“That was really good,” I said.
Xander selected another truffle, again sharing it between us. We shared each truffle the flavors blending between our mouths. When Xander slanted his lips over mine I could taste the chocolate in his mouth, sweet mixing with his commanding tongue and making my body hum in anticipation.
We drank our wine then Xander fed me one of the cupcakes. It was soft and sweet and melted in my mouth. I picked up the second one and held it out for him. He held my eyes as he closed his lips over my fingers, taking the cupcake away with his tongue. His hand on my wrist held my fingers in his mouth and he licked and sucked them until they were clean and I was panting. Wet panties and tight nipples led the way for my aching body to throb for him. I wanted him. Bad.
When he leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Do you want to come back to my place?” I nodded eagerly and followed him out the door.
In the cool fresh air a sense of clarity found me. Was I really going to go home with someone I barely knew? After all, Xander and I had talked, but we really only met once. Was I the sort of woman who slept with a guy on the first date?
As if he could feel my mood shift, Xander stopped me on the sidewalk. Light from the open stores next to us faded to deep shadows where we were standing. He pulled me to him and held me close. “Are you okay?”
I tried to nod but wasn’t entirely sure how I was feeling. Wrapped tightly in his arms I felt safe and protected, but going home with him I worried I was getting in over my head.
Xander leaned down and ran his tongue lightly over my ear. His lips stayed close to me as he took a deep breath. Then he said, “You don’t have to come home with me if you don’t want to. I know this is all strange and the connection between us is… I don’t know. It’s fucking powerful. I’m not asking you back to my place for sex. I just want to be alone with you. Without every other man in the place giving you his bedroom eyes.”
I laughed into his firm chest, holding on to his waist like a life preserver. “No one was looking at me like that.”
He pulled back from me to look in my eyes. “Yes, they were. How did you not notice?”
“Uh, because it wasn’t happening,” I teased.
“Yes, honey, it was. You don’t even realize how stunning you are.”
I waved my hand dismissively, not able to voice how much it meant to hear him say those words. I’d dreamt my whole life of someone finding me attractive, and the hottest guy I’ve ever met was telling me I was stunning. It was almost too much for me.
Xander leaned against the brick of the building behind us and pulled me up against him. “Mandy, listen. I’m here with you because I love your personality. We talk easily and I enjoy knowing everything about you. Tonight, the way I couldn’t keep my hands off you, that had nothing to do with our conversations. That’s all you, baby. You’re beautiful, and you’re turning me on. I know you can feel it, you can tell. I want you, not some skinny version of you. You’re beautiful as you are. I wish you could see what I see.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever see myself that way. I’ve accepted who I am and am basically happy, but I don’t think of myself as sexy. It baffles me that you want me. At all.”
Xander anchored his hands to my hips, his fingers digging into my fleshy sides, and pulled me against him. Our bodies met and he nudged me softly, his firm erection digging into my soft belly. “You know I do. You can feel that. There’s no one out here but us and that’s all because of you. And yes, I’d love to take you home and make love to you until dawn, but I will be more than happy to just spend more time with you. This is about both of us. I want to make you happy.”
“I’ve never had this. I’ve never had someone who cares if I’m happy. Who thinks of me first instead of thinking of himself. It’s… it’s just strange. None of my friends have men in their lives like you. It’s like we’ve always been cast aside because we’re chubby and you standing here telling me you want me… It’s all a little surreal to me.”
Xander pulled me in tight, holding me to him. His hands stroked my back and he pressed his lips to my hair. Where he was sexy and sensual at dinner and dessert, he was sweet and sensitive as we stood on the sidewalk. His touch was a reassurance, not meant to turn me on, or get him going, but just to convince me he was there for the same reasons I was. He wanted to be.
“If it makes you feel better, this is a little surreal to me, too. I know you think I’ve had such an easy life because I’m good looking-“
“Hot, Xander. Not just good looking. You’re fucking gorgeous. Not to mention charming.”
He laughed softly into my hair. “Regardless, it’s not like everything comes easily to me. I told you about college and how poorly I’d done. I also have trouble with girls, all the time. You wouldn’t believe how many women out there just want me for arm candy.”
“Who said I didn’t?” I teased.
He threw his head back and laughed wholeheartedly. The sound rumbled from his chest into me, pressed against him. “See, that’s what I love about you. You can joke with me. No woman who was really after me for devious reasons would joke around about it. We just connected. It’s strange and it’s scary, but it’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me into bed?”
He pulled back from me, his hands still gripping my hips. He looked into my eyes as he drifted toward me, his gaze drifting to my lips seconds before his mouth caught mine. His kiss was slow, soft. He kissed my lips, working his way from one corner of my mouth to the other. He pulled my bottom lip into his mouth, sucking hard on it. He released it only to reclaim my lip between his teeth, nipping and pulling.
My heart pounded in my chest, threatening to break loose. Xander’s lips covered mine again, his tongue sweeping past my lips as I sighed in pleasure. His tongue glided gently over mine. His kiss was still soft, but there was an urgency behind it, as though he was afraid someone would stop us.
