Shit. Shit, shit, shit!
Tyler looks over his shoulder at me, trying to figure out if I know who this is or if he needs to have him removed. Laughable, really—there is no way he would be able to move this man. It might take every person in this whole building to remove this pissed-off brute. He reaches off behind his back and pulls out a towel he had hanging off the back of his belt. Might not be the cleanest thing in the world right now, but at least it would hide my body. Or some of my body.
“Thanks,” I softly say to Tyler. “It’s okay. I’ll be right out to pay.”
“Okay. You sure?” he asks, and at my nod, he quickly gives me a rundown on after care and tells me he will leave a sheet with the instructions with Trix up front.
I look down and make sure the towel is covering me enough before I look up and meet the blazing green, very pissed depths of Axel’s eyes. This isn’t going to be fun. Not only am I sitting in front of him naked from the waist up, but seeing his face again is still a punch straight to the gut. It physically hurts to breathe. He looks so different than the boyish face I remember in my dreams. He is still Axel, but he looks harder. Age has done wonderful things to this man. He was always tall, but never this tall. When he left at eighteen, he had a boy’s body, but there is nothing boy about him now. He looks to have doubled in size, and his muscles were pulsing on his arms, flexing with pent-up energy. Angry energy. His black tee is stretched tight, not only hugging his heavily tattooed arms but his flat stomach as well. I can even see the rippling of his abs through the material. His legs are long and thick, covered in denim. I can feel the vibes coming from him, and they aren’t happy ones. I have a feeling he isn’t just unhappy about me blowing him off today. He did say every door when he threatened to track me down. How the hell did he know where to find me?
He takes a menacing step forward and closes the door behind him, shutting us in the room and standing between my clothes and me.
“What did I fucking say, Izzy? I would find you. You aren’t fucking hiding from this talk, you hear me? Now, want to fucking tell me what the hell you’re doing with your fucking shirt off back here?” No need to look at his face to judge his mood. He’s well passed pissed.
“Can you please pass me my clothes?” That’s what I go with. Seems like the safest bet at this point. Maybe I can avoid him long enough to escape. “Please, Axel.”
He bends, snatching my bra and tee off the chair behind him, not even bothering to look away. Fine. It isn’t like he hasn’t seen them before; he just hasn’t ever seen them like this. Suddenly my act of rebellion isn’t looking so hot. I pick up my bra and let the towel drop. His sharp intake has me snapping my eyes up to meet his. His eyes are focused directly on my chest and their new jewelry. I can see his chest moving rapidly, his nose is flaring, and his hands are back to flexing in and out of a tight fists.
“What the fuck? You let some stranger put his hands on your fucking tits?” He doesn’t even mention the barbells. How can he miss them? They are standing out in all their silver glory against my pink nipples.
“Not your business, Axel. It hasn’t been your business in a long damn time.” My voice sounds funny. My earlier confidence is gone, and I sound almost dead. The fight has left me, and I know it’s futile to even try to run from him. Like it or not, this talk is about to happen. I just have to figure out what and how much to tell him. And just how I will get through it?
“Not my fucking business? We’ll see about that, Izzy. Get your fucking clothes on before someone else sees you.”
I make quick work of redressing, careful with my sensitive and sore nipples. When I am completely covered and standing in front of him, I look up and just take him in. I can’t believe he is really right in front of me, very much alive and pissed off. I can’t tell what’s working behind his eyes. The anger is dominating him right now, but it almost looks like relief.
He reaches out. I don’t even know what his goal is, but I immediately shrink back, closing my eyes tight and turning my head away from his hand.
“What the fuck is this shit, Izzy?” I don’t answer him; I can’t. I’m still turned to the side, waiting on impact. “Turn around. Now.” he roars. He curses under his breath when I flinch even further, turning completely away from him.