Chapter Fifteen
THE AFTERMATH
The silence stretched between them, but Whip barely noticed.
His heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest.
Axel had kissed him.
Not the almost-kiss in the motel.
Not another one of his stupid daydreams somewhere between Fern and Lakeview.
Axel.
Had actually kissed him.
Hard.
Thoroughly.
Like a man who’d wanted it every bit as much as he had.
Jesus.
Axel stood in front of him, looking about as smug as ever. His hair was mussed from Whip’s hands, his breathing still quick, and his lips…
Glistening.
That explained why he was having a hard time looking anywhere else.
Boone’s message still glowed on both of their phones.
Take the night off. Resume at 0700.
The timing would’ve been funny if his brain hadn’t just short-circuited.
Axel cleared his throat.
“So…”
Whip couldn’t help smiling.
“So.”
Neither one of them seemed in much of a hurry to move.
Eventually, Whip glanced toward the kitchen.
“I’m starving.”
A slow grin spread across Axel’s face.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“For food.”
Axel made a sound that had absolutely nothing to do with eating.
Whip rolled his eyes.
“So… breakfast for dinner?”
“That works. You know me.”
“I do.”
That was the thing.
He really did.
Whip headed for the refrigerator while Axel wandered into the kitchen behind him.
He could feel the man there, not touching him, nor saying a word.
Just…there.
Funny.
Nothing about the man had changed.
Everything about them had.
The refrigerator light spilled across shelves he’d stocked a few days ago. He’d bought enough eggs, sausage, bacon, and biscuits to last the week. At the rate Axel ate, they’d be lucky to make it to Friday.
“How many biscuits?”
“As many as you’re making.”
“I’m making six.”
“Eight.”
Whip glanced over, juggling the eggs, sausage, and the biscuits bin.
“Seven.”
“Deal.”
Axel snorted, took the eggs from his hands, and reached for a bowl.
Whip reached for the sausages and laid them on a plate, and then put them into the microwave.
They moved around each other the way they always had, trading places in a kitchen that suddenly felt a whole lot smaller.
Funny.
He’d spent months imagining what kissing Axel might feel like.
He’d never once wondered what came after.
Axel pulled the orange juice from the refrigerator and filled two glasses while Whip reached into the drawer for a spatula. The familiar sounds of his kitchen settled around them, the clink of glasses on the counter, the scratch of a bowl, the quiet hum of the refrigerator.
Funny how quickly routine made everything feel normal again.
Whip turned on the burner and reached for the skillet.
Ten minutes before, Axel had kissed him senseless in the front entry. Now they were making breakfast for dinner like they had a hundred times before.
“You know…” Whip began as he cracked the eggs into the hot skillet. They sizzled immediately, filling the quiet between them.
Axel slid the biscuits into the oven, set the temperature, then moved over to the counter.
“What?”
He crossed his arms and leaned one hip against it.
Damn.
Axel looked sexy in faded low-riding jeans that hugged his thighs. A gray T-shirt stretched across his broad chest and molded to his biceps. Like him, he’d kicked off his shoes and left his jacket and badge by the front door. His gaze drifted upward to the dark hair he’d already managed to mess up.
“Whip?”
“Huh?” Their eyes met.
“The eggs.”
“Shit.”
Whip jerked his attention back to the skillet and flipped them before they turned into hockey pucks.
“So?” Axel asked.
“Hmm?”
Whip knocked the spatula against the edge of the pan, suddenly finding breakfast a whole lot easier to talk to than Axel.
“We should probably talk about that kiss.”
“…Yeah?”
Whip nodded, turned the eggs over one last time, and flipped off the burner.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“I figured.”
He rolled his eyes, shooting Axel a stern look. “We work together.”
“You don’t say…”
His stern look turned into a glare.
“We live together.”
“Really?” Axel’s lips twitched.
Whip pulled the sausage from the microwave.
“Yes, smartass, and we’re partners.”
“That’s not going to change.” Axel smirked.
“That wasn’t really the point.”
“I know.” Axel lifted two plates and placed them on the counter next to the stove.
Whip frowned at the eggs and dumped them onto the plates.
That wasn’t helping. He’d expected resistance. An argument. The smartass comments, though…he probably should’ve seen those coming.
“If this goes sideways…”
“It won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.” Axel sounded far too confident.
“How?”
Axel shrugged one shoulder.
“Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Whip placed the plates on the table and finally looked over.
Axel met his eyes without flinching. There was no grin, no teasing, only a quiet certainty that made this conversation a whole lot harder than he’d expected.
He turned back to the oven and checked the biscuits.
“Boone’s going to figure it out.”
“Probably,” Axel grunted.
“Knox definitely will.”
“He’ll be insufferable,” Axel agreed.
“He already is.”
A corner of Axel’s mouth lifted.
He tried not to smile. It lasted all of two seconds.
Whip carried the plates to the table while Axel grabbed the silverware.
He’d almost convinced himself the worst of the conversation was over.
Almost.
“If this goes bad, everything is on the line.”
Axel set the glasses on the table.
“I know.”
“Our partnership.”
“I know.”
“Our friendship.”
“I know.”
“Our home.”
“I know.”
Whip frowned.
“You’re making this awfully difficult.”
“I know.”
