Page 119 of Wicked Lord

Would I be heartbroken and completely devastated if he broke up with me?

Also, yes.

But would I survive somehow?

Yes, again.

A tiny flicker of a smile curled the corners of my lips as the bus pulled up in front of the stadium. I wouldn’t let powerful men govern my life anymore. At least I’d learned something this summer, and if it was all I got out of this experience, it was worth it.

As I marched up the sidewalk toward the enormous stadium, a flicker of nerves lashed at my insides, but I swallowed them down and kept my head held high. My footsteps echoed across the dark tunnel, the eerie quiet only escalating my nerves. When I finally reached the field, it was empty.

Or so I thought.

Squinting, I found one familiar, broad form standing on the fifty-yard line.

Axel had already showered, his dirty-blond locks still damp on his forehead. His eyes grew wide as they took me in, that bright blue gaze raking over every inch of me.That’s right, eat your heart out.

“Hot damn, blondie, are you trying to give me a heart attack so soon after practice? I just got my pulse to settle down.”

I shrugged, slowing as I approached, my own heart climbing up my throat at the sight of him in a tight collared shirt and dark jeans. “I wasn’t sure what I was walking into, so I had to be prepared.”

“To seduce the entire football team?” He closed the space between us, enveloping me in his familiar, musky scent. He held a small pink bag in one hand, a wry grin on his lips.

“What’s that?”

“Just a little something I picked up from Copper Cove Confections…” His smile turned downright wicked as he ran his hand up my arm.

“A consolation prize for choosing Cordelia?” The damned words slipped out before I could stop them.

His smile fell, darkness blanketing his features. “Is that really what you think I did?” His entire body tensed, his hand sliding off my shoulder. He dropped the pink bag on the ground, and his fingers clenched into fists.

“I don’t know…”

“Damn it, Lore, it’s you.” He erased the space between us, framing my face with his strong hands. “You’re the one I want. You’re the one I fucking can’t stop thinking about.”

My heart kicked out a manic beat as all the air swept from my lungs. “For real?”

“Yes, for real.” His lips crashed into mine, hand sliding down from my cheek to wrap around the back of my neck. His fingers dug into my hair, the desperation in his touch igniting a fire in my core.

“I want you Axel,” I murmured against his lips. “No, worse than that, I need you. I’ve never needed anyone more.” For one suspended heartbeat, I couldn’t kiss him back.

I could only stare at him, at the fierce blue of his eyes, at the way his hands held my face like I was something precious instead of something broken. Something chosen.

The word cracked through me, terrifying and beautiful all at once. Axel Vanderhart, with his easy smile and golden-boy charm and heart too big for the darkness he carried, wanted me. Not Cordelia, not the girl he’d spent months chasing. Me.

The girl with the ugly family secrets, who’d been promised to a monster. The girl who had spent her whole life pretending she didn’t care whether anyone stayed.

But he was staying.

He was looking at me like I mattered. Like I was worth the trouble, the danger, the fallout.

My chest ached so sharply I almost couldn’t breathe. No one had ever chosen me like this. Not because of what I could give them or how pretty I looked standing beside them.

Just because of me.

A shaky breath slipped past my lips, and something inside me softened, then broke wide open. “I need you inside me, Axel.”

His bright eyes met mine, sparks of deep blue within the tranquil sea, and a devious grin curled his lips. “Your wish is my command, blondie.” He ran his hands down my ass, then gripped my thighs, lifting them to wrap around his narrow waist as he continued to devour me. “I’ve always wanted to fuck you on the fifty-yard line…”