as he scans the room trying to find any threat. “Is Felicity ok? What happened?”
My heart thumps painfully in my chest when his worry for my daughter is evident. He asked about her first. I blink away the tears before he can see them.
Trouble, with a capital T.
“Felicity’s fine. She had a nightmare. I’m sorry if she woke you up.”
He finally stops scanning the room and turns toward me. His green eyes wide with worry. “Is she ok?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you come say goodnight to her?” For some reason, I take his hand feeling more at peace than I did ten minutes ago, and lead him down the hallway toward her room. Holding his thick warm hand feels right, but I push the thought away when we enter Felicity’s room.
She’s in her bed, rubbing her bunny’s ear, her eyes already getting heavy with sleep. She grins when she sees Axel standing next to me.
“Hey little one. I heard you had a nightmare. You scared me when I heard you scream. I ran right over.” Axel lets go of my hand and walks over to the side of the bed, getting down on his knees.
Felicity nods her head, the smile still on her face. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
He notices Felicity’s bunny and rubs his finger on the other ear.
“It’s alright. I’m sorry you had a nightmare. This looks like a strong protector. What’s your bunny’s name?”
Felicity sits up looking proud at her strong bunny. “Delilah,” Felicity answers him.
“Hello, Delilah,” he says, shaking the ear like a hand shake. This makes Felicity go into a fit of giggles.
Felicity yawns widely. I step into the room going to the other side of the bed, sitting next to her. “Why don’t you try and go to bed, baby.”
“The bad man won’t come will he?”
I cringe as I run my fingers through her hair. Felicity’s stupid father did this. I hate him for scaring my poor little baby. Axel studies Felicity before glancing at me. His forehead is creased, the frown on his lips letting me know he is going to find out who the bad man is before he leaves tonight.
Axel answering her surprises me, “No, the bad man can’t get you. You’re safe here. I have a secret, but you can’t tell anyone.”
Felicity leans closer to him. I eye him warily wondering what he’s going to say. “I won’t. I promise.” She gives him her pinky finger.
I open my mouth to explain what she’s doing, but I don’t need to. Axel hooks his pinky finger with Felicity’s. “You live next door to superheroes.”
Felicity’s tired eyes widen as she takes him in. She must see something in his face that lets her believe him because she nods. “I knew it.”
Axel laughs, shooting me a wink, melting me even further. “We’ll protect you. Nobody’s going to hurt you. The bad man will never get near you.”
I’m in so much trouble.
“Thank you.”
Our eyes meet, Felicity in the middle of us. Something powerful passes between us, and without a shadow of doubt, I know I won’t be able to stay away from this man.
“Will you read me a story?” Felicity asks Axel with sleep invading her voice.
“Of course,” he answers immediately.
“You don’t have to,” I say, hating to inconvenience him. Also needing him to go far far away so I don’t do anything stupid, like throw myself at him letting him finish what we started on the porch swing. Our eyes meet again, the intensity in them shows he’s thinking the same thing.
“I know I don’t have to, I want to. Which book would you like me to read?”
Felicity’s little index finger shoots out and points to her favorite book sitting on her pink nightstand. Axel grabs it, settling on the floor shifting closer to Felicity. He cracks the book open and reads. Both of us are entranced at Axel’s deep baritone voice. It’s hypnotic. The tiredness I felt when I got home seeps back into my bones.
Having Axel inside my house makes me feel safe. His soothing voice and his presence brings me a security I haven’t felt in a long time. With his voice in the background I let myself drift off to sleep.
9
Axel
I stare down at Emma’s sleeping form. She fell asleep right after Felicity did. She’s fierce. The protective look in her eyes when Felicity mentioned the bad guys proved it. As tired as she was she waited until her daughter drifted off to sleep before allowing herself to relax enough to