I stand outside Quinn’s car, hesitant to leave Xavier alone. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? Designing a wedding invitation shouldn’t take too long.”
“That’s totally a chick thing. Go have fun,” he says.
“What are you going to do all afternoon?” There’s no way I can hide the worry in my voice.
Xavier slides his index finger under my chin. “No frowning. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m going to go check out Cole’s gym.”
I smile and poke at his chiseled abs beneath his tight T-shirt. “Don’t want these to get all soft, huh?”
A wicked grin spreads across his face. “Hell no. My girl seems to like them, so I need to keep her happy.”
I bite my lower lip. “They are pretty damn sexy, but I would love you with or without them.”
That earns me a genuine smile.
“You’d better go before I stop you from leaving.”
A familiar tingle erupts in my belly, and I can’t help myself from asking, “How would you plan on doing that?”
He leans in and presses his warm lips to the sensitive flesh below my ear. “I have my ways.”
I inhale deeply, attempting to keep my body from going into overdrive. The spiciness of his cologne mixed with a scent that is one hundred percent all Xavier flow through my senses, making my mouth water.
He pulls back, takes in my face, and then chuckles. “See?”
I shake my head at his amusement of his ability to turn me on so quickly. “On that note, I’m leaving.” I open the car door. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
He kisses me. “Be careful, beautiful. You have any problems, call me.”
“I will.”
Warmth spreads over me as I buckle in, and Quinn backs the Honda out of the driveway. I love how protective he is over me. It’s a complete turn-on, even during the times when he takes it too far and I explode at him for being so reckless. It’s a good feeling to know he cares so much about me.
“Damn, Anna.” Quinn’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. “He’s got it so bad for you.”
My cheeks tingle as my mouth spreads into a smile. “The feeling is mutual. I can’t seem to get enough of him.”
She laughs. “And to think, it wasn’t that long ago when I had to threaten you to get a pair of lady nuggets when it came to X.”
“I can’t believe it was ever so hard to come out with how I really felt about him.”
She shrugs. “You didn’t want to get hurt. On top of that, you’d never been around someone like Xavier. Uncle Simon made sure to keep guys like that far away from you.”
I tense at the mention of Father’s name, and while I don’t agree with how he treated me or the way my family back home expected me to live my life, I do miss them.
“Has Aunt Dee heard from Father?”
“Oh, yeah. She’s been on the receiving end of his wrath ever since he came to Atlanta. He’s so pissed at X. He blames X for your rebellion and not coming back home.”
“That’s absurd. Xavier isn’t the only reason I don’t plan on going back.”
She nods as she stops at a red light. “I know that, but you know Uncle Simon needs someone to blame for why you aren’t going back home.”
“Nothing is ever his fault. He doesn’t see a thing wrong with how he treated me. I mean, who in their right mind tries to force their daughter into marrying a man she doesn’t love just because it fits their plan for how they want the world to perceive their family?”
She presses on the gas pedal, and the car moves again. “The whole Jorge thing was completely fucked up. It never seemed like you ever really liked him.”
The relationship I had with Jorge is nothing like the one I have with Xavier. Jorge felt more like a friend, someone I enjoyed being around. I didn’t long for him with every inch of my being when I was away from him. It’s the complete opposite of how I feel about Xavier. When I’m not with him, he’s always on my mind. They’re two totally different feelings.
“I don’t think I ever loved Jorge—at least, not in the way you should love the person you’re going to marry. Being with Xavier has opened up my eyes to a lot of things.”
Quinn giggles and then suggestively wiggles her eyebrows. “I bet. That man is sex on a stick. I can only imagine what he’s like in the bedroom. He’s probably all primal and demanding.”
I nudge her arm. “Quinn! Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that.”
“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”
Heat creeps up my neck and then spreads into my cheeks. I know I’m blushing something fierce.
Quinn flicks her eyes in my direction before she squeals. “I knew it. I knew having sex with a known bad boy would change everything for you.”
“It’s changed everything,” I say. “Being with him, I feel things I didn’t know was possible. He’s so intense and a bit scary sometimes, but I find comfort in him. I feel like he could protect me from the world.”