Page 18

SEVENTEEN

Alexia

Last night was wild. I almost got my throat slit by a masked intruder but then spent the rest of the night in a bubble bath and warm bed with the man who is turning out to be the exact opposite of everything I expected him to be.

I don’t know if I could have gotten through the past week without Xander. He has been the only person in this house that I can truly count on, and if someone had told me that before my mating ceremony, I would have laughed in their face. I had always been told that Xander wasn’t capable of caring about anyone but himself. That he was so selfish that he didn’t even care enough to come back for his own mother’s funeral.

All of that was a lie. Now that I know the truth, have seen the real Xander with my own eyes, felt the kindness that radiates from him, I loathe Clayton for making people believe anything but the truth about his stepson.

I’m jogging down the stairs to see if anyone is still in the house, but I stop short at the doorway when I see Xander standing by the stove as something cooks in a skillet. His arm flexes as he saws a knife into a loaf of bread. The morning sunlight filtering through the curtains makes him look almost ethereal, and I can’t take my eyes off him.

All I can see is his profile, but he’s so beautiful it hurts. As goofy as it sounds, just to look at him makes butterflies swarm my belly. The stubble on his jaw, strands of his chestnut hair coming loose from the bun at the nape of his neck, the way his muscles flex underneath the white cotton of his t-shirt, the tattoos on his skin that tell so many stories of his life that I still want to know.

As if he can feel me watching him, he turns to face me. I’m graced with that piercing blue gaze, and then he flashes me that disarming smile that takes my breath away.

“Good morning, little wolf.”

“Good morning. Sleep well?” I ask, making my way into the kitchen, a little embarrassed at being caught gawking.

“I always sleep well when you’re in my bed, Alexia.”

My heart skips a beat, and I draw my bottom lip between my teeth. “That’s?—”

But he’s cringing before I can finish and directs his attention back to the toast in the skillet. “Really cheesy. I’m sorry.”

“No,” I say, crossing the room to him, placing a finger on his chin and turning his face to mine. “I was going to say that’s really sweet, and that I feel the same. I’ve never been a sound sleeper. I’ve always been restless. I have insomnia, and then when I do sleep, I have very vivid nightmares. But with you it’s different. I feel safe.”

He stiffens at that, and I question if I crossed a line. Uncomfortable seconds pass with neither of us saying a word. I refuse to take it back though. It’s my truth whether he likes it or not.

“I didn’t keep you safe last night,” he says, his voice a low mumble.

I sigh and lean back against the island countertop, crossing my arms over my stomach. “Xander, stop. You can’t blame yourself for that. Someone entered our home when we thought it was secure. You were downstairs. It’s not like you threw me to the wolves.”

“Our home?” He shakes his head as he moves the French toast from the skillet to a plate that’s already piled high with delicious-looking slices. “I would never keep you locked up here. You deserve to be wild and free. I would take you to the beach, show you all the best spots, take you to eat at the finest restaurants. Never would I let this be your home.”

Those butterflies in my stomach turn to the size of that giant creature from the Godzilla movies. That he’s spent time thinking about what our future might look like sends a chill up my spine that is completely unrelated to the temperature in the room.

“Take me.”

His eyes widen. “Pardon me?” he asks in an incredibly amused tone.

I roll my eyes. “Take me there. To the beach. I’ve never been further away from home than Richmond, and I’m dying to see what your life is like away from here.”

“Well, if you’re really that curious, I’m happy to oblige. Let’s eat and then we’ll get ready and go.”

It’s then that I really focus on what he’s been doing and look around at all the other things on the countertop—butter, syrup, bacon, scrambled eggs, orange juice. My heart swells. “You made breakfast for me?”

He smiles and his eyes dance over my face. I know he wants to kiss me right here, but we’re too exposed. “I made breakfast for anyone who wants to eat it,” he replies, but the wink he gives me says this is all for me.

The days since I arrived at the chateau have been turbulent at best. Every day brings on a new issue to overcome—the new precarious nature of my friendship with Carrington, Kai going missing, Clayton’s disregard for my feelings. One thing has been a constant—my mounting feelings for Xander. At this point, I think it’s safe to say he feels the same.

