by Lola Gabriel
Keira pulled back and looked up at him. Axel was flushed, his hair pushed back from his face and his eyes shining in the half-light of the bedroom. He wriggled out of the jeans he still had half on and lay on top of her. He held her hands down, arms above her head, pinning her to the bed.
“You’re perfect,” he said, kissing her jawbone, her collarbones, and down her body.
For half a second, she felt a pang of guilt, but there was too much pleasure for that. Too much of a lightning storm, its power collecting just below her bellybutton. As Axel kissed further down her body, his hands slipped from her hands to her wrists to her upper arms to her breasts, where he concentrated his energy for a while before taking one hand to undo her tight jeans. She lifted her hips to let him peel them off her, and he held her like that, with one arm beneath the small of her back as he threw them into a corner and dipped his head between her thighs, letting her hips sink a little as he buried his face in her and used his tongue.
Light danced behind her closed eyes. Keira couldn’t help but cursing harder than she had when she’d been playing darts. Never in her two-hundred and ninety years had she come close to these waves of ecstasy which were rippling from Axel’s mouth on her. She moaned and pushed herself toward him, taking one of his hands and pulling his face to hers so she could taste herself—taste him and her together.
“Please,” she groaned, guiding him into her. “I need you.”
“Oh, my God… you feel so good.” No guilt this time. Not even for moment. No room now for anything but that electricity, that warmth, Axel’s skin sticking to hers as he murmured sweet things in her ear and pushed into her, moved with her, until they were both crying out.
5
Axel
Axel couldn’t sleep. The mysterious blonde was curled against him, breathing sweetly in the dark. Her back and thighs and buttocks were pressed against him, warm and soft. Beneath the comforter, he stroked the curves of her side.
Everything up until their game of darts was something of a blur: her walking into the bar, Byron grandstanding on his behalf… She was so funny; smart. And Byron’s toast earlier still, “To the next one being your mate, and for there being no pain!” Axel had said something glib, but what did Byron care? He’d been bonded for centuries. What did Axel’s romantic missteps even look like to him?
Axel propped himself up on an elbow to look at the woman. He didn’t feel weird, watching her sleep. He was fighting the urge to kiss her. He smoothed her hair back over her shoulder. He didn’t want to wake her, but he needed to see her better. Her sweet elven nose, her long eyelashes, the way she was sleeping with her lips turned up into almost a smile. He would never be able to leave this bed, he thought. They would live in this bed now, forever, together. Until they starved to death, he supposed. He knew he should at least try to get some shut eye, but her pull was tidal. Sleep would mean leaving her until morning.
Axel thought again about the afternoon, and it was only then that Leonida swam back into his mind. Leonida… Axel had been so upset about her earlier. He knew this didn’t change things, that he should still at least be angry. He had been disrespected—the whole pack had been disrespected. But what good would anger do?
He lay back down, curling himself around the sleeping body next to him. He fit like a puzzle piece. He had been ruined, he knew, since the moment his fingers brushed her palm when he’d handed over the darts. That electricity. Their charges meeting and combining. And now it was a warm buzz, an afterglow. Her breathing synced up with his, as well as her heartbeat under the arm he had wrapped around her front.
Axel wondered what the bartender would think, if he would be cocky about his stupid toast. He hadn’t made it happen, of course not. He’d just gotten lucky. Not as lucky as Axel, though; no one in the world could be feeling as lucky as Axel did as he drifted off to sleep.
6
Keira
When she woke up, Keira rolled onto her back, rubbed her eyes, and reached a hand out for Axel. When she didn’t feel his body next to hers, she was disappointed for a second, and then her stomach dropped. What the hell had she done?
She pulled the thick white comforter up over her head and groaned. Limply, she punched the mattress beside her with the back of her fist. This was not a part of the plan. She rolled over, trying to wrap herself up completely, shut out the morning. His pillow smelled like him. God, it smelled good. Why did he smell like woodsmoke? Keira let herself indulge, her face half buried in the scent of him, but only for a moment. It was almost enough to have her calling out for him to come back to bed.
