15. Dani
15
DANI
FOOLISH HEART HEED MY WARNING
A dd more setting details that match Dani's mood. Xeno should notice that's she distracted, give more hints to what she notices about him.
I’m questioning the dichotomy of Xeno Voss. Is the man who won my heart, my protector or betrayer? Can he be both?
The real question is, do I want to know? The New Orleans-style feast before me should be a comfort. Steam rises from the perfectly seasoned dish, carrying the scent of home that now feels like another betrayal. Each bite of crawfish étouffée sits heavy on my tongue, tainted by the sour taste of suspicion. Xeno's earlier confrontation with Rhys plays on repeat in my mind, but it's the fragments of overheard conversation with his brother that truly curdle my appetite.
"You okay, Chocolate?” Xeno's voice cuts through my brooding. The crystal waterfall chandelier above cast shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp angles that once made my heart race but now seem to hide darker intentions. His dark eyes, usually a source of warmth, now feel like they're hiding secrets in their depths. "You've barely touched your food."
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights flicker like dying stars, matching my fading trust. A police siren wails in the distance—a fitting soundtrack to my unraveling world. I force a smile, hating how easily it comes. "Just savoring it. It's been a while since I've had a taste of home."
My parents’ faces and that of my sister Fleur flash in my mind. He reaches across the table, a new addition he purchased for my place, his large hand engulfing mine. The touch that once set my skin ablaze now leaves me cold. His calluses catch against my skin—hands that have killed, hands that have protected me, hands that might now be orchestrating my downfall
“That shit this morning. With Rhys. I know I overstepped."
You have no idea. That’s forgotten, I’m remembering the heated exchange between the brothers. She understands how the game is played. I know how to handle Dani. Xeno’s words swirl in my head, a toxic cocktail of betrayal.
"I get it,” I do, squeezing his hand. “You’re looking out for me, right?”
“Always, ma cherie,” His smile is genuine, relieved. It makes what I have to do even harder. A drop of condensation slides down the old-fashioned glass, the Sazerac inside, a New Orleans iconic among cocktails untouched since we sat down—he's on edge too, though he hides it well. He lifts my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Come, I’ve been dying to fuck you all day.”
Our bodies come together with a desperate intensity. Xeno lavishes his attention on my breasts, sucking my nipples deep into his mouth. Pulling a moan of pleasure from me. His tongue is a weapon that he uses to lick a wet trail from my aching mounds, my quivering belly, to my throbbing pussy. He slides his wicked tongue between my folds. Working until my clit is between his teeth and I’m on the verge of orgasm. I curse when he withdraws.
“X,” I protest.
“I got you, Dani.” Not for much longer. He doesn’t know that. I won’t allow him that power. He flips me over onto my stomach and then slams into my pussy, riding me at a relentless pace. Fuck, I can’t get enough of you. Want you always.”
Words can’t fix what’s broken. When he grips my waist, pulling me down on all fours. I drop my head, pushing my ass in the air. My sensitive nipples brush against the soft sheets. It heightens my pleasure. He wants my ass. Truth is, I love the feel of him pushing past my resistant ring. I clap my ass cheeks, inviting him to take me here.
“Dani, don’t fucking play with me,” he growls. “I swear on my life if you let me in your ass, you ain’t never getting rid of me.”
I regard him over my shoulder. “I never play when it comes to you.”
He slides a hand up my back as he presses his cum-covered cock against the puckered hole. The burn seizes me at first. Xeno lovingly strokes my skin, and I will my body to surrender. There’s pain. The stretch of his thick cock advancing deeper into my hole, gives me what I want. A different of pain, one I can bear, unlike the breaking of the organ fighting to beat in my chest. I whimper when he begins to fuck in earnest, plunging in and out, pushing in my achy hole, each powerful thrust increasing the delicious friction.
“I love you, Dani,” he grunts. Our bodies are in sync as he dominates me, pulling my hips back onto his cock. Pain gives way to pleasure. I take it. Take this offering. Take his body, his words, his love because in this bed, he is mine.
