Chapter 28
Thursday morning, Xavier stood next to the bed and stared down at a sleepy Justine.
Something had to give.
All this pretend nonsense had turned into something real he wanted more than anything. So much so that he’d dropped everything last night just to help out his “friend” with an ex. And she hadn’t really needed the help. Katie had thought his presence might make Justine feel better.
So of course he’d gone.
It struck him that he’d do pretty much anything for her. And no, he hadn’t liked that dickass Dr. Douche, as Katie had called him, being anywhere near Justine.
Jealousy, affection, lust, care, worry—he had it all for the adorable woman currently drooling on her pillow.
“Justine? Time to get up.”
She moaned and rolled over.
He turned off her phone alarm. He’d been up since six, unable to help his healthy habit of being early to rise and getting a ton done before most people went to work. “Up and at ‘em, killer.”
She mumbled what sounded a lot like, “Fuck off.” Which added yet another dimension to the usually soft-spoken woman.
“Excuse me?” he asked in a deep, authoritative voice to screw with her.
She turned and screeched when she saw him. “Xavier?”
“You were expecting Mitch, maybe?”
“Oh, my head.” She sat up and clutched her temples, her hair mussed, her shirt rumpled, yet she still looked gorgeous.
He handed her a pain reliever and apple juice, anticipating her troubles. “Take it. I got the pill from your medicine cabinet.”
“Oh, man. I love you for this.” She swallowed the pill and closed her eyes as she downed her juice, fortunately not seeing what those three little words had done to his state of mind as she left the bed.
Secretly freaking out because he had a bad feeling he’d fallen in love with her for real, he took a moment to bury his panic before following her into the kitchen, where he had coffee brewing.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, okay?”
He nodded, watching her over the brim of his coffee cup. “You remember everything from last night?”
“Most of it, I think.” She finished off her juice and placed the cup in the sink. “I can’t thank you enough for helping us. You didn’t have to come.”
“I wanted to.”
She gave him a sincere smile that gave him all the feels. “Thank you.”
What would Aunt Truth say about that? Something about Cupid hitting him right where it counted.
He cleared his mind, or at least, he tried. “Oh, Justine. If you only realized I’d move mountains for you.” He winked to show he was—mostly—teasing. “That’s not just fake boyfriend sentiment. We’re real friends, in case you didn’t realize.”
“I know. More than friends, though, huh?” She looked him over. “You spent the whole night with me.”
“I did. You have a nice bed.”
“Very funny.”
He leaned back against the counter. “What? It’s true.”
“I…” She groaned. “I’m going to go get clean and get myself together. Then we need to talk.”
“Whatever.” We need to talk. The four words a man rarely wanted to hear from the woman he’d fallen in love with. Jesus, I’m in love. Hadn’t expected that to happen.
The shower turned on, but he didn’t make much of it over the thread of panic weaving through him. Xavier was supposed to be recuperating from his breakup with Christine. Taking time to mentally heal from all the stresses in his life, both professional and personal.
He also knew Justine had no intention of dating.
Hell, they were just friends who’d had sex.
He was her fake boyfriend—emphasis on the fake.
The smart thing would be to stay away from her and put a respectable distance between them.
To help her out with the wedding then back off and return to his regular life.
Work, the gym, his family, maybe find a woman to date once he felt whole again.
The problem was he felt whole when with Justine, and he didn’t know what to do about it.
“Xavier,” she called, sounding anxious.
He raced to the bathroom and knocked. “You okay in there?”
“I need help.”
He pushed through the door and saw her form blurred behind the shower curtain. Knowing she was naked turned him inside out. He cleared his throat and told himself to behave. “Justine?”
She ripped the curtain back and yanked him by the arm into the shower, a lot stronger than she looked.
“Oh, no. You’re getting all wet.” She had him naked and plastered to the tiled wall in seconds.
“Justine?” Confused and in lust, he tried waking himself from a scenario straight out of his X-rated fantasies.
“I just wanted to thank you for being such a sweetheart.” She moved closer and kissed him, and he tasted minty toothpaste.
A fact that had him seeing stars when she went to her knees and took him in her mouth.