After eating breakfast and cleaning the kitchen, we go our separate ways to get ready for whatever Xander has in store for me. I’m about to head down the stairs when I come to a halt. Voices billow from Clayton’s office, both of them familiar. As I inch down the hallway toward the sound, it crosses my mind that living here has also taught me a thing or two about sneaking around.

“What can I say, Xander? The security system is top of the line. If someone broke into the house, there must have been a glitch.”

“A fucking glitch,” Xander says with a laugh that is void of humor. “What kind of security system doesn’t keep an intruder out? I know I set that alarm before I went downstairs to work out.”

“One that’s made by humans,” Clayton shoots back. “Clearly, I’ve already made a call, and someone is coming out today to assess the issue and repair the broken cameras. So stop trying to act like such a badass and go make yourself useful.”

I can practically hear Xander’s hatred rolling off him in waves. “Make myself useful? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Stop messing around with your brother’s mate and go back to work.”

Xander’s voice turns menacing... cold. “Don’t say another word about Alexia. She is none of your concern. And as far as work goes, you just worry about yourself. My work is handled.”

“She is my concern. If she is to become?—”

“I’m going to stop you right there. Do not speak of her again.”

“Who are you to command me ?”

“If you don’t get out of my face, Clayton, I’m going to be your worst nightmare.”

“Is that a threat?”

Xander laughs again, and it sends a shiver down my spine, straight to the spot between my thighs. “No. It’s a fucking promise.”

“Watch yourself, boy. It seems you are getting attached to another shifter’s mate. You know the consequence if you fuck her. And I’ll make sure she’s there to watch as your head is sliced from your neck.”

Shit, he knows. I kind of thought maybe he did after the discussion about the shift, but I wasn’t sure. It’s pretty clear now. Clayton—the king regent of our pack, my estranged mate’s father —knows.

An even more horrific thought pops into my head. What if it wasn’t the Jeep at the overlook that night? What if it was Clayton ? A full body chill passes over me and I feel like I could be sick.

“Fuck you.”

A door slams and footsteps head my way. I leap into action, scampering down the stairs and flinging myself onto the couch before Xander can catch me eavesdropping. I’m scrolling through my phone as if I’ve been there for fifteen minutes by the time he reaches the living room.

I glance up at him. “Bout time you made it down here. You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” he says, clearly distracted and irritated.

“You okay?” I ask as if I have no idea what just happened upstairs.

“I’m good. Just ready to get out of the house before I end up rearranging Clayton’s face. I can’t handle another argument with him.”

The tension in the house is more than enough to have me jumping off the couch and bounding out the door. Pushing the terrible thoughts from my head, I hurry toward Xander’s truck, but he makes a negative sound deep in his throat that has me pausing. I look back at him and he kicks his head to the side. My gaze darts to the sleek black motorcycle sitting just outside the garage. Don’t get me wrong; the machine is cool, but it also screams “death trap.”

“I don’t know about that. You hear about people getting hurt all the time on motorcycles,” I say.

“You hear about humans. Good thing we’re shifters,” he replies, holding out a black helmet to me.

I stare at it for a second, but he doesn’t give in, so I take it with a playful narrowing of my eyes. “Fine. But don’t kill us.”

He hooks his fingers into my beltloops and yanks me toward him. I yelp and he steadies me with a hand on my waist. “Trust me, baby; I have no intention of harming you. Ever.”

My breath catches and I place my hand on his chest, my gaze softening. “I know. You’re the only one I trust right now, Xander,” I whisper. And I mean it. I mean every word.

“Good.” He takes my purse from me and places it in a compartment under the seat. “Now get your gorgeous ass on the bike and hang on tight.”

I salute him and swing my leg over the seat, patting between my legs for him to sit. He gives a curt nod and straddles the leather. I grip his hips and press my thighs to the outside of his. He takes my hands and pulls them around him until my helmet rests on his back. My heart pounds in my chest; I can’t wait to get away from this house, away from Clayton.

