Page 9 of Anyone And You

He cursed again as his hand slid up my thigh and squeezed my waist. “Des…”

The ride stopped. We were near the ground,toonear the ground for me to continue doing what I was doing without getting caught. I withdrew my hand from his lap and pulled back to look at his frustrated face. His tongue raked over his lips.

“The minx is afraid of getting caught?” he asked.

I scoffed at the tease. “Not hardly.”

The ride began again, and when it was our turn to get off, I grabbed my raccoon prize and exited quickly.

“So,” I said after walking a few feet. “What does my lumberjack want to do for our last ticket?” I looked around us to the other rides. “Tornado? The music ride that goes backward? Or does he want food—“

Axel gripped my hand and pulled me into him. That intensity was back in his gaze as he wrapped his hand around my waist and trapped me against his chest.

“You’re going to pay for what you just did,” he said in a low voice. “We’re going on your teacups again.”

I tried to keep my composure. “I thought it was a kid’s ride,” I remembered him saying.

Axel sighed as he glanced over my head and then back to me. “I’m curious.”

“About?”

“About if anyone has ever made you come in public before.”

I felt my eyes widen and thought maybe I hadn't heard him right. But judging by the desire in his eyes, I knew I wasn’t mistaken.

“It’s a favorite pastime,” I said. “Usually only at the end of a bad date so I don’t have to worry about having to make up some excuse to get him out of my bed.”

Axel raised a brow. “So all the men I’ve seen come out of your door in the early morning?” he asked. “They were…”

“Decent dates,” I said with a shrug. “Nothing special. Good enough for maybe one more round but dull enough that I usually forgot to call them back.”

“And what kind of date would be with a man that made you come in public in the middle of the date?” he asked, his chin lifting as he held over me.

I raised my hands to his chest and curled my fingers into the soft, flannel shirt. “A fucking great one,” I hissed.

I thought he might kiss me there, and dammit, I wanted him to. But he leaned down, too close to be without his lips on mine, and just when I closed my eyes in the hopes that he would finish closing that gap, he said, “You’ll have two minutes to come, princess. No games like you were just playing with me. You’ll come for me. Quietly. I don’t want the attendants stopping my fun.”

Heat surged between my thighs. I swallowed as I pulled back and smirked up at him. “You’ll have two minutes tomakeme come, sunshine. I hope you’re up for the challenge.”

The smile nearly stayed on his lips that time. “Never challenge me. I always get what I want.”

“You’ve met your competitive match then,” I said. “Because I never lose.” I braced myself on his biceps and pushed up on my toes. “Lucky for us, this is a game we can both win.”

CHAPTER SEVEN - AXEL

THE LOW-HANGING, orange fluorescent lights over the spinning ride snagged my vision as I pulled her by the hand toward it. All I could think about was how much I’d wanted to kiss her on the ride the first time—how much I wanted to kiss her right then, right there.

And that minx arousing me on the fucking Ferris wheel? A dark corner to drag her into and fuck her raw had looked appealing on the way back to these cups.

I didn’t know how much longer I could wait.

The tension between us had me on edge. I needed to touch her, to hear the soft noise I’d heard her make through the walls of her apartment so many times before. Though most of those idiots hadn’t realized half of the time she was faking.

Poor fucking kids.

Des wrapped her arm into mine as we paused in the short line. I wasn't sure how exactly she’d pulled this out of me in a few hours. But it felt right. I looked down at her as she laid her chin on my arm. So fucking gorgeous there. The glow of the lights hit her face, making her mulberry hair and light pink lipstick stand out against her golden skin. Every inch of her glowed, and I couldn’t wait to see her undone.

“You are a puzzle, Axel Connors,” she said.

---