Fallen Actress' Comeback: Torn Between the Director and the Mafia Lord Chapter 34: His Confession

Chapter 34

~Xena’s POV~

Xavier’s finger was still on my lips, stealing whatever breath I had left in my lungs. The kitchen felt too warm, too quiet. I placed my hand over his and gently pushed it down.

"Xavier... stop."

He stilled, eyes flickering with sothing I couldn’t decode.

"Why?" he asked calmly.

I swallowed. "Why are you doing all this? The kiss at the mall... what you just did..."

"Almost, I haven’t done anything yet."

I rolled my eyes. "All of it."

He didn’t even blink. "Because I like you, Xena."

For a mont, my mind went blank. I stared at him, waiting for so joke or smirk. Instead, he looked at like he had just stated the most obvious fact in the world.

"You like ?" I repeated, trying to process it. "But we barely t."

"Barely t?" He scoffed softly. "Xena... we didn’t just et."

I frowned. "What does that an?"

He stepped closer, his voice dropping an octave. "You’ve been coming to my shop for months. Groceries, pastries, whatever excuse you had. You thought I never noticed?"

My heart tripped. "That’s because Skai loves your..."

"Not just Skai."

"Well, it’s for the pie and cakes and bread, nothing more."

"You could get those anywhere, but you chose mine, each ti, and it wasn’t like my shop was close to your house. So that..."

"Wait..." My eyes went wide. "You an..."

"Every ti you walked in, I’d stop whatever I was doing." He smiled faintly. "You never looked up long enough to catch staring."

Heat crawled up my neck. I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "I... I didn’t know."

His hand reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "I’ve liked you for a long ti, Xena. And now that I finally have the chance, I want to pursue you. Romantically."

My breath hitched. "Xavier..."

"I want to be with you," he continued. "I want to chase you properly, date you. I want sothing real with you."

The more Xavier spoke, the clearer. The mall chaos, the kiss, the way he held , the way he looked at now. It was too much, all too fast and too overwhelming.

I coughed awkwardly and tried to step back, but Xavier didn’t let go. He pulled gently but firmly back into his space, his hand settling around my waist.

"I don’t know," I whispered. "I haven’t... let myself love or date for a long ti. And now..."

"Then let prove it to you." Before I could react, Xavier’s mouth brushed mine.

It wasn’t tentative this ti; it was warm and confident, stealing my breath away. I felt myself hesitate for a second, but the mont his hand slid up my back and settled at my side, I leaned into him without thinking.

He deepened the kiss, slowly, coaxing forward. My hands went to his shoulders as he pressed lightly against the counter.

Xavier’s thumb brushed under my jaw, and his body warmth seeped into mine, sending a shiver racing through .

When his hand moved first along my waist, then higher, my breath caught. I found myself leaning further into the kiss.

Xavier’s fingers slid over my breast, cupping it gently, sending a sharp, hot wave through my entire body.

I gasped softly against his mouth, but instead of stopping, he kissed deeper. I loved how Xavier’s tongue twirled along mine, his other hand gripping my waist like he wanted to pull closer still.

For God knows how long, we were both lost in the kiss. His fingers caressed my cheeks. I was beginning to feel lightheaded and weak in the knees.

"Mummy?"

I froze, and so did Xavier. My eyes moved on instinct towards the direction of her voice. Skai stood in the doorway, hugging her teddy bear, her tiny mouth forming a perfect ’O’.

Xavier released imdiately. His hand on my breast snapped back as if burned. I nearly jumped away, clearing my throat so hard it hurt.

"We were, uh..." I started.

"Kissing," Skai finished innocently. "Grown-up kissing."

Xavier choked. I turned away and pretended to focus on the pot like it might explode. "Dinner’s almost ready," I muttered quickly. "Co sit."

For the remaining minutes until the food was ready, Xavier and I stayed apart.

When it was ready, we all sat at the small dining table. Despite the tension, the al was warm and oddly comforting. Xavier served Skai first, smiling whenever she talked about school or her drawings. I couldn’t help watching them — Skai chatting freely, Xavier listening like he’d known her forever.

The scene looked... dostic like sothing belonging to a family, not with strangers.

We washed the dishes afterwards, and sowhere between rinsing and wiping, I noticed Xavier rubbing his temple lightly.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said at first. But when he shifted, a dark patch caught my eye near his side, sothing staining his shirt.

"Xavier." I stepped in front of him, blocking his path. His gaze followed , landing where mine drifted to his side. My fingers grazed his chest slowly, and then I ordered in a voice I only used on Skai when she was being naughty. "Lift your shirt."

"Huh? Xena, if you want to continue from where we left off..." I looked up sternly at him. Xavier swallowed then looked down where my fingers gently grazed. "It’s nothing..."

"Lift it."

He sighed and pulled the hem upward. My breath caught.

My eyes landed first on the dip of his abs down to where his trousers began, then slowly slid up each well-defined abs staring at like I had an olympian god before .

His chest was lean, toned, and defined enough to make my face heat instantly. But then I saw the injury — a harsh scrape along the side of his ribs, raw and pink, like sothing had grazed him hard with blood covering a part of his skin.

It really was nothing to so, but he was injured.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "You’re hurt."

"It’s just a scratch."

"A scratch doesn’t bleed like this." I hurried to the living room and grabbed the first-aid kit, then made him sit.

Xavier watched quietly as I cleaned the wound, biting back a wince. My hands were steady, but my heart wasn’t.

"You should have told ," I said softly.

"I didn’t want to worry you."

"Too late." My voice shook a little more than I liked.

He smiled gently, and sothing warm passed between us. I ignored it and focused on cleaning his wound, smiling softly when he winced at the sting of the Spirit.

Once that was done, I placed the band-aid on it.

"There, all done."

Without thinking, Xavier placed his hand over mine and pressed gently. I looked up, ready to tell him to take proper care, but I never got the chance to when he kissed .

My fingers tightened on his shoulder as his hand slid to my waist again. I kissed him back, letting myself lt into the mont, letting everything else fade.

I wasn’t a teenager. I knew how I felt around him, even though it was confusing how I felt around Xade.

Rather than think too much, I shoved the thoughts away and let myself, my body, indulge in this reckless mont after four years.

"Mummy, is it bedti yet?"