{Warning: This chapter contains sexual/ graphic scenes}
{No sex so don't freak out}
Alice’s POV
I managed to wrangle Xavier into letting us stay in my old suite. Even though I’m not super comfortable with Xavier staying with me, especially with the part about how-
Xavier loves me.
Oh God Xavier’s in love with me. I don’t know what to do about it. I still don’t even know if it’s real. But if I could compare it to Zack and Emma’s love, then Xavier’s love is absolutely, 100 percent genuine.
Which is honestly scary to think about.
“Hey, um Alice can I talk to you about something?” Xavier sounds unsure, and I immediately tense up. No good conversation ever comes out of starting with those words. I sit down at the kitchen table and start messing with my hair; I rub the edge of my thumbnail over a lock of it the way I do when I’m stressed or anxious.
“Yeah…?” I trail off; not liking the way Xavier won’t meet my eyes. I don’t like the way his fists clench at the table, like he is uncomfortable with the topic too.
“I just wanted to know if you were ok.” Xavier still won’t meet my steady gaze. I take in his appearance. He seems to have aged a couple of years since I first met him. It’s funny because when I first saw him, I thought he looked like an aristocrat, what with the high cheekbones and general aura of being a strong leader. It turns out I was right.
“That would be the twentieth time you asked that question. And yes, for the twentieth time, I am ok,” I say with a smile, relieved that this is a relatively easy subject to talk about.
“That’s not really what I mean. I don’t mean the way your body healed, even though that in and of itself is absolutely mind-blowing. What I mean is… God Alice, you were held at gunpoint, you were shot… you saw me kill a man with my bare hands. To most people that would be emotionally catastrophic. How can you just sit here like nothing is wrong?” The easy subject matter jumps out the window right there.
“Xavier if there’s one thing you should know about me, it is that I am not going to face things until I think I am ready. I am going to numb myself out until I think I can deal with my emotions. Until I think I can deal, I am going to sit here and not talk about it.”
“That’s all? That’s all you have to say about it?”
I breathe in and out slowly, trying to will calmness into my body. Needless to say, it doesn’t work. “It’s not me getting shot that was wrong.”
“Oh, and pray do tell what is wrong?” Xavier’s voice is cutting and sarcastic, and I find myself resenting this side of him, feeling my anger rise.
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The Kidnapped Bride
RomanceAlice is a normal girl living in a scary world. Scientists have created a new species called the Ys. They are inhumanly gorgeous men who kidnap girls and women to be their brides. But what happens when Alice, whose own mother and best friend wer...
