Page 10 of Axel

“You can borrow this,” Axel says, reappearing in the bathroom doorway. “As long as you can follow directions.”

I playfully roll my eyes at him. “No promises.”

His gaze slowly drags down my body, as though he wants me to know. My nipples pebble so damn hard they nearly poke through the thick lace of my bra.

“Fuck it.”

I abandon the wet tank in the sink and spin toward Axel. I reach up to his neck, arching my body into his, and drag his mouth down for the kiss I’ve wanted since the first time I laid eyes on him. After a moment of what I can only assume is shock, his still lips move against mine. His warm palms slide across my back and anchor me against him.

The kiss is everything.

It’s explosive. Sensual but passionate. Hungry yet gentle. Urgent and somehow patient.

Our tongues slide together, a tango and a slow dance all in one.

I feel my soul erupt in euphoria, as though there has never been a more perfect moment than this. Kissing Axel feels like…home.

Shit.

It takes every ounce of willpower I have and then a few more to pull back. And even then, I only last long enough to catch my breath before I sink right back into him. I feel my bra slacken, though I don’t remember him undoing it. He slides a hand up the front of the loose lace and cups one of my boobs.

“Fuck me,” he growls.

The wordgladlyis on my lips when a shrill sound fills the air. The high-pitched ring hurts my ears. “What the?—”

“Shit, fire call.” He untangles himself from me and tosses his earlier offered shirt over his shoulder as almost an after-thought. “I’m on call. I have to go.”

If ever I needed a sign that this whole thing was a very bad idea, this is it.

6

AXEL

“Why’s therea blue handprint on your neck?” Marshall McCray asks as we stand beside the fire engine and wait for the official order to head back to the station. We were called out to the assisted living facility because an elderly woman burned her pizza and set off the fire alarm. She blamed the book she’d been reading—one of Kelsey’s books.

A sly smile slides across my lips, and I don’t bother hiding it. “I might have been a little preoccupied before the call.”

“With who? A body painter?”

I reach up to my neck, and sure enough my fingers come away with blue smears. The yellow and green ink mixed together. I wonder if her tank top is still in my sink, or if Kelsey managed to grab it before I rushed her out of my house.

I was more than a little annoyed at the interruption. But after I had a few minutes to get my bearings, I realized that interruption might just be my saving grace. I wanted to give in to Kelsey. Strip her down and sink my cock into her sweet pussy right there on my bathroom counter. Had it not been for Betty Maxwell burning her individual-sized pizza, I’d have given in.

But giving in to her this quickly is not the way I’m going to convince Kelsey to stay. I need to play dirtier.

“I don’t kiss and fucking tell.”

“I’m not some gossip queen,” he says on a laugh.

“Sure you’re not.”

We’re not exactly best buds, but I’ve been spending regular time in his gym since I moved to Daisy Hills. We’ve become friends. I trust him. But I’m not ready to admit to anyone—not even Leeann—that I’m head over heels for a woman I’ve known exactly one day. It sounds like literal insanity. Not the best look for a new small business owner in town.

“I just recognize the look.”

“What look?”

“The lovestruck look. Caden’s been wearing it since the day he met my sister. He denied it for a long fucking time.” He glances at his business partner, chatting with a couple of other volunteer firefighters. I was on the call a few months ago when some maniac set fire to Ruby’s garden. Caden was too. I know exactly what look Marshall is talking about because Caden and Ruby are married now. “Hell, half this town wearsthat look.”

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