he gently strokes my hair. I need to touch him, too. I slide one hand up to his face, my pulse racing the second his stubble scratches against my palm. Eager for more, I put my other hand on his face, framing his gorgeousness in my own hands and hardly believing, at least at this moment, he’s mine to hold.
“I want to show you something,” he murmurs as he caresses my hair. “Will you let me?”
Then he nuzzles his nose to mine in the sweetest of gestures.
My body goes liquid. I’m melting from every word Xander speaks to me, every moment he touches me.
“Yes,” I whisper back.
He lifts his head. Xander wraps one of his hands over mine, removing it from his face, and linking his fingers with mine.
Without a word, he leads me towards the french doors at the back of the kitchen. He opens them and takes me out into his private garden.
I gasp at the sight. It’s a springtime oasis back here, lush with bushes and blooming flowers that create a nook of privacy. It’s a small garden, but thick with foliage from the trees and budding rose bushes. The only seating I see out here is a hammock tied between two trees.
And it’s just us out here in this fragrant garden, with the stars sparkling in the inky sky overhead, and I feel as if we are the only two people in the world right now.
Xander turns around, and this time, he slides both his hands to my face, holding it gently. I shiver the second his palms make contact with my skin. Lord, he feels so strong, so warm, so masculine.
He bends down and lowers his forehead to mine. “No woman has been to my garden before.”
My breath quickens from this confession. “Why is that?” I whisper, my voice soft in the night air.
“Because this was mine. This is my sanctuary,” he murmurs, his breath warm and caressing against my face. “I come out here to escape when the pressure gets too much. I lie in that hammock and close my eyes and breathe in the air. That’s all I need to forget everything.”
My pulse is frantic now. I breathe in his sweet and smoke-kissed scent, desperate for this part of him to be a part of me now, too. I’m trembling as my hands slide around his back, feeling the hard muscles through the fabric of his jumper.
“Do you know why I’m sharing this with you?” he asks, nuzzling his forehead to mine.
My heart has never beaten so fast in my life. “No,” I whisper into the space between us.
Xander moves one hand around to my back. The second his palm spans it, I suck in a sharp breath of air. His fingertips are moving up and down my back, rubbing it, caressing it, and I’m now dizzy with the idea of what his mouth will be like against mine.
“This is my place where everything is real. Me. The outdoors. Everything is genuine here,” he says softly. He lifts his head and traces his fingertips along my cheekbone. “But now I’ve found something else that is real. That is genuine. When I’m with you, it’s like being out here. I’m aware of only one thing. And that’s you.”
I’m shaking as he stares down at me, and I lose myself in those inky blue eyes. I lose myself in his arms, in his scent, in everything about him. His words are wrapping around my heart, touching me in a way it’s never been touched before.
“I need to kiss you like I need this air,” he whispers. “I need to feel your mouth, I need to taste you, I need your rose and lemon scent all over my skin. I need it now.”
And before I can say a word, Xander’s mouth is on mine.
Chapter Eleven
I Could Stay Here All Night
Xander’s lips are lush and warm against my mouth. It’s one simple kiss. One brush of his lips. His kiss is sweet. Gentle. It’s so brief, so light, it’s like a whisper against my skin.
“Poppy,” he murmurs, his warm breath brushing over my lips. “I need more of you.”
Heat flames through me. I’m trembling in his arms, desperate to taste him, frantic to touch him, to feel his tongue war with mine in a passionate kiss. I’m growing weak. Needy. All these fantastic feelings are swirling within me, a storm of excitement and desire that I didn’t believe could exist until his mouth met mine.