As soon as the door clicked behind her, Axel’s lips were on mine with a suction so fierce it bordered on painful. His hands roamed over me like he couldn’t touch me enough. I parted my lips, and then his tongue was in my mouth, coaxing, demanding. “Baby,” he moaned into my mouth, “you’re so fucking beautiful. I’ve been dying to be alone with you.”

I worked my lips down over his jaw to his throat, where I licked and sucked him gently. “I’m so sorry, Axel. I’ve been scared, and I’ve been pushing you away, but I don’t want to anymore. I can’t. I need you so much.”

“I’m here, baby, for whatever you need. I just want to make you and Carrie happy.” He pulled my face up to his and leaned his forehead against mine. “Let me.”

“Okay,” I whispered, and Ax rewarded me with a sexy curve of his lips.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to molest you. Tonight was supposed to be about letting you relax. Let me show you the stuff for baby girl’s bed,” he said, giving me one last kiss on the lips before opening the closet door. “I had them move the clothes racks down low so she could reach her clothes, and we can put sheets and blankets and stuff up on the high shelves.” I took in the two low-hanging bars and the shelves and cubbies lining the walls of the sizable walk-in closet.

He held up a lavender bedspread with dragonflies all over it. “Aw, Axel. That is so pretty! It seems awfully big, though.”

He checked the tag. “It’s a queen size. That’s the same as the bed,” he said with a slight frown.

“A queen size? She’s only four, Ax,” I said with a laugh.

“Yeah, but I’m not. I can’t fit on a little tiny bed, Blaire. You said she likes to read every night, right? So, I have to be able to fit on her bed so we can read together.”

Oh. My. God. This man had never been sexier to me than right at this moment. My ovaries felt like they wanted to crawl out of my body and hug him. I wanted to drop to my knees in front of him and pull off his belt… unbutton his pants…

But Axel had other ideas. He folded the bedspread and led me from the room. “I need to get dinner started. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, but not for food,” I said with a sly smile creeping softly across my lips.

He swatted my butt as I walked before him down the stairs. “Maybe later. Food first. And I got wine.”

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any hotter,” I said as he pointed to the couch with one long finger.