Page 22 of Tempting All The Way

“Still illegal. Let’s go, jailbird. We can sort it out tomorrow.” I don’t bother looking behind me to see if she’s following. I don’t need to. I can sense her presence at my back as I make my way down the hall. “Kitchen.” I gesture in that direction. “Help yourself to whatever you need. Come on, I’ll show you to a guest room,” I say before stopping at a door. “You can sleep in here.” I turn the knob, push forward, and step back. “I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”

Spinning on my heel, I hightail it out of there, slamming the door to my bedroom as I enter. I can’t trust myself to stay in the same vicinity as Shardonnay and a bed. All I can think about is throwing her down on the closest surface and making her mine.

Chapter Eleven

My fingers curl into the softness of the fabric as I pull the sheet up to my chin. I don’t remember my sheets feeling this soft. My eyes snap open, my brain fully waking up and realising where I am.

Xavier’s house. His guest room. A sigh of relief leaves my lips as I celebrate the small win. As tempted as I was to climb into hisbed last night, I didn’t. I imagined various scenarios as to why I needed to be there.

My favourite was pretending that I was a sleepwalker and just happened to end up in his room. After all, I can’t be held accountable for my actions if I’m asleep, right?

Despite the strong urge—and it was strong—I resisted. Throwing the covers back, I reluctantly leave what has to be the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on. I throw on my dress from yesterday and then make the bed. Opening the door as quietly as I can, I tiptoe down the hallway, hoping I can make a quick getaway without Xavier noticing.

Why do I feel like I’m doing the damn walk of shame? And where the hell is the front door to this monstrosity called a house?

Turning the first knob, I find myself in a gym. Not the exit. I spin around and walk back in the direction I came from—clearly I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. I manage to find my way to the kitchen. This I can work with. I remember walking through here last night.

“Going somewhere?” a deep voice asks.

I jump ten feet in the air and my hand comes up to my chest as I pivot. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry, didn’t realise you’d be trying to sneak off,” Xavier says as he brings a mug to his lips. My eyes travel from those lips down, past the broad shoulders, the pecs, and washboard abs. He’s freaking shirtless. All of his glorious tanned, toned, smooth skin on display. “Shardonnay, you doing okay over there?” Xavier’s voice draws me out of my ogling.

“Fine, I, uh…”Shit, focus, Shar. Stop staring at this man’s abs and that delicious V you want to run your tongue all over. “I have to get to work,” I say finally.

My body tingles as his eyes lazily roam up and down the length of me. “Yeah, you’re not going to work in yesterday’s dress,” he counters.

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t stutter, Shardonnay. You can’t show up to work in yesterday’s clothes. I happen to know your boss wouldn’t be impressed.” He smirks.

“Not that I have to explain myself to you, Xavier, but I was planning on going home to change first.”

“Your building won’t be open until tomorrow morning. I enquired about it with the extermination company.”

“Uh, you what? Why?”

“Because you need to know when you can go home and I need to know how long I’ll be serving as your host.” He says it like me staying here again is a given. It’s most certainly not.

“I appreciate you letting me spend the night. I really do. But you don’t need to worry about me now. I’ll stay with Lucy or another friend.”

Xavier places his cup on the table and closes in on me. His body brushes up against mine as he passes me. “Sit down. I’ll get you some breakfast.”

My head whips around. Is he insane? Maybe I should ask Lucy if her brother has amnesia or short-term memory problems. I just told him I was leaving, and now he’s ordering me to sit down so he can cook me breakfast. I watch in shock as Xavier starts pulling out frying pans. He’s silent as he lines up some bacon, eggs, butter, and milk from the fridge.

Once he has everything on the counter, he turns and pins me with a glare. “Do you want coffee? Juice? Tea?”

I don’t know what to do, so I stand here, like a statue. This guy is giving me whiplash. One minute, I want to wring his neck, and the next, I want to jump his bones. When I don’t answerquickly enough Xavier takes three steps, closing the gap between us. His hand reaches up to tuck my hair behind my ear.

“Don’t overcomplicate everything, Shardonnay. It’s just breakfast: bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Nothing spectacular.” His fingers twirl around the end of my hair.

“What are you doing here, Xavier?” I ask, trying not to sound so breathless.

“As I said, I’m cooking you breakfast. You need to eat and then you’re going to go shower and change for work. I left some clothes hanging in the guest room closet.”

“You know I’m only staying because I’m really hungry and I kind of need a lift to work. This doesn’t make us friends,” I tell him, moving around the counter to take a seat.

Xavier busies himself cooking, while I busy myself staring at his naked back, his ass hugged by the thin fabric of his pyjama bottoms. This is the very definition of a meal with a view. I don’t know why something as simple as watching him cook is turning me on so much. I’m doing my best not to squirm in my seat. I’m terrified I’m going to be leaving behind a wet patch when I stand. I can feel how damp my panties are getting the longer I sit here and watch him.

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