Axel:A Bad Boy Romance(28)

"I know, baby," Marie said as she squeezed her hand. "But you'll get to  see them in just a couple of days." They were walking towards the gym.  Marie felt a tightness in her stomach. She hadn't introduced Cate to  Axel yet and she wasn't quite ready to. But that was the thing with  being a parent: there is stuff you have to do whether you are ready to  or not. "I have to go in here quick to talk to someone, but it will just  be a minute."



With Cate in tow Marie walked into the gym and swiped her membership  card. The place was almost empty and Axel was nowhere in sight. She made  her way to the boxing gym, helping Cate climb down the long, steep  staircase. Axel came to meet her at the stairs smiling up at her.



"Hi," she said sheepishly, "there was a lice outbreak at Cate's daycare.  We're both clean, but it looks like I'm going to have to miss our  session today."



"Trampoline!" Cate suddenly yelled pointing to a small, circular workout trampoline.



"It's not a toy," Marie chided. "It's for people to exercise on."



"There's no reason it can't be both," Axel said. "But you gotta work  real hard on it," he said looking down at Cate. "You gotta jump really  hard and go really high. Think you can do that?"         

     



 



"Yes. Yes. Yes," she said jumping up and down. Cate wrenched her hand  free and raced over to the trampoline and jumped up on it. She bounced  up and down and squealed excitedly as she spun in the air.



"You're gonna have a hell of time getting her off of that," Marie said as Cate continued to jump and laugh on the trampoline.



"No one else really uses it," he says with a shrug. "She's certainly enjoying herself."



She turned to look at him, "I didn't want you to think I was bailing on you. I'm not giving up on my training, I just..."



"Have a life to live," he said, finishing her sentence. "I was raised by a single mom, I get it."



She took him in a long hug and rested her head on his shoulder. He  understood. But that was Axel in a nutshell; he zigged when she expected  him to zag. Just when she was sure he was going to berate her, he was  there for her instead. He was intense and hard on himself, but he was  patient and forgiving of others. He was like no man she had ever met  before.



Cate rushed over to them, her face flushed and she was out of breath.  Marie handed her a bottle of water and Cate greedily swallowed it down.  "What else is there to play with?" she asked.



Just as Marie was about to tell her this wasn't a toy store Axel looked down at Cate and said, "Come on in the ring,"



She followed him and he lifted her up and put her on the edge of the  ring and helped her between the ropes. Marie went next, feeling the  slight spring of the mat beneath her feet. Cate jumped up and down once  or twice as she tested the springs.



"All right, little lady," he said as he got down on one knee. "Give me a  hit, right here," he said, pointing to the center of her palm.



Cate looked up at her mother. "It's okay if it's in the ring," Marie  said. "This is the place where you learn how to fight. But you have to  promise not to hit anyone outside of the ring, ever. Do you promise?"



Cate nodded and then brought her fists up and landed a light hit on  Axel's hand. "Good job!" He said with a laugh. "Now how about a kick?"  She kicked his hand and Marie was impressed with her daughter's aim.



"I did it! I did it! I'm the best at fighting," Cate said as she took a  victory lap around the ring making Marie and Axel chuckle at her antics.  Then she was off, jumping out of the ring and running back to the  trampoline.



"She's going to sleep well tonight," Marie said.



"Speaking of tonight, can I see you again?"



"Maybe," Marie said feeling those butterflies erupt in her stomach  again. He wanted to see her; he couldn't get enough. "Although I don't  have a sitter lined up. You could come over after she's gone to bed.  Unless you wanted to go out somewhere."



"I just want to be with you," he said. "The location doesn't matter."



"Okay, I usually put Cate to bed around seven-thirty, so, let's say eight?"



"I'll see you then," she said.



"It sounds you're leaving," Axel said, "but I don't think Cate is ready to go yet."



Indeed, she wasn't. Thankfully there was no one else in the gym and Cate  had free reign over the place. Running from the ring to the trampoline  she continued to race around until she was too tired to move. Only then  did Marie pick her up and carry her out of the gym, giving her a  piggyback ride home.



She cleaned up her apartment and spent the rest of the day working in  the museum while Cate drew pictures in crayon in the office. Her stomach  was in knots over Axel's visit. She hadn't entertained a man other than  Austin before and she wasn't sure what to do or what would be expected.  He had been so good with Cate, so sweet and understanding and patient.  She hadn't expected that from someone who fought for a living.



A single mom had raised him. He understood that Cate was a part of her  life and that Cate would always have to come first. Sometimes Cate would  be bratty and difficult; she would sick and Marie would have to drop  everything to go to her. But Axel got it. He knew how much work it was  and he wasn't threatened by Marie's love for her daughter.



She gave Cate a bath and put her to bed. She'd had a long day and  collapsed into bed falling asleep almost immediately. Marie kissed her  on her forehead and then made her way to the living room. She changed  into a tight pair of jeans and low cut black top and put some low music  on. He arrived at eight o'clock, right on time.


         

     



 


Chapter Twenty-eight



Axel gave three hard knocks on the office door right at eight o'clock.  Marie was there in a moment and she opened it and let him in, greeting  him with a kiss. She looked pretty and relaxed in a black shirt and  jeans. He already felt so comfortable with her. How had this happened so  quickly? He took her hand in his and together they walked through the  empty mansion and out onto the back patio.



Marie had a bottle of wine open and a baby monitor sitting on the table.  If Cate needed her mom, Marie would hear her. They sat down on two  large Adirondack chairs facing the long expanse of the lush yard that  led to a small forest behind the mansion. Marie liked the back deck. She  liked being outside here. Back in Arizona, being outside felt like a  punishment. It was either too hot or too cold and it was always dry. But  here the air was fresh. She could smell the soil and leaves still wet  from a recent light rain.



"What are you thinking about?" Axel asked.



"How much I like it here," Marie said with a smile. "The weather is so nice. There's so much moisture in the air."



"You are the first person to ever compliment the humidity," Axel said  with a shake of his head. He stood up and expertly uncorked the wine  pouring them each a glass before he sat back down. "You like it more  than Arizona?"



"I do," she said.



"Good, I would hate for you to go back."



"There's no chance of that," Marie said, shaking her head.



"No family back home?"



Marie shook her head. She was staring into the forest beyond them. Her  jaw was clenched so tight it was starting to ache. There were tears  welling up in her eyes and she didn't know why. She would have to tell  Axel, she knew that. It wasn't like Thomas. She cared about Axel and she  never wanted to lie to him. But she didn't want to talk about it.



Axel didn't say anything. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, but he was waiting for her to say something.



"I'm never going back to Arizona," Marie said still staring out into the forest. "Not ever."



"You don't ever have to go back," he said. "And if anyone ever tries to  make you, you send them to me and I'll sort them out." His heart was  pounding. He had no idea what she was going to say, but he was glad to  get the chance to hear it.



Marie smiled over at him and, before he knew it, the words were tumbling  out of her mouth. "Cate's dad is in Arizona. His name is Austin. He's  not a good person." She told him everything. She told him how she got  pregnant, how she was scared and alone, how Austin hit her and abused  her and was cruel to her. She told him every embarrassing truth, things  she had been too scared to say out loud, things she hadn't even admitted  to herself. Austin had screwed her up; he had brainwashed her and  tricked her until she had turned into someone that lived only to please  him. Her every moment had been spent trying to keep him happy, or at  least not make him angry. And she had done that for years. All of Cate's  life she had been living like that.