Page 110 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
Xander sprang from his stool and tackled me. Instead of the kiss I was expecting, he wrapped his arms around me in a crushing hug before burying his face in my chest—enveloping me in that smoky leather scent of his I couldn’t get enough of.
“How the fuck are you so perfect?” he huffed. “Just think about those clowns trying to come for me only to get bitch slapped with the Endangered Species Act. That’s spank bank material for years to come.”
He was quiet for so long, I thought he might be done, until he suddenlysniffled.“And… j-just think about all the sea turtles this is going to save…”
Oh, Xan…
Pulling back, I tried toseewhat he was feeling. Of course, he still attempted to hide his emotions behind a smirk, but I grabbed his face in my hands and forced him to look at me—to look at himself.
“I know how important this is to you,” I whispered, “which makes it important tome.It’s okay to cry over sea turtles, Xan. It doesn’t make you weak.”
He stared at me like he’d seen a ghost before finally delivering the kiss I’d been expecting. Except it wasn’t his usual domineering style. Xander kissed me so gently, I barely felt it, the salt from his tears somehow making it even sweeter.
“Thank you, baby…” he whispered against my lips. “For being everything I didn’t know I needed.”
We stood like that for a few minutes, softly kissing and simply staring at each other with ‘heart-eyes,’ until my phone buzzed in my pocket.
Regretfully abandoning Xander’s lips, I saw I’d received a message from the USN, which was temporarily acting as law enforcement HQ while a non-Enterprises police force was created. With Xander’s tech support, Sylvano and I had set up a ‘bat signal’ app, so I could be alerted to any crimes that needed a supe to get involved.
I’d already made a public statement to the citizens of Big City that I was nowvolunteeringmy time to defend them, and would continue to do so unless they wanted me to step down. I was honored when the overwhelming response was to keep me on as the deliverer of vigilante justice.
And who am I to argue with righteous bloodshed?
“Will you be at the office long, sweetheart?” Xander crooned, smoothing his hands down the front of my supersuit when I went to kiss him goodbye.
“I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours,” I smiled, stealing two more kisses just because I could. “It’s a normie crime, so I can’t rough them up too badly.”
Xander hummed. “Mmm, so it’s safe to say you’ll have some pent up energy to get out of your system afterward?” I bit my lip and nodded, already thinking about what we might get up to later.
True to form, Xander simply refocused on his project and adopted a casual tone. “Very well. I’ll see you at Ars and Invenio in two hours. You’re going to sit through dinner and drinks like a gentleman beforeanyonethinksabout touching that beautiful cock. Sound good?”
Fuck.
Shaking my head, I snuck in one more kiss on his cheek before heading for the door. Knowing he was expecting an answer, I called over my shoulder. “The answer will always be yes, Xan.”
“Good boy,” he murmured, filling every long-neglected corner of my soul with the warmth of his praise. “I’ll see you later, baby.”
Always.
EPILOGUE
XANDER - A FEW WEEKS LATER
“Thereyou are, sweetheart. I was worried you might stand me up.”
Butch laughed as he landed on the roof next to me. “Never! The visit with my mother just went longer than I’d planned.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “She bakedcookies.I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that before.”
“Sounds nefarious,” I crooned, pulling him close, unable to keep my hands to myself any longer. “We’d better keep an eye on it, in case baking turns into world domination.”
He rolled his eyes with a smile. “It would be just as weird ifyourmother had baked or… ifWolfgangsuddenly did.”
I barked a laugh. “Yeah, if Wolfy ever cooked anything, the main ingredient would probably bepeople.Luckily, Betsy is still keeping my siblings fed at the compound.”
Most of them, anyway…
There was still no word from Violentia, and I could only assume she blamed Butch and me for our parents’ deaths. It wasn’t entirely accurate, but I knew better than to throw Wolfgang under the bus for his Hand in the Holt-Suarez house cleaning, especially since he wasthe head of my clan now.
Blood is thicker than murder.
