Page 32 of Sweet Hate (If You Dare #1)
AXEL
M y pulse thunders in my ears, while my eyes stay fixed to the words on my phone screen.
Am I dreaming? This can’t be real. My hand has a slight tremor as I move it to pinch my thigh. If I’m kidding myself, I’d rather know now.
Nope, it’s definitely real. This is not a drill. Feeling restless, I jump up and pace, still holding my phone.
This is a pretty pertinent piece of information she could have mentioned earlier.
When? You were acting like a total ass. Why would she have told you shit?
Nerves creep in now the initial shock of her message has worn off. My proposal has gone from an easy, temporary, mutually beneficial arrangement to a minefield full of bombs ready to detonate at the slightest wrong move.
Shit. Would I have suggested this knowing she was staying?
My mind flashes through a slideshow of our recent interactions. Her straddling me at the bar, me kissing her in the bakery, her wrapping her arms around my neck when I carried her to and from the truck…
Clawing need hits me like a jackhammer. To be around her, to hold her, to just be with her.
Flopping back on my bed I just stare at the ceiling, the drumming in my ears wilder than Tommy Lee at a Motley Crue show. I suck in a deep breath to try and calm my rioting pulse before I have a heart attack. If that happens before I sink my cock into her again, I’d be wrecked.
And that’s all the answer I need.
Faced with my sudden death, I’d regret not taking that chance with her again.
Sure as shit, I’d figure out a way to make like Patrick Swayze and Ghost her ass, pottery wheel optional.
I want to slam my hand down on the big red button that says do not touch and burn all sense to the ground.
Because it’s her . The woman who makes me feel like myself again, like the version of me I’d long since forgotten. She doesn’t see a trophy, she doesn’t see the lieutenant—she just sees me.
Please hold for the tiny violin I’m about to play.
Fuck it. My whole life’s a game of risk. Why wouldn’t I risk it all for the one person I can’t live without?
She said Grams has given her the bakery. That means she has a permanent base in town, one that’s solely hers. A flash of pride spears my chest that I’m the one helping her with it. Thank fuck I pulled my head out of my ass to do that.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think she’d ever consider moving back. And let’s be honest, any dream involving her gets pretty damn wild.
This is huge. The bakery might be enough to make her feel like she belongs in this town. Steely determination floods my veins.
She’s about to get the best fucking bakery she has ever seen.
There is no way she’ll want to leave me again once she sees what I’m about to do .
Ok wise guy, if she stays then what? You forgotten about the ticking time bomb she threw into the mix? Can you go back to being friends after six weeks? You’ll see her every day. You live above the goddamn bakery.
It’s fine. I’ve got six weeks to figure that shit out.
Future Axel’s problem.
Right now, my focus is on getting my girl her dream bakery and the most earth-shattering orgasms she’s ever had. She’s going to blush at the memory of me claiming her every damn time she walks through the bakery door.
I might not be able to keep her, but I’m gonna make damn sure I ruin her for any other douchebag who comes after.
Like she did me.
My phone chimes with an email alert and sends my attention careening back to the screen.
Shit, I’ve left her on read for at least ten minutes.
Me
I’m so sorry. That took me by surprise.
Haven
No probs. I probably should have led with that huh?
Me
Maybe? Doesn’t change anything though.
Contact name updated
Sprinks
It doesn’t? You sure?
I would totally understand if you didn’t want to do it now. We can just be friends.
Me
No Sprinks. You’re mine for the next six weeks .
Or forever. Who’s counting?
Sprinks
OK.
Me
So…
What are you wearing?
Sprinks
Haha, the same as what you saw me in earlier.
Me
Yes, let’s talk about those tight yoga pants you had on.
Sprinks
Uh, why?
Me
Your ass looked so damn perfect in those things, I was torn between spanking it for teasing me or ripping them off to fuck you right there on the damn counter.
I don’t know whether I should ban you from wearing them or fall to my knees and beg you to wear them again, now that I can strip them off you with my teeth and bury my face in your sweet cunt.
Sprinks
It’s cute you think you can ban me from doing anything.
A laugh bursts out of me at her words. That sassy mouth might just be my favorite thing about her.
Me
That was your takeaway from what I just said?
Sprinks
Oh, I’m so sorry.
Should I have said you’ve got me so horny that I am desperate for you to rip them off me and tongue-fuck me until I scream your name instead?
Fuck. Me.
Her words have my cock rock hard in less than a second, the zipper of my jeans digging in uncomfortably.
As much as I hated London for taking her away from me, I see how she’s changed. I’m watching my girl soar. How can I ever really regret what happened?
I never thought I’d hear—or read—the words tongue-fuck from her. Sprinks might just be a dirty talker. The hum of electricity that’s been present since her return is sparking off, ready to blow. Or maybe I am.
Could she be any more perfect for me ?
Me
Affirmative. *Panting dog GIF*
Sprinks
I want you, I need you, oh baby, oh baby.
Me
Did you just quote 10 things I hate about you to me?
Sprinks
Maaaaaaybe?
I lost count of the number of times we watched that movie together. It was her favorite, and anything she wanted, she’d get. Those nights would always end with her getting screwed before the movie was over.
We’d quote it all the time.
It was a running joke that she had her very own Patrick Verona.
It became a whole ass fucking problem having the surname Verona after she’d left town. I came to hate that constant reminder of her.
Not the time for that bro.
Me
Well, I bet you’ve thought about me naked, huh? *Patrick Verona grin GIF*
Sprinks
That man was just so delicious.
Me
Not quite the answer I was looking for.
Sprinks
I’m only human.
Is it even rational to be jealous of someone who’s not even alive anymore?
Me
I think my girl is looking for a little punishment.
I’m thinking up a new plan.
One where I remove those naughty little yoga pants and spank that round of yours until it blushes as pink as your hair.
Sprinks
Promises, promises, Verona.
Me
It’s Axel to you. And just you wait till tomorrow, Haven Blake.
You poked the bear. Now you’re going to see just how wild this beast can be.