When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark 2)

I clip my hair up and remove my clothes before sinking down into the hot water with a sigh escaping my lips.

My eyes close and I lean my head back, the water sloshing around my breasts with bubbles up to my chin.

I do my best to empty my mind of all my worries and relax, but it’s hard when the events of the last forty-eight hours plague my mind.

I probably should’ve brought a book in here with me to occupy my mind but it’s too late now.

The door from Xander’s room opens, and I let out a scream, covering my body even though it’s pretty pointless.

Xander pauses in the doorway, staring at me like a starved man seeing food for the first time. He licks his lips and his Adam’s apple bobs. His hair is a wild and untamed mess like he’s been running his fingers constantly through it in agitation.

He shakes his head suddenly as if he’s shaking away the fog that has come over him.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you were in here. I didn’t think anyone was home.”

He starts to ease the door closed, but in a small voice, I call out, “Stay.” I don’t know what makes me say the words, but I know I want him to.

He hesitates for a moment before coming in and sitting down on the floor beside me. He looks tired, wary even.

“Are you okay?” I ask him.

“Fine,” he replies, his eyes not meeting mine.

“That’s bullshit,” I say, a bite to my tone. His eyes flick up to mine. “You should know by now you can’t lie to me.”

He lowers his head and rubs his hands over his face. “I just have a lot going on, that’s all.”

“Is this about work? Or us?” I ask softly. If he’s having second thoughts about continuing our marriage I should be dancing a jig, but instead, I feel saddened. “Do you regret wanting to see if this will work?”

His head whips up and he looks at me with fire in his dark eyes. “This has nothing to do with us,” he assures me. “I’m still going to do everything I can to make you see that this isn’t a bad thing.” My heart beats faster at his words and the passion in them. He digs into his front pocket and pulls out our wedding bands. “I kept these with me all day, thinking about how fucking much I want us to be able to wear them and not hide this, hide us. I know why you don’t want to tell anyone, I get it, I do, but it doesn’t mean I like it—because what I feel for you is real and it’s not going to go away.”

I swallow thickly. “I’m scared,” I tell him.

He raises a single dark brow as he stuffs the rings in his pocket. “And you think I’m not? We’re both young and this was unexpected, but sometimes the surprises in life are the best things, and I definitely think this is one of the best so far.”

The water sloshes as I move, leaning over so I can hold my hand out to him. He grasps it and draws my palm to his heart, pressing my hand flat against the cotton of his shirt. It doesn’t take long for me to feel the fast-paced thumping.

“Do you feel that?” His voice is no more than a whisper in the darkened bathroom. “My heart beats out of control every time I’m in the same room with you. I think you think this is sudden, but it’s not. I’ve wanted more from you for a long time and I was too much of a damn wimp to do anything about it—and I think you’ve wanted more too. I see the way you look at me.”

My hand shakes, and for once, I don’t want to do what I think I’m supposed to and instead follow my heart—and my heart leads me straight to him. It always has. It’s hard to overcome my mind shouting about how wrong this is, how we’re doing everything backwards. After all, it’s not first come marriage, then comes love, but neither Xander nor I have ever played by the rules, so why start now?

“Get in,” I say.

He startles. “What?”

“Get in,” I repeat and move forward in the bathtub so there’s room behind me.

He jumps up and kicks off his shoes before unbuttoning his work shirt. I swallow thickly as his sculpted chest and arms appear before me.

He unbuckles his belt and reaches for the button on his jeans. A chuckle rumbles deep in his chest. “Like what you see?”

I smile widely. “You’re my husband now. I can look all I want.”

His chuckle turns into a booming laugh that shakes my insides. God, I love his laugh—the rich, deep, timbre of it.

His pants and boxer-briefs pool onto the floor and I slide forward so he can slip into the tub behind me. The water sloshes over the sides and onto the floor but I can’t bring myself to care.

He settles behind me and I rest my back against his chest. I let out an embarrassing contented sigh and his chest shakes with barely contained laughter.