"Remember what I told you?" He glances between us, then narrows his gaze on Axel, "Don’t fuck this up."
"Hold on, so now you guys are on speaking terms?"
"A lot has changed," he pulls open the door on the passenger’s side.
I hesitate. A wind blows over me and I shiver.
"Why don’t we get back home and then we can talk?"
I fold my arms around my waist and scowl up at him.
"You’re freezing." His tone softens, "Don’t be stubborn, baby, just let me get us home and then we’ll speak, okay?"
Damn it, why did he have to use that endearment?
I glare up at him and he blows out a breath, "Please, get in the car, Sunshine?"
Maybe it’s the fact that he calls me Sunshine, or the fact that he says please, or that his tone is soft and the look in his eyes sends a frisson of awareness over my skin. Whatever the case, I find myself obeying him. I slide inside the car. He shuts the door, walks around to the driver’s side and gets in. He shuts his door, turns on the car and the warm air from the heater instantly circulates around my ankles. I shiver, this time, because my body is warming up.
"Still cold?" He shrugs out of his jacket and hands it over to me.
I slide my arms into the sleeves and it’s like I am enveloped by him. Goddam it, I’ve missed him. And now that I am seeing him again, I can’t stop my body from leaning toward him. I turn away, glance out the window, as he eases the car onto the road.
"Here’s my phone."
I turn to find him holding it out to me.
"You wanted to call Elsa?" he reminds me.
"Ah, of course." I snatch up his phone and dial Elsa’s number. It rings, then goes to voice mail, of course. "Ah, Elsa, it’s me, Theresa. I am calling you on Axel’s phone because I left my phone back in the cloak room. Yeah, long story." I turn my face away and place my hand over the mouthpiece, "Yeah, he’s back and uh, he’s driving me home. I am fine. don’t worry… Uh, we’ll talk later."
I hang up, then place the phone in the cupholder.
We drive in silence until we reach Xander’s home. He turns into the driveway, comes to a stop. Why am I not surprised that this is what he meant by home? It’s the only home I have ever known. More of a home than my parents place ever was, and that was because he’d been here with me. Somehow, it seems appropriate that it was Xander’s home before ours… Wait, am I already giving in to him? Am I accepting that this is the home I am going to share with him? Am I already forgiving him for hurting me like that?
I shove the car door open and walk up the steps of the house. He follows me, draws abreast then pulls out a key from his pocket and opens the door. Of course, he’d have the key. Ultimately, he’s a Sovrano and the brothers will always have each other’s backs. They had taken me under their protection, but who’s going to protect my heart from being crushed again by him?
I walk ahead of him, and head into the living room. I turn to find him heading for the bar and pouring himself a drink. He turns to me and we gaze at each other across the length of the room.
I kick off my heels, because damn it, my feet ache, then sit down on the sofa.
He walks over and sinks into a chair on the other side of the coffee table.
The silence stretches, broken only by the ticking of the clock in the corner of the room. I glance away, then back at him, to find he’s still watching me closely. Goosebumps pop on my skin. He brings the glass of whisky to his mouth and takes a sip. The tendons of his throat move as he swallows. A flutter of heat ignites in my lower belly. Jesus, this man is sex on a stick. I can’t look at him without wanting to jump him. I knot my fingers tighter, then fix my gaze on a spot over his shoulder.
"Why are you here, Axel?" I burst out. "Why did you come back?"
He places his drink on the coffee table, then leans forward. "I’ve missed you," he says in a low voice. "Every single moment that we’ve been apart has been agonizing. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Sunshine. Couldn’t get you out of my mind. You were my last thought at night and the first in the morning. And in between, I dreamt about your mouth, your skin, the scent of your hair, the little noises you make as you come, the texture of your pussy when I fuck you with my tongue, the way your cunt trembles around my dick when I bury myself inside you. The way you feel like home. The way nothing and nobody else will ever measure up to you. The way I fell for you so quickly, so hard, that I lost all perception of myself. The way I cannot live without you, not for a second more."
His words pour over me, sink into my blood, crawl into every nook and crevice of my body, into my heart, entwining with my soul. Tears prick the backs of my eyes and I squeeze my fingers even more firmly together.
"You hurt me, Axel. You shattered my heart. You left me without looking back once, like I never mattered to you at all."
"Not true." He leans forward, his hands clasped between his thighs, "It ripped my heart out to do that. It fucking killed me to leave you, Sunshine."
"Yet you did. You didn’t even give us a chance to work things out. You simply told the Sovranos to bring me back here and walked away from me."
"I’m so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing by you. I thought it would give you a chance to try to move on and find a life without me."