Page 37 of Cruel Savior

I wasn't sure I liked the way that sounded. Fuck the best. With her I wanted nothing more than her wet and wanting, and damned if I wasn't going to find a way to get it.

Chapter Nineteen

Amanda

Wakingup alone in Axel’s big bed was not ideal. Not when everything around me smelled like the man I seriously couldn’t get out of my head.

After what happened in the clubhouse I had expected more when we returned to his home. Being dismissed and sent off to bed like a child had burned more than it should have. I was supposed to be grateful that he’d realized that what we both needed was our own space.

And yet...I still wasn't satisfied. We were on the precipice of a breakthrough, and we needed to work together. On the other hand, it had given me some time to process my thoughts.

Although it should have been me on the couch not him. But he’d insisted and practically shoved me into his room. Since I’d been exhausted, I figured it wasn’t worth the fight. Now I was annoyed and ready to give him a piece of my mind.

Plus I needed coffee.

For that alone I’d drag my ass out of this bed and investigate the situation in the kitchen. After Axel turned his anger on my cookies the day before, neither of us had returned to clean up the mess. I guessed if I wanted his coffee, then the least I could do was see what could be done to recover his kitchen.

I hastily threw on the clothes from the day before, making a mental note to find the bag I’d packed, and slowly opened the bedroom door hoping it made no noise. With Axel sleeping on the couch, it was going to be a challenge not to wake him, but I couldn’t stay cooped up in here waiting for him to stir.

Only when I got the door open and glanced at the couch, it was empty and there were no signs anyone had even slept there.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

I swung my head around to find him seated at the island, sipping on what looked like coffee, and a smile playing at his lips.

“How long have you been up?” I may have grumbled the words, but I had zeroed in on caffeine and it was my primary focus.

“Long enough.” He indicated a tray of cookies in front of him. “I was able to salvage some of your cookies.” The smile on his face distracted me. Was he being funny? It was hard to tell, when the way he'd said it made my mind race off into a much dirtier place. I glanced around the room and gasped. It had taken me a minute to notice, but the place gleamed. It was freaking spotless.

“What did you do?”

His smile dropped, and his eyes filled with remorse. “I ruined all your hard work. The least I could do was clean up the mess.”

I forced my brain to engage my legs and carried myself to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup before I responded. I really needed caffeine. “I was going to take care of it.”

He made a sound that came out like a cross between a hum and a grunt. That sound vibrated across my senses, tickling the fine hairs on the back of my neck, and weakening me once again. Honestly, I'd had trouble sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss...

As if that wasn’t enough to make me crazy, I was now faced with this insanely domestic scene after he’d done something so extraordinarily ordinary as clean up the mess we’d both made. It was an unfair glimpse into the world that might have been if the world had not torn us apart.

“Do we have a plan for today?” I asked, trying to shove down the feelings that made me weak in the face of them and focus on something else. Like the killer we needed to catch.

“You and Tel are going to continue digging for clues, while I go and have a chat with your father. I have more than a few choice words for that asshole.”

“What?!” Panic seized my chest. That was not what I'd been expecting either. “No, you cannotdo that.” I shook my head and placed my mug on the island a little too hard, making some of the coffee slosh over the side.

“I can and I will. If he interfered in our lives like he did ten years ago, can you imagine what he’s done since? The club has trusted him for far too long. I think it’s time to question what his real intentions are. Especially when it comes to our club. He’s hired us so many times over the years to do his dirty work, and as long as it met our case criteria, we allowed it. Everything about him makes me sick.”

“And you think he might have been lying to you all along? About what? Why? As long as you and I were apart, he didn't care what you did." My heart froze for a split second as I realized what I'd almost let slip. And the only thing I could thing to do to cover it was to forge ahead . "You need to think about this more before you confront him. It’s never a good idea to go into an interview halfcocked. In fact, you shouldn’t go in until you’re certain you know the answers. Someone like my father would know that, and I can guarantee he will be prepared for whatever you try to throw at him. He is a master manipulator who will find a way to turn anything you have to say back against you.”

“Is that the CIA agent talking? And are you actually suggesting I just forget what he’s responsible for? Because that’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“Are we going to fight about this every day?" I couldn't seem to stop even though I knew I was teetering on dangerous ground. "Are we going to relive that pain every time we see each other? I need to know now because I’m tired of ripping open those wounds. I've been through that enough.” I braced my hands on the island and took a deep breath before continuing. “This isn't working. I’m going to ask JD for a room in the clubhouse. I can’t stay here.”

“That’s not going to happen.” His words were calm, but I could feel the intensity behind them. The tension and barely leashed violence practically vibrated off of him.

“Why? Because you say so?” I don’t know why he thought he could just order me around. It was total bullshit. “God, you are so infuriating.”

“Welcome to the club, baby. And to answer your question, no, not because I say so. Because it’s not allowed. No one who’s not a part of the club is allowed to stay in the clubhouse without supervision. That’s a rule JD will never break. Not even for you oryourfather.”

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