Page 55 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
Keep your crazy in your pants, Xander.
Before I could break the silence, he laughed and turned to face me, smiling sheepishly. “False alarm. Looks like someone lost their umbrella to the wind.”
“My hero,” I cooed, rising to stand. His smile faltered, but I kept going. “So big and strong—shielding me from nefarious bad weather gear.”
Butch’s expression was unreadable as he searched my face. “How secureisthis apartment, Xan?”
Because he looked so adorably concerned, I humored him. “It’s locked down, baby. Besides the fingerprint access, I have various security systems in place to keep me safe, I promise.”
I didn’t want to explainwhythe glass on the windows was blast proof, or that there was an escape hatch under my bed that led to freedom. He wouldn’t understand why I had high-definition cameras aimed at every potential angle of impending attack.
Just like the one I installed in the hallway outside his condo door.
Most importantly, I didn’t want to address how Butch in alpha-protector mode was doing all sorts of strange things to my insides. At this point, I’d accepted how much I enjoyed caring forhim—despite being a villain—but him wanting to do the same for me was more than I could handle.
Especially without a session with Ownit on my calendar.
“Windy days are my favorite,” I awkwardly segued.
It did the trick, as he rapidly blinked before blinding me with his megawatt smile. “Mine too.” For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say more, but left it at that.
The gears were turning as I tried to figure out how to share as much of myself as possible without crossing any lines. “If I bring you to our beach, will you wait there so I can surprise you with something?”
Game for my schemes yet again, he nodded. “You know the answer’s yes, Xan.”
With that, I arranged for wetsuits and life jackets to be delivered before loading us into my Audi and heading for the Bay. Dropping Butch off at the beach, I parked at my lair and quickly swapped out my car for my largest WaveRunner, not wanting to keep him waiting. The look on his face when I zoomed up at full-speed made my heart feel like it was going to beat out of my chest.
“Cheez-its!” He gaped like a kid on Christmas morning. “You’re taking me out on that?” The ocean was incredibly choppy—way too dangerous for a small craft like mine—but Butch’s excited tone held no trace of fear.
Good boy.
I laughed and tossed him his life jacket. “Yes, now put this on and get your fine ass behind me.”
He looked oddly confused by the life jacket, but managed to strap himself in. I was in no position to judge, since I normally didn’t bother with one myself. My custom supersuits came equipped with emergency flotation, and I’d never heard of a supedrowningunless they were knocked unconscious.
But we’re playing ‘normies’ today, so safety first!
Butch got situated, but before I could put us in gear, he surprised me by depositing a kiss below my ear. “Xan, would you ever let me behind you… you know… likethat?”
My sharp inhale had him backpedaling immediately. “I’m sorry. I was just wondering, but it’s totally fine if—”
“No, don’t be!” I interrupted, turning to face him as best I could. “I’ve just… never done that before.” Clearing my throat, Iforcedmyself to maintain eye contact, despite how uncharacteristically vulnerable I felt.
Butch leaned forward to kiss me sweetly. “Me neither,” he whispered against my lips before settling back again. A slight blush crept over his cheeks as he chewed his bottom lip. “In fact, I’d never had sex with anyone before you. I probably should have mentioned that…”
I blew out a breath, willing my dick not to knock us into full-throttle. “You absolutely shouldnothave. If you’d mentioned you were a complete virgin on our first date, I wouldn’t have shown so much restraint.”
Might as well be honest.
He scoffed good-naturedly. “Ifthat’swhat you call restraint, I wonder if I should be more afraid of you than I am.”
The thought of Butch actually being afraid of me made sheerpaniccloud my vision. “Never,” I choked out. “I would never hurt you.”
Unaliving me with his dimples, he quickly kissed me again. “I know, silly. I trust you.”
This was not silly. It was life-altering to have this man implicitly trust me with his precious existence when I could end it so easily. Although it was highly unlikely that a normie could ever take me down—even one as jacked as him—it was suddenly imperative that Butch know the feeling was mutual.
“I trust you too,” I whispered, meaning it with my entire being, even as every conditioned instinct screamed at me to trust no one.
