Breathe For Me (For Me 1: Xander)

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Xander stayed in Chelsea's bed the entire night. Usually he crawled out at some point, dragging himself back to his apartment for the remainder of the night. After he'd had sex with her again. But this time he failed to summon the energy or will to leave. He was finally breaking through her defenses. She'd taken action last night--played with the toy as he'd wanted her to. She'd decided. She'd teased, laughed, talked dirty right back at him. Having her watch waterpolo had been good, the restaurant better, their bed play after--brilliant.

Only now he wanted yet more--to have her truly take the lead. To open right up to him and tease him hard out the way he suspected she would if she could let herself go. He couldn't walk away until he'd achieved that.

But more than that, he wanted to know her. Not just physically.

He woke before she did. He watched her sleeping deeply and dreamlessly. No nightmare. He drew in a satisfied breath. She was curled, facing towards him. Beautiful, warm and snugly. He ached for her to wake, but didn't want to disturb her rest. Lazily he reached for his phone and checked some emails. He hoped she'd stir soon. But then her phone vibrated and emitted that tinkling tune.

"Oh hell," she mumbled, reluctantly rolling to her back. "Sorry." She didn't even look at him as she turned away to grab the phone and get out of bed. "Hey Mom. Yeah. No. I'mgood."

Her voice faded as she wandered into the other room. "I just slept in."

He lay in bed a few minutes longer, giving her the privacy to take her call. It was clear she wanted that space. Interesting that her mother called so often--that Chelsea was constantly required to assert her wellness. And yet close as they were, she wasn't telling her mother everything.

He smothered a snort. It shouldn't bother him that she hadn't told her mom she was with a guy. What did he expect her to say--'don't call so early Mom, I'm tired from having so much sex'?

So not gonna happen. Not from more-private-than-a-porcupine Chelsea Greene. She was all about keeping her life compartmentalized, that was clear.

So getting to know all of her wasn't going to be easy. Good thing he knew how to work hard.

He didn't get the wake-up sex he'd craved--couldn't take advantage of the ground he'd gained the night before. Her call took too long, he had meetings to get to. But halfway through the day he found he couldn't concentrate on work any more. He'd had a call from his engineer to go back and help him out on the independent cinema project in Houston.

Xander didn't want to go. He frowned at his own reaction. That was a first. He never let anything distract him from work, certainly not a woman. He pushed back from his desk and went outside for some fresh air. Ended up catching a cab on a whim.

He got out of the cab. A brightly colored coffee cart was parked to one side of the entrance of the equally vibrant building. Xander read the sign in the lobby and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

"Can you tell me where I might find Chelsea Greene?" He asked the receptionist.

"Sure, follow me."

Xander followed, glancing round the small open plan office as she led him through it. No sign of the one he wanted. The girl paused and frowned. "This is her desk, she shouldn't be far--"

"You just missed her. She's just gone down to grab coffee." A guy came over. "I'm Steve."

Xander nodded, trying not to glare at the hippie dude with shoulder length hair and collection of leather ties round his wrists. Doubtless he was another intern, and Xander couldn't possibly be jealous of him getting to spend his workdays with Chelsea. He turned to study the drawings pinned on the chest-high partition around Chelsea's desk. Some were plans, some were 'artist impressions' and some were just art. Wow. He bent to study one closer. He'd not seen any of these in her apartment, but then that place was crazy full of small herbs. But her work was something else. The woman could really draw.