Chapter 13 Axel #2
“So, I hear a bit of an accent, Axel. Where are you from?” her father asked me, clearly trying to change the subject to lessen his daughter’s embarrassment.
“I’m from Sweden. I moved here a few years ago for a job.”
“Sweden? Oh, my goodness. That’s where Stella’s ancestry is from too—but oh, you probably already talked about that.
Ignore me… Oh, but this is so exciting. What part of Sweden?
Does your family still live there?” I was pretty sure her mother never took a breath during that entire one-sided conversation.
“Jesus, Mom,” Stella mumbled under her breath next to me.
I felt a smile tugging at my mouth, but I tried to hold it back so I didn’t make her mom think I was making fun of her.
“Moira, ease up, or he’s bound to run out of here as fast as he can,” Arthur commented, shaking his head while chuckling.
“Sorry. Sorry.” She held up her hands, waving them frantically as she apologized. “Does your family still live in Sweden?”
“My parents do, yes, but my sister lives in Greece now with her husband.”
“Oh, Greece sounds so lovely, and much warmer than Sweden—and such lovely beaches, I hear.”
I chuckled since that was what ninety percent of the texts my sister sent to me were—beach photos.
“How often do you get to go back home and see them all?” It was a simple question, but this was where things got complicated and what I hadn’t gotten around to talking about with Stella yet.
“I actually haven’t been back since I moved here, but my sister and her husband came to visit me last summer,” I explained, hoping that was enough.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I bet that’s tough.” Her assumption was correct for people who got along with their families. But if you were like me and things were complicated, it really wasn’t as tough as it seemed.
“Would you like to go back home at some point? Not just to visit, but to live there?” Arthur asked, and the way he asked it made it clear he wasn’t asking because he was concerned about my family, but because if I moved back, I might take Stella with me.
“No,” I told him honestly. “I’ve actually had my boss here looking into a work visa extension so that I can try to apply for a green card.”
I felt Stella’s intense gaze on me, and when I turned to her, it was to see her eyes lit with excitement. I gave her a quick wink before turning back to her dad.
“It’s a lengthy process, but hopefully we can get the paperwork done in the next few weeks.”
“We hope so too, especially since you’re family now,” Moira said, causing Stella to jump up from her seat next to me abruptly.
“Who’s ready to eat?” she all but shouted as she turned to me with pleading in her eyes. “Let’s go to the kitchen and eat.”
She was thoroughly embarrassed by her mom’s comments, and while I could admit that her mom was a bit much, it came from a good place. Still, I followed Stella into the kitchen as her dad just chuckled.
We ate a smorgasbord of food—which apparently was tradition—took lots of pictures, and had switched to dessert and playing card games about an hour ago. Some were familiar to me, like UNO, while others I had never even heard of before, but it was still a fun time.
I was rolling up my sleeves to my elbows to get ready for the next round—something Arthur called sudden death—when I noticed Stella’s gaze on me. Not my eyes, but rather my arms. The skin I had just exposed in rolling up my sleeves was the same area Stella was staring at with admiration.
The heat in her eyes was very clear—she liked what she saw—and damn if that didn’t make me return the favor and direct my gaze right back over her body.
But that was a mistake. At some point while playing cards, she had pulled her hair up on top of her head, exposing her beautiful long neck.
That neck flowed down to her delicate shoulders, decolletage, and curvy chest.
Do not get hard in front of her parents. Do not get hard in front of her parents.
I focused really hard for this last round of cards, but I failed. Moira won, but it was still a great time. Arthur yawned—his third in the last five minutes—and Stella took that as our cue to head out.
“You need some sleep, Dad. We’re going to head out.”
We stood and said our goodbyes, including one from Moira who told me I was welcome to come back anytime and even invited me for family dinner next weekend.
Stella said nothing as we walked to my car, but the minute I opened her door for her to get in, she stopped and turned to me. “I’m sorry my mom is so weird and made things awkward at times. She means well. She just gets flustered around people she doesn’t know very well, and—”
“Stella,” I said, cutting her off in the middle of her embarrassed rambling, and then I pulled her in close to me. “Don’t apologize. Your parents were great, and they love you very much. I had fun.”
She visibly relaxed into me, and I couldn’t help myself. Even though I knew her parents—or her mom at least—were likely watching from the window, I kissed her.
I needed to. I’d been wanting to all night, and she was just too fucking cute at this moment to not give in. She tasted amazing, and she felt incredible in my arms. I didn’t want to stop kissing her, but I also didn’t want to give her parents a show they didn’t need to see.
She let out a little whimper as our mouths separated, and I felt that sound all the way to my dick.
My body definitely wanted more than just a kiss from her, and judging by the heat in her eyes and the way her nipples were currently straining against the front of her dress, she likely wanted more than a kiss too.
“Get in the car, Stella, before your mom starts taking pictures of us from the window,” I said against her lips.
She was a little dazed after the kiss, but that rapidly morphed into alarm as her eyes widened and she looked over my shoulder before groaning and getting into the car. I closed her door and walked around to my side and got in, but only after adjusting myself.
My body was ready to rush into the next step between us, but I knew I needed to give her some time with all the shit she had gone through in the past twenty-four hours. This woman was going to make it hard for me. Literally and figuratively.