Her Promise

Her Fear | Chapter Three

When the wolf warrior comes home from war…

LEMON

Axel took a shower, removing the terrible smell that coated him. While he got clean, I ordered us some dinner to my house and went to his room to pack him some clothes. I might love the man, but his bed and couch were extremely uncomfortable. An anxious but pleasant feeling filled my stomach thinking about living together now.

He came into his room with just a towel around his waist while I was zipping up the bag I packed him. “Are we going somewhere?” he yawned. He stretched his arms above his head, and I wanted to groan at how hot the gesture was. I think he caught on because a cocky smirk graced his lips.

“My house. Your bed is hard,” I told him, turning away as the heat rose in my body. He was way too good-looking for my safety. Somehow, the three-day scruff on him just added to the rugged, outdoorsy hot thing he had going for him. I had been so wrong in my crush on Liam years ago. Liam was good-looking in a clean-cut, in-shape but professional sort of way. Axel was dirty hot, though, and I really liked dirty hot.

“Is that why I am moving in with you, and you aren’t moving in here?” he laughed, moving to his dresser. When he dropped the towel and stepped into a pair of briefs, I almost choked.

Holy. f*****g. Ass.

“You have less stuff too. I mean, really less,” I said, keeping my eyes away from him until he was safely dressed. We hadn’t even been on a real date, even if I admitted that I was falling in love with him.

“True. Guess I never really felt like it was home,” he said, another yawn ending his sentence.

“I ordered us some dinner, so we should hurry,” I told him.

“You can drive, right?” he asked, picking up the keys from his nightstand.

“Yea,” I nodded. He grabbed his bag and handed me his keys. Before I could move toward the door, he grabbed me by the chin and tilted my face up. He kissed me softly, his lips languid against mine.

“Thanks for waiting for me,” he whispered as we parted. “It’s nice having someone to come home to.”

“Feels weird when you aren’t around now,” I admitted.

He smiled. “Good. Let’s go.”

With his fingers in mine, Axel led me out of the house and to the drive where his car was parked. I rarely drove because I could walk to the grocery store, work, and just about everywhere else. He used his car occasionally, but I suspected tonight was just because he was tired.

Axel held my hand the entire time we drove, and butterflies stirred in my stomach. This was almost surreal. I had spent the better part of the previous 24 hours scared out of my mind that he would get hurt or worse. I had confessed to him right before he ran off to fight vampires. It sounded crazy now that we were sitting in a car, holding hands, and driving over to my house to stay the night there.

Axel made himself comfortable on the couch while I freshened up when we got to my house. When I left the inn, I never went home. I went straight to his house, assuming he would return there first, and I had to know he was alright. A warrior had come in to tell me he was sure the town was safe, and it was okay to leave, and I was out the door of the inn quickly. Axel and I would have to discuss where you hide spare keys, though.

When I returned from my bedroom, the doorbell rang with our food delivery. I didn’t notice until I brought the takeout bag to the couch that his head was laid back, and he was sound asleep. He looked so relaxed and at home; it warmed my chest.

I stashed our takeout in the fridge, thinking we might get up for a late-night snack. Then, I went to the couch to lure Axel back to bed. He would wake up with a sore neck if he slept in his current position. Grabbing his arms, I called his name and tried to pull. He wouldn’t budge. I kept pulling until he smiled and his hands twisted out of my grip so he could grab my wrists and yank me down onto him.

“What are you doing?” I laughed. He wrapped his arms around me, snuggling down into the couch.

“Sleeping,” he mumbled.

“Axel, let’s go to the bed then,” I offered.

“Not a good idea,” he said.

“Why not?”

He sighed and opened his eyes. I met his sleepy gaze. “Because you’re going to slip into some pajamas, and Lemon, I have spent too long imagining what those pajamas might look like. That might be too much excitement for me right now.”

“You don’t want to see my pajamas?” I laughed. I had some more skimpy things in my drawer, but I usually opted for something that wouldn’t exactly fall into the sexy category. One particular onesie came to mind.

“I do very much want to see what you wear to bed. But I don’t have enough energy to appreciate it properly tonight,” he groaned.

“What if I wore something of yours instead?” I offered. I had packed him enough clothes for a few days and could easily wash something for him.

“No,” he groaned again. “That’s worse.”

This hot mess of a man was confusing. I looked down at my jeans and t-shirt. “Well then, I’ll wear this. Let’s just go get in bed.”

“Alright,” he caved. He let me get to my feet before I helped him to his. When we got to my room, he flopped on the bed without hesitation. He made a soft humming sound as I crawled next to him, trying to put the blanket over us. “You smell so good,” he mumbled. By the time I was snuggled up against him, he was fast asleep again.

I waited a few minutes before climbing out of bed. His sweet protests on the couch had rustled the butterflies in my stomach, but I wasn’t about to sleep in skinny jeans. After switching into a pair of joggers, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep next to Axel.

AXEL

I was beyond comfortable when my stomach decided I needed to wake up. Slowly, everything came back to me when I realized I was in Lemon’s bed with Lemon curled up against me. My wolf was disappointed in me for falling asleep on her as soon as we got to her place. I should have spent the evening cuddling her on the couch, taken her to bed, and finally showed her how much I cared about her.

The room was almost pitch black. It had to be late. My stomach growled aggressively again. I had barely touched lunch in my race to get back to town and Lemon and fell asleep before dinner arrived. I tried to extricate myself from her quietly, but she stirred quickly.

“You okay?” she asked, blinking up at me.

“Yea,” I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Just hungry.”

“I can heat up dinner. I put it in the fridge for us,” she offered, pushing herself up. Half-awake Lemon made my c**k stir.

“Why don’t I get it?” I offered. She gave me a lazy smile.

“Together,” she compromised.

In the kitchen, Lemon grabbed the delivery bag from the fridge, and I got plates to heat everything. She was quiet, but a soft smile remained on her face the whole time. When the microwave started, she tried to escape to get drinks, but I pulled her by her waist to me. “Hi,” I smiled.

“Hi,” she giggled. She stared back at me, and I couldn’t imagine it getting any better than this. Three years of chasing this girl, and she was mine. “What?” she asked.

“I just can’t believe we’re here,” I told her honestly. I leaned in and pecked her lips.

“You have some tenacity, that’s for sure,” she said.

“If I’m being honest, I think I was in love with you the first time I walked into the inn,” I admitted. The smile didn’t leave her face, but her eyes changed. Before I could comment, she closed them and laid her head on my shoulder. I didn’t like that look, but I didn’t want to ruin our moment.

The microwave beeped, signaling its completion. I let Lemon move out of my grip to grab our drinks. I grabbed our steaming plates and took them to the table. She joined me, her happy expression firmly back in place.

“I didn’t want to break it to you earlier, but we can’t exactly go on that date tonight,” she finally said.

“Why not?” I asked, confused.

“Well, I was scheduled to be off yesterday,” she reasoned.

“Change the schedule. You’re the manager,” I balked.

“I’m not canceling on you!” she said quickly. “I just need to see when I can plan it.”

“Fine,” I groaned.

“And I’m yours until lunch,” she added. I peeked at the clock seeing it was just after midnight. That was plenty of time. Not to mention, I would have to check in with the part of my team that stayed back from the fight to watch the town and my girl.