Page 103 of The Penalty

Cupping my face, she pressed a kiss to my mouth. “I love you, too.”

Victoria will never fully know or understand what hearing those words come out of her means to me. How affected I am. Knowing she could possibly love the worst parts of me simultaneously terrified and calmed me.

“Xavier?”

“Mmhmm.”

“We should take care of this.” Her hand grazed over my hard length.

“We will.” I moved her hand when she started stroking me. “Give yourself a few minutes to recover then we’ll shower.”

“Minutes,” she scoffed. “I won’t be able to walk right for the next few days after what you just did.”

“Is that an official complaint?”

“Not even close.”

She draped herself on my chest, her hair spilling over my skin in red satin waves. A thoughtful smile curved her lips while she drew lazy circles on my tattoos.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You let yourself go with me tonight. More than you have before.”

I closed my eyes, caressing her arm. She’s right. I did. And I hadn’t even fought against it. I let instinct take over. I’ve not felt this free or whole since before…

Memories I’d rather not relive flooded my mind. I’ll have to deal with them at some point. Not now. I shoved that shit right the fuck down and wrapped Victoria in my arms.

Victoria

If Paris was a dream, London was my perfect reality.

Granted, I’d spent less than twenty-four hours in Paris, so essentially it felt like a dream. Xavier and I flew into London early this morning. Not together though. He traveled back with his team; I joined Hannah on her private jet.

Xavier and I met up at his townhouse to regroup before spending the afternoon in the city. My body remained delightfully sore from last night. I could only imagine what he had planned for today.

“Here,” I said, handing him the print. “Your present.”

The most adorable smile brightened his face and accentuated his dimple. “This is what made you think of me?”

“It was either this or a pillow with a dog wearing a beret.”

An eyebrow arched but the smile remained. “Good call. Next time we’re in Paris, I’ll take you to the Louvre and explain in detail about how it started as a fortress and then became a palace.”

“Sounds enchanting.”

“Yeah? I can tell you all about who designed the Colonnade and why it’s celebrated as a masterpiece of French architecture.”

“Have I mentioned how sexy you are when you geek out about this stuff?”

“I’m not geeking out.”

“You are one hundred percent geeking out.” I kissed him. “I’ve told you before, it’s not a bad trait to have. Embrace it.”

“Maybe.” An unreadable expression briefly washed over his features. “We should get going. Unless you want to spend all day in here.”

“Tempting. But you promised there’d be shopping.”

“You’d rather shop than have access to this—” he gestured at his body “—all day?”

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