Chapter 12 Stella
TWELVE
STELLA
The bath was amazing. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it until I sank shoulder deep into the hot water and relaxed.
I still found it hard to believe a man like Axel took baths, but this tub was indeed ginormous, and the jets massaged me in the best way possible.
Axel had helped me order some clothes on his delivery app, but they wouldn’t be here for another hour, so he gave me a pair of his sweatpants and a T-shirt to wear.
It was super sweet, and they smelled just like him—which I absolutely loved—but I was also drowning in them.
The T-shirt was more like a tunic length—just long enough to cover my butt—and his gray sweatpants were so long I was constantly tripping over them. But that wasn’t my biggest problem.
Underneath my navy dress, I’d worn my favorite bra.
It was both comfy and also super cute. I had wanted to have something nice just in case things had progressed during our date and clothes started to disappear.
The problem was that it was hot pink and was clearly visible through the white T-shirt Axel had given me.
I couldn’t exactly go without either. I was a modest B-cup up top, which wasn’t much, but it certainly was too much to not see through the T-shirt either.
Alas, I decided to keep the bra on and just hoped my new clothes arrived soon—although I would definitely be kidnapping this shirt to take home with me since it smelled like him.
I walked out of his bathroom using one hand to hold on to his pants at my hips to help support the drawstring—which was tightened as much as it could be.
He lived in a loft in a converted warehouse.
Vince used to live here too, apparently, but on a different floor.
Axel’s unit was a two-bedroom, two-bath space—a very open-concept living with the kitchen, dining, and living space all one big great room.
Despite being in an old warehouse, it was very modern on the inside.
He said it had come mostly furnished, and he was lucky the people who had taken care of it had good style, because it was warm and inviting but still contemporary.
I walked out into that huge space to see Axel behind his kitchen island unwrapping two restaurant to-go bags.
His kitchen had deep-blue cabinets with gray countertops and a massive island. Despite the contemporary aesthetic, it was still very warm and cozy because of the dark wood floor and several thick rugs scattered throughout the space.
“Perfect timing,” he said as I walked into the room. “You said Italian was your favorite, so I ordered us four different options to choose from.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest.
He’d ordered Italian.
Because I’d mentioned earlier that it was my favorite.
Every moment I was around this man, I liked him more and more.
“You got Italian?”
He had been riffling through one of his drawers when I first entered, but at my quiet question, his gaze moved to me. I watched him scanning me up and down, pausing on the white T-shirt, where he no doubt saw the hot-pink bra.
There was nothing demure about the way his gaze raked over my body, and for the first time in more than two hours, I remembered that this was supposed to be our date night.
This gaze looked exactly like the one he’d had when he picked me up earlier this evening, the one I had hoped might lead to more kissing after dinner.
“Your clothes should be here soon.” He cleared his throat to likely get rid of the raspy voice he’d just spoken in.
“Thank you for getting food. I kind of forgot we hadn’t eaten yet.”
“Stress and adrenaline will do that to you,” he said as I walked up to the large marble-top island. “I got four different things since I wasn’t sure what dishes you liked the most.”
“All of it,” I joked, because I really wasn’t a picky eater.
“Have a seat, and I’ll put a few things on a plate.”
“I can just eat right out of the container, Axel. No need for fancy plates.”
“Stella, I can’t give you the exact night I had originally planned, but I’m not making you eat out of a takeout container on our first date.”
At that comment, my entire body melted like butter and my ovaries swooned.
Despite it having been a shitty night, Axel was trying to make it special. It was entirely unfair how charming this man was, but at least I was the recipient of his devastating charm.
“Okay.” That was all I could manage to say without accidentally saying something awkward.
“How was your call with the insurance people?” He slid the plate over to me with a glass of water.
“The woman on the phone helped me get the claim started and said they can have an adjuster come out first thing Monday to take a look. I’m bummed they can’t come tomorrow, but it’s Sunday so they probably don’t have many people who work.”
