Chapter 23
VESSA
Blood and makeup are wiped from my blotchy face, my dress discarded.
In the spare closet, Nell finds an oversized shirt for me to throw on.
Though it falls nearly to my shins, the scent belonging to the male two doors over brings me comfort.
As does a glass of ice water. I don’t realize how parched I am until I’ve gulped down the entire thing in one breath.
Less than an hour later, Cora slips through the doorway. “Would you like to see him?”
I’m on my feet immediately. Nell joins her mate and Qinnu out in the hall. Their faces, grim an hour ago, now convey a sense of relief.
“Axe is expected to make a full recovery in the next few days,” the medic addresses all of us.
“Silver, as you know, is known to be fatal if heavily absorbed into our bloodstream. I removed the bullet that shattered his clavicle, but tiny fragments of it remain. Axe is tough, but this will irritate him over the next seventy-two hours. He’ll need to stay in bed.
I’ll be monitoring him closely to make sure he doesn’t develop a fever. ”
Jabir grimaces. “Seventy-two hours? Good luck with that.”
Qinnu elbows him in the side. “If his mate’s there with him, I doubt he’ll need much convincing.”
The Betas snicker at that remark. Cora, however, doesn’t find it remotely amusing.
“You don’t understand the gravity of the situation. That first bullet was just centimeters below his carotid artery. The risk of vascular damage—” Crestfallen, tears prick her eyes. “It was close. Too close.”
Something in my heart cries out then. The rest of the world blurs into irrelevance. I bolt into the office.
In the far-right corner, Axe is dozing on a leather sofa. The mere sight of his exhaustion has me finally coming to grips with my own, dropping to my knees. My fingers slide over his and those breathtaking sapphire eyes open.
“Hey.” I grin.
He winces, noting the flannel that cuts off right above my kneecaps. “I ruined your dress.”
His skin is far too pale, eyes slightly sunken in. The corners of my mouth droop. “How are you feeling?”
“Like my entire body is boiling on the inside. Damn silver burn.”
On the floor sits a bucket Cora has filled with cool water. I pull out one of the floating rags and ring out the excess. Then, careful to avoid touching the bandages on his neck and shoulder, I adjust the pillow under his head and drape the rag on his forehead.
“There. Hopefully that helps.”
It’s impossible to ignore his wide chest gleaming with sweat. Or the little water droplets from the rag that roll down his throat column. My hands yearn to feel the smooth, muscled plane, but I don’t want to risk inflicting another ounce of pain on the man.
Axe breaks the weighted silence. “Fiancé, huh?”
Shit. He overheard that?
I brush it off with a chuckle. “I don’t know what I was thinking. It just tumbled out of me. Had to give the enforcers something of use.”
“That’s alright. Though I would’ve settled for being your friend.”
My gaze trails upwards to his lips. “You sure that ship hasn't already sailed?”
“I heard what you said. Just before I blacked out.”
A sharp inhale has me recalling the image of his blood pooling like spilled paint, consciousness dwindling. The sheer panic in my heart. “I promise I’ll stay with you. I’m yours. I’m all yours—”
His voice dips. “Did you mean it?”
“Yes,” I breathe. And gods be damned, it’s true.
A pause dangles between us as Axe processes what I’ve just admitted.
“What happened tonight—it doesn’t need to change anything. You’re in shock.”
I flinch like claws have just swiped my chest. “Of course it changes things.”
My throat burns. “You were bleeding out in my hands, Axe. I thought I was losing you . . . You may think that your strength is boundless and that you aren’t so easy to kill, but stubborn as you are, that bullet was centimeters shy of taking your life.”
Axe sits up on his elbows with a grunt.
"Careful," I hiss.
The wet rag flops onto his stomach. There’s blood spatter caked in his wavy hair. I sigh, taking the cloth and, with soft strokes, wiping away what I can. He watches me with intense focus.
“You were so brave, you know that? You took the shot. You defended Solmuk. You brought Cora here. You are the reason I am still breathing right now.”
“I wasn’t ready.”
The knot in his throat bobs. “No one ever is.” He reaches out to stroke my cheek. “Shit, Vessa, you’re shaking like a leaf.”
