8. Sami
Chapter Eight
SAMI
I follow Axel to the bedroom in a dreamlike state.
Sharing my music with him feels more intimate than anything we’ve done so far. More vulnerable than giving him my body. I just showed him my soul, and the hungry look in his eyes tells me he not only saw it, but wants to consume every part of it.
As soon as he closes the bedroom door, his mouth crashes down on mine.
This isn’t the controlled, patient kissing we’ve shared before. This is desperate, demanding, consuming. His tongue claims my mouth as his hands drop to my waist and his fingers dig into my hips hard enough to leave marks.
His urgency ignites something inside me. All I care about is getting closer, closer, closer. Then I drop to my knees and my hands find his belt buckle.
His eyes go dark, pupils dilating as he watches me work at his jeans. “Baby, you don’t have to do this.”
"I want to." I mean every word. "You've been taking care of me all week. Let me take care of you."
His hands tangle in my hair as I free him from his jeans, his length springing forward. I've never done this before, but the desire to please him, to give him the same overwhelming pleasure he's given me, overrides my inexperience.
"Fuck, Kitten," he groans as I wrap my fingers around him. "You're going to kill me."
I look up at him through my lashes, loving the way his jaw clenches with restraint.
"Tell me what you like. Show me how to make you feel good."
His grip in my hair tightens. "Just like that. Use your tongue first, get me wet."
I follow his guidance, exploring him with tentative licks and kisses. The taste of him is intoxicating, masculine and clean. His breathing grows ragged as I grow bolder, taking more of him into my mouth.
"That's it, baby," he rasps. "Just like that."
The praise sends heat flooding through me. I want to be perfect for him. I want to drive him as crazy as he drives me. I hollow my cheeks and take him deeper, reveling in the way his hips jerk forward involuntarily.
"Christ, your mouth," he pants, one hand braced against the wall behind me. "So fucking good, Sami. You're a natural."
I can feel him getting closer, his control fraying with each movement of my mouth. The power is intoxicating. This strong, commanding man falling apart because of what I'm doing to him.
"I'm close," he warns, tugging gently at my hair. "You should?—"
But I don't pull away. I want to take everything he has to give me.
When he comes with a harsh groan of my name, I swallow every drop, pride surging through me at the shattered look on his face.
He pulls me to my feet immediately, his mouth finding mine in a bruising kiss.
“On the bed.” He murmurs against my lips. “Hands and knees.”
I comply without hesitation, positioning myself as instructed. I feel exposed, vulnerable, but the look in his eyes as he climbs onto the bed behind me makes me feel powerful, too. Like I’m the most desirable creature he’s ever seen.
His hand smooths down my spine. “Do you know what it means that you played for me?”
I shake my head, words failing me again.
“It means you’re mine. Completely mine.” His fingers tangle in my hair, pulling my head back gently. “Your talent, your passion, your body, your future. All mine to protect. Mine to nurture. Mine to pleasure.”
The possession in his voice should frighten me. Instead, it makes me ache with need.
“Yes,” I breathe, pushing back against him.
I feel him position himself at my entrance, the blunt head of his cock pressing against me. “Tell me you’re mine, Sami.”
“I’m yours.” The words come easily now, truthfully. “All yours, Axel.”
He pushes into me in one smooth thrust, filling me completely. I cry out at the sudden fullness, my body stretching to accommodate him.
“Mine,” he growls, beginning to move. Each thrust is harder, deeper than anything we’ve shared before. “You played your music for me because you know it too. Know you belong to me.”
“Yes,” I gasp, dropping to my elbows as the new angle makes him hit something deep inside me that sends sparks shooting up my spine. “Fuck, yes. Just like that.”
His pace increases, one hand gripping my hip while the other stays tangled in my hair.
“I’m going to make all your dreams come true, Sami. Your music, your career, everything. Going to take care of you. Going to make you so fucking happy you never even think about leaving.”
The combination of his words and his body moving inside mine pushes me toward another peak, this one building even higher than the last.
“You’re going to come again,” he tells me, his voice strained with the effort of holding back his own release. “Come around my cock while I fill you up. Show me how completely you surrender to me.”
His words are the final push I need.
I shatter around him, my inner walls clenching and pulsing as pleasure tears through me. I scream his name, beyond caring how loud I am or who might hear.
Axel follows immediately, his rhythm faltering as he drives into me one final time, his release hot and pulsing inside me. The feeling of him coming undone, of being claimed so completely, sends another aftershock of pleasure through my body.
We collapse onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, both of us breathing hard. Axel pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me protectively.
For several minutes, we just lie there, his heartbeat gradually slowing beneath my cheek. I feel different somehow. Changed in a fundamental way I can’t quite articulate.
“You’re never going back to that apartment,” Axel says finally, his voice soft but certain. “This is your home now. With me.”
The strangest part is how right it feels. Like I’ve been searching my whole life for this exact place, this exact man. Like every path I’ve taken, every struggle I’ve endured, was leading me here.
“Okay,” I whisper, and I mean it. I’ve crossed that threshold, and I have no desire to turn back.
