Axel (Royal Protectors Book 3)

by Kat Mizera

  “I didn’t mean to fall asleep last night.” I loved how it felt for his huge body to cover mine. He was kissing me again, getting me all worked up without doing much of anything else. His warm hands were magic, but his lips captivated me. Always.

  When he reached for something on the nightstand, I put my hand on his forearm to stop him. “I got an IUD this week. We’re good.”

  “You’re, uh, okay going without protection?”

  “I’m protected against pregnancy and I don’t have any diseases.” My eyes met his and he nodded.

  “I haven’t been with anyone else in more than six months.”

  “Make love to me, Axel.” I pulled him down again for another soul-twisting kiss and my legs fell open without any encouragement from him. He was thick and hard against my thigh and I raised my knees, giving him easy access.

  “God, you’re gorgeous.” He slid into me slowly, our eyes locked, and everything disappeared. He’d been inside of me dozens of times since that first night, but this was different. The lack of condom, being on a bed, our first trip away together, all of it came together to make something shift between us and as he glided in and out, there was no mistaking his need for me was as great as mine for him.

  He didn’t rush, like we often did because we had somewhere to be or didn’t want to get caught, but instead made a point of drawing everything out. Each stroke of his cock was slow and intense. He was making love to my lips at the same time, kissing me as if it was the first time all over again, with a tenderness that matched the motions of the rest of him.

  I was lost in his touch, his sex, his glorious body. Every thrust brought me closer to the edge, pleasure spreading over me like a mask of passion that covered me from head to toe.

  “Look at me, baby,” he whispered against my mouth, his forehead resting against mine. “I want to look into your beautiful blue eyes while you come for me.”

  “Mmm… Axel…” I squirmed, needing more, but he was still going painstakingly slowly. Usually, we were all over each other, rough and wild and without abandon. Today he was torturing me with sweet ecstasy, slowing down each time I got close and then bringing me right back to the edge before pulling back again.

  “Open your eyes.” Our gazes locked and he shifted his hips, tilting up and hitting something deep inside of me that made me gasp.

  “Oh, yes, please, yes!” I moved with him, struggling to stay focused on his handsome face as a tsunami of pleasure shook me. “Axel!” I bucked beneath him, my mouth fusing to his as everything spiraled away from me. He pulsed inside of me and we drifted to another plane, that place where, for a short moment in time, everything was otherworldly and perfect.

  It took a long time for my heart to slow and my senses to return to normal. Axel was still on top of me, his face resting in the hollow of my shoulder. He was still hard inside of me and I clenched around him, unconsciously trying to keep him close. As if he sensed what I needed, he lifted his head to gaze into my eyes.

  “I’m right here,” he said softly. “You tell me when it’s okay to move.”

  I sighed, wrapping my arms more tightly around him. “Never.”

  We must have dozed back off because I woke up with a start and realized we’d changed positions. I was nestled against his side now, and when my stomach growled loudly, he chuckled, though he didn’t open his eyes.

  “I think it might be time for breakfast.”

  “Probably.”

  “Would you like to go to the beach today?”

  “Very much.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  “You don’t mind? I don’t picture you as the type to laze on a beach all day.”

  “Normally, I’m not, but getting to look at you in a bathing suit all day? I’m totally down for that.”

  “Then I’m very excited.” I sat up and I felt his hand glide up my back as my hair tumbled down over it. I glanced down at him and smiled as he fisted my hair and dragged me back down to him so he could kiss me. His tongue found mine almost urgently, a silent communication about our growing need for each other.

  “I really liked making love to you on a bed,” he breathed against my mouth.

  “I liked it too.”

  “Can I do it again?”

  “After you feed me,” I chuckled. “I’m starving.”

  “Deal.”

  The rest of our trip was perfect. We spent the afternoon on the beach, the evening strolling around the city as I shopped and he spoke to the people the king had asked him to check in with. We ate at a fabulous restaurant and talked about everything, from our childhoods to his love for his job and my love for computers.

  The only thing I hadn’t mentioned to him was my conversation with Jonas about the requirements to become a Royal Protector. Somehow, it felt silly, like he might laugh at me. It might not be feasible, but it was something I’d been thinking about a lot lately. I didn’t know if I had it in me to be a bodyguard, someone that literally threw themselves in the middle of danger to protect others, but I’d been serious when I’d told him I never wanted to feel helpless again. When that kid had grabbed my purse, something inside of me had snapped and I’d reacted without giving it much thought. Now I wondered if I was crazy or if it was something I could actually do.

  I was still too afraid to mention it to Axel. I knew he wouldn’t mock me, but my gut told me he wouldn’t like it, and I wasn’t sure why. Xander had been very matter-of-fact about the requirements, and they were fairly daunting. College degrees, military experience, and more, meant I was way behind the eight ball for this, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make it a goal.

  “You’ve been quiet since we left Voda,” Axel said on the drive home.

  “Just sad that we’re going back to the real world and won’t have a bed to ourselves anymore.”

  He cut a glance in my direction. “We both have beds.”

