He froze as he entered the kitchen, staring at me. He stayed liked that for more than a minute, and I realized he was likely torn in his emotions of what to do. So, I would assist him in making that decision.
“If my place hadn’t caught fire and Milo hadn’t tried to hurt me, what would you be doing right now?” I asked.
“Stella, your placedidcatch fire, and that assholedidhurt you.” He said it softly, but there was definitely anger behind those words.
“Let me ask again,” I said, taking a step closer to him. “If the situation with Milo and the fire at my bakery hadn’t both happened, what would you be doing right now?”
He paused momentarily, glancing over my entire body, fixated on the areas covered by the cream.
“Licking that off your body and enjoying every swipe of my tongue.” His voice was deep and husky as he put that visual in my head.
“Axel, I’m a grown woman who can go through something traumatic, process what happened, and come out better on the other side. I don’t need you to coddle me. What will help is to feel normal. Be treated normal. I want you to treat me like you would if the attack and the fire hadn’t happened.”
I knew the wheels were turning in his head. I knew this was hard for him, but I also needed him to know I wasn’t going to fall apart.
“Axel, I’m not going to break down. I’m upset about what happened, but it’s over now. I want to move on. In order to do that, I need you to move on with me. Be with me.”
He stared into my eyes as if assessing whether or not I was telling the truth. Then his gaze raked over my body and turned scorching hot. I saw the turmoil in his head as he wrangled with what to do, but he didn’t take long to make that decision. In an instant, he crouched down in front of me, his mouth latched on to my cream-covered nipple, and his hands went behind my thighs, lifting me up and placing me on the kitchen counter. His left arm moved behind my back pulling me close as he licked his way across my chest.
“Mmmm… You have never tasted better,” he growled, causing me to chuckle.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the cream,” I teased and then moaned as he sucked hard.
Yeah, this was a great idea.
“No. It’s all you,älskling.”
That nickname was my undoing. When he called me that, I was putty in his hands.
Within seconds, he had whipped all his clothes off and returned to kissing me, spending extra time on each of my nipples.
“Need to make sure I get all the cream so you aren’t sticky,” he mumbled with a smile on his lips.
His need and hunger were high, but his speed slowed as he leisurely removed my sweatpants and underwear. He carried me over to the sofa in the living room, positioning me in his lap so I was sitting on top of him.
I slowly ground my hips into his, feeling his hard length beneath me. He moved his hands to the sides of my face, cupping me appreciatively.
“I love you, Stella,” he said, and my heart squeezed as a smile formed on my face. “I know it’s early, but I don’t give a fuck. I love you, and I want you to know it.”
I also didn’t care that it was early in the relationship. We’d been through a lot together, and when you knew, you just knew.
“I love you too,älskling,” I told him, using his Swedish term of endearment in reverse.
He kissed me briefly and then pulled his lips back only a sliver. “You’re sexy when you speak Swedish. It turns me on.”
“Everything turns you on,” I joked to him.
“Mmm…with you…yes. Let me show you how turned on you make me.” He kissed me and then used his hands and mouth all over my body to do just that.
An hour later, sated on top of him in bed, I thought about how much my life had changed over the last two months. The best change in my life was the man I was currently snuggled up against.
