Chapter 5

I wakeup to the sound of birds chirping in my window. I can smell the remnants of what used to be hot coffee, but I can tell by the way my body feels so rested that it"s well past the time Xander gets up. I"ll be lucky if I have a cup of lukewarm java to warm my bones.

I sit up in the bed and run my hand over my face, instantly flinching away at the pain. "Dammit!" I groan about and walk over to the bathroom. I hope it"s not as bad as it feels.

I look into the mirror and am happy to see instead of a large shiner, the only part of my face that seems to be affected by the hit from last night is right above my cheekbones. There"s a nasty little bruise there, but besides that, I"m okay. I guess the bastard didn"t hit me as hard as I thought he did.

My hand instinctively goes up to my neck, but there"s no chain there, and I feel the emotions building up inside of me. That chain meant the world to me. I spent all last night beating myself up for having it on. I should have left it somewhere safe instead of wearing it. I know that"s ridiculous since I never took the damn necklace off, but I guess guilt is one way for me to deal with the loss. People will probably say at least you didn"t lose your life, and that"s true. I"m glad to be alive, but I hate feeling everything I had of my mother is gone. It just feels so final.

I try to push the thought out of my mind and get on with my day. I hop into the shower, and the nice hot water does a fantastic job of waking me up. I blow dry my hair and put on my best fluffy pajamas. There"s no way I"m going anywhere today. I"m grateful I don"t have any classes because I was definitely going to miss any lectures I had today.

I walk out into the living room to see Xander working out with his heavy bag. He had a whole exercise corner put in where the dining room is. Luckily, our apartment was so large, it doesn"t mess with the ambiance of the rest of the space. I don"t know exactly how much Xander"s family pays for rent, but seeing as this is New York, I"m sure a place like this was in the thousands. I always ask, and he never tells me; instead, he just says things like it"s nothing I need to worry about. I think that"s because he knows I"ll fight harder to pull my weight.

I watch him for a few seconds as he continues to throw punches and knees to the bag. He"s shirtless, and the muscles and tattoos on his body are enough to have me pressing my thighs together. I may not consider him to be anything more than a friend, but his body is breathtaking. He"s not my legit brother, so I don"t feel bad thinking this way.

I just know nothing could ever happen between us. He only sees me as his little sister, even though I"m a grown-ass woman now. His body is corded with muscles, but he"s still lean enough it"s not overwhelming. His skin is a smooth tan color that never fades thanks to his Italian heritage, and it"s so smooth the ink he does have on his skin looks like it was just painted on instead of imprinted with a needle.

"You finish gawking, or should I pull my sweats down too?" Xander asks as he continues to hit the bag.

"Shut up, asshole." I spit back right away. "You look like you"re putting on more muscle. That"s all I was looking at." I roll my eyes and plop down on the couch, getting ready to turn on Netflix and binge-watch some cooking shows. I turn my head to the right, and in the large lazy boy recliner Xander needed to buy is my purse. I do a double-take and stare at it for a second. How the hell did this get here? It was gone. The man stole it.

"Oh! Did the police find him? I can"t believe it. Why didn"t you wake me up?" I jump off the couch and race over to the chair to pick up my belongings.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Xander replies and finally stops hitting the large, heavy bag. He wipes a towel down his face and hangs it over his neck while I continue to rifle through my bag.

I stick my hand in the small pocket and realize my mother"s necklace is there. I pull it out in disbelief and see it"s indeed the same one. The chain itself is broken, but it"s all here. The chain can be fixed.

"Oh my goodness! Xander look! Look!" Jumping in excitement, I show him the dainty necklace. He smirks at me, and I bask in the warmth coming off him. He"s always happy to see me happy.

"The bag was brought back late last night. I thought you"d enjoy your sleep after everything. By the way, you need to call Matteo, so he can come pick up his stuff.

"Oh, they found his wallet too? Okay. I"ll bring it to him at school tomorrow."

"Bullshit, you"re not bringing it to him. He"s going to come over here and pick it up. You"re not his maid or his woman. He can get his own things. Make it happen, Rabbit." He glares at me for a second before he turns back to the heavy bag and starts beating it up again. I never know why he feels the need to beat on it, but I"ll admit it"s working for his body.

"Fine, he can come to pick it up now since he"s got school this afternoon. It was very nice of the police to bring it back for him." I nod my head and pull my phone out of the bag.

I open up the contact and go to our message log. I roll my eyes so hard when I look back on the different things we"ve been talking about all week, only to find out he"s an actual jerk. I guess I"m happy I found this out now and not when I was deeper into the relationship with him. I can"t even imagine how fucking silly I"d have felt if I gave him my virginity.

I send him a quick text to let him know I have his wallet and he can come by this morning as I won"t be in class today. He quickly replies with a thumbs up and tells me he"ll be over in about twenty minutes.

"I guess it might be too much to ask that there"s any leftover coffee?" I say and drop my phone back into my purse.

"There"s a cup left, but if you don"t go in there and get it soon, I"m going to drink it."

"I"ll make more. I think I"m going to need it."

"Awesome, what about you? Did you have any plans today?" He asks.

