Chapter 12

Xavier’s Rules

Nathan stood in the hallway holding my earring like it was evidence in a trial.

The small gold hoop caught the light. I hadn’t worn those earrings in months. He knew it. I knew it. The silence between us stretched until it hurt.

“I can explain,” I said.

“Then explain.”

My mind raced. Every possible lie felt thin. In the end I went with the weakest one.

“I must have dropped it weeks ago. It probably got stuck in the couch.”

Nathan looked at the earring, then at me. The hurt in his eyes was real. That made everything worse.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t.” His voice cracked. “Just don’t.”

He walked past me into the living room and set the earring on the table like it burned him. Then he stood there with his hands on his hips, staring at the floor.

“I don’t know who you are anymore,” he said quietly.

I didn’t answer. There was nothing safe to say.

After a long moment he went back to the bedroom and closed the door. He didn’t slam it. That almost made it harder.

I stood alone in the hallway until my hands stopped shaking. Then I grabbed my bag and left.

Xavier opened the door before I finished knocking. One look at my face and he pulled me inside.

“What happened?”

“He found an earring. One of mine. At the apartment.” My voice sounded flat. “He knows I’m lying. He just doesn’t know about what yet.”

Xavier’s jaw tightened. He cupped the side of my neck, thumb brushing over my pulse.

“You’re not going back there tonight.”

“I have to at some point.”

“No. You don’t.” His eyes locked on mine. “New rules. Effective now.”

I felt my stomach drop. “Xavier—”

“You stay here. You sleep here. When you see him, it’s during the day and only if I approve it. You stop trying to protect his feelings. And you stop wearing clothes that make you look like you’re still trying to be his wife.”

Resentment flared hot and fast. “You can’t just decide that.”

“I just did.”

“I’m not your property.”

Xavier stepped closer. His voice stayed quiet, but there was steel underneath. “You walked into this bargain with your eyes open. You keep coming back. You cum on my cock and then go home and lie to him. That ends now. You want the truth? I hate sharing you. Even the leftover pieces.”

The words hit harder than I expected. Part of me wanted to shove him away. The bigger part of me felt something dangerously close to relief. The double life was destroying me. Having him take the choice out of my hands felt like setting down a weight I had been carrying too long.

I closed my eyes. “I hate how much I need this.”

“I know.” He rested his forehead against mine. “Hate it all you want. You’re still staying.”

He kissed me then. Slow at first, then deeper. My back hit the wall. His hands slid under my shirt, warm and sure. I should have been thinking about Nathan and the earring and the look on his face. Instead I was thinking about how right it felt to be backed against this wall by this man.

Xavier pulled back just enough to speak.

“Clothes off. I want to see what’s mine.”

I stripped while he watched. There was no teasing left in him tonight. When I was naked he walked around me slowly, fingers tracing old marks and new ones. He stopped behind me and bit the place where my neck met my shoulder hard enough to make me gasp.

“Tomorrow you tell him you’re staying with a friend for a few days,” he said against my skin. “Keep it simple. Don’t over-explain.”

“And if he pushes?”

“Then you let him push. You’re not responsible for his peace anymore.”

He walked me to the bedroom and bent me over the edge of the bed. This time there was no slow build. He pushed inside me in one thrust and started fucking me like he was trying to carve the new rules into my body. One hand in my hair. The other gripping my hip. Every stroke dragged a sound out of me.

“You resent me right now,” he said, voice rough. “I can feel it.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re still this wet for me.”

I hated that he was right. I hated that my body opened for him even while my mind was full of guilt. He reached around and rubbed my clit until I came with a broken cry. Only then did he let himself finish, burying himself deep and holding me there while he pulsed inside me.

Afterward he pulled me up onto the bed and into his chest. His hand stroked down my back in long, slow passes. The contrast between the rough sex and the gentle touch undid me more than anything else.

“I’m scared,” I admitted into the dark.

“Of him?”

“Of how easy it is to let you take over.”

Xavier was quiet for a moment. Then he kissed the top of my head.

“Good,” he said. “That means you’re finally telling the truth.”

I fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat under my ear.

Morning came too fast. Xavier was already dressed when I woke up. He set a cup of coffee on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Text him,” he said. “Keep it short.”

I picked up my phone. My thumb hovered over Nathan’s name. The guilt was still there, but it felt more distant now, like something happening on the other side of thick glass.

Aria: Staying with a friend for a few days. Need space. We’ll talk when I’m back.

I showed Xavier the message. He nodded once. I hit send.

We spent most of the day in the apartment. He worked from his laptop. I tried to read and failed. Every so often he would walk past, brush his fingers along my neck, or pull me into a deep kiss that left me dizzy. The constant claiming should have felt smothering. Instead it settled something restless inside me.

Late in the afternoon my phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen and felt my blood go cold.

Lila: Hey stranger. Just landed. Coffee tomorrow? Miss your face.

I stared at the message until the words blurred.

Lila was back.

And she wanted to see me.