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Xavier
I park the car and re-read the text message. Ally informed me about an hour ago that dinner was off and she couldn’t see me again. If she thinks she can blow me off with a text message she has another thing coming. I deserve to know why she has done a complete one eighty on me since last night.
I run a frustrated hand through my hair and squeeze the back of my neck, trying to ease some of the tension which has settled there. Last night at dinner was fucking hard as shit. It seems mum is worse every time I visit and it’s taking its toll on my dad. The only thing which helped me shut my brain off and get some sleep was knowing I would see my girl today.
Slamming my palm against the steering wheel of my truck it feels like everything is falling to fucking pieces. This past week with Ally has been one of the best I have had in a very long time and I’m not going to let her walk away without putting up a fight. With that settled in my mind, I climb from my truck and make my way up the path until I reach the front door. I study the intercom panel next to the glass doors and try to work out which apartment is hers. Out of a choice of thirty buzzers, I see an A. Stevens and an A. Malone. That’s not bad odds. I push A. Malone first and wait anxiously for an answer. A smile breaks over my face when I hear her voice, but I frown at the sadness which coats her words.
“Hello,” she murmurs.
“Sweetness, let me in.” I try not to sound too demanding.
“Xavier?”
“Yeah, babe. Open up, we need to talk.”
“X I-I don’t th-think that’s a good idea.” She stammers and I swear I hear tears in her voice causing my heart to twist in my chest.
When I look through the glass door and see a girl coming down the stairs, I decide I’m sick of standing outside waiting, checking the apartment number next to Ally’s name and wait for the chick to open the door.
I take the stairs two at a time, hurrying up to the fourth floor. When I find apartment 4b, I pause to compose myself before I break the fucking door down. Placing both palms against the wooden door frame, I let my head fall forward and take a few deep breaths. Rolling my head on my shoulders to loosen the tension, I try to calm down. Then, I hear what sounds like quiet sobs coming from the other side of the door and my control snaps. Knocking lightly, so as not to scare her, I wait a few seconds before knocking again. I’m worried she won’t open the door, but I hear the shuffle of feet and a sniff before she speaks.
“Mr. Samson, I’m fine you don’t need...” she trials off when she opens the door and finds me standing outside.
I’m not sure who this Mr. Samson is, but I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I need to soak her in from head to toe. I take in her donut covered pajama pants and have to bite my lip so I don’t laugh at how cute they look. A white singlet top is stretched tight across her chest and I bite back a growl when I notice her nipples are hard.
“Xavier,” she chokes out.
I snap my eyes to hers and grip the door frame harder, hearing it crack under my weight. What the fuck! Why the fuck does she have a black eye? And, there is a cut on her cheek bone which has been taped up. When I study her closer, I see her hand is also bandaged.
“Who the fuck did this to you?” Anger laces my voice and I feel it prickle my senses. My muscles lock, ready to kill the motherfucker who hurt my girl.
Without a word, she throws herself at me and without thinking about it, I catch her. I wrap my arms around her and feel her body shuddering as she cries into my neck. Lifting her into my arms, I step into her apartment and kick the door closed behind me. I head straight for the lounge and sit with her held close to my chest. She curls into a ball in my lap and I rub my hand over her back in a soothing motion. I lower my head and breath in her sweet scent before planting a kiss on her forehead, reassuring her I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.
I’m not sure how long we sit quietly with me rubbing her back, but eventually her crying stopped and her breathing slowed. At one point I thought she might have fallen asleep, but then I felt her fingers running lightly over my chest. I had to shift her position when I felt myself getting hard as stone, it was becoming uncomfortable. Lowering my face into the top of her hair, I grit my teeth and allow her scent to soothe some of the ache in my balls. It only makes it worse.
“How was dinner and your mum?” she murmurs softly.
“Sweetness, I’ll tell you all you want to know about last night, but first you’re going to tell me who did this to you and why you thought you could blow me off in a message.” I place my hand over hers on my chest, stilling her movement because I don’t know how much more I can take.
Leaning back a little, she stares up at me gnawing on her bottom lip. The sight of her bloodshot eyes just about kills me. She attempts to stand, but I hold her a little tighter, not wanting to lose this connection.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Reluctantly I let her go. “Okay, Sweetness, go clean yourself up. How about I order us some food and we can relax for the night”
“I.. um.. was supposed to...”
I lift my hand and her words fall away. I know what she was going to say - she wanted to cook for me and like hell if I’m letting her lift a finger tonight.
“All I wanna hear out of that gorgeous mouth of yours is - pizza or Chinese” I get to my feet and wrap my arms around her and because I can’t help myself, I plant another kiss to her forehead.
“But.....”
I place a finger over her lips, “No buts, babe.”
A shy smile washes over her lips and my heart beats a little faster at the sight. Knowing I put it there allows some of the rage boiling inside me to settle a little.
“Chinese, please.” She murmurs before pulling away from me and heading towards a hallway.
Grabbing the phone from my pocket, I search for the closest Chinese place which delivers. Finding one close by, I hit the call now button, place my phone to my ear and wait for it to connect. While I wait, I look around and take in the small space. She doesn’t have a lot, but when I see a bookshelf lining one wall, my curiosity spikes. Crossing the room, I study the titles on the spines. Taking one from the shelf, I flip it around and read what the book is about. My eyebrows shoot up when I realise my girl must have a dirty side if this book is any indication.
“Good afternoon, you have reached the Tucker Hut. How can I help you?”
A man’s voice in my ear snaps me back to what I should be doing and I place the book back on the shelf, making a mental note of the title for later - Paid For by Alexa Riley, and place our order. I’m not sure what Ally is going to feel like eating so, I order one of nearly everything on the menu. After disconnecting the call, I head into the kitchen and sort through her cupboards for plates, cutlery and cups. After I grab everything, I set the table and look at my watch. I’m starting to worry because Ally still hasn’t come out of the bathroom. Turning I look through the kitchen window and notice the rain has started to fall.
Fuck. I don’t want to push her but I need to know who hurt her. From the first moment I saw her, I knew there was something in her past, a backstory. I don’t give a shit what it is, we will deal with it together. I’m not letting her push me away just because she is scared. To be honest, the thought of losing her scares the shit out of me.
“Xavier, you didn’t have to set the table, I could have done that.”
Her voice breaks into my thoughts and I swing around from the window to find her standing in the door of the hallway.
“Dinner should be here soon.” I no sooner say the words than a buzzer echoes through the apartment. “Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll get that.”
Ally starts to turn away. “Let me grab my purse.”
“I’ve got it babe, relax and let me handle this.”
She huffs at my words but does as I ask and takes a seat at the table. I smile to myself as I walk towards the door and press the button to let the delivery person in.