by Nicole René
Xavier gritted his teeth, staring her down silently. His was chest heaving just as much as Leawyn’s with the emotions swarming within him.
Her eyes turned into slits, and she took the single step needed to go chest to chest with him and glared up at him furiously.
“DO IT!” she screamed shrilly, shoving the blade toward him. Taunting him. Challenging him. Pleading with him.
Xavier snapped.
With a savage snarl, he effortlessly swatted the knife away so it clattered to the floor, and pushed Leawyn back against the wall again.
They silently stared at each other, their eyes spitting with rage.
Groaning low in his throat, Xavier dipped his head and captured Leawyn’s lips in a soul-shattering kiss, their breaths rushing out of them as their lips meshed together, and their tongues battled to express everything they were feeling.
Leawyn lost herself in the kiss for a second before she wrenched herself away from him with a cry.
The sharp echo of her slap penetrated the air when her hand met Xavier’s cheek, the force behind it causing his head to tilt to the side.
The room was silent sans their harsh breathing until Leawyn spoke.
“I wish I never was given to you,” she whispered hatefully, her eyes filled with rage-induced tears. “I wish I didn’t have you as a husband, and I wish—” She stopped, her breath hitching as her bottom lip trembled.
“What do you wish?” Xavier gritted out, his eyes boring into her fiery gaze.
“I wish my body didn’t want you the way it does,” she whispered brokenly, her tears making a silent trail down her cheeks.
“My heart will never alight with happiness. I’m stuck. Captured and caged by you. Like a bird with broken wings denied the freedom to soar.” Leawyn hiccupped, blinking against her tears as her face compressed in torment and loss. Xavier’s nostrils flared, and he turned his back to her as she spoke.
“I will never know the touch of a lover who loves me,” she said, a small sob escaping her. “You have ruined that for me, Xavier. You’re ruining me.”
“You’re ruining me!” Xavier bellowed out, whipping around to look at her, neck muscles bulging. A tortured sound ripped out of his throat as he clutched his hair and started to pace.
“I can’t get you out of my head!” he screamed. “You’re all I think about. I can’t concentrate! I can’t be the leader I need to be because all I can think about is you!”
Leawyn flinched at the volume of Xavier’s voice.
He stopped, whirling around, his face red with anger. In seconds, he was in front of her, towering over her. He glared daggers at her, his eyes were like liquid fire.
Slowly, he lowered his head until they were eye-level, his palms smacking the wall above her head again.
“You. Are. Ruining. Me,” he said through tightly clenched teeth.
Leawyn was silent, her eyes spilling over with more tears as she looked at him. This broken, hardened man who didn’t know what it was to love, or be loved. The warrior who conquered everything he set his eyes on—including her.
They were both trapped in each other. The harder they fought, the more explosive they would be. They expressed hate and pain in their touch to hide the fear of themselves. They couldn’t accept they were both broken. How could they grow if they constantly suffocated each other?
It was in that moment Leawyn made a choice. She reached up and grabbed Xavier around the back of his neck, bringing his face down to hers.
“No,” she said, her voice a touch above a whisper. One of her tears caught on his lips when she pulled him closer. “I’m saving you.”
Xavier’s face crumbled and his eyes closed as Leawyn trailed a finger down the long scar that ran from his eyebrow to his cheek.
Then, she crushed his lips to hers.
“Where are we going?” Xavier grunted, trying to ignore his instinctive reaction and jerk his hand from Leawyn’s as she dragged him behind their hut and toward the mass cluster of trees that surrounded their village.
He scanned the trees warily. They shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be letting her drag him here. It wasn’t safe. Though, he mused to himself, nowhere is safe if his instinct was right, and it always was. It’s what kept him alive for this long.
“You’ll never be able to wash all that blood off in our small basin,” Leawyn said, looking over her shoulder at him. Her face pinched in both disgust and fear before she quickly masked it and turned away. “You need to wash in the lake.”
