Chapter 27

“Come on,” Xavier says as soon as we’ve finished the cheese toasties I made for us. “Let me show you around. You’ll be living here, after all.”

I bite down on my lip in an attempt to keep from telling him that I know this place far better than he could possibly imagine. I’ve broken in countless times to wreak havoc, and each time I did, I lingered a little longer than I should have, trying my best to learn more about him.

“Let’s start here,” he says as he leads me to his home office. “Not that you really need an introduction to this specific room,” he says, throwing me a knowing look.

I blush and try to look as innocent as possible, and he grins at me as he grabs my hand and leads me to his desk. He presses my thumb against a near-invisible scanner at the edge of his desk, and the top drawer that I’ve never been able to get into springs open. I gasp in surprise, my curiosity nearly getting the best of me. I’ve always wanted to know what he hides in there, since there aren’t many hidden spots in his home.

“Everything I own is yours now too,” he says, his voice soft. “Nothing is off-limits to you anymore.”

Xavier lets go of my hand and reaches for the documents inside, his movements a little hesitant as he spreads them on his desk. “Your new passport, driver’s license, and bank cards,” he says, his expression unreadable. “That black card there is a duplicate of my own credit card, and it has no limit.” I part my lips to object, and he grins. “I’m well aware that you don’t need my money, but I still want you to have access to it. Perhaps it sounds strange to you, but I always imagined my wife buying whatever she wants with my card.”

I reach for the card, my heart skipping a beat when I realize it says Sierra Kingston. It suddenly feels so real, so official, and I can’t help but feel a little conflicted. “But you never imagined your wife to be me. You should save these kinds of things for the woman you’ll eventually marry, after me. That way, it’ll still be special.”

The thought of him with someone else fills me with unexplained rage, and I try my best to school my features as I place the card back down on his desk. Xavier searches my face, his eyes twinkling with something I can’t quite read. “Didn’t I?”

“What?” I ask, confused.

He just shakes his head and smiles cryptically as he reaches for my hand and pulls me along. Xavier shows me his gym, the guest bedrooms, his pool and spa, the media room, and the gardens, but all the while, I can’t really focus on anything but the fact that he’s entwined our fingers, and he hasn’t let go once. I should probably object, but oddly enough, I don’t want to. His hand feels huge against mine, but in some kind of strange way, it’s reassuring too.

“Let me show you my favorite room,” he says, side-eyeing me as we walk toward his garage. “Though I’m well aware you’re very well acquainted with it.”

My eyes widen innocently and I wisely keep my retorts to myself, earning me a husky chuckle. “I’d tell you where to find all the keys,” he says as he reaches for the cupboard that holds all his keys, his eyes narrowed. “But you already know where they are.”

He lets go of my hand and reaches for one specific key that seems to be shaped like a cat, and I frown when he hands it over. “This is yours,” he says, before grabbing my free hand and pulling me to the bespoke matte black supercar on the round platform — the one that nearly got me caught last time. Xavier tips his head toward the new numberplate on it, and I stare at it wide-eyed. MRS. KINGSTON, it reads. “Lexington made it for you. It doesn’t have the Windsor Motors branding on it because it’s meant to truly be a one-of-a-kind car, so instead, it has an entwined S and K as its logo. It’s armored and bulletproof.”

I frown in confusion, mentally doing the math. Our engagement was announced two months ago, but I know my brother and his work better than most, and it would’ve taken him at least a year to build this kind of car. I suppose it’s not impossible for him to have done it quicker if he prioritized it above all his other work, but still. It doesn’t really add up.

“I can’t drive that,” I murmur, my face blazing hot. “The media would lose its mind.”

Xavier looks at the numberplate and sighs. “Someday,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “Come on, there are two more rooms I have to show you.”

I frown in surprise, certain this is all of it. I’ve spent many hours sneaking through his house throughout the years, and I know for a fact that there aren’t any more rooms. Xavier turns and heads toward the exit, and I instinctively grab his hand. He looks down in surprise, and I quickly pull my hand out of his again, realizing what I just did. The way he smiles as he grabs my hand and holds on tightly makes my heart skip a beat, and I look away, unable to face him.

