Page 98 of The Keeper

“Am I still cool enough to be your best friend?”

“Shut up,” I laughed and turned to face him. “So what’s happening at the Guild this weekend?”

“The usual. But that’s not what we’re doing all weekend. We’ll just go there tonight and then we’re leaving obnoxiously early in the morning to drive up to Lake George.”

“Oh?” I grabbed a slice of pizza and a napkin. “What’s going on in the Adirondacks?”

“Peace and quiet,” Max said, placing his hands in a meditative position. “I need to escape this zoo before the influencer’s birthday party and the Met Gala. Your boy needs to be at one hundred.”

Killian let out an exaggerated sigh. “You poor thing,” he teased. “Will the six figure payment make it all better?”

“Alright you two,” I said through a mouthful of pizza. “Get out before I change my mind about watching Winston.”

“Pfft. You’d never,” Killian scoffed.

“Out.” I pointed to the door.

“See you Sunday. We love you,” they said in unison as they left.

I leaned against the counter and looked down at Winston. He tilted his head and whined.

“I know. You’ll get some peace and quiet, too.”

He wagged his tail while trotting off toward the couch. I planned to trot there myself after finishing this pizza and changing into something more comfortable. I moved around the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring some wine. It went down really, really nice with the pizza.

And without it.

After a few glasses, all the hectic energy from the week melted away. While I do love the draft, it’s also a welcome reprieve to decompress from the pandemonium.

Of course it also meant my mind relaxed and started to wander.

And I let it. Not that I had any power to stop it if I wanted.

The images came fast and furious. Seeing Xavier for the first time when he pulled off the road. Then again at Black Rose. How his eyes consumed me every second we were together. The dark expression on his face. The dangerous edge to his voice when he called me dirty princess.

I’ve replayed every interaction we had over and over since I left. Including the way I left him. Guilt rippled through me. I had enough guilt living inside me to last ten lifetimes. And yet, even with those feelings, he flipped a switch in me.

It’s uncomfortable to lose myself in fantasies of being with him. Really being with him, not just a casual fuck here and there. But I liked imagining us as more than a fling.

An uncomfortable heat lingered on my skin.

Okay, not uncomfortable. Insistent.

The kind of heat only Xavier could fuel and tame…and fuel again. I wandered into my bedroom and took off my work clothes.

A tiny smile touched my lips at the memory of Xavier giving me his phone number. Just in case I wanted to send him naughty photos. I stood in front of my floor mirror, running my nails along my stomach.

The familiar urge for spontaneity and bad decisions pulled at me. Flashes of what we did at his townhouse consumed me. The way he commanded me to take off all my clothes except for my heels. The carnal look on his face when he sat in the chair and stroked himself. The first flick of his tongue on my body. The possessive way he staked his claim on me.

Hot desire crawled and scratched at my skin.

He’d want to know I’ve been thinking about him.

He’d want to know what I did while these indecent thoughts ravaged me.

With a devilish grin, I set up my ring light tripod and attached my phone. I placed it next to the bed and stripped out of my bra and panties. Nervousness and excitement flooded me when I set the camera timer, climbed on the bed and kneeled. I kept my body in profile, showing my left side. My hair draped over my right shoulder. I lifted my left shoulder, looked over it and flashed the camera a demure smile.

For a brief second, I considered deleting it. I mean, who am I to be sending him an unsolicited naked photo? I looked good in it though. He’d be able to see just enough.

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