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Ally
Feeling warmth surround me, I snuggle deeper into the blankets, not ready to wake just yet. As I wriggle down, I realise I’m not alone. I’m snuggling into something hard and not the softness of my pillow. I blink my eyes open and stare straight at the defined, tattooed chest of Xavier. Everything which happened yesterday floods my mind. I tense but the sound of X’s light snores along with the rise and fall of his chest has me relaxing again, not wanting to wake him.
I replay the words which were spoken last night, I can’t believe he stayed and admitted I affect him the way I do.
I know he’s angry about everything I told him and I saw he is keeping some part of him from me. Do I come off as being so vulnerable that he needs to hide from me? I sure as shit don’t want him hiding a part of himself from me. If I’m really his, then it means he’s mine and I deserve to see every side of him. Something at the back of my mind is scared shitless about knowing but I cannot and will not be fooled by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’ve been through enough. I’m stronger now and I won’t repeat the mistakes of four years ago.
With my mind made up, I know I will speak to him when he wakes but I’m not ready to break the bubble we have created just yet. I rest my head on his chest, over his heart and allow the soothing thumping to lull me back to sleep.
I’m jolted awake by the shrill sound of my alarm going off. Groaning, I reach blindly towards my nightstand to locate my phone. Vibration from a deep chuckle and the feel of fingers caressing my hair, stop me and I drop my hand to the hard planes of X’s chest.
“I’ve got it, Sweetness.”
His deep, sleepy voice fills my ears and I hum as tingles break out over my body.
“You’re not much of a morning person, are you?”
He runs his hand down my back and my body reacts by arching like a cat into his side.
“Coffee,” I mumble. My single word answer causes him to chuckle more.
I raise my hand and rub the side of my mouth, making sure I haven’t drooled on him. I wince and a whimper escapes when I move and realise I’ve had my weight on the injured hand. Moving faster than I thought possible, X shoots up in the bed, taking me with him.
“What’s wrong?” Concern furrows his brows.
“I slept on my hand.” I cradle it too my chest and feel a light pounding as the blood rushes back into it.
“Let me take a look.”
He reaches out to take my hand but I shake my head. There’s nothing he could do and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I want to enjoy today with him before we have to go back to work. I run my fingertips down the side of his face which is full of tension.
“It’s fine, X, I promise.”
He nods and I change the subject.
“What do you want to do today?” I smile as the tension disperses and his eyes soften.
“How about I make us breakfast and then, if you feel up to it, we can meet up with Beau and Justin at the beach this afternoon.”
“The beach sounds good but I can make breakfast.”
When I attempt to get out of bed, I groan loudly. An ache seems to radiate through my neck and the arm of my injured hand. Damn, it friggin’ hurts. When I get to my feet, I rub at the ache and the pain causes me to wince.
“Babe, go and have a shower, you’ll feel better. I can make breakfast.”
Before I can protest, he’s walking from the room.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I mutter a little louder than I thought because he calls back.
“Watch me. When it comes to your health, you’ll soon realise, I’m in control.”
“Stubborn ass,” I growl and hear him laugh.
I smile as I make my way to the bathroom.
Feeling a little better after my shower, I throw on my favorite beach cover-up over my swimmers. It’s white with crochet trimming around the edges. There aren’t arm holes, you pop it over your head and let it hang from your body. I wrap my wet hair up in a towel the best I can with my sore hand and head to the kitchen.
When I reach the kitchen door, I pause and take in the sight before me. X is standing at the stove making pancakes, but what has me transfixed, is his naked back and the way his muscles flex and ripple. I study the tattoos which cover every inch of his skin. The focal piece of art is a scene of the ocean and it’s breathtaking. I swallow a moan when the thought crosses my mind, this man is mine.
“Babe?”
Xavier’s voice breaks into my thoughts and I quickly lower my eyes as heat creeps up my neck. Xavier chuckles, I guess I wasn’t quick enough and he saw me ogling him.
“Damn, babe, you look as hot as fuck.”
His deep growl makes my skin prickle. I’m not sure what too say so I head for the fridge and grab the orange juice. Before I reach the table, I feel the heat of his body as he wraps his hands around my waist. Turning my head to the side, I feel his hot breath wash over me and squeeze my thighs together to stave off the ache. My breath hitches as he plants kisses up my neck before his teeth make contact with the lobe of my ear.
“Sweetness, nobody sees what is mine so, let’s keep the cover-up on. It shows enough and it’s taking everything in me not to rip the flimsy piece of material off you.”
He draws the material to one side and it slips from my shoulder. I’m about to protest until he runs his tongue over my shoulder blade and applies a little pressure to my collarbone. I grip the handle of the fridge to keep me from falling to the ground when my knees weaken and shake. He takes a step back and I yelp when he slaps my ass.
“Plus, you can’t swim for another week.”
“Fine, you win this one but only because I don’t want to ruin my tattoo.” I grumble while I concentrate on stopping my head from swimming and turning to a pile of goo on the kitchen floor.
