Empire

Chapter Fifty Nine - Cassandra

 Cassandra ~

The credits started rolling on the screen seconds before Xavier appeared at the door, freshly showered with a new shirt on.

"Told you I wouldn't be long." He said with a grin, motioning with his head for me to follow him out of the media room.

"Get any info out of him before..." Xavier shot Cruz a death stare from across the room that stopped the words from tumbling out of Cruz's mouth.

"Oh come on Xay, give her a little credit here." Cruz whined implying that I knew exactly what Xavier had been doing and that he didn't need to hide it from me.

"Enough Cruz." Xavier warned as I joined him at the door letting his large hand wrap around mine.

"Why don't you tell her about it, she might enjoy the details." Cruz added with a sly grin, taunting his brother and winking at me in the process.

"I said enough." It was a threat this time, not a warning and Cruz backed down immediately, putting his hands up in a playful surrender pose.

Leading me down the hallway, I thought Xavier was taking me back to his room, but he passed by it continuing his fast paced steps toward my room, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the door with his back to me, silent and brooding and I wasn't sure why.

I didn't know what to say or what was expected from a submissive when her dom was upset, but I wanted to comfort him, I wanted to melt his anger away.

"Cruz is a fucking idiot." Xavier said through gritted teeth. "He told, you didn't he? About the men in the basement?"

I wasn't about to lie to Xavier and knew he could read me like a book and would call me on it even if I tried.

"Yes."

"Goddamn it." Xavier muttered, still leaning against the door.

"Xavier it's okay." I soothed.

"No it's not. I want you separate from that." He growled.

I'm not going to be able to make any progress with him if he doesn't turn around and face me.

"Will you come sit with me?" I asked getting nothing but silence in return.

"Please?" The added word perked his ears and he huffed out a breath, letting his shoulders sink as he turned and walked toward the bed.

He sat down with a thud, scowling next to me with his upper body flexed and angry.

"Why do you feel like you have to keep me separate?" I asked softly, placing my hand over his.

"Because I don't want to scare you. You don't know that part of me and I don't....I don't want to fuck this up by scaring you."

To be honest I should have been scared, I should have run for the hills a long time ago, but I didn't. The truth was I wasn't scared of Xavier or his brothers. And the acts they committed didn't change the way I felt because I understood the type of vigilante justice they were serving. That monsters with money needed to answer for the evils they committed against Xaviers family and friends. It was wrong. I knew it was wrong, but I understood it.

Xavier was beating himself up and I hated it, but I refused to watch him suffer as a helpless bystander.

"I didn't think through the logistics of having you here, the implications of it all."

I couldn't watch Xavier punish himself for another second. Climbing into his lap, I maneuvered his large body as I settled down on top of him, straddling him and draping my arms across his shoulders as he sat on the edge of the bed. The action alone had put the smallest smile on his lips and I knew I was making some progress.