“I can understand that,” he answered, lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to the backs of her fingers. “And I don’t want you to feel pressured to make a decision. I just want you to include me in your thoughts, so we’re both clear about what’s happening. Or not happening.”
“Well, I just keep thinking it’ll be so different,” Harmony laughed. “But then I remember that we spend all of our time at each other’s place anyway, so I don’t know that it’ll really feel that different.”
“That’s true,” Xander murmured, watching her face as she passed through the airport exit. “That is definitely true.”
“You look surprised,” Harmony laughed, looking over at him briefly before turning her concentration back to the road as she merged onto the highway that would take them home. “Why do you look like you can’t believe that I’d really consider this? Usually you’re Mr. Confidence. What’s up?”
“I don’t know. I know it’s really fast and we haven’t been together for that long, but … Harmony, I find myself wishing for you when you aren’t with me. I see little stuff when I’m out, little things that will make me think of you. Or I’ll be listening to the radio and hear some song that brings you to mind. It’s constant. And I agree – this is fast. But you and me? It feels right to me. It’s like I need you with me, just a little.”
“I have that too,” Harmony admitted.
He turned to look at her, watching her expectantly. “But?” he prompted.
“I just can’t help wondering if it’s too soon, or too fast,” she said. “I just want to be sure, and I want you to be sure. I like this, what we have. And I don’t want us to go too fast and wreck everything.”
“Well here’s what we’ll do,” he said gently. “Let’s just let it rest for now, and you can think on it for as long as you need, and you’ll tell me when you’re sure of what you want. I know that it’s what I want, but if you need time, take that time to see if it’s really what you want right now or not – if you’re ready.”
“Okay,” Harmony said, glancing over to smile at him nervously. “You’re sure that’s going to work for you?”
“I’ll get by,” he laughed. “I don’t want you to feel pushed, or rushed, so I’ll wait for you to think things through. It’s just respect for who you are, Harmony. I don’t want you there because you feel like you have to be ... I want you with me because you want to be.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course,” he laughed. “Would you expect less from me?”
Harmony shook her head, smiling. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Good. And we’ll still do the thing this weekend with your family because I really do want to meet them. I want them to feel comfortable that we’re together. But other than that, you just tell me what you think when you’re ready. We’ll talk it out when you can, and we don’t have to move forward until you’re ready.”
“And you’re really going to be okay with that?” Harmony pulled to a stop as they approached a red light, looking over at him as she waited for his answer.
He laughed slightly, nodding as he looked over at her. “What other choice do I have? You want me to go all psycho and kidnap you or something? Stake a claim on you like you’re a car and I hold the title? Pee on you like a dog?”
“Not really,” Harmony laughed, moving through the intersection and turning into the subdivision where his house was located. “But I didn’t expect you to be completely cool about it. You really wouldn’t be mad, hurt, anything? If I said no, that it’s too soon?”
“I promise I won’t be mad. Maybe a little hurt, but I’m just telling myself that this isn’t a rejection. It’s not, is it?”
“No,” she said softly. “I just want to be careful.”
“And that’s okay with me. We don’t have to label whatever this is just yet if you’re not ready, Harmony. You like spending time with me, right?”
“Of course I do,” Harmony answered quietly, pulling into his driveway and parking the Xterra behind his truck. “And I miss you, too, when you aren’t around.”
“Good. Then if this keeps up, the idea of us moving in together and getting more serious is only a matter of time. And I happen to think you’re worth the wait, so I’ll let you be the one to decide how much time.” Winking, he turned to unfold his body from the car. “You coming in?”
“Well, in that case, of course I am,” Harmony laughed, stepping out and locking the Xterra before she turned to follow him into the house.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Are you sure we're ready for this?" Harmony asked, adjusting her face against the pillow.
Behind her, Xander turned over, pressing the front of his body against the back of hers. He slipped his arm around her narrow waist and tugged, sliding Harmony along the slick surface of the bed sheet and fitting their bodies more closely together. He kissed her shoulder tenderly, and his breath tickled against her ear as he whispered, "Isn't it a little late to be asking me questions like that?"
"Mmm," Harmony murmured, smiling as she turned in his arms, loving the largeness of his body, thrilled with his strength as he drew her close again. "Well, I wasn't really asking about that." Harmony giggled as he rolled to his back, drawing her body on top of his. She crossed her arms over his chest, propped her chin in the valley of her wrists, and chewed her bottom lip as she watched the passion light in his eyes again. “Oh no,” she laughed. “Twice is enough for one morning, you beast.” Slipping away from his grasp, she moved to the edge of the bed and lifted his t-shirt from the floor. "It's Saturday, you know. I was asking about the barbeque."
"Ah, the barbeque. You're nervous?" He turned to the other side of the bed, sitting up to tug his boxers on before standing.
"Not really nervous. Anxious, maybe. Whitney said she'd come early though, to help me get everything ready. I still have a ton to do."
