Page 69 of One More Kiss

Bella

Freezing in place,Axel’s words hung in the air between us. A serious look graced his face and I didn’t know if he was being serious or joking with me. “What?” I asked, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“I came to watch you dance and check on you,” he clarified as he took a small step towards me. There was a slight tremble to his normally smooth and steady voice. Was the great Axel Bryant nervous?

Still frozen in place, my heart skipped a beat as his scent invaded my nose. I took a deep breath so I could feel even closer to him. I missed him so much but didn’t know if I would be safe with him. There were too many outside factors that threatened my livelihood and our happiness. I wasn’t in the position to take such a huge risk. “Axel.” His name fell from my lips from memory and I wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms. I missed the feel of them holding me more than I wanted to admit.

“Bella,” he responded as he took another tiny step closer to me. The sound of my name coming from him was almost my undoing. The passion in my soul was awakened and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to turn it back off. “You look so good dancing to my song. Hell, you look good dancing to anything. You were born to dance.”

Taking a deep breath to try and calm my thundering heart, I gazed into his eyes as memories of our past together flooded my mind. I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips as I remembered the first time I saw him. I think I fell for him that night in his club but never wanted to admit it. “What are you doing here?” I questioned as a bead of sweat ran down my face.

Lifting a hand and tucking a strand of hair that escaped my bun behind my ear, Axel leaned in close to me. His mouth almost brushed against my ear. “I’ve missed you.” Those three simple words sent jolt after jolt of electricity racing through my body and I knew that I needed to ground myself before I gave away my true feelings. I couldn’t let on how much this man was affecting me.

“I’ve missed you too,” I admitted before I could stop the words from betraying me and leaving my lips.

“So why are we not together right now?” he asked with a voice dripping with passion as he pulled me even closer to him. I could feel his heart beating against my shoulder as my head instinctually lowered and relaxed on his shoulder. My eyes fell closed as I surrendered to his silent wishes and let him hold me. Everything felt right in this moment and I couldn’t help but want whatever was coming next. The song drifting from the speakers ended with Axel hitting a high note and a slow ballad flowed into the studio. Axel gripped me tighter and we started swaying to the music as I silently started to mouth the lyrics.

“I’m afraid,” I whispered as we slow danced to one of the new songs I had yet to hear.

“I’ll always be there to protect you,” he sang along to the song as he continued to slow dance with me. I wasn’t sure if he was just singing his lyrics or if he was making a promise to me.

“You can’t promise that,” I insisted in a whisper as I shook my head and even more strands of hair came loose from the bun on the top of my head.

Stopping our dance, Axel tilted my chin up so I was looking into his eyes. He studied me as his mouth parted slowly. His intense stare caused a shiver to run down my spine and I regretted my words instantly. It wasn’t fair of me to keep blaming him for other people’s actions. He is not to blame for what his father threatened to do.

“I love you with everything in me,” he informed me as he brought his lips closer to mine. Pausing for a quick fraction of a second, Axel searched my eyes for any sign of hesitation before slamming his lips against mine. Succumbing to his passion filled kiss, I let go of all my fears and doubts. I kissed him back with everything I had. When his tongue sought entrance into my mouth, I obliged. Opening up so his tongue could explore, I felt Axel’s arms tighten around me.

“Sorry to interrupt,” James called out from the doorway of the studio.

Pulling my lips away from Axel, I quickly averted my glance to the security guard as I tried to catch my breath. My hand instantly flew up to my chest to try and calm my pounding heart. “Is everything okay?” I panted out as I tried to will my heart to slow down.

“Miss Ayers just called and asked me to check on you,” he offered with a kind smile. Taking a step into the studio, he quickly surveyed the space before his stare returned to me.

“Oh, I am fine. I just came in to think,” I explained as my hands started to fidget at my side.

“You looked amazing,” James gushed as bright red colored his normally pale cheeks.

“What?” I asked not sure what he was talking about. I was alone in the studio until Axel showed up.

“I was watching you from the security app on my phone,” he explained. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay back here and once you started dancing, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen.”

“My girl is amazing.” Axel’s voice floated from behind me and I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips or the returning flutter in my chest.

“She really is,” James agreed. “If you guys are okay back here, I will leave you to it.”

“Thank you,” I said as I walked towards the wall that housed the studio’s stereo system. Pressing a button on the electronic, the studio was blanketed in an awkward silence as I felt both men’s eyes on me.

“Well, I will let you two get back to what you were doing,” James quickly said as he exited the room. The sound of the door closing behind him echoed in the now quiet studio.

Taking a deep breath as I turned to face Axel, my eyes closed as I tried to stop my heart from beating out of my chest. “I can’t do this. You need to leave,” I said as a tear rolled down my face.

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