He laughed, and the sound was so deep and rich it sent a shiver down my spine. "I love it when you use that mouth for dirty words."
A moan flew from my mouth at both his nearness and the deep timbre of his voice, the way his breath danced across my skin.
He smacked my ass and gripped it roughly. "Missed you," he growled, then kissed my neck and rushed from the kitchen.
I smiled to myself and finished off dinner while Xavier showered. Xavier was a grouch—that was his default setting—but he was also incredibly sweet. I wished he let more of theworld see that side of him, and I often wondered why he didn't, but we hadn't talked about that.
Not yet.
By the time Xavier finished his shower, the braised beef in wine sauce was on the table along with a bottle of wine. "Wow."
I looked up from setting the table and smiled at the sight of him in nothing but a pair of black cotton pants that left very little to the imagination. His muscles were mouthwatering, and my belly clenched at the picture he made. "Wow, indeed."
His lips curled into a sexy, flirty grin. "Smells incredible. What's for dinner?"
"Beef braised in wine sauce, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable medley. Wine is on the table, but there's beer in the fridge."
"You made this for me?"
I nodded. "Figured you deserved a proper meal after two days in the wilderness."
He laughed. "It's hardly the wilderness, but I appreciate this. All of it." He pulled me close and hugged me. He just hugged me, and I buried my face in his warm chest, inhaling his masculine scent until it was a part of me. "You're amazing."
"You make me feel amazing, Xavier. Let's eat." We sat together at the table, so close our knees touched as we ate and talked. It was so domestic and so perfect that my smile refused to leave my face.
"So good," he grunted with a wink.
We ate in silence for the first few minutes, both of us simply enjoying the meal. But I wanted to know more about Xavier without overstepping. "When was the last time you saw your brother?"
He shrugged. "It's been too long, but he's coming to visit sometime soon."
"Are you close?"
"We are now," he nodded and took a sip of wine before he frowned.
I went to grab him a beer from the fridge while he finished his answer.
"We've been a lot closer the past few years."
"Yeah? Any particular reason?"
Xavier opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. "We both went through some changes that forced us to rely on each other more." It was an answer, but I had a feeling it was only a partial one.
He still didn't trust me enough. I told myself it wasn't about me, that he needed more time, but it still hurt. "Okay." I wanted to ask more questions, but what was the point if he didn't trust me enough to share the details of his life?You have to try, I reminded myself. I wanted Xavier, which meant I had to get him to trust me, to open up. "Do you miss your old life when you were in the corporate world?"
"Not even a little bit. You?"
"No. There are parts of the job I really enjoyed, but the bosses kind of ruined it for me."
Xavier laughed. "The executives made your job as an executive assistant terrible?"
I laughed in return. "The same way customers ruin being a chef and patients ruin being a doctor."
"Would you go back?"
I shrugged. "If the nanny business doesn't work out, I might have to, but I like working with kids better. You expect them to be immature and childlike." The idea of going back to that life and that world left me cold, but if push came to shove, it was a career I could fall back on. I just hoped it didn't come to that.
Xavier emptied his plate and pushed back from the table. "Come on. Let's go cuddle in front of the fire, and by cuddle, I mean fool around."
