Sloane (17 page)

Axel’s nostrils flared. “That doesn’t even make any
fucking sense.”

“Why not?”

“I would never waste so much time trying to sleep
with someone who doesn’t want to sleep with me, for one thing,” he
spat out. “I’m Axel Whitman. I can get laid on the strength of an
introduction.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to go faster. “You are so
arrogant.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But I’m not saying it to be
arrogant. I’m saying it because it’s true. That’s the way it’s been
since I was fifteen years old. Girls have shown up and wanted to
sleep with me. More girls than I could ever sleep with in an entire
lifetime. So, trust me, I don’t ‘talk sweet’ to people to try to
get them into bed.”

I stopped walking. “So, how does that make it better?
You’re still an oversexed party boy who doesn’t give a shit about
anyone’s feelings.”

“Clearly I care about
your
feelings, or I
would have already left.” And he was shouting now.

I covered my face with my hands.

“If you stay mad at me, Sloane, especially when I
don’t even deserve it, I’m going to…”

I looked up at him. He seemed to be too furious to
even know how to finish the sentence. He flung open the door to the
car and got out.

I backed up.

He came for me.

I backed up again, and I nearly tripped over my
heels. I stumbled.

He caught me, helping me right myself.

And then… out of nowhere, I was crying. I didn’t mean
to be crying, but it was happening anyway. I dashed the tears away
angrily. “You’re awful, Axel. You’re just awful.”

He cupped my cheek with one hand. “I don’t want you
to say that about me anymore.”

I bit down on my lip.

His voice softened. “Why are you crying?”

“I…” I really wasn’t sure.

He wiped at one of my tears with his thumb. “I don’t
want you to cry,” he murmured.

I sniffled.

He rested his forehead against mine. “I want to kiss
you. If I kiss you, is that going to make you mad?”

I grabbed onto his face. “Axel, the way you’re making
me feel is…”

“Don’t say awful,” he breathed.

And then I pressed my lips against his.

* * *

We kissed all the way back to his apartment, sitting
in the back seat of his town car. The kisses were soft and sweet,
but they tugged at something inside me, making me feel like I was
opening up, like I was letting something in, like something was
changing.

We kissed in the elevator on the way up to the
penthouse. He pressed his body against mine, trapping me between
the wall and his heat. And all the time, his mouth was insistent on
my own, tempting and urging me. He melted into me, and I opened for
him, and it was…

Beautiful.

It felt beautiful. There was a part of me, something
in the back of my head that kept trying to speak up. That part of
me wanted to warn me about doing this with Axel, but I didn’t
listen to it.

It felt right. It didn’t feel dangerous.

If I’d given myself half a second to think about
that, I know that I wouldn’t have thought it made any sense. I
might have stopped kissing him. But I didn’t let myself think. I
only let myself feel.

When the elevator door opened, we stepped into Axel’s
apartment. We were holding hands, and we were both looking at each
other. He had this silly grin on his face, and I knew I had one
too.

He touched my face. “Look, do you want to—”

I cut him off, putting my fingers against his lips. I
wasn’t letting any words intrude. Words clouded the sensations, and
I didn’t want anything destroying the way this felt.

I tugged on his hand and led him back the hallway to
his bedroom.

When he saw where I was heading, he whispered to me,
“Are you sure?”

I kissed him.

It was dark in the room, but Axel didn’t turn on the
light. He pulled me close, his hands roaming over my back until he
found the zipper to my dress. He eased it open, an inch at a time,
and I could feel the cool air on my back.

I pulled off his scarf and threw it on the floor. I
began unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt.

Axel peeled the dress over my shoulders, and because
I hadn’t been wearing a bra underneath it, he exposed my
breasts.

I let out a little noise as the fabric slid over
them. I felt vulnerable, and my breath caught in my throat,
something tensing inside me. I didn’t usually do things like this.
I didn’t let anyone see me, not really. And even though the lights
were out, somehow it seemed like I was more exposed than I’d ever
been.

