Bachelor Unleashed - Brenda Jackson [67]
She considered the possibility for a second and knew it was true. What other man would have taken the time to deliberately take their affair out of the bedroom? And each and every time she’d gone out on a date with him, she had enjoyed it immensely. He’d been adept at balancing the physical part of their relationship with the emotional.
And she knew, believed in her heart, that he was nothing like Dustin. Xavier could be trusted. He would never deliberately hurt her, use her or abuse what they had together. He would only love her.
Tears sprang into her eyes, and she wiped them away as she eased off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. He was so right. He wasn’t Dustin, and her ex couldn’t compare to Xavier in any way.
He was right about something else, too. She did love him, and it was about time she showed him how much.
A spray of water poured over Xavier’s body as he stood underneath the showerhead. A part of him always regretted washing away Farrah’s scent; he much preferred to wear it all day.
He hoped he’d given her something to think about, although that was not how he’d wanted to blurt out that he loved her. He’d pretty much envisioned a romantic candlelit dinner on Christmas night where he would pour his heart and soul out to her before asking her to marry him. But at least now she knew how he felt, and the way she’d gotten in a tiff about Marti’s business card had sent hopeful chills up his spine.
If she thought for one minute he was going to let her end things between them again, she had another thought coming. He was in for the long haul, and the sooner she admitted to herself that she loved him, the better it would be for the both of them. Then they could get on with their lives. Together.
He reached up to turn off the water when the shower door opened and she stood there. Naked. Beautiful. He leaned against the tile wall. His heart began doing jumping jacks in his chest when she stepped into the shower stall with him. “I didn’t know you planned to take a shower with me,” he said throatily, feeling every word torn deep in his lungs.
Instead of saying anything, she grabbed the soap and lathered her hands and then reached for his chest. He grabbed her hands to stop her. Whenever they showered together, she always lathered him all over. She was acting as if nothing had changed between them. But things had, and it was time for her to acknowledge that fact.
He held her hands tightly in his and met her gaze. “Tell me, Farrah. Don’t show me anymore. Whether you wanted to or not, you’ve been showing me each and every time we made love. Now I want you to tell me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
He rubbed a finger gently across her cheek. “Yes, you can, baby. You’re not the only one who’s ever been hurt by love.”
Her mouth pressed into a thin line, and for a minute he thought that maybe he had pushed her too far, had asked too much of her. But then she took a step toward him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck while water sprayed down on them both. He reached behind him and turned off the water and turned back to her. “Tell me.”
She inhaled deeply and met his gaze. “I love you, Xavier,” she then said softly. “I’ve loved you for a long time. I’ve been too scared to admit it to myself. I tried denying it by sending you away. And then when I ran into you in New York, I convinced myself that a holiday fling was all I wanted. But I know now that would not have been the case. I will always love you and I want you.”
He lowered his mouth to hers at the same time his hands spread across her backside to bring her closer to him. He fully understood what she’d been going through. It had taken him a while to recover from Dionne, so he knew why she’d been hesitant to give her love freely again. But each and every day he would show her, tell her, prove to her just how much she was loved, wanted and cherished.
He continued to take her mouth in agonizing pleasure, tasting her as their tongues tangled, mated in a