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X avier straddled me, his thighs gripping my hips as he guided himself onto my cock. His head fell back, exposing the long line of his throat as he sank down fully, taking me inside him. The tight heat of his body around mine was fucking exquisite, making it nearly impossible to think about anything else. Nearly.

A stray drop of blood clung to Xavier's chin, somehow missed in his shower. The crimson speck stood out against his pale skin, hypnotizing me with its presence. I couldn't look away from it, this tiny evidence of what he'd done mere hours ago. What he was capable of. What he'd do again to protect me.

"Look at me," he ordered, voice rough as he began to move. His fingers dug into my chest, leaving crescent-shaped marks that would join the collection of bruises he'd already left on my body. "Stay with me, Leo."

I forced my eyes to meet his, fighting to remain present in this moment I'd fantasized about for so long. I was buried deep inside Xavier, my cock being used exactly how he wanted, and I should have been lost in pure sensation. Instead, I kept seeing flashes of him unconscious on the security room floor, blood trickling from his temple. The image refused to fade, superimposing itself over the powerful man now using my body for his pleasure. The drop of blood on his chin seemed to grow larger, starker.

"I'm here," I whispered, hands tentatively settling on his hips, afraid to take liberties he hadn't explicitly granted. I needed to feel him. Needed proof he was alive, whole, still mine. My eyes kept drifting to that crimson drop, mesmerized.

"No, you're not," he growled, grinding down with enough force to make me gasp. "Where are you right now? In your head?"

My fingers tightened on his hips, anchoring myself to him as I tried to push away the shadows. The metallic tang of blood seemed to cling to him despite the shower he'd taken before crawling into bed with me. That tiny drop on his chin wasn't just my imagination. "You've got..." I started, then stopped myself.

"Got what?" Xavier demanded, stilling above me, his ass clenching around my cock in a way that made it difficult to form coherent thoughts.

My tongue darted out to wet my lips. "Blood. On your chin."

His hand came up, thumb brushing the spot where Walsh's blood had dried. He studied it for a moment, expression unreadable, before wiping it on the sheets. "Better?"

"Sorry," I gasped as he adjusted his position, finding the perfect angle that sent pleasure shooting up my spine like electricity. My cock pulsed inside him, responding to the tight heat despite my distracted thoughts. My body was fully on board, but my mind kept fracturing, splitting between the exquisite present and the terrifying what-ifs of the past few hours.

What if Algerone's security hadn't arrived when they did? What if Felix had succeeded in whatever he had planned? What if that blow to Xavier's head had been harder? The memories and possibilities tumbled through my consciousness like broken glass, cutting into what should have been perfect pleasure.

"Don't apologize," Xavier's voice softened as he studied my face. "Talk to me. What's happening in that beautiful brain of yours?"

The gentleness in his question nearly undid me. Xavier, who had just hours ago participated in torturing and killing a man, was looking at me with such careful concern that my throat tightened. I'd known what he was, had always accepted the darkness in him, had even found it oddly comforting. But seeing the blood on his chin made it real in a way it hadn't been before.

"I keep seeing you on the floor," I admitted, voice breaking. "With blood on your face. Not moving."

His expression shifted, that dangerous softness he reserved only for me spreading across his features. One hand moved from my chest to brush the hair from my face, the gesture unexpectedly tender.

"I'm right here," he murmured, leaning down to press his forehead to mine, changing the angle of my cock inside him. "Not going anywhere."

My hands hovered a moment before settling on his face, careful to avoid the bandage at his temple. "I know that logically. But I can't stop thinking about how close..."

My voice failed me. How could I explain that the fear wasn't just about losing him physically? That watching him return to our room after Walsh's interrogation, that quiet, satisfied darkness still clinging to him, had terrified me in an entirely different way? Not because I judged him for it, but because some part of me had understood his satisfaction. Some part of me had wanted to ask for details. To know exactly how Walsh had paid for endangering us.

