Out of the Darkness: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  * * *

  Sage

  Okay.

  Well, shit.

  He had skill, I’d give him that. When he kissed me, I found it nearly impossible to think, and that tiny, sweet brush of his lips on my neck was no less powerful than the hungry, hard kisses he’d given me before.

  And it was smart, him bringing food. One of the best ways to butter me up when you screwed up was to feed me. I was a simple girl like that.

  I quickly washed the gunk off my face, pushing the thought that this would be the first time Xander would see me without makeup out of my mind. I didn’t have time to slap anything on, and even if I did, it would’ve been obvious, and I didn’t want him to think I was trying to impress him or anything like that.

  By the time I made it to the kitchen, Xander had plates sitting in front of my two barstools with silverware and napkins laid out beside them and was unloading what looked like a million cartons onto the counter.

  “What did you do? Buy out the whole place?”

  He turned to me with a grin that made my belly swoop. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a bit of everything.”

  My stomach chose that moment to let out a loud growl of appoval. There were egg rolls, lettuce wraps, General Tso chicken, Shrimp Lo Mein, and beef and broccoli. And those were just the containers I could recognize. There were five others full of stuff I wouldn’t be able to identify until I tried them.

  He started loading up his plate, and I got this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know the one, it’s what every high school girl who’s ever crushed on the captain of the football team feels when she watches a movie in which the hot, popular jock falls for the nerdy, artsy girl. It was a combination of giddiness, excitement, and hope all wrapped in one squishy, fluffy package.

  Like I said, this guy was totally under my skin.

  “Um, do you want something to drink? I have water, soda, and beer.”

  “Water’s good,” he answered. “But I’ll get our drinks. You take a load off.”

  He moved around my kitchen with sure, confident strides, like he’d been in my space a million times. It was like he had alpha-man ESP or something, moving straight to the cabinet where I kept my glasses, asking, “What do you want, Shortcake?” as he pulled two down.

  “Beer please.” I had a feeling I was going to need it.

  He replaced one of the glasses, put the other under the water dispenser in the fridge door and filled his glass, then opened it and pulled out a beer for me. He even removed the cap and tossed it in the trash on his way back.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as he passed it to me and took his seat.

  I followed suit, spooning food onto my plate and digging in.

  “Sage,” Xander called from beside me after a handful of minutes passed in complete silence.

  I looked up as I popped a shrimp into my mouth. “Hmm?”

  “Baby, say somethin’. Yell at me for being a dick if that’s what you wanna do, just say something. Back at the office you said you were so mad you didn’t know where to start. Start anywhere. I’m here now, so go through everything.”

  I set my fork on my plate and turned my body toward him. I wiped my mouth with the napkin and pulled in deep breath. “All right. How about I start with the fact that you announced our . . . whatever this is to anyone who was there to hear without even discussing it with me first?”

  His forehead creased with a scowl. “So you wanted to keep us a secret?”

  “Not necessarily. But I would’ve liked to have a say in how it went down. I haven’t been there long enough to get a full understanding on all the policies, and if one of those happened to be ‘no fraternizing within the company’ I would have liked to discuss keeping out personal lives personal.”

  “That’s not a policy,” he said quickly, the frown remaining firmly in place.

  “I know that. Now. But it doesn’t change the fact you didn’t take what I wanted, or my feelings on the matter, into account at all before making your little announcement. This is my job, Xander. And even if you guys think administrative work is boring, I actually like it. I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life, and all of them pretty much sucked. I love working at Alpha Omega, and how things went down today put that in jeopardy.”

  He gave that some thought before admitting, “You’re right,” as a look of contrition passed over his face.

  “And while we’re on that topic, how you went about making our personal lives known was very uncool. Using the fact that we’d had sex as a weapon to throw in another person’s face isn’t okay. It showed a complete lack of respect and made me feel like I was no more important than the women you picked up at Rebels. I’m not like them, Xander, and if you don’t get that, we have a serious problem.”

  “You’re nothing like them,” he said fiercely, leaning in closer.

  “Yes, I’m aware of that. I know my worth, and I’m worth more than being treated like a piece of ass some guy thinks he can run around bragging about, like he’s just checked a box on a scorecard by nailing me.”

  “Sage, I—”

  I held my hand up to silence him. “I’m not a piece of property either,” I said fiercely. After all, I’d been that to someone once before, and I’d be damned if that would ever happen again. “The quickest way you can lose me is by acting like I belong to you. I don’t belong to anyone.”

  His hands shot out so fast I didn’t have time to react before he gently grabbed hold of me on either side of my neck and pulled me in, resting his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry, Sage. I know sayin’ that doesn’t count for much after what I’ve done, but it’s true. I just . . . I’ve watched him flirt with you for a month, and it’s been killin’ me. When I saw Bryce holding you like that I lost it.”

  “Something else you don’t know about me is that I don’t cheat. And if I’m sleeping with someone, whether we’ve discussed being exclusive or not, he’s the only person I’m sleeping with. It’s just how I am.”

  “It wasn’t you, it was Bryce.”