“I always win, Sweetness.” He sounds so damn sure of himself.
“Cocky Bastard,” I mumble before taking a seat at the table.
He chuckles harder and I suck my bottom lip between my teeth to stop the smile which wants to spread across my face.
I close the glass door to my building and when I turn, X reaches for my hand, we make our way to the beach. I decide now is as good a time as any to bring up the discussion from last night, but I’m struggling to figure out how to convince him to open up to me. To let me see every part of him and not keep anything hidden.
“Sweetness, whatever it is, spit it out.”
“What do you mean?” I ask dumbly, I didn’t think I looked so transparent.
“Whatever is bothering you has been running through your head all morning. I know you want to say something so, just say it.”
Well shit, I really am that transparent. I lick my suddenly dry lips and fix the sunglasses which have slipped a little down my nose before taking his advice and just saying it.
“Why are you hiding a part of yourself from me?”
Xavier pulls me to an abrupt stop and I’m swung around to come face to chest with him. When I look up, I take in his dark messy hair and the five o’clock shadow which seems to be permanently on his handsome face.
“Explain.”
“Last night.....” He holds up his hand but I push on, I’m not going to let him stop me this time. “Last Night I told you some pretty messed up shit and I could see you were angry, but then you spoke sweet words to cover up the anger. You acted like you were fine and I think you’re hiding something.” I blow out a breath. “I’m strong enough to deal with whatever it is X, you don’t have to hide that part of you from me.”
I finish on a whisper, looking into his eyes. I can’t see what’s in his eyes because he has sunglasses on, but I feel the tension which has suddenly surrounded us. The background noise of cars passing fades out and it’s just him and me standing on the side of road. I hear the echo of my heart beat thumping in my ears while I wait for him to speak.
“Of course, I’m pissed, Ally,” he growls.
I open my mouth to speak but he cuts me off by grabbing my hips in a possessive hold. It has my blood pumping faster and not in a bad way.
“How the hell would letting my anger out help? Besides scaring the fuck out of you and having you running away faster than you were already trying to do before I turned up.”
I hear the anguish in his voice and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. He turns away from me for a moment and composes himself before speaking again.
“Sweetness, I would like nothing more than to find your bitch of a mother and teach her a fucking lesson, but that’s just not me. I don’t raise a hand to women or harm them with talk. I don’t think she deserves any more of our time. As for your ex, he’s a fucking cock sucking coward and yes, if he was standing in front of us right now I probably would kill him. I’d make him pay for everything he did to you and your dad, but babe I’ll say again, seeing me lose control would only scare you off. So, you tell me, what good would you seeing me angry do? What would come of it because the only thing I see is at how fast you would run and I can’t live with that.” He blows out a deep breath.
I don’t know what to say so instead I rise up on my tiptoes and brush my lips over his.
“I want to know you. I want to know how you feel and when I say that, I mean I want to know every side of you.” I close my eyes and pray to my father above, hoping I’m making the right decision when the next words slip through my lips. “I promise, I won't run.”
The words are no sooner spoken than I feel myself being lifted into the air and X’s mouth lands hard on mine. I’m already so addicted to his taste, I open to him and run my tongue along his, moaning at the taste of coffee and mint which I seem to be craving more and more lately.
I pull back, slightly breathless. “Damn, I forget how tall you are until you lift me and we’re chest to chest.” I laugh and X chuckles.
“You’re so tiny, I could put you in my pocket, Sweetness.”
He runs a hand over my ass and gives it a squeeze before lowering me back onto my feet. Locking his fingers with mine, we continue towards the beach. The air around us feels lighter and the background noise begins to seep back through. I feel hopeful that I’ve made the right decision then, it hits me like a truck - despite everything we have spoken about, we haven’t talked about his dinner with his parents.
“How were your mum and dad the other night?”
His hand tenses for a few seconds in mine, but he doesn't say anything. I'm guessing he doesn't want to talk about it, but after a few moments of silence he begins to talk and my heart hurts for him when I hear the sadness which coats his words.
“Mum seems to be getting worse every time I visit and I can tell what a toll its taking on my dad.” He pauses for a minute before going on. “Dad pulled me aside before I left to tell me her doctor thinks it's time for her to be placed in a care facility where she’ll have around the clock care. My dad argued that he’d hired a nurse and their house is familiar to her. He doesn't want to take that away from her too. So, everything is up in the air right now and I guess I'm still trying to process it all."
He sighs and I feel a sadness on hearing what he says. I don't know what to do to help him so, I pull my hand from his, wrap it around his waist and try to get as close to him as possible without tripping over. Leaning down, he presses a kiss to the crown of my head and wraps his arm tightly around my waist.
