CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

AXEL:

Present day…

"Back already?" The valet gave Shondra a wolfish smile, checking her out from head to toe.

Is this prick really trying to flirt with her? Does he have any respect? I'm standing right here.

I gave the bastard my worst stare. He caught my look and nearly dropped the claim ticket Shondra tried to hand to him. He fumbled a save and beat a hasty retreat. 

Sho whipped around just as I straightened my face.

"Stop it, Axel," she said in a whisper. "You're showing too much of your alpha tonight."

I cocked a brow and looked her up and down. "Just how you like it, Sho."

Vegas and Jameson passed by. Vegas looked like she was going to intervene in our one-sided squabble. Shondra took a moment from glowering at me to give her girl a nod. After a concerned glance, Vegas kept moving. Jameson had a few surprises for her and I hoped she would be ready to receive them. My boy was betting everything that she would.

The happy couple disappeared into the parking lot and a second later the valet drove up in Shondra's car. He didn't even wait for a tip, just hightailed it back to his podium.

As he should.

We got in the car and she started in before I had a chance to open my mouth. "I'm taking you home, Axel."

I didn't argue. I had a few plans of my own. "Sure, Shondra. Thanks."

She set the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot. When dealing with a testy Sho, I found it best to say as little as possible. She needed time to cool down, and I was happy to comply. A happier Sho would listen to what I had to say.

I wanted to start over. Forget the past. Put it behind us. Tabitha Moore, my father's ultimatum, her leaving me in Boston and last December...fuck it. We needed to see if there was an us left to salvage and tonight would be the beginning of that discovery.

Even if she had been with Tony. 

I doubted it though. Shondra wasn't that kind of woman. If she waited for me all these years, since D.C., since my graduation night...it would take more than a few weeks for her to sleep with him. It would take...

A trip to Europe.

I'd find out--one way or the other. But first, I had to get her upstairs...to my teeny, tiny place. 

When I first looked at properties in Chicago, I viewed a home in her neighborhood, I wanted to be close. After the night she left me, I didn't bother looking for a bigger place. Why bother? I didn't need a huge-ass place to get lost in.

"You need to get in the right-hand lane." 

Shondra nodded, keeping her gaze on the cars ahead.

Giving Shondra directions was my excuse to stare at her profile. I still recognized the girl from the park bench, and damn if she had only gotten better. The years ahead would be very kind to Sho, and I hoped to be right there with her, growing old together.

"Turn right at the light," I said, watching how the streetlamps touched the planes of her face. My eyes slowly traveled down her body. She always looked fantastic, but her weight loss made her healthier, and in turn, she'd be around a whole lot longer. To me, Shondra resembled a living hourglass. One I wanted to turn over and over, touching and tasting every delicious inch.

Damn! She still has me.

Hell, she always did.

***

Getting Shondra to come up with me was relatively easy. I told her she had to see the river lit up at night. She hesitated only a second before agreeing. I left her on the balcony and told her I was going to take a quick shower.

It was on my lips to ask her to join me.

Wistful thinking.

I was done in under ten minutes, purposefully leaving my shirt off and spritzing her favorite aroma in the bedroom. I hadn't used my sandalwood scent when we were apart. Shit brought back too many memories.

I came into the living room just in time to see her walk from the balcony and take a seat on the couch. She was regal in the way she moved and sat, just like a queen with a roomful of adoring subjects.

Count me among them. Forever and always.

No matter how many randoms I slept with, no matter what shit I said about Shondra, no matter how many times I made myself relive the hurt she had inflicted on me, nothing could set me free. I spent the past three years trying my damnedest to let her go.

A futile effort.

Last Christmas, when I was forced to work with her, all of the old feelings that lay dormant like spring flowers under the ground, blossomed once more. I'd told Jameson that Shondra kept changing the terms, but she hadn't.

I had.

I'd stretched out negotiations for that chemical lab because I liked the look on her face when I'd break off to text and talk to randoms. I'd watch her fume from the corner of my eye while I made plans with women I never intended to keep. I wanted Shondra to make the first move since she was the one that had left me. 

Moving forward had to come from her.