* * *
After showering,I inspected the clothes Axel had laid out for me. I was familiar with clothes worn to visit places like Midnight, but I didn’t usually get the chance to wear them. Lying on the bed were a pair of black trousers. I reached out to touch them, and the material wasn’t denim like I’d assumed, but something softer.
They looked like they were going to be tight though.
The dark purple top he’d paired with it looked sheer. There’d be no hiding my tattoos in that, and I smirked at it. I’d always known Axel had a filthy side to him. If this was what he’d picked out for me, I couldn’t wait to see his clothes.
Axel was waiting in the kitchen when I finally made it downstairs, dressed in the tightest pair of black shorts I’d ever seen. They barely covered his arse cheeks. The bright pink top he wore was as sheer as mine, and he wore chunky black boots that looked eerily similar to the ones I wore with my guard uniform. The ones I’d chosen to wear now.
When he looked up, I noticed he’d added a touch of black eyeliner. The whole ensemble combined with his silver hair and violet eyes cut a striking image. Dressed to impress was a fucking understatement, and I got the distinct feeling that he had a certain someone in mind.
“Who’s all that for?” I asked, gesturing to all of him.
He shrugged but didn’t meet my eyes. “I won’t know till I get there.”
“M-hmm. I call bollocks.”
Axel snorted. “I see your knowledge of swear words has improved.”
“I’m a quick study.” While the language as a whole was something we learnt from birth, mastering cursing and local sayings was something we had to learn for ourselves. Axel, of course, was a pro at both. “You look good. I hope he appreciates it.”
He didn’t bother to correct me, so I figured my guess of who this was all for wasn’t far off the mark. Whether Axel was ready to admit it or not. “Although can you imagine if you walked into the high court dressed like that?” The thought of it was enough to bring a smile to my face, and Axel burst out laughing.
“I’m almost tempted to do it, just to see their faces.” He reached for something behind him and then brandished the phone again.
I sighed as he pressed it against my belly.
“Just take it, please. I assume you know how to use one?”
This time I was the one to roll my eyes. “Of course.” Relenting, I took it off him.
“You need to set it up to recognise your face.” He watched me expectantly and I realised he wanted me to do it right that second.
“Chlah Ferath,” I muttered under my breath, the fae curse slipping out, and it wasn’t until I caught Axel’s raised eyebrows that I realised I’d slipped into fae. “Fuck’s sake,” I said louder. “Better?”
He grinned. “Just sort your phone out so we can go.”
* * *
Ridingon the back of Axel’s motorbike, wearing little more than a thin layer of protection, was… an experience. I could only imagine how it was for Axel wearing next to nothing. The late summer evening was warm enough, but not when racing along the road at speeds I was sure weren’t legal. I shivered when he parked in the club car park and turned the engine off.
He glanced back over his shoulder as he took off his helmet. “Cold?”
“Aren’t you?”
He shrugged and nodded in the direction of the club’s entrance. “We’ll soon warm up when we get inside.” His smile turned sly. “Or find someone to do it for us. Midnight has been closed long enough for everyone in there to be… eager.”
As I set my helmet on the back of his bike, a car pulled up alongside us, and though it was very subtle, I noticed Axel tense.
He turned his back to whoever had just arrived and set about fixing his hair. I, on the other hand, was way too curious to see who’d got my cousin unsettled. Because I knew Axel, and the way he was acting now? This wasn’t normal for him.
I wasn’t all that surprised to find an SUV parked beside us. One I recognised from when Gabriel gave us a lift to the police station. I was even less surprised when Talis got out of the back passenger side.
Axel might’ve thought he was being subtle regarding Rys Calder’s beta, and maybe he was where the others were concerned, but not me. The investigator in me wanted to dig deeper, get the real story about what happened between them, what wasstillhappening, but as his family I had to respect his decision. If he wanted to tell me, he would. I couldn’t force him.
But I could watch and draw my own conclusions.
The second Talis saw him, his whole body relaxed. His gaze raked over Axel from his silver hair to his black biker boots, lingering on his arse. With his lips curving up at the edges, his expression softened for the briefest of moments. And then, like the flick of a switch, his face smoothed out, all traces of interest gone.
