Chapter 14

I lay in Xander’s bed, basking in the pool of sun that shone directly over me. The room was filled with warmth and light as the sun’s rays poured in through the half-closed curtains, illuminating the space with a soft glow. I felt enchanted by the sight of the stained glass windows that adorned the upper part of the room. It was beautiful to see those dancing tints vanishing and reappearing from the movements of clouds in the sky.

As I lay there, I thought about Xander. He had left early, probably not wanting to disturb my sleep, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he had left because he regretted spending the night with me. The thought made me groan in disappointment.

Faiths, I hoped it wasn’t out of regret…

I hid my warm, red face in the pillow beside me to stifle my cry of embarrassment.

I bit my bottom lip, thinking back to the steamy night I had shared with him and flushed a deeper crimson at the memories of his touch on my skin.

The bedroom door opened, and it startled me to see Xander walk in, his gaze finding me immediately.

I flashed him a stunned smile and bunched the covers to hide my nakedness.

He removed the vest of his black two-piece suit and sauntered to my side.

His hand slid up the length of my body and tossed aside my wavy hair that hid his mark. Xander kissed it, and it sent shivering ripples through my entire body.

Wow, this is new, I thought.

I hadn’t thought to look at the mark yet. Turning my head slantwise, I noticed the two half-crescent moons of Xander’s bite sitting on my left shoulder. They almost linked to make a complete circle. When I ran my fingers across it, I was a little dumbfounded to feel it had already healed to a faded scar. Even the gashes on my arms had become pink.

I frowned, and Xander kissed my nose.

“Yeah, I forgot to mention that you’d inherit some of my abilities through the mark,” he said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s one thing that makes the mate bond special.”

“Oh?”

“You healed overnight because of my fast-healing ability.” He traced the outline of his mark with a light finger.

“Hmm, what else might I expect?” I asked while I did a long stretch over him. He had settled his back on the headboard and left one leg dangling to the side of the bed.

“You will feel some emotions through me, and I, you. The mate bond is a little mysterious.” Xander kissed the top of my head.

I would have to read up on it, then.

“What would you like to do today?” He raised a brow at me. “I freed up the rest of my day. We can do whatever you like.”

“How are you able to free yourself? I hardly ever saw you while cleaning your quarters these last few weeks. You were like a ghost. I had half a mind of thinking you were a workaholic,” I teased him, propping up my elbow on his lap.

Xander shifted a bit awkwardly on the bed and cleared his throat. “Well… I was sort of avoiding you,” he said sheepishly. “When Leo told me you had felt ill and refused to leave your room, I guessed it was because of me, so I tried not to be in the area too much—to make you more comfortable.” He sighed deeply. “To be honest, it was very selfish of me to put you through all of this. You were all I ever thought about, and it drove me crazy that you were on the other side of that door, but I couldn’t be with you.”

I understood the feeling. I also felt the pull Xander had on me. The feeling lessened since he marked me, but the feeling was different now. The want and need for him still lingered, but now that there was a connection through his mark, it wasn’t as intense as before. It felt like I always had a hand on him, reassuring me he was there.

I lifted myself from the bed, moved closer to Xander, and pressed my lips to his softly before moving off and wrapping his bedsheets around my body.

“Is that a yes to spending the day with me?” Xander asked, placing both feet on the side of the bed and following me with his beautiful grey eyes.

I was surprised I didn’t see his Lycan surface yet.

“Sure.” I smiled at him. “But I’ll have to borrow some clothes.” I moved toward his closet and dresser. “Unless you want me to keep wearing the maid’s dress?” I frowned as I became a little confused. “Do I still need to work for you?”

He laughed wholeheartedly at the situation. Weirdly, a calming effect dissolved the panicking feeling creeping up inside my stomach, and I felt Xander’s mark tingle.

“I have some clothes you can wear that are too small for me, but I’ll order some dresses for you. And don’t worry, you no longer have to work for me. In fact, you’re fired.” Xander grinned and jumped off the bed.

He moved over to his dresser and looked through some clothes.

