Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“That’s fine. I can withdraw before the class starts.”
“Sorry, son. I just want to make sure you’re as safe as possible.”
“I get it.” I had paced down the hall but could still feel Xavier looking at me. I glanced over my shoulder. He was. And he didn’t break eye contact. He didn’t appear to be just “guarding” me either. There was a relaxed smile on his chiseled face, his gaze almost drinking me in like he’d been checking me out.
I looked away, that damn blush warming my cheeks again. These fantasies were getting way out of hand.
The aide said something barely audible on my end. “Right, and the good news is that there’ll be the Kind Gala this weekend. Come, you can bring a guest.”
“Does my bodyguard count?”
“Him plus one more,” my father clarified.
“I’ll see if anyone here wants a trip to DC.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I said, hanging up and turning to Xavier. He leaned against the rock formation, arms crossed. The tight black shirt he wore clung to his chest and biceps.
“Looks like we have to make a field trip. Dad wants me back at the White House until he gets things figured out. That okay?”
“Of course it’s okay. I go wherever you go.” He pushed off the wall. Sunlight bathed him, his residual golden scales glittering like jewels. “How are you feeling about all this?”
“Not great. Not great at all.” I looked out at the quiet desert. The Joshua trees, with their oddly shaped branches, now looked like the perfect hiding spots. I focused back on Xavier. But even that was difficult.
When I’d been assigned a bodyguard, I figured that they’d be incredibly attractive. It was in the damn job description. Hot, muscular, slightly damaged, soft center, big dick. I thought I’d be okay with that. Thought I could handle myself around a man like that.
But he scrambled all my thoughts and made me feel butterflies I wasn’t sure I was supposed to be feeling. Maybe it was the near-death moment I’d just escaped from. Adrenaline could do crazy things to a person.
Then again, so could hormones.
“Don’t stress about it, alright?” Xavier put a firm hand on my shoulder.
“Jeez, your hand’s huge.”
Xavier blinked. He was taken aback. Guess he still wasn’t used to my awkward spurts.
“My hands are normal-sized.” Doubt pulled his expression tight, a few wrinkles appearing between his dark black brows. They were as well taken care of as his hair, which was cut short around the sides with loose curls at the top.
“Maybe for a dragon.”
“Here, put your hand out.” He raised his between us.
I mirrored him. His hand eclipsed mine. My fingers were thinner, smaller, his calloused and thicker. Our palms pressed together. I honed in on the heat that passed between us. It matched the heat I’d felt under my paws as I raced across the desert hours earlier, underneath the shadow of his dragon form. There’d been something so incredibly freeing about that moment. I’d found myself thinking I could run until the sun had set and still kept going.
That serenity shattered with the howls and snarls of our assailants.
“I’m not that much bigger than you,” Xavier said. His eyes smoldered. I tried to look away, but it was like he had cast a spell.
“No,” I said. That was a blatant lie, but for some reason, it was the only word that came to form.
I stepped back. Took a breath. Shook it through my shoulders. “Alright, we should get started on packing.”
“Wait,” Xavier said. He gently gripped my elbow. “I really don’t want you getting scared. How are you feeling?”
“That’s cute. I’ve got a bodyguard and a therapist.” I bit my tongue. “Sorry, that had more attitude than I intended. I’m a little thrown, if I’m being honest. Really fucking thrown.” I leaned back against a particularly flat section of the rock formation the hall had been built around. The anxiety I’d been feeling since the attack started to expand, grow, turn malignant. It was a toxic black tar that coated every inch of me.
“It’s fine,” Xavier said. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ve had clients yell at me because I got in the way of their food delivery order. You’re a complete breath of fresh air.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Xavier said. “Also, you should check into updating your Wikipedia page. It makes you sound snobby. I expected the worst.” He gave me an effortless wink. “Instead, I think I got the opposite.”
I ignored the warm blossom of something that grew in my chest. “I can’t believe you looked me up online. I didn’t even realize I had one of those. And yeah, that’s wrong. I can be spoiled, sure, but snobby? Nah. It’s not like I grew up in multiple castles all around California.” I arched a brow and cocked my head at the handsome dragon.