Page 50 of Tainted Rose

“Five. I think I was five.”

I inhale sharply, so painfully sad for that little boy. I whisper, “And when did it stop?”

“The day Mom and I moved out when she left him. So, I was around ten.”

“Was it always that bad? That it left marks?”

He nods, peering at me from the side of his eye. “It was worse if I cried, so I learned not to.”

“Oh God, Xander.” My breath stutters, the mental image almost too much for me to handle. I’m unable to stop the jerking motions of my chest as I try to keep myself from crying for him. For that innocent child living in a big, expensive house, who supposedly had it all—but all he knew was fear and pain doled out from one of the people who was supposed to love him most. I ache for that little boy. I ache for the man in front of me. But I’m so touched to know who he really is—that he’s sharing this part of himself with me. I edge toward him, then finally kneel and wrap my arms around his neck.

My lips find his neck, his jaw, and finally, his masculine lips. I kiss him softly until his arms curl around me in return, hauling me fully against him before he lies back on the bed. He groans as he takes my head between his palms, tilting my head just so, his tongue delving inside my mouth. It tangles with mine, and with every stroke, he kisses me more deeply, like he can’t get enough.

His voice is gravel and grit when he whispers, “Do you remember what you said to me the other night? Make me forget, Scarlett. Help me.”

Our bodies strain toward each other, and the hard ridge of his erection presses into my belly. I straddle him and slowly rock back and forth as we continue to kiss. Passion rises like a tsunami, threatening to crash down over us. And instead of running in the other direction, we run toward it. He lifts his ass off the mattress to shove down his boxers while I shimmy out of my panties and pajama shorts, all while our mouths are still fused together. We’re both panting when I take his erection in my hand and guide him to my sex, sinking down onto his cock without a second thought.

We hesitate at the sensation of skin meeting skin. It feels beautiful and oh-so right.

“Scarlett,” he rasps, sliding his rough hands around to cup my ass cheeks. He squeezes, kneading at my skin. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I sit up long enough to whip my T-shirt over my head before I lie back down on his chest. “I need to.” I need the closeness, need for every inch of me to touch every inch of him.

Together we begin to move, slow and sweet and hot. His hands run over my body, setting me on fire until I have no choice but to speed up, to chase the release we both need. The feeling of him bare inside of me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and I can’t get enough of how good it is each time he slides in and out of my body.

“Fuck. Scarlett. You’re amazing, baby. You’re so tight and wet.”

I smile, feeling his heart beating frantically against my chest, and I wind my fingers into the hair at the back of his head.

My mouth slants over his as I ride his cock, showing him everything I can’t say, loving every nip of his lips and the heat between us. We’re both sweating, sliding against each other, and I can’t think of anything better.

My emotional state is fragile at best, so when he rolls us over and stares down into my eyes with such blatant adoration, tears trickle from the corners. He kisses every single one away. When he covers my mouth with his, I taste my tears on his lips and a dam bursts somewhere inside of me, setting me off. My body pulses around his, squeezing his cock rhythmically, all while lights flicker behind my eyelids. His name falls from my lips in a shuddering moan as he continues to rock into me.

Xander groans in pleasure as he strokes into me a few times more and then he lets go.

He touches his fingers to my face, tracing where a few tears found their way into my hair. His dark eyes connect with mine. “I’m falling for you, Scarlett.” He drags his lips over my cheek and then back to my mouth. “I’m falling so hard.”

I inhale steadily, unable to hold back what I know he needs to hear. “Me too, Xander.”

“You are?”

I nod, my eyes going wet again. “You scared me so badly today.” He starts to say something, but I put my finger on his lips to stall him. “I knew what I was feeling for you was different than anything I’d ever experienced before—a deeper connection. I wasn’t sure how to tell you. And everything had gotten a little messed up. Again.” I swallow. “Thank you for telling me about what happened to you.” My lips tremble. “I know that was hard for you.”

He eases out of my body and rolls to the side, pulling me with him. “No one but my mom knows it was that bad. Aria knows what he did to me, but I’ve never let her see it.”

“Beau and Micah?”

“They don’t know much—just that he was abusive to me and my mom. I didn’t tell them about it until Mom had already divorced him. I don’t know if they’ve ever noticed like when we’re in the locker room or whatever, but most dudes don’t make it a practice of staring at each other. If they’ve seen the scars, they’ve never said anything.”

I press a kiss to his chest, realizing I totally went back on my word to his mom. My nose wrinkling, I duck my head a little. “Yeah, so I wasn’t supposed to let any hanky-panky happen up here. How’s your head?” My brow furrows in concern.

Xander barks out a laugh. “Lemme guess—Mom?” When I nod, he grins. “Sounds like her. Don’t worry about it. It’s not like they can tell. And my head’s okay, pounding a bit. You, here with me? That’s the best medicine right now.” He slides his hand over the curve of my hip. “I know you said you were okay with what we just did, without—”

“I’m on birth control. Do you think I wouldn’t be after what happened to my mom? She took me to the doctor herself the minute I hinted at interest in a boy.”

“Oh.” He nods, running the pad of his thumb over his lower lip. “Yeah, that kind of makes sense, I guess.”

I come up on my elbow so I can kiss him again. “Speaking of, I’m going to clean up a bit. I’ll be right back.”

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