“Don’t let go,” he says, his voice sounding from the speaker beside my ear.

“I won’t,” I say, jumping slightly at the unexpected sound.

As we speed along down the highway toward the coastal side of the state, I lay my head against his back, enjoying how close I am to him. Something about the vibrations of the motorcycle between my thighs and the fact that they’re pressed right next to his has me getting more and more aroused by the second. I inhale and exhale once, twice... I need to calm down.

The drive is long and beautiful, surrounded by trees and mountains, but there’s not much else between our house and the destination. I get bored pretty quickly with nothing to look at, and my thoughts drift back to the conversation I overheard between Xander and his stepfather.

I know the consequences for being sexually intimate with another shifter’s mate. It has happened a handful of times in our pack, and it’s one of those crimes that is highly looked down upon. It’s not spoken of often, and you don’t want to be associated with anyone who is convicted of such a “heinous act,” as the Assembly elders call it.

But this is a different situation. Kai has pretty much rejected me. It’s not like he’s returning to claim me, or that he’s off somewhere licking his wounds, waiting for me to appear, begging for him to come back.

However, Clayton doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t even see Kai leaving as a rejection. And before today, I didn’t think Clayton knew anything was going on between me and his stepson. Now that I know he’s at best suspicious of it, and at worst, certain because he saw it with his own eyes... I am horrified that Xander and I are both in danger. His punishment would be worse than anything Kai would do to me. He would be sentenced to death. It’s an outcome I can’t risk. I just can’t.

“Alexia?” His voice coming from inside my helmet startles me from my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“You need to stop to go to the restroom?”

“Yeah, that would be great, actually.”

After we stop to pee and stretch our legs, it’s not too long before the trees begin to give way to more suburban scenery. The weather feels warmer, and I know we must be getting close. But all I can think about is the way he feels between my legs and how I’m not supposed to feel like this. I’ve never been so horny in my whole life. Right then I wonder if something is wrong with me—why am I getting turned on by a motorcycle?

But it’s not the bike or simply my raging hormones. It’s Xander.

He has thrown my world off its axis. Never did I think I would fall so quickly and so thoroughly for another person. I am well-aware it’s only been a little over a week since we reunited. But somehow, in that span of time, he has become my sun, and I’m blissfully trapped in his gravitational pull. We’ve violently collided over and over again, and I still don’t understand his orbit. He doesn’t know all the things that make me sparkle or what has thrown me into a deep dark hole. I’m dying to know everything about him and for him to learn all there is about me. I want to study his universe, and I want him to make me his.

I’m in so deep with this man. So. Fucking. Deep.

“Ready to go over the bridge?” he asks through the speaker.

I gulp. “Bridge?”

He chuckles. “Well, bridge-slash-tunnel.”

My eyes widen even though he can’t see me. I tighten my grip around his waist. “Oh, no. You mean the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.”

“That’s the one.”

I’ve heard about this. Well, this and the one that’s like seventeen miles long. “How long is it?” I ask.

“Don’t worry, little wolf. It’s only three-and-a-half miles.”

“I don’t mind the tunnel so much; it’s the bridge over water that’s a scary idea.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve never been outside Richmond,” he says, dropping a hand to mine and giving it a squeeze. “You’ll be fine. I promise. I told you I’d protect you. That includes protection from scary bridges. Just close your eyes if you get scared.”

I melt against him and nod. “Okay. I trust you.”

As we start over the bridge, I look at the bay for a moment before I start to get a little freaked out. I take Xander’s advice and close his eyes. It’s like he feels the thumping of my heart because he asks, “You okay back there?”

“I’m good. Just ready for the tunnel part.”

“Almost there.”

After we pass through the tunnel, which was actually kind of cool, I keep my eyes open, enjoying the new scenery. Being an environmental scientist, the state of Virginia sort of fascinates me. There are so many different geographical features—valleys, mountains, plains, plateaus, oceanfront... I’ve never gotten to experience this side of it before, and I love it already.

