~~PEYTON~~
I’m driving around in circles, scanning the whole place like it’s some treasure map, but the only treasure I’m finding is my own stupidity.
I can’t believe I actually got lost.
Hating just how right Axel was.
My gas light has been glaring at me like an angry red eye for what feels like an hour, and just as I’m about to admit defeat, the engine sputters, coughs, and dies.
Complete silence…
Fantastic.
I grab my phone, my fingers flying across the screen.
*I’m lost*
Axel sends a laughing emoji.
And I can’t help but laugh at myself too.
It’s truly pathetic.
*Help*
*Be right there*
I slump back in the seat, relief washing over me.
I’ve stopped on a corner; it’s dark, but the dim streetlights are enough to see the entire place that screams, “Keep out if you have less than a million dollars in your account.”
Every house is a mansion, set back behind towering gates and manicured hedges, looking less like homes and more like fortified castles.
I suddenly feel incredibly small and exposed.
So this is where Axel lives.
I thought their father favored only Odin and didn’t leave a significant wealth to the twins.
Odin once confessed that he’s the only potential candidate for the inheritance, but it would only be handed over once he proved maturity and responsibility.
And thus this ‘cage marriage’ with me.
Now looking at this place, at Axel’s obvious wealth, it is clear Odin is a liar, or isn’t he?
A few minutes later, headlights cut through the darkness, growing steadily brighter.
It’s Axel.
He pulls up alongside my dead car.
He doesn’t kill the engine.
I get out, practically jogging to his car.
I slide into the passenger seat, the leather cool beneath me.
There’s no “Miss my dick?” this time, no playful jabs.
His earlier, playful demeanor from the texts has completely disappeared.
He’s just silent, focused, and serious as he shifts into drive.
The car glides away from the curb, leaving my stranded vehicle behind without a backward glance.
I don’t speak, suddenly feeling self-conscious, exposed, vulnerable.
Am I doing the right thing entrusting myself to him…
a somewhat mysterious, sexy man I hooked up with in a club?
Even if we are kind of like part of the same family, we’ve only seen each other four times in total, including now.
The car stops, and he finally turns to me.
“Brought the snack?”
”Nope,” I say casually, looking like it’s not a big deal, but I’m wrong.
Axel scoffs.
“Alright then, hope you’re on birth control.”
”Oh my God, is that…
was that…
what you meant in the first place?
A condom?” A blush creeps up my neck.
What else would Axel be asking for from a pharmacy?
He just stares at me, a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips.
“What did you think it was, hot dogs?
And besides, what will a man and a woman be doing in a cold, empty house?”
”Sleep in different beds!” I shoot back, my heart beating fast as I unbuckle my seatbelt and practically leap out of the car.
He follows, shutting his door with a soft click.
I stride fast.
I don’t know why I’m running; I feel incredibly stupid right now.
I stop at the imposing entrance, pushing on the heavy door, but it’s locked.
Axel has caught up to me now; he’s close, too close that I can feel his breath ghosting over my hair as he reaches around me to unlock the door from behind.
The heavy door swings inward, and I’m greeted by a hallway bathed in a golden light, gleaming and glossy.
God, it feels like a castle.
My gaze sweeps over the polished marble floors that reflect the soft glow of chandeliers.
The air smells faintly of something expensive and clean, utterly unlike the suffocating tension I’d just escaped.
It was opulent, understated, and mostly cozy.
This was Axel’s world.
“Hungry?” Axel’s voice cuts through my awe, a casual question that feels oddly out of place.
I shrug, pulling my eyes away from the glittering display.
“I ate at your mother’s place, remember?”
”Oh, that?
The one in the bathroom that was just a five-minute thing before Rap interrupted?”
I frown.
What is he…
is he talking about sex?
I sigh and just shake my head.
My brain is too fried for his convoluted teasing tonight.
I catch the frown on his face immediately as I walk past him, finding my way to the bar in the corner of the vast space.
I reach for a bottle of amber liquid and pour myself a generous amount into a tumbler.
“Want some?” I ask, turning to face him, the glass already halfway to my lips.
“Yeah,” he says, “dripping and wet.”
I groan.
“Seriously, is sex all you think of?”
”Until the last few days, when it was replaced with you.” His eyes are fixed on mine, surprisingly intense.
“Oh my God,” I mutter, rubbing my temples.
This is not what I needed right now.
Someone is annoying the shit out of me.
He calls this flirting?
A warm breath hits me.
Suddenly, Axel is close behind me, his proximity a jarring warmth against my back.
He leans in, his lips brushing my ear.
“I bet Odin never makes you feel this sweet frustration, huh?”
I had thrown myself at his mercy with no escape.
His body is pinning me down against the counter.
He places his hands on the counter, each hand by my side, completely trapping me.
Our chests are practically glued together.
My eyes shut, and that same flutter in my stomach erupts.
When I open my eyes again, his eyes are dark, intense, and for a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me.
My breath hitches, and I can feel the heat radiating off his body, the faint scent of his cologne.
It’s intoxicating and terrifying all at once.
“You know,” he murmurs, his lips inches from mine, “you really shouldn’t walk into a stranger’s house and start helping yourself to their liquor.”
My eyes snap open.
The spell is broken.
He’s smirking again, that infuriating, knowing look back in his eyes.
My heart, which had been doing a frantic drum solo against my ribs, deflates.
Of course.
It’s Axel.
What did I expect?
A grand romantic confession?
“You’re not a stranger,” I retort, trying to sound nonchalant, but my voice comes out a little breathy.
“You were the one who invited me.”
”Did I?”
Heat floods my cheeks.
He’s deliberately trying to rattle me, and he’s succeeding.
“It’s just for one night,” I say, and he lets out a soft chuckle, a sound that does nothing to ease the tension coiling in my stomach.
“But still, manners, Peyton. I’m not saying you can’t have a drink, just… ask.”
He pulls back slightly, just enough to give me some breathing room, but he doesn’t move away completely.
His presence still looms, large and dominant.
He picks up another glass from the bar, then takes the bottle and pours a measure for himself, and then tops off mine.
“Thanks,” I mumble, taking a large gulp of the whiskey.
It burns, but it also provides a welcome jolt of courage.
“So,” he starts, still close, “you want to tell me what’s really going on?”
I tense.
“What do you mean?”
”Don’t play coy,” he scoffs.
“Spill.”
He’s sharp.
Too sharp.
I take another sip of my drink, buying myself time.
How much should I tell him?
Or maybe I shouldn’t, but it’s no secret that Odin and I are in a tight hole.
“It’s… complicated,” I finally say.
He raises an eyebrow, a clear invitation for me to elaborate.
The silence stretches, filled only by the clinking of ice in our glasses.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. The only thing I can say is I need a boyfriend. Really fast,” I say, and his smile widens.
“So…”
He’s direct; so am I.
“Wanna be my boyfriend?”