Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MILA
I woke up and, with my eyes shut, stretched my body, feeling more than stiff. I became aware of two things at once. I was completely naked, and I wasn’t alone.
I opened my eyes to the dim morning light that poked through the heavy curtains. In a chair next to the bed sat Axel.
He was dressed in a beautiful navy suit and his hair was damp from a shower. He hadn’t shaved, though, and he had a healthy five o’clock shadow that gave him an austere, mysterious vibe.
He had his phone in his hand, but he wasn’t looking at it. Instead, he was sitting and watching me without expression.
I gave him a sleepy smile. “You know it’s creepy to watch people sleep.”
“It’s even creepier to look like you’re not alive when you’re deep asleep.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“What time is it?” I murmured when he pulled back.
“Just after seven.”
“Did you get any sleep?” I blushed as I remembered. It almost felt like a fever dream when I thought of all the things we had done together.
“I got a few hours.” His eyes lingered on my mouth. “How are you?”
I gave him a saucy smile. “Stiff.”
He studied me. “You’re lucky I have a busy day.”
God, he was handsome. I didn’t know that I’d ever seen anyone more attractive in my life. “Will you be home for dinner?”
“What time?”
“Is seven too early?”
“I’ll be here.” He stood up and then leaned down to give me another kiss. “You’re addictive.”
I giggled. “Have a good day.”
And then he was gone.
When I got home from school, Bandit greeted me with abandon. After a proper reunion with him and a promise of a walk, I found Jordan in the kitchen.
He looked over his shoulder at me. “How was school?”
“Good. Wow, it smells great in here. Did you get my text that Axel will be home for dinner?”
He was stirring something on the stove. “Yes, so I decided to do one of his favorites. My famous braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.”
“Can I set the table?” I insisted on helping him set one end of the large table, which we made fancy with a centerpiece, folded linens and polished silverware.
It felt impossible that only last night we had deliciously crossed lines we could never uncross. I felt my whole body tingle. Every time I thought about what we had shared together, my entire body responded.
Maybe the same thing would happen tonight.
Maybe he’d lose control.
My stomach dove in anticipation.
Is he thinking about me too?
While Jordan cleaned up the kitchen, I forced myself to finish my homework at the island, the very island Axel had ravished me on.
“What are you smiling about?” Jordan asked me.
“Nothing,” I lied, not wanting to share why I was so happy. What had happened between Axel and me had felt so special that I wanted to keep it private. I hadn’t even told Tanya or Selena.
After taking Bandit on a long walk, I went upstairs to dress for dinner. I was looking for sexy but demure. I debated a long time in front of my closet before choosing a pair of plaid leggings and an oversized charcoal sweater with matching thick wool socks.
At half past six, I found Jordan cleaning up the kitchen.
“Why don’t you go home? I can plate everything,” I told him.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve got it,” I assured him.
After much prodding, I managed to get Jordan to leave, and then I waited for Axel to come home. By half past seven, I was checking my phone.
The silence of the house was loud.
He was running late, but I knew he would show. After what we’d shared last night, he’d at least send a text.
Two hours later, there was no text, and I was too mortified to send him a reminder.
How could he forget?
I had completely lost my appetite, so I packed all the food in the fridge and moved to the couch with my phone. I didn’t even pretend to not be waiting. I was fully expecting him to either show up or reach out, but he did none of those things.
There was just silence.
I had too much pride to text him. He had obviously forgotten about me. Which was deeply mortifying, considering what we had shared together last night.
I waited until ten, and then Bandit and I climbed into Axel’s bed. I didn’t want to sleep through Axel coming home and leaving without giving me a single word in explanation. Sleeping in his bed was a guarantee that he wouldn’t be able to avoid me.
A part of me just wanted to ask him to his face why he ghosted me.
But the other part of me felt rejected and sad. For some reason, crawling into his bed and clutching his pillow seemed to take the sting out of it all.
I woke up, disoriented, to the sound of Bandit’s low growl. He was standing over me, and the noise coming from his chest was so low and faint only I could hear it.
Instantly, a wave of fear rolled over me.
“What is it, Bandit?” I whispered, looking at the closed bedroom door.
I sat up in the dark room and listened. I thought I heard a bang, but it was so faint I wasn’t sure.
I grabbed my phone.
It was just after 10:30 p.m. I quickly texted the guard.
Me: Is everything okay out there? I thought I heard a noise
His response usually came within seconds, but no texts came back to me.
Bandit’s growl became louder. I put my arm around his neck and became even more scared when I realized that his entire body was trembling with fear.
I whispered in his ear, “Quiet, boy.”
He whimpered softly, but as if he knew what I was asking, he quieted down. I told myself that it was probably Axel coming home, but Bandit had never growled at Axel. He knew all the people who came in and out of the house.
Grabbing my cell, I slid out of bed and crept across the room before pressing my ear against the door.
Bandit moved alongside me, pressing himself against my thigh.
He was still shaking, but he was also alert and listening.
I didn’t hear anything. I looked behind me at the windows that surrounded the room.
Rain lashed against the glass panes with every gust. Maybe the wind had banged something and woken up Bandit.
I inched open the door of Axel’s bedroom. The upper landing and below were completely dark. I crept out into the hallway, my eyes adjusting to the darkness.
A dark shadow came out of my bedroom.
For a split second I thought it was Axel, but Bandit lost his mind and went into an attack stance, barking with a ferocity I hadn’t seen before. The shadow across from me wasn’t Axel. It was someone dressed in black and wearing a balaclava.
I didn’t remember moving. One moment I was standing on the landing, and the next moment I was halfway down the stairs, clinging to the railing as I pounded my way down.
It was only once my bare feet hit the cool tile of the front foyer that I knew I was on solid ground, and then I was running, across the foyer, down the dark hallway, past the kitchen island, past the kitchen table.
Bandit had stopped barking and followed me so closely that I could feel his fur brush against my legs as I ran blindly through the house toward the back door.
I needed to get to the guard.
A horrible, warbled noise of mind numbing fear bubbled out of me as I fumbled in the dark to unlock the patio door.
I could hear his footsteps coming up behind me, and then the sound of him running into one of the barstools.
Beside me, Bandit whimpered in fear.
I heard the man’s mumbled curse, and then an icy blast of cold, wet air sprayed me as I slid the door open. I slipped as I dashed into the pouring rain, but I didn’t feel the pain of running barefoot outside.
I just needed to get to the guardhouse.
“Help me,” I screamed. I slipped in the grass but managed to recover, and I bolted across the backyard to the small corner structure.
Bandit barked wildly beside me.
But the guardhouse was dark and the door was shut.
“Help me,” I screamed, as I fumbled with the door, swinging it open.
One guard dog, barking with a frenzy, pushed past me through the open door and sped into the dark.
I was nearly hyperventilating as I flung myself in and made sure Bandit was beside me before swinging the door shut and locking it. The office was empty. The guard was gone.
And now both of the guard dogs were wildly barking in the dark.
I peered out the windows and strained my eyes, looking for movement, but I saw nothing.
Adrenaline and cold made using my cell almost impossible, but I managed to dial Axel’s number.