Page 331 of Axis of Fire

“And yours when it comes to showing how you feel,” I shot back.

The conversation that had started so honestly suddenly felt one step away from turning into a full-scale war.

“Yes,” Airis said, turning toward me. “I've never been in love. And I never intended to be.”

“What a ridiculous lie.”

My voice rose before I could stop it.

“You told me you've been in relationships before. That means some part of you wanted love. Otherwise, you would've just slept with them.”

“Those relationships were partnerships. Love was never part of the arrangement.”

I snorted.

The truth was, I had no response to that.

I'd spent my entire life believing love was worth chasing.

Airis's perspective was impossible for me to understand.

We fell silent again.

Listening to the rain.

Tonight, the sky sounded as though it were breaking apart from the inside.

“Do you want to go inside?” he asked eventually.

“No.”

More sharply than I'd meant to.

A heavy sigh escaped him.

“Why am I even asking?”

To my surprise, Airis suddenly leaned toward me.

Before I could react, he simply scooped me into his arms.

Realizing what he was doing, I immediately grabbed the wooden railing with both hands.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” I shot him an angry glare. “You don't respect me at all.”

“Actually, I respect you more than you'd like to believe.”

His grip didn't loosen.

“But when you're actively trying to hurt yourself, I'm not going to sit here and watch.”

“And how exactly am I hurting myself?”

He raised a brow.

“You, the woman who treats tropical temperatures as room temperature, are sitting half-dressed outside in the cold rain.”

A pause.