Before I know it, we’ve reached Virginia Beach, and we pull into a parking garage near what must be the boardwalk, and Xander pulls into a small space next to a stairwell.

I finally loosen my grip on his waist. He looks over his shoulder at me with an amused expression as he pulls off his helmet, his blue eyes dancing over my face as I match his movements.

“What?” I ask, immediately reaching up to fix my hair I’d just immaculately styled a few hours ago. “I know my hair is messed up.”

He moves a strand out of my face and shakes his head. “No, baby. I was going to ask you why you had your thighs clenched so tight around me. Was that all fear of the bridge?”

My face heats up and I glance around to make sure we’re alone before shoving at him playfully. “Stop teasing me, Xander.”

He takes my hand, entwining our fingers. “The way you were pressing up against me, you were the one doing all the teasing. I was tempted to pull the bike to the side of the road.”

My lips part and I squeeze his hand. “Why didn’t you? I would have enjoyed that...”

“I figure I’m going to be in enough trouble when Clayton realizes I took you from the house. I don’t need to add public indecency to the list.” He opens a door, and we jog down one flight of stairs and come out directly on the boardwalk.

The salty air and sea breeze is so... I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s fresh and light and makes me feel a little bit giddy. Now I see why everyone is always raving about going to the beach. It’s still wintertime, so it’s not hot by any means, but it’s definitely warmer than it is back home in Mount Selene. But nothing is more impressive to me than the Atlantic Ocean right in front of us, the tide high, and the waves crashing onto the shore.

“Wow,” I whisper. “This is beautiful.”

He doesn’t answer right away, so I pull my gaze from the water and glance at him. His eyes are trained on me, and his lips are tilted up in an amused smile. “I would give anything to be by your side as you experience everything for the first time. I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re more stunning when your face lights up.”

“Xander,” I whisper. “If that’s a line... it’s a really good one.”

He brushes his knuckles down my cheek and says, “I can’t help it. I have this undying need to work on all my semi-corny lines.”

“And why is that? What makes someone who has been off on their own and takes no crap from anyone want to say things that make me blush?”

“You make me want to be different. When I’m with you, I don’t care if my softer side shows. In fact, I want you to know that part of me.”

“I want to know every part of you.”

“Good, because today you get to see the part that loves seafood, pasta, cheese flights, and stupid expensive wine.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you’re a foodie?”

“Snobbishly so.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “This is fantastic. Just picturing you with a charcuterie board is cracking me up right now.”

He glares at me. “Don’t shame me for my food choices, Miss Rush, or I won’t share my cheese with you.”

I clear my throat and stand up straight, rubbing at my chest dramatically. “No, no, sorry, sorry, I’m done. I’m always up for cheese.”

He grins. “Good, let’s go.”

Two hours later, I’ve eaten so much cheese and pasta that I feel like I might burst at the seams. Not to mention all the wine I've had, but I’m also having so much fun I can barely stand it. This side of Xander is so much lighter than the side I see at Clayton’s house. It’s like the clouds have lifted from over his head and he can breathe without the smog of his stepfather’s judgment.

“Wait, hold on,” he’s saying, holding up his fork, a piece of cheesecake hanging onto the tines. “You’re telling me you want me to give you a large tattoo? One you won’t be able to hide?”

I lean over, stealing the bite from his fork and sit back in my chair. “Yes! Why is that so shocking?”

He looks at his fork and back at me with narrowed eyes before saying, “Like I told you, tattoos were a type of rebellion for me. A lot of the elders look at them as a way of marring what the goddess gave us. You just always seemed like the kind to stay in line. I thought the little butterfly and...” He clears his throat and gestures between my legs with his fork. “...your choice to not always wear panties were as rebellious as you get.”

I widen my eyes as my lips part and I clench my thighs, crossing one leg over the other. “Oh my god, Xander!” I hiss, looking around to make sure no one heard that.

“This isn’t one of your parents’ dinner parties.” He raises his voice and says, “No one gives a damn that I want to take you home and bury my face between your thighs.”