“I know,” I pant.
Every touch, every kiss feels like a goodbye. I memorize the weight and feel of his hands, the strength in his arms, knowing this is the last time I'll allow myself this vulnerability. His balls slap my nether lips, and my pussy clenches in need. Our pleasure climbs, our cries of ecstasy echo. Xeno’s thrust grow more punishing, more animalistic. He slams into me. My pussy pulses, faster and faster. I come on a screaming. My ass clenches around his cock. Xeno surges deep in my ass. He jerks, groans. I hear my name falls from his lips as he pumps his hot cum down in my pulsing hole. Buried inside me, Xeno showers my back with kisses, my asshole is still milking his cock.
As we lay tangled in the aftermath, sweat cooling on our skin, the question that's been burning inside me finally escapes.
"People like us don't get to be happy, do they Voss?”
He shifts, propping himself up on one elbow to look at me. "What does that even mean? Life is what you can take—take the pain, the suffering, the fucking disappointments," he murmurs. "That shit comes even if you get straight A's. So whatever. Take happiness and love when you can."
His words make sense, but all I can think of is how easily he took my trust, my body. "Is that what we're doing—taking from each other?" I ask, knowing that once he's done, I'll have nothing left to give.
He chuckles, the sound vibrating through his chest where I rest my head. "We're alive, Chocolate."
"Even if we're dying inside?" The thought of his betrayal feels like a knife, cleaving through flesh and bone, leaving my heart in jagged pieces. What's left is maggot food.
"Everybody dies, Dani. But not everybody lives."
I swallow hard, thinking of all the times I've nearly died—at Oscar's hands, in his bed. How is this any different? “Do you believe in a god? The god of second chances?”
"I'll be your God," he says, and I move to turn away, thinking he's mocking me. But he grabs my chin, lifting it until our eyes meet. "And you'll be mine, Dani."
The intensity in his gaze makes me shiver. It's the look of a man who would burn the world for me. But it's also the look of a man who thinks he knows what's best, consequences be damned.
"And if we die and there's a heaven and hell?"
"Then God will get what he gets—"
"Or," I interrupt, needing to hear him say it. Say something that says, I mattered to him.
"We'll burn in hell... together," he whispers, "because whether it's heaven or hell, it's you and me."
I search his eyes, finding fierce determination and a transparency that makes my resolve waver. He cups the back of my neck, that act of domination as familiar and comforting to me as my own breath. "Are you mine, Dani?”
For a moment, I let myself soften against him, let myself believe in the fantasy of us against the world. "To heaven or hell. My blood, my body, the very beat of my heart, will always be yours."
I surrender to his touch one last time, knowing everything will change in the light of day. Because while my body may still respond to him, my mind is already fortifying its defenses. Come morning, I'll be on guard, nothing more. The woman who melted under his touch, who dared to dream of happiness, will be locked away.
As Xeno's breathing evens out in sleep, I stare at the ceiling, my mind racing about what I have to do.
“House,” I call into the night.
“Yes, Dani.”
Swallowing back my pain and shame as having fallen for the wrong man again, I exhale. “Revoke Tier 3 access of Voss, Xeno. Reassign as a guest.”
“Private quarters, training access revoked. Please confirm transfer to guest status.”
I've survived Oscar's brutality and countless assignments where death brushed too close. I've built myself into a weapon, someone who could protect others when no one protected me. “Confirmed.”
I won't let Xeno's betrayal—no matter how well-intentioned—undo all of that.
Tomorrow, I'll unravel whatever web of lies and "protection" he's woven around me. And I'll do my job, keeping him alive even as I kill whatever this thing between us was becoming.
Because people like us don't get happy endings. We just survive, taking what scraps of life we can, and learn not to expect more.
As I finally drift towards sleep, a single tear escapes, trailing down my cheek. In the morning, I'll blame my tears on the hole in my chest, not the one in my heart. But for now, in the dark, I let myself mourn what could have been—if only love were enough to heal our broken pieces.