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“Again,” he winces, “not an image I want.”
“But you said I remind you of your mom.”
“You do. But in a ball-busting way. Not a dick shriveling one.”
“Aw,” I circle his nipple, “I don’t shrivel your dick?”
“Reach down and find out, Wildfire.”
The hot butterflies are instant. Axel sends a million fluttering through my core. Lying in bed beside him feels too perfect and right. And tempting.
I guess deep down, under our hating game, this was always here. We’re so attracted to each other. It makes me want to reach for Axel and never let him go.
“But not tonight.” He plays with a lock of my hair, confessing, “Yes, I’m hard as hell lying beside you. Hell, I get hard within two blocks of you. And I really want to kiss you, but then I won’t be able to stop. I’ll want to fuck you forever. So, just lie here, feel better, and drive me bat-shit crazy with your questions instead.”
My muscles feel like a melted candle, but I want him more than I’ve ever wanted a man. He’s not only hot, powerful, smart, and scary as shit; Axel can be tender. He’s caring. He’s fiercely protective and loyal … but he’s right. I don’t feel up to it.
But I ask him an intimate question.
“What would it mean if I were your queen?”
He pauses, brushing the back of his inked fingers over my cheek. “It would mean everything to me, Ruby Jones, if you were my queen. But…”
He trails off. All conviction stolen from his eyes.
“But what?”
“But you need to think about it.Weneed to think about it. It would change your life, if not end it, and?—”
“But you said I’m already at risk. That I know too much about you, your brothers, the other queens, and now your mom and?—”
“But it’s my father,” he answers. “He’s your greatest risk.”
I shake my head, confused. “Why?”
“Because I’m his heir. Most men in the Bratva forgo a wife and kids. They’re a liability. Butnotmy father. He saw my mother; she was practically still a child, and he had to have her. He’s that arrogant, powerful, and evil.
“Sire is my oldest brother, but from a young age, he wanted to be a priest, so the role fell to me, the second born. At ten, I was presented to the organization as my father’s heir. I was named the next Pakhan, the future boss. I was supposed to take over when I turned thirty, but my mother saw the bloody writing on the wall: how all of us were at risk. To say nothing of his sadistic abuse, so she got us out.”
My pulse skyrockets, hearing Axel’s story. But I’ve heard of the Bratva. They’re considered part of the most influential and dangerous people controlling the world.
“So, does your father think you’re dead?”
“Fuck, Ruby.” He winces. “This puts you at deadly risk. I didn’t think this through. I just saw you and fell so damn hard for you and?—”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t know what my father truly knows about us—me, my mom, and my brothers. A man helped us stage our deaths in a plane crash, but did my father believe it? I don’t know. But I know him. He’s looking, and he won’t ever stop. And if he finds me andmyqueen, he’ll torture you to kill me.”
“God,” I mutter, “no offense; but your father sounds like a real asshole.”
Axel laughs. He actually laughs. “Yeah, he’s the biggest asshole on the planet. So, I guess it’s inevitable that I’m a big dickhead.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” I whisper, “but I really like your big dickhead.”
He pauses, breathing, “Only you make it this fucking hard.”
“I don’t believe you.” My teeth grab my bottom lip.