Page 70 of Xander

I tilted my head toward him and blinked rapidly when I realized how close his face was to mine. He had surprisingly long lashes for a man with such a harsh face.

I turned away, ducking my head toward my drink. The skin on the nape of my neck prickled as his hand glided up my thigh. He leaned in and whispered, “Remember? At the club?”

His father’s club, I realized. The lunch where he’d kissed me, and then he… I squeezed my eyes shut.

Even now, I could feel the cold surface of the door rubbing against my ass as he held me against it and took what he wanted—his hand sifting through my hair, his clean scent, his large hand wrapped around my throat. A tremor vibrated from my pussy, and I clenched my jaw to hold back a moan the erotic image elicited.

A wave of self-loathing washed over me.

How could I imagine, let alone want, these vile things, and with him of all people? Why couldn’t I get these wayward physical responses under control?

“I remember,” I told him quietly.

For a man who had displayed a barbaric amount of possessiveness, he was now curiously subdued. “I had fun that day,” he said.

“I did, too.” The words floated up, catching me off guard. And it was true, I had—until he had complicated things. Until he’d made me question everything. Until he’d taken me as if I were a misplaced jewel that he could simply pluck and relocate.

I said nothing more and sipped the drink I was starting to like. His teammates’ loud and jocular voices were mere feet away. Most of them rejoined us after grabbing another round of drinks. I was surprised they chose to return to the table and get to know me better rather than flirt with the girls at the bar like Kai and Logan. The jukebox debate had finally settled, and strains of “Black Magic Woman” filled the worn-down but cozy bar. The guys were also successful in their endeavors and led girls to the dimly lit corner cleared away for dancing.

The rest of the guys were hanging around the table still. Xander’s eyes kept flicking between them and me, watching everyone like a hawk.

“Dance with me?” he asked suddenly, the expression on his face so alien it took me a moment to realize that it was because he thought I might say no.

Saying no would have been the right thing to do, but I couldn’t get myself to push the word out of my lips. Thoughts scrolled through my mind, chaffingly sharp through the haze of alcohol, and I pushed the bottle away from me at last.

“Okay,” I said and took his hand, allowing him to help me up from the table.

Xander led me to the dance floor. Déjà vu settled in when he swayed me in his arms, and then an alarming realization flashed in my mind. It had been years since I danced, and the last time was actually with Xander at one of his father’s parties.

Xander spoke before I could dwell on the disturbing insight. “I can’t stop thinking about kissing you,” he murmured under his breath.

That was when I caught the way he stared at me like he couldn’t wait to take me again. He was barely holding himself back because people were watching us.

“I’m getting tired of sharing you with other people,” he added. “I’m going to strip you naked as soon as I get you home, and then⁠—”

His eyes narrowed when I dropped his hands. Did he even care that the players on his team were nearby and knew we were related?

“I hope I got you pregnant last night,” he announced out of the blue.

I tore away from him entirely. “What?”

The comment was so unexpectedly from left field that I staggered. He hadn’t brought this up again, and I had wondered whether I had made up the troubling thought in an intoxicated state.

But Xander was serious. “I hope you’re pregnant with my baby right now,” he said more persistently. His eyes flicked to the table. I followed his gaze to find some of the guys from the team watching us.

Had seeing me around other men triggered this dramatic reaction?

“What’s wrong with you?” I snapped, having reached my limit on this crazy train. “Seriously, why are you doing all of this?”

“I told you why,” he said mildly.

Had he? I desperately scanned my brain to recount our conversations.

It didn’t matter what he had said to me. This was too much. I’d dreamed of having a baby, but a child with my stepson wasn’t a shame I could bear.

“I-I—” Shock rendered me speechless, but Xander took it as compliance.

Unaware of the dread that wouldn’t let me respond, he took hold of my hands again. I stood frozen as he moved me across the dance floor like a pawn on the chessboard. He kept me tightly locked in his arms until the song ended.