“I’m glad you punched him, though. That was the best part of the night.”
I laughed. “That was my favorite part too.”
“Although . . . I think I have a new favorite part of the night,” she said.
“You do? What’s that?”
“This,” she said and leaned in to kiss me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Holly
I had never seen Xavier so mad before. The look in his eyes when he saw Ryan trying to force me to kiss him was unlike anything I had ever seen before. A rage filled him, but instead of being scared of Xavier, I felt excited by it. He wanted to protect me, just as he always did. I didn’t even argue when he took me back to his place. I couldn’t have gone home then anyway. I had wrapped my arms around him on the ride home and knew at that moment that I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I leaned in now and kissed him.
“I’ve been staying away from you for exactly this reason,” I said in between kisses.
“What do you mean? Why would you want to stay away from this?” he said and pulled off his shirt.
I bit my lip and reached over to run my hand over his chest.
“Because I can’t stay away from you,” I said. “Because I don’t know how to just be friends with you.”
I turned around and moved my hair away from my neck. Xavier reached over and slowly pulled the zipper on my dress down. I watched as it fell to the floor. Xavier put his hands on my waist and kissed my neck. I groaned.
“Why do you have to just be friends with me? You’re way too hot for us to be friends, Holly.”
A moan escaped me. He was still kissing my neck, and his hand was now trailing down my stomach and into my panties. I gasped, my nerve endings standing at full attention in response to his gentle yet insistent touch. His fingers found their way inside me, and I opened my legs slightly so he could get in deeper.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Xavier,” I whispered and cried out at the feeling of his fingers inside me.
“Say my name again,” he said. His other hand was now under my bra, squeezing my breast.
“Xavier,” I whispered.
He sucked my neck again and then turned me around so that I was facing him. I still had on my heels, so I was a bit taller than usual.
“You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Don’t leave me again, okay?”
I nodded. I was too excited to talk.
“Now, it’s time we got you completely naked,” he said and smiled at me. “Take it off. I want to watch.”
I reached behind my back and took off my bra, and then reached down to pull my panties off. I stepped out of them, leaving my heels on. Xavier was licking his lips while he looked at me and I’d never felt more desirable in my life.
“Touch yourself,” he said.
I gulped. I wasn’t sure that I could do it. I felt nervous suddenly and extremely self-conscious. I shook my head. “No, I want to kiss you.”
“And I want to look at you. All of you. You’re so beautiful. I want to take you all in.”
I put my hand on my stomach and slowly lowered it down, feeling nervous at first and then excited as I saw the look on his face. I used to masturbate a lot when I was younger, and I always used to think of Xavier when I was doing it. Now I was doing it again; he was standing in front of me, watching me. My hand moved lower and lower until my fingers made their way inside me. I closed my eyes and continued to feel myself until I completely forget where I was. I opened my eyes and saw that Xavier was now undressed, his penis erect and ready.
“Go on; your turn,” I said.
He seemed taken aback by my demand, but then he reached down and wrapped his hand around his penis and began to move it up and down. He closed his eyes like I had done, which gave me the perfect opportunity to watch him. I’d never been more turned on in my life, and I found my fingers slowly moving around my body as I watched him. He opened his eyes and walked over to me. He picked me up and lowered me down onto the sofa. He lay me down while he went to get a condom, and as I waited for him, I touched myself in anticipation. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I felt around him and how excited he was making me. I never wanted to have sex with any man ever again. Nothing would come close to the way that Xavier made me feel. He made me feel good about myself, and he made me want him more and more each time I saw him. The sex had been incredible the first time, but as he lay on top of me and thrust himself inside me, I was surprised to find that it was even more electrifying this time. It was as if we were both trying to prove something to each other. I wanted him to know how much I had missed him, and he wanted me to know that he didn’t want me to be with anyone else. The sex was blistering hot, passionate, and desperate, all-consuming, and I wanted it to last forever.
“I missed you so fucking much,” I said breathlessly once it was over. I was now lying on top of him, my head in the crook of his arm. He’d flipped me over during the sex so that I could be on top of him and I’d just remained there once it was done. I wasn’t much of a swearer. I’d grown up with a pastor for a dad and swearing had always been taboo in our household. But it felt so necessary to swear at that moment.
He chuckled. “You’re amazing. I’m glad you missed me. I think it’s pretty obvious how much I missed you.”
I could feel how much he missed me. I was glad to know that it was the same as how much I missed him. “I must say, the date with Ryan turned out better than I expected. The end of it, at least. I didn’t think I’d end up here.”
“Do me a favor Holly,” Xavier started.
“Anything.”
“Please don’t go out with Ryan again.”
I chuckled. “It was honestly the worst date of my life. I zoned out so many times. I have never met anyone that goes on and on about himself as much as he did. It was terribly boring. He didn’t ask me a thing about myself. He just kept telling me about his own life and how good he was as a model.”
“And you weren’t attracted to him?”
I laughed. “I prefer a guy that doesn’t spend hours getting himself to look that way. He was so polished. So . . . what’s the word . . .”
“Boring?” Xavier offered.
