“Talk later,” I breathe, almost squirming with desire. I close the gap between us and his mouth descends on mine as he presses my back to the wall, his hands pulling at my thong. I step out of it, reaching between us to unzip his trousers, releasing his cock into my hand, pumping it as he grinds against me. Then I wrap my leg around his hips, opening myself to him. “I missed you,” I gasp, as his cockhead teases my entrance, as I adjust myself so he slides inside me. He groans, his hands cupping my hips, lifting me to him. “So.” He thrusts. “Fucking.” Another thrust. My head goes back. “Much.”
ChapterForty-Three
Axel
This was not how I expected this evening to go. Hoped for it, made a wish on every damn star I saw that it might happen. But not what I expected at all.
After that first frenzied coupling against the wall, I carry Jade to the bed, laying her down on it while I undress, her green eyes never leaving me. Once I’m naked, I slide the high heels from her feet, kissing the arches then working my way up her calves, along her sleek thighs. I want to bury myself in her, want to tell her everything that’s in my heart. Want to make her come, over and over, moaning my name. Want her to never leave me.
I love her.
It doesn’t matter whether or not she loves me. This is something soul deep, something I’ll always carry with me. I thought Jade was a storm, smashing through every barrier I’d built around myself. But storms are followed by rainbows, by gleaming skies. By a world renewed. And that’s how I feel about Jade.
I lower myself to the bed, bracing myself above her, wanting to draw out this moment. She smiles, her golden hair spread across the white sheets, jewels gleaming among the tangled strands as though she’s a mermaid, tossed ashore. Her green eyes darken as I lower myself between her legs, her arms coming around me.
“Axe,” she whispers, her warm breath on my skin, “I need to tell you something.”
“Yes?” I dip my head, kissing her. I just want to fuck her again, but her next words drive everything from my head.
“I love you.”
“What?” I lift my head, pulling back. I feel as though I might explode, emotion swirling through me, too big for one heart to contain. But it’s not just one heart, now. It’s two of us.
I sit up, pulling her to me, a tangle of silken limbs and soft curves in my lap. She looks worried and I realise, like an idiot, that I haven’t responded. At least, not the way I want to. I take her face in my hands, amazement running through me that this beautiful, brilliant woman loves me.
“I love you too,” I say. “So much. And I was a fool to let you go. I’m so sorry, Jade.”
She says nothing, lashes lowered over her green eyes, and I swear I can feel it, how much I hurt her. I can’t bear the thought of it. “I was an ass, at the hospital. And before that, about Myles. I should have trusted you. I just?—”
“I get it,” she says, still not looking at me. “You’ve had your trust broken before.”
“So have you,” I say, feeling even worse. “And yet you still opened your heart to me. Gave me everything you had and more, and I threw it back at you the moment things got tough. I came here tonight, came to see my parents, brought the Black Axe, all for you. I couldn’t have done any of it without you. Not a damn thing. You blew into my life, Jade, and you changed everything. And then I let my fear drive you away, instead of facing up to it. But I’m here now, Jade. I’m here. And I swear, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. Can you ever forgive me?” I wait, my arms around her, an ache in my chest at the thought that I might break us again, because of my own stupidity.
She looks at me, finally, the whole world in her green gaze. “Yes,” she says. “I forgive you. But…”—her eyes darken, like storm clouds gathering—“I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything,” I say. “Just tell me.”
She kisses me, a soft brush of her lips. I taste salt, and realise she’s crying. “Don’t ever leave me again.”
“Never,” I say, my arms tightening around her, fear and relief tumbling through me at the fact she’s here, that I didn’t lose her after all. “I’ll never leave you again. I’ll… I’ll travel with you. We can get a place, and I’ll go back on the circuit, start making boards for people and then?—”
“You don’t have to do that.” She’s half-laughing, half-crying, as she kisses me again. “Not unless you want to. I can come home to you, whenever you want. The island needs you to be there.”
I stare at her for a moment, smoothing my thumb down her satiny shoulder, falling into her green gaze. “Did you just say home?”
She flushes, biting her lip, and it’s all I can do not to throw her down on the bed and have my way with her. Her hand comes to my cheek. “You’re my home, Axel. And wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”
God. I can’t speak for a moment. I hold her close, tears prickling my eyelids. “In the hospital,” I say, my voice catching in my throat. “When I was… When I was unforgivably cruel to you— No, I was,” I continue, as she tries to protest. “You asked me whether we had a world together. I was wrong, when I said we didn’t. You are my world, Jade. My everything.” I take her face in my hands. She’s crying again, and I kiss every tear away, lowering her back onto the pillows.
“I love you so much,” she whispers, her green gaze on mine. “Can we stay in this hotel forever?” She grins, but it’s shaky, and my heart clenches again at how I hurt her, how close I came to losing her forever.
“I love you too,” I say. “And, while this hotel is very nice, maybe we’d be better off getting a place of our own here. Your brother isn’t too far away, is he? And I should probably check in with my family once in a while. We don’t have to stay on the island full-time.” Something I’ll manage once I’m out of here. With Jade at my side, I know I can do it.
“But I want to stay on the island!”
“You really want to live there with me, away from all this?”
“Hmm, let me see. Perfect waves, a gorgeous house, an idyllic island, and you. I think I could make it work.” She giggles.
