Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Good girl.
ANTOINETTE
Why? Why do I have a connection with this man? It almost makes me want to stomp my foot. None of this can be normal. How is it that I know when he’s near? It’s as though he has special powers or something.
“Just pull yourself together. He’s coming and you look obvious.” Cindy peeks around me.
“What’s he doing here?” I hiss as I take in some air.
“I guess he’s back. See this is what they do—”
“What who does?” Charlie walks out of the kitchen. Her hair is pulled up and looks absolutely gorgeous in that not-even-trying way.
“Shh.” Cindy pinches her.
“Jesus, what is wrong with you? Stop it… Oh hey, Axel.” She shakes her head at Cindy.
“You ready?” He ignores them, his eyes completely on me. He is so freakin’ hot. I’ve never seen any man look like him.
Perfection.
He’s better than any guy in a magazine. Truly the only man who comes close is Rhys Granger. But that’s not fair to Granger because Axel has the bad boy thing going on. Danger seems to be a major turn-on for me.
My heart is racing, and I want to jump up, throw my arms around his neck, and tell him I missed him. Which is stupid, considering he could be picking me up to drop me off again.
“Hey, Axel. Nice of you to show up again.” Cindy leans over the counter, her huge breasts nearly spilling out of her tiny shirt.
“Cindy.” But his eyes are on me. They caress me as he reaches out to move a lock of hair off my face. “You got your hair cut.”
“Doug did it.” As his fingers stroke my hair, I almost want to nuzzle into his hand.
“You look beautiful.” His hand falls to my cheek. I inhale his scent. I missed it, missed him. I want to bury myself in his neck and breathe him in. It’s crazy, but his scent calms me.
“Holy. Fuck.” Cindy stares with her mouth open.
“Charlie?” she squeals, making Axel drop his hand and frown at her.
Charlie clears her throat. “You can go, Antoinette. I’ll see you tomorrow at the party.”
She arches a challenging eyebrow at Axel. This has been a huge part of today’s discussion: Eve’s welcome home pool party for Edge and Dolly. But Cindy refuses to go because of Ryder. And I’m not even sure of anything concerning Axel and me or if I’m even going.
“You hungry?” My eyes go back to his and I’m done.
“I just ate.”
He nods. His hair, which I have to fight not to run my fingers through, is windblown and curling at the sides. His very presence takes over the room.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.” I grab my bag from under the counter. It’s new. Eve stopped by the other day saying it was a gift from her and Doug.
“New bag?” His eyes rake over my body as I sling it over my shoulder.
“Eve and Doug gave it to her,” Cindy chimes in before I can even respond. Axel cocks his head at her but says nothing as he reaches for my hand lacing our fingers.
Again, he arches a dark brow at Cindy and looks at Charlie. “That was nice of them.” He grins.
“It was. It really was,” she says, her boobs bouncing as she becomes animated. “So… I mean we”—she points to herself and Charlie—“we will see you both tomorrow at the party.”
Still grinning, Axel shakes his head. “Stand down, Cindy. Big bad Axel’s back. And
Antoinette is all mine.” He laughs as he pulls me toward the door.
“Whatever, Axel. I’m watching you,” she yells at our backs.
I can’t help but laugh. Cindy is fantastic. She’s like a walking Barbie doll trying to tell Axel off.
The night air hits me and it’s way warmer outside than it is in the diner.
“I’m glad you like her,” he says as we stop at his bike and he puts the helmet on me.
“She’s wonderful,” I yell.
He grins, and combined with the incredible sunset behind him, he looks like a movie star.
“Well, choose your friends wisely, baby. There’s a reason why it didn’t work out with her and Ryder.”
He gets on and starts up the engine, waiting for me to climb onto the back. I swing my bag to my back and grab ahold of him. God, there has to be something wrong with me. Merely wrapping my legs around him makes my body tingle. Riding on the back of his bike is like foreplay. It’s as though he’s one with the bike. And when I move with him, we become perfectly in sync. Almost as if we’re dancing together.
Letting go, I rest my head on his back. As I squeeze my legs around him, he reaches down to caress my thigh. I like him way more than I should. He’s going to hurt me if I’m not careful. But knowing that and controlling it are two separate things.