14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

I f I'd foreseen the connection my brain automatically made between Axel caressing my back and the intense urge to make myself climax, I can't say I'd have done anything different.

As promised, he visited each morning and evening, sometimes with Garrett and sometimes alone. I manage to keep a grip on myself while he's there, sitting on my bed and touching my skin. Around the time he started to rotate his thumbs on my shoulder blades and ease the kinks from my neck, my nipples began to harden. With each passing session, I grew wetter. To the point where I need to carry my vibrator in my backpack, not able to depend on Kay being absent from the dorm long enough. Pleasuring myself in the dance dressing room was my new low, but there was also something incredibly arousing about it too.

That's why I'm pointedly avoiding my dorm. I can't keep carrying on being horny all of the time. Neither can I allow myself to feel this comfortable with Axel touching me. He's unknowingly carving a path into my psyche. Regardless of how gentle he's been, he is still one of them. A Shadowed Soul. I can't trust him.

Tugging Meg's college sweater over my teal leggings, I point my feet in the dainty, pink shoes. We've been running through dances for the big showcase all week, testing pairings and letting each person get a feel of which role they'd like to aim for.

Despite having no plans to audition, I asked Theodore if he'd mind hanging back to run through the music with me. He was only too happy for the extra practice. I become distracted from my own movements, watching him become lost in his music. The passion he exhibits is the epitome of what dance means to me. Somehow, I've managed to dance my way closer, my eyes lingering on his hands. They're large, perfect for the piano, his manicured nails and smooth fingers stroking the keys. My breath hitches. What the fuck am I doing?!

Catching myself before I start drooling, I return to the back of the room and lean on the barre. In the floor-to-ceiling mirrors, I catch the blush lining my cheeks. My eyes drift to my backpack in the reflection, a familiar flutter beginning between my legs. Not now. I wait for Theodore's tune to loop back to a point I know and throw myself into the dance.

The choreography isn't like the classical style I'm used to. It's much more modern, combining tap and ballroom in some numbers. As unfamiliar as it may be, I find I'm able to shift between the styles without too much difficulty. Holding my arms out as if I were being led by a male, I spin back and forth, tracking the steps whilst on my tiptoes. My back arches as I dip backwards, tugging uncomfortably at my tattoo. It's in the process of scabbing now.

My leg extends to where my partner should be holding my ankle to turn me in a slow pirouette. Stretching beyond my natural reach, my leg suddenly seizes, as if a clamp has snapped shut around my calf. I crash to the floor, hugging the limb tightly into my middle, my eyes scrunching shut. My hand with the small bandage stings against the pressure but I continue holding my leg, crying out in pain. The piano has halted but when a body crashes into my side, it's not Theodore I find.

"I've got this, Tchaikovsky," Axel is on his knees. Lying me flat, he whips off my ballet slippers, takes my ankle in his hands and slowly rocks my foot back and forth. Each time the pain becomes too much, he holds for a few seconds and relents. Then, he does the same again. The agony shooting through my calf is unbearable, but soon my screams lessen. I find I'm able to take more and more of the stretch until the cramp begins to subside. I roll my head, noting the concern in Theodore's gaze as he collects up his sheet music.

"It's okay Theo," I wave him off, almost delirious myself. "Rain check until tomorrow?" He nods, not seeming comfortable in Axel's presence, and bolts out of the door. Swallowing, my throat scratches uncomfortably from the screams torn from me. Axel continues working my ankle, moving on to massage my calf. "What are you doing here?" I breathe.

"You weren't at your dorm. I didn't want to miss our…appointment." He's hesitant. It's only now I realize I'm lying on my tattoo. Pushing myself upright, I drag the sweater over my head. I'm too warm, my skin feeling too tight. Seeing myself in the mirror opposite, my hair has fallen free of its ponytail, my chest is flushed. But Axel's hazel's eyes look upon me as if I'm something better. Something precious.

"Axel, I don't think we should do this anymore," I lower my head. My foot is still in his hands, subconsciously being massaged. I don't believe he even knows he's doing it, a genuine need for physical contact controlling his actions. Sighing, resignation passes across his features.