I laughed. “That’s it. Boring. Trust me, Xavier, I have no interest in seeing him again. I cannot believe that my father even wanted me to go out with him. He’s awful.” My father was going to feel guilty when he found out just how bad Ryan was. He should’ve been honest and talked to me about Xavier rather than force another guy on me like that.
“You’re mine, Holly. Not Ryan’s. Not some other guy that wants to go out with you. You’re mine.”
“Am I, though?” I asked sadly. We sat up and looked at each other, and I could see the hurt in his eyes from my statement.
“You are. Don’t ask me things like that. Come on, Holly, tell me honestly, is this what you want? You and I?”
“Of course it is. You know it is.”
“Then we have to make it work. This is the most important thing right now. We stick to what we believe, and the rest will sort itself out. I can’t go on not seeing you. It’s going to drive me crazy.”
“I feel the same. I want to make it work with you.”
“Honestly, we should be thinking about ourselves. Screw the others.”
“It’s not the all others I’m worried about. It’s my father. I’m only worried about him. My dad is going to freak out. I don’t want to ruin his reputation at the church. I will never be able to forgive myself for it.”
“Holly, what is so wrong about this?”
I sighed. “Deep down, I know nothing is wrong about it. I just hope he’ll know that too.”
“I’m going to take you home now so that your father doesn’t worry. We’ll sort things out soon. I promise.”
“Let me take a cab. It’s going to look worse if you drop me off. I’ll tell him that the date didn’t work out. I’ll tell him that I don’t ever want to see Ryan again. He’ll understand when he finds out how fo
rceful Ryan was. Let’s do this slowly, Xavier.”
Xavier reached over and kissed me. “I agree.”
When I got home that night, my father immediately noticed that it wasn’t Ryan that had brought me home.
“What’s going on? Did you take a cab home?”
I nodded. “Dad, it was the worst date of my life,” I said. Truthfully, it ended up being the best date of my life, but I didn’t tell him that.
“It was? But you’re home so late.”
“It went on forever. But I didn’t want him to take me home. Ryan . . . he’s not a nice guy, Dad.”
“Did he do something to you?” my father asked.
“I wouldn’t let him; don’t worry. But he’s not the kind of guy you want me to go out with. Trust me. I definitely won’t be going on another date with him.”
My father looked crestfallen. I could see that he felt guilty about making me go out with a guy that even he knew wasn’t right for me.
“I’m sorry, Holly. I shouldn’t have pushed for it. I don’t really know the guy, and I was hoping I had him wrong. Theresa is such a wonderful lady so I hoped her son would be the same.”
“It’s okay, Dad. It’s the only way we would’ve found out. And at least we’ll get her off our case now. I definitely don’t want to hang around Ryan anymore. I’m quite happy to be myself.” I would have to eventually tell him about Xavier but now was not the time. It was late, and I was already feeling emotional. I needed some time to think about how I was going to tell him. For now, it was better that he just knew I wouldn’t be seeing Ryan again.
“Okay, my darling. You’re right. It’s better to be alone than to be with the wrong person. And you’re still young. You have your whole life to meet the right guy.”
I’ve already met the right guy, I said inside my head.
I smiled at him. “Exactly. Well, I’m going to head off to bed now. I’m exhausted. All that listening to him talk about himself made me tired.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Xavier
It was a busy weekend at work, but I didn’t mind. I was feeling so much better after seeing Holly the other night that nothing could really get me down. It was Sunday now, and I was finally chilling with Kenny. We’d worked twenty hours the day before and all day that day, and the two of us were exhausted. Thankfully the boss said we could have a break, so the two of us were outside in the smoking area. I didn’t smoke, but Kenny did, so I just grabbed myself a cup of coffee to join him.
“When you are going to give that up?” I said to him as I pointed at the lit cigarette in his mouth.
He frowned. “Since when am I supposed to give it up?”
“We work with fire and smoke all day. I don’t understand how you can even consider putting something like that in your body. It makes no sense.”
“Oh come on, since when are you Mister High-and-Mighty? Anyway, you used to smoke too.”
“Used to being the key words to that sentence. I gave it up when I grew up.”
Kenny chuckled. “That’s incredibly boring. Who wants to grow up?”
“Actually, you have a point there. I can’t wait for today to be over. How exhausting has this weekend been? I don’t know why we have to cram so much into a weekend like this. We need a new boss.”
“Tell me about it. I became a firefighter to get the girls, not to spend my entire weekend working.”
I laughed. “Is that really why you became a fireman?”
“Nah. But it’s an added bonus,” he said and chuckled.
“It’s certainly working in your favor.”
“Tonight I’ll just have to play the ‘oh I’m so tired’ card with the girls at the pub. That one always works.”
I shook my head. “You’re doing single life well my friend.”
“I try.”
“Did you ever see Andrea again, by the way? Or was that just a one-time affair?”
“Uh, I’ve seen her a few times, actually.”
I turned to look at him in surprise. “You have? Since when? I thought you were very strict on your one-time policy?”
