One Night Stand With My Husband’s Brother

Raising her head once she was done serving, she met his gaze. It looked so dark and dangerous, like a stormy sea, but she could clearly see the message in them. He was one thread away from devouring her, and there was nothing she could do about it.

That thought jolted her back into action.

She moved back and cleared her throat, trying to bring his attention back to the food in front of him.

He glanced at the food, and said gruffly, “Come eat with me, Mackenzie. Sit right here.” He tapped the space beside him on the leather couch.

She was already shaking her head no, when he transferred his hand to his strong, stallion thigh instead, and asked in a heated voice,

“Would you rather sit on me, Mackenzie?”

That question was so scandalous she nearly gasped. It’s double meaning made her blush bright red, because neither of them were innocent. Then again, Chase Axford and innocence never went hand in hand.

“No.” She replied, a bit harsher than she intended.

“Fine. Stay, and watch me eat. I don’t want to eat alone.” He conceded, picking up the glass of wine.

Something about his last statement made Mackenzie’s heart stutter, and her eyes softened as she watched him pick at his food. There were subtle differences in his appearances that she had not noticed earlier.

But now that she could fully gaze at him without worrying about him trapping her eyes with his hypnotic blue ones, she could spot the little differences. Like the light shadows under his eyes, that gave away the fact that he probably wasn’t getting as much sleep lately.

And the light stubble around his strong, chiseled jaw. It gave him a wild edge that made him even devastatingly sexier, but it was also an indication that something had made him care less about shaving, when he was usually clean-shaven.

It made him darker than she had ever seen him.

But apart from these physical differences, he wasn’t acting any different. He was still the same cold, blunt and direct Chase Axford. The same man who could be indifferent and detached, and at the same time, as horny as a rutting beast and more intense than a thunderstorm.

After a short while, Chase took a sip of water and placed the glass down. Then he straightened up to his feet. He was done eating.

That alarmed Mackenzie. His food still looked mostly untouched. She knew he didn’t come here because he actually wanted to eat, but at least he could have done better than this. He had simply been picking at it.

And he ordered a full bottle of expensive wine, just to take a few sips and then abandon it?

The staff were definitely having a field day with this one.

There was a knock on the door at the same time Mackenzie spoke up, “Did you not like the dishes, Mr. Axford? Should I get another one brought in?”

“Don’t blame your food for my lack of appetite.” He responded.

She felt that something was off about him, but she could not, for the life of her, pinpoint what it could be. It made her worried. She tried so hard not to care. But she did. And she hated that she did.

All it did was complicate things, yet she found herself asking,

“Are you okay, Chase? Is everything alright?”

Chase’s eyes bored into hers the moment she softly asked those questions. He moved towards her, sliding his hands into his pockets to stop himself from touching her. No matter how desperately he wanted to.

She took a step back, but it was futile. He was already inside her personal space, invading the very air she breathed with his towering wall of muscle and testosterone.

There was only a thin slice of air between her softness and his hardness, and it was super charged with electric tension. She stared up at him, with shallow breaths.

If he kissed her right now, Mackenzie knew she had no strength left to resist him right now. Her worry for him, coupled with the warm words he had said to her earlier, that made her feel so appreciated… it had weakened her defenses, her steel and her walls.

For now, she was nothing but a slave to his touch.

But he didn’t kiss her. Hell, he didn’t even touch her. He just responded to her concerns, with one statement.

“Everything will be alright when you accept my offer.”

He moved away from her and opened the door, only to see the manager and his group of staff huddled right in front of him.

Manager Ty grinned, “Mr. Axford, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your meal, sir?”

“Of course.”

“Splendid!” He exclaimed excitedly, then motioned to the staff behind him. “Go clear the table.”

Without a sound, they all shuffled into the room. Chase stepped out and close the door behind him. The manager gave a small laugh, and timidly said,

“I was hoping the complimentary photo had not escaped your mind, sir.”

“It hasn’t.” Chase responded flatly, then slid his black credit card to the manager. “The bill. I also have a request.”

Manager Ty’s eyes roamed the sleek credit card with awe and greed. Green dollar signs almost formed in his pupils. “Yes, yes, anything, Mr. Axford!”

“I want another three course meal packaged and delivered to an address I’ll send you, after work hours.”

****************

Mackenzie dragged her feet across the living room to the kitchen, drained from her shift. She just wanted to get a glass of water, when she spotted the food packages spread over the kitchen counter.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

It was from the restaurant she worked at. It was clear from the packaging.

Felicity and Charlotte stepped into the kitchen, and immediately noticed her staring at the food in confusion.

“Oh, that came in from your restaurant not too long ago, Kenzie. It’s a huge order, and I’m impressed that they care about their workers this much.” Felicity said.

Charlotte nodded. “I snooped through it a bit, and I saw that it’s a king’s order. A whole experience as fuck three-course-meal? Is there some kind of celebration going on, because how can they send an employee something like this?”

Mackenzie sighed, knowing exactly who this was from. And it definitely wasn’t Manager Ty.

“Long story.” She said tiredly and stared at her glass of water dejectedly. “I need a drink. Badly.”

“Not just you, sis. We need some too.” Charlotte quipped.

“But the kids-”

“Actually, the kids made friends with the neighbors kids. They have a babysitter that watches over them.” Felicity said.

Mackenzie glanced at her, “The kids aren’t in the house right now?” She could feel her panic rising, but Felicity spoke up on time,

“Don’t worry so much, Kenzie. I personally met the kids parents’ and they are really nice people. Those kids have been able to take Calista’s mind away from school for a minute. Cameron is more than happy to have new playmates, so they’ll be fine.”

Charlotte nodded. “We could use this free time to go get drinks and unwind.”

Mackenzie was not completely convinced, so Felicity reassured her some more, “I met the babysitter as well, and she’s so nice and caring, I guarantee you that. Plus, they’re just next door. Besides, when you start working full time, you can pay the babysitter to take care of the twins along with their friends. They’ll be happier that way, don’t you think?”

“We really do need those drinks. It’s the only thing we can still afford in our financial crisis, Kenzie.” Charlotte sighed.

Mackenzie stared at them empathetically, because she was well aware that her friends were not having a good time either. They were all broke, constantly worried about the next day. It was really terrible.

Charlotte was combing the entire city for any type of job, but still couldn’t get any positive result. Felicity’s mood had been going downhill recently, because the companies that reached out to her for collaborations, were trying to make her give up on the things that pushed her passion.

They only wanted the profit that came with her audience, they didn’t care about plant life or organic living. They were forcing her to choose between her passion and money.

It was depressing.

“Alright. We’ll go out after I go see the neighbors, their babysitter and make sure my babies eat something.” Mackenzie said.

Charlotte and Felicity let out smiles as she gave in, and Felicity crossed her arms. “I’m sure we’ll find a great bar. Greensville is known for it’s night life, after all.”

Charlotte butt in excitedly, “The best bars are in the heart of the city!”

“No, no, no-” Mackenzie was beginning to protest when Charlotte cut in, “Oh, come on, Kenzie. Listen, after moving all over the city in search for a job, believe me when I say I know the best place to go. And I promise you, nobody will recognize you. I’ll make you look absolutely stunning.”

Felicity nodded in agreement.

Mackenzie was silent for a moment, before she agreed. They both squealed and tackled her into a hug. She laughed, after all, there was zero chances of running into an Axford at a bar on a week day.