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Say me. Say me.
“Give it a few weeks,” he answers, “and I’ll show you.”
“Show me? But I’ve already seen what you and your brothers do, and I liked it. I’ve done stuff before, and I’m ready now.”
He sets his fork down, staring at me.
Seconds feel like forever while a decision rips at his soul.
I can see it in Axel’s eyes. That’s the power of them. You can see straight into his soul. Facets of good and evil glimmer like ice. Like a raw force you need to live, but it can kill you, too.
“Ruby,” he finally speaks, “you liked that part of my world, the beautiful and erotic part, and I’ll share it with you. Witness a full initiation and tell me if you really want it.
“But you need to understand there are parts of my world you haven’t seen yet. The bloody parts.” He’s deadly serious. “You haven’t seen the part of me that can be a beast, a monster if I have to. I gave you trust. I told you secrets; now give me this. Give us time.”
My heart pounds. “Time for what?”
“Time for you to trust that even when I can be a terrifying man, I’ll come back to you. The beast will leave, and it will be me.” He vows, “I’m not your stepfather. I’m not always bad. I may kill others, butyoudon’t have to fear me. I won’t be a trigger for you. Not again.”
This is the most respect a man has ever shown me.
Most give me minutes, maybe an hour or so, before they want something from me. Usually, they want in my pants.
But not Axel.
He says he wants more, and I do, too. I’m learning to trust him more than I have any man.
“Okay,” I sigh. “And by the way; you didn’t trigger me.”
“Yes, I did.”
He does this thing with his eyes. He melts me with honesty.
And I can’t lie to him, or hurt him, so I move on. “And we have time. In two days, I’ll leave for three weeks anyway.”
“The fuck you are!” he suddenly barks.
“The fuck I won’t!” I boldly laugh, surprised. “I put in avacation request with Helen over six months ago. Did you not see it?”
“No. A vacation for what?”
“With my sisters. Scarlett is taking us to The Mercier Hotel in Greece, then Bali, then the Seychelles and?—”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“This is cute.” I wave my fork between us. “You, thinking I listen to you.”
“This is cute.” His finger mocks me. “You, thinking I won’t chase your ass down, and sling you over my shoulder, and bring you back home.”
“Aw, Male Jealousy.” I crinkle my nose. “Such a ridiculous breed. Completely void of logic and known for its blindness.”
“Oh, I cansee,” he seethes. “I can see your cute ass lying next to me in bed every night. You’re not leaving me. It’s not safe.”
I take a raspberry from my plate and place it on the table between us.
“This is your brain cell about to learn that my sister, Scarlett, is a titled MMA fighter, bodyguard, and the head of security for a global hotel chain. You’ll lose any fight with her.” I wink. “And me.”
I set another raspberry beside it.