Page 74 of Playing with Fire

The question caught me off guard. Not because it showed concern—Algerone didn't experience empathy in the traditional sense. His words had acknowledged me as something more than just an operative.

"I'll be fine," I replied, not quite answering his question.

"Of course you will." He nodded, accepting my deflection. "I'll be overseeing security personally from now on. I've moved into the east wing. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with implications I wasn't ready to examine. Algerone had never been so directly involved in our protection before. The fact that he was staying at the Sentinel, personally taking charge of our security, spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation.

"I should check on Leo,” I said.

"Of course." Algerone nodded. "Family first."

As I moved toward the door, I caught a glimpse of Algerone turning to Maxime. He reached out, taking Maxime's chin in his hand, tilting his face to examine the bruise forming along his cheekbone.

"You should have that looked at," he said, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it.

Maxime's skin flushed visibly beneath Algerone's touch, his professional composure slipping for just a moment. "It's nothing, sir."

"I'll be the judge of that," Algerone replied, his thumb brushing lightly over the discolored skin.

I left them to their moment, stepping into the corridor with Walsh's blood still staining my clothes and Burns' threat hanging over my head. But right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting back to Leo.

Xavierstraddledme,histhighs gripping my hips as he guided himself onto my cock. His head fell back, exposing the long line of his throat as he sank down fully, taking me inside him. The tight heat of his body around mine was fucking exquisite, making it nearly impossible to think about anything else. Nearly.

A stray drop of blood clung to Xavier's chin, somehow missed in his shower. The crimson speck stood out against his pale skin, hypnotizing me with its presence. I couldn't look away from it, this tiny evidence of what he'd done mere hours ago. What he was capable of. What he'd do again to protect me.

"Look at me," he ordered, voice rough as he began to move. His fingers dug into my chest, leaving crescent-shaped marks that would join the collection of bruises he'd already left on my body. "Stay with me, Leo."

I forced my eyes to meet his, fighting to remain present in this moment I'd fantasized about for so long. I was buried deep inside Xavier, my cock being used exactly how he wanted, and I should have been lost in pure sensation. Instead, I kept seeing flashes of him unconscious on the security room floor, blood trickling from his temple. The image refused to fade, superimposing itself over the powerful man now using my body for his pleasure. The drop of blood on his chin seemed to grow larger, starker.

"I'm here," I whispered, hands tentatively settling on his hips, afraid to take liberties he hadn't explicitly granted. I needed to feel him. Needed proof he was alive, whole, still mine. My eyes kept drifting to that crimson drop, mesmerized.

"No, you're not," he growled, grinding down with enough force to make me gasp. "Where are you right now? In your head?"

My fingers tightened on his hips, anchoring myself to him as I tried to push away the shadows. The metallic tang of blood seemed to cling to him despite the shower he'd taken before crawling into bed with me. That tiny drop on his chin wasn't just my imagination. "You've got..." I started, then stopped myself.

"Got what?" Xavier demanded, stilling above me, his ass clenching around my cock in a way that made it difficult to form coherent thoughts.

My tongue darted out to wet my lips. "Blood. On your chin."

His hand came up, thumb brushing the spot where Walsh's blood had dried. He studied it for a moment, expression unreadable, before wiping it on the sheets. "Better?"

"Sorry," I gasped as he adjusted his position, finding the perfect angle that sent pleasure shooting up my spine like electricity. My cock pulsed inside him, responding to the tight heat despite my distracted thoughts. My body was fully on board, but my mind kept fracturing, splitting between the exquisite present and the terrifying what-ifs of the past few hours.

What if Algerone's security hadn't arrived when they did? What if Felix had succeeded in whatever he had planned? What if that blow to Xavier's head had been harder? The memories and possibilities tumbled through my consciousness like broken glass, cutting into what should have been perfect pleasure.

"Don't apologize," Xavier's voice softened as he studied my face. "Talk to me. What's happening in that beautiful brain of yours?"

The gentleness in his question nearly undid me. Xavier, who had just hours ago participated in torturing and killing a man, was looking at me with such careful concern that my throat tightened. I'd known what he was, had always accepted the darkness in him, had even found it oddly comforting. But seeing the blood on his chin made it real in a way it hadn't been before.

"I keep seeing you on the floor," I admitted, voice breaking. "With blood on your face. Not moving."

His expression shifted, that dangerous softness he reserved only for me spreading across his features. One hand moved from my chest to brush the hair from my face, the gesture unexpectedly tender.

"I'm right here," he murmured, leaning down to press his forehead to mine, changing the angle of my cock inside him. "Not going anywhere."

My hands hovered a moment before settling on his face, careful to avoid the bandage at his temple. "I know that logically. But I can't stop thinking about how close..."

My voice failed me. How could I explain that the fear wasn't just about losing him physically? That watching him return to our room after Walsh's interrogation, that quiet, satisfied darkness still clinging to him, had terrified me in an entirely different way? Not because I judged him for it, but because some part of me had understood his satisfaction. Some part of me had wanted to ask for details. To know exactly how Walsh had paid for endangering us.

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