Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
PIYA
CHRISTMAS
The Women’s Alliance had banded together and orchestrated a successful girls’ day without the babies and husbands. The day was full of shopping, a grumpy Poppy, and ended with dinner and dancing.
The husbands were not happy with the outing. It came as no surprise when the men wanted to get together for Christmas Eve only and celebrate Christmas Day separately with their respective wives.
I almost expected it when Axel flew me out to a remote island on Christmas Day for a belated anniversary celebration. This was his way of having me all to himself.
We were by the rooftop infinity pool of the three-story bungalow we were staying in, gazing out at the blue-green sea in the near distance.
There was a dinghy docked at the adjacent private beach.
That was how the staff entered the island to cook and clean before leaving us alone for the rest of the evening.
“You couldn’t find a more remote island?” I asked dryly.
“Actually, no, I couldn’t.”
I believed him. “Can we at least call our daughter to wish her a Merry Christmas?”
Axel took my phone and placed it on the poolside lounge next to his. “There’s no cell service.”
He wasn’t saying it to keep me away from Poppy.
Shockingly, they had become friendly over the last year.
Poppy and Axel no longer bickered or glared at each other over the casserole dish at the dinner table.
It was a relief. Poppy had finally forgiven Axel for the way he had barreled into our lives, and he treated her like an equal instead of manipulating her.
He had invested his fortune in our daughter’s company, and as a result, Poppy had become the mogul she was always meant to be.
But at times like this, Axel still acted like a tyrant. “You’re really going to restrict me to only your company because I was gone for twenty hours?”
“Fuck yes, I am. I’m not letting you out of my sight until next year.”
My mouth dropped. “All we did was go Black Friday shopping.”
“And stay out for dinner.”
“Shopping makes me hungry.”
“Then why did you go to a club?”
“I was trying to break in the new shoes I bought.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to his lap. I sat facing away from him. “What you did was run away from me again.”
There it was.
This wasn’t about shopping. If anything, Axel wanted me to feel secure in my relationship with Poppy. And as much as he complained about girls’ nights, he had a soft spot for Jordan and was glad when Xander and Jordan started dividing their time between Canada and New York.
This had to do with our past. Axel hated that I went back to Jay, even though it was to be with my dying husband and grief-stricken daughter.
A part of him understood it was something I had to do, but the other part would always be irrationally bitter about it.
I’d be spending the rest of my life soothing away the pain of that rejection.
Axel’s capacity for pain wasn’t diminished by his darker nature, it just transformed how he processed it. His response wasn’t to withdraw or discuss the matter. It was to isolate what belonged to him by creating a world where only he and I existed.
Strong possessive arms wrapped around my waist as Axel rested his face in the crook of my neck. Snaking my arm around his neck, I looked back at his dark eyes and his sharp features.
Twenty-two-year-old Axel was handsome, but forty-year-old Axel looked like a god.
There was something lethal about his edges now, like a powerful tycoon who owned the world.
It was the reason women still gravitated toward him like a magnet.
Two girls in the airport security line were salivating after him so hard I almost smacked them across their smug faces.
Sometimes, I was just as possessive as he was over me.
Suddenly, I was glad it was just the two of us. We’d already lost too much time with the years we spent apart. Now, every moment together felt earned after the long journey we took to be together.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, I felt his erection against my ass and realized his way of cherishing our time together somewhat differed from mine.
“Excuse you. Is this why you insisted that the staff leave right after they finish cooking?”
“No, I just wanted you all to myself.”
Once more, I believed him. It wasn’t just about sex for him, it was about making sure I belonged to no one but him.
With a swift motion, Axel hoisted me up just enough to tug my bikini bottoms halfway down my thighs, along with his swim trunks. When his fingers found their way to explore my bare sex, I moaned softly, my eyes fluttering. “Oh, God.”
Axel hissed when he felt my wetness against his fingers. His cock slid between my thighs as he shifted me into position, ripping another moan out of me.
“Turn your face. I want your lips.”
My body melted against him as I turned toward him. Axel captured my mouth with a hungry desperation, his tongue seeking mine with a possessive urgency that left me breathless.
My head reeled back, almost hitting his, when he forced his cock inside me.
“Fuck,” he groaned in my mouth.
One arm secured me against him while his other hand found its way between my legs, teasing me maddeningly slow, while he drove into me relentlessly.
I moved with him, gasping for air as he filled me, his mouth claiming mine with fierce hunger.
When his fingers discovered that perfect rhythm that made everything inside me tighten, I fought to maintain control, only to lose it entirely as he shifted his hips in a way that left me undone.
I tore my lips from his, gasping for air. A powerful wave crashed through me as he palmed my swollen cunt. I arched my back, my eyes closed, and parted my lips to let out a silent scream.
“Fuck, yeah.” Axel lowered his head and bit the tender flesh of my neck, no doubt leaving a trail of hot red marks. He loved marking me in places only he could see. It was his sign of possessing me wholly and utterly.
Tears formed at the corners of my eyes as he latched onto me. I bit my bottom lip while Axel thrust up again and again to take me any way he saw fit. With strong hands, he adjusted my legs, spreading me wider. He kept ramming into me until he emptied himself deep inside me.
I gazed out into the water, lost in the sensation, lost in him. Axel caressed my breasts and let out a deep, primal sound of pleasure while my head was cradled against the curve of his neck. I wondered if I had blacked out and found myself whimpering softly.
Afterward, I turned my face to brush my lips against his. “Just so you know, I didn’t run away from you.”
“Says the woman who blocked me for hours.”
“I wanted to surprise you with a few things, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if you showed up,” I said innocently. “After all, I mostly shopped for you and our home.” That part was true, other than the items I bought for Poppy and Arya.
His hold around my waist tightened. “Next time, I’ll go with you.”
I laughed. “You want to go shopping? You’ll be bored out of your mind.”
“I’m never bored when I’m with you.”
A slow, shy smile crept onto my face. “I’m never bored when I’m with you, either.”
His eyes glinted when I looked back at him. “You won’t run away from me again?”
I sighed. “That was years ago, Axel. When will you let it go?”
“Any day now.”
I gave him a forlorn look.
“You promised to be a willing prisoner once you came back to me. Running away isn’t very willing.”
“Again, shopping and running away are two different things.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re my willing prisoner until the day you die.” He thought about it for a moment. “And even after you die.”
I laughed. “Fine, you lunatic. I’ll be yours until the day I die and for all the time after.”
Because I belonged to him in life and in death.
And for the seven lifetimes that came after.