Page 30 of Breaking Rules

“Sure.” I straighten and quickly snap my gaze up until I’m looking him in the eye. “Don’t forget to put on clothes.”

“Wh—Oh,boundaries. I forgot about those.” He nods, sporting a faux serious expression.

“Stop being sarcastic.”

“Whatever you say, Bella.” Chuckling, he turns around and heads to his bedroom.

And dammit, I can’t resist. Breath held, I take in his broad shoulders, his fine ass, his muscular thighs—which are covered in tattoos. He’s too gorgeous for his own good, too good for my own misery.

With a sigh, I head to the living room and settle on the couch, taking my phone out of my pocket and skimming through my emails. From the looks of it, my Monday will be incredibly busy.

“Have you had breakfast?” Xander joins me, and though he’s wearing pants, his chest is still bare, his ink and muscles on display. Probably to taunt me.

“Nope, but I’m not hungry.” I hop off the couch and put away my phone. “You promised me coffee.”

As I follow him to the kitchen, I give in to temptation again and assess his form. He’s a total mystery to me. One moment, I think he’s a jerk. The next, he’s a kind and loyal guy who has strong connections to his family.

Who’s the real Alexander Walker?

“What have you been up to this morning?” Xander heads straight for the coffeepot.

I climb onto a stool at the bar-height table. “I got up early, went for a run.”

With his back to me, he fiddles with the coffee maker. “What did Jake do?”

“He woke up as I was heading out.”

He laughs, but it doesn’t reach his eyes when he looks at me over his shoulder. “Did he talk you into a quickie?”

Stomach sinking, I take an exasperated breath. “I thought we agreed on boundaries. And regardless, whether or not Jake and I had sex is none of your business.”

“You’re boring.” With a smirk, he shakes his head.

“I prefer to be boring.”

“Really? Because if I had to guess, I’d peg you as a wild little thing.”

Fighting the urge to slap some sense into him, I pull my shoulders back. “One more word about my sex life, and I’ll leave. For good.”

With a lift of his shoulder, he turns his back to me and mumbles, “Sorry.”

The kitchen falls into comfortable silence, the only sound coming from Milo, who’s snoring in his dog bed. Xander moves around the kitchen with ease, setting two mugs on the table, as well as a plate of cookies.

“You sure you don’t want something to eat?” He returns with a bowl of oatmeal and a single slice of whole-grain toast for himself.

I suppress a smile. Instead of a cocky asshole, he’s acting like a guy who cares about his guests.

The coffee in front of me is rich, its scent a bit earthy. Eager for the hit of caffeine, I pick it up and take a sip.

“So,” he says. “How do you like my coffee?”

Silently, I hold his gaze, giving myself a moment to enjoy the delicious bitterness on my tongue. “It’s amazing,” I say eventually. “And you weren’t wrong. Our tastes are similar.”

“Soon, you’ll realize I’m always right.” The deep timbre of his voice sends shivers down my spine.

To keep things on track, I ask, “Can you show me what you liked?”

“A little patience.” He tosses me a wink and takes his phone out of his pocket.

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