With that taken care of, I could go back to my priority. Luca.
Chapter 15
Luca
My head was still in the clouds after kissing Axel last night.From the moment I looked at him on the street outside the Midnight Market, I knew there was something dangerous about him. Not that I was afraid of him, but more like afraid of how he affected me. I was terrified of whatever was going on between us, but the pull he had on me was all-consuming. I knew life was about taking chances, and if I was going to take one, it would be with Axel.
We had until the middle of September to find and get him settled into his new place. In six weeks, he went off to training and a demanding ten-month season if they made a run for the cup. If he didn’t stop rejecting all the good ones we’d found, he’d be living there when the season started.
It had already been what felt like the longest day when I pulled up to the front door of his building. One of the senior living facilities I preferred had lost partial funding, which meant no new placements. I spent the day searching for open spots while counting down the minutes until I could leave. Waiting in the usual spot, the doorman approached my window and relayed Axel’s message. “Good afternoon, Mr. Vaughn. Mr. Hughes isdelayed. He called down to ask that we park your car so you may join him upstairs.”
“Ah. Okay.” Getting out of the car, I collected his iced coffee along with my bag before handing over the keys. It wasn’t much, but the money I saved on food allowed me to splurge on coffee for him. He always seemed surprised. Had no one ever done that for him? Or was he always the one to do the giving?
When I stepped off the elevator, I made my way down the hallway to his door. Knocking lightly, I waited for him to answer. “Let’s go, Hughes,” I called. “The realtor is….” The door swung. open, leaving me unable to breathe when a nearly naked Axel stood in front of me, his hockey god body on display. “Waiting,” I finally breathed. Drinking in the man candy work of art in the doorway, I cleared my throat and looked away. “I’ll just…wait. Here.” I handed him his coffee.
Axel took the cup, then reached out to pull me inside. “No, you won’t.”
Standing impossibly close, I could feel the heat from his skin. Jesus fuck, he was magnificent. Without thinking, I wiped away a few stray drops of water that clung to the tattoos covering his chest. “You’re wet,” I said, stating the obvious. Axel stood stock still as I pulled my hand away. “Why are you, umm…” The words came a little breathier than I wanted.
“Business, and he just left.” Setting the cup down, he pressed me to the wall, leaned his chest into mine, and kissed the daylights out of me. Mint burst along my tongue as he claimed my mouth with the most sensual kiss of my life. I gave in, wilting like a flower out of water into his arms. He smelled so good.
But the last part of his statement chose that moment to register. He? Who was he? Pushing him away to allow oxygen into my bloodstream, I looked toward the door and around the room as ifhewere still there. Was it a hookup? When had he met someone else? Nausea rose from my stomach as a hot streak ofjealousy shot up my spine. We hadn’t discussed any parameters, and this was why I didn’t do hookups. But as I looked at him looking at me, I took a deep breath. This was Axel. And he was different. But it didn’t stop me from being jealous of whoeverhewas.
“Luca?” he murmured, drawing my eyes to him. He looked concerned. God, I hated it when he whispered like that.
“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered, pushing past him to get away from the magnetic pull he had on me. Tossing my bag onto the sofa, I sat down and pulled out my phone, ignoring the half-naked man. “You need to get dressed so we can go.”
That didn’t deter him. “What’s wrong?” His soft tone beckoned me. Somehow, I’d already become beholden to the softspoken man he showed me. “Are you okay?”
My eyes snapped up to where he stood with his massive arms folded over his chest, towel dangling by a thread. One hasty move and it would be on the floor. “Of course.” Forcing my eyes back to my phone, I scrolled through my apps, not seeing one of them. “Why wouldn’t I be? Last night, I mean, we didn’t… and I didn’t…. You can do…” I waved my hand, “whoever you want.” I was such a fucking liar. It mattered, but it shouldn’t. Dropping my head into my hands, I rambled like an idiot. “God, ignore me. I’m overreacting. And emotionally stunted. I know that, and this is a waste of time.” I looked up to find Axel sitting on the coffee table, in his towel, smiling at me.
“Why are you so upset?”
“I’m not upset,” I snapped. Jesus fuck. I breathed out erratically. “That’s a lie. I’m irritated that you aren’t ready to go. We have an appointment, and I hate being late.”
He didn’t believe me. “Are you sure that’s it?”
I huffed and looked at the half-naked man who insisted on frying my brain. “It’s rude for you to hook up with someonewhen we had an appointment.” What the fuck was I doing? I buried my face in my hands again. God, I was embarrassed.
Axel chuckled and ran his hands over my head, tipping my chin up to look at him. “Are you referring to theheI spoke of?”
I was ready to die. “Yes. Can we forget this ever happened? I’ll go back downstairs and get in my car, circle the block, and wait for you to come down.” I got to my feet but was immediately pulled back down. I kept my eyes peeled for that towel. I knew what a man looked like. I was one. But not whatthisman looked like.
“Wow,” he mused, smiling at me. “This is really something.”
“This is also why I don’t do this. This is what you get for investing yourself in a something-ship with a virgin.” I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I could disappear through the floor.
When he laughed, I could hear the happiness in his tone. It was completely different from laughing at something funny or making fun of me. It was the pure form of joy in his tone, and the sound was for me. Because of me. I had my own wow moment, because this must be what it was like when someone cared about you. The deep melodic sound and the way he looked at me quieted one of the million doubts I had about this twenty-hour-old something-ship we were in.
When he settled down and found me gazing up at him like some love-sick fool, he kissed me. And I melted like an ice cube on the sidewalk. “Thehein question was the law firm courier who delivered some papers from my attorney. I had to sign them, delaying my shower after my workout.”
I blinked at him, still a bit dazed from his near-nakedness and that kiss. “Oh.”
“I’ll bore you with it soon, but I really should get dressed. Or we’re going to be late.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. Now go. I’ll be right here, quietly dying of embarrassment.”
Axel didn’t move. “Thank you,” he whispered, his expression so genuine that I wouldn’t dare make a joke about it.