“Yeah, so did I. She’s pretty good in bed, though. It’s always hard to turn down someone like that.”
“You guys going out?”
“You mean, is she my girlfriend? Hell no. I’m not ready to settle down and even if I was, it probably wouldn’t be with her. No offense or anything. She’s a cool girl, but she’s not my type.”
“What exactly is your type then?”
“I have absolutely no idea. Maybe I’ll be single forever.”
“I doubt that.”
“Hey, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, to be honest. I like the life I have now, and I don’t see why I should change it. I’m more than happy to live my life this way.”
I couldn’t ever imagine Kenny settling down with someone, but I hoped he one day would. He was a good guy, and it would be nice to see him with someone. I actually thought that Andrea suited him, but I could tell that he wouldn’t listen to me even if I told him, so I decided not to say anything. It was his life, not mine.
“You should do what makes you happy.”
“Which is exactly what I’m doing. So, what’s happening in the life of Xavier then? You didn’t join us at the club the other night, so I’m assuming you either went home or you went after Holly.”
I laughed. “Was I that transparent?”
“You were to me. Don’t worry, none of the other guys noticed.”
I sighed. “Well, I hadn’t planned on going after Holly. But then I saw her standing at the car with Ryan. He was trying to force himself on her like the idiot that he is.”
“What? Are you kidding me? That’s crazy. What an asshole. Did you say something?”
“I punched him in the face. Twice.”
Kenny burst out laughing. “That’s what I like to hear. Good. I would’ve done the same thing. So what happened after that?”
“I took Holly back to my place.”
“Naturally,” Kenny said with a smirk.
“Naturally. I really like her man. I mean, really, really, really.”
“That’s a lot of really.”
“She’s the one. I just know it.”
Kenny looked at me. “Seriously? You know it?”
I nodded. I had no doubt in my mind that Holly was the girl for me. I’d known it for a while. But the more time we spent together, the surer I was of it.
“Yep. She’s the one. Now I just need to convince her that I’m the one for her.”
“Doesn’t she think so?”
I shrugged. I was pretty sure that Holly was just as in love with me as I was with her, but she hadn’t actually said it to me yet. I knew I was just afraid of taking it too far and not being able to come back from it.
“I guess she’s nervous about what her dad is going to say as well as what the rest of the community will say. You know what that church is like. They’re good people, but a lot of them just love nothing more than a good old gossip.”
“So what, dude? They have nothing to do with your happiness. Anyway, Rick is not your father. Holly is not your sister. And the two of you are adults now who should be able to do whatever the hell they want to. You shouldn’t let it hold you back.”
I nodded. I was glad that I had Kenny to talk to. It was nice to know that somebody was on my side.
“You’re right. Maybe I should go and speak to Rick about it. Maybe I just need to explain to him how I feel about the whole thing.”
“You should. There is even a chance that Rick wouldn’t mind. I mean, maybe the two of you are stressing for nothing. Maybe Rick will be happy. He’s always had a soft spot for you. Now you can be a part of his family for good. You never now, you mind end up making him the happiest man alive with that news.”
I laughed. “That’s one way of looking at it. A very positive way even though I don’t think that’s how it’s going to go down. But I think it’s time I finally talked to him and got this whole th
ing out in the open. We don’t want to sneak around anymore.”
“Good for you. Now, tell me what she’s like in bed,” Kenny said.
Just then the boss walked by and told us that our break was now over. I looked at Kenny and laughed. “Oh well, we’ll have to have that conversation another time.”
“Just give me something man, anything,” Kenny said as he stubbed his cigarette and we followed the boss back inside.
“I have nothing to say,” I yelled back.
“Good. Great. Amazing. Mind blowing,” he suggested as we walked.
I was just about to say something when the boss turned around and told us to stop yacking. I looked at Kenny and mouthed, “Mind blowing,” and he gave me a big thumbs up.
“I knew it,” he whispered back.
We immediately got back to work, but I didn’t mind. I was a better worker when I was in a good mood. I worked hard but thought about Holly at every opportunity that I could. Kenny was right. We were adults, and we had the right do anything that we wanted to do. I wanted to be with her, and she wanted to be with me, and there was no reason why we shouldn’t be. Rick and I had always gotten one well. I’d been good to him over the past few years, and we’d always had a good and honest relationship with one another. He’d understand. I just needed the chance to go and talk to him. I would go that evening after the drills. The longer I left it, the harder it was going to get. I felt nervous and excited all at once. I knew it was important for this to happen.
Chapter Thirty
Holly
I spent the morning at church with my father. I sat near the back and listened to his sermon. My father always amazed me when he stood up to talk in front of a crowd. He was a shy man, but all that vanished the moment he got up to talk. He was extremely passionate about what he was speaking about, and it was obvious with every word he said. I sat there watching him, feeling proud of him. I looked around the room and saw that everyone was lapping up his words, eager to listen to his wise words of wisdom. I resisted the urge to scream, “Go Dad!” but I said it my head instead and smiled at him. I stayed back afterward to help clean up. My father was always very particular about the church. He wanted it to look good at all times, and he always did all the work himself.
Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 17