Harley's POV

"Harley." A voice caressed my face. That deep hushed voice sent my heart into a frenzy. I opened my eyes slowly just in case I had to adjust to the light, but it was dark. The rise of the sun was apparent through the bedroom windows, but everything was still pitch black. Rachel's legs were wrapped around my body, and her face was pressed against my head. She obviously was craving physical touch along with Brooke. "Come with me." He said softly. He was dressed in his straight black and white suit, no tie, and his hair laid back perfectly like usual. Was he leaving now? With that thought in my mind, I nodded and carefully pried Rachel off my body. She stirred and groaned, but I managed to get away without waking her up. I placed my feet on the cold floor, pulling down my shirt because it had ridden up during my sleep and my whole ass was out. "Put a jacket on. I'll be outside the door," Xander whispered to me before walking toward the bedroom door and closing it behind him. Outside? Why? I knew he said he'd come to see me before he left, but I thought he meant a quick bye or none at all. I'm glad he didn't, though.

I knew I looked like a homeless person. My unmanageable hair was a tangled mess since yesterday, and I hadn't had time to comb it. Not to mention how awful my face looked. I walked into the closet and picked up a random hoodie that was hung up on the rack. It wasn't mine, nor had I seen it before, but it was there, and I needed one. I pulled it on over my shirt and shorts leaving me looking like I had no pants. Not caring, I went to the bathroom quickly to brush through my wiry thick wavy black hair and brush my teeth. Lastly splashing some water on my face and brushing my hair down, so it flopped over my shoulders. I tip-toed across the room to the door. Brooke and Rachel could sleep through an earthquake, but I still didn't want to be too loud just in case.

Once I made it out of the door, Xander was leaned against the wall patiently. His eyes shot to me as I closed the door behind me. His eyes looked all over my face for a second too long, then down my body. Gosh, I hated when he did that. My whole body heats up like a furnace. I pushed my puffy hair behind my ears. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"I've never seen your hair like that." He completely ignored my question and instead just looked at me. Cautiously. Precisely. It was true; I had never worn my hair down and out like this. It was too wild, but I always liked it in its natural state. "You look beautiful." He said. He said it casually. Like it was a known fact, and he was stating the obvious, but it wasn't. It was surprising and very apparently left me flustered.

"T-thank you-" I tried to hide the smile that wanted to escape. "But, what's going on?" I asked.

"I told you I'd come to see you before I leave." He said, grabbing my hand in his and suddenly pulling me with him down the stairs.

"It's 4 am. You're leaving this early?" I asked as we descended the steps to the bottom floor.

"Unfortunately." He answered as he pulled me through the double side doors outside. There was another set of marble stairs to walk down. At the end of the yard was a large wonder pool connected to two other pools and behind the pools was a large forestry garden area. The whole place was completely unnecessarily luxurious. We walked over to a benched area behind the house, far enough that no one could see but close enough to see the house. I'd never been out here; I only saw from my bedroom window. Xander sat down on the bench, carefully pulling me next to him. He didn't talk, and neither did I. We just sat consumed in each other's presence. It didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk, so I didn't push him. Instead, I just left him be and watched him carefully and periodically. It was still darker outside, but the lights from around the pool were bright, and the sun was beginning to peek through more. The birds started to chirp around us, and the morning humidity was settling in. Unlike the inviting nature, Xander's face was emotionless yet stern. His forehead had frown lines, and he was flexing his knuckles over and over. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his thighs and massaging his hands together aggressively like he was in deep concentration. I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. I didn't even know what troubled him. Hesitantly I moved my hand from my lap and slipped it past his thigh and into his warm hand. I wrapped my fingers around his and rested it there. I looked away from him, so I didn't see his expression, but I knew he was looking at me. I felt him tense for a moment, then wrapped his fingers in my hand, used his other hand to cover my entire hand, and began rubbing my skin softly. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. His fingers glided over my skin over and over each time, it sent my nerves in a frenzy, but I could see he was visibly calmer. It felt strange being touched by him like this, and I didn't know what to think of it. I just pushed it out of my head and concentrated on Xander's monotone face. There was clearly something going on. Something big. Even with everything with Huncho, he didn't seem this worried. In fact, he didn't look worried at all.

"What were you upset about earlier?" He spoke so suddenly it almost made me jump. I completely forgot about all the pent-up anger I had from the other morning. All the things Tessa said to me fueled my crazy attitude. Still, it was an odd thing to bring up at this very moment.

"It was nothing." I hushed, not wanting to ruin the perfectly calm mood. "It doesn't matter." I didn't need to talk about that right now.

"I'll say if it matters." He replied. "Tell me." He said this time, moving every ounce of his attention to me. His hand didn't leave mine, but he shifted a little to read my face better. I swallowed, trying to moisten my now dry throat. I still didn't know what to say or where to begin. I felt foolish explaining to him that I was angry because I was developing feelings for him.

"I didn't know it was so apparent I was mad," I said.

"You always have a smart mouth; you don't always have an attitude." He started. "So what was it?"

"I-" I started. I already knew Xander was observant. His eyes were sharp, and nothing ever got past him. It was unfortunate for me. "I got in a disagreement with Tessa." I started. "We had a conversation the other night. I let myself get angry, and I took it out on you."

