Chapter 14
Sleepless in Texas
My my my...Axel Creed was last seen leaving our new plus-size favorites house early this morning in a huff. What had your boxer briefs in such a twist, Axel baby? Love connection or nah? #Staytuned
Scarlett
Axel made record time grabbing his clothes out of what everybody has dubbed The Fearless house, and now we've made the short drive to my new place.
The butterflies in my stomach won't stop.
What the hell am I supposed to do when I wake up with bad breath?
Axel left before I woke up this morning.
He doesn't have practice tomorrow. What about his bad breath?
I'm spiraling. Yeah, maybe the Wednesday through Sunday sleepovers are not a good idea.
I look over at Axel, intending to tell him to go home, but my eyes get lost in his sexy as sin full grown maleness.
This man has got me contorted in a million different ways.
Axel is staring back at me like he's ready to pounce.
Words won't form. Apparently, I'm a sadist and want him to devour every inch of me. Every flipping inch.
He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
They are still locked with the intensity that only a well-experienced predator can have.
Shivers run up and down my body, but not from being cold.
I'm burning from the inside out. Axel grabs my chin firmly, just the way I like it.
Taking his teeth, he bites my bottom lip.
My moan is loud, and thankfully, no one else is around.
He lets out a guttural growl and kisses me with a fierceness that threatens my sanity.
It's damn near primal. Needing even more access to him, I fight for dominance in the kiss.
Axel is having none of that. I need more but stop fighting for control.
We break apart, and I scream when a loud bang sounds on the driver's side window.
Kill me now. The windows are foggy. What if it's a police officer?
Can the floorboard swallow me up now? Axel rolls down the window, and all we hear is laughter.
Relief courses through me. There are no cops, just boys being boys.
This group is new to me. I'm not sure which one told on themselves by laughing.
So, I don't know who's going to get their ass kicked by Axel, but he leaps out the door.
Getting out of the truck myself, I join the group, and we all start laughing. Axel has someone with red hair in a headlock. That could only be Dallas. Sasha stands next to me, and we can't stop laughing. Poor Dallas. She finally takes pity on him and kicks Axel in the shin.
He lets Dallas go with a yelp, and I'm still laughing.
He cuts his eyes at me. “Oh shit!” I squeal.
I run inside the apartment, and Axel chases me all the way to my bedroom.
Trying to slam the door in his face gets me nowhere.
His quick football bullshit has him faster than me at almost everything.
He can maneuver himself inside without much of a fight.
Pushing me up against the wall, his muscled arms have me caged in.
Axel's caramel eyes are lit full of mischief.
I look up at him and then turn my head to the side quickly.
Even his mischievousness is domineering.
Grabbing my chin for the millionth time tonight, Axel turns it toward him.
“Looks like the big bad wolf has caught his little red riding hood. What will he do with her now?” I gulp loudly, but the fire that started building inside me in the truck ignites with even more fury.
He smiles, taking pleasure in the realization that his behavior is adding fuel to the renewed desire building within my body.
I've never met anyone like him, and his dominant nature is alluring.
He's a man. Full-blooded and virile. “What would she like the big bad wolf to do to her?” He asks.
He spreads my legs with his knee and leaves it there. Creating pressure on my most sensitive spot. It takes all I have in me not to dry hump his leg. My breathy answer is vague but accurate. “What she wants is irrelevant.”
He gives me butterfly kisses up and down my neck.
“I can almost smell your desire, Red. It's calling me to come even closer.” My pulse quickens, and my body has turned into molten lava.
He's supporting all my body weight with ease.
Beyond tired from today's events, but I want him to do all sorts of wicked things to me before we fall asleep.
He puts his index finger to my lips and smiles. “You bring out the caveman in me. I want to fuck you, Scarlett, more than you know. But you're not quite ready for that yet.”
My cheeks have to be so red they look purple right about now. My awkwardness is showing, so of course, I joke. “Well, tell me how you really feel, Axel.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “Don't give me that look again.”
I wasn't giving him a weird look, right? “What look?”
“It was the same look you gave me in the truck. I thought you were about to bolt.”
I laugh. “The thought did cross my mind.”
He gives me a worried look. “Did I come on too strong? There is so much we still need to talk about. What you want, and vice versa.”
I grab his arm. “You don't have to apologize. You did nothing wrong. I'm not scared of you or anything. We are both so tired tonight. Let's talk about that later. And it's just, you'll be here in the morning, and they'll be morning breath.”
He laughs so hard that I think he's close to breaking a blood vessel. He takes my hand and leads me to the bed. “Well, I'll be damned. There is a first time for everything.”
“Yeah, I'm going to need you not to breathe in my direction first thing in the morning. Please and thank you.” I laugh.
Axel grunts, but he's clearly amused. “And what if I do?”
“I'll karate chop you in the face.” Duh.
“I'm not scared of your hillbilly Kung Fu.” He challenges.
“Umm...that's your first mistake,” I reply, slightly offended, because we hillbillies can Kung Fu with the best of them.
“Why?” His mouth crinkling up at the corners.
“Never underestimate a bayou hillbilly.”
“I'll keep that in mind.” He said, clearly amused, but quickly turns serious. “I have a very dominant side, Scarlett. One that I've never fully shown to anyone. It's just who I am. Are you going to be okay with that?”
I don't even have to think about what he just said. “Surprisingly, I'm more than okay with it. In fact, it's what makes me so drawn to you.”
Axel kisses my lips. “Good.” He whispers.
I need an Axel break because his intensity suffocates the oxygen out of the room. “Well, if you'll excuse me, I need a quick shower. The makeup on my face is brutal. You can use Toby's shower. He's at Karen's.”