Axel’s lips met mine again. His tongue brushed
against mine, and sweetness flooded me.

My dress fell away, sliding over my hips to pool at
my feet. I was even more bare now, but the tension was loosening.
It was okay. Somehow, it was right. All of this was…

His hands found my breasts, cupping them, rolling my
nipples with his thumbs. I felt them tighten. Pleasure shot through
me, and I moaned it into his mouth.

He groaned back. His hands slid to my hips, he pulled
me tight against him.

My nude skin brushed his clothing. Oh, right. I’d
been unbuttoning his shirt. I fumbled to find the buttons again. I
opened his shirt, pushing it over his shoulders, baring his
chest.

Our naked skin made contact. It was so nice. I
sighed.

His touch skimmed my back. His lips went to my
jaw.

I thrust my fingers into his hair.

It seemed as if there was nothing in the room except
the two of us. His quickened breath, which tickled the sensitive
skin of my neck, was an exclamation point. Everything else in the
room seemed muted, but our bodies were sharp and prominent.

And we were so close. He was holding me so tightly to
himself. I felt immersed in him, and I loved it.

He lifted his head and kissed the tip of my nose.
“Wow,” he whispered.

I giggled a little bit. “Wow?”

But he pulled me with him, through the darkness, and
then we were sitting on his bed, and he was undoing his pants, I
was kicking off my shoes. We scrambled up there together, eager to
get at each other again, to entangle our limbs, to press our skin
close.

I ran my hands over his chest. And then lower. And I
realized he wasn’t wearing anything. I started to wriggle out of my
panties.

He helped me, his mouth going to my nipples as he
tugged my underwear free.

I whimpered, surrendering to the thrill of his mouth.
Little explosions of delight traveled through my whole body. I was
throbbing everywhere. I wanted this. I wanted him.

I reached down to touch his cock. It was hard and
thick in my palm. I stroked him.

He groaned.

He thrust his fingers between my legs, rubbing me
there, making all the sensations more intense, making everything
bliss. He kissed my nipples. He kissed my lips. He swallowed. His
voice was unsteady. “This feels…”

I kissed him again.

He gasped, pulling away from me. “Sloane,” he
breathed.

I traced the outline of his perfect lips. “Axel,” I
whispered, trying the name out.

He gasped again, as if he liked the way I said his
name. “Condom,” he muttered. “We need one
now
.” He crawled
away from me for a second, and then he was back. In the darkness, I
could barely make out his features, but I could see that he looked
concerned. “I mean, unless you aren’t ready.”

Feeling wicked, I grabbed his hand and guided it back
between my legs, letting him feel my slippery heat. “What do you
think?”

He groaned again. He kissed me as he fumbled with the
condom, and then he positioned himself over me.

I wrapped my legs around his waist.

He peered down at me. He brushed my hair out of my
face, then trailed his hand lower, running it over one of my
breasts. “You’re beautiful.”

I felt his words like a warmth that started in my
core and radiated outward. I felt beautiful. I felt very, very
noticed
.

Snaking a hand down, I grasped him and guided him to
my opening.

We gazed into each other’s eyes, and it felt like the
air was crackling. I had the sensation again that we were
larger—more in focus—than anything else around us. It was as if our
bodies were the only things that mattered.

He pushed inside me, tentatively at first.

But he felt wonderful. He was so thick. He filled me
up so well. And I let out a noise—something unbridled, something I
couldn’t hold back.

And then he pushed the rest of the way in, all the
way in, so deep—so,
so
deep. I writhed.

He let out a strangled noise, something almost
guttural. I liked it. I’d never seen him really let go. He clutched
my hips and started to move.

I fell apart. Pieces of me fluttered out into space.
And then he was piercing me deep again, all the way inside me, just
in the right place, and I was back together again.

He collapsed against me, his mouth seeking mine.

And then it was the two of us moving together, both
gasping, both moaning, and the pleasure making me burst apart and
rebuild myself with every one of his strokes. I didn’t think I’d
ever felt something so intense before. It was as if his body was
designed to please mine. It was as if he was made for me.