She sat upright, determined to make better decisions today. Was this a decision, though? It wasn’t up to her, or either of them. It was chemical, animal. She groaned again and laid the back of her head against the wall. She could smell coffee being made downstairs. Her jeans were balled up in the corner of the room, and they’d knocked a load of books and papers over. She crawled around, still slightly wrapped in the covers, but she couldn’t find her t-shirt. Once she’d pulled on her underwear, she grudgingly grabbed Axel’s from the night before. He would want her out of it once he’d heard what she had to tell him, and not in a good way.
Keira stood up and had to lean against the doorframe. They’d definitely been drinking, but that wasn’t a good excuse. Nothing was. Even when she felt it, she should have been honest. This was no way to start the rest of their lives. At the top of the stairs, she paused. They were strewn with coats and boots. She remembered Axel’s hands cupping her breasts, the way he had taken her shirt in his teeth. It should be around here somewhere. She had to hold onto the bannister, her legs a little wobbly at the memory.
There were noises of drawers opening and closing from the kitchen. Was Axel… humming? Was he going to make this harder for her by being adorable? Well, it was her own damn fault. In the hallway, Keira turned to look for her t-shirt amongst the mess, but when she did, there he was. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, smiling at her. He had bed hair, and his smile reached his eyes in a way it hadn’t the day before. He was shirtless, barefoot, and holding a spatula.
“Good morning,” he said, and he loped lazily toward her until he was at the stairs, where he scooped her up toward him from behind and kissed her. Keira melted into him for just a moment, and then she wriggled free.
“Wait,” she said, walking forwards so that he was forced back toward the kitchen. He stepped back fully onto the linoleum. It must be late; the sun was coming through the windows. On the little kitchen table, there was a pot of coffee and two mugs, and he had been in the middle of making eggs. The countertop was a mess. Axel put the spatula down.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. He looked a little afraid, his brow tense. Keira walked over to the frying pan of eggs and pulled it from the burner, turning the stovetop off. He reached out for her hand, and the side of his fingers brushed hers. She jumped back as if she’d been burned.
“No,” she said, “you can’t touch me while I tell you this, or I won’t be able to… It’s too much.” For a moment, there was relief on Axel’s boyish, beautiful face.
“You still feel it, right? I’m not crazy?”
“No,” Keira answered. “I mean, yes. I mean, you aren’t crazy, I feel it. We’re supposed to be together… mates... but we can’t be.”
7
Axel
Axel began to laugh but stopped when he saw that she was tearing up, about to cry.
“What do you mean? You’re scared? So am I! We’ve never done this before.”
She was shaking her head. “No, you… you’re going to hate me…”
Standing in his kitchen, bathed in the weak midday light, she looked impossibly beautiful. Even almost crying. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let her out of his sight again. That, however, was when it struck him, almost at the same moment the words came out of her mouth. He didn’t know who this woman was.
“I didn’t tell you my name because I thought you might know it,” she said, her voice cra
cking a little. “I said I came from Paxon, and I did, but usually… before that… I’m from Juneau, I’m—” She could hardly talk through her sobs, and Axel couldn’t take it. He pulled her toward him, holding her to his bare chest so that her tears rolled down his stomach.
“So, our packs don’t get along?” he asked and kissed the top of her head. “This is stronger than that, we can work it out.” She pushed firmly away from him, took a step back, and wiped her eyes.
“I made this mess, let me finish,” she said. Her voice was no longer shaking or cracking. “I’m Keira. We met when we were children.” Axel felt his face start losing what little color it had. He knew what she was about to say, and he wanted to freeze time to stop her saying it. He wanted to tell her to stop there, they would run away together, but it couldn’t leave her lips.
Of course, it did.
“Chance is my brother.”
