“I knew you’d want her close.” He shrugged as if the gesture was no big deal.
Which was exactly why it was one. He cared about what she wanted. Needed.
“Tired?” he asked.
She nodded. “I fell asleep while you were out.” Before she could blink, he’d walked over to the bed and scooped her into his arms.
He walked her straight to the bathroom, lowered her to her feet, and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Go shower off the feel of the hospital. You’ll sleep better if you do.” He turned and started toward the door.
“You’re not joining me?”
He turned back to face her, his eyes darkening at the prospect, but he shook his head. “Not a good idea if you want to get any sleep,” he said in a gruff tone that turned her on anyway.
She couldn’t deny the fact that she needed rest, but she grabbed his face and pulled him close, sealing her lips over his. He hooked his arm around her waist and hauled her against him, his tongue spearing past her parted lips, and suddenly she wasn’t tired anymore.
She lifted his shirt and pulled it over his head, then braced her hands on his well-cut abs. He met her gaze and grinned. “No sleep?”
“After.” She reached for the button on his jeans, pulled down the zipper, and slid her hand in, wrapping her palm around his thick erection.
“Point made.” He stripped off his jeans, kicking them aside, and while he added his boxers to the pile, she quickly undressed, too.
She linked her arms around his neck and hopped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked her to the bed and laid her on the mattress, his body coming down over hers. His cock pressed hard and insistent against her belly, and her sex pulsed with desire.
“I need you,” she whispered, running her fingernails over his hair and scalp.
He shifted his hips, his cock slid through her wetness, and he let out a groan. “And I need to feel you hot and slick around me so I know you’re here and safe.”
She met his gaze. “It wasn’t me who got hurt,” she reminded him.
“But it was meant to be you. And I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.”
Tears filled her eyes at the sincerity and caring in his tone. “I’m fine,” she assured him, grateful to be here with him.
Not wanting to wait, she spread her legs and his hips settled in the cradle of her thighs. A low, guttural sound escaped his throat as he braced his hands above her shoulders, poised himself at her entrance, and easily slid into her.
His gaze remained on hers, those breathtaking eyes holding her captive as he began to glide in and out, her entire body aware of his thickness and length filling her completely, rubbing against her as he eased out only to sink in deep again.
She expected hard and fast. After all, they’d had a long, trying day and night, and she figured he’d want to relieve his frustration with the stalker situation by losing himself in fast and furious sex. Instead, she found herself with a gentle, caring Xander and it scared her.
Scared her because, as he held her stare, her emotions rose to the surface. A rush of warmth and feeling swept over her along with a need for him that ran deep. One she wasn’t certain she could escape a second time. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
He began to move faster, his hips pumping against her, his pubic bone hitting her in just the right spot outside while his cock rubbed the perfect area inside her. The waves crested quickly, but they were no less spectacular because they were fast. If anything, the emotions she couldn’t fight combined with the perfection of their union.
He wasn’t fucking her, sleeping with her, or merely having sex until their time together ended. This was making love, and as she climaxed, her body suspended in a place only Xander could take her, she heard sobs and whimpers, sounds she didn’t recognize. Sounds she made.
And then his motions became faster, more frantic and out of control. There was the fast and furious pace she’d expected, but as his climax hit, there was no distance between them. They came together as one perfect whole.
* * *
Sasha returned to work on Monday, and though she insisted Cassidy stay home and rest, her friend was on set, iPad in hand. She’d spent the night at Dash’s apartment after the attack, her brother by her side, to appease his worry. The next day, she insisted on returning to her hotel room and living her life. Sasha had tried to convince her to move into Xander’s spare room, but she lost that battle, too. Her strong friend would do what she thought was best and Sasha admired her for it.