I stare at him. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because the only way that’ll happen is if I’m dead.”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
“You’d die to protect me?”
He grips my neck, his finger digging into my skin. “I’d die for you, yes.”
“Don’t say shit like that.”
He arches a brow. “Why not?”
“Because you don’t even know me.”
He releases my neck to grab the hem of his shirt. I lean back and he lifts the material, exposing his chest. It’s the things wet dreams are made of.
There’s a scar on his shoulder, along with a tattoo of a bird perched on it. I’m no bird-ologist, but I guess it to be a falcon or maybe a hawk.
“Look,” he says, pointing to the scar. “This is from the knife wound you gave me three years ago.”
I stare down at the pale line on his skin, my mouth going dry. Guilt churns in my stomach, and I shove it away. He shouldn’t have been sneaking into the house.
But he did save me that night.
“What about it?” I ask.
“That’s how long I’ve been watching you. Since then, I’ve learned everything I could. Your likes and dislikes, your dreams and fears. Every important detail of your life, I know.”
I blink at him, trying to absorb his words. “Why would you do that?”
He lowers his shirt and places his hand on the back of my neck, gripping it again. The pressure is slight, but it has me leaning into him.
“Because,” he says.
“Not good enough, Xavier,” I say, throwing his words back in his face.
“Because I’m obsessed with you.”
Chapter 35
DELILAH
Xavier’s words echo in my head, filling the air with their significance. This is insane. He can’t be serious.
I open my mouth to call bullshit, but the look in his eyes stops me. There’s no humor, no teasing. Nothing except the truth.
I shift uncomfortably on his lap, and his gaze darkens. His fingers tighten around the back of my neck and he brings me closer, his face inches from mine.
“I told you before, you’re mine. The other recruits have never had the privilege of touching your body. I have. They’ve never tasted you. I have. And they sure as fuck haven’t heard the sound of you coming. But I have. That’s why I marked you. That’s why I’ll kill anyone who thinks they can take you from me. Do you understand, Delilah?”
I suck in a breath, his confession a jolt to my senses. “Xavier.”
He presses his forehead to mine and inhales. “Fuck, I love the way you say my name.”
“What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”
