With a nod, he turns and heads towards an empty spot in the corner.
“When you date, you fuckingdate.” Leslie fans her face and I snicker, getting to work.
A couple minutes later, I approach the table Axel’s at and gently set a steaming mug in front of him.
“Here’s your latte, Darling.”
I start to step away, but Axel’s hand darts out, catching me by the hip. The small contact is enough to send my heart into a stuttering gallop.
“I like you calling me that,” his voice is low, but I feel the rumble roll down my spine.
My stomach tightens. Not with dread but with need.
“Darling?” I whisper.
He nods.
I bite my lip, my blush building before I even ask the question, “I thought you liked when… I called you something else.”
His eyes darken and I know he knows what I’m talking about.
Axel’s fingers dig into the flesh at the top of my ass, pulling me closer. His voice quiet enough so only I can hear. “You can call me Darling in public, but it’s Daddy in the bedroom.”
The color in my cheeks spikes as I drench my panties. “O-okay.”
His grip loosens until his hand is falling away from my body. “Unless you have a soundproofed room in back, I’m gonna need you to take a step back and sit down.”
My cheeks expand with an exhale as I shuffle over to the chair opposite him.
“This looks good,” Axel says, reaching for the mug.
“I went with fully caffeinated this time,” I tell him. “Hope that’s okay.”
He grunts in return, already busy lifting the drink to his lips. The movement pauses when he notices the small heart I formed in the foam covering the sweet liquid.
His lips quirk, “Cute.”
My lips press together.
Axel should look ridiculous holding my dainty pink mug, but no amount of gold leaf could make him look anything less than ruggedly handsome.
His eyes briefly close as he takes a swallow, then he shakes his head as he lowers the cup. “You spoil me.”
Joy fills my chest even as I half collapse against the table. “Says the man who apparently brought me lunch.”
He’s still shaking his head. “These dumb sandwiches have nothing on-” he taps his finger against the handle of the pretty cup, “whatever this is.”
“It’s a white chocolate hazelnut latte,” I tell him. “And any sort of sandwich sounds amazing right now. I forgot to bring a lunch and if you hadn’t come, I probably would’ve eaten nothing but muffins all day.”
Axel takes another mouthful of his latte before he starts pulling the paper-wrapped lunch from the bag.
“I just got two of my usual order,” Axel tells me as he sets a sandwich the length of my forearm down in front of me.
“You sure it’s big enough?”
The look Axel tosses me over my word choice, has me blushing all over again.
Chapter42