I realized I had my eyes closed, and I opened them,
only to find him staring at me as if he was trying to memorize
me.

I touched his face.

He could hardly catch his breath. “You… This…”

I kissed him.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

I tightened my legs around him, and this time—this
time as he found my deep, deep sweet place and I fell to pieces…
all of those pieces burst into even smaller pieces. It was an
explosion on top of another explosion. I grasped him, crying out as
my orgasm began to rain on me, tight and hot and amazing.

Axel buried his head in my shoulder, his body going
rigid.

I writhed. I yelled. I dug my fingers into his
skin.

He made another guttural noise, something low and
grating and carnal.

And then we both stopped moving. At the same
moment.

We both lay there for a second, catching our
breaths.

He raised his head to look at me, his expression
ragged. “Did you?”

I giggled. “I think we did it at the same time.”

He ran trembling fingers over my skin. “You’re… I
never… What the hell was…”

I stopped his words, one finger on his lips. “I
know,” I whispered. “Me too.”

* * *

We fell asleep after that, but he woke me up with
kisses while it was still dark, and we did it again. It was just as
intense the second time, maybe even more so. I felt like I was
learning his body, like he was learning mine. Each caress, each
stroke was even more perfect than the last. And I couldn’t believe
it, because with each plateau of pleasure I reached, I was sure
that I’d never feel anything better than that. But
then—together—we’d find something even more amazing. We fell asleep
the second time, wrapped up in each other, and I’d never felt
closer to another human being in my entire life.

When I woke up again, it was light outside, and
Axel’s lips were on mine again. I ran my hands over his bare skin,
and he groaned, tightening his grip on me. And it wasn’t long
before he was inside me again. And once he was there, I couldn’t
help but bask in it. I was pretty sure that having sex with Axel
was the best thing in the world.

That time I came more than once.
Three
times.
It wasn’t usually so easy for me to have orgasms. Honestly, I’d
only had maybe one or two orgasms during intercourse before.
Generally, it was easier for me to get off if someone went down on
me, or if I kind of… helped things along myself. And it wasn’t as
if Axel had some kind of mind-blowing technique going on. He fit in
me nicely, which didn’t hurt things. But it was easier for me to
come because of the way I felt. When Axel and I were making love, I
was connected and relaxed. I didn’t feel concerned about anything
other than what was happening in the moment. I let go, surrendered
myself to it, and it was sublime.

After we were done, and we were twined up on his bed,
his arm around me, my head on his shoulder, my body tucked in next
to him, I listened to the way that we were breathing together.

And I panicked.

This was weird, wasn’t it? I’d always thought that in
order to have a physical experience like the one I’d had, two
people would already have to be deeply in love. They’d have to know
each other inside and out and have a strong emotional foundation.
Axel and I didn’t have that. So why…?

“You can wake me up like that anytime,” he whispered,
his voice raw and soft.

I snuggled closer. “What are you talking about? You
woke me up. Both times.”

“No,” he said. “
You
woke
me
up.”

I lifted my head, confused. There he was. His hair
was in disarray, and he had the tiniest bit of facial hair growth
on his upper lip. And he was naked. Gloriously bare all over. He
looked soft and a little frayed and warm and sweet.

We gazed into each other’s eyes, and we both started
grinning.

“We woke each other up?” I said. “We were kissing in
our sleep?”

He grinned even wider. “I think so.”

I lay back down, closing my eyes. “That’s kind of
neat.” Then I felt unsure. “Is that neat?”

“Definitely.” He kissed the top of my head.

I breathed in the smell of him, and a voice somewhere
deep in my head spoke up.
Mine
, it said.

It
felt
true. It felt like we belonged
together. But it was just sex, right?

Axel rolled over, trapping me under his body. He
began kissing my neck.

I sighed.

“I’m starving,” he murmured. “Are you hungry?”

I giggled. “Maybe.”