Axel walked past Keira, sat on a chair, and began pouring himself a coffee. He needed control of something, maybe. A coffee pot would have to do. It was a good twenty seconds before Keira walked slowly around the table and pulled out the chair opposite.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she sat.
“Drinking coffee,” Axel said, his face expressionless. There should be a storm raging inside him, but it was all silent. He was in the eye. “Why are you really in Fairbanks?” he demanded, trying not to meet her eyes and failing. Still damp with tears, they were the green of dewy grass. He wanted to reach across the table for her.
“He… he asked me to come,” Keira answered. “I didn’t really want to. I really was in Paxon. We have family in the area, the middle of nowhere. Axel, I’m so sorry. I was sent to find out more about Leonida, if you might know where she is. My brother is thinking about allowing her into Juneau.”
Axel’s hands were in his hair. The anger that had disappeared in the night was back with full force. He closed his eyes to feel it, because when he looked at Keira, it became blunted, quiet. “Was any of this real?”
Keira jumped out of her chair. Her hands were on his shoulders, then her arms wrapped around him, and her lips came down to his ear.
“Of course,” she told him, “of course, how could I fake this? I’ve never felt anything like the pull I do for you. From the first moment we touched. You know that.”
Axel knew he should wriggle free of her, but he couldn’t. She was making him weak.
“What have you told him?” he asked. “Have you told him about this?”
Her laugh tickled the side of his face. “No! When would I have? I just woke up.”
“You just came downstairs!”
“I just woke up! You know I did.”
Axel opened his eyes. Her hair was brushing his face. He could smell her shampoo, and under it, her, and under that, the tiniest hint of her bear scent. He took her right arm and pulled her around to face him, pulled her onto his lap on the chair. Keira’s face of surprise almost made him smile, and when he bent to kiss her, he forgot everything. Her legs were bare, and she was wearing his shirt. He tugged on it to tell her to shift further up him, closer to him. He knew she would be able to feel his excitement beneath her, and that it would undermine any anger he mustered. But he didn’t care. His thumb traced her bottom ribs, the lower edges of her breast as he held her waist beneath the shirt.
Keira was the one to pull away.
“No,” she said, “we have to try to think clearly.” But even as she said this, she was caressing his neck, pushing her face into his naked chest. “I want you so badly,” she murmured, almost as if she expected him not to hear. At least that was one question answered. This was real, and it was happening. Her hands were in his hair, tugging gently.
“Keira,” Axel said, “we shouldn’t—” But he didn’t make any move to stop her.
“You’re right,” Keira agreed, jumping off him. “No touching. We can’t think when we’re touching.” She looked down at herself. I’m going to put clothes on.” She pulled off the shirt she was wearing. Her exposed breasts looked wonderful and full in the light. Axel almost took a step toward her. Then he stopped himself and caught his shirt as she threw it at him. He bit his bottom lip.
“Ugh, Keira…” He pulled his shirt on. It smelled like her. Just what he needed. He should be so angry at her. When he thought of Chance, the idea of him taking in Leonida, his blood boiled. But Keira… She calmed him. How could he feel this for Chance’s sister?
Their families had been enemies for a generation. Their fathers had begun it with some feud that neither of them would speak of. Neither explained it to their children. It was just there. And now Chance was trying to ramp things up again. It was just like the Juneau pack to do something like this. Chance’s father had stolen land from Axel’s father, messed with trading deals with human partners back when those connections were important. And Axel’s father never started anything, but he couldn’t let the Fairbanks pack be trampled over like that…
Axel suddenly realized he had a dishrag in his two hands. He was twisting it tight, like he was wringing a neck.
When Keira walked back into the room, she was fully dressed. This didn’t make Axel want her any less. He crossed his arms, as if to protect himself.
“So, what will you tell him?” he asked. “What will you tell him about Leonida?”
Keira leaned against the wall furthest from him. “Do we have to talk about her?”
“You came into my territory to seduce information about my ex out of me!” Axel almost yelled this. “Sorry.”
