Page 16 of Something to Believe In
She pulled her SUV into the spot next to Axel's car. The door slid down to seal them inside, and her tummy flipped.
He opened her door and grinned as he waited for her to step from her vehicle. As soon as her feet were on the ground, he kissed her. Thoughts of this morning were erased as his soft lips touched hers. He smelled so good, too. Fresh and clean, slightly spicy and citrusy. She breathed in through her nose to inhale his scent.
He pulled away slightly and took her hand in his. "Come inside, Mads."
She walked with him to the door. He opened it for her, and she passed through his doorway into his house. This time, though, she was his lover.
"Do you want something to drink?"
She smiled. "Maybe a water. It takes a little time for my throat to come back after singing all day."
He nodded and poured her a glass of water from a pitcher in the refrigerator. He poured himself one too. Handing her the water, he nodded. "Let's sit in the living room and talk."
She followed him to the living room. He tugged her hand, encouraging her to sit next to him on the sofa.
"You sounded amazing today, Mads."
She smiled. "Thank you. That song came together wonderfully. It's going to be a hit."
"It sure is."
She set her water on the coaster shaped like a music note on the coffee table. Turning to face him, she looked into his eyes. "What was wrong this morning?"
His brows shot up, then he nodded. "Someone left a handwritten note in my mailbox during the night or early morning. It said, ‘I love you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow’".
"You don't know who it's from?"
He shook his head slowly. "Tony's looking into security cameras. He told me this afternoon that Mitch DeMario will be here tomorrow morning to install them. He's installing some at the Barn too. And I suspect Jami's house. We don't want another Lacey situation up there."
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Did Lacey write that note?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
Nodding her head, she turned to look out the front window of his house. Was someone watching them right now?
He leaned forward and took her hands in his. "I don't know if it was her or someone else. But we can't hide from the world."
"Just our friends."
His shoulders dropped. "I feel bad about it, too. But this is new, Mads. I want to see how things go with us first. Then, once we can tell them we've been together for x number of weeks already, it won't be scary for them. They'll see we can be together and still work together without issue."
She tried to smile. She took a deep breath and blew it out.
"I understand that. I don't like feeling like a liar. And I'll be honest. We probably should have talked before we had sex. If something is bothering you about me, we need to talk it out. I'll do the same. I'm a big believer in communication."
"Were you an excellent communicator with Doug?"
Ouch, that hurt. She flinched and shook her head. "No. He didn't want to know what my feelings were on anything."
Axel leaned forward and brushed his fingers along her cheek. His forefinger slid under her chin, and he gently pulled her face up so he could look into her eyes. "I want to know all of your feelings. All of them."
She stared into his deep brown eyes for a long time. His eyes were such a beautiful shade of brown. He had thick lashes surrounding them. With his hair short, his features were on full display. She'd always thought that made him sexier than other rockers. The old bands of the day were all about the big hair, but Axel, he didn't need that.
"Okay." She swallowed. "I want to know your feelings, too."
"Deal. So tell me what you were feeling this morning when I walked in."
"I worried you got what you wanted and wouldn't want to have anything to do with me again."
