Fuck you, fate . . . Fuck you hard.
After a few minutes of listening to the shower and my inner chants, the stress of the week and the events of the day finally drag me under. Not long after that, the bed dips, and in my dreams, I smile, because I hear a soft whisper. “Missed you . . . so fucking much, Princess.” Sometimes, dreams don’t let you down because that is the only thing I have been waiting to hear since the day he left me forever. In my dreams, all my problems melt away, because I am safe. Safe and back in Axel’s arms.
Axel
I walk out of the bathroom—after spending a fucking stupid amount of time in the shower taking care of the problem Izzy has stirred up—and just stand there, water still dripping down my chest, disappearing when it reaches the towel tightly knotted around my waist.
Izzy is back in my bed. Fuck me. A weight that has been sitting solid on my shoulders for way too long lightens up. Not by much but damn, anything is a relief. I should have known if she ever walked back into my life that I wouldn’t be able to hold on to all of my anger.
I walk around my side of the bed to get a closer look at the tiny ball under my sheets. And there it is—that face that can bring me to my knees. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, her hands folded under her cheek and her hair fanned out against my pillow. Like an angel, my Princess.
We have missed so much, wasted so much time. Even though I know how much we still have to work out, including the small detail of reminding her she is mine, I still can’t fight the instantaneous contentment that washes over me.
I feel whole again.
I know better than to hope but I can’t help the thought that I would stop anything from taking her from me again.
Walking back over to the other side, I drop the towel and climb in. She makes a small whimper in her sleep that has me throwing caution to the wind and shifting to wrap her in my arms.
“Missed you . . . so fucking much, Princess.”
And with Izzy back in my arms, pressed tight with no gap between our bodies, I finally find sleep.
Izzy
The first thing I notice when I start to wake up the next morning is how unbelievably warm I am. Finally, Dee is listening to me when I tell her we can’t keep bumping the AC down to artic temps. I nestle in, wiggling and trying to find that perfect spot that will take me back to the blissful sleep I was just in. That wiggle is all it takes for me to become wide awake and all that warmth to wash away, leaving me frozen solid.
There is a large hand covering my very tender breast and soft breathing tickling my neck. That warmth I was loving a second ago is kicking my ass, almost quite literally. I can feel the solid, very naked wall of muscle and strength against my back, fitting like a glove tight against my body. I try to pull my legs up but they are tangled with larger hairy ones. The biggest—and I mean biggest—issue I seem to have right now is the large erection poking me, settled right against my pussy. And all that wiggling, all that searching I was doing for the warmth in my sleep? All that did was cause me to drip with desire.
Cracking one eye open, I take in the room. My trip around the large master starts with one tall dresser and ends with a pile of laundry on the floor next to it. Other than that, empty. Looking down at the offending arm that holds me tight to its owner’s body, I try to think of a way out of this hold. He has his arm snaked up my shirt, cupping my breast tightly like it’s his anchor. Shifting, I try to dislodge him naturally but all I get is a tightening of his hand and arm and pressure pulling me even snugger against his body.
Blast my stupid hormones. His rock-hard erection just jutted even deeper between my legs, hitting my clit with a sharp jab.
I suck in a sharp breath of pure pleasure.
Oh my God. I need to get him away from me.
I slam my elbow back, earning a grunt and more tightening.
Shit! Just my luck. My body is telling me to start humping, my heart is telling me to run, and my mind is sitting there enjoying a cigarette as his hips start to move against me.
“Axel Reid, you wake up right now!” I yell. “Get your paws off my tit and call your dick off its search for my pussy. He found it, asshole. Now back off.”
“Urmmpf . . .”
That’s all I get. Nothing. He pulls me back again. Only this time, I have the added bonus of some whiskers against my neck and some humming. If he has a wet dream against my body, I might kill him.
“AXEL!”
“Shut up, Izzy. I’m trying to enjoy this.” Wide awake. That jackass is wide awake, not even a small sliver of sleep left in his voice.