 “I’m working on something so that we can be together officially in the eyes of society. We’ll need to sit down so you can give me all your personal information. I’ll need to make papers for you that say―”

I didn’t hear the end of his sentence. A buzzing noise rushed into my ears, blocking any sound. I shivered, and cold sweat appeared on my neck, making my hair stick to my nape and bare back.

I would have to give him my personal information, and he’d probably ask out of politeness to have information about my family—to know me better.

I wasn’t ready to do this. I thought I was, but I realized that I wasn’t prepared to reveal myself to Xander.

Tears burned in the back of my throat. I wasn’t ready to lose him just yet!

Strong arms wrapped around me, surrounding me warmly.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.” Xander pulled away some of my hair and trailed kisses from my shoulder to my jaw. “I know you’re feeling guilt and fear about something, and I want you to know that if you’re not ready to open up to me about certain things from your past, that’s completely fine. You can just give me whatever information you are comfortable sharing.”

I sensed another blast of calmness trickling through me from the mark, and I understood Xander was doing this. He was trying to calm me through our connection. And he knew every stupid feeling I had because he could sense them too.

Oh, how I hated that mate bond thing.

He let go of me, rummaged through his things, and returned with a black pair of pants and a soft green cotton shirt.

He pulled the shirt beside my face and nodded. “Yup, this will go very well with your red hair and hazel eyes.”

My heartbeat picked up at the mention of my hair. My red Cardinal hair. I reined in all the emotions that were about to surface. I didn’t want Xander to feel them.

I took the clothes from his hands and dropped the bedsheet to my feet. I could feel him ogling me while I walked over to the door leading to my room to get some undergarments. Maybe that would distract him from the marching drum playing in my chest.

Once I came back into his room, I dressed.

I rather liked Xander’s clothes on me. It reminded me of my lessons with Otis when I dressed in men’s clothes when we practiced magic. I still had to roll up the bottom cuffs of the pants and put a belt in place to secure everything. The shirt was too big for me, but I didn’t mind. Xander was right; it did bring out my eyes and hair.

I turned on myself to show him, and he smiled lightly. However, his thoughts looked like they were somewhere else.

He came up behind me once more and circled his arms near my chest.

“Why did you colour your hair?” he cautiously asked, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck.

So, he picked that up. Drat.

I groaned and placed my hands on his forearms affectionately. “Because my previous employers would hit me for having red hair. I hid it under anything that could conceal it entirely or coloured it to avoid getting punished again.”

I heard him growl, and then his grip on me tightened, almost possessively. We stayed like this for a few minutes; after that, he let me go so I could finish getting ready.

I pulled my hair up in a knot and picked up the shawl I had brought over from my room to cover my shoulders. It was always cold on the fourth floor. I had concluded that since Xander was a Lycan, he was naturally warmer than humans. That explained why the fireplace in his chamber was immaculate like it had never been used. He didn’t need fires to stay cozy during winter, but I did, so the shawl would have to do since it was nippy.

“Just so you know, Ida, brunettes are not my type.” Xander flashed me a quick smile and winked.

Well, that made me feel somewhat better.

I still didn’t know what we would do today. I was famished, which I thought was normal if I had been bedridden for two days.

We could have breakfast together.

Although I got something delicious last night, watching Xander grab the vest of his two-piece and slip it on, hiding his muscular chest and arms, only made me want to remove every piece of clothing he was wearing and have a repeat of the night before.

I blushed, thinking how crazy it would be if he played hooky to stay in bed with me all day.

“If you keep thinking about dirty stuff, I can’t promise you I won’t lock you up with me and have my ways with you all day long,” I heard Xander snicker on his way to the door.

I turned my head toward him, and I saw him wiggle his eyebrows. How did he even know?

As if to reply to my silent question, he simply tapped his finger on his shoulder to mirror where his mark was on my body, then flared his nose to show me he could smell it, and I reddened even more.

“I’m beginning to regret this bond thing,” I replied wryly.

“Hey.” Xander placed his big hand on his chest dramatically as if my words had pierced him. He then recomposed himself and pressed a guiding hand on the small of my back. “It works both ways, love. You just need to pick it up.”

And with that, we were out of the room and discussed our plans for the rest of our day.