Page 23 of Wallflower No More

I shake my head. And his hand moves up closer to the apex of my thighs. Then, he withdraws completely. He shrugs when my face turns to his. “That's mean, Axel.”

He gives me a look. “No, what's mean is you're not being completely honest with me. My trust issues have trust issues. I'm fucked up, Wallflower, from things I have never told anyone. So, if this arrangement is going to work, we both have to be truthful with one another. Things in our pasts don't matter, but the here and now does, and I want to know everything.”

“Will you be just as honest with me?” I inquire.

He scoffs. “Have you ever known me to be anything but a blunt asshole?”

That makes me grin. “You got me there.”

He gives me a devilish grin and runs his hand up the seam of my leggings. “No, baby, I've got you here.”

Oh, fuck me, literally.

Chapter 14

Sleepless in Texas

Everything Fearless 24/7

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.