Page 17

SIXTEEN

Xander

As soon as the girls are out of sight, I scramble to clean everything up. I trash the bloody rags and bandage wrappers and bolt outside to canvas the property. Immediately I can see that whoever broke in also destroyed the cameras outside, including the ones by the gate. Fan-fucking-tastic. Telling Clayton that detail will be fun. Maybe I’ll just send him an email.

Dealing with all of this would be easier if I wasn’t limited by this body. I would be able to follow the scent of the boot imprints in the mud just off the porch. The best I’m able to figure is that the intruder took off into the forest. Who he is and how he got in will remain a mystery for another night.

I slip inside the house and set the alarm system again, double checking it for good measure. Maybe there aren’t any cameras now, but at least the alarm can be set. Why the hell it wasn’t before, I have no idea. When I’m satisfied that I’ll be alerted, I take the stairs two at a time. All the lights are low and there’s no one in the hallway. It gives me an ounce of peace to know the house is quiet for the night. Instead of going to my room, I walk down to Kai’s, knocking softly on the door. Alexia’s muffled voice tells me to enter, and I release a long breath.

When I see her tucked beneath the blankets, her body bandaged up and her jaw showing signs of bruising, my anger flares again. Clenching my fist at my side, I walk to the bed and sit down beside her, holding myself up by stretching one arm over her body and peering down at her.

“How are you feeling, Alexia?” I ask, trying like hell to control the tremor in my voice. The tremor that’s coming from nerves, anger, fear... goddess, I was so scared I was going to lose her when I saw her on the floor and bloody. That image still hasn’t left my brain, and I don’t know that it ever will.

She lifts one arm from under the cover and places her hand on top of mine. “I’m fine, Xander. Just a little sore is all. You stopped the bleeding from the cuts in time and with any luck there won’t be any scarring. Anyway, you know I’ll be feeling better by tomorrow with how fast we heal.”

“When I find who did this to you, I’m going to kill him. Nothing on this earth will stop me from spilling his blood.”

I regret voicing my feelings as soon as they leave me. That is until I meet her soft gaze. There is no fear, just pure awe written on her face. Did she not think I would avenge her? Has she not figured out that I would shred this world into pieces for her?

“You’d do that for me?” she whispers, her voice barely audible over the beating of my own heart.

“Alexia,” I say, leaning forward and brushing her hair off her forehead. “I don’t know how or when this happened, but somewhere over the course of the past week, I’ve become rather attached to you.” I brush my lips against hers. “I’d do any manner of illegal, immoral, or downright reckless things for you, little wolf.”

The sound that leaves her mouth is one I want to eat up. And if she weren’t injured right now, I'd take her right here. To stop myself from doing just that, I stand and pace the room. My fingers brush over the back of my neck, lightly kneading the tension building in my muscles.

“Xander, you can’t say things like that,” she says, but her tone tells me she feels the exact opposite.

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’re making me feel things I don’t think I’m supposed to be feeling.”

I lower into the chair in the corner, lean back, and place an ankle over my thigh. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got all night to tell me about these feelings you don’t think you should have for me.”

“You’re going to sit in that chair all night?”

“I’m not leaving your side, Alexia.”

Her brows furrow adorably in the middle of her forehead, and she crosses her arms over the blankets. “Then why don’t you come over here and lay down with me? Why sit all the way over there?”

Her question has my lips lifting in a smile. “Because I have a bad habit of putting my hands on you, and you need to rest after what you’ve been through.”

She pokes out her lower lip in a pout. “But what if I need your hands on me?” She stops short and her cheeks flush. “I mean, what if I just need you to hold me?”

I pull on my shirt and lift a brow. “I’m not sure you want me next to you right now. I’ve not had a chance to take a shower. And trust me, I ran hard on the treadmill. I was working off all the pent-up feelings I have for you.”

She chews her lower lip, fighting a smile. “Oh? And did it work?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you should go take a quick shower and take me back to your room because I need to feel you against me. Or...” She pulls herself to a seated position and leans against the headboard. “I feel kind of gross after being attacked and cut up. I could use a bath myself.”

I lean forward, resting my arms on my thighs. She is so tempting. Everything she does makes me need her. I take a moment to assess the situation. She needs to come first. I don’t want my dick clouding my judgement right now.

“Do you want a bath or a shower?” I ask, giving in to whatever she wants.

“A bath so I can sit down. I don’t think standing for an extended period is such a good idea right now. But only if you’ll get in with me,” she says, her dark eyes piercing into mine. Fuck me, she knows what she’s doing.

I stand and give her a knowing glare. “Give me a moment to draw the bath and I’ll come back for you.”

Never in my life have I had such difficulty filling a bathtub. I find myself adjusting my cock the entire time. Picturing us pieced together in the water is doing all sorts of things to me. The thoughts running through my head are vastly inappropriate after what she’s been through.

I reel in my hormones and go back to Kai’s room. With much care, I scoop her into my arms and carry her into the bathroom where I help her undress and ease her into the warm water.

She groans and it has me hardening, straining so tightly against the fabric of my shorts that I fight the urge to free myself. This is such a bad idea.