"It's okay if you don't want me to be around anymore. I know I can be a lot." My heart plummets.

"No, that's not-" I start but it's too late. Axel releases my foot and begins to move away, the walls shutting down behind his eyes. Now the pain has ebbed, I shift up onto my knees to put us at eye level, grabbing his nape before he can move too far. A shadow of stubble is visible against his jaw, his cheekbones high and sharp. Axel's gaze shifts to mine, their coppery tint captivating me. He's beautiful up close.

With the back of my injured but healing hand, I stroke my fingers over his cheek. He responds as I knew he would, leaning into me. Lost in a trance where only he and I exist, tracing my finger along his strong jawline, my lips part. The fantasies I've been having while he tended to my tattoo return in full force. I shiver, despite the inferno raging within. I can't deny myself, nor can I let Axel think I don't want him around.

Leaning in closer, my eyelids flutter closed. The delicate softness of his lips press against mine as a throat is cleared in the doorway. Jolting away from each other, an amused-looking Huxley is standing in the doorway. His messy hair falls loosely onto exposed shoulders, a workout vest straining to cover his wide chest and failing to hide the outline of his six-pack. Heat flares to life in my cheeks as I half hobble upright, attempting to look casual as I push my feet into my trainers and head for the exit. I can't think when these boys are around .

"Avery, wait! Your bag," Axel jogs to grab my backpack. I turn suddenly as he crashes into me, my body acting as an activator for the device inside. The loud whirring of vibrations burst to life in the otherwise silent room.

"Is that…" Huxley raises a brow. My mouth drops open but only a squeak comes out. Never have I wanted to die a quicker death. Shoving my hand into my backpack, I search blindly to knock the damn thing off.

"No! It's my phone," I argue. While the entire contents of my bag is rattling, it's impossible to tell what's the vibrator, my deodorant, my water bottle. Why is everything I own phallic shaped? Axel, still holding my bag, gestures to the side pocket.

"You mean that phone?" he indicates to my cell sitting behind the mesh. Closing my hand around the vibrator, I attempt to switch it off and only manage to activate one of the thirteen settings. The rhythm beats twice, pauses and then judders, pauses and repeats. I finally manage to turn the damn thing off, pressing my injured palm to the center of my forehead. No one says anything as I slowly shoulder my bag, so embarrassed I might just throw up. Deciding something good might as well come from the most humiliating moment of my life, I look up at Axel.

"You thought I didn't want you around anymore, but there's your truth. I want you around too much. I have to get myself off every time you touch me, so forget massaging my tattoo. You might as well just go down on me again."

"Again?" Axel frowns. My gut plummets.

"Yeah? You know…like before, with Garrett," I start to stutter. Huxley makes a strange sound in his throat, and it's his turn to go scarlet red. I watch him rub the back of his neck and stare instantly at the ground. "You?" I breathe in shock. Huxley's chocolate eyes raise to mine and he shrugs apologetically. "But…why?"

"Because Garrett's a meddling bastard, that's why," he chokes on a laugh. Axel mutters something to the same effect. I swallow, my pulse ringing in my ears. Concluding that I can't be here, sandwiched between these two gorgeous men, I blow out a harsh breath.

"Okay well. I'm going to go now. Let's not talk about any of this ever again." I take two steps when my backpack is tugged on. Huxley shoves his arm inside, a devilish smile on his face.

"You won't be needing this anymore," he retrieves the hot pink vibrator and pauses to appreciate the girth and vascularity of it. I lied before - this is the moment I could die the quickest death. "If you want to cum, you'll have to find one of us," he directs his smirk to Axel. I've run out of air, my head starting to spin with all this to and fro .

"Wyatt will go crazy. You were there when he told me to stay away from you all." I don't know why I'm cowering behind Wyatt's rules. Maybe because I don't want to be locked in a fucking closet again, or maybe because it's an easy excuse. I can't go around screwing my stepbrother's basketball team within my first two weeks of school. Huxley doesn't seem to have the same reservations he had the other night, now he's feeling the weight of my vibrator in his hand and grinning as if seeing me in a whole different light.

"I know," he lowers to my ear and places a quick kiss there, "and that might be why you taste so delicious."