"Rosalee," I called after her, desperate to keep her.
She stopped right in front of her bedroom door and looked over her shoulder at me. "Good night, Xavier." She disappeared into her room, and I stood there, watching her with my heart in my throat for several long minutes, trying to figure out how the fuck I went from kissing her breathless to standing in the hallway with a rock-hard erection and an aching chest.
No.
No, fuck that. Rosalee was mine.
I had to swallow my pride and say the words she needed to hear. I had to tell her the truth.
Even if it killed me.
Chapter 24
Rosalee
My heart pounded in my chest as I leaned against my bedroom door after my run-in with Xavier. He wanted me. Good lord, he had a lot of walls up, a ton of issues, but he wanted me. Genuinely wantedme, plain ol' Rosalee with a little too much cushion around the middle, eyes a little too wide, and too often a doormat. But thewantingwasn't the problem. He wanted me, yes, but only because I was here and I was easy. I couldn't resist him, and he knew it.
Which meant I had to be strong.
A heavy pounding sounded right behind my head, startling a gasp out of me. "Rosalee, open the door." Xavier's voice was deep and strung with tension and a hint of desperation. "Rosalee."
My eyes slid shut and I inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly until I could take a full deep breath without trembling. And then I pushed off the door and pulled it open. "What is it?" My voice was barely above a whisper, so filled with emotion I was powerless to hide it.
"I want you." Those three words weren'tthe three words, but in that moment they were just as powerful, especially when theyleft his beautiful mouth on a ragged growl. "I want you, Rosalee. I'm struggling with this information, but the one thing I am dead fucking certain about is that I want you and not just in my bed. I want to hear you laugh." He took a few steps closer. "And know it's because of me."
I felt the smile spreading across my face before I could stop it. "You're grumpy, not funny," I reminded him.
His lips twitched. "Knock, knock." His deadpan delivery yanked a laugh from the depths of my stomach. "Yeah, that's the sound."
"We can be friends," I told him honestly. "I'm still here."
He shook his head. "We are friends, but we're more than friends."
"Friends who sometimes kiss and have sex?"
His nostrils flared and desire darkened his eyes. "Rosalee. These feelings are a shock, but they aren't unwanted. I'm a grumpy bastard, I know that, and I'll probably mess up a time or two along the way. And when I do, feel free to slap me upside the head and tell me I'm being an ass."
"Or," I added with a heavy sigh, "you could simply talk to me. Share what you're thinking and feeling with me, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you." It was asking a lot, and I knew it, but I had to hold my ground.
"Yeah, fine. Okay. I'll do my best, I promise." He flashed a gorgeous smile, and there went my knees again, wobbling like crazy. And of course, Xavier was right there and hooked an arm around my waist to catch me. "I gotcha."
I inhaled his masculine scent and let out a shaky breath as our gazes locked. "Don't make me regret this, Xavier."
"I won't," he promised and captured my mouth again in a kiss so hot it burned my lips, singed off all my clothes, and turned every inch of my skin a deep shade of pink. "Fuck," hegrowled when he pulled back and his gaze raked over my body. "I've missed you."
I smiled and licked my lips. My pulse raced so hard I could hear it. I put my hands to his chest, where I felt his heart slamming against my palms. "I've missed you too."
And once again, his lips were on mine. They devoured me until my head was spinning and my breath caught in my chest. It was the single best kiss of my life, and my thighs were sticky, my nipples were hard, and I was ready to take him into my body. Xavier pulled back and eyed me carefully. "Good?"
I shook my head. "Great. Just. Can't. Breathe."
"Good." A wicked smile crossed his face, and the next time his lips touched my skin, it was the corner of my mouth, the side of my neck, and across my collarbone. He nibbled my earlobe and licked a trail of heat up the edge of the shell. Xavier kissed my shoulders, the crook of my arm, the hot flesh beneath my boobs. He kissed me all over—except for all the good parts—until I gasped and trembled beneath him. "Fuck, you taste so good."
"Xavier," I groaned. "Stop teasing me. Please."
"I'm not teasing you, babe. It's called foreplay," he whispered as he dragged his fingertips up the inside of my legs. Up and up he went until he found my clit, swollen and vibrating with need. "See how sensitive you are," he said and flicked his tongue against my clit, making my hips buck off the bed.
"Yes!"
