Dangerous Life

Chapter Seven

"Have you been in the gym all this time?" I ask Xavier as he walks past me towards the bathroom the next morning.

His bare torso is covered in nothing but sweat and I try to ignore the way his evident muscles tense as he turns to face me.

Luckily most of the bruising from yesterday doesn't look as bad as I expect it to, but it's still very evident.

"We have to leave here in half an hour" I try to keep my words slow, I know I'm panicking about today but I can't help it. "I really don't want to be late Xavier, we have to call Mason as well."

"We won't be late, relax" his cold tone surprises me as he turns around and shuts the bathroom door behind him, louder than he needs to.

He must be in some kind of bad mood and that doesn't help settle my nerves at all. What's up with him?

Breathing heavily to swallow my unease I make my way downstairs to the kitchen since I was already ready half an hour ago. I know I'm over prepared, I just want everything to go right and I'm unbelievably worried that something will be wrong with our baby or with Mason. Or with Mrs O'Conner who I still have to talk to today.

By the time Xavier finally comes downstairs I already have his keys between my fingers and the things I need for work ready on the table. I'm so busy pacing back and forth, the only thing I can hear is the echoing sound of my heels on the floor. I barely notice him waiting behind me until I turn around again.

Freshly showered and shaven, his hair is pushed back away from his face like it usually is. The perfectly fitted expensive suit on his muscular body makes him look more intimating than normal - if that's even possible. His phones is in one of his hands and I can tell immediately just by his facial expression that his bad mood hasn't cleared up. 

"Keys?" He asks, I almost forget for a moment that I'm holding them before throwing them his way. Of course he catches them effortlessly in his free hand, even with my horrible throw... It's a skill I still to this day haven't been able to master.

I grab my laptop case, wallet and phone from the table and follow him out the door he didn't bother leaving open for me. He must really be in a mood about something serious, why did it have to be today of all days?

I lock the front door, but Xavier's already reversed the perfectly polished SUV he loves a little too much from the garage. The latest Range Rover he bought a few weeks ago still looks like it's only just been made. I've lost track of the hours he spends cleaning it whenever he's not working. I'll never understand why boys like cars so much.

"We need to call Mason" I tell him as I open my door, he's pulled dark sunglasses over his bruised nose and now he really does look like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. "His message sounded urgent" I add.

"You have to dial it, I don't have his number on my phone" Xavier's voice is robotic and emotionless which doesn't help my nerves at all.

Still, I nod silently and press the numbers into the expensive touch screen of the car. "You know his number off by heart?"

I don't like the edge to Xavier's voice as he examines me. I try to resist the urge to say something sarcastic in return.

"He's had the same one for ten years."

Xavier says nothing in response and luckily the dialling echoing throughout the bluetooth of the car fills in some of the awkward tension between us. His eyes don't leave the road in front of him and his grip on the steering wheel is tight, like it usually is whenever he's distracted or thinking about something.