Chapter 2 Xaden #18
“Tolerance is enough. Love is a bonus. You two got the bonus.” She glares at Xaden and me and goes to sit on the nearest bench, expression still unsmiling, as if she’s said all there is to say.
XADEN
Cole approaches me in the kitchen, brow furrowed, curls everywhere. I pull him into a kiss. “You didn’t have to buy him Legos,” he says, breathless, after we pull away. He’s holding up a receipt like it’s Exhibit A. “That’s a lot of money.”
“It was a starter set,” I protest. “And his face lit up like Christmas morning. Worth it.”
Cole sighs, but there’s no real heat in it. “You can’t just keep throwing money at him. He’s already spoiled enough.”
“I’ve been saving for years,” I say, quieter now. “Didn’t exactly have time to spend it undercover. It’s yours if you want it. Both of you.”
His expression softens. “I know. And my money is yours.” He drums his fingers on the kitchen counter. “Have you thought about the Sheriff’s post?”
“Yeah, I already told Keller I’m going for it.”
Cole tilts his head, studying me. “You’d look good in the hat,” he mutters, blushing.
“Maybe I'll have to arrest you every once in a while.” He scowls, but I can see the idea appeals to him. It certainly appeals to me.
“I’ve been writing songs again,” he admits, looking so shy and nervous that I just have to pull him in for another kiss. “Not sure if they’re any good,” — he presses against me, making me groan against his lips — “but it feels good to write,” he finishes.
“They’re good,” I say, kissing his neck. He sighs happily, his breath warm against my skin, and heat rushes through me, filling me with anticipation.
That’s when we hear the crunch of tires in the drive. His parents are pulling to the driveway.
Noah barrels into the yard. Following the days after the arrest, I’ve learned that Noah has the tenacity of a terrier and the energy levels of a small power house.
He’s also incredibly cute and — thanks to Elaine Hudson, I guess — very strict about manners.
I accidentally cursed once in his presence, and in seconds, Noah was next to me, demanding an explanation.
“Sleepover!” he shouts, making sure all the neighbors are aware of his plans, too. He’s wearing a backpack he insisted on packing himself. It contains three socks, a flashlight and his T-Rex figure. Cole emerges from the house carrying the actual overnight bag.
Elaine’s smile is softer than I’ve ever seen it when she looks at us. Suddenly she folds me into a hug before I can decide if I’m ready for it. “Believe it or not, I’ve always liked you,” she says. It’s nice even though I’m still more on the not believing side.
Andrew lingers a step back, hands in his pockets, and clears his throat.
His jaw tightens, like the words scrape on their way out.
“Xaden,” he says. “I owe you an apology. For the things I allowed to stand. For not telling the truth when it mattered.” He forces himself to meet my eyes.
“I’m proud of what you did. I’m ashamed of what I didn’t. ”
There’s a silence that doesn’t feel empty. I nod once. “Thank you.”
Noah tugs Elaine’s hand. “Can I bring Dinosaur the Dog?”
“Oh, sweetie, couldn’t it stay behind?” Elaine asks. “You have your T-Rex, right?”
“I need them both,” Noah pouts.
“You don’t need them both,” Cole says, but that only gets Noah to take a deep breath, ready to inform us very loudly that yes, he does.
I ask: “Noah, can I ask you a favor?” He nods, both doubtful and curious.
“I’m a bit nervous about my own sleepover. Is there any way you could leave Dinosaur the Dog here with me?” Noah contemplates my request, brow furrowed. “Would you feed him?”
“Yes.”
“Roar good night to him?”
“Absolutely.”
“Tell him I come back tomorrow?”
“I promise.”
“Okay,” Noah decides, magnanimously. “But only because I like you.”
“That’s good. Because I like you too.” Beaming, Noah dashes to hug my knees, then he’s already running towards the car. “I can buckle myself in!” he yells from the backseat, again informing half the neighborhood.
At the curb, Elaine turns back. “We’ll text when he’s down,” she promises Cole. “By the way,” she lowers her voice conspiratorially, “apparently Willard’s been asking for something to read. Dorothy sent him Crime and Punishment.”
Cole and I snort almost in unison. We stand side by side, watching the car until it disappears round the corner.
Then Cole leans into my shoulder. “So,” he says, voice low, ears already pink. “Just the two of us tonight.”
“Aren’t you bold,” I murmur, pulling him closer. “Declaring, even. Should we alert The Baywood Gazette?”