"What was this conversation about?" He asked, ignoring the fact that I just confessed to taking out my anger on him.

"Y-you." I stuttered, not looking at his face.

"She shouldn't have anything to say about me. She doesn't know me, Harley. What'd she tell you?" He asked in a bored tone.

"I don't want to get her in trouble or anything," I said softly. I knew he would do something to her if he didn't like the next words out of my mouth.

"She doesn't respect you, Harley. Stop defending people that don't know you or care for you." He sneered. He told me this before, but I thought he'd learn by now, I don't take direction well. "What did she say?" He asked. I hesitated. Maybe it was better to lie. My face heated up as I tried to think of something to say.

"She said-" I started, "she said you didn't care about me, and in the beginning, I wasn't even worth killing." I was staring at the wall now. I didn't want him to see that her words definitely affected me. "It doesn't matter anyway." I shook my head.

"And you believed her?" He said a little louder this time.

"N-n-no-ye-" I did. I really believed her. Everything she said made perfect sense to me at the time. I consumed everything she said like a sponge.

"Yes, you did." I could feel the heat from his body as he moved closer to me. Our faces were so close. Too close. "If you didn't, then you wouldn't have been upset. Right?" He sounded angry now. I could see his eyes were filled with disappointment and wrath.

"I didn't want to believe her, Xander." His name slipped out of my mouth, and I paused for a moment before speaking again. "but it made sense at the moment, and you asked me so suddenly. You haven't given me a chance to answer." I explained. I was speaking out of frustration, too, now.

"Oh really?" He inched even closer to me. My breath hitched in my throat. His nose brushed against mine for a moment. His eyes flickered to my lips, then back to my eyes. He was mad. No doubt about it, but I could also see the hunger in his eyes. And it caused a wave of pleasure between my legs and through my whole body. "How did it make sense, Harley. You listened to a girl you barely know. She was talking out of her ass, and you believed her." He wasn't speaking rationally anymore. He was making me feel stupid and ashamed, and it was bringing out my frustration too.

"I barely know you," I retorted lowly in his face. "I just learned your name. You took me. You stole me from my home. From my life. What the hell was I supposed to think!?" I exclaimed now. He stared down at me, and I stared up at him. Our eyes engulfing one another.

"I never gave you a reason to think otherwise" He pulled away from me, now full of wrath. Hell was breaking loose.

"What is wrong with you? Yelling at me doesn't show you care for me. Cursing at me doesn't show you care. And randomly starting arguments like this doesn't show you care for me at all!" I exclaimed. I couldn't believe I was yelling right now, much less at him. The man that could end my life in a heartbeat. The man I owe my life to. I didn't know, but tears were streaming down my face now. I shifted my eyes from him to the floor. "Why was I supposed to think you cared about me? Honestly, this is ridiculous. Why are we fighting over something like this? It shouldn't matter-" but before I could finish my statement, his large rough hand wrapped around the back of my head and pulled me to his lips. Clearly caught by surprise, a heavy gasp escaped my lips; at the same time, he raised his other hand and cupped the opposite side of my face. His fingers weaved into my messy hair naturally. This isn't happening. What do I do? Like my brain already knew the answer, I started to work my lips against his. I'd never kissed anyone before, nor did I know how but my lips moved without instruction. Just the sensation sent sizzles down my spine. I melted against him. What was I doing? In agreement, a subtle groan ripped through his mouth. My body quivered unintentionally. He was kissing me, and I was kissing him back. How did this happen? Why does something so wrong feel so insanely right? Opening my mouth a little, a soft moan crept out. Without warning, he dove into my mouth rougher with more passion. The way his tongue moved was advanced. The minty flavor of his mouth only made another moan collapse against my lips. It all happened so fast; I didn't have time to think or register anything. Why was he doing this to me? I could see the anger in his eyes when he was talking now; he was kissing me? He bit down on my lip softly as he turned his head for more access. A pant left my lips when he did. He was rough but still gentle enough for me to keep up. All the questions running through my head disappeared. He was always one step ahead of me. Xander was unreadable most time, but this morning, I could see right through him. He was yearning and eager. His hand dropped to my waist, gave me a gentle squeeze then all of a sudden pulled away.

Just like before, I wasn't ready. He moved back and stood up from the bench without a word. My eyes watched him with every movement he made. He straightened out his suit jacket and cuffs briefly before looking down at his watch, looked at me, and said, "I have to go. The guys are waiting for me." Then with virility and suave, he walked away, leaving me stunned, distraught, and most of all disappointed.

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HI HI wassup thotties!! I hope all of yall are well and are enjoying the story so far. So much is coming next and I'm too excited to write it and show it to yall. Thanks for every keeping up with updates!! I appreciate immensely, Love every single one of u🤝😘😘

comment anything u want, vote if u enjoyed, if u didn't enjoy comment what u didn't like so I can do better in the future. I enjoy reading yall's comments a lot all of them are pretty much hilarious. 😂🤌🏾

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BTW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PART 2 TO CHAPTER 26 BUT I DECIDED TO MAKE IT A FULL CHAPTER SINCE ITS LONG ASF. SORRY ABOUT THAT