What did that make me?

Xavier stilled above me, my cock still buried deep in his ass, his eyes searching mine. "He's dealt with," he said simply. "Walsh can never hurt you again."

"That's not—" I shook my head, struggling to organize my thoughts with Xavier still surrounding me so completely. "I'm not worried about Walsh. Or even Felix right now. I just... when I saw you on the floor, not moving... I've never been so scared. Not even during the fires."

Something vulnerable flickered across his face, his usual mask slipping for just a moment. His hands, which had been gripping my chest with bruising intensity, gentled unexpectedly. "I'm not that easy to get rid of." He rocked his hips, still gentle but insistent, reminding me of our connection. "I'm right here. Feel me."

And I did. The tight heat of him around my cock. The weight on my hips. The power in his thighs as he controlled our movements. I clung to those sensations, desperate to drown out the what-ifs still echoing in my head.

"I want this," I assured him, tentatively thrusting upward to meet him. My cock pulsed inside him, reminding me how badly I needed this connection. "Want you. It's just... my brain won't shut up."

Without warning, Xavier lifted himself off me, leaving me confused and aching, my cock wet and twitching with need.

"Xavier?"

He studied me for a moment, something calculating in his expression. "We're trying something different," he announced, reaching for the nightstand drawer.

My breath caught as he retrieved something I'd never seen before—a small silicone ring with an attached bullet vibrator. "I want you on top," he said, the words making my heart stutter. He'd never wanted me in that position before.

"You sure?"

"I'll still be in charge," he clarified, his expression leaving no room for doubt. He slicked the toy with lube, then slid it down my cock, positioning the vibrator against the sensitive underside. "But I'm going to make it impossible for you to think about anything except how good this feels."

The silicone ring fit snugly around the base of my cock, creating a pleasant pressure that somehow intensified every sensation. When he switched on the vibrator, I nearly jumped off the bed, unprepared for the sudden jolt of pleasure that coursed through my entire body.

"Holy shit!" I gasped, clutching at the sheets as the vibrations traveled from the underside of my cock directly to my core. "Xavier, that's—"

"Distracting, isn't it?" His lips curled into that predatory smile I knew so well as he straddled my thighs. "Now, this is how it's going to work. You're going to get on top, and I'm going to feel that vibration inside me while you fuck me exactly how I tell you."

"Yes," I breathed, already reaching for him.

He caught my hands, pinning them to the mattress beside my head. "But remember. You still belong to me. You still follow my fucking commands."

"Always," I whispered, staring up at him with what must have been naked worship in my eyes.

He released my hands and helped me sit up, carefully guiding me as we switched positions. The movement made the vibrator shift against my cock, sending fresh waves of pleasure that made it difficult to focus on anything else.

I'd been inside Xavier plenty of times before, but always with him on top, controlling every aspect of the experience. The visual shift of looking down at him instead of up was disorienting in the most exhilarating way. From this angle, I could see all of him at once. The health bar tattoo over his heart seemed to glow against his skin in the dim light. The WASD keys inked along his ribs. The triforce that rested just above his navel. Every tattoo I'd spent years secretly admiring, now on full display beneath me.

As I sank my cock back into him, the vibrator still buzzing steadily at the base, the combined sensations were almost too much. The tight heat of his body gripping me combined with the relentless vibration created a feedback loop of pleasure so intense I had to fight not to come immediately. Every nerve ending seemed to fire at once, all of my awareness narrowing to the point where our bodies connected.

"Holy fuck," I gasped, my thighs trembling with the effort of holding still. "Xavier, that's—I can't—"

"You can and you will," he said, his voice cutting through my overwhelmed babbling. "Stay focused. Control yourself."

His hands gripped my hips, guiding my movements with firm pressure. But something in his eyes had changed—a vulnerability I rarely saw, a hint that he needed this connection as desperately as I did.

