Page 48 of Sweet Hate (If You Dare #1)

HAVEN

G ive me a sign.

I’m standing on the sidewalk outside the bakery, waiting for Axel. For some reason, I can’t unlock it to let myself inside, which is weird, so I'm distracting myself by playing my music game again.

I’ve not done this in ages, and now that’s twice in one day.

“Birds of a feather” by Billie Eilish starts playing through my earphones, and I laugh. The lyrics make me feel a little raw. They feel a little dangerous. Something I’m not ready to explore right now.

Maybe we can talk about it after the six-week period is over.

Future me’s problem. Until then, I need to do my best to stick to the rules.

“Ocean Eyes” plays next. Of course it does, because when I turn, his are right there.

No denying the game works. Most of the time.

“Hurricane,” he flashes me a sexy smirk, looking to make sure no one’s around before leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on my lips. When did that nickname become cute? The warm way he says it now with that cheeky grin has me feeling a lot more fluttery than it did before.

“Axeman.” I flash my own cheeky grin his way. His eyes darken and zero in on my mouth as he quirks a brow at me. A stupidly sexy eyebrow.

He sweeps me up into his arms easily and strides around to the back of the bakery.

“Hey, I can walk, you know?” Even though, cradled against his warm chest, with his leathery scent surrounding me, I’m not entirely sure I want to. But that’s between me, myself, and I.

“It was either this or put you over my knee to spank you for calling me that.”

“Promises, promises.” He laughs at my sass before unlocking the door to his apartment to let us in. “Oh, before I forget—my keys to the bakery didn’t work. Can you take a look for me? Oh wow, this is gorgeous!”

He walks us into his kitchen, which I hadn’t seen yet.

It’s a modern space with butcher block countertops and gleaming white cabinets.

There’s a large circular ornate window that overlooks the bay, making the space feel bright and open.

He sits me on top of the counter before maneuvering his way to stand between my thighs, his hands stroking their way up to grip my hips.

“Thank you. I did it myself. And I don’t need to take a look at the keys, Sprinks. I had the locks changed. I didn’t want to take any risks, just in case the fire compromised anything. Lucas and I have the keys now, but once he’s done, I’ll give you that set.”

“OK, thanks. Could you let me in and show me how it’s all looking later?”

“How about I show you once it’s done, babe? There isn’t all that much to see at this point, but it’ll be more fun for us both to show you then. ”

His hold on my hips tightens, and he’s acting a little weird right now. He almost looks anxious, which is very unlike Axel.

Is it going so badly that he doesn’t want me to see it and stress about the wedding? At this point I’m expecting to be making those cakes at Jett’s, so it wouldn’t bother me.

“Oh, ummm, OK. But if you’re worried about it not being done in time, it’s totally fine. Jett’s kitchen is perfect. I’m not worried.”

A brilliant smile lights up his face, and he picks me up to spin me around before parking my butt back on the counter. Wow, he really was worried.

“That’s great, babe. I’ll let you know once it’s ready. Now gimme some sugar before I make us dinner.”

His lips take mine in an exploratory, languid kiss, his tongue brushing mine in lazy strokes, his hands sliding to the bare skin of my waist, stroking me softly.

It’s over way too soon when he breaks contact and shrugs off his jacket, exposing his rippling back muscles in his tight black T-shirt. Sweet baby Jesus, this man legit looks like he’s been carved out of marble. Now that I’m allowed to look and appreciate it all, I can’t seem to stop.

He busies himself preparing the mince for our meal, while I sit here like a useless little pink gargoyle.

“Can I help?”

“Nope. Oh, shit, I almost forgot.”

He opens the refrigerator and grabs a pink cold cup again before striding over to me and lifting me up one armed from the counter. I shriek and close my arms and legs around his body in surprise. Chuckling, he takes me back into the living room and sits me on his couch.

“Here. It might be a bit late, but I picked up one of those fancy coffees you like, and I saw you reading one of those lady porn books, so I asked the lady in the bookstore what’s new and popular, and she gave me those.

I hope you haven’t read them yet.” He points at the coffee table where a stack of three romance novels sit.

“That top one seems particularly interesting. It’s supposed to be about serial killers who fall in love.

Not sure if you’ll like that, but it was pink. ”

A soft flush tints his cheeks, and the tips of his ears go a little pink. Oh my gosh, he’s blushing. This man not only went on a coffee run but made the effort to pick up some books for me when he’s maybe caught a fleeting glimpse of me reading twice at best?

I jump up off the couch and throw myself around him again.

“Thank you. That is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

I give him another kiss for good measure before sitting back down and excitedly grabbing the books. Alongside the serial killer book, he’s picked up a sports romance with a pink cover and a firefighter romance. I laugh when I see that little gem and he honest to God blushes a little more.

“I hope you like ‘em. TV controls are beside you. Don’t feel like you have to read,” he mumbles before turning back toward the kitchen.

Before I even open the first book, he’s back, this time to drape a fluffy blanket over my legs.

Not just any blanket, though—this one is covered in pink iridescent sequins.

My eyes well with tears at the gesture. There is no way this guy, with his modern manly apartment full of dark wood and tan leather, just had this lying around.

He saw this at my place and went out and bought the same one.

I grab his shirt and tug him down, sinking my head back into the soft leather to give him another kiss, Spider-Man style, as he leans over the back of the couch.

“Thank you, Axel. This is all so amazing.”

“I just want you to feel comfortable here. I’ll be in the kitchen. Holler if you need anything.”

Crap. How am I supposed to not fall in love with this man?

I’m pretty sure I’m halfway there already.