Xavier studied his small wife, taking advantage of the moment, she couldn’t see him. In such a short time, she’d grown; physically and mentally.
Gone was the shy, timid girl who knew nothing about life, from the weakest tribe in Samaria. Tiny and petite, Leawyn no longer dressed in the soft, flowing material of the Rhoxolani, and instead took on the garb of the Izayges women. Dark brown tops that often showcased her stomach, while the dark brown skirt made from deer hide hugged her hips and thighs, the twin slits in the material at mid-thigh offering a peek at the creamy skin of her legs with each stride she made. Seeing Leawyn in the clothing of his people made the possessive beast part of him roar in triumph and desire, but Xavier was surprised at the distant pang in his chest he felt about her forgoing her Rhoxolani dresses. Absentmindedly, he made a note to give her more of his mother’s dresses.
Her hair, though still as bright as the sun’s rays, was longer. The curls draped over her shoulders and back in long, lush waves, which curled a little below her bottom.
And what a nice bottom it is, Xavier thought to himself with a smirk.
Leawyn was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl Samaria was ever blessed with. Between her bright blue eyes, curly hair, and the soft curves that stopped men in their tracks, she was the closest thing to a Goddess that mortals could gaze upon.
It wasn’t her beauty which captivated Xavier, though. It was the look in her eyes.
The moment her sky-blue eyes met his, he could see there was more to this slip of a girl than met the eye. The defiance reflecting in them both irritated and captivated him. Until that point, no one dared to challenge Xavier. They were too afraid of him. They naturally bowed down to him. But with Leawyn...he saw it.
He saw the hidden strength there, deep inside. Nothing about her was weak. It was what captivated him in the first place. But it was the all-consuming love Xavier saw that touched his dark soul. Leawyn loved. She loved selflessly and unconditionally. She was pure good. She was the light of the moon and the stars, guiding him home, and the sun that lit his everlasting darkness.
It was why he was so consumed with her. Why he had to have her, and why he hated her all at once.
He needed her.
“Strip.”
Xavier snapped out of his musing at Leawyn’s voice, and the sound of rushing water penetrated his ears. The fact they were now standing at the foot of a small waterfall both startled and annoyed him. He lost awareness of his surroundings, and that was unacceptable.
“Strip,” she repeated, giving him a pointed look.
Xavier arched his eyebrow at her command. He gave the commands, not her.
Leawyn rolled her eyes, an action that shouldn’t have amused Xavier but did.
“You can’t expect to get clean if you stay in your bloody clothes,” she huffed, annoyed. “You need to bathe; you’re filthy, and you stink.”
This time, both his brows rose at the comment, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“I stink, do I?” Xavier said wryly, enjoying the flush that appeared on Leawyn’s cheeks. “If you want me naked so badly, take off my clothes yourself.”
Leawyn narrowed her eyes at Xavier, seizing him up.
Was he serious?
Yes, she decided when he merely held her gaze in a challenging sort of manner.
He was very serious.
“Fine,” Leawyn growled, reaching for the hem of his tunic. She saw the brief flash of surprise in his eyes right before she
tugged the ruined garment up and over his head, throwing it down uncaringly onto the ground. She unbuckled his belt with deft fingers and, with a swift jerk, pulled it free to meet the same fate as the pants.
She was just reaching for the ties of his breeches when Xavier seized her wrist. Leawyn met his eyes, and seeing the heated look in them, she swallowed.
Oh, Goddess help her.
“You have exactly three seconds to take off your clothes,” Xavier said, his voice thick with arousal.
“Why would I want to do that?”
Leawyn was ashamed to admit her voice was just as breathy and husky as his. Judging by how his eyes heated more, he could tell the effect he was having on her.
“Time is about to be up,” Xavier warned, and her heart skipped a beat when he fisted the ties to her top around her neck with both hands.
She closed her eyes when he bent, his lips trailing small soft kisses starting from her brow and down her cheek until his lips hovered above hers.
