Page 5

A lice didn’t run, but she walked fast. Her heart was beating a mile a minute in her chest, and she couldn’t get rid of the desire coursing through her.

She’d never wanted to fuck someone as much as she wanted that man.

What was with her? She wasn’t that type of person.

She didn’t go weak in the knees at the sight of a man.

Yet, Axel. Axel. She stopped to catch her breath.

She glanced back. Was he following her? He was nowhere in sight, and she let out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. He’d given up.

“Good,” she murmured. Though a sense of disappointment lodged in her chest. Why?She bit her lip, adjusted her purse, and continued on her way. Why was she disappointed? Damn therapist making her analyze her every move.

Why was she disappointed? Because she desired him.

And she’d never had a man like him show any interest in her.

Really, men hardly showed interest in her at all.

She’d never been the popular girl or the one who attracted the hunk.

She’d had one boyfriend in college and that had not ended well.

It had lasted a year, and he’d belittled her the first chance he had.

Axel was different. He spooked her in a way which was unfamiliar yet enticing. Hadn’t she told her therapist she wished she were more brazen with the opposite sex? She sighed. She should have stayed. She should have taken the risk. Her therapist would be as disappointed in her as she was.

She stopped at the entrance to the subway and glanced back.

She could return. She could find him there and give him her number.

She shook her head. Who was she kidding?

She’d blown her chance. If she went back, he’d think she was an absolute nutcase.

One moment wanting one thing and the next changing her mind.

Unstable. Indecisive. Insecure. Besides, she didn’t have the guts.

“Bye, Axel,” she murmured.

Head down, she entered the station. There was no going back.

She rushed to catch the train. Entering the wagon, she found a seat and entertained herself by doom scrolling through TikTok.

Somehow, the algorithm had picked up on her mood and kept showing her videos of therapists giving advice on how to act if you met someone you liked.

She shut the device off and closed her eyes, attempting to stop the myriad of thoughts racing in her brain.

Axel’s eyes. His grin. His smooth voice which seemed to caress every inch of her skin.

Squirming in her seat, she switched to her phone again.

Finally, she arrived at her stop. She walked to her apartment and hurried up the three flights of stairs.

She couldn’t wait to change into something more comfortable and bury her nose in a book so she could get rid of all thoughts of Axel. She turned the last corner and gasped.

The sound echoed in her ears.

“Axel.”

He was here. Dressed in a leather jacket and holding a motorcycle helmet in one hand, he grinned at her. His presence at her doorstop was even more commanding than before, the small hallway suffocating her.She wasn’t sure if she wanted to run into his arms or back outside.

“What? How?”

“If you’d agreed to give me your number, I wouldn’t have had to track you down.”

“But this. It isn’t ... I should,” she mumbled incoherently. “Call the police.”

He pulled out a familiar looking book from inside his jacket.

“You forgot this.”

“My notebook.”

“That’s how I found where you lived.”

Relief flooded her. At least there was an explanation. This time she did move forward. She reached for her book, but he lifted it out of her reach.

“Not so fast, Baby Girl.”

“It’s my—”

“Personal belonging. I know, and as tempting as it was, I resisted reading anything, except the address and the first page. As soon as I saw how personal it was, I stopped.” Sincerity seemed to lace his words and she couldn’t help but believe him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“That’s more like it.” He smiled. His eyes twinkled. “Now, as I have saved your notebook from the hands of an ill-intentioned reader—our barman is not the most discreet person—I think it’s only fair you give me a reward.”

“A reward?” Her pulse leapt.

He nodded.

“What kind of reward?”

“First, you’re going to invite me inside.”

Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Invite him inside? They would be alone. The fantasies she had refused to entertain on her way home returned with full-blown force. Fear clawed its hands on the edge of her consciousness.

“I don’t live alone,” she said.

“No one answered when I rang,” he pointed out.

“Oh, they must be out.” The familiar knot in her stomach reappeared. How could she avoid this? Did she want to?

“Then what are we waiting for?” He cocked an eyebrow and moved to one side, giving her room to open the door.

She glanced at him. The knot moved lower, changing its location.

Her pussy throbbed. She didn’t want to send him away again.

This was her second chance. Rummaging through her purse, she found the keys.

He could hurt her. Anxiety reared its ugly head again. Mock her. He couldn’t want someone like her, could he? She didn’t know him. He could be a killer for all she knew. She wasn’t the type of girl to bring a stranger home.

The pressure of his palm on the small of her back brought her back to the moment.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Alice. Open the door. You can do it.”

His soothing tone boosted her confidence. He wanted her or he wouldn’t be here. She pushed her insecurities aside and finally inserted the key into the lock.