Keira tugged on the hem of her shirt as though she was uncomfortable, trying to disappear behind it. “I wasn’t trying to seduce information out of you…”
“Oh, right, sure, come into a bar all dressed up and sit down next to me.”
She scoffed. “All dressed up? Axel, I was wearing a parka, and I’d been traveling all day.”
Axel shrugged and threw the dishcloth down. “Well, you looked good. I noticed you. I was supposed to—”
“I was wearing snow boots and jeans, Ax. I wasn’t intending to be noticed.”
“I would notice you anywhere.” He took a step toward her, but she put a hand on his chest.
“Ah, ah, no touching.”
“You’re touching me,” he argued.
“Only to stop you touching me!” Axel lingered for a moment before stepping back, leaning against the countertop again. He smiled.
“Did you just give me a little nickname?”
“Maybe.” Keira raised her eyebrows at him briefly. “Do you like it?”
“You could call me anything under the sun and I’d like it. Damn it, are we flirting again?”
Keira nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Well. Stop it.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Axel carried on. “What was your plan, then?” She shrugged, shaking her head.
“I don’t know. Ask around a little. Not try very hard. Tell my brother I couldn’t find anything out. That Fairbanks is suspicious of strangers. I mean, I wanted to meet you… find out who Chance’s arch nemesis is and what’s so awful about you.”
Axel let out a noise that sounded a lot like, Humph.
“Honestly, I hoped you would be awful. And you did a good job of convincing me with the moody face you had on you when I arrived at the bar.”
Axel turned so that his back was to her, his hands resting on the countertop. On the stove behind him, the eggs were cold.
“Well I wasn’t in the best place. She slept with a human, and not just one. Betrayed the whole damn pack. Betrayed me. She’s gone, and I don’t know where, so there’s your damn information. Run along and take it back to your precious brother. Maybe he’ll find her, maybe the two of you will be friends. You have something in common, at least.”
He knew he’d turned around on purpose to avoid looking at Keira as he said this. But he stayed like that, his shoulders tensed.
“Ax…” Keira sounded sad, half defeated. “I know you don’t mean that. And I’
m not telling him anything. Or, I’m not telling him anything about her. About Leonida.”
There was a long pause. Axel didn’t turn around, and Keira didn’t go to him. Finally, Axel said, “You’re going back?”
“Turn around,” Keira said. Pleaded, even. “Axel, look at me.” He didn’t, and she stepped forward to take him by the arm. He shook her off hard enough that her knuckles whacked the chair beside her.
“Oh, shit—” Axel turned now. “Are you okay, did I hurt you?” Keira was rubbing her left hand.
“Of course not. I’m fine.” She flexed her fingers to show him. “You’re not that strong, Ax.” She put out her hand, cupped his chin, and turned him to face her. “You know I have to go back to Juneau, right? At least for now… while we work this out. Chance has to know sometime. About us. I need to tell him I love you, and he needs to accept it. We can say that, right? We’re mates, I’m sure of it.”
Axel nodded. Just seeing her hopeful face filled him with calm, with warmth.
“I love you, too,” he said. “But apparently your brother is trying to destroy me. And my pack would fall on any member of yours that they knew was in town. Why did you even come? It’s so dangerous. Weren’t you scared?”
“Yes.” Keira shrugged. “But I’ve had no contact with Fairbanks since I was a small child, so what were the chances? And then there was you, and I wasn’t scared of anything anymore.”
8
Keira
Axel leaned in to kiss her. His stubble was rough today, scratching her chin, but she didn’t care. She put her arms around the back of his neck, telling him she wanted the kiss to be a long one; long and slow.
Did he know, as he slipped his hands around her hips, his fingers pushing into the small of her back and drawing her body close to his, that they might not see one another again? At least, for a very long time? His probing tongue, the way he stroked up and down her side and buried his face in her hair after they had pulled away from the kiss, said he did.
