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He stops walking and stands directly in front of me. He's so tall he completely blocks out the sun so that all I can see is him. His gunmetal eyes are completely loaded when he looks directly into mine and answers, "Everything, Sophie."
My brow furrows, but I can't stop the hitch in my breath or the heat that pulls deep within me at the way he says that one simple word. Everything.
He lifts his hand to cup my face, his thumb stroking gently over my bottom lip. His eyes never leave mine as he elaborates, his voice husky, "I want your mornings, your afternoons, your evenings, your nights, your winters, your summers…" He licks his lips, and I damn near melt on the spot. It's not fair. Men shouldn't have lips as luscious looking as Axe's. "Everything."
I can hardly breathe with the way he's looking at me, and I certainly can't remember all the reasons why I shouldn't get involved with him.
"You're not asking for much, are you?" My voice comes out as a nervous laugh.
His lips quirk up at the corners. "Not much." He smiles down at me, his eyes studying me so intensely. Too intensely.
I look away from him, suddenly feeling awkward and not knowing what to say.
"Just give me one day," he suddenly says, his voice insistent.
My eyes flick back up to him in surprise.
"One day," he repeats. "Give me today to spend with you, and if you never want to see me again after that, I'll respect your wishes."
I cock my eyebrow up at him. "You'll stop stalking me? No more just randomly showing up wherever I'm at? No more barging into my life and acting like you have the right to order me around?"
He frowns, and a muscle in his jaw ticks, but he nods his head. "Yes, if you don't want anything to do with me after today, Sophie, I'll leave you alone."
I take in his dark hair and the light stubble that always seems to line his jaw. There are definitely worse ways to spend my day than in the presence of a gorgeous—if completely overbearing—man.
"Okay," I tell him. "I'm going to hold you to that, though." I narrow my eyes at him. "No loopholes or anything, right?"
He throws his head back and laughs. "Yes, my little ruby. No tricks." He leans down closer to me so that his breath skates across my ear as he whispers, "But by the time I'm done with you, you won't want me to ever let you go. By the end of the day, you'll be mine completely."
My limbs feel shaky, and my heart speeds up at his promise. It's the way he says the words and the smoldering look in his eyes that sends my heart racing more than the words themselves.
I'm trembling inside because I'm afraid that he's right. My heart already clenches at the thought of never seeing him again.
I just know this man is going to break my heart if I let him.
* * *
Axe
Sophie seems to relax after we strike up our deal. We're walking along the sand, and I have her hand firmly clasped in mine. She's not trying to pull it away, and she's actually smiling up at me as we talk.
I ask her what she's majoring in, though I already know, of course. It's still nice to hear it directly from her lips. Plus, I can hear the reasoning of why she went into what she did. Something I couldn't find out on my own.
"I've just always had a way with numbers," she tells me. "I like the certainty of it and how the rules never change. Plus, I'm a total neat freak. I like everything to be organized and in its place. There's something so satisfying about seeing a row or column of numbers add up and balance out."
She shrugs her slim shoulders then, and I have to fight back the urge to drop a kiss on them. "I don't know. I've just always had a knack for mathematics, so accounting just seemed like the perfect major for me. It comes naturally to me, and it should lead to a stable career. I mean, all kinds of people are always needing accountants. I could be a CPA, or I could work for a big firm. The possibilities are endless. It gives me security and flexibility."
I'm pleased at how much thought she's put into this. Sophie's definitely no airhead. She has a well-formulated plan. She's driven and has goals.
And dammit if even that doesn't turn me on. Hell, everything about this woman turns me on. "Would you like something?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow as we come across a food truck.
I don't know about her, but I'm dying for something to drink. Her eyes light up when she sees they serve ice cream. "Oh my God, I would totally love an ice cream. It's been forever since I've had one."
She orders a vanilla ice cream cone. Little does Sophie know I'd get her anything she wanted. I just get a lemonade for myself—something to quench my thirst, though I'm afraid nothing's truly going to quench my hunger except her.
The server hands Sophie her ice cream cone, and she nearly purrs with pleasure when she takes that first long lick.
As for me, I'm suddenly like a steel rod in my swimming trunks.
