Don't Mask, Don't Tell

Chapter 32

Waking up early to get ready for work, I open the ivory curtains, letting sunlight flow through my room. The drapery rings scrape against the rod, revealing the morning sun, forcing Axel to open his eyes.

"Five more minutes!" he mumbles, shielding his face with my pillow. "Please!"

"I thought you were a morning person?" I tease.

He sighs. "I thought I was, too."

After being up most of the night drinking, I'm sure he's hungover. Living with Liza all these years, I've been conditioned to survive late nights fueled by alcohol.

I still fucking hate mornings though.

"I'll give you ten, but then we need to get ready for work."

"Fine..." He pulls the covers over his head, complaining under his breath.

I chuckle as I head to the bathroom for a shower. Looking at myself in the mirror, I comb through the matted hair on my head, trying to ignore the mascara clumps on my lashes.

I should've washed my face before bed.

Grabbing a make-up remover pad, I wipe away the leftovers, hoping if I rub hard enough, the giant bags under my eyes will disappear, too. I undress and stare at myself before getting in.

Just because I'm up early, doesn't mean I look good doing it. In fact, I look pretty fucking terrible right now. My eyes are red and puffy and my hair is a knotted mess. I feel like I slept only two hours and there are bruises—

Oh, fuck me! There are hickeys all over my neck and chest.

God dammit Axel.

I'm annoyed, but equally turned on as my fingertips trace the trail of souvenirs he left behind, reminding me of our eventful evening. It's like one second we were fighting—if you can even call it that—then we were fucking. We never brought up our conversation again. Instead, he fucked me into forgiving and forgetting.

Super healthy, Liv.

Stepping into the shower, I turn on the hot water, adding only a splash of cold. I stand in the steam, thinking of all the questions I should've asked last night.

Why am I always at my smartest in the shower?

Axel and I eventually need to discuss what all this means for him and us. I'm not willing to walk away and from how it sounds, neither is he, but we need to be careful.

What's his plan to fix this? Is there a plan? Are we in danger? And if there are bad people after him, how will this affect me and the people I love?

Love.

Oh. My. God. I told Axel I love him.

Ignoring the cluster-fuck growing in my mind, I wash my hair and rinse it out. I detach the removable showerhead and adjust the settings, allowing the pressure to increase.

Moving the powerful water across my skin, I stop as I reach my pussy, knowing how sore and sensitive it is from the night before. My legs tremble as I slowly part my lips, letting the shower head spray directly against my swollen clit.

Flashbacks from the night before replay in my memory, quickly changing my intentions with this shower. I slowly glide the water up and down, letting the intensity stimulate the little bundle of nerves. Quiet moans leave my lips as I move the head closer to my clit.

Oh, fuck.

As I approach my unplanned orgasm, two tattooed hands come from behind, cupping my breasts and rubbing my nipples.