  “Yes, but we’ve always had them. I get the feeling you don’t want us to be seen coming in and out of each other’s rooms.”

  “I think after this trip that ship has sailed. No one is going to have any doubts about our relationship, and frankly, I’m okay with it. I’m happy to sleep over whenever you want.”

  That cheered me up considerably and I smiled. “That will make things easier because I’ll be at the school all week, probably working longer hours than usual. Shannon needs all of the students’ personal information, transcripts and paperwork put into the system as soon as possible.”

  “Do you know how many have enrolled?” he asked.

  “It’s quite small, but not terrible. Around a hundred, at last count. They were hoping for double that, but this way the kids will have a lot of individualized attention. The negative, of course, is the lack of sports or much in the way of extracurricular activities, but we hope to draw in more children next year.”

  “We?” Axel flashed a fond smile. “You’ve settled right in, haven’t you?”

  “I suppose I have.” I paused. “Is that okay?”

  “Of course it’s okay. I love having you here. My fear is that you’re going to let your parents guilt you into going back to Vinake.”

  “As long as things are going well at the inn, I think they’ll want to stay. Mama misses her friends, but I can see how much more relaxed she is here.”

  “And if things don’t go well at the inn?”

  “I guess it depends on a lot of things. If I have a job making enough money to survive. If you want me to stay. What Kostya decides to do.”

  “That boy is going in the military if I have to carry him to basic training myself,” he muttered.

  I laughed. “Yes, I agree, and I’ll be there to help you.”

  “As far as you and I go, there’s nothing to worry about. And from what I’ve heard, everyone loves having you here too. I don’t know anything about what they’re paying you, though.”

  “For now, Princess Elen has been paying me cash, probably far more than I’m worth, but it’s been l
ovely to receive money every week for doing something I love.”

  “Make sure you talk to her or Shannon about that, so you’re not caught off guard if they’re not going to keep you on or whatever. To be honest, I haven’t been paying much attention to that part of it, but be proactive. Don’t let them take advantage of you.”

  “I have no education and no work experience. I feel lucky they’ve given me a chance to do this at all.”

  “Yes, but you’ve already proven yourself, so now it’s time for you to make sure you take control. Ask them if it’s permanent. Ask them how much it pays. Those are all considerations if you plan to stay in Hiskale.”

  “It’s a bit complicated,” I admitted. “I would need to find a place to live because I probably can’t stay at the palace forever. I don’t drive and the school isn’t in the center of town, so I’d need a way to get there… It’s not as simple as just asking.”

  He reached for my hand, staring straight ahead. “You don’t have to worry about that. If you move in with me, I’ll make sure you get to work every day.”

  26

  Axel

  I wasn’t sure where the words came from, but they popped out before I could stop them.

  Holy shit, I’d just asked her to move in with me.

  Either I was a dumbass or I was going to marry this girl, but there was no in between anymore. What the hell was I thinking?

  “Axel, are you sure?” The look on her face was pretty much the personification of everything I was thinking, but I couldn’t take it back and as the idea settled into my psyche, I honestly didn’t want to.

  “Yeah.” I continued to stare straight ahead but I had to be honest with her. She meant too much to me. “I told you from the beginning, there’s some ugliness inside of me that scares me a little bit, but you keep that part of me at bay. When I’m with you, I forget about all the shit I’ve seen, the war and death and worst of humanity. It’s like you’re slowly bringing me back to life, Solange, and I’m crazy about you. I don’t know how to go back to sleeping without you after this weekend, and I don’t want to. I want to see what there is to see, if maybe this is a forever kind of thing.” I finally worked up the nerve to look at her and there were tears in her eyes. “Aw, baby, why are you crying?” I gripped her hand with one of mine.

  “Because I’ve been hoping, deep down inside, that you want me as much as I want you. We haven’t known each other that long, after all, and you probably have girlfriends all over the world but—”

  “I wish you wouldn’t say shit like that.” I managed a wry laugh. “I’ve had girlfriends, sure, but I don’t have any except this one sweet girl from Vinake… You think she’ll share me with you?”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t share you if I were her.”

  “Noted. So this means we’re exclusive?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You moving in?”

  “If you’re sure you want to take this step.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You understand what the unspoken implications of this are, yes?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Moving in together, for an old-fashioned family like mine, means you’re going to marry me.”

  I sighed. I did know this and in my heart of hearts, I was okay with it. I wasn’t ready for that kind of leap yet, we were still so new, but I had to find a way to toe the line with this topic because I didn’t want to muddy the waters with something so complicated this soon. “I’m good with that in the future,” I said slowly. “But we’re not ready for that step yet. At least, I’m not.”

  “I’m not either,” she said quickly. “I’m on a crazy adventure in Hiskale, learning a new city, new job, new everything. Including you. I’m in no rush to be married, but it’s going to come up repeatedly. My parents, my brother, who knows who else. Don’t be surprised if the king or Sandor ask you as well—it’s very ingrained in our culture. Living together is unheard of in the small towns and is only just now becoming commonplace in the cities.”

