Page 26 of The Penalty

“You didn’t. He would have found me anyway.”

His entire body stiffened in my embrace. The sweet caresses stopped, replaced by firm pressure sinking into my skin. When his eyes met mine I struggled to find my next breath. Everything around us buzzed and crackled with an undercurrent of danger.

Nerves got the best of me and I kept talking.

“I can handle myself. It’s not like he cornered me in a dark alley. He was just being an asshole.”

“Just being an asshole.” Xavier’s lazy repetition of my words sent a shiver through me.

Something about his demeanor gave me pause. Like I’d approached a vault of secrets that was fortified with a lock no master thief could ever crack.

“What aren’t you saying?” The question tumbled out against my better judgement, intensifying the crackling hum in the air.

The whisper-light touch of his hands on my skin did nothing to calm the erratic beating of my heart. But the way he looked at me…

Xavier’s eyes darkened until the pupils swallowed all but the slimmest edge of sapphire.

“The thought of you being hurt or upset angers me in ways I didn’t know existed. All that matters to me is you. All I think about, all I see, all I feel, is you.” The velvet softness of his touch belied the cruel edge to his tone. “I will risk everything, Victoria. I will fucking destroy him if he comes near you again. I’ve never felt like this before, and I’ve never been more terrified of what I could lose.”

Every word spiked my adrenaline until my heart beat so fast I feared it would burst. I might not know exactly what happened while he’s been away but it pierced him to the core.

As though he could read my thoughts, Xavier’s expression softened. Delicate, sensual strokes continued on my arms.

He apologized so softly I thought I imagined it.

“Is that all that happened?” I asked gently.

His fingers pressed into my arms. “I went after him again at Bennet’s.”

“Bennet’s?” My jaw dropped. “Why was he there?”

“I don’t know.” A pained expression washed over his handsome features. I’m not used to this level of vulnerability coming from him.

…never been more terrified of what I could lose…

Discomfort seized hold of me. My sister lost her life when she put herself between me and Jordan. I didn’t want to think about what Xavier could lose.

Silence stretched between us for several agonizing minutes. If not for the warmth of his touch on my skin, I’d have mistaken him for a statue.

“Still feeling okay about what we did last night?”

His question surprised me.

I caught his eye before answering. “Of course. Why? Do you have regrets?”

Both his eyebrows arched. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that. Especially since I can still taste you on my tongue.”

A rush of desire sped down my spine. Visions of our encounter on the terrace flashed through my memory. The roughness of his voice, the way his touch seared through my dress, the feel of his mouth.

There will never be a moment when I’m not affected by him. It’s like I’m seeing him for the first time all over again. Beneath his tattooed, bad-boyish, arrogant exterior lies a heart so warm and giving I often catch myself wondering what I did to deserve his affection.

Liquid warmth pooled in my stomach. Every inch of my body became a hypersensitive nerve-ending.

Those hypnotic blue eyes flared. The tip of his tongue slid along his lower lip, savoring the secret that thrilled him to no end. He knew exactly what he did to me, and he relished in it.

“You’re not angry with me anymore,” he stated with a little too much confidence. “No more apologizing for me then.”

Looks like Xavier the Charmer has entered the chat.

---