Chapter 4 Axel
Axel
Evening is going by way too fast. Remnants of dinner remain on the table—empty plates and a half-eaten loaf of bread—while the fireplace crackles in the background, wrapping around us like a cozy blanket.
I lean back in my chair steepling my fingers under my chin.
As Teagan saunters down the hallway toward me after changing into my hoodie for a gown, a contemplative look fills her eyes.
My heart races the moment I notice the way her gaze lingers on me, as if she’s savoring the moment just like the meal.
The way her hair falls over her shoulder landing perfectly on my shirt she now wears, and how she bites her lip drawing me in, ignites a warmth in my chest that I can’t ignore.
“Teagan,” I begin, my voice low but steady. “Are you okay?”
Suddenly, she realizes that she’s been looking at me a little too long. Those bright blue eyes widen swiftly darting to the flames in the fire. “Yeah?”
As I lean forward, she stops in her tracks, her breath hitches and she redirects her attention to me. “You answered my question with a question.”
With reddening cheeks, she begins, “Being here with you is… unexpected. Like I admitted earlier, I’ve always had a bit of a thing for you, but I never thought we’d end up here, like this. Being here with you now—it feels… different. Real.”
“Teagan, I’m so sorry for treating you like you were my sister every time you came over,” I say, my voice steady but laced with something deeper—something raw.
I force myself to hold her gaze, even though the vulnerability tightening in my chest makes me want to look away. “But I need you to understand…”
I falter, my throat tightening as I search for the right words.
How do I admit what I’ve kept buried for years?
How do I tell her that every smile, every laugh, every moment with her was a battle I barely survived?
“I had to treat you like a sister because…” I pause, raking a hand through my hair, the weight of this confession pressing down on me.
“Because your beauty, your wit, your charm—they had me in a chokehold from the moment we met. You were untouchable, and I—” I exhale sharply.
The words tumble out now, unstoppable. “And when I heard you were coming home…” My voice drops, the vulnerability cracking through.
“I had to know if a suave French man had come in, swept you off your feet, and married you. If I’d waited too long.
If someone else had claimed the one thing I wanted most in this world. ”
My heart pounds. “But when I saw you…” My eyes flick to her hand, bare and ringless, before meeting hers again. “No ring. No one standing by your side. I knew—I knew—I wasn’t going to let someone else take what’s always been mine. What you’ve always been to me.”
Silence fills the room as I wait for her to say something, anything.
“Yours?” Her voice is so low I almost miss it but when the glow from the fire catches the small smile growing on her alluring face, I know I heard her right.
Pushing up and out of my chair, I narrow the gap between us. The world outside seems to fade as I focus on her—those deep blue eyes and that adorable grin.
“Mine.” The air sizzles as she inches closer, our breath mingling. The flicker of desire in her gaze matches my own.
“But do you really know me?” Challenge flashes in her eyes.
“I know your favorite color is purple and that your favorite meal is anything Italian.”
“That’s only surface stuff.” She leans in closer.
“I know every curve of your face and how I’ve dreamt of you every night.
I know you sleep on your left side curled into a ball and that when you’re having nightmares you whimper until someone sleeps so close to you, you actually come out of it.
I know when you get embarrassed you look down and twist your foot.
When you’re excited, there’s a sparkle that lights up your eyes.
If you’re hangry, you try to hide it but your cute grumpy self is unsettled until you’ve gotten at least a bite or two in your system.
When you’re genuinely happy your smile is so big your dimples sho… ”
Tears well up in her eyes and she places her index finger on my lips ceasing me from speaking. “That was you snuggling up behind me all those times?”
I nod.
“I thought it was Finley.”
Removing her fingers, I twine them with mine. “I only laid there long enough for you to come out of your nightmare.”
“And you know all those…” Her breath hiccups. “Those things about me.”
“Teagan, I couldn’t help but worry who would console you in France if you had a night terror.
I couldn’t help but think about how much I wanted you home, here with me.
I made a vow to myself that if you ever came back unhitched, I was going to do everything to make you mine,” I murmur, and I can’t help but lean in, caught in the moment.
“Thank you for caring so much,” she whispers, her voice trembling just enough to make my chest tighten.
She swallows hard, and I catch the way her throat bobs, like she’s trying to steady herself before continuing.
Her eyes dart to mine, searching for something—reassurance, maybe?
Permission? Whatever it is, it holds me in place, rooted to this spot.
