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Chapter 31
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Counterbalance Chapter 32
She chewed her lip and figured if anyone would understand, it would be Xavier. He'd spent his adolescent years awkwardly getting by and most of his adulthood questioning who he could truly trust. Or, rather, who liked him as a person versus just for his money.After a sip of wine for courage, she opened a door she'd closed long ago. "Brian and Mark met in boot camp and came up the ranks together. My brother brought him home on leave, and we just kind of...came together. There wasn't a moment or anything, he was simply there. I think I was convenient at first. At least, in his mind. A few weeks later, they reported for their first tour, and I got to know him better through emails than we did face-to-face." She smiled, gaze lost on her plate. "I fell in love with him through the computer. Is that stupid?""Not at all." He frowned, jaw ticking. "Go on."Since he seemed more concerned than tense, she rubbed her forehead. "We continued the relationship for a couple years. We'd see each o
Counterbalance Chapter 33
With one hand on the wheel, Xavier rested his elbow on the window well and rubbed his lips in thought while he drove his Jag through the rain-soaked streets. A yellow glow from the lampposts hit the drops on his hood and windshield. Somehow, it escaped his notice it had stormed while they'd been in the restaurant. He supposed he'd had his own storm brewing.Peyton had forever and always maintained the ability to clobber him with the equivalent of an emotional battering ram. Yet, the stuff she'd told him tonight about her former fiancé sat like battery acid in his gut. Not only had her whole family been wiped out and she'd lost a man she loved, but Xavier was starting to get a full HD view of the extent of her loneliness. And it had begun long before Mark shot himself.Xavier was no expert, but he'd been raised by two parents who loved each other to the ends of the earth. He'd been surrounded by affection. How Peyton described her relationship with Mark didn't sound like love. It lean
Counterbalance Chapter 34
Her grin widened. "Then why are you standing by the bed?"He had no clue. To savor? Download this exact moment to his memory in case he was dreaming?Stripping out of his pants and briefs, he crawled across the mattress and straddled her. Her satisfied smirk punched the breath from his lungs. "You're really beautiful, you know that?" Weight on his arms, he leaned down and kissed her throat, her chin."I do now," she panted, tilting her head to give him better access.He saved that comment to ask her about later and kissed his way to her breasts. He could spend a decade on her chest alone. He took one beaded tip in his mouth and sucked hard. She wrapped her arms around his head as if to hold him there. Like he had any plans to move. Testing her, he bit her nipple, wondering if she wanted fast and hard or long and slow their first time. She'd responded to both his reckless, desperate side and his more gentle, controlled one, but that hadn't been during sex. Normally, he'd take hi
Counterbalance Chapter 35
Perched on the vanity counter in Xavier's bathroom, Peyton swung her legs and waited while he took out his contacts. She'd already removed hers and brushed her teeth. He'd thrown on a pair of black briefs and had her slip into his button-down shirt he'd worn earlier. The casualness of their undress, plus the domestic scene of their toothbrushes beside one another's, kept tripping her mental focus.It wasn't as if she hadn't been in a relationship before. It had just been a long time. Mark's toiletries had shared space with hers, but he'd been gone so much that it hadn't seemed real sometimes. He'd been as much a ghost in her life as her parents' memory.This...was different. Every experience with Xavier was different. From the way he touched her to how he spoke, he gave the impression she wasn't simply someone beside him sharing oxygen or a warm body to pass time. Rather, he saw her, the woman. Inside, out, up, down, throughout...and every crevice in between. And he apparently liked
Counterbalance Chapter 36
"Yes." God, the way he spoke to her. Like years of frustration and bindings had broken free, and he needed nothing more than to dominate.He kissed her nape, her shoulders, and raised himself only enough to create space with little margin for error. His hand slid down her spine, past her crevice, and between her legs. He groaned as he spread her slickness, coated his fingers. "So wet for me.""Yes." She ground against his hand, needing more, yet he avoided where she wanted him most. A sharp tingle shot through her. "Xavier."He removed his hand and she whimpered in protest. "Shh. I know what you want." The thick head of his shaft rubbed between her folds. He surged forward, filling her in one deft thrust, and stilled. "I know what you need."Fuller than she'd ever been, she pressed her face into the mattress and fisted the sheets. Even with the slight ache from him stretching her, it was so, so good. He knew what she wanted? Needed? Absolutely. Beyond all doubt. And like no one e
Counterbalance Chapter 37
Xavier strummed his fingers on the chair in Peyton's office and waited for her to finish a phone conversation with his mother. They'd been at it twenty minutes, going over the final details for the Fallen Veterans fundraiser tomorrow, and he'd forgotten why he'd come in here in the first place."The mask is beautiful. It matches the dress we picked out. I can't wait for you to see it." She laughed into the receiver.He eyed the ceiling. No matter how many times he'd asked over the past few weeks, she'd refused to even tell him so much as the color of her gown. He understood why curiosity killed the cat. Whatever the style, she'd look better out of it. They'd both been busy as of late, only able to hook up on the weekends, and it was driving him batshit. Every morning, he woke up without her in his bed, and it only cemented the notion she should move in with him. The conversation had been on the tip of his tongue since they'd made love but, for whatever reason, he'd remained silent.
Counterbalance Chapter 38
Her jaw dropped, and she blinked. Once. Twice.He sighed. "Let me start over. I miss you when you're not around and I'm sick of sneaking moments with you. My house is unbearably empty without you there. I think about you constantly. Please consider moving in with me." Not so much as a muscle twitch. Great. He'd rendered her catatonic. "Blink once for yes or twice for no."Well, she didn't blink, but she did press a hand to her forehead and say "Oh God" somewhere in the vicinity of thirty times. She stalked to the other side of the room and paced. The click-click of her heels matched his heart rate. "Would you say something, at least?" Panic tripped his pulse. "And I don't mean Oh God.""We haven't even..." She waved her hand as if unable to conjure words."Haven't what? Gone public? Vacationed together? Skydived out of a perfectly good airplane?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Help me out, honey. You're usually the calm one. I'm not liking the role reversal and" "We haven't d
Counterbalance Chapter 39
With an hour to spare, Peyton climbed out of the car Xavier had sent, adjusted her dress, and snuck in the back entrance to the Fallen Veterans masquerade ball. She'd had him do the same thing thirty minutes ago when he'd arrived to avoid any rumors that they hadn't come together. The press liked to pounce on any little thing and twist a story. Tonight was about charity.She worked her way through the back rooms and into the upper foyer, handing her coat and purse to an attendant. Behind her was the main lobby. Ahead, the ballroom was down a set of marble stairs and surrounded by a wrought iron terrace on the second level. From her position, she glanced below at the open floor plan and smiled.Lovely. Just lovely.An enormous chandelier rained from a vaulted ceiling, the lighting set low. A platform was up front with a podium and a couple chairs. Pictures on easels displayed previous events and some of the soldiers they'd helped. In front of the staging area was a small dance floor
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