His sincerity cuts through my defenses and initial embarrassment. This entire thing wasn’t about him flaunting his wealth or using it to control me. Xavier wants to make amends, to apologize.
I flick my gaze to him. “Xavier, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I really do, but I can’t accept this present. A get-well card and some flowers would’ve been fine. That’s the normal approach.”
He crosses his arms and blows out a breath. “I’ve never had a girlfriend, so I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. I just know I can’t stand by and watch you suffer.”
I blink up at him. “You’ve never dated anyone?”
“I told you: I don’t do girlfriends.”
“I know, but… not even once?”
His gaze narrows. “I’ve never met anyone who made me want to change that.”
Until you.
The unspoken words hang in the air, making it hard for me to breathe. Xavier is going beyond the call of duty toward his bride. He’s committed to me in a way I didn’t want to acknowledge until now. Because I was too scared.
If he’s willing to be vulnerable with me, how can I keep from doing the same?
The moment vibrates with an intensity that’s hard to define or contain. Xavier, the enigmatic, unattainable man who entered my life like a wraith in the night, has never allowed anyone to get close enough to be called a girlfriend. Yet here he is, treating me like one. Like I’m worthy.
“Is that what I am to you now?” I ask.
He leans down and snatches my chin, forcing my gaze to his. “No. ‘Girlfriend’ is too trivial a word for what you are to me.”
“And what is that?”
“Mine. You’re my fucking world, Delilah.”
Chapter 10
DELILAH
Istare up at Xavier, the raw emotion in his voice clawing at my heart. His devotion is fierce and terrifying. Has he been mistreated for so long that his view of affection is distorted? Or is this all-consuming passion for me love in its purest form?
“Xavier.” His name is a whisper filled with every unspoken question and unsaid desire. It’s a prayer and a curse, a song and a lament.
He tilts back my head, bringing our faces close, his presence enveloping me in warmth. “Be my girlfriend, my wife, my lover. Be the woman at my side, not at my back. Be my everything, and I’ll give youanything.”
“Xavier, I…”
The words falter on my lips, not out of apprehension, but from the overwhelming rush of emotions. How do you respond to someone who offers you their world? How do you handle the responsibility of being everything to someone?
By giving everything to them.
The answer comes to me, beyond words or mere sound. It’s the pull of an invisible force that draws me to him. It’s the waymy body leans toward him without a command, the way my heart races at his voice and my skin warms at his touch. It’s the way I can’t imagine my life without him.
“Delilah, say something,” he rasps, his voice full of desperation. “I’m dying here.”
“Okay.”
His laughter is full of surprise and amusement. “That’s it?”
“I can’t explain what I’ve never experienced.”
“Fuck, isn’t that the truth?”
I close the distance between us, offering my feelings with a kiss. One that tastes like desire and devotion, love and longing.
