AXEL

Beauty

The devil's in disguise. Beauty was deceit in the hands of an attractive man, Kit's mother drilled this phrase into her mind.

Knox did not disappoint. She could smell the rich cologne as soon as she entered his lair, the musky scent invading her senses and drawing her in like a siren luring its prey.

His icy blue eyes pierced through her, bronzed skin standing out against the silvery blonde hair tumbling down his forehead like strands of silk. Not a single mark marred his skin, no dark spots on his face or scars etched to spoil his perfect aura.

His movements were smooth like him, his body swaying like a snake. Kit wanted to see him shed his skin and show his fangs, catch a glimpse of the devil, not the man.

She looked up to his toothy grin, pearly whites smiling down at her, all of Axel's previous warnings long forgotten.

Part of her wanted to figure out this killer in two questions.

His beauty was dangerous. Knox was a man of strength from the white shirt clinging to his muscles and the angular jaw shaping his clean-shaven face. She wondered how many women had lost their last breath because of him. Kit wasn't going to be one of them, she'd claw her way out of that type of hell.

No man would be pulling at her strings.

"Axel," he said nodding his head in greeting, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Knox, this is the girl," Axel replied, he slipped his leather gloves off and tucked them in his trouser pocket.

"And..." he said picking her hand up in his, "does the girl have a name?" he asked brushing his thumb against her fingers. A shiver crawled up her spine as his thumb pressed over the lump on her middle finger, a fractured bone that never healed properly. His cold gaze darted to her face, searching for a reaction but she didn't flinch, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

His touch as cold as his stare.

She glared up at Axel, "Kit, my name's Kit," she spat, her tongue dripping with venom. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but it vanished when Axel spoke.

"Short for Kitten..." Axel mumbled under his breath, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Kit. The smirk pulling at the split in her lip, blood oozing from the gash.

"If I knew I was meeting your boyfriend, I would have dressed a little nicer," she whispered to Axel, her green eyes flicking from Knox and him with a wriggle of her brows.

His jaw tensed, nostrils flared as he rolled the cuffs of his shirt up his arms, distracting himself from the foul-mouthed woman beside him and his urge to throw her back in the trunk.

"Everything good here, Axe?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, my name is not Axe." Axel spat turning his attention to Knox.

Knox chuckled and combed a hand through his silky hair, "Come on, let's talk business," he said leading Axel to his office. His hand shot out in front of Kit stopping her in her tracks, "Kit stays here."

Kit rocked back on the heel of her boots, steadying herself as she watched Knox walk away. Her eyes roamed over the planes of his shoulder blades, the muscles shifting with each step he made. The shadow merging with her own snapped her attention away from the killer exiting the room.

She had to remind herself what Knox was.

Axel hung back, his figure looming over her, "do not touch anything. I expect you to be in this exact spot when I get back," he said through gritted teeth, he pointed to the spot at her boots.