he towered over me, bracing one hand on the back cushions and planting the other on the armrest, caging me in. His eyes darkened as they roamed over my body, and suddenly, the air in the room felt too hot to breathe.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to stay enemies. Safe in our animosity. But somewhere between the wine and the confessions and the firelight, something had shifted. Something that made my entire body hum with awareness.
“Let me paint you a picture of what you deserve, Sunshine.” His voice was rough velvet, his face inches from mine. “You deserve someone who memorizes every single thing that makes you gasp. Someone who learns your body like a symphony and plays it perfectly every time. You deserve to feel worshipped, cherished, absolutely wrecked in the best possible way.”
His eyes burned into mine. “If I touched you, you’d see stars. You’d feel my tongue between your thighs, until you screamed my name. Then I’d sink so deep inside you, you’d forget your own.”
Holy shit.
“I’d pull your hair. Pin your hands above your head. Make you feel powerful and vulnerable at the same time. There would be nothing ordinary about it. Nothingfineabout it.” His eyes burned into mine. “You deserve someone who has you grabbing the sheets and begging for things you didn’t even know you wanted. Someone who takes their time with you. Hours, Dakota, until you’re shaking and can’t form coherent sentences.”
