‘Ax…’ I breathe.
‘The very same.’ His smirk ghosts against my skin as he makes a show of pulling out my chair. ‘Bet you’re regretting stirring up that hornet’s nest now, ain’t you?’
He tilts his head towards the silent tension down the table, but I can’t focus on anything except the swarm buzzing beneath my own skin. And I know he knows it. His laugh is light and lethal, provoking the chaos inside me.
Just breathe, woman. Breathe.
I lower myself into the chair, cool air brushing my thigh as the red silk parts. My fingers instinctively reach to fix it, but his gaze locks on. His jaw grinds. And my inner devil grins as my hand falls away.
Not laughing now, are you, buddy?
I let the fabric inch higher. Let his stare sear into the exposed skin.
‘See something you want?’ I whisper.
He gives a tight huff. ‘You sure you want to play this game tonight?’
I smile, sugar-sweet. ‘I could ask you the same question.’
His mouth curves into that dangerous half-smile. ‘Game on, Baby Girl.’
Then he straightens, easy and composed, turning to Sadie’s single friend Daisy, waiting patiently for the same treatment on his other side.
Dream on, Missy.
And I’m not jealous.I’m not.
Hell, I don’t have the capacity for jealousy when I’m steeped in the scent of him – all spice and sin – and the promise of his words:
Game on, Baby Girl.
And if he can play it cool, so can I.
I lift my glass and take a steadying sip, turn to my neighbour Ian, Parker’s dad, and give him an attentive smile. He’s the total opposite of Ax. Warm brown skin, kind eyes, big smile, super friendly, and works in tech. Talking to him is easy, and it’s what I’m good at. Conversation. It’s what made me a great escort. An even better club owner. An even more successful billionaire.
But I can’t tune Axel out. Every movement, every word, every… laugh?
The man isfuckinglaughing.
Since when has he found ladies that call him ‘broody’ funny?
‘It’s great being able to work from home most days,’ Ian is saying, ‘but there are days when Parker’s on one and it’s just hard. Charlene gets stressed. I get stressed. And it’s chaos. You know what I mean?’
I nod. Thanks to Lottie, I have an idea. And I can’t wait forthe challenge. Though he’d probably think me mad if I admitted as much.
‘Sadie says they use the local soft play to burn the chaos out of them.’
Ian chuckles into his drink, but it’s Axel’s deep rumble I hear, and the titter that follows from the ladies hanging off his every word. I clench my jaw, tighten my crossed legs. The man is doing it on purp?—
I freeze as his knee brushes mine beneath the table.
Was that… intentional?
The rest of him is still angled away, conversation flowing easily with his neighbours. Then it happens again. And this time, it stays. Warm. Pressing. Caressing.
My God, it’s just his knee and I’m?—
His hand joins it and I almost leap. What the fuck?
