Xxtra | 18+

Xxtra is a dark, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance about a brutal mafia boss and a traumatized cult escapee forced under the same roof. When 18-year-old Xilena is rescued from a violent cult, she's brought to Xavier's mansion-not for safety, but as bait. Cold, commanding, and deadly, he doesn't want her there, but he can't take his eyes off her. Xilena, all innocence and fire, knows he's dangerous but can't stop pushing back. As tension ignites and secrets unravel, their twisted connection threatens to consume them both. She was meant to be a pawn-but she might just become his weakness.

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Excerpt:

"You always walk around like that?" I ask, voice low, rough. "Wearing nothing and looking at me like you want me to do something about it?"

She blinks. Her lips part just slightly. "I wasn't trying to-"

"No?" My fingers trace the hem of the shirt, brushing the top of her thigh. "Then you don't know what this does to me?"

She doesn't speak. Doesn't back away either. She's frozen-part fear, part something else. Something new. Her chest rises and falls faster now.

I trail one finger up her leg, slow, until it just grazes the inside of her thigh. I stop before anything indecent, just enough to feel her legs tense, to hear the soft catch in her breath.

Her innocence isn't just obvious-it's blinding. She doesn't know how to handle this kind of heat. Doesn't know what to do with the pull between us.

I cup her jaw with one hand, tilting her head back, forcing her eyes to meet mine.

"You don't even know what I'm doing to you, do you?"

She doesn't answer. Her pupils are blown wide.

And I already know.

She has no clue.

That sends a sharp jolt straight through me-desire and guilt tangled together like barbed wire.

I lean in like I'm going to kiss her. I don't. I just hover. My lips barely brushing hers. Her breath shakes between us. She's waiting.

Waiting for something she doesn't even understand.

And I could give it to her.

I want to.