“Decide,” Xavier whispered, and Leawyn tilted her head away from him and lifted her eyes.
When he reached out to grab hold of her, she stepped away from him. He paused, his hand hovering in the air. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before, slowly, his hand fell back to his sides. His eyes never left Leawyn’s retreating form as she walked backwards towards the lake. She paused when her feet were just about to touch the water. She kicked off her shoes first, and then her skirt quickly followed. She could see that his breath hitched when she looked him straight in the eye and took off her shirt.
Leawyn tilted her head back to look up at Xavier when he was suddenly standing in front of her. His arm wrapped around her waist and he tugged her to him, his naked arousal pressing against her stomach.
“I’m not doing anything with you until you get yourself clean. You really are disgusting,” she said, eyeing the crusted blood that covered his arms and shoulders. The only clean part of him was where his clothes had covered him. Even then, his wide chest had streaks of red from where the blood seeped through the material.
Xavier’s lips quirked, and his eyes showed his amusement as he looked down at her.
Her nose was scrunched up with disgust, and her hands hovered above his shoulders as if she was unsure if she wanted to rest her palms there.
“If you insist,” Xavier murmured, and before Leawyn could utter a single word, he hefted her up by her waist and tossed her into the lake.
She let out a startled shriek before she submerged into the water with a splash. A few seconds later, she surfaced, sputtering and coughing water out of her mouth. “Xavier!” She cried in irritation, smoothing her wet hair out of her face. “I can’t believe you did that!”
He stared at her for a moment, saying nothing. Then, for the first time since she’d known him, Xavier laughed aloud.
Leawyn stilled, her eyes widening in astonishment at the sound. It wasn’t his usual low, dark I’m-Xavier-and-I’m-scary chuckle. No, this was a full belly laugh that had his shoulders shaking as if the earth were moving.
It was husky, as if his vocal cords weren’t used to the strain, and deep, just as his regular voice was, but the sound was almost lighter...more carefree.
It was so unexpected and mesmerizing.
“What...?” Leawyn asked, bewildered. Seeing the look on her face, Xavier only laughed harder. She rolled her eyes at him, but she couldn’t help the grin that spread across her lips and the small giggle that escaped them.
His laughter abruptly stopped when he suddenly found himself soaked with water. He looked back up at Leawyn, who wore a grin that was far from innocent. She shrugged one dainty shoulder. “Oops.”
“Three seconds.”
Leawyn frowned.
“What?”
Her eyes widened, and she covered her face against the splash of water Xavier’s dive caused.
When Leawyn turned back around, he still hadn’t surfaced, and the only thing that remained of his presence was the lingering ripples in the water.
“Xavier...?” Nervously, Leawyn looked around her. Each passing moment Xavier did not surface, the more anxious she got. He was planning something, she could just feel it, and whatever Xavier plans, usually it did not bode well for her.
Hands grasped her hips, and Leawyn shrieked in surprise when Xavier popped up behind her and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Don’t—!”
Leawyn’s scream was cut off when Xavier threw himself backwards, dunking them both. She gasped when he pulled her up with him, glaring up at his grinning face. “That was not funny!” she growled, shoving his shoulder angrily. His grin widened, and she had to try extremely hard not to stare at the sight in awe.
Xavier was good-looking, but Leawyn found that when he smiled, he was beautiful. Perhaps it was because she’d never seen him look so carefree, or perhaps it was because something had changed between them the night before. Or maybe it was because for once she wasn’t feeling as sick as she’d been the past few weeks.
Either way, Xavier needed to smile more, because the sight was something to behold.
“It was a little funny,” he chuckled. Leawyn rolled her eyes at him again.
“At least your swan dive made you a bit cleaner,” Leawyn said, looking at the small swirl of red around them. “Still, you need to go over there and wash it off,” she ordered, pointing to the three-tier waterfall off to the side of them.
Xavier didn’t reply. Leawyn took that as his acceptance, and started to swim towards the waterfall. The sound of his arms cutting through the water assured her he was following.
