Just as Ivan let go of Axel with unnecessary force, sending him stumbling and pivoting to leave, Axel caught his arm, pulling him back.
"What is wrong with you? One second you're all over me, the next you're angry at me for something I don't even know about! We're adults, men, what's the need for mood swings and silent treatments instead of just calling out the wrongs the other did?!"
The words left Axel's mouth before he could stop them. Even as he spoke, panic clawed at him, twisting inside, a sharp, desperate knot. Maybe Ivan had already discovered one of the things he was hiding.
And yet, that very panic sharpened his words, the ones he knew would drive Ivan to the edge. Axel hoped, half-frantically, that it would force Ivan to speak, to reveal what he had actually found out. He needed to know the extent of his exposure.
