Tearing his lips from hers, he panted her name and waited for her to open her eyes. They were a little dazed, and the look she gave him made him want to dive in for another taste.
But he needed to make sure they were on the same page.
“Maisie…” Swallowing hard, Axel reached up and caressed her cheek. “I didn’t mean to pounce like that. I just kept thinking…and I need to know if…”
She surprised him by reaching up and cupping his face in both hands. “Did you hire me because you wanted to sleep with me?” she demanded.
“What? No!”
“Did my work speak for itself?”
He nodded because, honestly, he was afraid to say anything.
“Is this going to affect our working relationship moving forward?”
Shaking his head, he said, “It doesn’t have to.”
That response seemed to please her because she said, “Good,” and then kissed him again.
She was killing him.
As much as he was enjoying this, he wanted to get them away from the door and to someplace a little more comfortable. So he broke the kiss again, grabbed her hand in his, and tugged her along to his bedroom. It was kind of a mess in there too, but he didn’t think it mattered. And when Maisie reached for him again, he knew neatness was the last thing on either of their minds.
They were next to his bed, and it didn’t take much for them to fall onto it. Rolling her beneath him, he settled between her thighs like he'd dreamed of all damn night, kissing her because he couldn’t get enough. Her limbs wrapped around him like a vise, and he almost lifted his head to tell her she didn’t have to worry; he wasn’t planning on going anywhere.
One kiss blended into the next as the wind and rain grew louder outside. A small part of him wondered if maybe it would be safer for them to be back up at the lodge, but he didn’t think he’d survive stopping what they were doing. It was crazy that all he could think was that if a tree crashed through the roof, he’d die doing exactly what he loved.
Making love to a beautiful woman.
Maisie’s hands raked through his hair, and she tugged on it while breaking the kiss. Breathless and panting, she smiled shyly up at him—a complete contrast to the woman who had him hard as a rock.
“You…you should know something,” she said quietly. “I haven’t been with a lot of guys. I’m not as experienced as the women you’ve probably been with.”
“Mighty bold of you to assume you know the kind of women I’ve been with,” he said gruffly, teasingly.
“Axel…I’m just saying…”
Awkwardly, he placed his finger over her lips. “I don’t care about anything or anyone who came before. I only care about what’s happening here and now.” Pausing, he swallowed hard. “If this isn’t what you want, or you want to slow down, that’s fine. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
And for some reason, that seemed to make her relax.
“I want this,” she assured him. “So much it scares me.”
Yeah, he knew the feeling. The attraction to her hit him like a ton of bricks yesterday and had him tangled up in knots just thinking of her. And now that she was here, everything felt a bit out of control.
“It’s okay, beautiful girl. It scares me too.”
Her smile went from shy to sweet to sexy, and he knew they were back on track.
Axel put all of his attention on her—touching her, kissing her, worshipping her. All he wanted was for Maisie to feel. And from the way she was clutching at him and panting his name, he knew she was. It wasn’t long before he forgot all about the storm outside and fully focused on the one they were creating here in his little cabin.
A loud roar of thunder followed by a violent flash of lightning made them both jump.
They had been lying all tangled up under the blankets, completely exhausted from their sexy afternoon. Maisie held the blankets to her chest as she sat up, her dark eyes wide and frightened.
“Is it too late to go back up to the lodge?” she asked. “The storm was just as wild yesterday, but it didn’t feel like it when we were up there.”
Slowly, he guided her back down beside him, wrapping her in his arms. “Yeah, I thought of that earlier. But with all the food we just moved down here and the way the rain is coming down, I think we need to ride this out for a while or maybe check the weather apps and see if there’s going to be a break in the action again.”
