by Cora Reilly
After a few hard thrusts, Xavier found his own release. Still the most amazing sight I could imagine.
Xavier released my leg from its awkward position and lowered himself on top of me. We kissed gently for a while, with him still inside of me. Then he reached between us as if to hold on to the condom before he remembered and chuckled. “That will take some getting used to.” He pulled out of me and wrapped his arms around me.
I relished in his warmth, but eventually a trickling made me shift my legs and my stomach let out an angry growl. Xavier kissed my temple with a chuckle. “Why don’t you clean up and I’ll fix us breakfast?”
He swung his legs out of bed and stood, then walked unabashedly naked to the stairs. I had to stifle a relieved laugh. I quickly washed up in the bathroom before I climbed back into bed and sat back against the headboard, the blankets pulled up only to my waist.
A few minutes later, Xavier returned with a tray with two steaming mugs of cappuccino and the smoothie bowls I’d grown used to over time. “I have a feeling I’m doing something wrong,” he muttered as he set the tray down on the nightstand. “I’m paying you but I am the one serving you coffee, breakfast, and hot hunk.”
I snorted. “Hot hunk?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up as he handed me a cup. “Are you saying I’m not a hot hunk?”
“Fishing for compliments?” I said, clutching my mug and grinning. He was pure hot-hunk goodness, no argument, and he was only mine.
He sat against the headboard beside me with his own mug. “Isn’t that what girlfriends are for?”
I took a sip. “I think in your case that’s not necessary. You have a big enough ego as it is,” I teased.
Xavier took a deep gulp then set the mug down on the nightstand, a grin twisting his face. “You have exactly five seconds before I show you that my ego isn’t the only thing that’s big.”
“Five.”
I sipped at the cappuccino, then licked foam off my lips.
“Four.”
“I’m hungry,” I said.
“Three.”
“Xavier,” I warned.
“Two.”
I quickly put the cappuccino away because I had a feeling Xavier wouldn’t care if I spilled coffee all over the bed, but I didn’t want poor Nancy to find that kind of mess.
“One.” Xavier grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me against him.
Thirty minutes later, I finished my cold coffee and ate my smoothie bowl, trying to ignore Xavier’s smug grin and stifle my own.
About two months after Xavier had made our relationship public, things finally started to settle down. Dad had asked Marianne to move in with him, so I hadn’t felt bad telling him that I probably wouldn’t return to the States after a year. They were already planning a vacation in Australia over Christmas. And Xavier’s family? They had accepted me into their family without reservations.
Even the press seemed to sense that we wouldn’t provide them with gossip anytime soon and turned their sights on other victims. I knew they’d eventually find something about us they could twist into their own version of the truth, but I didn’t let it get to me anymore. I’d adopted Xavier’s way of thinking. Why should I care what people I didn’t give a damn about thought of me?
Even jealousy wasn’t the big deal I’d thought it would be in our relationship. Xavier traveled with his team to away matches alone because there was a no-women ruling in place, but it didn’t bother me. Despite his past, Xavier was loyal. He wouldn’t cheat. Moreover, he and Connor always shared a room, and I knew he’d be the first one to snitch on Xavier if he ever put a toe out of line.
I smiled at the thought as Xavier and I strolled along the beach hand-in-hand on one of Xavier’s off days. It was autumn in Australia now, and I had put on one of Xavier’s thick sweaters that made me feel protected and small.
“Why are you smiling like that? It’s got a sinister feel to it,” Xavier said, drawing me out of my reverie.
I flashed him another secretive smile. “Oh nothing. Just thinking how your family and Connor would kick your ass if you messed things up with me.”
Xavier groaned. “They would kill me. They love you more than me. You wrapped them around your skillful fingers.”
I tilted my head up and let my fingers slip under his shirt to stroke his chest as he walked backwards and I stalked him.
Xavier covered my hand through the fabric. “I want you to move in with me,” he said.
“What?” I nearly tripped over my own feet as I gaped up at him in utter shock. For a man who didn’t do the dating thing, he moved quicker than I’d expected.
“You heard me,” he said, pulling me to a stop.
“Isn’t it too soon?”
“Evie, you’ve spent so much time in my apartment these last few months. I have never spent so much time with anyone, and it just feels right. With you I don’t feel like I need to be anyone but me.”
“I suppose Fiona will be happy to see less of you once I’m gone,” I teased.
“That’s a sentiment I share, trust me,” he said.
“You two will have to get along eventually. For me.”
Xavier pulled me against him. “Don’t worry. We have an important thing in common. We adore you.”
I patted his chest with a smile. “I must say I get why you enjoy all the attention. I enjoy your flattery too.”
Xavier chuckled. “You deserve it for putting up with me.”
“Of course I put up with you. You are the yin to my yang, the Ernie to my Bert, the cookie to my milk,” I whispered.
Xavier grinned. “The Batman to your Robin, the Bonnie to your Clyde?”
“The peanut butter to my jelly.”
Xavier grimaced. “Disgusting combination. You Americans have strange taste.”
“The bacon to my eggs,” I conceded. “The Han Solo to my Chewbacca.”
“Better,” Xavier murmured against my mouth. “The Laurel to your Hardy?”
“The Mulder to my Scully,” I said between kisses.
“The Sheldon Cooper to your Amy Farrah Fowler?”
“The Beavis to my Butthead,” I got out. “We both know you are the Butthead of course.”
Xavier let out that deep sexy laugh. “Oh Evie, I can’t possibly beat that.” He tightened his hold around my waist and looked down at me with adoration, and I didn’t care who saw us and what they thought about us, because we had each other and that was all that mattered.
“I love you, Butthead,” I said with a smile.
“And I love you, Beavis,” Xavier said with that wolfish grin before he pulled me in for another kiss.
MORE BOOKS BY CORA REILLY
Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles:
Bound by Honor
(Aria & Luca)
Bound by Duty
(Valentina & Dante)
Bound by Hatred
(Gianna & Matteo)
Bound By Temptation
(Liliana & Romero)
Bound By Vengeance
(Growl & Cara)
Bound By Love
(Luca & Aria)
The Camorra Chronicles:
Twisted Loyalties
Twisted Emotions
Twisted Pride (April 2019)
Cora Reilly is the author of the Born in Blood Mafia Series, the Camorra Chronicles and many other books, most of them featuring dangerously sexy bad boys. Before she found her passion in romance books, she was a traditionally published author of young adult literature.
Cora lives in Germany with a cute but crazy Bearded Collie, as well as the cute but crazy man at her side. When she doesn't spend her days dreaming up sexy books, she plans her next travel adventure or cooks too spicy dishes from all over the world.
