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Finally, my screen lit up.
Axel:Oh, you do remember my number.
Really? I shook my head and texted him back.
Me:Can you tone it down?
I watched as the text turned from delivered to read, and a text bubble popped up.
Axel:What will you do for me in return?
I read it twice and frowned before my fingers started moving.
Me:What does that mean?
I stared at the screen, worrying my bottom lip as the dots moved.
Axel:Come over here and find out.
I inwardly huffed. I was not going to go over there. Certainly, he could do the right thing.
Me:Just keep it down. Please.
I waited for his response, but after ten minutes, he hadn’t texted back. Exhaling sharply, I set my phone aside and forced my eyes closed. Twenty minutes later, the bass vibrated so hard I thought I was going to bounce over to the edge of the bed and crash to the floor. If anything, the party only grew louder. There was a steady bump against the wall, like a headboard hitting the wall, mixing with the tempo of the base… thud, thud, thud, and a girl moaning.
Enough was enough. I shoved the blankets aside, grabbed my keycard, and stomped over to the room next door, intent on stopping this before I chickened out.
Rapping on the door, I threw an arm over my chest, realizing I was braless under my yellow, ribbed tank. I also had on flannel pajama pants with an assortment of emojis on them. Maybe I should’ve thought this through.
The door opened, and Jake stood there with a drunken grin, and red splotches fanned his pale, freckled cheeks. “Natalie! You come to join in the fun? Come on in.” He opened the door wide, stepping aside. I saw rapid movement on the bed with naked legs entwined and pink polish on a set of delicate feet. That was all I could see as the wall blocked that side of the room from where I was standing.
I was about to protest and say what I came to say, but Jake pulled me into the room and closed the door. Anxiousness swirled through me, knowing if that were Axel on that bed with someone, I might get physically ill. Scratch that, I knew I would.
However, when I turned and looked across the room, he was sitting on the couch over by the balcony with legs spread wide and a drink in his hand. Alone. His eyes were already on me.
He seemed relaxed with one arm thrown casually over the back of the sofa, and brown eyes dropping to Jake’s hand on my arm. “Get your hand off of her, Jake.” His voice cut through the noise with authority. Jake dropped his hand from my bicep like I was a hot potato. I stared at him briefly, wondering why he would listen like a trained dog. I wondered why Axel had such a problem with me being around his teammates.
“Come here, Hardcore.” Axel dropped his hand off the couch and signaled with his finger, pointing at the empty space of the couch between his open thighs.
Staying frozen in place, I knew I stood out like a sore thumb. I didn’t want to cross through the room and see a couple having sex on the bed while a party continued. In fact, there were other couples mugging down off to the side of Axel. Obviously, no one else in the room cared. But I wasn’t in that same mindset. I shook my head slowly, throwing a cautious glance toward the bed, tightening my arms across my chest, very self-conscious about the party and my state of dress.
He seemed to catch on to my reservations. Shaking his head with a small smile, he rose and snagged a bottle of champagne, then stalked slowly toward me. “You made it.”
We both knew me coming over here willingly was a joke. “You gave me no choice, did you?”
“Didn’t I?” He smiled wider, and his adorable dimples made an appearance. He glanced at Jake, who was still standing by, and waved him off with the flick of his fingers, as if he were one of his lackeys. “Go away, Jake, and if I ever see your hand on her again, I’ll fuck you up and ruin your future NFL career before it even gets started.”
Jake blanched as if Axel could and would do it. “Sorry. I was just being friendly and welcoming.” It was ridiculous how a 350-pound offensive lineman acted like a child who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar around Axel. Was he really that powerful?
I gave him an apologetic smile, and Axel stepped into my line of vision, blocking out the view past him. “Now, what brings you here?”
Drolly, I watched, fighting how my heart raced. “You know why I’m here. It’s three in the morning, and this party is so loud that I can’t sleep.”
“I’m sorry. Do you want me to tuck you in and stay with you until you fall asleep? I think I know how to help you release that tension.”
I knew he did, and he wouldn’t be reading me a bedtime story with a glass of warm milk. “It’s not tension,” I countered, trying to focus on the reason I was here to begin with.
“It’s not? Are you sure?”
