Page 49 of Whisper Of Attraction (Whisper Lake 3)

Her legs were noodles as he led her to the dance floor out on the deck. Since the band was on a break, slow music was playing through the speakers. They joined a half dozen other couples swaying to “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.

One second they were walking and the next Axel had swept her into his arms with a graceful authority that caused her already weakened knees to buckle. She remained upright thanks to the support of his strong hold. She heard herself sigh as she melted into his embrace.

“You smell…delicious.” His deep voice was low with an edge of danger to it.

Her sex spasmed in reaction to his chosen adjective. She’d never known just how naughty the word delicious could be.

“Thank you,” she breathed and she tried to come up with a compliment of her own. It wasn’t that there was a shortage to choose from. She was just trying to narrow it down to one that was appropriate. “You’re a really good hugger.”

That’s what I went with?

Hugger?

He stilled for a minute, before continuing to sway to the music. She lifted her eyes to see if he’d had any reaction to her compliment. She was prepared to defend herself by saying how important hugging was and how bad some people were at it and that this was dancing but it was basically hugging while moving. But when she saw the look in his eye, she forgot what words were. He was staring down at her with a smile that had her heart doing backflips.

“Hugger, huh?” His arm tightened around her as he swayed them in a circle. “That’s a first.”

The entire experience crashed over her like a fifty-foot wave. Being in Axel’s arms beneath a blanket of stars, the romantic music, and their bodies pressed together and moving in sync all conspired to create a false sense of intimacy that she was enjoying way too much.

It’s just a dance, she reminded herself as warmth rose on her face and made her look like a rosy-cheeked Raggedy Ann doll.

Not wanting him to see any physical evidence of how stimulating this interaction was to her, she laid her head on his chest and snuggled against him.

The truth was, she’d use any excuse to be close to him. It had quickly become her favorite place in the world. And just like Whitney Houston, she exhaled.

***

Brynn sighed asshe rested her head against Axel’s chest and in a split second his entire life changed. His heart cracked wide open. Holding Brynn in his arms, hearing her say that he was a good hugger (which was hands down the sweetest, most sincere compliment he’d ever been given), and seeing her blush as she looked up into his eyes shattered any walls, any protection, any defenses he’d ever constructed.

This was a huge mistake.

Axel knew that he should’ve just left the restaurant when Brynn’s friends did. He could’ve waited for her outside and followed her home from a safe distance. That was what he’d been hired to do. But when he’d seen her crying he hadn’t been able to walk away.

For weeks, he’d kept his distance. He’d spent as little time with her as possible. He’d gone out of his way to avoid having conversations with her. All because he’d known the danger of even one interaction. And he’d been right.

And now it was too late. One dance, one blush, one sigh was all it took for him to fall madly, completely, head over heels in love with Brynn Daniels.

His pulse raced as he tried to plan his exit strategy. He needed to end the dance, get her home safely, and lock himself in his apartment so that he wouldn’t declare his undying love for a woman who didn’t even know the real reason he was in Whisper Lake.

“How’s Izzy doing?”

Her question caught him completely off guard and made his heart swell even fuller with affection for this woman that he’d swear was too good to be true.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, hearing the raw emotion in his voice.

She lifted her head and a wrinkle appeared between her brows as they furrowed in confusion. “She doesn’t want to talk about it?”

“She doesn’t want to talk. At all. She’s not answering my calls or texts.”

“When’s the last time you talked to her?”

“It’s been a while. A few weeks.”

“Did you guys get in a fight?”

“I guess.” He inhaled slowly through his nose as he told himself to stop talking.

The last thing he needed was to feel even closer to the woman that he couldn’t get out of his mind. Sharing personal details about his life was not something he’d ever been in danger of doing before. But the thing was, opening up to Brynn felt as natural as breathing. Before he could stop himself, he heard the words spill out of his mouth. “Every day she was calling to tell me that she hated school and wanted to leave. And I kept trying new ways to handle it. The last time we talked I tried tough love.”

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