Chapter 49. Ripped His Sanity and Left Him to Rot

ROSETTE

Axel’s kiss caught me by surprise, so I stood frozen, not kissing him back. But that didn’t stop Axel. His lips still moved against mine, his hands shaking intensely.

My lips twitched, aching to kiss him back, but I pushed that ache aside.

He couldn’t just come into my life after one year of nothing and do this. It was unacceptable.

I gathered all the strength I could, planted my hands on his chest, and pushed. Caught off guard, he staggered back, that wild look in his eyes now scaring me.

“How dare—”

But he was back again, his mouth claiming mine before I had time to brace. His hands framed my face, thumbs pressing into the hollows of my cheeks, and for a second all the world reduced to the hot scrape of his mouth on mine.

I bit down on his bottom lip—hard—more reflex than plan, and the metallic tang of blood flooded my tongue. He reeled like someone who’d been struck, eyes wide and raw; anger and something else—hurt, maybe—flashed