Chapter Twelve #3
“It’s really fine, Axel, you don’t need to make accommodations for me. I’ve been drinking it black because that’s easier.”
“Well, you’re here now, and I want you to drink it how you enjoy drinking it.
So how about you save me the rest of the day of making it a million different ways to figure it out on my own, and you share your secret?
” My bones practically liquefy, and I sway slightly on my feet.
Axel is . . . sweet. And considerate, and if he’s not careful, a girl could really get used to this kind of treatment.
I’m sure he has ladies falling at his feet on a daily basis.
“Fine. Only because I have a feeling you’d want me to stay out here while you tried to figure it out, and I really want to go back to the room.”
“Deal. Save us both, then.”
“A generous splash of heavy cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if you have it.”
“Coming right up.”
Axel pours coffee into two large mugs, then opens the fridge, taking a second to peer in.
“Looks like we only have whole milk right now, is that okay?”
“That’s fine. Thank you.”
Axel finishes up our coffees, taking his black and picking them up by the handles. I grab both our plates, realizing he plans to come with me back to the bedroom. The thought doesn’t upset me; in fact, not eating alone sounds really great.
Not really remembering the way, I follow him back through the clubhouse living area and down a long hallway until we reach his room. He juggles the coffees with one hand and unlocks the door, allowing me to step through first.
I take a seat at his desk, and Axel balances himself on the edge of the bed, swapping out a coffee for one of the plates. My stomach rumbles again, loud and obnoxious. If I could just crawl into a hole right about now, that would be great.
“When was the last time you ate?” he asks after swallowing a large bite of his cinnamon roll. I think back to yesterday, how busy and hectic it was, and then to Maddox storming into the cabin, telling me to pack.
“Yesterday morning? I think?”
That growl that I heard last night returns, low and deep, Axel’s eyes squinting at me, his look fierce and stony. But just like the other times, I don’t feel threatened. “Is there a reason you didn’t eat all day?”
“I was busy working. Not everyone has the luxury of pausing their day for a meal. So, consider yourself lucky.”
“Well, you’re here now, and you’ll eat when you’re hungry.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snap, harsher than I mean to, surprising both of us. Axel’s face immediately softens, but it’s replaced with something that looks a lot like pride. Was he baiting me?
“I’m not.”
“Sure sounded like it.”
“I just want to see you take care of yourself. You don’t have to go without here, your voice matters here. So, if you’re hungry, speak up.”
“Very hard to do that in a place that’s unfamiliar to me. Another place I’m burdening.”
“Sienna, you couldn’t be a burden if you tried.
” His voice is soft, sweet, and genuine.
But he has no basis to form that opinion, so it’s irrelevant.
Ignoring him, I pick up my coffee, blowing the steam over the top and taking my first sip.
It’s not as good without heavy cream, but it’s so much better than drinking it black like I have been.
I think only sociopaths can drink and actually enjoy the bitter flavor of black coffee.
I side-eye the man sitting next to me as he takes another sip of his.
“Do you actually like your coffee like that?”
“Like what?”
“Plain. Black.”
Axel looks down into his coffee mug, then brings it to his lips, taking a sip. I watch as he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing as the liquid slides down his heavily tattooed throat.
“Yeah? I guess. Always just drank it black.” He glances at my mug, and I don’t know what comes over me, but I pick it up and hold it out for him.
He takes it, his eyes locked on mine as he turns the mug in his hand, placing his lips over the spot where mine just were and tilting it back to take a sip.
After he’s swallowed, the cutest smirk lifts on the right side of his mouth.
“Yours is better.”
“And that’s just with milk. Imagine it with cream,” I reply with a soft smile as I take the drink back from him.
Turning, I set the mug down on the desk and gently rip off a piece of the cinnamon roll.
The cinnamon mixed with the not-too-sweet icing bursts on my tongue, and I couldn’t have held back the moan if I tried.
I can’t remember a time when I ate something that tasted so delicious.
Axel chuckles, the sound almost as good as the warm, gooey cinnamon currently melting me into a puddle.
“How is it? Good, huh?”
“Good doesn’t even begin to cover it. This is life-changing, Axel.” He looks up at me over the rim of his mug, his smile filling his face, eyes wide like he’s genuinely happy. Then he shakes his head before speaking.
“Mrs. Odette is talented, and even though she’s in her seventies, she’s not slowing down.”
“Well, thank God for that.”
We eat in peace, and it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve done in longer than I can truly remember.