Chapter Nineteen

Star

I hadn’t really slept the last two hours. Instead, I just turned my head to the window and watched the road stretch out in front of us, and everything passed by in a blur.

The silence between Axel and me had been thick for most of the drive. We’d stopped for gas at the halfway point, but there was barely any conversation, just the hum of the truck and the sounds of the radio. I could feel the tension build and a weight I couldn’t shake off. The more miles we covered, the closer we were to the end. The end of the weekend, the end of the holiday, the end of this thing between us.

I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want these last two days to be over.

What started out as a fake relationship—just something for me to bring home to my family so I wouldn’t have to spend the holidays alone—had turned into something real, or at least, I hoped it had. Axel had told me he wasn’t pretending, but was he just caught up in the holiday? Maybe in the spirit of family? I wasn’t sure.

I wanted to believe it was real. That this thing between us could go beyond the holiday. That it wasn’t just a fleeting moment.

Axel pulled into my apartment parking lot and parked right by the door. I knew this was it. The last stop. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Uh, I can just grab my bags,” I muttered and tried to avoid the conversation I knew we needed to have.

I didn’t give him a chance to protest. I jumped out of the truck quickly, but I wasn’t quicker than him. Axel was already out of his seat and grabbed my bags with that determined look on his face.

He motioned for me to go inside, but I didn’t want to go inside, not yet. I didn’t want to end this.

We walked through the lobby in silence, and the elevator ride was just as quiet. I tried to convince myself that I was okay, that this was just a regular goodbye, but the pit in my stomach told me otherwise.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. I walked to my door and tried to steady my breathing. Tried to pretend like I wasn’t about to lose something that felt so damn important.

I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door as my fingers shook slightly. When I turned to grab my bags from Axel, he didn’t give them to me.

He dropped them on the floor instead.

Before I could ask what he was doing, he closed the space between us in one swift move. I barely had time to react before he swept me into his arms. His lips crashed against mine, urgent and fierce, like his life depended on it.

His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer and pressing me against him. I felt everything in me explode. The kiss was raw and a blend of desperation and something more. There was no hesitation, no uncertainty in the way he kissed me, and I felt every ounce of emotion he was pouring into it.

I didn’t pull away. Instead, I kissed him back with everything I had. My hands slid down his chest, and I felt the heat of his body against mine. I wanted more, and the way he kissed me made it clear that he wanted the same.

When we finally came up for air, both of us were panting, our breaths ragged as we stared at each other.

The world around us disappeared. It was just him and me, and I couldn’t make sense of anything except the way I felt at that moment.

“Star,” he breathed, and his voice was thick with desire.

“Axel,” I whispered, my own voice trembling.

We spoke at the same time, but the words I wanted to say were stuck in my throat.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice low and almost a growl. “Right now?”

I blinked up at him, still dazed from the kiss.

“What do you want more than anything?” he pressed.

The answer was right on the tip of my tongue, but I was scared to say it. Afraid of what it would mean and what it might change.

“Tell me, Star,” he urged, his voice rough. “Tell me what you want.”

I swallowed hard. This was it. The moment of truth.

I couldn’t lie to him, not now, not after everything we’d shared. I took a deep breath, my heart racing in my chest, and whispered, “You.”

His eyes darkened, but his hands remained steady on me, holding me like I was the most important thing in the world. “Louder,” he growled, his voice almost pleading now. “Tell me again.”

“I want you,” I said, louder this time. “I want you to never stop kissing me and to spend every Christmas and holiday for the rest of my life with you.” My breath caught in my throat, but I pushed through it. “I didn’t pretend for one second this holiday, and I hope you weren’t either.”

Axel pulled me in close and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear before he pressed his forehead against mine.

“Not one kiss was fake, honey,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “For five years, I wanted you. And now that I have you, I’m never letting you go.”

And neither was I.

I had brought a biker home for the holidays, and now I got to keep him for the rest of my life.