Axel (Carolina Reapers 1)

I fed her a small slice of the cupcake, and she moaned. “God, that’s good.”

Then she held a slice of the cake up to my lips, and I took her fingers into my mouth, letting my tongue swirl over her skin before pulling back with the cake.

Her eyes widened, and when I noticed she had some of the icing on her finger, I captured it again, licking it clean between my lips. “Better?” I asked.

She nodded, her lips parted, and her eyes on mine. “Now you’re supposed to kiss me.”

“But not every woman in the room?” I teased.

“Just me,” she whispered.

“Only you,” I vowed, capturing her mouth in a kiss that tasted like cake, frosting, and Langley. She whimpered when my tongue stroked along hers, and before I could stop myself, I found my hands on her hips, then her thighs on either side of mine as her dress slipped up to accommodate me.

She rolled her hips over mine as she sank her fingers into my hair, pulling it free of the leather band I had it tied with. Then it was her tongue in my mouth, her scent invading my common sense, her need escalating my own.

How the hell had I survived my entire life without kissing this woman?

My hand splayed over the soft, bare skin of her upper back as I kissed her with abandon. I tilted her head so I could take her deeper, until she moaned and made me forget where we were.

Luckily, turbulence jostled us, reminding me that we weren’t alone. Normally, I wouldn’t give a shit, but this wasn’t any normal woman.

This was my wife.

I broke the kiss and noted her racing pulse with a smug grin. Knowing I got to her was the best possible wedding present. Then I put my bride to my side and handed her a glass of champagne.

“To being married,” I said as we toasted.

“To being married,” she whispered, her eyes full of the kind of promise I wasn’t ready to act on. Not yet. Not until she wanted me in her heart, not just her bed.

Langley was exhausted by the time we landed. She covered her mouth with a dainty hand when she yawned, and then looked across the limo with a sheepish smile, mouthing, sorry.

I shook my head with a slight smile, then gave my attention back to Eden as she went over the finer parts of my contract.

Charleston went by us in a sunset-colored blur. It was almost eight-thirty, and I was surprised both Langley and I were still awake, let alone able to focus.

“I can’t skydive?” I asked.

“Nope. That’s the hazardous activities clause. You can’t do anything dangerous that might take you out of the game with an injury. Zero reckless behavior,” Eden lectured, looking over her cat-eye glasses. “This provision has all stupidity on lockdown.”

Had to admit, I expected her to be older, but if I had to guess, she was only in her mid-twenties. Lukas said something about her dad being one of the American hockey greats, but I never paid attention to that kind of stuff.

“You’re not some kind of hidden thrill-seeker, are you?” she questioned.

I looked over at my wife, who simply arched an eyebrow. “I think I have all the thrill-seeking I can handle with that one.”

“Don’t even get me started on how the two of you ended up married,” Eden muttered. “Wait, is there something I need to know?” She directed her attention to Langley.

Langley sat up, pulling the edges of my jacket together over her dress. This wasn’t my wife in the limo now, this was the very smart, very savvy, very powerful public relations director of the South Carolina Reapers. “Let’s just say that it was part of his contract negotiations.”

“Oh, Christ,” Eden swore. “Are you serious?”

“It was requested by your client, and I agreed.” She shrugged.

Eden sighed, then swung her glare my way. “You know what this looks like if it gets out? Because I sure as hell know that she does,” she pointed in Langley’s direction.

“Like I’m really good at negotiation?” I asked.

Langley laughed, and my smile was instant.

“This isn’t funny!” Eden barked.

“Relax, Eden,” Langley said in her professional voice. “I whole-heartedly agreed to Axel’s request. It’s temporary and mutually beneficial. Trust me.”

Our eyes locked and the heat I saw there was enough to raise the temperature in the stretch limo. Hell yes, it was going to be mutually beneficial. I was going to make her come in so many different ways that she’d never leave my bed.

Just as soon as it wasn’t only the sex she wanted.

“Temporary?” Eden hissed. “Look, Axel, I like Langley. A lot. But if you just handed over half of your—”

“Eden, for God’s sake, I had him sign a prenup, even if he was against it,” Langley snapped. “We both walk out of this thing with exactly what we had when we walked in, and both of our earnings stay separate. He’s protected.”