Axel pulled away from the kiss after a few more seconds, Lily smiled shyly and placed her head on his shoulder.
Axel smirked and let her be, he understood. His Lilyana is shy.
Minutes passed and Lily’s head was still on his shoulder, he enjoyed it.
They finally arrived at the hotel Axel made a reservation in, and the car pulled over in front of it.
“Lily.” Axel called.
“Hmm?” She replied without looking up.
“We are here.”
“Oh.” She said excitedly and looked up at him before turning to look outside at the hotel. Axel noticed her cheeks were a little red, she had been blushing for minutes.
“Wow, it’s so pretty.” Lily gasped and walked out of the car, she looked up at the hotel and smiled. Axel also walked out and stood behind her.
“Hey.” Nora called and walked closer to her with Max behind her.
“Nora.” Lily called with a smile and turned to her. Nora raised her brows noticing something odd.
“You look flushed Lily.” Nora suddenly said and glanced at Axel.
“What?” Lily asked as she felt a little bit embarrassed.
“You look flushed. Like you blushed so hard minutes ago.” Nora said again and Lily thought of what to say.
“Leave her alone, Nora,” Axel said and pulled Lily with him as he walked ahead.
“Oh, they are so in love.” Nora chuckled and turned to Max.
“Yeah.” He replied with a smile and walked ahead of Nora.
They all got into the hotel and a middle aged man welcomed them with a bow.
“Mr. Blackwell. We have been expecting you.” The man greeted him with a smile and all Axel did was nod with no expression on. Lily glanced at him and wondered how he always did that, he barely smiled or laughed.
She could count how many times she had seen him laugh and smile and it was just at her.
He doesn’t show his feelings towards anyone. How does he live like that?
“Mrs. Blackwell, it is nice to meet you.” The man greeted and Lily smiled warmly at him.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.” Lily replied.
A lady dressed in a uniform walked to them too and bowed. She handed cards to the middle aged man and she bowed again before walking away.
“Here are your key cards Mr. Blackwell.” The man said and handed it to Axel.
“I will escort you with the baggage porters.”
“You don’t have to. If we need anything, we will get in touch.” Axel replied.
“Very well then. Enjoy your stay.” The middle aged man said and smiled at all of them before walking away.
Axel turned them holding the key cards.
“Here are the keys to your suite.” Axel said and gave a key to Max and another one to Nora.
“Hold on, I get my own suite?” Nora asked.
“Yes. You’ve got a problem with it?” Axel asked and she chuckled.
“Well, no. I was just wondering why I can’t stay with Max. We can share a suite.” She replied and Max had a surprised look on.
“You want to share a suite with me?” Max asked and she shrugged.
“Sure, why not?” Nora asked back.
Axel glared at her and rolled her eyes at him.
“You both get each suite.” He said sternly and headed towards the elevator with Lily. Nora and Max slowly trailed behind them.
“You really want to share a suite with me?” Max asked Nora and she chuckled but didn’t give him a response.
They all entered the elevator and headed to the floor on the keycard.
The ride up was silent, no one said anything to each other.
They finally got to the floor and they all walked out of the elevator, the baggage porters were already in the hallway waiting for them.
Axel walked with Lily to the front of their suite. Only three rooms were available on that floor and it belonged to just them.
Axel unlocked the door and was about to enter but paused then turned to Nora and Max.
He gave Nora a look and she scoffed at him, she unlocked the door to her room and grabbed her bag from a baggage porter then entered her suite.
Axel turned to Max and Max just shrugged his shoulders.
“I am as surprised as you are.” He said and also grabbed his bag and walked into his suite.
Axel and Lily also walked into theirs with their bags.
As they got in, Lily looked around the room and smiled happily.
“It is so much better than the one in Hawaii.” She said happily as she walked around the room.
“Do you like it?” He asked and she nodded happily.
Somehow, Axel felt the need to please her always. Now, he would always do the things she liked and wanted.
Lily rushed to the balcony to check the view, she got there and let out a gasp.
“Wow.” She muttered.
The view was amazing, in the city’s night heart, a symphony of lights and shadow played on. The city’s beauty was bright. Lily loved it, she loved it so much.
The wind blew through her hair and she giggled, she was happy, and she felt free. For the first time in months, her heart didn’t ache, she didn’t feel it bleed, and she didn’t have any negative thoughts.
She let out a giggle again and she felt arms wrapped around her waist slowly from behind. It was Axel. She knew it was him.
She inhaled his fragrance the second he got closer to her.
“It’s a lovely view, Axel.” She said with a smile and relaxed in his arms.
“You like it,” Axel said as he placed his chin on her shoulder.
“I love it.” She replied. They both fell silent, both of them staring at the view.
“Thank you, Axel.” Lily said after a while.
“For what?” Axel muttered.
“For giving me a life. For everything.” She replied.