He pokes his lip out. Cuteness. “You don't want to shower with me? We can look, but we just can't touch. Yet.”
“Nah. I'm good.” How can he turn me on with a single word? Yet.
He chuckles. “That's cold.”
Winking at him, I grab my clothes and run for cover into the bathroom.
He takes his bag and heads off to the other room.
I take longer to wash my hair and blow dry it before leaving my bathroom.
It's just me killing time because the nerves are ferocious tonight.
Long nightgowns are my jam as far as pjs go.
This one is frilly and lacy. It's the nicest one in my drawer, and the other ones are total moo-moos.
Online shopping is in my near future. When I finally pop out of the bathroom, he's not back yet.
Jumping in bed, I pull the covers up to my neck.
What is wrong with me? We literally shared a bed last night.
But we both passed out quickly and right now, I'm wide awake. And my weirdo self wouldn’t know what sexy was if it slapped me in the face.
Maybe if I look sexy when he walks in, he'll go all caveman and ravish me tonight.
Hell yeah, that made me basically gush. What is a sexy laying position?
The one where you have one hand behind your head.
Nah, that turns out to be uncomfortable.
Next. How about the one where you lay across the whole bed on your side?
That's when he decides to make an entrance.
Of course. He smirks but says nothing. I'm not sure words would come out of me if he did.
He's shirtless, and there is a light dusting of chest hair with a happy trail that leads to what can be assumed is paradise.
Done with trying to be in a sexy position, I get back underneath the covers. Where it's safe, he looks at me and laughs. “I promise I won't bite. Much.”
But he does, and there are marks to prove it on my neck. But I don't say that. “Civilized people don't say things like that.”
“When I'm with you, being civilized is the furthest thing from my mind, Wallflower.” His smoldering gaze eats me alive.
“Maybe I should have really bolted, but since we're already lying down, that would be dumb.” Talking just to hear myself talk.
“Smart choice.” He scoots closer to me.
“You know this is another romance trope,” I say as my body scoots toward him.
“Really. Now I'm intrigued. Which one is that?” He bites his bottom lip with a smile.
“The one bed trope. If we pretend that Toby is here, then there is nowhere else for you to sleep.” I prop up on my elbow to watch his reaction because I'm low-key obsessed with him.
He looks charmed. “Pretending is fun. What do I need to do?”
“You have to ask me if I want you to sleep on the floor, and then my reply reassures you that we can sleep in the same bed, and it's okay,” I reply.
He laughs. “Fuck that. I'm going stay wherever you are.”
Axel pulls the covers back so that I can see his chest again. “You need an ego boost, Rabies?”
He pulls me into his arms and tucks my head under his chin.
“Almost always.” Taking my hand, I start rubbing his chest, outlining his muscles with my fingertips.
He's entirely still. His breathing is ragged, and goosebumps appear on his heated flesh.
Axel grabs my hand, stopping me. “Scarlett, if you keep going, I will fuck you.” He lets go of my hand.
I've heard that submissives hold the most power.
It's time to test that theory. My fingers trace his face next, down to his neck, then back to his chest. Axel takes my hand and places it down on his thick cock.
My eyes widen at the sheer feel of it. My who-ha will never be the same after he claims me.
I stroke him in firm, even strokes. “Just like that baby.” His praise makes me bold in a way I've never been before.
The sounds of his labored breathing bounce off the wall in my small room.
He moves his hips to my tempo. Axel kisses my neck, my face, and my lips.
He slaps my ass one good time before flipping me over to where I'm lying on my back.
He crushes his lips to mine and takes my nightgown off in one fell swoop.
“I've waited so long for this Wallflower.” He smiles into my lips.
He slides two fingers inside my wet pussy, making me cry out his name.
“I've got to get your tight little slit prepared for my big cock, Scarlett.” He says my name with such reverence.
“Two long years I watched you, thinking I could never have you.” He kisses my eyelids.
I cry out my release, and Axel positions himself at my entrance.
“Now, you're going to take all of me like a good fucking girl, Wallflower.
And when you're sore tomorrow, and it hurts for you to even walk, I want you to think about this moment I claimed you as mine.”
Axel thrusts inside of me. “Oh fuck.” I scream and grip his arms.
He looks down at me like I'm the best thing since sliced bread and kisses me soundly. “It's been too long, Scarlett, I can't be gentle.”
I place my hand on his cheek, and he leans in on my palm.
“Axel, please.” He sucks on each one of my fingertips before he lets my hand fall back to his shoulder.
He places my legs around him, and he begins to move.
Axel slams into me over and over. This is not a tame claiming.
This is raw and real and everything Axel.
A storm is brewing within my body. With every touch, I'm running closer to the cliff's edge.
I meet him thrust for thrust and scratch the hell out of his back. He loves every slice to his skin.
“Come for me now.” He commands, and I do.
I shatter beneath him as he shudders his release inside of me.
Axel lays down on top of me, putting all of his weight there, both of us not wanting to separate yet.
That was the best experience of my life, hands down.
Never has it felt like that. He falls asleep almost instantly, and I lie awake thinking of all the ways this is a bad idea.
There is no real reason to stop, though, and that's the big problem.
Waking with a jolt, I must have turned off my alarm instead of hitting the snooze button.
Omg! Only twenty minutes before my shift starts at Java Jerry's, and the big boss will be there today.
I hop in and out of the shower. It's a ponytail and make-up-free kind of day.
I do take a minute to admire Axel. He looks so at peace when he sleeps.
Gone is the dominant, intense man, and in its place is a handsome, carefree college left tackle.
But because being poor is stupid, I run out the door before I decide to jump back in bed with him.