Page 85 of Wicked Lord

“Clearly. Cordelia’s a lucky girl.” I snapped my mouth closed around the last syllable, but it was too late. Damned loose lips. Maybe Iwasslightly tipsy.

Axel’s easy smile evaporated, leaving a faint scowl in its place and eyebrows furrowed. “Umhmm.” An impossibly longmoment of silence stretched between us before he threw his thumb over his shoulder to a door behind us. “I’m going to jump into the shower real quick. I stink of smoke and ash.”

“Oh, sure.”

He stopped mid-stride. “Unless you want to shower?”

“Nah, it’s okay. Unless you think I need to?” I sniffed at my hair. “You’ll have to share a bed with me, and I wouldn’t want the smell to chase you away.” I attempted an easy grin, but even to me, it felt forced.

He shrugged, his broad shoulders lifting. “Actually… I was thinking I’d take the floor. You can have the bed.”

“Oh.” That would be the safer choice.

Then why was every nerve in my body screaming for me to say something?

“That would be the gentlemanly thing to do, right?” His eyes searched mine, the blue deeper than they had any right to be. And all I wanted was to get lost in them.

No, stop it, Lorelei! Instead, I pressed my traitorous lips together, and my head dipped.

I watched him, biting my tongue, as he slowly turned and disappeared into the bathroom. When the door slammed closed behind him, I released a frustrated breath and slumped onto the foot of the bed.

“You did the right thing,” I whispered to myself.

Then why did I feel like absolute shit?

CHAPTER 35

TOO MUCH TO DRINK

Axel

The cold shower did nothing to extinguish the craving burning inside me for a certain sexy and surprisingly sweet blond. It didn’t help matters that she was on the other side of this door in my bed.

Why did Gigi and Grandpa decide now of all times to loosen their rigid stance on premarital sex? Were they hoping I’d knock up my girlfriend so we’d get married? Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Gigi. She could be sneaky.

I grabbed the towel off the rack to dry off and then cursed when my gaze fell on the empty gray and white marble countertop. Like an idiot, I forgot to bring clothes to the bathroom. Now, I’d have to walk out there in a towel while Lorelei relaxed on my bed.

The last time this happened, it had led to some hot hand action and both of us coming hard.

Fuck, I wanted to feel her shattered from my touch again.

Baseball, sweaty locker room, hairy men in Speedos…

I willed my dick to soften and pulled the door open, finding Lorelei sitting on my bed above the sky-blue covers. Her hair was in one of those messy buns, a few tendrils framing her face, while she wore a pink tank top and pair of matching shorts that showed her long, creamy legs.

That satin material looked soft, but it had nothing on Lorelei’s skin. She felt like freshly bloomed rose petals. She smelled even better.

This was not helping my dick in the least.

Her brown eyes lifted from her phone, her mouth parting when she saw me looming in front of the bathroom door nearly naked.

I gave a dry laugh and pointed to my suitcase in the corner. “I forgot to get clothes. It’ll just take a second.”

“Oh. Sure. Go ahead.” She swung her legs to the plush rug beneath the bed and stood. “I’ll just keep my back turned so you can get dressed.” Her shy smile squeezed my heart in a vise grip.

A few weeks ago, I never would have thought Lorelei Battenberg had a shy bone in her hot body, but there were so many sides to this woman no one ever saw. Not a damn soul knew how kind or vulnerable she could be, and my possessive streak loved the fact that she only let me past her high walls. I didn’t want to share her with anyone else.

She wasmine.