Page 121 of Axis of Fire

“But yes. In this case… I’d call it liking.”

I frowned immediately, turning his words over in my head.

“So what? You’re saying you’d sleep with me without any real intentions?”

“I’m saying you attract me as a woman.” His eyes met mine again.

“That’s not the same thing.”

I scoffed and pulled my hand free from his grip.

I had no idea why his words hurt so much.

I’d already met enough men who wanted my body but never cared about the rest of me.

And I had no desire to let either be broken again.

“Maybe we could be friends,” I said coldly.

“Or at least good acquaintances.

But definitely not lovers.”

I moved to step around the corner into the backyard, but Airis’s voice stopped me again.

“And why exactly have you decided that?”

He stepped into my path once more.

“Your body responds to me.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s making the right decision,” I shot back, fixing him with a sharp look.

“And why are we even talking about this right now? We have bigger problems.”

With that, I brushed past him and rounded the corner.

But one look at the backyard was enough to stop my heart cold.

Chapter 11

In the right hands, fire burns brighter.

So why aren’t you with them yet?

My eyes kept returning to the words painted across the white wall while my heart struggled to remember how to beat.

The backyard had been completely destroyed.

Tables lay overturned.

Lounge chairs had been smashed to pieces.

Shards of broken bottles glittered across the ground.

Just like the message.

And the pool water—