Chapter Eight

Not edited or proofread.

Novella

Axel laced our fingers together as we headed toward the entrance of the restaurant he'd brought me to for dinner. This man was spoiling so much. I'd never been taken care of like this before, and I was easily sinking into it all. Everything he did just made me want him more and more.

Despite the bruises covering my skin, Axel looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and I couldn't get enough of it. I didn't have to tread on eggshells around him. Even earlier, he'd proven that I, for some reason, was just different.

Axel sneered at his phone as if the man he was speaking to was right in front of him. His personal assistant quickly placed a file in front of Axel, and Axel flipped it open, glaring at whatever was inside. "What the fuck do you mean you botched the deal?" Axel snarled. "How did you even manage to fuck it up, Ren?"

I roughly cleared my throat. It was warm in the office, which was what had woken me up, but I didn't want to bother Axel or his PA, Max, while they were so busy doing damage control. But when I got too warm, I started coughing; I couldn't help it.

Axel looked up at me at that moment, his features immediately softening. "Hold," he snapped at whoever was on the line before hitting the mute button. "You okay, baby?"

My cheeks flushed—not from the warm room this time—and I nodded. "Just a bit warm," I told him before trying to discreetly cough.

He looked at Max. "Can you get the fan from the storage closet and get her a bottle of water?"

Max nodded and hurried from the room. Axel scratched at his jaw, irritation flashing across his features when he looked down at the folder in front of him again. Sighing, he looked back up at me, his eyes softening so easily once again. "If you need something or you're uncomfortable, tell me. I don't care what I'm in the middle of."

"Okay," I said softly. He smiled at me before jabbing the mute button on his phone again. "Well, Ren, let's hear it. Tell me how you managed to fuck up a deal that's been in the works for damn near a year."

"How are you feeling?" Axel asked me as he pushed open the door, letting me in ahead of him.

"Fine," I told him, smiling at him. "I barely notice the bruises anymore."

He hummed and laced our fingers together before looking at the hostess. She eyed me, but when he roughly cleared his throat, drawing her eyes away from my bruised face, he snapped, "Axel Legend."

Her eyes widened before she quickly ducked them, grabbing two menus. "This way, Mr. Legend," she said softly, leading us to a table over in a corner. Axel pulled my chair out for me and waited until I was seated before taking his own seat across from me. Harlan took a seat at the table behind me and put his back to the wall, watching the room.

"You sure you don't need pain medicine?" Axel asked me.

I nodded. "I'm sure. I'm..." I chewed my bottom lip for a moment before releasing it when he shot me a heated look that I felt all the way to my core. My belly tightened, and my breath hitched in my throat.

Kissing him was already addictive. What would it feel like to have Axel claim every bit of my body as his? To own me?

"I'm used to it," I finally finished.

Axel's gaze darkened. "Well, get unused to it, Novella," he said, darkness lacing his words. But surprisingly, the way he spoke to me didn't alarm me. Didn't spike fear in my veins. I only wanted to sink into him, into the protection he was surrounding me with. I'd never felt so safe in my life. "No one will ever touch you again," he swore.

A small smile tilted my lips. "I know," I said softly.

I just needed to find a way to thank him for saving me. For giving me a home. For protecting me.

For giving me everything I'd been seeking in my life.

~*~*~

I blew out a soft breath, staring at myself in the bathroom mirror. I'd put on a pair of soft, light pink, silk pajama shorts with a black lace hem and a matching tank top. I wasn't wearing a bra, and the cooler air of the bathroom had my nipples pressing against the silky top. My hair was down and sort of a mess from the day since I hadn't bothered washing it. The biggest problem I saw were all my bruises.

Was I really about to do this? Was I really about to walk down to Axel's office and try to seduce him?

Fuck, I really wanted him. I was aching for him. His tenderness and the way he kissed me had me ready to explode. I'd gotten myself off in the shower, but it hadn't been enough. I needed Axel.

I released a slow, shaky breath before turning off the light and leaving my bathroom. I padded barefoot out of my room, softly closing the door behind me before I headed down the stairs, my arms wrapped over my chest in case I ran into anyone. Thankfully, I didn't, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of Axel's office. The door was open, just as he'd promised it would be in case I needed him.

And I did now need him, didn't I?

He looked up, and his nostrils flared at the sight of me. Slowly sitting his pen down, he rolled back from his desk a little, arching a brow at me that shouldn't have been as hot it was.

"You look good enough to eat, baby girl," he rasped, his eyes trailing down my body like a caress. Goosebumps erupted over my flesh everywhere his eyes touched.

I took a tentative step into his office and dropped my arms. His eyes latched onto my breasts and my hard nipples. I swallowed thickly, hating that my hands were clammy. With much more bravado than I actually felt, I softly asked, "Would you?"

