Chapter 25
Penelope
Before Xander could pull me into another tryst on a poker table with a party going on just fifty feet away, I excused myself
and tried to regain some composure in the bathroom.
After fifteen minutes of staring in the mirror and running through every possible repercussion in my head, I was no closer
to figuring out what exactly I was feeling. It was a mix of a thousand emotions ranging from concerned to downright giddy.
The sconces’ dim light cast shadows along the corners of the hallway as I walked down it slowly, twisting my fingers with
excitement and nerves, knowing I was going to stand beside Xander and act as though all of that didn’t just happen.
“You disappeared, are you alright?” Olivia’s voice pierced through the constant replays of his touch and heavy breaths baiting
me to an unbelievable orgasm.
“What?” I shook away the mental image. My entire body was still buzzing from what happened.
“Well, I just ran into your husband, who, by the way, is making polite conversation with Aunt Agnes.” Her brows rose with
a humor-filled look. “So give that man a medal.”
I let out a short breath. Xander was making friends, the least shocking thing to happen all night.
“I told him you and Bella had a tiff and I couldn’t find you. He said you’d gone to freshen up.” She put her hands on mine. “Are you alright?”
The last couple of hours settled in my mind, after Xander wiped it clear. Despite how it went, at least Bella and I spoke.
It would take time to mend things, but I was hopeful maybe we could. She could have walked away and ignored me, but she didn’t.
I wanted to clear things up with my sister, but the tension was something I probably shouldn’t inflame tonight, and I was
sure she’d left.
“Oh.” I blinked a few times. “Everything’s fine. Xander and I played a hand of poker.”
“Played a hand of poker?” Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “Is that code for something?”
More than anything, I wanted to finish what Xander started. If there was one thing arguing with Arabella had taught me, it
was to not wait to do something you should have done long ago.
I spent my entire life sacrificing adventures in the name of stability. Trading in spontaneity for sensibility. I deserved
a chance to be a little reckless, too. And with Xander I didn’t fear rejection in asking for what I wanted. My desires felt
safe with him.
I felt safe with him.
“Well...” I turned my ring and in the periphery over Olivia’s shoulder, I saw Xander. His eyes met mine.
His brows raised with delight, like he’d been searching for me. Stuck in polite conversation with my eccentric aunt Agnes,
his jaw shifted slightly as his heavy stare bore down on me.
A controlled burn moved along my skin until my entire body warmed under the heat of his gaze. I was mildly overwhelmed with
everything I was feeling and ached to feel one thing.
Him.
The images my mind created of him doing all of that again settled like metal at the bottom of my stomach.
Olivia turned when the staring became unreasonably noticeable.
Xander blinked away the look, his mouth raised at the corners, and he looked back to Aunt Agnes, still very much in the middle
of what was surely a long-winded story.
“Oh.” Olivia barely kept the laugh in as she turned back to me with a knowing smirk. “Well, I hope you won that hand of poker .”
I most certainty did.
“I...” I stammered.
“Well, I can’t blame you.” Olivia linked her arm in mine. “Come on, let’s save him before Aunt Agnes bores him to death.”
***
Xander
During a short, bizarre conversation with Agnes Chen about beekeeping, Penelope found a lull in the discussion to politely
pull me away.
She took my hand and led me to the same terrace I’d found her on earlier. “Poppy?”
My heart rate ticked up as I involuntarily thought about the last time she’d pulled me into a secluded area.
She turned to me, leaning against the stone balustrade. Her lips pressed together, keeping tight hold of a smile. “I wanted
some air.”
Her fingers laced in mine.
“Are you okay?” I pulled her a little closer. Looking up at me, her onyx irises glinted in the moonlight. Her hair picked
up and gently swayed along the warm breeze. “Olivia told me you argued with your sister.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders fell slightly. “Nothing unexpected, I’m afraid. But I’m fine.”
Everything felt up in the air. I wondered if she was okay after what Olivia told me about her argument with her half sister.
Maybe she had been feeling vulnerable and I’d crossed a line. But the look in her eye, her ease around me, made me think the
opposite.
“I’m sorry,” I began. “I shouldn’t have...”
Let jealousy get me so worked up that I finger-fucked her on a poker table.
“Gotten insanely jealous?” she finished for me, crimson ran across her cheeks and she pulled me a little closer.
“Poppy...” I leaned my head against hers, my hands ran along her hips. I had to remind myself that we were steps away from
lots of people she happened to know since childhood.
“I’m not sorry,” she said. A brief, wavering look passed over her before a more assured one came through. “About that .”
The electricity in the air spread until I could feel flickers through every muscle. “No?”
She shook her head; her unbroken stare was a siren song drawing me closer. I leaned in, feeling her warm breath glide against
my skin.
A tiny moan escaped her parted lips.
Fuck.
Just as I thought of all the ways I planned to elicit that sound over and over again tonight, a reminder passed through my
mind. “I should call the concierge. For a few things.”
The only protection I’d packed was sunscreen. I should have taken care of all of that while she was out today, but I was too
busy trying to figure out what the hell was going on between us.
She shook her head and yanked me closer.
“There’s no need.” She ran her teeth over her full lower lip. “I’m on the pill and I haven’t been with anyone in some time.”
I pressed my lips against hers for a second, not wanting to know any more than that. Electricity shot down my spine.
I knew I should have been a little more restrained because her delicate hands were dangerous. And there was safety in never
knowing what she felt like, what she tasted like, fuck, what she sounded like. You couldn’t miss what you never had and up
until tonight, in any sense, I’d never had Penelope. Now that I’d let it get that far, I couldn’t stop. However she wanted this to go, it would go—I could deal with
the aftermath later.
“You know I would never put you in any sort of risk, right?” I whispered on her lips. My fingers ran along her bare back.
“I know.” She let out a short, shuddering breath. I could feel the goose bumps prickle along her skin. “But we should stay
a little while longer.”
I nodded. “It would be rude to leave early.”
I tried to pull away from her, but fuck, I couldn’t. She kept her hands, pulled into fists, around my shirt. An hour or five
minutes could have passed. I had no idea. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be even an inch further from her than I was
now.
“My God, don’t make me get the hose.” Olivia’s voice interrupted, clearing the fog. “The party is in here.”
I cleared my throat and lifted my head to acknowledge Olivia. She gave us an expectant look and walked back inside.
“Come on, now.” Penelope laid a hand on my chest but did nothing to push me away. “I’m sure Aunt Agnes misses your company.”