I clung to him, leaning his back against the brick and letting my hands run over his body. His shirt was long sleeved, but it was thin and allowed me to feel the planes of his body, the strength he hid beneath his clothes. My hands drifted to his waist and I hesitated. I wanted to reach between us and hold him, feel him throbbing in my hand, but I couldn’t do it in public. Instead I slid my hand under his shirt, feeling the soft skin and silky hair on his stomach. His muscles twitched under my fingers and he groaned as he thrust into me.
His hands travelled south from my hips to cup my ass. He squeezed and kneaded my flesh, holding me to him. I moaned softly into him and pulled back.
“Let’s go to your place,” I said. My voice was unrecognizable with the thick emotion clouding it.
Xander looked at me and held my face in his hands. “That’s not why I kissed you. I was going to kiss you and let you go home. I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to do. I need you to trust me.”
“I know. I do trust you. And I want to go back to your place. Now.”
Xander watched me a few more seconds then grabbed my hands and practically dragged me back to the parking lot outside Thai This where we’d left our cars. He pointed out his to me and led me to my car, kissing me hard before I got in. He jogged across the parking lot to his Jeep and within seconds I was following him to his place.
Ten
The drive to Xander’s house took us back toward my own place. When we pulled into the driveway of an older style ranch home, I was impressed. Xander mentioned he owned his home, but I expected a chic bachelor pad, not a home in a neighborhood close to mine.
Xander pulled into the garage and I parked right behind him in the driveway. He climbed from his Jeep and walked back toward me. I met him at the entrance to the garage and he grasped my hand, pulling me inside behind him.
We walked straight into the kitchen. It had an old, rustic sort of feel. The cabinets were clearly original to the house but in excellent shape. The stone counters looked as though they’d been replaced recently. T
o the right sat a solid wood table in a deep, rich espresso stain with four mismatched chairs that somehow looked perfect.
“This is beautiful,” I breathed, impressed with his home.
“Thanks. You should have seen the place when I bought it. It has good bones, but it needed some love.”
“You did all the work here?” He nodded. “Wow, I’m even more impressed now. Will you tell me about what you did?”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow at me. “You really want to hear about all this?”
I smiled. “Yeah. It gives me a better idea of who you are. Plus, I love my townhouse, but it doesn’t have the charm of this place. I love old homes like this. Where you feel like they have a story to tell and you have to figure out what it is. I think you found this home’s story.”
He blushed and glanced away, looking around the kitchen of his home. Pride and embarrassment warred on his face but when he turned back to me the pride shined through.
“The house was owned by a woman who grew up here. Her parents built the house. She was going into a retirement home and didn’t have any family so she was selling the house and planning to use the money for her stay at the home.”
He stood beside me as he talked. When our eyes met, I could see how important the house was to him.
“She had it listed way below market price, but no one wanted it because of all the work that needed to be done. I went to visit her, she’d already moved to the retirement home, and talked to her about the house. She told me about growing up here and how much love had filled the house. She had two siblings but both moved away years ago and had no interest in the house. She’d never married so she had no kids to claim it either. She just wanted it to go to someone who would love the house.”
I squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue. I could tell he’d gotten attached to the woman.
“Anyway, she worried about money because the asking price would only pay for about five years in the retirement home. She said she knew it needed a lot of work, but she needed to get enough out of it to be sure she could live without worrying. Being on her own, she didn’t have family she could call on if she ran out of money. I agreed to pay a little above her asking price and I signed a contract with the nursing home that if she runs out of money they will come to me to help her out.”
“What’s her name?”
“Louise. She’s become like a grandmother to me. I go visit her every week and we play cards. I bring her pictures of the house and she tells me stories. This house has a lot of stories and you’re right, I’ve tried hard to find them. Louise has helped.”
“She sounds wonderful. It makes this even more special of a place because you have a connection to the background of it.”
Xander nodded. “That’s why I love it so much. I know it’s just a house, but it’s home for me. It’s the first place I’ve ever felt proud to have.”
I smiled and reached up to kiss him. He met me halfway and his tongue swept quickly through my mouth. I pulled back before we got too involved in our kiss and asked, “So what have you done in here?”
He looked around the kitchen taking in the room. “Just about everything actually. The cabinets aren’t original but I custom made ones that matched the old design. The counters are new and I replaced the tile floor when I first got here. Of course all the appliances are new. The table is one I found at a garage sale a few years ago and just thought it worked. I collected the chairs over the years, looking for similar scale and color but I wanted something a bit different.”
“You’ve done amazing. I really thought those were the original cabinets. They’re beautiful.” I ran my hand over the cabinet doors and felt the smooth wood, cool beneath my fingertips.
“Do you want to see the rest?” Xander asked shyly.
I turned to him, a grin splitting my face. “Absolutely.”
He led me through the dining room where he’d replaced the hardwood floors and installed a built-in to hold serving dishes and other rarely used kitchen items. The living room had the same hardwood floors and a new ceiling fan. The furniture was big and leather, very inviting. Xander had a huge TV across from the couch and a few small tables scattered around the room. The whole place had a very comfortable, homey feel.