His arms tighten around me, and I close my eyes, surrendering completely to the feeling of belonging.
I wake before Axel the next morning. Carefully, I slip out from under his arm, watching him for a moment as he sleeps. An unexpected desire to do something nice for him washes over me. I decide to make him breakfast.
I slide out of bed and pull on one of his t-shirts, the soft fabric falling to mid-thigh. The wooden floors are cool beneath my bare feet as I pad through his house—our house?—toward the kitchen. The thought stops me in my tracks. When did I start thinking of this place as ours?
The kitchen is spotless with gleaming, high-end appliances. I open the massive refrigerator and gather ingredients, moving around the space with growing confidence.
It feels strangely natural, this domesticity.
It’s like I’ve been making breakfast in Axel’s kitchen for years instead of just a week.
I find the pans without having to search, know exactly which drawer holds the spatulas, and remember that he keeps the coffee beans in the freezer for maximum freshness.
The coffee maker hums to life as I crack eggs into a bowl. Then Axel’s voice startles me from my thoughts.
“Something smells amazing.”
I turn to find him leaning against the doorframe, wearing only a pair of low-slung sweatpants.
His chest is bare, the mountain tattoo over his heart drawing my eyes like a magnet.
His hair is mussed from sleep and last night’s activities, and the stubble along his jaw makes him look dangerously appealing.
“I hope you don’t mind.” I gesture to the stove. “I wanted to surprise you.”
He walks across the kitchen and wraps his arms around my waist from behind.
“Of course I don’t mind, Kitten.” He presses a kiss to the side of my neck. “I love waking up to find you in my kitchen.”
“The bacon’s going to burn,” I warn, but make no move to step away.
“Let it.” His hands slide under the hem of my borrowed shirt, finding the bare skin of my stomach. “I’m not hungry for food.”
I laugh and push his hands away playfully. “Behave. I worked hard on this breakfast.”
Surprisingly, he listens, releasing me with one final kiss to my shoulder. “Yes, ma’am.”
I flip the bacon while Axel pours coffee into two mugs, moving around me with easy familiarity. We work together seamlessly, like we’ve been doing this dance for years.
“What’s on your agenda today?” I ask, plating the food.
“Band practice this afternoon.” He takes the plates from my hands and carries them to the kitchen island. “And speaking of plans, do you work next Friday night?”
I mentally check my schedule. “No, I’m off. Why?”
“I want you to meet my family.” He says it casually, like he’s suggesting we try a new restaurant. “Dinner at Dad and Lainey’s. Ruby and Clay will be there, too.”
The bite of toast I just took turns into cardboard in my mouth.
Meeting his family already? The reality of how serious this is becoming crashes over me like a tidal wave.
“Your family?” I manage to swallow. “All of them? Together?”
“They want to meet you.” He reaches for my hand, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. “Lainey’s been bugging me about it for days.”
Of course, they want to meet me. I moved in with Axel after knowing him for barely a week. They probably think I’m a gold digger who saw a rich musician and pounced.
“What have you told them about me?” I can’t meet his eyes, focusing instead on our joined hands.
“That you’re talented, beautiful, and completely mine.” The certainty in his voice makes my stomach flip. “That you’re the woman I’ve been waiting for.”
Anxiety floods through me, making my heart race.
They’ll hate me.
They’ll take one look at me and know I worked at The Summit, serving drinks to men who leered at my cleavage. They’ll judge me for moving in with Axel so quickly. They’ll see right through me to the terrified girl who’s falling way too hard, way too fast.
“I don’t know, Axel.” I pull my hand away, needing space to think. “Isn’t it too soon?”
“For what?” His brow furrows. “For you to meet the people who matter to me?”
Put like that, it sounds reasonable. But nothing about our relationship has been reasonable so far.
“What if they don’t like me?” The fear slips out before I can stop it. “What if they think I’m just using you? Or that I’m not good enough for you?”
“That’s not possible.” He looks genuinely confused by my concern.
“They know about my job, right?” I stare into my coffee cup. “About The Summit?”
“They know you’re working there temporarily until something better comes along.” His voice softens. “No one’s judging you, Sami.”
I want to believe him. Want to believe I could be accepted into his family circle this easily. But my whole life has taught me that nothing comes without strings, without judgment, without expectations.
“Lainey is making her famous pot roast.” Axel’s finger tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. “And Ruby is dying to talk music with you. They already care about you because you matter to me.”
The sincerity in his eyes melts something inside me. This is Axel offering me not just himself, but his whole world. His family. His life. Everything.
“Okay.” I nod slowly, ignoring the voice in my head screaming that this is all too much, too fast. “I’d love to meet your family.”
His smile is like the sunrise breaking over the mountains. He leans forward, pressing his lips to mine in a kiss that tastes like coffee and promises.
“Thank you,” he murmurs against my mouth.
And despite all my fears, despite every warning bell ringing in my head, I’m grateful. Grateful that he wants to include me in every aspect of his life. Grateful that he’s proud enough of what we’re building to share it with the people he loves.