Page 9 of Sweet Hate (If You Dare #1)

HAVEN

I t takes me a second to register Axel's words. The way he’s stroking my face, looking at me with warm concern in his normally icy blue eyes, has totally made my brain fart.

“What? But you said?—”

“Fuck what I said, Sprinks. Let me do this for you. I’m about to start a one on, four off rotation at the firehouse.”

Sprinks. His resurrection of that nickname cuts me deep. It holds way more power then it should.

“But—”

He silences me with a finger against my lips before pulling away from me and crossing his arms.

Goddammit, I really need to ignore the flexing muscles.

“But nothing, Haven. You need a contractor. It just so happens I can do the job. Plus, I live upstairs. I have just as much of a personal stake in this getting done quickly and safely as you do. Nothing else has changed,” he snaps sharply.

This man is giving me emotional whiplash with his moods. How does he go from holding my face and wiping away my tears to this cold hard asshole?

And what the hell is wrong with me? Why do I keep letting him touch me, and drawing me into his orbit?

I was literally about to let him finger me in front of that pisshead.

I wanted him to. I didn’t give a shit if he looked up and saw Axel with his hand down my pants.

If anything, my inner hussy got off on it.

I need my bloody head examined.

Axel quietly studies me. My gaze falls from his face to his hands which subtly flex, and a flash of anger runs through me.

I want to say no. I hate the fact that he’s been a Grade A dickhead to me since I’ve been back, only to swoop in to fix everything—but what’s my alternative? There’s no one else available, and short of trying to do it myself, which let’s be honest no one wants, I’m out of options.

It needs to get done before the Merryweather wedding because if it doesn’t…nope. I can’t even consider that right now.

Any dream I have of creating something of my own in this town and seeing the bakery through its one hundredth year would be as dead as my friendship with Axel by the time the Merryweather’s finished trashing my reputation.

You don’t mess around the most prestigious family in Sweet Haven.

They basically own this town. And there is no chance of me making a ten-tier wedding cake in Grams’s kitchen.

He’s my only option at this point. I can’t cancel the wedding order.

“Fine. We should discuss pricing and details then.”

“I’ll sort that out with Grams. She can deduct it from my rent or something, don’t worry about it. And I’m pretty sure I know what needs doing in here.”

“Right, OK. Well, we should probably exchange numbers in case of any issues.”

His icy eyes catch and hold mine for a second, his expression unreadable.

“You already have my number. It’s been the same for fifteen years. ”

Shock ices my veins. Excuse me? The fucking nerve of this man.

“Huh, really? Mine too. Strange though. Since you never replied to any of my messages, I assumed you changed it.”

He flat out ignores that remark, raking a hand through his dark hair as he stands up, exposing his bare abs again.

The ones I’m not looking at. It’s absolutely criminal to look this good when you act like a total dick.

This ass is aging like a fine wine and can clearly roll out of bed looking like a god.

And I really, really hate that I notice.

Twat.

I can’t believe less then five minutes ago, those muscular arms held me locked against his hard chest, his touch burning, leaving me ready to ride his fingers to O-town.

I’m pretty sure his ax was ready for battle for a minute there too, although I know not to read into that. I’m sure any dude would pop at least a semi with any old ass pressed against his dick.

Axel suddenly holds out a hand, jerking me from my thoughts as he pulls me up from the floor, his cold stare locked with mine.

I nod my thanks, trying really hard to ignore the stray white lock of hair that’s fallen across his forehead.

My fingers twitch, wanting to brush it away, but the moment’s gone.

I need to remember what this is.

I can’t lose focus and risk making everything worse. We blurred all the lines back then, and it was clearly a mistake. We can’t keep playing this stupid game now. I don’t even know the rules anymore.

I miss my best friend. I never expected to lose him. Not in a million years. If I’d known the risks, I never would have kissed him in that closet.

That last summer might have been the best, most exciting of my life, but it cost me everything.

It cost me Axel .

And the worst part is, he doesn’t even seem to care.

“I’m gonna head out. I need to grab a shower before I go to the station. I’ll text you to let you know when I’ll start. Lock the door behind me.”

His words snap me back to the present again as I watch him disappear through the doorway.

I guess this means I’m stuck with having him in my space like some white knight when he blows hot and cold faster than a broken AC unit, all the while trying to forget how good it felt to be in his arms again.

To be fair, it might have been even better than before.

Welp, until he opened that mouth of his.