Beyond the living room was a narrow hallway that led to the bedrooms. We passed two small rooms that Xander used as his office and home gym and a hall bathroom before approaching his bedroom.
“I’m not trying to lure you in here. I just want you to see it.”
“Is that a euphemism?”
He barked a laugh and pulled me in for a sharp kiss then flipped on the light in his bedroom.
I was glad he’d saved it for last because I knew I wouldn’t have gotten through the rest of the house.
Front and center was a king sized bed with a huge wooden headboard that covered half the wall. Crisp white sheets and a comforter lined the bed with pillows haphazardly thrown over the top. A large dresser stood to one side and a TV sat atop a stand in the corner. Two doors framed the bed next to the nightstands leading to the bathroom and closet.
Walking in to the oversized closet I wondered why Xander didn’t have more clothes. The closet only appeared half full. “Where’s the rest of your stuff?”
He looked down at his feet and ran a hand over his short dark hair. “I don’t have that much stuff. The closet is great because things rarely get lost, but it’s way too big for me. If someone ever moves in here with me it’ll be good that she has space though so I don’t try to fill it up.”
He said the last sentence with his eyes locked onto mine, as though he were considering the possibility of me moving in with him. I mouthed, “Oh” and went back into the bedroom. I walked around his bed to the other door.
Xander flipped on the light in his bathroom and I nearly fell over. “Holy shit,” I said before I could stop myself. The room was stunning.
A two or more person shower ran along one wall with a jetted bathtub next to it, a window right above. The vanity and toilet were off to the other side with a door to keep the toilet private. Double sinks graced the sleek concrete counters, anchored by a sturdy wooden vanity. Slate tile floors sparkled in the lights and the amber color was picked out of the floor and painted on the walls.
I wanted to live in that bathroom.
“Did you do all this, too?” I asked.
He nodded shyly. “I figured if I was redoing it all I would go crazy with it. It’s a bit much but I love it.”
“It’s amazing. I would kill for a bathroom like this.”
“You look good in here. It suits you.” He reached for me and I fell easily into his arms. Holding me, leaning against the counter, I listened to his heart beating. His hands slowly glided over my back. I did the same, listening as his steady heart beat faster the longer we held each other.
When he tipped my face up to his he kissed me, slipping his hand into my hair and holding me in place. My hands ran over his chest, drifting toward his waist. I lifted the edge of his shirt and let my fingers trace over his muscles, reveling in the flinch they made when I touched each muscle.
Xander’s tongue swept through my mouth, claiming me as his. The force and speed of his tongue increased with each touch of my hands on his stomach until he broke our kiss, breathless.
“I’m sorry, honey, I can’t do this. I can’t kiss you like this. Not here so close to my bed. We can go in the other room and talk.”
“Or…” I glanced toward his room where the king sized bed sat just out of sight.
“Or what?” he ground out, fighting the hormones I knew were racing through him.
I decided to be the bold, confident woman I was on the phone. The one who’d made Xander come with only my words and sounds just the night before. The one who’d had him hard all evening.
“Or we could see where this leads us, maybe on your bed.”
He reached around me so fast I didn’t know what he was doing until he had me hoisted in his arms. “You’
re going to hurt yourself. Put me down,” I protested.
Xander carried me to the bed, kissing my neck as he walked and murmuring against my skin. My legs were wrapped around him and I held on tightly, hoping he wouldn’t give himself a hernia.
At the edge of the bed Xander slowly lowered me, our bodies rubbing together all the way down. He groaned as my feet hit the floor and he sealed our mouths together, frantically kissing me.
“On the bed. Now,” he commanded. A little thrill raced through me at the change in him all of a sudden. I’d never had a man order me around in bed before but I was thinking I was going to enjoy it.
My panties got wetter as I took in the look of pure desire on his face. He wanted me. Bad.
He crawled onto the bed and up my body, stopping at my waist. He nudged my shirt up with his nose and ran his tongue over the soft skin of my belly. I cringed and tried to move away, wishing he wouldn’t have his face so close to the fattest part of me.
“Don’t move,” he said harshly. “I’ve been touching this spot all night and I need to know what it tastes like.”
I laid stock still as he slid my shirt up further and kissed and sucked the flabby skin of my belly. He dipped his tongue into my belly button and hummed against my body. My heart was racing and fire licked at every inch of my skin, aching and burning for him to keep touching me.
“Take off your shirt,” he told me. I pulled my shoulders from the bed and tugged my shirt over my head then dropped it off the side of the bed.
His hazel eyes, a deep muddy lust-filled green, raked over the top half of me, resting on my mouth for a brief second before meeting my eyes. “You’re beautiful,” he said seriously when our eyes locked together. Mine sparked with tears and he immediately moved up to kiss me.
He held himself up with one hand and forced the other into my hair, pulling me up to meet his kiss. His tongue pushed through my teeth and plunged roughly into my mouth. I held on to him, trying to remember everything about what I was feeling in case it was a dream and I woke up.
When he pulled back from me, he looked into my eyes, our foreheads pressed together. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had in my bed. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m going to make sure you know just how much I want you by the time I’m done with you.”
Chubby & Charming (Big & Beautiful Book 1) Page 8