“That feels so good, Xander, thank you,” she says, swishing her fingers around the water and scooping up bubbles into her palm.

“Yeah, no—no problem,” I say, turning away from her to pull my shirt over my head and take off my shorts. I don’t know why I’m nervous; it’s not like?—

“Why are you turned around like that?” she asks, her voice amused, somehow reading my mind. “For fuck’s sake, Xander, you held me upside down and ate me out while I sucked your dick the other night. I think I can handle seeing you naked before taking a bath with you.”

I run my hand down my tattooed chest, trying to calm my racing heart. With a quick glance at my stiff cock, I turn around. “Excuse me if I’m a little embarrassed that I can’t seem to get my dick under control.”

Her laughter bounces off the tile walls. It’s good to know that what happened tonight didn’t snuff out the joy inside of her.

I slide in behind her and pull her against my chest. My hands glide up her arms and back down again, gently washing away the horrors of tonight. I want to cleanse her body of that creep’s touch. The very thought of his hands on her, tainting her gorgeous body infuriates me. No one should lay a finger on her without her consent. I swear I will find that asshole and break every bone in his hands for what he did to Alexia.

She leans into me, laying her head back against my shoulder, and I finally feel her muscles start to relax. “This is perfect, Xander,” she murmurs, slipping her hands under the water and running them up and down my thighs.

“Good. I want to erase as much of tonight as I can. I don’t want you to feel like any piece of that creep is clinging to your skin,” I say against her ear.

She nods. “Thank you.”

I don’t want to ask the next question because I almost don’t want to know, but I need to. I have to know.

“Alexia?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth, okay?”

She lifts her chin and cranes her neck so she can look at me. “Of course. I’d never lie to you. What is it?”

I take a deep breath, bracing myself for her potential answer. “Did he...” I can barely get out the words. “ Touch you anywhere else?”

Her face loses all color, and she shakes her head vehemently. “No. No. Not even close. I don’t think that was even on his mind. I think he actually just wanted to kill me. As horrifying as that is. It would have been worse if he wanted to do what you’re asking about,” she finishes in a mortified whisper.

A portion of the tension that has had every muscle in my body coiled up releases. I didn’t even know I was carrying my worry for her the way I was. It’s insane that this woman walked back into my life days ago and she has monopolized every thought I have. I still have so much to learn about her, but I want to do it. I have to know everything there is to know. I’m obsessed.

My hands move to her back where my thumbs press into her shoulder blades, working out the knots. She leans forward, giving me room to move up her neck and down her spine. Back rubs were never my thing, but hell, I would do anything just to touch her.

“That feels so good,” she groans, and I have to force myself to keep my hands in an appropriate place.

“Alexia, I growl. “You’re too banged up for me to do what I want to do to you, and if you keep making those noises, it’s going to be very difficult for me to restrain myself.” I press my erection against the small of her back just to prove my point.

Her body quivers and I know she’s laughing at my expense. That’s okay. I’ll get her back the next time I have her at my mercy. For now, I just want to make her feel better, like this horrible night never happened.

“I shouldn’t laugh at your predicament. I do apologize,” she says between giggles.

“You don’t sound very sorry,” I say, finishing up her back rub and wetting her hair so I can shampoo and condition it for her.

“I am, I am, I promise. Trust me, I wish I could remedy that for you,” she says, and all humor has left her voice.

I chuckle at that. She would only fix the problem temporarily. As soon as she bent her body a certain way or glanced at me under her lashes or... Fuck . She could do just about anything, and my body would respond by pumping all my blood to my cock.

She behaves—for the most part—and I finish cleaning her off. When I turn my attention to myself, she pivots to face me, her hands joining mine to run the suds over my chest and neck. I revel in her touch, the soft brush of her fingertips and long strokes of her palm. She inches downward, brushing through the trimmed hair along my pelvis, but I stop her before she takes me in her hand.

“I would threaten you with a punishment if you keep teasing me, but I think you would like that too much,” I say.

“It’s not teasing if I’m willing to follow through,” she says, trying to pull her fingers out of my grasp, but I thread them through mine and hold on tight.

“Tomorrow, baby. Okay?” I ask, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

She sighs, but it’s a contented sound that fills my chest with warmth. “Okay, fine. I’m all sleepy now anyway.”

I grin and stand, offering my hand to her. “Let’s finish up and get some sleep.”

We rinse the soap off under the stream of the shower, I dress her in my pajamas I brought from my room, and without another thought, scoop her up in my arms and take her back to my bed.

“You didn’t have to carry me, you know. I could have walked,” she says indignantly as I place her under the cover and crawl in next to her after cutting out the light.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean I should let you. Besides, I like keeping you close to me. There is something about feeling your skin on mine that brings me peace. You’re the balm for my broken soul, Alexia.”

She opens her mouth as if she wants to speak but instead, she just reaches up and gives me a soft kiss. “The feeling is mutual,” she says, brushing her nose against mine before she nuzzles into my chest.

Her breathing evens out almost immediately, and she is fast asleep. I lay there awhile longer, holding her and wondering how on earth the two of us will ever make this work.

Because as much as I’m not allowed to want her, you can multiply that times a thousand and that’s how much I need her.