Chapter 8

Almost Caught

“We need to leave.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my throat. The woman in the green dress was still watching us. She hadn’t moved. She hadn’t looked away.

Xavier’s hand stayed on my thigh. Steady. Warm.

Unbothered.

“Not yet,” he said.

“Xavier—”

“Finish your drink.”

I stared at him. “She’s seen us.”

“I know.”

“She knows Nathan. She knows Lila. She—”

“I said finish your drink.”

His voice was quiet, but there was no space in it for argument. I picked up the glass with a shaking hand and forced the last of the wine down. It tasted like nothing. All I could feel was the weight of that woman’s eyes on my skin.

Xavier finally stood. He placed some bills on the table without looking at the amount, then held out his hand to me. I took it. His fingers closed around mine, firm and sure, and he led me toward the door like we had every right to walk out together.

I didn’t look at the woman again. I couldn’t.

The second we stepped outside, the night air hit my face and my knees almost gave out. Xavier didn’t slow down. He kept walking, his hand locked around mine, until we reached the car. He opened the passenger door, waited until I was inside, then walked around and got in.

The engine started. He pulled into traffic.

For a full minute neither of us spoke. My pulse was still slamming. My hands were cold. I kept seeing the way that woman had looked at the marks on my neck and Xavier’s hand on my leg.

“She’s going to say something,” I whispered.

“Maybe.”

“That’s all you have to say? Maybe?”

Xavier glanced at me, then back at the road. “Panic won’t change what she saw.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’s married to Nathan.”

“No. I’m the one who’s been inside you while he was still texting you goodnight.”

The words hit hard. I turned my face toward the window. City lights blurred past. I felt angry and scared and something else I didn’t want to name yet.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to tonight,” I said.

“But you did.”

“Because you pushed.”

“Because you wanted it.” His voice stayed calm. “There’s a difference.”

I didn’t answer. The truth sat in my chest like a stone. I had wanted it. Even knowing the risk. Even knowing someone could see. Part of me had liked the danger. That realization made my stomach twist.

Xavier drove in silence for a few more blocks. Then he turned into the underground garage of his building. The moment the car parked, the air between us changed. Thicker. Heavier.

He turned off the engine but didn’t get out.

“Look at me.”

I did.

“Are you going to spiral, or are you going to come upstairs with me?”

My throat felt tight. “I don’t know.”

Xavier reached over and brushed his thumb across my lower lip. The touch was gentle, but his eyes were not.

“Then I’ll decide for you.”

He got out of the car. A second later my door opened. He waited. I stepped out on unsteady legs. The elevator ride up felt endless. Neither of us spoke. The only sound was the soft hum of the floors passing.

The second his apartment door closed behind us, everything broke.

Xavier pushed me back against it and kissed me hard. There was nothing careful about it. His mouth was demanding, almost angry. I kissed him back the same way. All the fear and guilt and leftover adrenaline poured out of me and into him. His hands gripped my waist, then slid down to my thighs, lifting me. My legs wrapped around him on instinct.

“You liked it,” he muttered against my mouth. “Don’t lie.”

“I was terrified.”

“And wet.” His hand moved under my dress, between my legs, and he groaned when he felt the proof. “Fuck. You liked the risk.”

Shame and heat crashed together inside me. I wanted to deny it. I couldn’t.

Xavier carried me to the living room and set me down on the back of the couch. He pulled my dress up around my waist, dragged my underwear down, and dropped to his knees. The first stroke of his tongue made my head fall back. He didn’t ease me into it. He licked and sucked like he was starving, holding my thighs open when I tried to close them.

“Xavier—”

“Take it.”

I did. My fingers tangled in his hair as he pushed me higher, relentless and focused. When I came, it ripped through me hard enough that my legs shook. He stood up while I was still trembling, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and turned me around.

“Hands on the couch.”

I obeyed. I heard his belt, then the sound of his zipper. A second later he pushed inside me in one deep thrust. The stretch burned in the best way. I cried out. He didn’t give me time to adjust. He fucked me hard and fast, one hand in my hair, the other gripping my hip hard enough to bruise.

“This is what you get,” he said against my ear. “For sitting in that restaurant with my hand on your leg, knowing someone could see. For getting wet over the danger.”

I could only moan.

He reached around and rubbed my clit in tight circles. The dual sensation was too much. I came again with a broken sound, clenching around him. Xavier cursed and followed a few thrusts later, burying himself deep and holding me there while he finished.

For a long moment the only sound was our ragged breathing.

He pulled out slowly. I stayed bent over the couch, trying to remember how to stand. Xavier turned me around and cupped my face with both hands. His eyes searched mine.

“You okay?”

I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do.” His thumb brushed my cheek. “You liked it. The fear. The risk. The fact that we almost got caught. Say it.”

I closed my eyes. The truth felt dangerous, but keeping it in felt worse.

“I liked it,” I whispered.

“Louder.”

“I liked it.”

Something dark and satisfied moved through his expression. He kissed me once, slower this time, then rested his forehead against mine.

“Good. Because we’re not done being reckless.”

I didn’t answer. My body still hummed. My mind was a mess of guilt and want and leftover fear.

Xavier stepped back and adjusted his clothes. “Go clean up. I’ll get you water.”

I walked to the bathroom on weak legs. The mirror showed a woman with flushed cheeks, smeared lipstick, and eyes that looked too bright. I barely recognized myself. I washed my face, fixed my dress as much as possible, and stared at my reflection until the worst of the shaking stopped.

When I came back out, Xavier was in the kitchen. He handed me a glass of water. I drank it slowly.

My phone buzzed on the counter where I had dropped my clutch.

I almost ignored it.

Then it buzzed again.

I picked it up.

Unknown number.

My stomach dropped as I opened the message.

Unknown: We need to talk. Alone.

I stared at the screen until the words blurred.

Xavier noticed the change in my face immediately.

“What is it?”

I turned the phone so he could see it.

The message sat there, simple and terrifying.

Someone had seen us.

And they weren’t going to stay quiet.