Axel was stunned that he still couldn't speak no matter how much he wanted to speak.
The shock held him still from the inside out, tightening his throat and locking his voice somewhere deep where he couldn't reach it.
His mouth parted slightly as if a word might escape, but nothing came.
The urge to force out a response pressed against his chest, but it was tangled with panic, with the sudden realization that the moment he had feared was standing right in front of him without any warning, and his own body refused to cooperate.
He knew something like this would happen, he wouldn't have fooled Ivan forever, especially after sleeping together.
The thought ran through him sharply, reminding him how every lie he had told was always going to collapse the second Ivan started looking closely.
And as he stood there, trying to find words to say, he didn't know just how much Ivan had figured out.
