Hot damn. How could the bar even support his mass?
My pulse skipped, and warmth flooded every cell in my body as my lips parted.
“Langley?” Gage’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“I’ve hit a snag.”
Gage sighed, and I could easily picture him rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. “We need him, Langley.”
“I know.”
“This team has to have power, or we’ll sink before we’ve begun.”
“I know.”
“I know recruiting isn’t in your job description,” he said. “But you’re the best shot we have. I come over there or send Silas, and you know he’ll laugh us out of the country.”
“I know,” I said again, softer this time. “I’m working on it.”
“Clock is ticking.”
“Well call a timeout,” I teased. “I’ll text you when I have something.”
I hung up and slipped my cell into my pocket again, seriously contemplating chucking the thing. It had been beyond tempting after the breakup. All I’d wanted to do was throw it in the garbage and disappear for a few months.
But I loved my job, and I wasn’t going to let a breakup ruin that for me. Plus, I’d had the benefit of already being abroad when my ex had forced me to choose, and Sweden had been the perfect distraction.
Sweden and Axel—who had taken it upon himself to shadow me those two weeks. Quiet, watchful, protective. His presence had been like a flame licking down my skin—constant and true. A flash of me dancing in a human-sized birdcage on top of a bar had me cringing, as did the memory of Axel hauling me out of there. I hadn’t drank that much whiskey since.
Axel dropped from the pull-up bar, his shoes hitting the mat with barely a sound. How could the giant be so…graceful? He practically glided to the row of dumbbells that lined the farthest wall of the gym. His long fingers wrapped around a couple that must’ve weighed fifty pounds each with how huge they were. But he curled those suckers with ease, over and over again, his brow furrowing slightly at the strength needed to continue the movement so many times in a row.
My skin heated as I watched him—some empty, hollow part of me waking up and reaching for anything besides the loneliness I’d felt for far longer than I realized.
Axel returned the weights to their slots and grabbed the jump-rope, his feet quick as a blink. His long, dirty-blond hair was tied back, and his beard was neatly trimmed, lining his strong jaw.
I hated to admit it, but those two weeks in Sweden had been some of the best days I’d had in a long time, even with the breakup. I’d laughed and drank and danced and ate amazing food without worrying what it would do to my body. I’d been…free. And Axel had made me laugh. Had made sure I was never alone unless I needed to be. He’d done all that…without a grimace, without an eyeroll, without a sigh. He’d wanted to be near me, even without a shot in hell at sex. He’d known what kind of mindset I’d been in and it hadn’t scared him off.
I sucked in a long, slow breath, that aching spot in my chest easing.
I deserved a little wildness.
A little fun.
And Axel? He was the definition of wild—and sex.
Good God, the man would be incredible in bed. I had no doubt about that.
And, I didn’t mind his company. I liked the challenge he posed, the fearlessness about him. How he was one-hundred percent himself. He might frustrate the hell out of me, but he also intrigued me, thrilled me, and surprised me.
What were six months in the scheme of things? It wasn’t a commitment or even a promise, even with the rings. It was just...six months. I had trial gym memberships longer than that, and they definitely didn’t guarantee the fun that signing a contract with Axel would.
My heart raced, each beat propelling me to the craziest, wildest decision I’d ever made.
After the hell I’d been through, I wanted this.
And I hadn’t realized how badly I needed this until he’d offered it up to me on a silver Swedish platter.
Six months of coming home to that smile.
Six months of waking up to that body in my bed.
Six months of what I already knew was going to be explosive sex that just might bring me back to life. Sure, I’d heard what he’d said, Sex isn’t part of this deal. I’m not trading your body for a contract.
I appreciated that and knew he meant it. Axel turned every female head within a three-mile radius, so it wasn’t like he had to contract out for sex. But I also knew the electric sizzle that hit me every time he walked into a room wasn’t one-sided. And if I was going to marry Axel for six months, there was zero chance I wasn’t indulging in all that.