~Zia~
I turned to face Calvin only to see two of him smiling sweetly at me.
“T-the fuck, C-cal?” I slurred, my world spinning, the butt warmer I’m sitting on… no, the entire car was reeling.
The asshole smirked. “I told you we’ll go to the port, my love. Now sleep,” he said, his voice bouncing off from all directions.
I fought the effect of whatever he injected me with, but it was no use. My body accepted what he gave me, doing what it was told. My eyes drifted close. I’m hardly aware of my surroundings as the car swiveled on the road. The tire wailed as it screeched. My head slammed on the window, making me grunt.
I’m not sure if it was just my imagination.
Even the warm li
This week had been the best week X and Zia had with regards to the gem ranking. Thank you so much for voting. ~ Hm, Nadia… someone’s got a lot of explaining to do. ~ Happy weekend everyone, thank you again. xx
~Zia~“I-I don’t understand, Xavier,” I said, sniffling. The swollen sensation around my eyes has been constant since my time in captivity.When Ashley held me captive, I knew my goal was to escape, to get home to him. Now, however, I have no direction where I want to be. I’m lost, unsure of what to believe. The pull to either run or stay where I am is tearing me apart.“Zia,” Xavier cupped my face, his green eyes and warm touch, which I longed to see and feel all those cold nights in the dark cell were within my reach, but what if this was another trick? I don’t know how to decipher the lies from the truth anymore.‘He’s here,’ I told myself. ‘I should focus on him and hear his explanation and not let pan
~Xavier~ Immense relief. As though one boulder weighing my shoulder rolled off, leaving me with less weight dragging me down. That’s how I can put in wording what I’m feeling with Zia’s reaction to everything that happened. What I said was true. I’m willing to wait a lifetime for her forgiveness. Now I have to find where my traitor brother and his girlfriend went. He thought he had us fooled with all those big talks of saving Zia. It was a risk I had to take in ensuring Zia’s safety; I needed Nadia and Tiago’s help, though. Calvin pushed me to pull out a trump card Levi, and I have been keeping for years. Zia wanted to go home. The part that she considered the Seattle penthouse as her home kindled my hope that we could work things out.
~Zia~I considered all my options cautiously, biting on my lower lip hard enough to draw blood, eyes following Xavier’s retreating figure out of our room.If I’m being honest with myself, I longed to be in his arms again. This distance I’m forcing between us is a double-sided blade piercing my chest. However, I can’t let him see me cry.For the last six years, he carried this burden on his shoulder, and seeing me weep will only add to his guilt. I need to gather myself together, for Xavier’s sake. He’s the only reason I keep a steady hold on my sanity.~~Freshly showered, still in his robe, I found Xavier with breakfast ready when I walked out of our room.
~Zia~ It’s both worrying and overwhelming how Xavier knew me like the back of his hands. His lips on mine were soft and careful, as though he’s cautious not to break me. It was as gentle as a morning breeze. His kiss tells me that everything is going to be okay, taking away my worries like he always does. It won’t, and we both know that. His hand came on my backsides, pushing me to mold against his body while the other held my jaw, fingers sliding on the back of my skull, threading through my hair. I sighed in his mouth; the tension in my body instantly lessened. I missed him so much that it hurts to be this close to him. The days that gone by where I reprimanded myself for
~Zia~Xavier brought me to our room, heading straight to the bathroom, setting me above the countertop. While he filled the bathtub with water, he added a few essential oils that would help relieve the tension in my muscles. It’s his own creation, he said. It is a mix of herbs with therapeutic components, but it mostly smells like lavender and myrrh, and it works somehow.I watched him move with ease, his muscle-flexing under the all-black training attire he usually wears—a sleeveless shirt and joggers.As he poured the oil into the water, the calming fragrance of it instantly teased my senses. “Where did you learn to make these oils, X?”He glanced over his shoulder, dropping rose petals on the water. It’s not part of the mix, but he knew I
~Zia~It’s deafening; the loud pounding inside my chest and each bob of my throat aimed to moisten my throat seemed to have the opposite effect.I’m so hot, and I need Xavier to quench this thirst I have for him.His restraints snapped when I parted my lips for him, eagerly driving his tongue inside my mouth, claiming my lips with enough force to rock my universe. I sighed, relishing the warm and needy feel of his soft lips against mine.My hands skimmed his chest, feeling each contour and profile of his perfectly toned muscles, nails digging as I reached for his shoulder, supporting myself.Xavier slanted his mouth, deepening the kiss; my tongue readily danced with his. I moaned at the first caress of his tongue
~Zia~ Spent, sweaty yet damn satisfied, Xavier and I remained tangled with one another. We indeed made up for the lost time. I’m nestled above Xavier; my stomach pressed on his torso, chin resting on the back of my hands splayed flat on his chest. I shifted to free one hand and traced the contour of his torso, counting the dust of hairs on his chest as if we had all the time in the world. Xavier gazed down at me; his slender fingers resumed brushing my hair. “It looks good on you,” he mumbled, making my brows arched. “What? Spent and satisfied?” He shook his head. “The look of a well-loved woman.”
~Zia~The gentle wisp of Paris October air seeped through my black attire, a half-sleeved, A-line knee-length dress. My hair cascades in curtains of waves over my shoulder, a smile etched on my lip as I lift my cup, taking a sip of my flat white.The sun had just set. Amber lights flickered one by one around us and above. The outdoor table Xavier and I got at this local coffee shop on the edge of the city reminds me of a romantic scene from the last novel I’ve read.My husband, sporting a gray turtleneck, dark jeans, and leather jacket, stares back at me, green eyes mirroring the same eager adoration I’m giving him.“Nervous?” my husband asked, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes scanning the hotel across the street.