He sat down next to me with his own plate. “I don’t know how American insurance stuff works, but will they be able to help you get it fixed quickly?”
I chuckled, knowing that nothing in this country moved fast when it came to insurance.
“No, but I have some savings in the bank that I can use to cover the cost up front in order to get the bakery back up and running. Hopefully they don’t drag their feet and make me wait months and months to get that reimbursement check. ”
“If you want me to come Monday and put on my super scary face, I can.”
His offer made me laugh. While he had only ever been sweet to me, Axel’s size and general build could definitely be intimidating, so I was sure he could put the fear of God into someone if he really wanted to.
“I’m hopeful it will be fine, but if I need backup, I’ll let you know,” I replied, giving him an appreciative smile.
We spent the rest of the meal pretending it was a normal first date, chatting about curling and other hobbies we enjoyed, including listing off our favorite movies, though I hadn’t heard of most of his since they were Swedish.
In the end, the date started well and ended well, even if the middle was royally shitty.
“Thank you.” I turned to him after we put our plates and silverware in the dishwasher. “Thank you for salvaging our date the best you could.”
“Stella,” he started to say, but I needed to get it all out first, so I kept talking.
“And thank you for knowing the right questions to ask the cops tonight, and letting me stay here, and coming with me tomorrow to meet with Wade’s contractor and then to dinner with my parents.
I’m sorry you had to deal with all this on our first date.
I hate that you had to go through this at all.
But I appreciate it because I don’t think I would have handled it well myself. ”
I considered myself a strong person mentally, but everyone had their breaking point, and having Axel and Luna there with me tonight was the only reason I hadn’t broken down in tears while talking to the cops.
As strong as I may think I was mentally, I was not very strong physically. The fact that Axel was coming with me to my parents’s house tomorrow simply as a bodyguard made me even more aware of that.
I didn’t have training like Axel did, and I sure as hell wasn’t as big, bulky, and muscular.
Sure, I exercised and was fit, but I also sampled my treats every single day—for research purposes, of course.
I also managed forty reps of twenty-pound weights in each arm, but that wasn’t going to win me any fistfights.
Axel gently placed both his hands on the sides of my head to cup it, bringing me out of my deep thoughts.
“Stella, I want you to listen to me. I was made for this job. I am good at keeping people safe. I am good at finding bad people. I am good at compartmentalizing situations so that I can assess what needs to be done and what needs to be looked into.”
The featherlight touch of his thumb as he stroked my cheek caused goosebumps to race across my skin.
“I’d like to think that all the training and skills I learned prepared me for meeting you and helping you. I believe fate brought us together.”
Well, I guess that was one way to look at it.
“You really believe that?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied, as if it were so simple. “I also like you a lot, and I’m excited to see where this goes between us. Even though I’d love nothing more than to rush into this with everything I have to charm you, I also know I need to take it slow because you have a lot going on right now.”
I knew he was trying not to rush things because of what had happened with the fire tonight and the letters from Braden, but part of me wanted him to rush into things with me. “I like that you tell me your feelings and what you are thinking instead of playing coy.”
“I’m not sure if that is an American thing, or if you have just dated some real assholes, but that’s not how I am.
If I like you, I will tell you. If I want something, I will do everything in my power to make it mine.
I like you, and I want you, Stella. I want you to be mine, but we will move at your pace. ”
“What if I want fast pace?”
His only response was to give me that sexy grin of his before he leaned down and kissed me softly. It wasn’t nearly long enough, but I enjoyed it all the same.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said mere inches from my face as I stared up at him. “For now, let’s call it a night. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. I really just wanted to snuggle up next to him and enjoy being in his arms for the rest of the night, but I also didn’t want to be that needy woman.
I could do this.
“Good night, Axel.”
“Good night, Stella.” He kissed my forehead and broke away from me, and I instantly missed his body heat. “Try to get some sleep.”
I nodded and then turned to walk down the small hallway where the guest bathroom and bedroom were located. They were both quite roomy, and I suspected neither of them had ever been used.