Alex's POV
The familiar scent hit me like a ton of bricks, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. I paused, standing still as the air wrapped itself around me, the scent so powerful, so unmistakable, that it cut through everything else.
Xavier.
I turned instinctively toward the source of the smell, and there he was—sitting on a patch of grass at the edge of the clearing, his bare chest glistening in the early morning light. He was wearing nothing but shorts, and god, his body was a sight to behold. Muscles rippling under smooth skin, tattoos snaking around his arms, and that damn, confident smirk on his lips that had always made my insides twist.
Sitting on the branches of a tree at the edge of the field, his bare chest gleaming in the early morning light, looking like he had just stepped out of a damn dream. Or maybe more accurately, a nightmare. His muscles rippling in the sunlight, the way his eyes glinted with mischief as he caught sight of me, his gaze locking with mine.
