duvet and went back to the guest bedroom. I slid under the covers. Axel’s woodsy scent lingered on the sheets, and I pressed my cheek harder against it, inhaling.
What had I done to deserve all this attention and care?
Axel was so strong and caring, rambunctious, and full of surprises. He was the kind of family man my mother would have loved. His past didn’t scare me; in fact, it excited me. His present intrigued me, and the future held as many questions as my own. What would have happened between us if Trevor hadn’t woken up? Would he have been as rough as that night, or gentler? The atmosphere between us had shifted tonight, as if we’d passed that threshold of friends. He’d introduced me to his mother, trusted me with his son, and welcomed me to his home.
I turned on my side, thinking about Axel’s naked body, remembering how hot he felt against my skin. My hand slid to my engorged breasts. I squeezed the right one, the same way he had, and pinched my nipple between my fingers with the exact pressure with which his lips had caressed it not long ago. My mouth parted, imagining his tongue swirling and teasing, and I slid my hand lower, over my belly, until I touched the heat between my legs. I was wet and swollen. I drew the moisture up to my clit and massaged it, thinking about Axel: his tender touch and curious tongue. The circles underneath my fingers tightened. My breath hitched and my body heated, responding to the stimulation. I writhed on the sheets, desperate to find a cooler spot and eager to finish off what I started as fast as possible. Thinking about Axel’s thick fingers, remembering how he’d beckoned me to come toward him and how he held onto my hips, imagining pulling my tongue over the creases of his v-shape underneath his navel while he explored my lower half with his mouth, were driving me crazy. The hot sweat beading over my body turned cold as I felt light-headed. My legs tensed, then released, and tensed up again.
“Axel,” I whispered, stroking faster, concentrating all my energy on the enlarged nub underneath my middle and fore-finger, drawing more juices to slick over its heat.
A jitter coursed through my legs. My upper arm ached from the onslaught. I brought my chin to my chest and opened my mouth. Sweat dripped down my forehead and between my breasts.
A pulse of energy burst out from between my legs, shaking me uncontrollably as every muscle linked by tendons was bound into tight balls. My thighs quivered under the pressure, and the sexual energy coursing through me was sucked from my body and drawn to my pussy. My back arched and my hips pushed harder against my fingers, forcing the fierce touch to ignite my skin until I broke apart, shaking, stroking harder, quivering as the burst of orgasm tore from underneath my fingers, zapping out through my toes.
I collapsed, unable to move, think, or speak. My arms flapped to the sides, my arched back lowered to the sheets, and I became a noodle.
Soaked, I settled into the pillows, hugging one tightly against my chest, and fell asleep. My dreams took me back to a time when a possible happy future was crushed.
----
“ I ’m so in love !” Chloe gushed over the new man in her life. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
I’d picked her up at the train station an hour before. We were fifteen minutes away from home, northwest of Washington. Feeling the car’s control slip underneath my fingers, I gripped the steering wheel harder. I turned on the wipers as snow and rain plastered the front window, trying to glue itself there permanently. The asphalt glistened underneath the dust of snow, and I paid attention to the tracks left behind by the car ahead. While at this moment I wished Chloe had chosen the morning train instead of the midnight one, I couldn’t be happier that she was here.
“I’m just happy you’re back. Mom and Dad were so worried. If it weren’t for the weekly postcards, they would have sent out a search