Page 42 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes
Thinking of supes inevitably brought me back to the excruciating events of Monday night. My parents invited Nicole—Gemstonia—and her family to join us for dinner, so the two of us could spend more time together under the watchful eye of four extremely invested chaperones.
I’d attempted to bribe Nicole into leaving me alone during our doomed date at Ars and Invenio, but she wasn’t having any of it. It was clear she intended to see this through—all the way to the altar—because she wanted my family name and powerful children.
Opportunist.
At the time, I was most upset about being treated like a breeding stud who didn’t get a say in his future. Now, the idea of spending my life with anyone other than Xander made my heart race and my hands itch for a villain to kill.
What if theyforceme to marry her?
“What’s the matter, baby?” Xander’s muffled voice against my neck, thick with sleep, simultaneously calmed me and turned me on.
Even though we couldn’t possibly get any physically closer than we were now, I wanted more. I wanted to tell Xander everything—to crawl into his lap and cry over how nothing in my life was my own. Nothing excepthim.
If I lose him, I will burn this city to the ground.
Realizing my thoughts were drifting in a dangerous direction, I cleared my throat. “I was just thinking about how…suckymy last couple of days were. Without you.”
“Mmm…” he hummed, sliding a hand down my abs to cup my dick through my boxer briefs. “Can I make it better before you have to go to work?”
I stiffened—in more ways than one. “I-I called in sick for the day,” I mumbled this half-truth while desperately thrusting into his hand. “And I was hoping to, um… just stay here. If that’s okay?”
No one knows where I am.
And I don’t want them to.
Much to my dismay, Xander stopped what he was doing before abruptly sitting up and rolling me onto my back, still tangled in the sheets.
“Butch.” He stared down at me with that almost scary level of intensity I loved. “What makes you think Iwouldn’twant you here?”
Blushing, I attempted to look everywhere except at him. “I just don’t want to seem needy.”
Even though I need you like the air I breathe.
Xander grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. “Sweetheart. You’re not needy. You needme—just likeI need you. Since neither of us seems to have a problem with that, I say fuck what anyone else thinks about it.”
My heart beat faster as a sensation of pure warmth filled me. Xander sighed, his gorgeous amber eyes fluttering closed for a moment—as if he also felt it.
Please feel it too.
I smiled up at him, feeling better already. “I wish I could be as confident as you in telling others to… eff off.” His eyes snapped open again at my sorry attempt at swearing. “Maybe I need to try some therapy.”
He huffed, but considered. “Therapy is an experience not for the faint of heart. It’s a crash course in exposing all the dark pieces of your soul to the harsh light of day… but I do love dissecting things.” Trailing off, he suddenly looked oddly unsure. “Butch, I need to talk to you about something that happened yesterday…”
Thatcaught my interest. Whatever it was clearly bothered him, and if he wanted to share, I was more than happy to peel back another layer of the man I wanted to know everything about. “Sure, Xan. You can talk to me about anything.”
I wish I could do the same with you.
“Very well, but consider yourself warned, it gets weird.” He smirked down at me before sobering. “So, my therapy appointment was cut short because the fight between Captain Masculine and Red Renegade happened right outside the window. Did you see it on the news?”
I swallowed and slowly nodded, no longer sure I wanted to hear where this was going.
If he’s weirded out by Captain Masculine, what does that mean for me?
For us.
He sat back, his gaze going distant as he mentally replayed what he’d seen. “Yeah, it was fucking wild. I mean, I’ve seen footage of the Captain defeating villains, but to get a front-row seat—to feel the building shake as he slammed Red into it? To see himkillhis opponent with… with nothing but his bare hands and bottomless rage?Fuuuuck…”
Xander’s chest was heaving, and when his gaze snapped to mine, I saw his pupils were blown out, making my dick throb in its cotton confines. “Is that weird?” he asked, his gaze searching mine. “That I liked it?”