  “And that makes it worse,” I declared in Bryce’s defense, reaching up to grab hold of his wrists. “He’s just a friend, Xander. He’s only ever been just a friend. You know Bryce. He’s your friend too. He’s a flirt, but he doesn’t mean anything by it. He may tease and turn on the charm, but he’s never once made a move on me or been inappropriate, and the fact you didn’t trust either of us really freaking sucks.”

  “You’re right,” he relented, giving me two words I hadn’t expected from him. “And I’ll make it right with Bryce.”

  My fingers around his wrists squeezed, and my chest rose on a relieved exhale. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll make it right with you too,” he proclaimed in a gentle voice.

  Unable to hold back, I leaned in farther and pressed my lips against his in a kiss, whispering my next words against his mouth. “I appreciate that.” I sat up straight, dropping my arms and breaking his hold. “Now finish your dinner. You interrupted a Vikings marathon, so after you’re done, I’m gonna make you watch it with me whether you want to or not.”

  His teeth flashed beneath his beard when he gave me my third full-on smile. “You got a deal, baby. With one condition.”

  “And that would be?”

  “I’ll watch it as long as you let me stay the night.”

  My belly swooped again, and this time it was joined by my nipples stiffening and my clit pulsing before I replied in a low, breathy voice. “I think I can get on board with that.”

  * * *

  My head shot back on a groan, colliding with Xander’s collarbone as his thick cock stroked that place deep inside me no other man I’d been with had ever found.

  Needless to say, I was more than happy with the deal we’d made earlier. He’d watched two episodes of Vikings, declaring after the first that the show didn’t suck, which I took from a man like Xander to mean he liked it.

  My belly was full of excellent Chinese food, and a cozy warmth spre
ad through my limbs thanks to the second beer I’d had after dinner. When he climbed off the couch and led me to my room after turning off the TV and shutting off the lights, I was more than ready for what was to come.

  And just like he had the two times before, he gave it to me good.

  I was currently lying on my side, my back pressed to Xander’s chest as he drove into me. My left leg was raised, thrown over his to give him room to play. He had one hand between my legs, rubbing my clit while his other arm was wrapped under me, toying with my nipples.

  It was heaven.

  “Fuck, you feel so goddamn good,” he groaned, burying his face in the crook of my neck and licking the cord from my shoulder to ear.

  “I’m close,” I panted, tipping my ass deeper into his groin.

  He growled against my skin, his hips snapping harder. “My shortcake likes it rough.”

  “Yes.”

  At my confirmation, he pinched my clit at the same time he slammed in, setting me off like a rocket. I came on a cry, feeling my core ripple as it washed over me.

  It was so good and took so long, I’d barely had time to come down when he moved, forcing me onto my stomach and coming over me. He pounded me into the mattress, his thrusts hard and fast, his grunts filling the room. God, I loved the sounds he made when he fucked me.

  “You want it harder?” he asked, reaching down to give the cheek of my ass a squeeze.

  “Give me whatever you got,” I said, egging him on.

  He did just that, setting off another orgasm before finally burying himself deep inside me and groaning out his release. Once he came down several seconds later, he shifted, slowly pulling out and falling to his side, taking me with him and turning me until my chest was pressed partially against his side and his chest.

  “Damn, baby. Not sure I’ll ever be able to get enough of you.”

  I let out a laugh at his less-than-flowery declaration. Giving his chest a pat, I said, “You aren’t so bad yourself, big guy. Guess I’ll keep you around for a while.”

  His fingers moved, digging into my side by my ribs, tickling me until I was laughing hysterically and battling to get away only to end up on my back with him hovering over me.

  “I give,” I cried, hardly able to breathe. “I give, I give!”

  He finally stopped tickling, and when I caught my breath and looked up at him, he was smiling down at me with that gorgeous smile.

  I mentally added another tally mark next to the first three, basking in the beauty currently shining down at me. At some point in the evening, those shadows had been beaten back. I wasn’t naïve enough to think a couple rounds of sex were enough to get rid of them for good, but it felt nice to know I could give Xander at least some relief from that constant darkness I saw every time I looked at him.

  “Gotta deal with the condom, babe. Be right back.”

  He climbed out of the bed and walked naked into my bathroom, and I had to say it was quite a sight. All that hot, sexy, rippled skin completely bare. Every inch of him was impeccable, and his ass might have just been one of the best parts.

  Once he disappeared from sight, I moved, rolling off the mattress and heading for my dresser. I had on a pair of panties and a soft cotton nighty in a pretty light robin’s egg blue by the time he returned.

  Coming up behind me, he looped his arms around my waist and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I know you don’t like sleepin’ naked, but can you handle losin’ the panties? Easier access if I wake up and want you again. And Shortcake, just a warnin’, I’ll want you again.”

  A shiver worked its way through me as I turned to look back at him. “I think I can deal.”

  A second later, I lost the panties. We climbed into bed, each of us leaning over to flip out the bedside lamps. After that, Xander pulled me into him and held me close.

  I found sleep shortly after that.