“I am glad I met you. I am glad I made a wrong choice a few months ago, although it has been a little hard, I don’t see a reason to regret it.” She poured out her mind.
Axel didn’t give a response, for the first time, he was speechless. He had never felt that way before. He had done a lot of things for random people and when they thanked him for it, he felt nothing. But Lily’s appreciation felt different. A feeling he couldn’t explain.
She suddenly turned to him and smiled. Axel’s hands were still on her waist. With the way he looked, you could tell he was lost.
“What is it?” Lily whispered.
“Nothing.” He replied.
“Are you sure?” She asked and he nodded in response. She smiled at him again and placed her head on his chest then wrapped her arms around his neck.
Axel held her too and closed his eyes.
“I feel safe.” Lily whispered.
“Because you are with me?” Axel asked.
“Yes.” She whispered.
She took in a deep breath and let it out before speaking again. This time, she said something. Words Axel could never imagine.
With a smile on her face, Lily said…
“You are the moment of peace when I pass under a bridge during a thunderstorm, only that moment never ends.” She said and Axel froze.
He felt like everything paused for a second, and then his heart started to race. A new feeling. An unimaginable one, something he never thought he could feel in years to come. Fear. Axel felt scared.
************
THE NEXT DAY
MORNING
Lily heard rings from her sleep, she wasn’t ready to wake up yet so she tried to ignore it. The rings stopped and the next thing she heard was Axel’s voice.
She tried to ignore it too but she realized she couldn’t, she was awake already. Since she wasn’t ready to get up, she decided to listen to Axel’s conversation.
It was about his business, the shipping of stuff. She found it not interesting, she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Axel’s eyes.
He was staring at her as he received the call. He was seated on a couch opposite the bed.
Lily found it a little bit scary, probably because he had a stern look on. Her heart skipped a beat too.
Slowly, his stern face turned into a normal look.
“Hey.” He called and Lily felt relieved.
She slowly sat up and smiled at him.
“Good morning.” She said,
“You are up early.” She said and he shook his head.
“No, you are up late.” He replied.
Lily smiled and looked around the room, memories of last night replayed in her head.
They both stayed long on the balcony, they kissed a lot last night. Probably the longest kiss they had ever had. She could also recall Axel carrying her in a bridal style to her bed, she was a little scared, she thought they would have sex. She wasn’t a fan of it, sex with Axel hurt.
To her surprise, he didn’t touch her. All he did was cuddle her and she fell asleep in his arms.
“Lily.” She heard Axel call and she snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him.
“Hmm?”
“Go get ready and come have breakfast.” He ordered.
“Okay.” Lily replied and he looked down at his laptop which was in front of him. She noticed he was busy with work.
She stood up and walked towards the closet first, she picked an outfit then got out of her clothes and headed into the bathroom.
She was comfortable, the suite was so huge, that she was sure Axel couldn’t see her.
After twenty minutes, she was done with all her routine. She packed her hair up into a bun, exposing her neck.
She walked back to the room and met Axel eating. She took a seat opposite him and joined him.
As she took a seat, Axel stared at her neck. He thought of how she would moan his name out if he kissed her on it. He would kiss her neck so hard that it would leave tender tokens.
“Is everything okay?” Lily asked and he snapped out of his thought.
“Yeah.” He replied and dropped the fries he had been holding for a long time.
“Are you sure? Is something wrong with my neck?” Lily asked.
‘Yeah. It lacks my markings.’ He replied in his head.
“No. It’s fine.” He replied and she smiled at him and started to it.
He wanted to continue too but he couldn’t stop staring at Lily. She was just so interesting to watch.
“What plans do you have for us today?” Lily asked Axel.
“Till night. For now, we are free.” He replied and she smiled.
“So, can I go to Nora when I am done?” She asked.
Axel was about to respond ‘no’ but he paused. Saying no would make her sad, she looked happy. He was sure if he told her not to go, she would obey him but he didn’t want to see his Lilyana sad.
Her happiness mattered to him, no matter how little it could be.
“Yes, you can.” He replied and she nodded happily.
She rushed her breakfast and he watched her as she did, when she was done, she stood up and walked to the bed.
She picked up her phone and walked back to Axel.
“I am done.” She said and he nodded. She moved closer to him and leaned towards him, she kissed his cheek and walked out of the room.
Axel let out a breath and stood up, to get his mind off her, he needed to work.
He stood up and walked towards his laptop to set to work.
Lily got to Nora’s room and met her having breakfast too. They both exchanged greetings and Lily took a seat next to her.
“So, tell me. What plans do you and Axel have for today?” Nora asked with a mouthful.
“I don’t know yet. He said I am free till night.” She replied and Nora smiled.
“Great, that gives us time to do the first thing on the list.”
“What is that?” Lily asked.
“Tour the hotel.”