Page 54 of Twisted Mates

“I am, I am, I promise. Trust me, I wish I could remedy that for you,” she says, and all humor has left her voice.

I chuckle at that. She would only fix the problem temporarily. As soon as she bent her body a certain way or glanced at me under her lashes or...Fuck. She could do just about anything, and my body would respond by pumping all my blood to my cock.

She behaves—for the most part—and I finish cleaning her off. When I turn my attention to myself, she pivots to face me, her hands joining mine to run the suds over my chest and neck. I revel in her touch, the soft brush of her fingertips and long strokes of her palm. She inches downward, brushing through the trimmed hair along my pelvis, but I stop her before she takes me in her hand.

“I would threaten you with a punishment if you keep teasing me, but I think you would like that too much,” I say.

“It’s not teasing if I’m willing to follow through,” she says, trying to pull her fingers out of my grasp, but I thread them through mine and hold on tight.

“Tomorrow, baby. Okay?” I ask, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

She sighs, but it’s a contented sound that fills my chest with warmth. “Okay, fine. I’m all sleepy now anyway.”

I grin and stand, offering my hand to her. “Let’s finish up and get some sleep.”

We rinse the soap off under the stream of the shower, I dress her in my pajamas I brought from my room, and without another thought, scoop her up in my arms and take her back to my bed.

“You didn’t have to carry me, you know. I could have walked,” she says indignantly as I place her under the cover and crawl in next to her after cutting out the light.

“Just because youcandoesn’t mean I should let you. Besides, I like keeping you close to me. There is something about feeling your skin on mine that brings me peace. You’re the balm for my broken soul, Alexia.”

She opens her mouth as if she wants to speak but instead, she just reaches up and gives me a soft kiss. “The feeling is mutual,” she says, brushing her nose against mine before she nuzzles into my chest.

Her breathing evens out almost immediately, and she is fast asleep. I lay there awhile longer, holding her and wondering how on earth the two of us will ever make this work.

Because as much as I’m not allowed to want her, you can multiply that times a thousand and that’s how much I need her.

SEVENTEEN

Alexia

Last night was wild. I almost got my throat slit by a masked intruder but then spent the rest of the night in a bubble bath and warm bed with the man who is turning out to be the exact opposite of everything I expected him to be.

I don’t know if I could have gotten through the past week without Xander. He has been the only person in this house that I can truly count on, and if someone had told me that before my mating ceremony, I would have laughed in their face. I had always been told that Xander wasn’t capable of caring about anyone but himself. That he was so selfish that he didn’t even care enough to come back for his own mother’s funeral.

All of that was a lie. Now that I know the truth, have seen the real Xander with my own eyes, felt the kindness that radiates from him, I loathe Clayton for making people believe anything but the truth about his stepson.

I’m jogging down the stairs to see if anyone is still in the house, but I stop short at the doorway when I see Xander standing by the stove as something cooks in a skillet. His armflexes as he saws a knife into a loaf of bread. The morning sunlight filtering through the curtains makes him look almost ethereal, and I can’t take my eyes off him.

All I can see is his profile, but he’s so beautiful ithurts.As goofy as it sounds, just to look at him makes butterflies swarm my belly. The stubble on his jaw, strands of his chestnut hair coming loose from the bun at the nape of his neck, the way his muscles flex underneath the white cotton of his t-shirt, the tattoos on his skin that tell so many stories of his life that I still want to know.

As if he can feel me watching him, he turns to face me. I’m graced with that piercing blue gaze, and then he flashes me that disarming smile that takes my breath away.

“Good morning, little wolf.”

“Good morning. Sleep well?” I ask, making my way into the kitchen, a little embarrassed at being caught gawking.

“I always sleep well when you’re in my bed, Alexia.”

My heart skips a beat, and I draw my bottom lip between my teeth. “That’s?—”

But he’s cringing before I can finish and directs his attention back to the toast in the skillet. “Really cheesy. I’m sorry.”

“No,” I say, crossing the room to him, placing a finger on his chin and turning his face to mine. “I was going to say that’s really sweet, and that I feel the same. I’ve never been a sound sleeper. I’ve always been restless. I have insomnia, and then when I do sleep, I have very vivid nightmares. But with you it’s different. I feel safe.”

He stiffens at that, and I question if I crossed a line. Uncomfortable seconds pass with neither of us saying a word. I refuse to take it back though. It’s my truth whether he likes it or not.

“I didn’t keep you safe last night,” he says, his voice a low mumble.

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