  True to his word, he woke up at some point in the middle of the night wanting me again. And I didn’t mind losing sleep one damn bit.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sage

  It had been a month since Xander and I had started our thing, and while it hadn’t been perfect, it had been great.

  Besides, there was no such thing as perfect, especially when you spent most of your free time with an überalpha male who could be a massive pain in the ass. It didn’t help that I was somewhat stubborn and a lot wild, and every time he got überalpha on me, I fought right back. First, because I didn’t take kindly to people telling me what to do, and second, because pushing Xander’s buttons was a whole hell of a lot of fun and more often than not led to some fantastic sex.

  There was only one thing that put a damper on this past month. John’s calls were still coming with increased frequency, and as much as I tried to keep it from Xander, he’d caught me dropping the call and turning the phone off completely more than once. That led to questions, which led to me lying and saying they were wrong numbers or telemarketers. Those lies stopped working one night when we were lying on my couch watching TV. My phone had been on the coffee table when it began to ring, the screen in clear view.

  I’d felt his body lock tight beneath mine when he saw John’s name. When he’d asked, I’d turned to him and announced, “It’s the past, and we don’t talk about that.”

  That answer started a fight that didn’t lead to something fantastic. It led to Xander storming out, both of us sleeping alone for the first night in weeks, and me giving him my best silent treatment the next day until he’d eventually gotten so fed up with it he’d grabbed me as I passed him in the hall, dragged me into the electrical room, and kissed me stupid.

  And just like that, the fight was over.

  The next time Xander saw John’s name flash across the screen, he’d promptly grabbed my phone and engaged the call, bringing it to his ear and barking, “First and only warning. Next time you call my woman’s cell, I hunt you down and rip your spleen out through your asshole.” Then he’d hung up and tossed the phone aside.

  It took a full minute for me to process what had just happened, and once it did, I burst into a fit of laughter that lasted for a while.

  It was surprising how easily Xander and I had fallen into rhythm. We’d gone from hating each other to friends to people who couldn’t seem to get enough of each other.

  But one thing that hadn’t surprised me was that, by the end of that month, I’d completed a headlong fall straight into love.

  I still wasn’t sure whether or not that was smart, but it had been inevitable.

  It started a few days after the come-to-Jesus talk we’d had when he’d gone all caveman-jealous about Bryce. He’d told me he wanted me to crash at the cabin with him that night so he could check on Bear, so after I got off work, I’d gone home to pack a bag. There was no way his standard, gets-the-job-done-and-that’s-it products would cut it, so I’d loaded up my stuff and driven my baby outside of town to his awesome cabin.

  When I got there, he took my bag and made a joke about how heavy it was. When I’d told him what all I had in it, he’d given me a funny look before leading me into his bathroom.

  There, on his counter, were a million different products, all of them girly, and all of them familiar since they were the exact same things I had at home.

  “Figured if you’d be staying here, you should have what you needed. Now you don’t have to lug all that shit around.”

  I’d looked up at him, the burn clawing at my eyes as I whispered, “You bought all this for me?”

  He shrugged like it was no big deal, but to me it was everything. I would have told him as much, but I wasn’t sure if that would have freaked him out, so instead, I showed him just how much I appreciated the gesture by putting my all into the blowjob I gave him right there in the bathroom.

  He really liked how I showed my gratitude.

  The next hit came a week later. Since Xander had already seen me with my face covered in goop once, I didn’t bother hiding my skincare regimen from him and walked
around most nights with something slathered all over my face. He’d ask what each mask did, I’d tell him, and that was that.

  John expected me to do such things because it just wouldn’t do for his woman to get a pimple or a wrinkle, god forbid, but he didn’t want to see it. My routine was to be done nightly, but I was to stay behind the closed bathroom door until I was finished, and only come out once I was as fresh and smooth as a flower petal.

  Xander didn’t care at all.

  One evening after dinner, he simply looked at me and asked, “What color are you givin’ me tonight?” referring to the different colors my clay masks came in. I answered, not giving much thought to his question and went about washing the dishes.

  He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my back against his chest as he hummed in my ear, “Mmm, I get honey tonight. Love the smell of them all, baby, but the honey’s my favorite.”

  The last hit, the one I hadn’t been able to withstand came not long after. Things at the office were really picking up, and I’d ended up having to bring some work with me to Xander’s place so I didn’t fall too far behind. I’d been sitting on his couch with my computer in my lap, typing away when he came up behind me.

  I hadn’t realized he was there until he reached over the back of the couch and draped something against the cushion beside me. I looked over at the insulated, crazy expensive leather jacket before turning to him with curious eyes. “What’s that?”

  “Weather’s turned again. Won’t last long, but right now it’s warm enough that if you have a good jacket, I can take you out on the bike. I looked through your stuff, baby. It’s all cute as hell, but none of it’ll cut it, so I got you somethin’ that does.”

  “You . . . you bought me a new jacket so I could go out on your bike?”

  I got another shrug. “I know how much you like it. If you can take a break from all that, I’ll take you out now. Keep it short so you can still get your shit done.”