The sounds from inside stopped abruptly. A moment of silence stretched between them. Then footsteps approached, and the door swung open.
Xavier stood there, shirtless, his snow-white hair wild and disheveled. A look of pure, satisfied bliss shone on his face for half a heartbeat before morphing into shock as he took in her appearance.
"What's u—" The words died on his lips.
His gaze swept over her—the heaving chest, the furious blush staining her cheeks, the golden fractures pulsing beneath her skin in a rhythm identical to the heartbeat of the goddess he'd just left in his bed. Understanding dawned in his purple eyes as they widened with horror.
"Shit," he breathed, the single word an admission of guilt, of obliviousness, of profound apology. "Ashley, I—"
"Don't," she cut him off, her voice shaking but firm. "Don't you dare apologize."