“I think you’ll like this, though not as much as you’ll like the last room,” he says as he leads me back toward our dressing room.

I gasp when he pushes against one of the panels against the wall, and it slides open, revealing a walk-in vault similar to my own. “No wonder you were able to find mine,” I grumble, and he chuckles as his hand wraps around my shoulder, and I try my best not to notice how delicious he smells, and how incredible his abs look up close. I secretly touched them this morning, and it was almost like I was in some kind of trance. I didn’t even fully realize what I was doing until he groaned, and I’ve been wanting to touch him again ever since, certain that I imagined how his body felt.

“Here we go,” he says, pausing in front of countless jewelry sets that have been put on display beautifully. “I promised I’d return this to you when I got what I wanted.”

I step closer, my fingers trailing over the heirloom piece my grandmother gave me, before I take a moment to really take in everything else. All the pieces he gifted me are here, right along with everything he stole. “You commissioned those pieces from Laurier long before we got engaged,” I begin to say, unable to comprehend his thought process. “Why?”

He simply shrugs. “You like Laurier jewelry, and I wanted you to wear something that you’d love, but that’d make you think of me. Nothing else I did seemed to get to you, so I thought this might.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “So you were trying to ruin my favorite jewelry brand for me.”

He barks out a laugh and runs a hand through his hair, not realizing how incredibly sexy he looks when he does that, his entire torso on display, his sweats hanging low on his hips.

I glance back at the jewelry on display as he tips his head toward the end of the room. He supposedly commissioned ten pieces, but he only gave me eight. Who were the other two for? His mother perhaps, or Valeria? I know my wedding ring was made by Laurier too, but he couldn’t have ordered it back then, since we weren’t engaged yet.

“I think this might become your favorite room,” he says, his tone teasing. “It’s at the back of the house, so it’s not exactly super hidden, but it isn’t accessible any other way.”

I raise a brow when he grabs my hand and presses my palm against the wall at the back, and it slides open. Xavier pulls me through, and I gasp in disbelief when I find myself standing in the most gorgeous library I’ve ever seen. It’s got two floors, a gorgeous spiral staircase, and more books than I can count. I’m in a daze as I gently touch the spines of some of the books, my surprise mounting when I realize that at least some of them are romance books — and not just any, but special or first editions of most of my favorites.

“How do you have these?” I ask, turning around to face Xavier, not realizing how close he’s standing.

“I’ve read them,” he says, leaning in and resting his forearm against the shelf, right next to my head. My heart begins to race as I lean back against the shelf and look into his eyes. “They were very informative.”

“W-were they?” I stammer.

“Yeah,” he replies, cupping my face, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip.

I reach for him, fully intending to push him away, but somehow, my hand ends up wrapped around the back of his neck, my eyes on his lips. “What did you learn from them?” I ask, my voice tinged with desire.

Xavier leans in and tilts his head, his mouth inches from mine. “This.” His lips come crashing against mine, and I groan when he pushes me flush against the bookcase, my hand threading into his hair. This kiss is different to all the ones before it — it’s filled with unbridled desperation that I meet beat for beat.

“I can’t believe you’re mine,” he murmurs before nipping at my bottom lip, only to run his tongue over the seam of my lips in a silent demand to open up for him. Xavier deepens our kiss, his hands roaming over my body hungrily as he grabs my hips and lifts me up, my legs instantly wrapping around him. I moan against his mouth when I feel how hard he is, and he rolls his hips, his hands slipping underneath the t-shirt I’m wearing.

“Wait,” I whisper, pulling back when I feel his hands wrap underneath my breasts, his thumbs caressing the underside of it. “Stop.” I’m breathing hard, my thoughts a mess.

Xavier carefully lowers me to the floor, his gaze roaming over my face. His hand trembles as he carefully pushes my hair out of my face, and I look into his eyes, feeling more conflicted than ever. I thought I knew what I was getting into when I married him — I was convinced I knew him better than anyone else… but this version of Xavier is one I don’t recognize.