Chapter Two
Axton
“Maybe you could say excuse me,” chirped the voice of the woman standing next to me.
To be fair, I hadn’t even noticed her standing there. She was tiny in comparison to me, and I had been on a mission to grab some bottles of booze with my friends and get the hell out of the dinky store as quickly as possible.
The second my eyes hit hers a wave of electricity ran through my body, shooting up and down my spine like fireworks. There was a dangerous glint flashing through her dark brown eyes that made me feel as though I’d been set on fire. I couldn’t help but notice how soft her skin looked, pearlescent even as two rosy pink splotches spread across her cheeks.
“Please, let me start over,” I shifted my body so I was facing her, giving her more room at the counter.
“Where can I find your alcohol?” My question was directed to the old man behind the counter but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the fragile-looking woman who seemed determined to fight me.
I kept staring down at her as she bit her lower lip and her dark eyes rolled in response to my show. She was infuriating, and I desperately wanted to show her who was the boss in this situation. I considered what would happen if I gripped her around the base of her neck and bent her over the counter to give her a quick swat on the ass for talking to me that way. How easily she would bend and break beneath the force of my hands. I tightened my hands into fists, savoring the sensation of my fingernails digging into the soft flesh of my palms. It was a nice distraction from the dangerous thoughts I was suddenly having about her.
“Right over to the left, along that wall,” the old man’s voice broke my attention and I blinked away the visions of punishing the delicate woman glaring at me.
“Thank you sir,” I turned away from the two at the counter, needing to break free from her stare and my dark desires.
“Axton man, it’s over here!” I heard the voice of Benji yelling at me and I quickly took off toward them. But I couldn’t deny the sharp tug I felt at the base of my stomach leaving her behind me.
“What an ass,” I heard her grumble to the old man at the counter. It took everything I had not to turn around. And it didn’t help calm the primal urges I was feeling to reprimand her.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt such aggression. At least not so immediately about a total stranger. Typically women had no hold over me. I could appreciate beautiful people, and I was particularly famous for throwing wild parties that only the most gorgeous of people are invited to. But never had I experienced something so alarmingly primal, so intense, so unexpected.
“Jesus, man. The most expensive vodka they have is Barton’s. It’s like this place was made for teenagers,” Benji had a cooler door open, quickly browsing through the limited selection.
“I’ll get some better stuff shipped,” I shrugged and pulled down a bottle of cheap vodka. “Let’s take what we can for tonight though.”
Benji and Wyatt began loading their arms up with as many bottles of different liquors as they could and lugging them over to the counter. I carried the Barton’s back with me and pulled out my wallet. My heart began pounding against my chest as I walked, annoyingly eager to have another interaction with the dark-eyed beauty. But all I caught was a glimpse of red flannel and the tinkle of the doorbell as she left.
My heart dropped in a way that made me uncomfortable to think about.
“Hope you don’t mind if we clear out your coolers,” I handed my credit card over the counter to the old man.
He grumbled under his breath and took the card from me.
“We’ve never been up here,” I tried to warm him up to me. Not because I wanted his affection, but because maybe he could tell me more about the little sparrow that had just left me dumbfounded and insatiably turned on.
“There isn’t much to it,” the old man’s reply was short and nothing sweet. “You’ve got this here Quick-E Mart and the cabins at the lake and surrounding forests. Everything else is off in the city or another twenty minutes north where the people go to lodge and ski.”
“Oh, we rented out one of the lake cabins for the rest of the summer.” It had been a spur of the moment decision. I had wanted to get away from my family and New York and disappear to a place no one would ever expect me to be.
“You’re neighbor is going to love that,” he grunted under his breath and handed me my receipt.
Great. The whole of the community was just bursting at the seams to see us.
“Let’s get out of here,” Wyatt grabbed two of the bags full of bottles and started hauling them outside with Benji. I grabbed the last bag and gave a quick nod to the old man, who ignored me in response.
The second I closed the trunk door my cellphone began to vibrate. “Fuck,” I muttered. I didn’t need to look at the screen to know I didn’t want to talk.
Against my better thoughts I pulled the phone out of my pocket. Mother. I debated hitting the decline button but was tired of her calling me on repeat in a manic frenzy of trying to get ahold of me.
“Hello?” I answered dryly.
“Axton! Where are you? Why haven’t you been answering my calls?” My mother’s voice was shrill in my ear and I cringed away from the receiver.
“I went away with some friends,” my answer was short and to the point without giving her any real details.
“Axton, how can you just disappear like this? Right now of all times?”
“I think you know why, mother,” I sighed.
“This is just ridiculous. You get your ass home right away. I can’t believe you would do this to your parents-”
She was still rambling when I clicked end call and stuffed my phone back in my pocket. I knew it had been a bad idea to answer. My mother was nothing if not relentless, and her ignorance of my own wishes had been enough to send me far away from home.
Benji leaned forward in the backseat of the stretch limousine, sticking his blonde head out the window and grinning at me, “We’re losing daylight, man!”
I rolled my eyes and crossed to the other side of the limo to get in.
It was time to get to the cabin. Time to forget about the life I was being thrust into against my will back at home.