Page 32 of Crossing the Line
The line between his eyes was crater deep and there was a vein in his forehead. Their mouths couldn’t get closer without touching, and there was nowhere to go. She felt his breath, hot and ragged, on her face. And then she felt him go raging hard against her.
“God damn it.” His voice was jagged. “I can’t decide if I want to kiss you or choke you.”
When her jaw dropped, her lower lip scraped his and that was all it took.
His mouth crushed down on hers, claiming, demanding. Teeth scraped, and lips bruised in a violent clash. He gave her no room to breathe, but oxygen was suddenly the last thing she needed. Their tongues met and tangled in an aggressive battle.
She had never been kissed like this before, possessed like this before.
Her breasts were smashed against his rock-hard chest as the edges of their bodies fused. His erection, as powerful and as impressive as the rest of him, flexed into her and she hooked a leg over one of his slim hips desperate to get closer still. He groaned at the friction and fisted a hand in her hair to change the angle of the kiss.
God, yes, her mind chanted. This is what had been missing. This tangle and mess of emotions and need. He forced her to take and take and take.
Xavier fed on her mouth, stealing her breath, robbing her of the will to think. She whimpered against his hard lips, craving more, but the sound tore him out of the fray.
“Damn it, Waverly,” he gasped for air, resting his forehead on hers. “What the hell have you done to me?”
He released her, and she slid bonelessly to the floor, her heart pounding like a drum line. She dragged in a breath and then another one, wondering what had just happened inside her. Xavier bent at the waist, looking like a man destroyed.
Their gazes met and held, and he returned to her and carefully pulled her to her feet. He rubbed a thumb over her swollen lip and swore.
“Angel—” he began.
Waverly slapped his hand away and dug her hands into the lapels of his jacket. “If the words ‘I’m sorry’ come out of your mouth, I willneverforgive you. Don’t try to ruin what was the most incredible kiss of my entire life.”
“It never should have happened. I shouldn’t have let it,” Xavier said, his hands reaching for her and then fisting at his side instead. He looked panicked and angry.
“Xavier, just breathe,” Waverly told him. She spotted a camp chair under a shelf of plastic totes against the back wall of the garage and pushed him into it. He dropped his head in his hands, and the vulnerability Waverly saw tugged at her still hammering heart.
“Wait here,” she said.
He lifted his head. “If you make me chase you again, I’m stuffing you in my gym bag and carrying you home.”
“There’s the Saint I love to annoy.” She patted his knee. “I’m getting us some water. The kitchen’s right there. I’ll leave the door open,” she promised. He let her go and she took a moment to calm herself down in Kate’s tan on cream on beige kitchen.
Waverly grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and pressed one to the overheated skin of her neck. The kiss had melted her from the inside out and she was having trouble recovering. She felt raw, terrified, energized.
She returned to the garage where Xavier was in the same position. She’d finally pushed him over the edge, and now she didn’t want to be free of him. The irony brought a soft smile to her ravaged lips. She handed over a bottle. His fingers lingered on hers for a moment until she met his eyes. In them, she saw concern and questions.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
She shook her head and felt her cheeks flush. “More like stunned. Did I hurt you?”
He shoved a hand through his short hair. “You wrecked me.” The words were almost a whisper.
“X,” she began, but Waverly didn’t know where to go from there.
“One second you’re a pain in my ass, and the next you’re hydrating me.”
“I’m co-dependent. Daughter of an alcoholic,” she shrugged. “I’m responsible for causing and healing all pain and discomfort.”
He shook his head at her. “Just go over there so I don’t grab you again,” he pointed at the bike. He couldn’t be feeling too bad if he was back to giving her orders already. Waverly hit the button on the door opener and the garage door creaked down to give them some privacy. She draped a leg over the leather seat of the bike and sat.
“I’m breaking rules left and right,” Xavier said half to himself. “I’ll call Micah. I’ll have someone else assigned to you,” he said flatly, reaching for his phone.
“You’re overreacting.”
“And you’re underreacting. Angel, I grabbed you. I lost control, and I took advantage of you.”
