Page 109 of Axel

Ruby shakes her head before spinning around, running into her bedroom, and slamming the door behind her.

“I take it she didn’t know?” Nick mumbles, “Sorry, man.”

“It’s my fault,” I answer, charging across the living area. Gently, I knock on her locked door. “Ruby, please let me explain.”

“Explain this!” She opens the door and throws my travel duffel in my face. “You know. I’m notalwaysa bitch.” She tilts her head, her smile lethal. “Just kidding. Go fuck yourself, liar.”

With a loudSLAM, I face her door again and drop my bag.

A bedroom door across the living area opens, and Rose pokes her head out. “Who lit Ruby’s fuse?”

I raise my hand.

She laughs. “Good luck with that.” Turning her chin, she tells someone over her shoulder, “Come have coffee and tickets to this show because when my sister blows, it’s like the Fourth of July.”

A brunette emerges from Rose’s bedroom. Together, they aim for coffee and giggle at the deep shit I’m standing in.

“Ruby, it was over four years ago.” I talk to her door. Seems to be a habit. “We were barely married a year, and I didn’t love her.”

Her door swings open again. My passport hits me in the face while she scoffs, “Way to plead your losing case, counselor. You married her but didn’tloveher? Sounds like the second thing on the list of dickhead things to do to a woman. Second only to lying about it.”

“I was going to tell you …today.”

“Coincidence: I was going to tell you to fuck off …today.”

She slams the bedroom door again, and now another across the living room opens.

Cherry emerges, her hair mussed while she claps for me and the DJ follows her, laughing, “Man, you got ninety-nine problems and that bitch isallof them.”

“Call my woman a bitch,” I roar, “and I’ll crack your skull wide open and piss in it!”

“I’m not your woman!” Ruby shouts from behind her door.

“The fuck you aren’t!” I shout right back and could almost laugh at this drama. It’s a goddamn Greek tragedy and a soap opera wrapped into one. But like hell if I’ll let Ruby ever doubt who she belongs to. “Get as mad as you want, Wildfire. Burn my fucking world to ash and I’ll still be here, waiting for you to cool the hell off, because you’re mine.”

“That’show you handle her.” Scarlett emerges from her room. In white silk pajamas and her auburn hair in a twist, she’s elegant. She’s calm.

“Keep fighting for her,” Scarlett advises, padding with bare feet over the white marble, aiming for my audience. “Because god knows, she has a ton of fight in her, too. It takes a real man to love us.”

“Ahem.” Rose clears her throat.

“Or a real woman,” Scarlett corrects herself.

“Ruby,” I snarl, because I am a real man. A man about to really lose my shit for this woman. “Open the door and talk to me, or I’ll kick it down.”

“Kick it down and kiss your balls goodbye!”

“Wrong! Kissing my balls isyourjob.” Fuck it. I know how to bait her every time. “Along with fetching my coffee and cat food.”

“Uh!” Her door swings open again, her eyes wide and furious. “You better hope karmakicksyou in the balls before I do.”

“Trust me.” I loom over her. “Thisismy karma.You’remy karma. Because I fucking love you, and you’re making me look like a goddamn fool in front of our family to fucking have you!”

Her eyes blink, unbelieving. “Did you just say you love me?”

“Yes!” My heart pounds.

“In the middle of a fight?” she scoffs.

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