Page 35 of Sweet Hate (If You Dare #1)

HAVEN

I practically skip away from Axel, who’s sitting frozen in his truck. I may not have gotten to slide down the fireman’s pole this morning, but the look on his face right now made up for it. Well, it makes it a tiny bit better.

Revenge is sweet for damn sure.

Besides, I can take care of business so long as my new battery-operated boyfriend gets delivered today. It bloody better had since my trusty vibe decided to die from exhaustion thanks to overuse apparently.

“Mornin’, sunshine. Don’t you look like the cat that got the cream this mornin’” Lucas drawls looking over at me with a smirk.

Oh, the irony. This kitty didn’t get any cream. That’s the damn problem.

I beam over at him, currently crouched on the floor, unraveling some wires.

I look around the room, taking in the current state of affairs. It looks like he’s done a good part of the rewiring already. Axel must have cleaned off a lot of the smoke damage in here too, because at the very least, it’s looking less like a pizza oven.

“Thank you for this, Lucas. You’re doing a great job. I appreciate it.”

“I got you, you know that. Come give me some love, sugar puff.”

“Sugar puff?” I dump my stuff on the counter and walk up to him to give him a hug, my arms circling his neck from behind since he’s still crouched.

“What? It felt right in the moment.” He squeezes one of my arms with his hand just as the back door slams open.

Axel stands in the doorway, his arms crossed. I can’t see his face because the sun casts him in shadows, but his stare burns along the length of my body, the tension radiates from him in waves.

Ooops, something I did?

“Lucas.” His voice comes out low. Rough. Almost menacing. I’m not entirely sure if he’s greeting him or threatening him.

Wait.

All at once, I take stock of the situation. I’m hugging Lucas around the neck, resting my tits on his shoulders in this position, for God’s sake. I didn’t even notice I was essentially motorboating the back of Lucas’s head.

And now Axel is prowling—yes, prowling—toward me, like a lion approaching his prey.

A nerve ticks in his jaw—set so tight I’m worried he’ll crack a tooth—his brows dropping so low, his piercing blue eyes stormy as they stay fixed on my arms around Lucas.

Shit.

Disengage.

I untangle my arms from around Lucas’s neck, but as soon as I do, the entire room tips upside down as Axel unceremoniously tosses me over his broad shoulder and strides out to the front of the bakery, with Lucas collapsing on his ass behind us laughing.

“Hey, what the hell, Axel? I’m not a bloody ragdoll.”

“We need to talk,” he grinds out, his tone menacing .

Why does that make me wetter than the freakin’ ocean?

This can’t be normal. Shit like this doesn’t happen to me.

Axel takes everything to the next level these days.

I don’t hate it.

I grab hold of his back, digging my nails in to find some semblance of balance, but I’m instantly distracted by the feel of his muscles rippling beneath my palms. Holy crap, he’s ripped everywhere.

His hand clutches my thigh, the edge of his finger brushes my clit as he moves. I don’t know if that’s deliberate or just a positioning thing but Jesus—my body doesn’t know whether it wants to upchuck from motion sickness or jump down onto his cock. Ok, it’s the latter, let’s not kid ourselves.

It’s so damn attractive that this man can just pick me up and toss me around however he wants. Not that I’ll admit that to him though. I do have some pride.

But why did I set those rules again? Apparently, now that I’ve agreed to this arrangement, the floodgates have opened—pun absolutely intended. And you try and get them shut without plugging them with something. Preferably something hard, and thick, and veiny, and…s top.

For fuck’s sake. Pull yourself together woman. This is exactly what he wants. He wants you to give in to him.

Suddenly, he pulls me forward, sliding me down the hard length of his body until I’m standing in front of him.

I don’t dare move, staring at the Sweet Haven Fire emblem on his shirt while my black tipped hands clutch the soft worn material tight. If I look up at him, I’m sure my face will give away just how hot I found his little caveman routine just now.

But this is Axel we’re talking about. Of course, he doesn’t let me get away with it as his fingers grip my chin and tilt my face up until our eyes meet. His flash with heat, frustration, determination. Danger .

“You're playing with fire, Hurricane. Don’t you know just how dangerous it is when wind and fire combine?”

Firenado . Unstable. Wild. Unpredictable.

His eyes flash as his hand moves to collar my neck, his thumb still tilting my face up to maintain eye contact. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip while he waits—for what? An answer? I’m trying my damn hardest not to kiss him right now, let alone form a cohesive response.

“Haven, maybe I haven’t made myself clear, so I’ll say it one last time.

You are mine. For as long as we are doing this, you belong to me.

You may have set the rules to keep me tethered, but make no mistake, if I see you so much as lay a finger on Lucas or any other prick, I won’t hesitate to smash these chains and fuck you wherever we are, and if the world wants to watch, fucking let them. ”