”Hey, wait a minute, there, shortie," Xander laughed, stomping playfully over to sweep her into his arms and nip playfully at the curve of her throat. "I can be useful, too, you know.”
“I know, silly,” Harmony laughed. “But there’s a list.”
“Why so much to do? Is there something you want changed before your family comes?" Setting her back on her feet, Xander stepped back to look down into Harmony's eyes.
She smiled up at him, raising her hand to touch the rough stubble of his cheek. "No, I like what we came up with, but since we're doing the kebab buffet thing, I need help getting them assembled and ready the grill." Shrugging, Harmony stepped away, the hem of his t-shirt tickling around her thighs as she walked away. Before she left the bedroom, she turned back, winking. "But before she gets here, I think it'd be best if I go find wherever you threw my panties last night."
She listened to his happy chuckle as he watched her saunter from the bedroom that had slowly gone from being his, to being theirs. Harmony hadn't formally agreed to move in with him yet, but she'd stopped taking things home from his house when she left. There were signs of her presence all over his house, from the purple toothbrush and feminine scented shower gels in his bathroom to the short stack of women's magazines on the coffee table in his masculine living room.
She'd noticed, too, that since he'd asked her to move in – and she hadn’t said no – Xander had been adding things to his home with her interests in mind. During the course of the week, he had added curtains or sheers to various rooms in the house that had only had vertical blinds before. One night, she had come in from work and had found a new dresser in his bedroom, perfectly matched to the cherry wood bedroom furniture he already had.
“What’s this? Your wardrobe getting out of control, Xander?” Harmony had asked him, looking pointedly toward the new piece, standing proudly in the corner of the room.
“Nope,” Xander had answered, walking over to open one of the drawers. “But it’s there, for when you might leave clothes here, or other stuff.” He’d shrugged nervously, watching her face. “I wanted you to have somewhere to keep things.
I know you haven’t decided anything yet, and that you haven’t said whether you want to move in with me or not, but I just want you to see that there’s room here. That I want you here.”
Smiling at the memory, Harmony searched the living room, finally finding the bright green fabric of her panties hanging over the edge of a stack of DVDs. “I have no idea what gets into him,” she muttered, snatching up the torn scrap of ruined fabric. Shaking her head, she turned back toward the bedroom.
“Find ‘em?” Xander asked, looking up from the clothes he’d just carried out from the closet. Grinning as Harmony tossed her torn panties into the garbage with a scowl, he held up dark jeans with fashionably placed rips beside a charcoal button-down shirt. “Is this too much? Too little?”
“Not really,” Harmony said with a shrug. “Actually, it’s good. Casual and comfortable, but not sloppy. That’s the kind of thing I’d bet my brothers and dad will be wearing when they get here.”
“Okay, good. I think I’ll just do most of the pre-cooking in a tank top though, and throw this on when they get here. That way I can make sure I don’t get anything on it. What are you planning to wear?” Dropping his clothes on the end of the bed, Xander crossed his arms over his broad chest, the flame tattoos rippling with the movement of his biceps. He looked at Harmony, his blue eyes traveling down her body before moving back up to her face again, and he smiled as he said, “I’m sure you’re not just gonna wear my shirt, are you?”
“What if I was gonna?” Harmony teased, striking a cocky pose that brought the hemline of the shirt dangerously close to indecency.
“Well first of all, I’m thinking your dad would disapprove,” Xander laughed. “And then second of all, if you keep running around all naked like that under my shirt, you’re not going to be able to hear the door when they get here because you’ll be too busy – in bed with me.”
“Hmm, well, I guess I’d better take this off and go lather myself up in the shower then,” Harmony answered flirtatiously, stripping the shirt away and balling it up in her hands. She squealed when Xander stepped toward her, ducking and moving toward the bathroom, but his arms were long; he caught her around the waist and tossed her lightly into the center of the bed, the discarded shirt falling to the floor, forgotten.
“You are a tease,” Xander growled, crawling up the length of her body. He took his time, kissing the inside of one ankle, licking his way up the opposite calf. He kissed the inside of her knee, sprinkled kisses over the softness of her inner thigh, and laughed as he listened to her breath quickening.
“I am not a tease,” she breathed, tensing slightly as he urged her thighs further apart and settled his wide shoulders between them. Her body heated as he looked up at her, watching as her nipples peaked.
“What time is Whitney supposed to come?” he asked her, his voice casual even as his breath eased softly over the sensitive bud between her thighs.
“I’m not sure,” Harmony gasped, her fingers burying themselves in his hair as his tongue darted out to taste her. “I think ten.”
“Okay, well it’s eight thirty,” Xander answered, dipping his head to sweep his tongue between the tender folds of her body. “Think I have time for breakfast before she comes?”
Harmony squirmed, unsure whether to scoot away from him for the sake of her sanity, or scoot closer and beg him for satisfaction. “I think, um, it depends on how long you take to eat.”
