“Izzy. My mom was a big Guns N’ Roses fan.” Which was why he’d never understood why she’d spelled his name with an “e” instead of Axl like his namesake Axl Rose. And Izzy’s namesake Izzy Stradlin was actually Jeffrey Dean Isbell which he would think would make more sense to call a girl Isabel, but then again he didn’t understand most things his mom did.
“Oh.” Her head shook slightly. “No. I just…I thought I heard you call her Pita.”
“I did,” he grinned. “Pita’s a nickname.”
“Oh.” A crinkle appeared at the corner of her eyes.
“It stands for pain in the ass.”
Brynn’s eyes widened as she chuckled. “Does she know that’s what it stands for?”
He pulled up his sister’s contact info and lifted his phone to show Brynn the screen. “She takes pride in being a pain in the ass. She’s the one who changed her name in my phone.”
Her smile widened further and for a moment, Axel relaxed and everything in his world felt…right. The fleeting moment of peace was another feeling he wasn’t used to.
Axel couldn’t help but be charmed by Brynn. He’d never had such an easy rapport with someone before. It’d taken him a long time to bond with his MARSOC unit in the Marines. And even when he’d finally trusted them with his life, he’d never trusted them with any personal details about his life. And here he was, opening up to Brynn like she was Dr. Phil.
Another buzz sounded, but this time it wasn’t from his phone.
She took her phone out of her back pocket and her smile fell when she looked at the screen. “Oh crap.”
“What’s wrong?” Axel had always been a person that fixed things for the people he loved but that list had always been very short. When he was younger, it’d been just his mom. Once Izzy was born, it was just Izzy. He’d stopped trying to save his mom from all of the questionable situations she got herself into.
Now, he felt those same instincts with Brynn. Technically, he was supposed to be protecting her, so it wasn’t a bad thing. But it still felt odd that she inspired such strong, base-level impulses in him.
“My standing order is here. I totally forgot.”
“Your standing order?”
“Yeah. I have a standing Saturday night order with Pizza, Pizza for a large, half combo, half pepperoni pizza to be delivered at seven o’clock. Saturday nights are pizza night. But Ryder, that’s my son, he’s not here and I forgot to cancel it.” She shook her head as she rushed past him.
Axel was surprised at how disappointed he was that she was leaving. He didn’t want their time together to be over.
When she reached for the knob, he noticed that she hesitated and took a deep breath before glancing over her shoulder. “If you’re hungry and like pizza, I have plenty…,” her voice trailed off.
He knew the right thing to do would be to decline. This was getting personal. He couldn’t let things get personal.
You saw her naked and she knows you’re hanging to the left, this is already personal, the devil on his shoulder pointed out.
Ignoring the devil, he opened his mouth to decline, but instead he said, “I love pizza.”
Her lips titled up in a huge grin before she licked them. He tried to tell his body that the only invitation she was extending was dinner, but it jumped to its own conclusions. Literally. His dick leapt as it hardened in his pants. He was glad that her hand wasn’t accidentally cupping him now.
“Great! I’ll meet you on the back deck in ten.”
“Sounds good.”
Just before she turned and left, he noticed that her smile grew even larger and the apples of her cheeks flushed. He was glad he wasn’t the only one that was affected.
When the door shut, he looked around and took in the space. It was tight quarters, low ceilings, and if he stood in the doorway, his shoulders practically brushed the sides. He stepped to the window and looked down. He saw Brynn hurrying across the small patch of grass that was the backyard.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and dialed. “I’m here.”
“You have eyes on?” Seth Sloan asked.
“Yes.”
He did have eyes on. Unfortunately he also had a hard on.