Chapter 26

I pull my wife a little closer, loving the way she’s snuggled up to me in her sleep, her head on my chest and her leg wrapped around my hip. I bite down on my lip and softly caress her thigh, my need for her overwhelming. My cock twitches when she shifts a little as she stirs, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she brushes her nose against my neck. I keep my eyes closed and my body still as she begins to wake up, her entire body tensing when she realizes what position we’re in.

She gasps and sits up, the sheets falling away from me. I can feel her eyes on me, and just as I’m about to tease her for staring, I feel the tip of her finger lightly touching my abs. She holds still, almost like she’s trying to see if it’ll wake me up, before she explores my body further. It takes all of me to keep my eyes closed as she moves her hand to my chest and slowly drags her fingers down, taking her time to tease me with her featherlight touches. My heart is pounding wildly by the time she reaches the waistband of my boxer shorts, and I hear her breath hitch as she hesitantly touches the contours of my rock hard cock. I involuntarily moan softly, my head falling back just a touch, and just like that, her hand is gone. I hear the sheets rustle, followed by her soft footsteps as she escapes into the bathroom.

I smirk as my eyes flutter open, the room empty. It’d be pretty safe to assume that my wife quite likes my body. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could use my body to tempt her with. If I’d known, I’d have taken off my shirt last night, long before she fell asleep on the sofa after a few too many glasses of champagne. Our evening wasn’t exactly what I wish it’d been, but it was nice to sit with her and throw little jabs back and forth, neither of us quite sure where we stood with the other.

I sigh as I get up and walk over to my guest bathroom, not wanting to lose a moment with her. I know her well enough to know she’ll be back at the office bright and early tomorrow morning, which only gives me today with her before she’ll begin to hide behind work.

I smirk when I find Sierra in our kitchen wearing yet another one of my t-shirts, and she looks over her shoulder when I walk in, only to do a double take, her eyes slowly roaming over my bare chest and settling on my gray sweats. “Morning, my darling wife.”

Her eyes shoot up to mine, and she blushes so fiercely that I can’t help but chuckle. “Good morning,” she says, sounding a little breathless. A drop of water runs from my wet hair, over my neck, and down my abs, and she follows its journey with wide eyes. “Your, um… your hair is wet.”

I run a hand through it, loving the way she’s looking at me. I’ve never seen her look at me that way before, and fuck if it isn’t the most thrilling thing I’ve experienced in years. I hum noncommittally as I walk up to her and stand behind her, my fingers brushing over the hem of my t-shirt. “I see you’ve taken a liking to my t-shirts.”

I place my hand on her waist and look over her shoulder at what she’s doing. My sweet wife seems to have assembled all the cheese varieties I bought for her, along with some kind of weird contraption that definitely isn’t mine.

“It’s Raven’s fault,” she says, her tone disgruntled. “She didn’t give me any comfortable clothes at all. Everything she sent over is either highly inappropriate, or it’s workwear.” She turns to face me, her back against the counter and her eyes on mine. “I should’ve asked first, I’m sorry. Is it… um, is it okay for me to wear this?”

I place my hands on either side of her, caging her in. “If I say no, will you wear something inappropriate for me?”

“Xavier,” she warns. My sweet kitten places her hand against my chest, like she often does when I get a little too close to her, but this time, her breath hitches, and she pulls her hand back in a rush.

I chuckle and place her palm back on my chest, before slowly dragging it down to my abs, my fingers between hers. “Touch me all you like,” I tell her, my tone teasing. “You’re my wife, Sierra. I’m all yours.”

“I guess I should stop wearing your t-shirts,” she says, pulling her hand away with a hint of reluctance. “There clearly aren’t enough for us both.”

She turns around to face her cheeses again and I smile to myself as I place my chin on her shoulder. “I certainly won’t object if you take that t-shirt off.”

She gasps, and I chuckle, pleased she hasn’t stepped away or told me to fuck off. It isn’t much, but she’s letting me be near her, and that’s a lot more than she’d have given me just a few days ago.

“What is that, Kitten?” I ask, intrigued. “Is that a fucking guillotine?”

She laughs, and the sound is like music to my ears. “Lex made it for me,” she says, sounding a little giddy about it. “It’s a cheese slicer in the shape of a guillotine.”

“How sharp is it?” I ask, concerned about how close her fingers are getting to it.

“Why don’t you put your hand in it, and you’ll find out.”

I reach for the device and Sierra instantly grabs my hand, bringing it to her chest as she turns back around to face me. “Are you insane?” she snaps. “What the hell, Xavier? That’s a blade.”

I cup her face, noting the way she’s trembling. “Be careful what you ask for, Kitten. There isn’t much I won’t do for you.”

She looks into my eyes like she’s only just realizing how completely fucking unhinged I can be. Sierra thinks she’s seen the worst of me, but she has no fucking idea who I was when I was younger, what I’ve done. She thinks she knows me well, but it seems she’s forgotten that the city we live in was named after us because we founded and ran it with an iron fist. Zach might be the mayor now, but we’ve always run this town, and it wasn’t always through legitimate means.

“Don’t ever get hurt on my behalf,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Then I suggest you handle me with care, Mrs. Kingston.”