A few people look up from their plates but for the most part no one pays us any attention. I can see why he likes it here away from the curious eyes of the shifters. When he’s here, he fades into the crowd. Human, shifter, other—nobody knows. He is just another person going about his life just like the rest of them.

I snatch my wine glass and chug down what’s left before setting it down a little roughly, making him laugh. “But you don’t know who is around in a city this size. Anyone could get word back to Clayton and then?—”

He reaches across the table and places his hand over mine. I didn’t even realize my fingers were nervously drumming against the linen tablecloth. “You have nothing to worry about while we’re here. This is my safe place, where I ran to when I needed distance between Clayton and me.”

I hear the conviction in his voice, but I can’t help all the new fears that were unlocked during his argument with his stepfather. Xander may have never had an issue with him while living here but this is different. Now it involves Kai and his chance to take the throne. And if I know one thing about Clayton, it’s that he prides himself on being successful and powerful. His children are an extension of that. The slightest threat to any of them will have him pushing for a death sentence.

My silence must have Xander panicking because he squeezes my hand, bringing my attention to his worried stare. “Give me tonight, Alexia. Don’t let him take this moment from us.”

“You want me to stay the night here?” I ask, disbelieving he could be so reckless.

“Yes.”

“Clayton will shit his pants.”

“That sounds like a messy personal problem,” he retorts with a shrug.

He looks so hopeful that I don’t have it in me to say no. Not to mention... I don’t want to.

“Okay, okay, no need to beg. Let’s go, before I change my mind,” I tease. I want to get back to the lighthearted mood we were enjoying before I got in my head again. Pushing the boundaries with my brattiness is bound to do it.

He grunts as he motions our server over and asks for the check. When he looks back at me, pure lust radiates from his gaze. “You know I'd do it, right?”

"Do what?”

“Beg. Drop to my knees. Crawl to you. Anything you want, I’d do it,” he says, his eyes never leaving mine.

I swallow hard, biting my bottom lip. “Hell, Xander,” I whisper. “You’re a menace.”

“Guilty as charged,” he says as the check arrives. He signs it with a wide grin before holding his hand out to me. I can see his pride etched into his face. He is taking complete satisfaction in the effect he has on me. If I’m not mistaken, there is even a cocky spring to his step. He has no shame, wearing the truth about what he does to me like a badge of honor as we walk down the sidewalk back to the parking garage.

Our next stop isn’t his apartment, though. We pull up to a row of shops that line a side street off the main road. The front windows are decorated with bright art and a neon sign hangs above the doorway.

“A tattoo shop?” I ask.

“ My tattoo shop. I bought it two years ago,” he says, opening the door.

I look up at him in wonder. I truly do learn something new about him every day. “Wait. You own a tattoo shop? You said you were an artist, but you didn’t say anything about owning a shop!”

He chuckles. “I have to have some secrets, don’t I? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten to see this extremely adorable, shocked expression on your face.”

“Wow.” I peer into the darkened windows. “Where is everyone? I know it’s a weeknight, but shouldn’t it be a little busy?”

He shrugs. “I may have paid my artists double what they would have made tonight to reschedule their evening appointments so we could have the place to ourselves. That way their clients can get a discount for the inconvenience.”

I gape at him. “You did what? When?”

“Before we left Mount Selene. I remember you said you wanted another tattoo. I sent out a group text. I didn’t want anyone else in the studio while I inked your skin for the first time.”

Trying to contain myself because I want nothing more than to jump him right now, I coolly say, “But it’s not my first time.”

He lays his hand on the brick behind me and traps me between the building and his body. Invading my space in the most perfect way, he says, “It’s the first time you’re getting inked by my needle, little wolf. Marked by me .”

Fuck, I'm so done for. “Oh. And just how did you know I’d want to get one tonight?”

He runs his fingertips along my collarbone, making me shiver. “I took a chance and hoped it would pay off.”

“Well, I’d say it did.”

“Do you know what you want to get?”

“Not a clue. Would you pick for me?”

The way he lights up tells me that I’ve put that decision in the right hands.