"When your head gets too loud, we shut it the fuck up," he said, his voice rougher than usual. "You know how this works. I give you something else to focus on. Something that demands all your attention. Right now, that’s pleasing me. That’s all you focus on. Understand?"

I nodded. It was already working. Every thought about Felix, about Walsh, about Xavier unconscious on the floor… All of it had been obliterated by this new, all-encompassing pleasure. His intensity destroyed my ability to think about anything else. The combination of tight heat around my cock and the relentless vibration against sensitive nerves created a perfect storm of sensation that consumed every corner of my consciousness.

"That's it," Xavier murmured, wrapping his legs around me. "Just feel me. Nothing else matters right now."

He was right. In this moment, nothing existed beyond the heat of his body around my cock, the bruising grip of his fingers, the electric waves of pleasure radiating outward from my groin. All thoughts of Felix, of Walsh, of blood and burning—everything faded to background static beneath the overwhelming reality of Xavier claiming me even as I claimed him.

"Xavier," I gasped, struggling to maintain control as he increased the vibrator's intensity with a flick of the remote. "I can't—"

"Yes, you can," he said, voice sharp with command. "You don't come until I say so. Remember who you belong to."

His words sent a fresh wave of desire through me. Even like this, with me physically on top, Xavier's control was absolute. His dominance had nothing to do with physical positioning and everything to do with the way he owned every reaction of my body, the way he read my responses like a particularly elegant code.

"Fuck—yes—" I gasped, the words fragmented as he shifted his hips, taking my cock deeper. My voice cracked, dissolving into a desperate moan. "Dios mío... Xavier—all yours."

But something shifted in his expression—a crack in his perfect control, a glimpse of the same fear I'd been fighting. His hands on my hips trembled slightly, grip loosening for just a heartbeat before tightening again.

"I thought I'd lost you today," he admitted, the words so quiet I almost missed them. "When I saw Felix standing over you... when I couldn't fucking move..."

The confession—that moment of vulnerability from someone who prided himself on perfect control—hit me harder than any physical sensation could have. My rhythm faltered as I processed what he'd just revealed.

"Xavier..."

"Don't stop," he ordered, but his voice had lost some of its edge. His hands guided my hips back into motion, but his eyes remained unguarded, showing me something he rarely allowed anyone to see. "I need this. Need to feel you. Need to know you're still here."

I obeyed, finding our rhythm again, but something had changed between us. This wasn't just sex anymore. This wasn't just Xavier using my body for his pleasure or me surrendering to his control. This was both of us seeking reassurance, confirmation, proof that we'd survived. That we were still connected.

His fingers dug into my jaw, yanking my face down. "Fucking look at me," he hissed, pupils blown wide. "Look at me when you fuck me."

I met his gaze, refusing to look away as he demanded, and what I saw there stole my breath. His eyes were wild, jade green and burning with an intensity I'd never witnessed before. I saw everything there—that same darkness that had dealt with Walsh, the fury that would hunt down Felix, and something else, something raw he showed only to me. Something that looked dangerously close to fear.

"Fuck," he breathed, voice breaking slightly as his control slipped further. "Just like that."

He reached between us, wrapping his hand around his cock, stroking himself with rough, uneven movements. The sight of Xavier touching himself while I was inside him nearly pushed me over the edge right there.

"Fuck—X—can't—" My words disintegrated, teeth clenching as I fought against the building pressure in my balls, the vibrator making it nearly impossible to hold back.

"Not yet," he growled, grabbing my hip with his free hand hard enough to bruise. "Not till I say. Not until I'm done with you."

When he came, it wasn't the controlled release I expected. His head snapped back, a strangled sound tearing from his throat as his body clenched around my cock in violent pulses, hot cum spilling over his fingers and onto his stomach. The sight of Xavier actually losing his perfect control, completely undone by pleasure we'd created together, shattered what little restraint I had left.

"Now—fucking now—" he gasped, barely coherent.