“It’s hard you know, the woman who raised and loved me seems to be vanishing right in front of my eyes. No matter what I do, I can't stop it. I can’t imagine how lost and confused she must feel. I can’t imagine the pain at feeling so lonely and trapped inside my body. Not knowing, or only remembering part of who I am, or the people around me. I don't know how my father does it.”
“He loves her,” I murmur into his chest.
“With every fiber of his body, but this disease is slowly killing him too. She’s a shell of the woman he loves and knew, I know it’s tearing him to pieces. I guess I just want to know how to help, but dad has always been so strong and he thinks he needs to do it all by himself.”
Xavier takes a sharp breath and I watch him rub at his eyes. My heart breaks a little more for him and it has me wishing I knew how to help. I stay quiet, listening to him breathing as we approach the beach. Once we’re at the wooden fencing which leads to the concrete steps, he stops and wraps both his arms around me.
“When I told you last night that you were the reason I can sleep at night, those weren't just empty words babe. I need you in my life. You have become so deeply ingrained in me that you have become a part of my routine.”
“X we only met a week ago, how does that even make sense?”
Pointing towards one of the old wooden benches, he takes my hand and continues. “I sat here every lunch break for over two months just so I’d get the slightest glimpse of you.” Dropping his hand, he wraps his arms around me and I place mine against his chest. I close my eyes when I feel his lips on my forehead. “You became a part of me the moment I first saw you and it took for you to walk into my studio to seal the deal. I’m playing for keeps, Sweetness so, you’d better jump on board and hold on tight. I can’t promise we won't fight and disagree on things, but I can promise you, I would never intentionally hurt you.”
Leaning down, he takes my lips in a deep kiss as if he’s sealing the deal by kissing me. I'm kind of glad because I have no words to reply. Pulling back when we hear voices calling out, I duck my head, burying into X’s chest as a shyness takes over.
“Get a room you pair," Beau laughs.
“Let the girl breath," Justin calls out.
“Leave them alone you candy asses," a girl shouts at them from where she sits on a towel on the beach.
The men laugh and when I lift my head, I recognise her from the tattoo shop. She’s the girl who threatened to stab Beau in the nuts with a pen.
“Come on babe, I want to introduce you to the guys."
Taking my hand, X leads me down the steps. I slip my thongs off and sigh when the cool sand hits my bare feet, making him laugh at me.
“Fuck you’re cute, babe." He leans down and brushes his lips over mine.
“Call me cute again and see what happens.” I growl, causing him to laugh harder along with the two men who have joined us.
“Fuck, I like this girl already." The woman laughs as she climbs to her feet, dusts off the sand and heads towards us.
“Erica, this is my girlfriend Ally. Ally, this is Erica, she works at the shop.”
I can hear the pride in his voice when he calls me his girlfriend, sending butterflies swimming in my belly. Smiling I turn to Erica and I hold my uninjured hand out to her.
“Hi," I manage to say before I'm engulfed in a hug.
“Hey, nice to meet you, I could do with a bit more estrogen around here, I was feeling outnumbered.” She laughs and I laugh with her.
“Can you give me tips on how to handle this big lug?" I laugh as I point to X and it earns me a slap on the ass.
“Behave, woman. Erica, if you like working for me, watch it," X growls but I can tell he is joking.
“You go and swim with the boys, leave us girls alone." Erica waves her hand in the air, shooing them away.
“At least put on some decent music,” Beau grumbles.
When I glance down at the towel where Erica had been sitting, I notice the set-up she has going. There’s a portable CD player, a small cooler which I guess has drinks in it, crackers, cheese and cabanossi which is cut up and ready to eat. There is also a bag of chicken flavoured potato chips.
“Shut it, Beau before I get the urge to drown you.”
Beau wiggles his eyebrows. “Promises, promises, Peaches.”
“Beau, I swear you’ll be lucky to live another day if you keep it up,” she snaps out. “I thought this song was kind of like our theme song,” she laughs.
“Come on baby keep talking dirty to me, you know how much it turns me on. I’ll take any theme song you want, Peaches.” He chuckles and winks before turning away and jogging to catch up to the other two men who are at the water’s edge. Looking back at Erica, I notice the smile on her face before a cheeky grin breaks out. She bends down and turns up the music so lyrics to ‘Back to You by Louis Tomlinson ft. Bebe Rexha’ ring out loud and clear. X and Justin laugh while Beau shakes his head and mutters something to the other two. Being so far away and with the music blaring I don’t hear it.
I study the men as they stand side by side and notice how similar they look. They are all covered in tattoos and are around the same build and height. Damn, they’re all sexy as hell but my man in the middle oozes sin and sex. I can’t wait to be alone with him tonight. Licking my lips at the thought, I sense Erica come up beside me.
“Inked perfection,” she says, barely above a whisper.
I don’t know how to respond to her words but notice she is staring straight at Beau. There is sadness in her eyes but I don’t ask her about it. I get the feeling she doesn’t want to discuss what has put the look there and since she hasn’t asked about why I’m so beaten up, I’ll respect her privacy.