Page 6 of Axel

From under the collar of her lilac dress, I could see the price tag. Making me suspect she couldn’t afford it and would return it?

But it was the way she proudly asserted her qualifications for the job. How she crossed her bare legs as I clocked a rivulet of blood drying on her scraped kneecap. Did she trip and fall in her high heels on the way to our interview? If so, it didn’t stop her.

No, she saw me note it, but she lifted her chin, looked me dead in the eye … and kept proclaiming her worth.

Damn, my heart started pounding as I licked my lips in recognition.

Ruby spoke like a queen.

Likemyqueen.

I couldn’t believe my luck that she had stumbled into my life.

That was months ago, and I can’t go a day without chasing her.

Why?

Maybe it’s love, but it’s one-sided. The woman loves to hate me. Honestly, I give her a shit-ton of reasons to.

It’s my plan. One day, her mad-at-me will ignite into madly in love with me. It’s the only way to catch a fiery woman like her.

So, yeah, it’s a chase. I lift my hood in case, for the first time, she spots me…

But as usual, she’s oblivious.

Ruby runs with earbuds in, her long auburn hair swishing behind her. Her curves tempt in those mint, high-waisted leggings and matching sports bra, making my cock swell as she darts past me.

Like a gazelle, she’s fast, navigating treacherous broken pavement, her luscious ass my target to follow.

I give her thirty seconds, and I do.

One day, I’ll let myself catch her, licking the sweat off her flesh, pinning her against a brick wall and…

Stop, you horny fuck. Running with a hard-on is hell.

We follow our routine—the same pace and route as locals walk their dogs, waving good morning, and she waves back. But I don’t.

I can’t draw attention. I always hide and never work alone, but for her?

Imagine my horror when I met Ruby and realized …I’m just like my father, a predator obsessed with a woman. I had to have her. I started stalking her. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but … fuck it.

She’s not my first woman, but she’s the only one who’s ever made me feel so base, so beastial. When I’m near her, instincts overwhelm me. To chase. To capture. To claim.

To love.

And the best part?

As I lurk down the block, hiding in a narrow alley,watching her. As she finishes her three-mile route. As she slows into a cool-down, nearing The Mercier Hotel. As the bellhop waves to her, admiring her ass—I’ll murder him for looking at my queen.

The best part is…

Ruby has no idea I’m stalking her.

CHAPTER TWO

RUBY

“Hey, Bruce!”I wave to the hot bellhop. “It’s a beautiful morning.”

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