Page 76 of Xavier

She turned in his arms, her naked body fitting perfectly against his. “No, it wasn’t your fault. I brought them to her. It’s because of my sordid past that they came for her.” She leaned her cheek against his bare chest, the tears spilling down her face.”

“I know you need rest, but I couldn’t... I had to... I want you,” he said and buried his face in her neck. “I want you so much, I can’t think. You make me feel when I thought I couldn’t feel any more. You made me want to feel when I couldn’t bear to let myself care.”

“I thought you were tired of me, tired of the drama my past brings to my life.” She stared up at him. “You make me feel like I’m someone, not a ghost walking through everyone else’s world. You see me.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him, warm water pelting her back.

They stood together, holding each other for a long moment. Then they washed, rinsed and turned off the shower. After drying off, they ate the food from the Crawdad Hole, brushed their teeth, and climbed into bed.

All normal, boring things that meant more to Lissette than raging passion that could burn out in a day, a week or a month. They were themselves—all damaged feelings, insecurities and flaws.

She’d never felt this sense of belonging as she did with Xavier and likely never would again. Her heart ached at the thought of him leaving soon, but she wouldn’t let it spoil the time they had left together.

He pulled her close, spooning her with his body, his breath stirring the hair drying at her temple. “Sleep, Lissette. We’ll find her.”

They’d fix everything the next day, Lissette told herself, knowing it wasn’t going to be easy.

But for the moment, she was safe in Xavier’s arms.

She slept.

* * *

Lissette woke before dawn. Before Napoleon crowed. The sound of rain beating against the roof gave her a sense of urgency, making her desperate to get up and start the day.

“Awake?” Xavier’s chest rumbled against her back.

“I am,” she said. “Is it too early to get going? It’s not even light outside.”

“The clouds have thickened. The sun is up but cloaked by the bands of rain on the leading edge of the hurricane. Do you hear it?”

She rolled over to face him and stared into his eyes. “We’re going to find her today and get her back.”

He nodded and brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “We are. I think there are eggs and bread in the kitchen downstairs. By the time we finish breakfast, it should be time to head over to the boat factory.”

She smoothed her hand over his face, loving the coarseness of the stubble. There wasn’t much she didn’t love about this man.

Love.

The word and the feelings terrified her. She’d avoided it ever since her mother had abandoned her. Although, had she really?

She loved her grandmother, even though she'd pushed her away for all those years. The woman hadn’t ever given up on her.

She’d grown to love her cousins, Gisele and Holly, during their sessions learning their grandmother’s ways.

She hadn’t known it, but she’d left her heart open when Xavier had walked into her life. Or had he opened it with his kindness and acceptance of her and all her flaws?

Those kinds of thoughts were too deep for early morning. They had a lot of hard things to do that day. She’d do her best to focus on them, not falling in love with her protector.

“Do you want different clothes from the ones you wore yesterday?” he asked. “I have another pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.”

She shook her head. “As hard as it’s raining, it won’t matter what I wear. It’ll be wet and probably stay wet the rest of the day.” She rose and pulled on the same clothes she’d worn the day before.

His lips twisted, and he got up. “Yeah. Might as well embrace the suck.” After a good stretch, he pulled on jeans, a T-shirt and his jogging shoes.

As she pulled his brush through her hair, Lissette said, “I hope they’re keeping my grandmother warm and dry. Her ankle has to be hurting since she lost her boot.”

“She’ll be okay,” Xavier said. “That woman is like Napoleon.”

“A tough old bird?” Lissette laughed. “I’m sure she’d like that analogy.”