He huffs. I kiss the huff away. Tonight belongs to us.
COLE
We’re in the bedroom. Without clothes. Because we’re going to… yeah.
Never in my life have I felt more wanted, or more safe, or more on the verge of spontaneously combusting from wanting someone so much.
I lick my lips, and Xaden groans. That sound shoots straight through me. I lean forward and brush my lips against his. Just a ghost of a kiss, but it makes him shiver in anticipation. My thumb sweeps gently the almost healed wound on his cheek.
Ann-Sabrina told Xaden that the scar only makes him look hotter. Then she said, “Damn, will I ever learn?” and scribbled something on a notebook titled That Was Inappropriate. Vol. 3. That makes me grin, and Xaden looks at me, half-amused, half-exasperated.
“If you’re laughing, we’re not doing this right,” he says and then he kisses me, deep and certain, his tongue sweeping into my mouth like it owns me. I sigh into him, slipping my tongue against his, and he groans like I’ve just given him the thing he wanted most.
“I was just thinking about Ann-Sabrina,” I mumble when we catch breath, and Xaden huffs. “I kissed you like that and you’re thinking about Ann-Sabrina Fenton?”
I laugh, and he starts kissing me more purposefully and with so much heat I’m soon squirming under him in desperation. Even with all that power, he’s so tender. Strong, yes. In control, yes. But the way he looks at me? It’s vulnerable, like he’s the one asking for something.
I kiss him back with everything I have, making him curse into my mouth.
His voice is rough enough to make me ache all over.
Being with him like this — bare skin against bare skin — makes my brain short-circuit.
Maybe it was smart to wait all those years ago; I don’t think seventeen-year-old me could have handled the hotness of Xaden Bailey like this.
“Xaden,” I moan, after he’s kissed me almost into oblivion, “I want—”
“Yeah?” he asks, lips curling into a sinful little smile. “You can tell me.”
“I… can’t. But you know.” And he does. He kisses my eyelids, my jawline, my neck, even plants one on my nose with a heated mutter about my ‘ridiculous freckles’.
I pull his mouth on mine again, whispering his name, and please, and I want, incoherent with lust.
He pauses, lips at my chest, whispering, “I got you.”
Then he goes lower. Much lower. My whole body goes hot. “Oh, God,” I gasp. He chuckles against my thigh. “You keep saying that.”
“I’ll keep saying it if you don’t—” I break off with a groan, half-laughing. “Xaden, please.”
“Tell me what you want.” His voice is pure teasing devil.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I pant.
“Oh, it’s obvious,” he says, kissing closer, “but I still want to hear it.”
For a second I hesitate. Then I grab his hair and blurt out: “I want your mouth on me. Now.”
The way his pupils blow wide I don’t even care that I sound desperate. He licks my thigh. “My pleasure.”
And then his mouth is exactly where I need it. I don’t even know what I’m babbling next, only that it’s heaven, pure, blissful heaven.
Later, we’re tangled up, skin still buzzing, and he’s stroking my hair like it’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever touched. I blush remembering how those same fingers were in my curls earlier, guiding me when I…
“Did you notice you kept saying you found heaven and it’s my mouth?” he asks suddenly, voice tender and amused. I cover my face with both hands. “I said that out loud?”
“You sure did. You said other things too.”
“Other things?”
“Oh yes.” His smirk is so smug I have to laugh. “Plenty of other things.”
“Oh God.”
“Yep. You said that too.”
I groan and climb on top of him, kissing his neck just because I can. “It’s not like you stayed silent. You were swearing.”
“I bet I was,” he says softly. “You wrecked me. I’m a ruined man because of you, Cole Hudson.”
I smile, still pink but proud too. “You’re getting all swoony again.”
“What can I do? I love you.” His teasing fades into seriousness.
I rest my head on his chest. “I love you too. Even if I’m so awkward.” A beat. Then I mumble: “Xaden? What if you get bored with me—”
Xaden cuts in, firm and rough. “I can’t. Our whole story’s tattooed on my body. You’re permanent, Cole.”
His words make me shiver in the best possible way. I kiss the corner of his mouth and lick his lower lip, making him swear under his breath. “You do have a lot of tattoos,” I say, smug now. “One might think you’re obsessed with me.”
“One would be right.” He kisses me back, lazily at first but when I slide my tongue inside his mouth, he flips me on my back, effortlessly, staring at me with so much heat and love, I can’t help it.
I blush.
This — us — feels like the happiest happy ending of all time.