New Beginnings by Lori Maguire Page A

him. Strong, warm hands dove into my hair and held my head in place as he claimed my mouth. When he pulled away, he gave me a heated look. His eyes were smoky and his pupils were dilated. He grabbed my face once again. “Who has your heart, Ella?” he whispered, a wild look in his eyes.
    “You do. Only you, Xavier,” I breathed.
    “Good answer, sweetness,” he whispered back. He reached behind me and in one fell swoop every item that was on the desk directly behind me was pushed off. The sound of paper rustling to the floor and pens landing and rolling around on the hardwood instantly reminded of the time in the mountains when we didn’t make it past the kitchen table. That was the first most erotic encounter of my life. This just turned into the second.
     

     
    I was sitting on the edge of his desk. My legs were still wrapped around his hips. He leaned his sweaty forehead into mine until our breathing slowed.
    “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
    “For what?” I asked surprised.
    “For attacking you the way I just did.”
    I chuckled. “Are you kidding me? I love these crazy, unbridled moments with you.” I could feel my face heat.
    “Damn it. I’ve done it,” he said, feigning sadness.
    “Done what?” I asked.
    “I’ve scandalized you,” he said in mock horror.
    I laughed. “Oh, Mr. Hart. I’m sorry to tell you, but I am far from innocent.”
    “Come. Let me run you a bath,” he said softly.
    With him still buried inside me, he lifted me off his desk and made his way to the bathroom. Gently, he set me down on the counter. I grunted in protest when he pulled himself free causing him to smirk at me. I openly ogled his fine form as he walked around the bathroom preparing our bath.
    Once we settled in the hot, soapy water together, I decided it was time to talk seriously.
    “I think we need to talk about that photo you sent me,” I said.
    “Ella, I trust you. There’s nothing to talk about, sweetness,” he said, running my wet poof gently across my shoulders.
    “I disagree. You sent me a pretty angry sounding text along with what looked like a questionable photo. You obviously didn’t trust me when you first saw it. Where did you get it from?” He didn’t answer. “Did Marissa send it to you?” He still refused to answer. “Do you have someone else watching me that I don’t know about?” When he still refused to answer, I turned around to look at him with such force that water sloshed out of the tub and onto the floor. I got up onto my knees and grabbed his face in my hands. “Talk to me,” I demanded.
    “Carline sent it to me.”
    “Oh. I should’ve known,” I muttered. My hands dropped from his face and I rested back on my heels.
    “Yes, I was angry at first, but then I realized she was probably just sending it to me in hopes that I would get angry with you. I didn’t stop to think about it until after I sent you my text. I belatedly realized how much I trust you. I know there isn’t anything going on between you and Devlin. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me like that,” he said sincerely.
    “No, there isn’t, and I definitely wouldn’t. I’m glad you realize that.” I ran my hands up his torso, resting them against his chiseled chest. Leaning in, I pressed my lips to his. Gently, I sucked in his bottom lip before pulling away. “We finished work before lunch, and he asked me if I wanted to get something to eat. I told him I had to go shopping for a dress for tomorrow night. He offered to come saying he could give me an honest male opinion.”
    “Ella, you really don’t need to explain.”
    “Let me finish, please,” I said, holding a finger against his lips to silence him. “He wanted me to show him the dress when I tried it on. He took my hand and asked me to turn around. He said you were a very lucky man.” I gave him a small smile. “Then we had the pleasure of running into Carline. Afterwards, we went to Mariposa to grab something quick to eat. He