He snapped his eyes up to mine, something dark and primal lingering in them that had my insides tingling. "Would I what, baby?" he growled.

I licked my lips. "Eat me," I quietly replied.

He stood from his desk and began unfastening the buttons of his shirt. My heart slammed against my breastbone, and my knees went a little weak. "If you're asking what I think you are, baby girl, shut the door and come here."

I grabbed the door handle and softly closed the door before padding over to him. He settled me on his desk, shoved my thighs apart, and settled his body between them. I moaned when his hard cock pressed against my damp core, and then he was kissing me, robbing me of my breath and any coherent thought.

"You sure you want this?" he rasped before trailing his mouth along my jaw and down my neck. A low whine crawled up my throat, and I rolled my hips against him, grinding my core down along his cock. A low moan slid from his throat before he gripped the hem of my shirt and tugged it over my head, tossing it to the floor after.

I didn't even have a moment to think before he was pushing me back to lie on his desk and his lips were wrapping around my nipple. I gasped, my back arching when he did something magical with his tongue that had me seeing stars. My fingers laced in his hair, tugging on the strands as he nibbled at the sensitive peak. When his mouth moved to my other tit, I loudly moaned his name, already so drunk on him.

"God, you sound so fucking needy," he groaned, his lips moving down my belly as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my sleep shorts. He tugged them down with my thong, and then he was kneeling on the floor between my parted thighs. I didn't even have a moment to feel embarrassed before he was hooking my thighs over his shoulders and lapping at my cunt.

"Axel..." I moaned, my thighs tightening around his head. He groaned, the sound vibrating through me. When his lips wrapped around my clit, I cried out, practically bending in half on the table. Colors burst behind my eyelids, and just that fucking fast, I was coming on his face, my breath lodged in my throat.

"Fuck," he growled, looking at me from between my thighs. He licked his lips, his chin damp. Without breaking eye contact with me, he swiped his thumb over his chin and then popped the digit in his mouth, sucking his thumb clean. I whimpered, my clit throbbing at the sight. "You came so goddamn fast, baby girl."

Embarrassment colored my cheeks, and I looked away from him. He rose from the floor and gripped my chin, turning my head back to look at him. "That was the hottest fucking thing I've ever experienced," he growled before kissing me. His tongue dipped into my mouth, forcing me to taste myself on his tongue. I moaned, my fingers clawing at his shirt.

While he tongue-fucked my mouth, I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, finally managing to get it open. He pulled back from me and dragged it off before unfastening his belt. My breathing quickened, and my hips instinctively rose off his desk, so damn eager for him to be inside of me.

"You ready for me, baby?" he asked while he reached into his desk drawer. I swallowed thickly when he pulled out a condom. He handed it to me, and I took it with trembling fingers. "Open it for me."

I did, and then I sat up, rolling the condom over his length without ever removing my gaze from his. He shuddered when my fingers slid over his length, and then he was kissing me, a low growl rumbling from his chest.

He was thick and long, definitely not what I was used to after being with Dexter for so long. But I couldn't wait to have him inside of me. To have him claim me and fuck me on his desk. I wanted him to look at this desk from here on out and remember laying me out across it and wrecking my pussy.

"Please," I pleaded.

He groaned and parted my thighs wider before sliding slowly inside of me. I clutched at his shoulders, moaning as he stretched me open, my arousal making it easy for his thick length to part me. He panted against my lips before kissing me again, thrusting his tongue into my mouth as he pulled out and slid back inside of me.

"F-f-fuck," I gasped, my nails biting into his skin. He groaned and pushed me to lay back on the desk before parting my legs even further apart. After glancing at my face to make sure I wasn't in pain, he began thrusting earnestly, his hips slinging back and forth.

I couldn't think. Could barely fucking breathe. Everything faded except him, our joined bodies, and how damn good he was making me feel.

"Axel," I panted, my hands grasping his wrists. A pitiful sound ripped from my lungs. "Close. Please. Daddy," I begged, the word slipping before I could stop it.

He snarled and leaned over me, bending my legs even further back as he kissed me with a savageness that should have frightened me but only sank me deeper into the headspace he was sending me into. I clung to him as my walls tightened around him.

"Say it again, baby girl," he begged before sinking his teeth into my bottom lip and gently sucking on it.

"Daddy," I sobbed, tears sliding down my cheeks from how fucking good this all felt. How full I was—both physically and emotionally. And then, I fell apart around him, a choked scream ripping from me as I flooded his cock.

Axel kissed me and followed me over the edge, his cock swelling inside of me as he filled the condom. He pulled me up, peppering kisses all over my face as he settled us into his desk chair, his softening cock slipping out of me.

"Never call me anything different," he begged, his fingertips swiping tears off my damp cheeks.

I sniffled and tucked my face into the crook of his neck. "Okay, Daddy," I murmured.

He crushed me to him and turned his head, pressing a kiss to my temple.