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</div></div><span style="font-family: 'Didact Gothic', 'sans-serif'">The sheer pain that she seemed to be in caused Axel to ache. He'd never seen the after effects of such trauma, and he despised seeing her in such a state. She was trapped, forced to relive the pain she'd experienced. It was no doubt her worst nightmare, but it had been real, and that made it so much worse. As she began to struggle against him, the male simply let her. He didn't try to force her into submission or stillness, that would have to come on its own. The way she trembled... it caused his mind to run back to the day he'd passed her his gun. He should have done more, he should have made that man suffer. If only he could go back, he would show that man what a true demon could do; the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but Axel had no good intentions in mind. He would've been ready to rip him apart, piece by piece.<br/>
<br/>
The male held her, loose enough for her to shift if she needed. Axel felt the need to wipe away her tears, but he didn't dare touch her further than he was for the very reason that it was the one thing that had made her feel so hurt; touch. The tone of her whimper felt as painful as a knife to the gut, but thankfully it seemed that he was able to soothe her some. Almost in a blink, she'd snapped awake with a heart breaking sound, causing the male to gaze down into her eyes, trying to see if she was still somewhat in a haze. The look she gave him was one he would never forget; to see her so fearful, so intensely afraid... It was staggering. "Tempest," He breathed softly in response to her words. He chose to remain somewhat distant from her, not touching her face like he wished to. Before he could ask her if she wanted him to put her down, he felt the soft warmth of her body as she clung to his shirt and crawled closer to his muscled frame. "Hey.." He murmured softly as he felt her bury her head into his chest as she circled her arms around him. Axel didn't hesitate. His strong arms circled her frame, gently curling around her waist as he drew her into him. "Don't be sorry, don't ever be sorry," He whispered softly against her dark strands.<br/>
<br/>
Her words voiced what he already knew. She didn't want him to see the pain. A shaky sigh left him as one hand trailed up along her back, then up into her strands to cradle her to him. Tenderly, he pressed his lips against her head as she continued to seek comfort in him. "We all have scars," He whispered softly, "Don't you ever feel sorry for being afraid, for being hurt... I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner." As he spoke, his muscles tensed in pure rage. That man deserved to die; but he needed to suffer. He had an escape, a quick end. A slow exhale left him as he cradled her, his free hand easing to sweep across her back. Strong digits caressed and massaged her, hoping to soothe her. He couldn't care less about the growing wetness of his shirt, it just made him feel an ache for her; that someone could suffer so much, and still be suffering. She didn't deserve this.<br/>
<br/>
Axel glanced down to notice the woman looking up at him. "Hit me?" The male frowned slightly, "Maybe you can't see it in the dark but you swung at me like Mike Tyson," It may have been too soon, but he just wanted to see her smile. "No, you didn't hit me." As she muttered and promptly thumped her head into his chest, his hand eased through her strands, slowly brushing from the top of her head downward. "You're not a mess. You're just a bit shaken." The male reached down to grab hold of one of the sheets she'd kicked off. Once he drew the sheet around her, tucking along her body, he eased back to lean against the wall and offer her more space to curl up on him. His arms returned around her, one across her shoulder blades and the other draped along her legs in order to pull her in closer on all accounts. <br/>
<br/>
"You never have to feel like you have to hide it from me," The male murmured softly, gazing over the woman in his arms. "Now all you gotta do little lady is rest," The male leaned down to press his lips softly against her forehead before easing back into a comfortable position, resting his head back against the wall behind him. "I'm not moving, you can sleep. I'll be right here." His words were tender and soft, despite his usual husky tone. "I'll kill anything that comes to harm you, I promise you that." He offered her a rather warm smile, despite his words being deadly serious. As if to punctuate his intentions of protection, his hold on her tightened just enough so she would feel his strong form around her. In his mind, he was already planning to take a day of leave the next day to make sure she rested enough, before taking her to work and picking her up again. He was even considering asking her to stay with him, as a roommate, just so she didn't have to be alone. She could be close to him, she'd know he was always there.</span>