“B-Because you almost died, you idiot! Because I care about you, and not just because you’re my—”
I bite down on my quivering lip. I’m not so sure I can finish that thought as tears cloud my vision. A dozen emotions are swirling inside of me, swelling like the climax of a symphony. I know there’s only one way to drown the music out.
All at once, I'm cupping his face, impulsively brushing my lips against his own. Axe stills as our mouths softly mold together. Before I can check to ensure his heart still beats, the office phone blares to life, jerking us apart.
Axe curses, stomping over to his desk where he yanks the plug and heaves the device and its cradle across the room. “Sorry,” he mutters under his breath as he returns to my side on the sofa. He's slow to meet my eyes. Crimson heat blooms across my cheeks as I smooth over my baggy clothes and stand.
"I should let you get some rest."
Meeting me at his full height, he deliberately blocks my path. My throat constricts as he moves to close the gap. Predatory eyes steer me backwards, breath catching when the backs of my thighs brush against a slab of wood. Before I can protest, his hands go to lift my hips and set me atop the desk.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have started something I didn’t intend to finish.
Axe places my hand over his tattooed heart. There’s no time to brace for the storm. My senses are bombarded by a crackling force as it collides with my heartline. It’s astonishing, the magnitude of what he feels. An onslaught of relief. Of longing.
"You’re not going anywhere."
He takes hold of my neck and, with a backward tilt, captures my mouth.
The taste of him is wild and sumptuous. Heat wraps around me, coaxing a sweet surrender.
Our lips move together, and as they explore, a slumbering piece of my soul awakens for the first time.
Like sunlight filling a dark, forgotten crevice.
Axe's tongue slips into my mouth, curling and flicking.
I moan softly, breathing in the alluring musk of sweat and mahogany.
He responds with a throaty growl, bringing my fingers to thread behind his neck.
Large hands then pull me against his waist, tugging my mane free of its elastic.
A sigh expels from my lips as he fists the long tresses, deepening the kiss.
I meet his tongue stroke for stroke, fingers clinging desperately to the muscles along his shoulder blades.
I need him closer. Skin to skin, tasting everything I have to offer.
The tenderness with which he caresses is well matched to the fervent need for control.
My back arches when Axe’s lips brush against my neck, melting my muscles and stirring a deep, wanton ache between my legs.
Something new—a ravenous thing that has been hibernating inside of me—purrs for him to pin me down and drive his canines into my skin.
To savagely claim me. An urge I’ve never fully understood until now.
Axe must sense my pleading, for he tightens his hold and starts to kiss his way down my throat.
The whimper he draws from me fans the flames of his own craving.
At the scrape of his teeth, I buck, nudging the swelling hardness in his jeans.
A haughty growl follows, the vibration rippling along my spine.
Gods above . . .
A muffled disturbance down the hall makes him flinch, detaching his lips.
My mind is utterly scrambled. Resting my hands on his sturdy arms, I blink through a splotchy lens, the colors of the room still stitching back together.
Tilting my head back, I find him waiting to lock eyes. “Still think there’s a chance we could be friends, Commander?”
I can’t look away from those lightning hot blue flames. The hottest known to nature. Our lips hover an inch apart, but he pants as if he has every intention of seizing that gap again.
“Considering you told the mayor that I’m an engaged man, I would have to say no. The whole town probably knows by now.”
“I was trying to cover for you!”
A smug grin crosses his face. “We can be friends, Moonshine. All you have to do is get down on one knee and ask.”
Rolling my eyes, I push off the desk. “Never going to happen.”
Clutching my jaw, his thumb pad finds my upper lip. “If you’d rather I be the one to yield, I’ll gladly take a knee. But just know that my mouth will be far too busy to ask questions.”
On that note, he withdraws. My heart stutters as he lets me walk out the door, but I refuse to break my stride. Bleeding Sun’s inner circle still lingers down the hall, patiently waiting for an update.
“How’s he holding up?” Nell asks.
“Still an asshole, if that’s what you were wondering.”
“Atta boy,” Qinnu chuckles.