  “Sandor and Lennox moved in together, as did Xander and Elen. I think it’s becoming a lot more common than you think, but I’ll make sure to chat with Sandor about it, because even though I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of me, I don’t want your reputation tarnished.”

  “I think you have a touch of old-fashioned in you as well,” she said softly.

  “I have a lot of old-fashioned when it comes to you.”

  “As long as you’re not so old-fashioned you won’t let me try the million things I want to try to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”

  “Let you?” He made a face. “That’s not how things work in my world. You’re a grown woman who can explore to your heart’s content. I would never keep you, or anyone else I care about, from doing the things you want to do. I mean, I’d probably worry if you wanted to do something crazy, and we might have a talk if your endeavors were illegal, but I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”

  “No.” She looked like she was going to say something else but then just smiled. I wondered what was on her mind but I figured she’d tell me when she was ready. I had a feeling she wanted to go to college and get some kind of computer science degree, but she probably had a lot of options in her mind right now. She’d sort them out and come to me when she had an idea which way she wanted to go. I hoped so, anyway.

  We parted ways at the top of the stairs as she headed to her room and I went towards mine. I had to talk to Sandor about her moving in with me and I wanted to ask him if he preferred I moved in with her or the other way around. Her room was smaller than mine, meant for guests during short stays, but mine was pretty spartan. It definitely needed a woman’s touch, a bigger bed and some extra amenities.

  I took a detour and knocked on the door to Sandor and Lennox’s suite. They usually took Sundays off but I wanted to talk to him in private, away from the others.

  “Hey.” Sandor was a big guy, six feet six and probably two fifty, and that was exacerbated in his usual uniform of cargo pants, boots and black T-shirt, but he looked like a regular guy today in shorts and a T-shirt, his long hair down around his shoulders. Normally he kept it slicked back in a ponytail, but he looked almost disheveled this morning and I hesitated.

  “Hey, sorry to bother you, but I needed to talk to you about something… Is this a bad time?”

  “We had a rough morning,” Sandor said. “Lennox isn’t feeling great.”

  “Oh, hey, I can talk to you tomorrow.”

  “It’s fine.” Lennox came up behind him looking a little pale, but she smiled at me. “Come on in, Axel. Prince Neanderthal is being overprotective, but I’m going to take a shower and I’ll be right as rain. You guys can talk.” She squeezed Sandor’s arm and left the room again.

  “She okay?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “All kidding aside, we believe she’s pregnant and it hit her hard this morning. It’s early, she couldn’t be more than four or five weeks, but she woke up violently ill. She’ll call a doctor tomorrow if it happens again.”

  “If you need me to take on any extra shifts or anything, let me know.”

  He sighed. “Thanks. I appreciate that. We really want kids and neither of us is getting any younger, but the timing of this is going to suck. We’re already short-staffed and losing Lennox, even if it’s not right away, is going to put us further behind.”

  “I thought we agreed it would be better to be short-staffed with a crew we trusted than to hire random people who weren’t thoroughly vetted?”

  “We did and I stand by that, but it doesn’t make the danger any less significant. I’m really glad Solange is helping out at the school because it frees up Jonas to do more than computer stuff.”

  “That’s partly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  He met my gaze. “Sure. Shoot.”

  “We, uh…” Damn, why was I nervous? “I want her to move in with me.”

  “Not wasting any time, huh?” Hi
s tone was light and he was smiling, but he was right.

  I looked away, gazing out the window. It was hard for me to talk about things like this. “It’s been pretty intense. She’s special.”

  “Well, you don’t need my permission.”

  “No, but if I want her to stay here at the palace with me, I figured there was some kind of protocol.”

  “She’s already been vetted so now it becomes a matter of whether or not she’s going to continue to work at the school and the logistics of that. Otherwise, I’m happy for you, man.”

  “Thanks.” I finally turned to him. “Am I crazy? It’s been a hot minute, and I’m in love with her. She’s this amazing combination of innocent and experienced. She has great instincts, and she’s so curious about everything, but she’s also extremely intelligent and has a good dose of common sense.” I turned away. “It scares the shit out of me.”

  “Which part? Loving her or her excitement about the world or what?”

  “Maybe all of it? I pride myself on being analytical, making sure I look at a situation from every angle to make sure I have options. With Solange, I’m jumping in headfirst and it’s…not like me.”

  “Love isn’t a mission and Solange isn’t a target. Precision and analytics aren’t the skills you should be tapping into with the woman you love.”

  “But that’s what I know.” I knew about women and sex, but I’d never been in love, not like I was starting to feel about Solange, and now that I’d asked her to move in, I was second-guessing everything.

  “Panic mode is setting in, huh?” Sandor smiled and walked over to a sideboard, pouring himself a drink. “Well, get used to it. It pretty much sticks with you with every new phase. Lennox and I were good until I used the L-word. Then I panicked big-time. The next time it happened was right before the wedding. Now I’m about to lose my shit thinking about her carrying my baby for the next eight months or so. I’m sure the first time I look into that kid’s face, it’ll be a whole new level of panic.” He took a drink and then smiled. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”