Page 57 of Playing with Fire

"The people you what, X?" I pressed gently.

"The people who matter to me," he finished, the words coming out rough and unfamiliar. His eyes briefly met mine before darting away, uncomfortable with the vulnerability he'd just shown.

My heart stuttered in my chest. From Xavier, this was as close to an emotional declaration as he ever came. He didn't talk about caring for people. He showed it through protection, through possession, through calculated actions rather than vulnerable words.

"You're not helpless," I said, reaching for his hand again. "And you're not just an asset. Not to me, not to your family."

He looked down at our joined hands, something like wonder crossing his face. "I've never needed anyone before you," he admitted, voice barely audible. "Never had someone whose absence felt like missing a limb. I don't know how to do this, Leo. I don't know how to be... whatever I am with you."

"I don't either," I confessed, the honesty feeling like a risk and a relief simultaneously. "I thought I understood relationships, but this... us... it's beyond anything I've known before. It scares me sometimes."

"It scares you?" Xavier's eyebrows rose, genuine surprise crossing his features. "What about me scares you?"

I laughed softly, the sound slightly strained. "Not you, exactly. How I feel about you. How much I need you. How quickly everything has changed between us."

Xavier stared at me for a long moment, then unexpectedly pulled me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me with careful strength. "I get that."

I breathed in his familiar scent of leather and smoke, eyes closed.

His hand came up to cup the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair. "I need you," he said, the words muffled against my hair. "Need to feel something I can control when everything else is spinning away from me."

I understood immediately what he meant, what he was asking for. "I'm here," I said, pressing closer. "Whatever you need."

His arms tightened around me, and I could feel his heartbeat accelerating against my cheek. "Are you sure? After last time... I don't want to hurt you."

The concern in his voice was new and unfamiliar, making my chest ache with a sweetness I couldn't name. "You won't hurt me anymore than I want to be hurt."

He pulled back, searching my face. "I'm not good at knowing where the line is. At holding back when I need..."

"When you need what?" I pressed gently.

"When I need to feel like I own something," he admitted. "When I need to mark you. Claim you. Make sure you remember who you belong to."

His honesty should have frightened me. Instead, it sent a thrill through my body that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with longing. "I'm yours, Xavier. You know that."

"Do I?" His hand moved to cup my jaw, thumb brushing over my lower lip. "Because sometimes I wonder if you really understand what that means. What it means to be mine. To give yourself to someone like me."

"Then show me what it means," I whispered. "Right now."

His grip tightened slightly, not painful but unmistakably asserting control. "It means I'll break you apart and put you back together. Again and again. It means I'll push you to edges you didn't know existed. It means you'll never be free of me, even when we're apart. It means I'll protect you with everything I have, even from myself, if necessary."

The raw honesty in his words made my heart race. This wasn't Xavier being dominant for the sake of control. This was him offering a truth about himself few ever saw—the depth of his possessiveness, yes, but also the responsibility he felt for what he claimed as his.

I closed my hand over his. “Yes to all of it,” I said, and gently pulled him toward the bedroom.

"Chance,privacymode,"Xaviercommanded as soon as we entered the bedroom. "Complete blackout. No interruptions unless the building is literally on fire."

The door sealed behind us with a soft hiss. His hands were on me immediately, but not with the rough urgency I'd expected. Instead, he cupped my face with surprising gentleness, studying me as if memorizing every detail.

"Sometimes I can't believe you're real," he murmured, almost to himself. "That you see what I am and you're still here."

The unexpected vulnerability in his voice made my chest ache. I covered his hands with mine, holding him there. "I'm real. And I'm not going anywhere."

"I want to believe that. But people leave, Leo. They always do. When they see the truth. When they realize what I am beneath the surface."

I shook my head, pressing closer. "I've already seen it, Xavier. The fire and the ice and everything in between. And I'm still here."

For a moment, he looked almost lost—the confident, controlled Xavier I knew replaced by someone more hesitant, more human. Then he kissed me, the gentleness of it so unexpected it made my heart stutter.

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