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He squeezed her tightly against his torso. “That sounds great. You will see if you can channel Orson Welles, and I’ll show you my inner John Wayne.”
“Well, then, yippee ki-yay,” she said, winking back at him. Then she sat up, and he almost wanted to yank her back into his arms and never let her go, not when she smelled like a field of the most aromatic flowers. “I’m freezing. Once it gets dark up here, that breeze really hits. Let’s get down the hill to the limo, okay?”
“Deal.”
***
His hand was so large that it engulfed hers as they made their way down the back alleys of the hill. The main drag to Park Güell was clogged with tourists shopping for their various souvenirs. It was slow going that way, like moving upstream in a river choked with rocks. The two of them had decided on the less crowded but far-harder-to-see path down the side alleys. But she had Xavier with her. He was well over six feet, and with broad frame and imposing size, she didn’t fear any pickpocket who might try and take things from her.
God, he really does care about me. How can I ever tell him now that I’m Sandra?
“You’re quiet.”
She blinked back at him. “Am I supposed to take that a certain way?” she queried.
“It could be that normally you’re a chatterbox,” he said, turning to her and brushing a hand beside her cheek. “You’re something else, Jules.”
“I…”
He leaned in closer to kiss her, but they were interrupted by a sharp bark of Spanish. Turning, she screamed when she saw a man in front of them, brandishing a switch blade. He was lithe and lean, but he still had a weapon, even if Xavier had size on him. The thief looked between her and Xavier and launched into rapid-fire orders to both of them.
She had no idea what was going on but could guess by the tone and his leaping closer to them that it wasn’t going well.
Xavier shook his head and took a ton of bills from his wallet. She couldn’t guess all of its worth since she was still new to euros. The man took it and then eyed her, chuckling and rubbing a hand over his stomach.
She definitely didn’t need a translation for that.
Xavier swore in English and then spoke to the man. “No. No toques a la mujer. Me entiende? You touch her, and I’ll kill you.”
The man grinned and then dashed toward her, his knife the only thing that she could concentrate on. She flinched and held her hands up in front of her, anticipating the blow. Sandra should have trusted Xavier more than that. Fast as a jungle cat, he was on the attacker. With a kick knee to the solar plexus, he’d stopped the man in his tracks. Then came a crushing uppercut to his nose, and the loud crunch reverberated through the alley. The man backed away, howling in pain, with bloody rivulets pouring from his nose.
Xavier said something terse in Spanish as he clenched the attacker’s dropped knife in his hand. “Now,” he finished, “get the fuck out of here!”
The man didn’t wait twice, just scurried down the hill and out of sight, crying and holding both hands up to his nose. Sandra was taking in desperate shuddering breaths, even as Xavier turned to face her. She was shivering. God, why was she shivering? It was June and breezy, sure, but she had her jacket on. Suddenly it felt like she was wearing a camisole in winter, as if a blizzard were bearing down on her and chilling her to the bone.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Tears sprung to her eyes. She’d almost been stabbed or something, if not for him. It felt like her life was still flashing before her eyes, the memories interweaving with scenarios about how everything could have gone epically, horribly wrong. How she could have been stabbed or killed and have regrets by the bucket full. Sh
e couldn’t change her career right then, but she could cross one regret off her list tonight.
She could get over herself and be more than just friends or the valet or anything lesser where Xavier was concerned. After all, since that first night in the limo where he’d gone down on her, she knew exactly what she wanted, what she craved.
Tilting her chin up, she kissed him, her tongue tangling with his. He still tasted a bit of chocolate from earlier that day, as well as a breath mint he must have popped before they made their descent down the mountain. His five o’clock shadow tickled and scraped at her chin, and that hint of cinnamon, that spicy scent that clung to him, teased her nose.
Xavier melded into her body before pulling away. “Wait, you can’t possibly want this. You could have been killed!”
“That’s exactly why I do want this. I am always so scared, always evaluating the cost and danger in things. I’m terrified I’ll make a mistake, so I play it safe and stay on the sidelines.”
“I…”
“This is about me and about us,” she said, running a hand over his cheek. “I want this, and I want you. Do you want me?”
“You know I do,” he said, his green eyes regarding her with a hunger that made her shiver and her rosebud pulse between her legs. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”
“I don’t have protection on me.”