I was already gone. The orgasm hit with the force of a bomb, vision blacking out at the edges as I came so hard my entire body seized. Some broken version of his name ripped from my throat before I collapsed forward, arms nearly giving out.

He fumbled to switch off the vibrator. I eased the ring from my oversensitized cock, dealt with the condom, and quickly cleaned the cum off his stomach. Then his arms wrapped around me, dragging me down against his chest, both of us sticky with sweat.

"S'okay," he mumbled against my hair, voice rougher than I'd ever heard it. "Got you. Right here."

I buried my face against his neck, breathing in the scent of him—smoke and leather and clean sweat, the metallic tang of blood now mercifully washed away. This close, I could feel his pulse beneath my lips, strong and steady. Alive. Here. Mine.

"Sorry," I whispered, embarrassed by how easily he'd read my anxiety earlier. "I didn't mean to get stuck in my head."

Xavier's fingers tightened in my hair, pulling back just enough to force me to meet his gaze. "Don't apologize," he said firmly. "Not for caring about what happens to me. Not for being affected by the shit we're dealing with. But..." His expression softened slightly. "You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. And I will always, always come back to you."

His lips quirked into that dangerous half-smile that always made my stomach flip. "Felix Burns doesn't know who he's dealing with. He thinks because he studied me, he understands me. But he's only seen what I've allowed him to see. He has no idea what I'm capable of when someone threatens what's mine."

The possessive edge in his voice sent a shiver through me, but not with fear. There was safety in being claimed by someone like Xavier. Protection in belonging to a predator who considered you part of his territory.

"When I was in the Army," I said quietly, "there was this staff sergeant who collected venomous snakes. Kept them in these really elaborate terrariums in his quarters. Against regulations, obviously, but no one was stupid enough to report him."

Xavier raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue, one hand still absently stroking my back.

"He had this king cobra that was his favorite. Handled it all the time. Thing never bit him, not once. We all thought he was insane, but he said something I never forgot." I swallowed, remembering the man's weathered face, the absolute certainty in his eyes. "He said, 'If you respect the snake's nature, if you never forget what it is, you've got nothing to fear from it. It's the people who think they can make a cobra into something it's not who end up dead.'"

"And you think I'm the cobra in this scenario?" Xavier asked, amusement coloring his voice.

"I think Felix made a fatal mistake," I replied. "He studied you, but he doesn't respect what you are. He thinks he can predict you, control you. But he only knows Xavier Laskin the hacker. The vigilante. He has no idea about the rest."

"And what's the rest?"

I looked up at him. "The man who knows I need to be pushed when I get anxious. Who tracked down rare anime figures to replace the ones I lost. Who lets me ramble about EVA Unit-01 for hours without complaint." I pressed my palm against his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath my fingers. "The man who fights his own nature to give me whatever I need, even when it goes against every instinct he has."

Something complicated flickered across Xavier's face, too quick to identify before his usual calculated mask slipped back into place. But his hand covered mine against his chest, pressing it more firmly to his skin.

"You see more than you should," he murmured, voice rougher than usual. "Always have."

"Is that a problem?" I asked, suddenly uncertain.

"No." His voice dropped even lower, almost vulnerable in its honesty. "I—" He stopped, struggling visibly with whatever he wanted to say. "I don't know what the fuck I'd do without you, Leo. That's what really fucking terrifies me."

"You don't have to do without me," I promised, kissing him gently. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't promise that," he argued, but his arms tightened around me. "Not with someone like Felix out there."

"Watch me," I challenged, pressing closer. "I'm more stubborn than any threat could ever be."

He smiled and pulled me closer, his lips finding mine. "Sleep," he ordered, his arm a comforting weight across my waist. "I'll be right here."

And for the first time since Felix had appeared in our lives, I believed that without reservation. Whatever came next, whatever Phoenix planned, Xavier would be there. Not because he couldn't be defeated, but because he would fight with everything he had to come back to me.