The pressure of her lips was heavenly in addition to the tingle from the mint, but thank God not overpowering.
“Oh, fuck.”
She grinned around his cock and started blowing him, the suction drawing him deeper while he tried not to ram down her throat.
“Justine, oh, yeah. Baby, you don’t have to…” He couldn’t think as she cupped his balls and deep-throated him. When the hell had she learned that? But when he neared his end, he grabbed her by the shoulders and edged her back. “Get up.”
She licked her lips and smiled at him, a woman sure of her power. “Like it?”
“Love it.” He kissed her, changing positions as he lifted her in his arms and set her back to the tiled wall, wrapping her legs around his waist. He leaned close to suck her nipples, gratified by her moans for more.
When he stopped, she kissed him and ground against his dick, which nearly slipped inside her a few times.
“In me,” she insisted.
He nearly pushed inside her then froze. “I don’t have a condom handy.”
“We don’t need one.” She kissed him again. “I’m on birth control and safe. And you are too, right?”
“God, yes.”
She didn’t let him wait and shifted, taking matters into her own hands. He slid up into her, bombarded with pleasure as he seated himself balls-deep.
“Oh, Xavier.” She kissed him and angled her pelvis to grind against his.
The angle left no space between them, and he let himself go, pumping inside her while they kissed, rubbing against her clit while she cried out and humped him even harder.
“Xavier, yes, I’m coming,” she moaned and clamped down on him.
He was lost, pouring into her before he could blink, the orgasm all-consuming.
The water continued to pour over them, but Xavier couldn’t process more than the feeling of her warmth surrounding him while he filled her.
“You feel so good in me,” she whispered and stroked his wet hair. “I’m sorry I took advantage of you. Last night and today.”
“No, I’m good. It’s all good,” he managed as he got his breath back. “Technically, Katie texted me last night, not you.”
“I feel like a helpless idiot around you sometimes.”
He stared at her in shock. “Justine, I can barely remember my own name right now. I’m the idiot.
” He wiggled his hips and pumped once more, the feel of her incredible.
“Or not, because I came so hard inside you.” He kissed her, unable to help himself.
“I know I should let you get ready for work, but if you give me a little time, I can go again.”
“How much time?”
It didn’t take him long to get ready for more of Justine. When they managed to leave the shower, the water had turned lukewarm but not yet cold.
“Want something to eat?” he asked a few minutes later, leaning against the doorjamb of the bathroom. He wore a towel around his waist, his clothes in the drier.
“Oatmeal?” She’d dressed and was applying her makeup.
“Coming up.” He left for the kitchen to scrounge, in a fine mood, and made her a bowl.
She soon joined him in the kitchen. “You’re not eating?”
“I’m meeting Auggie for breakfast later.” He frowned. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s been avoiding me.” When he saw her concern, he waved it away. “That’s typical Auggie, being dramatic. Are you going to be okay today?”
“I guess the cure to a hangover is an ibuprofen and two orgasms. Oh, and oatmeal.” She winked.
He laughed. “Good to know I’m useful and not just a pretty face.”
Justine flushed. “I said a lot of nonsense last night. I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself.”
“Not at all. You’re cute when you’re drunk. But Katie… Not a great singer after a few beers. The acoustics in the car didn’t help.”
She laughed. “Oh boy. We really do owe you.”
He let her eat before asking, “I have one question for you. What was all that about Mitch coming to the wedding? Your sister’s wedding?”
She grimaced. “I thought I’d dreamed that. Ugh. Seems Mitch is coming with Mikayla, who was invited. So not only do you have to be my date, you might have to deal with my ex as well.” She eyed him with hesitation. “It’s not too late to back out.”
“No way. I’m in.” He paused. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t go?”
She brightened. “Heck no. I want you right there with me. Fake boyfriend or not, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.” She blushed. “I, uh… I just meant, um. No pressure or anything.”
Justine sounded as unsure about them as he was, and for some odd reason that made him feel better.
“Well, girlfriend, then I’d suggest we make a game plan.
Let’s get our stories straight and have the best damn time we can at your sister’s wedding.
And hey, if we’re lucky, everything will go smoothly.
Right? I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? ”