Whip ground his teeth, slid the biscuits out of the oven, tipped them into a bowl, and brought them to the counter.
He set the bowl down before turning back to Axel.
“Are you going to say anything besides—”
He never finished.
Axel crossed to him in three easy strides, cupped the back of his neck and kissed him.
Like he’d been meaning to do it again ever since they’d walked through the front door.
The first kiss had stolen his breath. This one made it impossible to remember why he’d started arguing in the first place.
When Axel stepped back, Whip simply stared at him.
“…Seriously?”
Axel didn’t look the least bit sorry.
“Research.”
Whip briefly closed his eyes before dropping onto his bar stool and reaching for his fork.
Axel slid onto the stool across from him, grabbed a biscuit, and added an alarming amount of butter.
“You’re impossible,” Whip said.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“You interrupted my argument.”
“I know.”
“I hadn’t finished.”
“I know.”
Whip pointed the fork at him.
“You’re not helping.”
Axel’s grin only widened, and he took a bite of the butter-slathered biscuit.
“I think I am,” Axel said around a mouthful.
Whip stabbed a piece of sausage with his fork.
“You keep saying you know this will work.”
“I do.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because it’s us.”
“Oh?”
Axel nodded toward him.
“You’re making a list in your head and telling me about it.”
Whip frowned.
“Am not.”
“You’ve got that look.”
“What look?” he asked, his voice rising.
“The one where you’re trying to solve a problem.”
“I solve problems for a living,” he sniffed dismissively.
“You’re trying to solve this one.”
Whip hated that Axel wasn’t wrong.
He broke off a piece of biscuit and shook his head.
“We’ve spent a year getting this partnership where it is. Boone trusts us. The rest of the team trusts us. If we screw this up—”
“We won’t.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I mean it.”
“You can’t promise that.”
Axel didn’t answer right away. Instead, he buttered another piece of biscuit, taking entirely too much time about it.
Finally, he looked up.
“Can you?”
Whip opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Damn it.
Axel took another bite.
“Didn’t think so.”
Whip pointed his fork at him again.
“You’re taking this awfully lightly.”
“No.” Axel finished the last bite of his biscuit. “I’m just not causing trouble.”
“You’ve always caused trouble.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I usually punch it.”
Whip snorted before he could stop himself.
“There it is,” Axel said.
“What?”
“You smiled.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
Whip took another bite of eggs, buying himself a second to regroup.
“You’re not thinking this through.”
“I have.”
“For how long?”
Axel shrugged. “A while.”
Whip stopped chewing. “A while?”
Another shrug.
“I’ve had some time.”
That caught him off guard. He’d assumed the first kiss had been as impulsive for Axel as it’d felt to him.
Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe Axel had been thinking about this every bit as long as he had.
The first kiss might’ve been impulsive. The second one had felt anything but.
Wait.
How long had Axel been thinking about them?
That couldn’t be right.
Axel had just broken things off with May.
Was this a rebound?
Was he simply the one standing closest when everything else fell apart?
He squinted across at him.
“What?” Axel froze mid-bite.
“You just broke up with May.”
Axel swallowed his bite before he spoke.
“She wasn’t the one.”
Whip stared as his brain processed the words over and over.
So then…was he the one?
He forgot to breathe, but didn’t dare ask the question.
This was still too new. What if it all changed tomorrow and he’d come on all clingy?
“Huh.” He looked back down at his plate. There didn’t seem to be a safe response to that.
Whip pushed the last bite of eggs around his plate.
“You know what scares me?”
Axel looked up.
“No.”
“You.”
That earned him a frown.
“Me?”
“You’re so damn sure.”
“I am.”
“How?”
Axel shrugged.
“I just am.”
Whip let out a slow breath.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is for me.”
Silence settled between them again, broken only by the scrape of forks against plates.
Whip stared down at what was left of his breakfast.
“I’ve spent a year convincing myself that this would never happen.”
He looked up.
Axel didn’t interrupt.
“I finally got to the point where I figured being your partner was enough. Having you in my life was enough. I’d made peace with that.”
Axel held his gaze.
“Then you kissed me.”
“Yeah.”
“And now I don’t know how to go back.”
Another quiet moment passed.
Finally, Axel set his fork down.
“I don’t want you to.”
Whip carried his plate to the sink before Axel could beat him there.
“Leave it.” Axel reached for the second plate.
“I know how dishes work.”
“I wasn’t questioning your qualifications.”
“You question everything.”
“I do.”
Whip snorted and turned on the hot water. The skillet took up most of the sink. He squirted dish soap across the bottom and started scrubbing.
“You’re avoiding the issue.”
“I thought we already solved it.”
“We’ve barely scratched the surface.”
“We’ve scratched enough.”
Whip glanced over his shoulder.
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It does to me.”
“Of course it does.”
He shook his head and went back to the skillet.
Behind him, cupboards opened and closed while Axel put things away. Silverware clinked together. The refrigerator door thumped shut.
The routine hadn’t changed.
He had.
He heard Axel move behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to know where he’d stopped.
Before he could turn around, Axel leaned in and kissed his cheek.
Whip turned on instinct.
Axel was already there, stealing another kiss from his lips.
“Would you quit doing that?”
“No.”
Whip watched him for another second before a smile escaped anyway.
Crap.
He was in trouble.