“Yes.”

“And Stella…”

“They’re at dinner. What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

Axel doesn’t reply. But there’s a look in his eye…I’ve seen it so many times before. Desperate and needy. Trying to figure out how to ask for what he wants.

He’s caught me on a good day. Because I’m powerless to withhold anything from him. “Well, do you want to come inside? You’re letting in a–”

I don’t even have a chance to finish my sentence before Axel’s lips are on mine. I immediately melt, powerless to do anything but let his lips do their magic. His arms slide around me, clutching me to his chest. I throw down the can of pepper spray and grab onto his collar. Need meets need.

“Gillian, I–”

“You don’t have to explain,” I say, panting hungrily. “Come inside.”

Axel ignores the double entendre and pushes me through the door and against the wall. The tension is so high that we are both struggling to know what to do with ourselves. As soon as I grab one part of him, my brain remembers another. I rake my hands through his hair, slide my hands over his shoulder blades, press my hips into his.

God, I feel him. So hard and wanting for me.

“I have to have you,” he murmurs and then presses a kiss to my neck. “I’ll die without you.”

I would laugh if I could. It’s an absurd statement. Except, I feel it just as deeply.

Axel’s hands slide under my flannel shirt. As soon as his fingers glance against my bare skin, I’m a puddle on the floor. I can feel the temperature rising between my thighs, my muscles contracting, desperate to invite him inside.

It hasn’t even been five minutes.

I push Axel against the opposite wall. He gasps in surprise. But this is not about control. This is about need. I pull his shirt up over his head, not paying any heed to the couple of buttons that leap off. As soon as he throws it to the ground, our lips are locked again.

Axel pushes his hands into the waistband of my shorts and forces me backward toward the door of the office. “Where can I have you?” he whispers.

“Wherever you want.”

He laughs against my lips. “Déjà vu.”

I laugh too. For once, the memory of our dalliance isn’t tinged with ache and disappointment. It’s a reminder of the amazing days and nights we spent together, exploring each other, taking care of each other in ways we never had.

We can have that again.

I land against the door just as he jerks my shorts downward. His hands slip up from my waist to my chest, caressing my breasts as he hungrily kisses me. Each kiss is sending me higher and higher, like a drug that just won’t quit. I don’t feel like I’m on this planet anymore. Nothing else exists except Axel’s lips, hands, and…

“C’mere,” he huffs, pulling me into the office. He positions me with my hips against the desk and his cock wanting at my backside. I place my hands on the desk, awaiting his entrance. Instead, though, Axel slides his hand around my jaw and guides my face toward his. “Just look at me.”

I find my eyes locked once again in his enigmatic green orbs. They are hypnotic. Never seen anything like them. Until Stella, of course. I swallow.

“Look at me the whole time, Gillian,” he whispers.

I feel his cock sliding in and out from between my thighs, enjoying my warmth and wetness. His eyes, though, do not leave mine, even as it becomes harder and harder to maintain control.

I do the same, not daring to look away. “Inside,” I whisper, pressing my mouth into his hand. “I need you inside.”

I push my hips back against his, the head of his cock nudging my entrance. Axel’s brow bends and he bites his lower lip. I can already tell how good it feels for him. He slides in just a bit deeper and then swears.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, leaning back against him. Now his lips are only a kiss away from mine.

“You just feel so good, I’m afraid I’ll lose it too fast and I’ll–”

“Axel, honey, I don’t care,” I cut him off. Unlike the last time we fucked, this isn’t about getting what’s mine. This isn’t about the anger that’s been brewing between us all these years.