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It took them a very long time to walk to the villa, even though it was less than a mile away. They kept stopping to kiss or to reminisce on something that had happened years ago through the lens that they’d liked each other all along. Maisy told Xander how she’d gushed to her friends about him after that first visit all those years ago, and Xander shared how painful it had been watching her and Niko get engaged.
“Out on that balcony the night before your wedding, when you thought I was Niko — I wanted to kiss you. I wouldn’t have, of course, but it was hard not to.”
“If you’d kissed me, I would have known right away that you weren’t Niko.”
“Good.” And Xander kissed her again.
By the time they climbed the stairs to the villa and went inside, Maisy was tingling with desire. The nervous voices asking what this meant and what she was doing still ran in the back of her mind, but she was done listening to them. It was time to do what she wanted.
So, when they stepped into the living room, Maisy took Xander’s hand and assembled all the bravery she had in her.
“You’ve been sleeping on the couch for almost a week now,” she said. “Wouldn’t you like to see the bed?”
“Do you want to show me?”
“I do.” And Maisy led Xander into the bedroom. They’d barely stepped over the threshold before they were kissing again, with even greater intensity this time. Maisy had never felt desire like this before. She wanted Xander. He wanted her. That was all that mattered.
Moments later, they were on the bed, Maisy on her back and Xander braced above her. Maisy expected him to speed things up and race towards the inevitable moment when they would give in to the magnetic force that they’d resisted for so long, but instead he slowed down. He paused above her, not yet kissing her.
“You look so beautiful,” Xander said. His voice was low and intense.
“Not really.” Despite the romance of the moment, Maisy wrinkled her nose.
“Oh, yes, you do. That brown, wavy hair. Those deep green eyes… I could look at you forever. I don’t want to forget this moment.”
Maisy cupped his face with one palm. As she did so, she took a mental picture of Xander — his dark brown eyes, his unruly hair, the shadow of stubble on his cheeks, his full lips, the way he was looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered in this world.
“I don’t want to forget this, either.”
Then, finally, so slowly that Maisy began to ache, Xander brought his mouth to hers and began to kiss her again. Slowly, tenderly, as though they had all the time in the world, they began to undress each other. For a long time, they were in perfect harmony in their villa under the Pacific night sky.
CHAPTER 15
XANDER
When Xander woke, the first thing he noticed was how comfortable he was. After almost a week of sleeping on the couch, the bed felt like heaven. And even more heavenly was the feeling of Maisy’s head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. Xander’s arm was around her, and he pulled her closer before pressing a tender kiss to the top of her wavy hair.
Last night had been… indescribable. Xander had fought his feelings for Maisy for a long time, but now he would never be able to hide them again. The connection he felt with her was unlike anything he’d known before — powerful, electric, yet welcoming and warm at the same time. He never wanted to get out of this bed.
After a few moments, Maisy began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Then her mouth lifted into a gorgeous smile, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, and she snuggled closer into his side.
“It wasn’t a dream,” she said softly.
“No, it wasn’t. It was… wow.”
Maisy chuckled. “It really was.” Then she lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at him. “I think this is the first morning you weren’t all grumpy when you woke up.”
“How could I be grumpy when I’m in bed with you?” Xander asked.
“If I’d known it was that easy, I would have slept with you years ago,” Maisy joked.
“I wish you would have. It would have saved us both a lot of years of pain.”
Maisy kissed his shoulder, then settled back in. Her green eyes were sparkling and bright, even though she’d just woken up.
“Should we talk about… everything… now?”
“Not yet. Let’s just enjoy the morning. Is that okay?”
