Page 19 of Bringing Home the Biker

And she thought that was Axel.

Oh, how I wished it would stay that way.

When I pushed the door open, though, I stopped dead in my tracks. My breath caught in my throat as my gaze landed on Axel, sprawled out on my bed, shirtless and entirely too smug.

“Up to doing some counting before bed?” he asked with a wicked grin.

Chapter Twelve

Axel

The drive to Redmond had been good.

The evening with Star’s family? Surprisingly good.

But now? Now, I was banking on tonight with Star beingfucking fantastic.

She stood near the door and watched me like I had sprouted wings or horns—she hadn’t decided which yet.

“Uh… counting?” she asked, and her voice was a little higher than normal.

I grinned, lying back against the bed with my shirt already tossed somewhere and my hands tucked casually behind my head. “Yeah. You weren’t too happy earlier when you didn’t know how many tattoos I had. Figured we could fix that problem tonight.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. I didn’t miss the faint blush creeping up her neck. Her hand fumbled for the doorknob behind her, and she finally closed it with a click. “Uh, I think that might go against the rules.”

“Rules?” I sat up, cocked my head, and let my gaze track the nervous energy in her movements. “Don’t remember you laying out any rules. And if you had, I’d probably make it my mission to break them.”

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips before she stammered, “Well, I guess they’re, like… unspoken rules.” Her gaze dipped briefly to my chest, then shot back up.

I smirked. She was easy to read—flustered as hell but interested.Veryinterested. “Why don’t you spell those rules out for me, honey? Then I’ll decide if they’re worth following.”

Her eyes snapped to mine and were wide and uncertain. “I think… since we’re not with my family right now, we don’tneed to…” She hesitated and motioned vaguely between us. “You don’t need to act like you want this.”

Act? That pulled me to my feet faster than I intended. “Honey,” I said and crossed the short distance to her. “I haven’t been acting all day. Every touch, every kiss—those were because I wanted to. You really couldn’t tell?”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

I reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Look, I’m good at a lot of things. But acting like I want you when I don’t? Not one of them.”

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, I thought she might argue. Instead, she whispered, “I just thought you were… good at this.”

I chuckled softly, and my fingers grazed the curve of her jaw. “Oh, I’m good, honey. But only for you.”

And that was the truth. I’d wanted Star for five long years and had denied myself for a long time. The timing had never been right—until now. She was here, in front of me, and I wasn’t about to let her slip away because she doubted what this was.

“But what about later?” she asked. “When we’re not here, and there’s no one around to pretend for?”

I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me. Her breath caught, and her palms instinctively pressed against my chest. I dipped my head until my mouth was just shy of hers. “I haven’t been pretending, Star. And I’m not going anywhere. I don’t think I can make it any clearer than that.”

Her eyes searched mine, and for a moment, she didn’t breathe. Then she exhaled shakily, “Okay.”

That was all I needed.

I kissed her—hard, deep like I’d been starving for her. Her lips parted beneath mine, and her soft gasp sent a thrill throughme. My hands roamed over her back and pulled her closer until there wasn’t a sliver of space between us.

Her hands were everywhere—my shoulders, my neck, sliding down my chest like she couldn’t decide where to land. When her fingers brushed the waistband of my jeans, I groaned against her mouth and slid my hands lower to cup her ass.

She gasped softly, and her lips curved into a nervous little smile, but she didn’t stop me.

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