Page 75 of Fighting Furry

Desiree frowned. “You are my second husband's son,” she said, looking at Axel. “They've never met him. And you're staying in the guest house to have a honeymoon out of the public eye. I'll tell them you aren't to be disturbed. Do you think you can manage that?”

“We can't leave the house at all?” It was a big house, but I could feel the walls closing in on me at the very idea. My wolf was already whining with hatred of the idea.

Axel tightened his arms around my shoulders. “Is your staff here all day?”

“Not all of them, no, but there is at least one staff member here at every hour of the day.” She considered us both for a long moment. “Are you sure you won't consider plastic surgery?”

“We'll stay inside,” Axel said. “Most honeymoons last a week. We can handle a week.”

“What will we do after the week is up?” I asked.

“We'll figure that out when we get there.”

“Wonderful,” Desiree said. “I'll leave you kids to it, then. I imagine you're exhausted.”

She gave us the code for the alarm and left us. The fridge was stocked, so we made a light dinner and ate it on a patio table, enjoying a moment outside before Desiree's staff showed up and we had to go back in hiding.

“Swim with me?” Axel asked.

“I don't have a suit.”

He shrugged. “It's dark. Desiree's probably in bed.”

It wasn't that dark with the fairy lights that adorned the back patio and the submerged lights in the pool, but I figured he was right about Desiree being in bed. I pulled my shirt off and slid off my jeans. I was naked underneath. I didn't wait for him to get undressed, I trotted forward and jumped in.

It was chilly outside, the desert air cooling off even in August, but the pool had been warmed by the sun all day and still retained some of that heat. The water moved over my bare skin like silk and I sank down, just enjoying the feel of it and the silence.

Warm hands wrapped around my middle and pulled me up, twisting me to face Axel, his lips finding mine as soon as I was there. He kissed me hard, kissed me like it had been months since my lips had touched his, kissed me and teased my lips so fiercely and so completely that I was entirely ready for him when he slid inside me. I gasped into his mouth, because it felt so good. I was more alive in that moment than I'd ever been, feeling every inch of him, enjoying every bit of him, even as underneath the pleasure was the pain of our imprisonment, the fear of losing him if Darius tracked us down, the worry about the pack and Clarissa.

I kissed him like I could solve all our problems with my kiss. He pressed me against the side of the pool, one hand on my ass and one on my back, protecting me from the roughness of the wall. He thrust hard and fast, hammering into me like he could go forever, like he had a decade's worth of pent-up need and want.

It felt so good my eyes rolled back in my head and I moaned. I loved him like this, out-of-control with lust and need. I loved him when he was slow and tender and I loved him when he was playful. He reached between us and pressed his thumb to my clit. I exploded with pleasure, the words, “I love you,” on repeat in my brain. He reached his release seconds after mine. As he held me up against the pool wall, his breath a heavy pant against my cheek, I said, “I hate how good you feel. I hate how fast you can make me come. I hate you.”

I could feel his smile against my skin, like his smile was a part of me, like his happiness fueled my own. “I hate you, too, baby,” he said. “So fucking much it hurts.”

***

I woke the next morning in a king-size bed, a bed that smelled like sex and Axel. We'd made good use of that bed after we'd finished our swim. I stretched and smiled, thinking of our night together and how satisfied I felt. I rolled to my side to look for Axel, but I already knew he wasn't there. I hadn't heard the steady sound of his breathing, hadn't felt his warmth. I sat up, my smile falling, my heart freezing, because there was no sound of him in the house. It felt empty and cold, echoing with nothingness.

I leapt out of bed, naked as the day I was born, and I searched that house. I checked every room and every closet. He was gone. He'd left me. For one brief moment, I hoped he'd gone to the main house, but I knew he wouldn't have risked it, wouldn't have risked me.

No. I knew exactly where he'd gone and I was a complete fucking idiot for not realizing it sooner. I should have known he wouldn't run. I should have realized his desperate kisses weren't born of stress or worry, they were goodbye. He'd been telling me goodbye and I'd been too fucking blind to realize it. How dare he? How dare he promise me safety and…And forever and then bail on me? He'd bailed on me just when I'd realized how much I needed him, how much I fucking loved him.

I screamed with frustration and anger, my scream bouncing around the cold, empty house, and then I sat on the couch and looked around. The council wouldn't kill him right away. Right? Damn it, why hadn't I asked him? I looked around the living room, trying to find a phone or a computer, only to realize my vision was blurred with tears. I swiped at them, angry at myself. Now was not the time for tears. Now was the time for action.

I kicked the coffee table, needing to channel my rage into something physical. The pile of magazines that had rested there slipped to the floor, a sheet of notebook paper fluttering down with them.

With a growl, I grabbed it, but I had to wipe my eyes three times before I could read it.

Julie,

Clarissa called. The council is in Mule Creek and they're questioning pack members to try and find us. They're hurting my family, Jules. I can't just hide here while they hurt my family. If I go, they should leave you alone. Lay low for a few weeks and then call Max. He'll let you know if it's safe and he might be able to help you find a new pack.

I'm so sorry, sweetheart that I don't get to wake up next to you for the rest of my life. Leaving you is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

I hate you with all my heart,

Axel

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