Page 28 of Two days, One Pucking Night

A low rumble of laughter shakes Xavier’s chest. “You know—”

I playfully hit his chest when a cocky smile curves his lips. “Shut up.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.” He slowly eases out of me. “Come on, you need to shower so we can go out.”

“Do I have to?” I whine, even though a small part of me is excited about whatever he has in mind.

“If you want to tie me up, then we need to leave the house to buy what we need.”

I sit up straight, a surge of energy pulsing through me.

“What am I going to do with you?” He laughs and slowly eases me down from the counter and places a kiss on my forehead. “Wear a dress. You’re going to love what I have planned next.”

7

SOFIA

“Is it bad that I want everything here?” I whisper in Xavier’s ear.

I can tell he’s tired of me after dragging him through tourist stops like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and The British Museum. We also stopped at Borough Market. I was hungry, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to sample a variety of foods from different countries. Xavier acted uninterested at first but ended up buying us so much food we needed to recoup in his car for thirty minutes because we were both suffering from the worst case of food coma.

Our last stop is Atsuko Kudo, an infamous clothing store that sells women’s clothing, lingerie, and underwear made from latex rubber. While researching the BDSM basics, it came highly recommended as a great starting point.

Since we couldn’t make the stops Xavier initially intended, he ordered the ropes and items we might need, which he guaranteed would arrive at the house later this evening.

“What do you think? Do I look like someone about to suck the soul out of your dick?” I whisper low enough for only his ears, even though the store only has two other customers browsing.

I place the black, barely there latex dress with thin straps, lace trimmings, and suspender clips over my body. Xavier doesn’t have to respond; the gleam in his eyes tells me all I need to know.

“I think my soul left my body the day I kissed you.”

There is a brief moment of silence, his words soaking up the space like a seed sown and watered into a bud by the chemistry between us.

“And yes, I like it. I can’t imagine you not looking good in anything.”

He doesn’t know what his words do to me. How they stir a fire in my heart and set my soul ablaze. How looking into his gaze makes me feel … beautiful. A healing balm for someone whose early childhood was black and white—an ambiguous canvas lacking color.

His phone rings, pulling us out of whatever trance we’re in, whatever bits of observable reality we’ve kept isolated from one another as if to avoid that what we share purposefully runs deep. It could run deep. Deep with concrete casings around boreholes. Yet, our well is shallow, surface, susceptible to contamination and drought.

“Give me five minutes?” he mouths with the phone in his ear and credit card in his hand. “Just in case.”

“Are you sure?” I ask when he hands the card to me. To most, it might seem like a small act, a chivalrous move, but it isn’t in his line of work to question people’s motives.

“I trust you,” he whispers as he heads out of the store.

Butterflies erupt in my stomach, a swarm of them fluttering, desperate to be released from their cage.

I settle on the dress and pick up a few pieces of lingerie and aftercare items. By the time I’ve paid and made my way out, Xavier is nowhere to be seen. So, I head toward the car, finding him standing outside, pacing, the phone still pressed to his ear. One hand rests against his chest, and his lips are pinched into a tight frown. Tension oozes from him even in the distance between us.

When he sees me, he stops, his mouth uncurls, and his expression softens. “I’ll be there soon.”

I catch the latter end of the call.

“Are you okay?”

He doesn’t immediately answer. Instead, he takes the bags from my hands, situating them on the back seat of his car, along with my camera.

“Not exactly.” He is buzzing with nervous energy. “I have to attend an unexpected meeting with one of my old coaches.”

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