Page 25 of Death By Chocolate

“Fucking, death by chocolate,” he grunts, lifting my limp body with his dick still in me. Damn, he’s semi-erect after coming twice. “This is what we do at lunchtime, every day. Trust and believe.”

This man is a sex god. I laugh at the sheer delight and determination in his voice. He’s serious. And as he carries me to our bed, I also know—he’s mine.

11

DANI

MY H.O.E PHASE

Xeno collapses on the bed, bringing me down with him. My back is pressed to his front. The gentle whir of the ceiling fan mixes with our settling breaths. Xeno's warmth radiates against my back, his heartbeat a steady rhythm I can feel through my shoulder blades. The faint scent of his sandalwood cologne mingles with the crisp cotton of freshly laundered sheets.

“I like you, Dani,” he whispers, his breath tickling the shell of my ear, carrying the slight raspiness of someone who's been holding back strong emotions.

“Same,” I manage, though the word feels inadequate for the tide of feelings threatening to overflow. With Xeno, I've discovered something I never thought possible - the freedom to be both strong and vulnerable. He sees past my carefully constructed walls, past the warrior I've had to become, to the woman beneath who yearns for genuine connection. The humiliation and degradation I’ve felt in the past are non-existent between us. With him, my surrender is rewarded with tenderwords and slow caresses. This is his true power over me. Oscar hurt me, but Xeno Voss could break me.

“Huh,” he says.

My head is pillowed on his chest. I want to see his face to gather some insight into what he’s thinking. I’m happier than I can ever remember. Sharing my body, and my bed, the man I’ve chosen sees me not as a piece of property but as a priceless treasure. Not that Xeno has used those exact words, but I know how he makes me feel—safe and alive. I’m in my H.O.E phase. Is he?

I try to angle my face up, but the movement pulls at the stitches between my neck and left shoulder. Pain slices down my arm, and I hiss at the sudden discomfort. “Ouch.”

Xeno sits up, pressing his back against my low headboard. He adjusts my limbs until I am practically seated in his lap, his cock resting, half-awake, on my thigh.

“Better?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I sigh, sinking back into his warmth. It’s a lie. Partial. Physically, I’m more than okay, but my thoughts are riotous. Fucking was easy, but this—afterwards had my craving things a woman like me shouldn’t, couldn’t want. I lived a simplistic life—do the job, keep fit, keep a safe distance from everyone.

“You’re shaking,” he observes, his large hand moving to warm my arm. The calluses on his palm tell their own story of survival, of fighting back. ”What’s up with you?”

Turning my head into his chest, I bury my face and feelings. “I’m good.”

“I know.” His chuckle reverberates through me, a sound full of affection that makes my eyes sting. “That’s why I’m keeping you. You’re mine.”

The kiss he places on my head is feather-light, but it lands like an anchor, keeping me from drifting away into the darkness of my past. I want to deserve this tenderness. Want to be worthyof the way he looks at me - like I'm something precious rather than something broken.

“I want to give you something.” His words cut through the silence. Tearing a hole in the shield, I’m slowly rebuilding as the minutes tick by.

“You don’t have to.”

He ignores that and gently lifts my left arm, careful not to raise it too high. I soften at his attention to detail that he won’t hurt me to get what he wants. I watch as he tugs his signet ring, the one with the raised XV gold initials, and he slides the ring on my middle finger.

I jerk up. Shaking my head vehemently. He thinks he knows what he’s getting with me. He doesn’t. And, for once in this new life I’ve created the walls close in on me. “Take it back,” I snap.

Something like pain flashes in his dark eyes. “No.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Yet, I did. Wear it or don’t. But nothing changes. It’s yours, and you are mine,” he growls.

Why is this happening? I drop my head, staring at my hand. The weight of his signet ring on my finger feels foreign - both a promise and a warning. The raised XV catches the light from the windows, and I watch it glint as my hand trembles. The last ring I wore came with chains disguised as vows. But Xeno's touch has only ever meant freedom. He needs to know. He deserves to hear the truth of my past from me. I have a choice to make. Let him love me based on a lie. Or lose him by sharing my truth.

“I killed the first man who put his ring on my finger.” My voice is steady, daring him to condemn me. I’m not sorry Oscar is dead, but I’m terrified that I’ll see in Xeno’s eyes how irredeemable I am.

No worth.

No value.

No one I’ve loved, trusted, loved me enough to fight for me. My father. My mother. Even my sorry-ass husband reveled in fighting me. There was no love. For what I’ve done, my crimes, maybe I don’t deserve a second chance at love, but—I want his. Xeno eyes bore into mine. I expect to see revulsion in his eyes. Instead, I find understanding tinged with protective fury.

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