The waterfall was in the deepest part of the lake. The foundation of rocks that surrounded it was in the formation of steps that could be walked up. The rock stairs led to the platform of a small cliff that overlooked the lake and formed a smaller waterfall. Leawyn looked over her shoulder, waiting for Xavier to swim up beside her before she braced her hands on the bottom layer of rocks and hauled herself up. He quickly followed, and together they climbed up until they were standing a breath away from the trailing water.
“There should be some wash oils here...” Leawyn muttered, and she walked into the water, to the small cove behind it. When she found what she was looking for, she came back to him. Xavier raised an eyebrow when she held up the small vial of light purple liquid in her hand, grinning.
“Found it!” she chirped proudly, pulling the small cork off the top and bringing the via of soap to her nose, smelling it.
“Why are you laughing?” Xavier asked, staring at Leawyn strangely when she started to giggle. She bit her lip, trying to still her giggles but failed.
“No, don’t,” she protested when he snatched the bottle from her hand and brought it to his own nose to smell. His face scrunched up, and glared at his wife accusingly.
“You’re not washing me with lavender.”
Leawyn snorted, but gave Xavier a stern glare. “I never said I would wash you, and you are too using that. It’s the only one left.”
He snatched her hand and tugged her to him, staring down at her. “The only way I’ll use this is if you’re the one to put it on me.”
Leawyn searched his eyes when his hand came up to gently tuck in a wisp of her wet hair back into place. Xavier stepped back a bit, holding the vial of oil out to her. Sighing, she took it from him and poured some of it into her hand. She lathered a generous amount between her hands before she slowly brought them to Xavier’s chest, rubbing it all over.
It was quiet between them; the only sound was the trickling of water falling. Leawyn nervously looked up from her task to Xavier multiple times before he stopped her with a hand on her chin, making her keep eye contact with him.
“Ask me.”
Leawyn nibbled on her lip, a nervous gesture that had Xavier’s full attention.
“Did you kill him?” Leawyn asked softly. Hesitantly.
He was quiet for a moment. He seemed to struggle with what to say before he answered her. “No,” he f
inally said, his voice gruff. “I didn’t kill him.” Leawyn paused in her washing, staring at her hand and the blood she was washing away.
“This is a lot of blood,” she whispered.
“He will not live to see the morrow,” Xavier confirmed her unspoken question. Leawyn shuddered, swallowing around the bile that suddenly appeared.
“Today...in the hut, you…”
Her exhale came out jerky when he placed his finger on her lips, silencing her. “Enough, Leawyn.”
She frowned around his finger. “But—”
He grabbed the back of her hair and tilted her head back right before he slammed his lips onto hers, his tongue pushing inside to play with her own, effectively silencing anything else Leawyn was going to say.
After a moment, he pulled back, staring down into her glazed eyes.
“I am the Chief of the Izayges, and I will protect every member of my tribe with my dying breath,” Xavier told Leawyn, his voice fierce. “Even against someone I love.” Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
“But I am also your husband, and I will protect you with my life,” he said vehemently, his eyes boring into hers. “You don’t trust me, and I get it, you shouldn’t.” Leawyn’s mouth snapped closed, staring at him in shock. “The only person you should trust is yourself. Trust this.” He placed his hand on her chest, right over her heart. “It’s the only thing that will never fail you. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he said roughly, and the thickness in his voice brought tears to her eyes.
“I may have hurt you, Leawyn, and I can’t take that back or make up for anything I’ve done, but I will kill anyone else who hurts you, who makes you cry. Because I am your husband, and it’s my job to protect you. To protect what’s mine. And you are mine, Leawyn. In every way.” Xavier caressed her cheek, taking in all her features before meeting her eyes again, staring straight into her soul. “You’re the only thing I can’t stand to lose.”
Tears spilled over from her eyes, and she shook in Xavier’s arms when he pulled her forward gently, cradling her against him.