Page 97 of Breaking Rules

CHAPTER31

JUST SEX

XANDER

October

After dinner with my family,I find Bella in the living room, watching yet another anime,Princess Mononokethis time. I quickly change into a pair of gray sweatpants and cuddle up close to her on the couch. When the movie’s over and she’s queued up her next one, she tries to get up, but I hold tight.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She clutches my arm and tugs, but I don’t let go.

“I’m thirsty,” she says. “You won’t let me go long enough to get a drink?”

“Nope.” With a grin, I hop up and lift her, guiding her legs around my waist. Instantly, goosebumps spread over my whole body. She’s dressed in nothing but my T-shirt and her panties, and her bare skin on mine makes me shiver.

I stroll into the kitchen and hold her with one arm under her ass as I open the fridge.

She tightens her hold on me, as if she’s worried I’ll drop her. “What if I fall?”

“I’ll catch you.” I set her on her feet and press my forehead to hers. “No. I take that back—I’ll never let you fall.”

Then I kiss her. The feeling of her soft mouth against mine sets my body on fire, but rather than give in to the temptation to devour her, I take a step back and grab the apple juice.

She pouts. “Turning me on and then leaving me is so unfair.”

“You said you were thirsty, so I brought you in here for a drink.”

She shrugs, taking a step back. “Sorry…it won’t happen again.”

The words leave her mouth automatically, as if I’ve sneezed and she’s sayingbless you. She says it because it’s expected of her. Out of habit. And that pisses me off.

Sighing, I set the apple juice on the breakfast bar and cup her face. “You sound like a robot. I want the real woman, the one who was laughing with me a few minutes ago. The one who loves reading romance novels and watching anime. Who was making incredibly sexy faces when I was inside her this morning. Who opened up about her past and let her guard down around me. Be that girl, Bella. Please.”

Her eyes well with tears, but she blinks them back, and her lips tip up. “I will. I promise.” She tucks her hair behind her ear.

Before we head back to the living room, I grasp her wrist so I can pick her up again. When I make contact, she flinches and pulls back.

What the fuck?

I grasp her arm, more gently this time, and a little higher.

My blood turns to ice. There’s a big fuckingbruisewrapped all the way around her wrist.

“Where did you get this?” I ask quietly.

Bella pulls her hand out of my grip and stares blankly at me. “I hit it when I took Milo for a walk.”

I snort as fury builds in my chest. “Try again.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She tries to skirt around me, but I block her path, caging her between me and the breakfast bar. “Xander, let me go.”

“Tell me what happened, and I will.”

“Nothing happened.” She pushes against my chest. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

Unbelievable. Twisting my lips into a scowl, I study her in silence. Her behavior doesn’t make any sense. “This kind of bruise”—I take her hand again—“happens when someone snatches your wrist, hard.”

---