Page 68 of Crossing the Line
She was digging trenches in his brain, and he worried that this is what it felt like to be obsessed. Was this how Ganim felt? Waverly wasneverout of his mind. It wasn’t just keeping her safe, it was the way she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. How quickly her mind worked when she schemed. The way she took care of her mother, even with all the resentment she felt.
His conversations with her played on a loop in his head every night. He liked talking to her, liked watching her shift from private Waverly to public and back again. He liked knowing that she let him see the real her as she had tonight. She’d been completely vulnerable to him, and he knew how terrifying that was for her. He wouldn’t let Waverly down and be yet another disappointment in her life. He cared too much.
When he wasn’t near her, he wanted to be. He sought her out with no other reason than to be close to her. He touched her as often as he thought he could get away with without raising eyebrows. Yet none of it was enough until tonight, and now that he’d touched her, tasted her, he knew he’d never be free of her again.
He’d never experienced sex like this before. Never lost and then found himself in a woman. Waverly Sinner had hooks in him and not just because she needed protecting. She was his dream girl and that’s what she would stay until… Until when? He couldn’t see past the immediate danger. They’d catch Ganim. And then what? Would Waverly seek out her college dreams? Or would she succumb to family pressure and stay the course? Would she still need him?
God, he was living a fantasy,he cringed.There was no future for them.
There was a price to pay for the line he’d crossed tonight. He’d slept with a client. He’d broken the trust, not just between himself and Waverly but with Waverly’s parents. Just because they didn’t know didn’t mean his actions hadn’t been wrong. He didn’t take his word lightly, yet he’d still broken it just to have her for one night.
He’d broken his own rule, crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed. And now he had to pay the price. He’d stay close to Waverly, he’d protect her with his life, but he couldn’t touch her again. The center of his world slept in his own bed, but he couldn’t fill her again and make her sigh out his name in wonder and pleasure. The only thing he could do now was to make sure it never happened again. It wouldn’t make up for the mistake, but it would stop a downward spiral that was inevitable if he let himself touch her again.
Xavier didn’t know how he was going to handle it. How could he turn these feelings off? He couldn’t go five minutes without thinking about her before tonight. It was going to be a thousand times worse now that he’d experienced heaven.
But these weren’t the questions to be asking tonight,he reminded himself. There were more pressing matters at hand.
Someone wanted to take her away from him. And even if she couldn’t ever really be his, he vowed to keep her safe. He needed her safe, and compromising his instincts with the physical demands of his body wasn’t going to save her.
Xavier closed his eyes and willed himself to walk through the events at the premiere. He was missing something. There was something about the way Ganim stood—close, but not close enough. Waving and smiling. There was something there. And he would find it.
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Morning came too soon for the residents of Xavier’s condo.
Waverly had dragged herself out from under the covers where she’d slept a surprisingly deep, dreamless sleep. Wrapped in Xavier’s scent and the memories of their lovemaking, she’d drifted off secure and comfortable. But morning brought its own challenges.
She found Xavier and Kate already up and arguing. Xavier from the kitchen where he was putting on the coffee and Kate from his living room where she poured over social media and news reports on her tablet.
“I can’t tell if this is a PR nightmare or a God send,” Kate muttered, frowning fiercely at her screen.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what it is. We aren’t parading her around like a duck decoy to bump up ticket sales,” Xavier snarled from the kitchen where cabinets slammed closed.
“I’m not saying use her as bait. I’m saying we can’t keep her on lock down here in town. The international leg of the publicity tour starts in eight days. What do we do with her until then?”
“Does ‘her’ get a say in any of this?” Waverly grumbled.
“Of course, her do,” Kate shot back.
“No, her don’t,” Xavier shot back from the kitchen.
Waverly pulled the sides of her long cardigan together over her shorts and tank top and padded into the kitchen. He was still in the sweats and t-shirt from last night and still sexier than she wanted him to be.
Wordlessly, Xavier handed her a mug of coffee. His gaze traveled from her head to her toes resting very briefly on areas that he’d so recently become familiar with.
She gestured for another mug and took it back to the living room to Kate.
A quick review of trending headlines revealed that the world wanted proof that Waverly was okay and thatThe Dedication’sopening night had sold out in theaters across the country. In the light of day, it was confirmed that there had been no serious injuries after the attack, which loosened the guilty fear Waverly had held tight in her chest. In an early morning press conference a block from the theatre, police discussed the improvised explosive devices used in the attack and speculated that the perpetrator used them as a diversion rather than a means of harm.
It didn’t make sense to Waverly. Why would Ganim go to that much trouble to get close enough to her without attempting an abduction or some kind of physical harm? Was it because Xavier had been so close? Had his mere presence scared Ganim off?
Xavier entered the living room, his own mug in hand, and leaned over the back of the couch. “We’re all going to the office, so everyone needs to shower and pack in case we can’t come back here tonight.”
Waverly met his gaze. “Expecting trouble?”
“Expecting a logistical nightmare,” he clarified. “We’re pulling in everyone including your parents, Gwendolyn, Phil, and Detective Hansen’s team. And did I mention the FBI is now involved?”
Her parents.Crap.It hadn’t even occurred to her to call them last night. Had they been worried? Or was her mother thrilled at the prospect of so much publicity? She’d find out soon enough.
