Page 70 of A Forbidden Arrangement
He steps back right away. The heat between us shatters, leaving only the sound of our breathing.
“I don’t want to become something you regret,” he says. He reaches for his shirt, sliding it on and fastening each button. The silence stretches, thick and uneasy, until he picks up his jacket and moves toward me.
“Dahlia,” he says softly, “you’re safe here.” His voice drops lower, almost a promise. “No one’s going to touch you. No one’s going to hurt you. Not while I’m breathing. Not even me.” He lingers for a moment, his hands still on the fabric, then lets go. The warmth fades with him, leaving me standing in the quiet, unsure which part of me he’s trying to protect: my body or my heart.
Chapter 32
Xander
Muscles twitchin my quad as I push my way up out of my squat. Grateful for the burn, I shake, barely able to control the descent, and grunt on my way up. I’ve spent the last week either locked in my office or pounding it out in this gym. Being mentally and physically exhausted is the only way I could stop myself from finding Dahlia.
The second my brain turns off, my mind is filled with how sweet she tasted with her tongue inside my mouth, her whimpers in my ear. The bar on my shoulders tilts to the right, one of the weights sliding off the end.
“Fuck.”
I barely managed to rack it up. I’m acting like a teenage boy unable to control his thoughts. But fuck, it’s been months since I tasted that pussy on my mouth. Felt her tremble as she came apart.
Ripping off my shirt, I use it to wipe the sweat off my face and neck, and reach down, grabbing weights from the floor. I’m gonna lose it if even this isn’t enough to keep her out of my mind.
A barely there sound comes from the doorway, and my eyes snap up. For a second, I think I’m hallucinating, somehow willing her into existence.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.” Even as she says it, her foot shifts one step forward, body leading her toward me. Her tongue runs along her bottom lip, her gaze fixed on my bare chest.
My teeth sink into my lip, biting back a smirk, as I try to pretend I didn’t catch her staring at me.
“Can’t sleep?” It comes out in a croak.
“I…I haven’t seen you in a while.” Her gaze darts everywhere but never lands on me. Even the tips of her ears are pink.
Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.
“I thought you might want some space.” I set the weights down. “How did you know where I’d be?”
“Marco told me.” She looks inches to the side of me, heat curling up her neck and a flush in her cheeks.
I hum and tilt my head to the side and take her in. I’ve been giving her as much space as possible after the kiss. Now she’s here in front of me, wearing one of my shirts and a pair of leggings.
Before she can slip back into her head, I step closer and say, “I’m glad you found me.” Her shoulders drop, and her breath eases, and that small surrender cuts through me. I love that I can give her what she needs, but I want to kill all the bastards who made her feel like she’s not wanted.
My steps eat up the distance between us, slowly giving her plenty of time to tell me to stop. Should I just come out and tell her that I was afraid once I got her near me, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back? That I’m doing my fucking best to honor what she wanted?
By the way her gaze trails down my neck, over my chest, and down my abs, it’s starting to look like maybe she’s regretting her decision.
Frustration tightens the back of my neck. I want her so badly it burns, but we have to clear things between us first.
“Are you ready to tell me what happened with Elliot?”
She flinches, body stiffening, and my fist clenches at my side.
I’ve been worried about bringing him up, that reminding her of what happened in that room might have her pushing away from me. Did I screw up? Is this too soon?
Her chest rises and falls with her breath, and she lets it out in a slow exhale. I can almost see her counting to five. “Yeah…I guess I owe you that.”
I want to tell her she doesn’t owe me anything. She could never say a word, and I’d still stay, but I know the silence between us will only grow heavier if she keeps it buried.
Humming deep in my throat, I go back to where I had been working out and grab my water, chugging it. But it does nothing to cool me down. As much as I want to know the truth, there’s a part of me that really doesn’t. That bastard, Elliot, is already dead. And if I find out he’s done anything else to her, I’m really going to regret letting him die that easily.
I lead her to the section with the grappling mats and sit down, motioning for her to join me. My shoulders tense when she stops a good ten feet away, settling in with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. The distance stings more than it should. Does she really need that much space between us? My teeth grind together as I remember the monster I let her see.