“There’s never been a single day when I didn’t want you,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her words hang in the air, and it’s as if she’s reached into my chest and wrapped her hand around my beating heart holding it tenderly.
“Even when I was halfway across the world, living in another country for two years.”
Her hands twist together, fingers fidgeting nervously, and I notice the slight quiver in them.
She pauses, drawing in a shaky breath, her lips parting like she’s hesitant to say the next words.
“Honestly, I thought the distance would help,” she admits, her voice breaking just enough to make my pulse kick up.
“I thought maybe what I was feeling was just a teenage crush, something fleeting. That being away from you—away from this—would make it go away, would change how I felt about you.”
She looks down for a moment, like she’s gathering herself, and then she lifts her gaze back to mine.
The vulnerability there nearly undoes me.
“But it never did,” she admits softly, her voice full of quiet certainty.
“No matter how far I went, no matter how many miles or oceans were between us, you were still there. In every thought, in every quiet moment, in every place I went. It was always you.”
I can’t move. Can’t breathe. All I can do is take in the raw honesty spilling from her, the way her emotions swirl in her eyes, unguarded and exposed. And I know—God, I know—there’s no going back.
My heart pounds as I anticipate doing what I’ve always wanted to do. “Teagan, you’re amazing. I’ve wanted you for so long,” I confess, the words pouring out before I can stop them. “I just... I needed to get my life in order first.”
“Is it in order now?”
“Well, it’s certainly better than when you left.”
Her smile lights up the room, charging with anticipation. “Is that right?”
The space between us gets thinner as I move closer. It’s intoxicating, the way her gaze holds mine, how the air is electric. “Teagan,” I hum, letting the moment stretch, feeling the gravity of what’s happening.
And then, without hesitation, I lean in.
The world around us fades, and all I can think about is the way her mouth parts slightly, giving me the only invitation I need.
Our lips meet, soft and tentative at first, but it ignites into something more—passionate and hungry.
Her breath quickens as I deepen the kiss, my hands framing her face, wanting to draw her even closer.
It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of—my hands cradling her cheeks, the way our mouths move in perfect harmony.
Teagan responds instantly, her fingers threading through my hair, pulling me closer as if she’s been waiting for this moment just as long as I have.
Tilting my head, I allow deeper penetration as our tongues explore each other for the first time.
Her taste is sweet, invigorating, casting a spell over me.
I lose myself in the sensation. Her lips are soft and inviting, and the way she kisses me back sends a streak of white-hot fire through my veins igniting every nerve ending.
Times slows, and I lose myself in the rhythm of us—our breaths mingling.
She pulls away just enough to look into my eyes.
There’s a fire there that mirrors my own.
Without thinking, our lips crash into each other again, more urgently this time, pouring everything I’ve ever felt for her into this moment.
The kiss intensifies, a dance of hunger and longing.
Heat radiates between us. My hands find her waist, fingers curling into the fabric of my hoodie on her sexy body drawing her closer as if we could fuse into one.
I want to hold onto this, to keep her here with me forever.
But just as the sexual tension escalates, I realize if I don’t stop now I won’t be able to and this is technically our first date. With every ounce of my being, I force myself to pull away, both of us breathless. “Wow,” I murmur, my forehead resting against hers.
“Yeah, wow,” she replies, a mixture of exhilaration and confusion dancing in her eyes.
“I didn’t mean to rush things,” I confess, feeling a mix of desire and caution.
“No, it’s okay,” she says. “I just… I wouldn’t have stopped if you hadn’t.”
“It was hard as hell to have self-restraint.” Proud of myself, I let out a long exhale as relief floods me.
We stand in silence for a moment. Finally, she’s the first one to break the quiet. “I’m going to head to bed.”
“See you in the morning.” Perfect, I think, as I watch her trail her finger up and down the wall in the hallway leading to the guest room.
It’s going to be tough as nails being in the room right across from her.
Sleep may evade me all night. Stopping right before she enters her room, she glances my way.
“Good night, handsome.”
“Good night, gorgeous.”
She waves and blows me a kiss before she disappears inside, and damn, I want to follow her in there. I don’t. But I sure want to.
Reveling in knowing she’s here, safe, and wants me as much as I want her has my heart skipping a beat while I make my way to my room. When my hand lands on the knob, I hesitate. Do I check to see if she needs anything?
Pressing my ear against her door, I hear her humming. Nah, she’s fine. I’m not going to disturb her. It’s just good to know that whatever comes next, I know we’ll navigate it together. For now, it feels right to simply be here, together, at the beginning of something incredible.