Page 24 of Make Me Your Hitta

I knew I should’ve turned away, continued my patrol, and pretended I hadn’t seen. But my legs had other ideas. Before I could stop myself, I crossed the threshold and stepped into the lion’s den.

“You shouldn’t be inviting strange men into your room, Nobi,” I growled, trying to inject some humor into the situation. “Especially not in a house full of killers.”

Xenobia’s lips curved into a smile that was equally sweet and dangerous. “You’re not strange, Donny. You’re you.”

I watched Xenobia move toward her bed, her steps slow and deliberate. My throat went dry as she perched on the edge, her eyes never leaving mine. Goddamn, she was beautiful. And deadly. Like a rose with thorns sharp enough to draw blood.

“You gonna stand there all night?” she asked, one eyebrow arched in a challenge.

I took a step closer, then another. My body was on autopilot, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. “This is a bad idea, Xenobia,” I muttered, even as I closed the distance betweenus. “Your father’s sleeping down the hall. Besides, you said one night. This makes two. What happens when it becomes three, four, five?”

She tilted her head, those fierce eyes boring into me. “Since when do you care about bad ideas, Guardian?”

I was close enough now to catch the scent of her soap and something darker, more dangerous. My hands clenched at my sides, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her. “I care about keeping you safe,” I said, my voice rougher than intended. “And that includes from me.”

Xenobia shifted on the bed, her bare leg brushing against mine. A jolt of electricity shot through me, and I had to bite back a groan. She looked up at me, a mix of vulnerability and defiance in her expression.

“What if I don't want to be safe from you?” she whispered. “What if I want to feel you deep inside me again—tonight, tomorrow, or however many other times I’d like?”

Fuck.I was losing the battle, and I knew it. My mind was a war zone, duty and desire locked in mortal combat.I should leave.I needed to leave.

But as Xenobia’s soft hand reached for mine, I knew I was well and truly fucked. I sank onto the bed beside her, my heart hammering like a junkie’s after a fresh fix. The darkness swallowed us, thick and heavy, hiding our sins from the world outside. But it couldn’t hide them from me. Every breath, every slight movement of Xenobia’s body next to mine, made my dick swell in my pants.

“We can’t,” I muttered, more to myself than to her. But my traitorous hand was already reaching out, tracing the lining of her scarred jaw.

Xenobia leaned into my touch, her skin warm and soft under my calloused fingers. “Why not?” she inquired. “Give me one good reason, Adonis.”

I could’ve given her a hundred. Her father. Her brother. My loyalty. My duty. My father’s assassins breathing down our necks. But at that moment, with Xenobia so close that I felt the heat radiating off her body, none seemed to matter.

“Because,” I said, my voice raw. “Once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

She shifted closer, her lips brushing my ear. “Then don’t.”

That’s when I knew Xenobia Hawthorne would be my undoing and my salvation.

I pulled her closer, burying my face in her hair. This was madness—pure, unadulterated insanity. And I couldn’t bring myself to stop.

“Xenobia, one night is a mistake, but two makes it real. Think about what you’re asking here.”

“I don’t care anymore, Adonis… We were robbed of what we could have been for years, and I don’t want to wait for permission anymore. It’s always been you.”

My heart simultaneously soared and burned. She was right. I’d done everything asked of me, and she was the only thing that I’d ever had that brought me some semblance of joy, of peace. There was no more running. I planned to bury my dick inside her and find my way back home.

Xenobia

The kitchen echoed with my laughter, a foreign sound that startled even me. Damara’s voice crackled through the phone, her latest gossip about the McClendon family’s scandal lighting up my world like a firefly in the darkness.

“No way.” I gasped, leaning against the cool marble countertop. “He didn’t!”

Damara’s giggle confirmed it, and I felt a rare lightness bubble up inside me. I was just a girl sharing secrets with her best friend for a moment.

The floorboards creaked behind me, and my spine stiffened. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Daddy. It was the first time he’d been back for more than twenty-four hours at a time, and his presence filled the room like a storm cloud, heavy and ominous. I felt his eyes boring into my back, probably wondering what had his usually somber daughter in such high spirits.

“I gotta go,” I murmured into the phone, the joy evaporating from my voice.

I quickly hung up and turned, plastering on a neutral expression. My father stood in the doorway, his gaze sharp enough to cut glass. The wrinkles around his brown eyesdeepened as he studied me, searching for… what? Did he even know?

“Good morning, Daddy,” I said, my voice steady despite the knot forming in my gut.

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