“Oh, I see.” He lowered his head again, working her with lips and tongue until she moaned desperately, her thighs trembling around his shoulders. “What if I like to eat my breakfast long and slow, stretch it out, and really enjoy it to the fullest?” He swept his tongue over her again, circling the swollen bud of nerves as she breathed his name.
Moaning, Harmony buried her fingers in the short blonde strands of his hair. “I think we can – ahh – we can manage ... something.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Later that morning, Harmony stepped away from the shower spray, slipping her arms around Xander’s naked waist. She looked up at him, her eyelids heavy with satisfaction. “Think we should get out of the shower soon?” she asked.
“Well, the water’s going to be cold eventually, so yeah, maybe. And we should probably be out there to answer the door when Whitney gets here.” In spite of his words, Xander pulled Harmony closer, folding her more tightly into the secure warmth of his arms.
The shower poured down her back, trickling down the drain behind her. She let her head fall back as Xander worked his fingers through the length of her hair, smiling sleepily. “Is it bad that all I really want to do is go back to bed and go to sleep with you?”
Xander laughed, the low sound bouncing lightly around the tiled shower stall. “I like the sounds of that. But we have invited everyone, and they are your family, and we did buy all that food ...”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Drawing her closer, Xander stepped around, moving under the water. “It happens. Just meet me out there, and I bet you’ll wake up with some breakfast. Real food this time, I promise. I’ll even cook.”
“Really?”
“Sure, I can do waffles. We’d better check the time though; I bet we’re cutting it close to Whitney showing up before we’re dressed. Think she’ll want to eat with us when she gets here?”
Harmony laughed. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Whitney turn down a meal. She’ll eat.”
Smiling affectionately, Xander passed his hand over the slight curve of Harmony’s hip, slapped her lightly on the backside, and winked. “Well, you’d better stop distracting me then, so I can shave my face before your family gets here and thinks you’ve gotten involved with an unwashed barbarian.”
Giggling, Harmony shook her head as she opened the shower door and stepped out into the cool air of the en suite bathroom. She walked, dripping, over to the linen closet and opened the door, standing there to wrap her hair in a towel before choosing another for her body. Slipping a third towel over the rack next to the shower, she left the bathroom just in time to hear the doorbell chiming through the house.
“I’m coming, hold on Whit!” she shouted, whipping the towel from her body and tossing it onto the end of the bed. She grabbed a fluffy purple bathrobe from the back of the bedroom door and pulled it on as she moved toward the front door of the house.
“Lucky it was just me standing here,” Whitney laughed, raising an eyebrow at Harmony’s appearance. “Been having a busy morning, have you?” She raised her hands, pulling her dark hair into a messy bun as she stepped into the house, taking her first look around.
“Yeah, we um, we had trouble getting out of bed,” Harmony muttered, embarrassed. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Ignoring the chance to tease Harmony, Whitney smirked, her smile growing wider as Harmony rolled her eyes. “I love this place so far,” Whitney gushed, following Harmony through to a living room that was decorated simply and smartly in shades of chocolate and cream. She swept her hand over the soft curve of the leather couch, pointing toward a group of throw pillows in shades of blue. Looking to Harmony, she arched one delicate eyebrow.
“He’s been adding stuff this week,” Harmony said with a shrug. “Little things here and there, trying to make sure that I’d feel comfortable here. He says he wants this place to feel inviting enough for a woman to want to come in and stay.”
“Hmm. So he’s playing all patient but he’s making the place more you, huh? Is it working?” Whitney asked, turning to brace her hip against the heavy couch. She crossed her arms lightly over her chest, tilting her head as she watched Harmony’s lips widen into a gentle smile.
“Maybe a little. Most of the house pretty much looks just like this. Neutral colors and textures, little splashes of color,” she said, turning and leading Whitney toward another doorway that led to the kitchen. Her feet thumped softly over the shining wooden floor, and she reached to turn the light on as they entered the kitchen. “I’m trying not to mention it too
much – I’m curious to see what else he’s planning to do, honestly.”
“What about your stuff?” Whitney asked. “If you move in here, where will your stuff go?”
Harmony shrugged again, opening the refrigerator and taking out two bottles of water. She offered one to Whitney before twisting off the top and drinking deeply from her own water. “I don’t know if I’m really going to want to bring a lot,” Harmony said. “It bothers me because I just bought it all, but I like what’s here, too, and I wouldn’t want him to feel like he has to get rid of his stuff. Maybe I could sell some of the new furniture or something? Or get a storage garage?”
“I think if you decided to move in, selling seems like the best option,” Whitney answered, craning her neck toward the living room. “If you leave it sitting to gather dust somewhere and then need it or decide to sell it anyway, it won’t be worth as much.”
Wrestling Harmony (The Kingsley Series) Page 26
