Page 19 of Come Around
“I’ll be taking care of your bills from now on.”
This is exactly what I’ve spent my entire life avoiding: being financially dependent on someone else. I left Connecticut specifically to escape that kind of control.
“Look, Axel. About last night...” I gather my courage, needing to address the elephant in the room. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of your generosity or trade... services for a place to stay.”
Axel’s expression darkens instantly.
He rises from the chair in one fluid motion and stalks toward the bed. The movement is so predatory, so intensely male, that my breath catches.
“Is that what you think happened?” His voice drops dangerously low as he sits on the edge of the bed, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body. “That you seduced me for a roof over your head?”
“No, I just—” I struggle to find the right words. “You’ve been so generous, letting me stay here. I don’t want you to think I’m using you.”
“You aren’t just some one-night stand, Sami,” He growls. “You’re mine. I fuckingwantyou.”
“But how can you be so sure about this?” I gesture between us. “About me? We just met yesterday.”
His smile is slow and confident. “Some things you just know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only answer that matters.” He cups my face, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. “You’re my woman. Nothing you say or do will change that.”
Warmth blooms in my chest, spreading outward until my entire body feels like it’s glowing. I’ve never been anyone’s before. Never been claimed with such absolute certainty.
“You can’t just decide that.”
“I already have.” His gaze drops to my lips. “And so have you. Your body knows it, even if your mind is still catching up.”
He’s right, and that’s the most terrifying part.
My body responds to him in ways I’ve never experienced before. One look, one touch, and I’m ready to surrender everything. Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t even know his name. Now I can’t imagine not being here, not feeling his hands on my skin.
“This is crazy,” I whisper the words, more to myself than to him. “Normal people don’t fall this hard, this fast.”
“Good thing we’re not normal, then.” He smirks, leaning closer until his lips brush against mine. “Tell me you don’t want this, Kitten. Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll stop.”
The challenge hangs between us. All I have to do is say the words, and he’ll back off. I know he will. For all his possessive declarations, Axel isn’t the type to force himself where he’s not wanted.
But I do want him. I want him with an intensity that scares me.
“I can’t tell you that.” The admission costs me something, a piece of the independence I’ve clung to so fiercely. “But this is a lot to process.”
He studies my face, his expression softening slightly. “I know it’s fast. But that doesn’t make it any less real.”
His certainty is like a gravitational force, pulling me in despite my reservations. How can he be so sure? How can he look at me, ordinary, struggling Sami Holland, and see something worth claiming so completely?
“What if this is just a fling for you?” I ask him. “What if you wake up tomorrow and realize I’m not what you want?”
Axel’s laugh is low and dangerous. “That’s not going to happen.”
Then his lips capture mine in a kiss that makes my entire body ignite.
His hand slides up my bare thigh, pushing the sheet away until I’m completely exposed to him. There’s something so primal about the way he looks at me, like I’m a feast and he’s been starving his whole life. I should feel self-conscious, lying here naked while he’s fully dressed, but the hunger in his eyes makes me feel powerful instead.
“I want you again,” he growls against my mouth. “I need to be inside you.”
My body responds instantly, heat pooling between my thighs despite the soreness from last night. One touch from him and I’m ready, willing, desperate.