"I think I"m going to stay in a bit and just relax. I"ve had enough time outside to last me for more than a week." I smile and walk back over to the couch. "What about you? You have plans?"

"Nah, I"m going to stay home too." He throws his towel on the pile of dirty workout gear and comes to sit next to me on the couch.

"Oh, no class today?"

"Nothing I need to go to." He shrugs.

"What about Lisa? I"m sure she"d like a visit from her favorite man."

"She can visit from her girlfriend and pretend it"s me. I don"t give a damn about no one but you today, Mel. If you want to stay home and watch man-killing shows all day, that"s what we are going to do. You"re not leaving my sight." He says it with such sincerity I gasp and have to look away.

"You don"t have to baby me, Xander. I"m okay. I got everything back. Just a little bruise."

"You? I"m not staying here because I"m worried about you. I"m staying here because I"m worried about myself. Because I know once I walk out that door, all I"m going to be able to think about is some creep putting their hands on you, and the public is not ready for the type of rage that comes with my temper. I should have been there to protect you like I always am, but instead, I left it up to some cum swallower who couldn"t protect a fucking animal. I"m not going to forgive myself for a long time. No, you stay right here where I can keep my eyes and hands on you. That"s where you belong."

I hate when he says things like this to me. I grew up with him as my best friend, and even though I love him, it"s been hard not to put him on that pedestal position. If he wasn"t such a man whore, I"d try to pursue something with Xander also, I know he doesn"t have those kinds of feelings for me, but when he says things like this, he makes it so hard.

"Okay, I"ll stay home with you." I squeak out and flip on the TV.

He orders us some brunch and even springs for a bottle of champagne, so we can have some mimosas. Matteo doesn"t show up when he says he"s going to, but I couldn"t care less. I"m having a great time with Xander as we argue why no one should ever buy a ranch-style house.

By two in the afternoon, I"m ready to take a nap when the doorbell rings.

Xander is the one to open it, and Matteo stands in the walkway for a second. I"m surprised when Xander lets Matteo walk to me.

"Hey, how"d you get the stuff back? Did the police call you?" He asks, getting close to me like we"re still trying to be boyfriend and girlfriend. It"s like I"m in the fucking twilight zone.

"They didn"t call. They dropped off the stuff last night." I answered, giving him the answer Xander gave me before.

"Okay, I"m happy to hear it." Matteo raises his hand and lets a thumb-slide down the side of my face where the bruise is.

"Mel, you know I"m so sorry about how everything went down last night. I was out of my mind with worry about you this morning when I-" before he can say another word, he"s on the floor screaming and clutching his leg.

"You limp dick piece of shit! You left my fucking Rabbit in the alley by herself!" Xander roars at him and brings down one of his free weights on Xander"s knee again. After the third blow, he tosses it aside and continues to pound into Matteo"s face with his fist.

"I should take your fucking life. I should rip your heart out and force-feed to you." He snarls.

"Oh my god! Xander, stop!" I scream and grab at the back of his tank top, stretching and tearing it, trying to push him off, Matteo. "Stop, oh god! You"re going to kill him! Stop!" I yell louder and grab for his arms.

Matteo lies on the floor, bleeding and crying, as he tries to raise his hands to cover his face. "I told you to stay away from her, and you chose not to! You deserve this shit and so much more." He hits him again, and I swear I hear Matteo gag like he"s going to throw up.

"Xander, please!" I beg, my voice screeching through the surrounding air.

Xander looks over his shoulder and sees the tears and panic on my face. His chest heaves up and down as he pulls his hand down and stops beating on Matteo. He gets off him and leans down to pick up the man who was supposed to be protecting me yesterday.

"I dare you to go to the cops. If you think this is bad, say one word to anybody about what happened here today, and I promise not only will you die, but that little close-knit family you got in Long Island will get a visit as well. Your entire life and everyone around you will be destroyed. Say one fucking word to anyone, and I can promise you this. You understand, Matty Boy?"

"Mmmhmm." Matteo mumbles. Xander picks up Matteo"s wallet and slams it into his chest before he pushes him out the door, bleeding and limping away.

I push my hand into my hair and tug. I feel like I"ve just been on a roller coaster with no safety harness.

"You okay, Rabbit?" Xander asks as he drags his stretched and torn t-shirt over his head.

"What the hell? No! No, I"m not fucking okay! What are you doing? How could you do something like that to him?" I charge over to where he"s standing and get right into his face.

"Oh, don"t give me that shit. Do you still have feelings for that assclown?"

"No, I don"t have feelings for him, but you almost killed him!" I yell.

"I didn"t. He"s nowhere near dead. He"s just got the brakes beat off him. That"s entirely different. He"ll live. He may not walk right ever again, but that"s his problem."

"Xander, you can"t do things like this. I need to be able to fight my own battles. You can"t keep stepping in every time you think I need protecting."

He scoffs, and his eyebrows pinch together, "Why the hell not?"

"Because I don"t belong to you! You"re not my boyfriend. You"re my friend. I love you, but this isn"t your job anymore!" I say, hoping he understands what I"m saying.

"So, let"s fix that."

"What are you talking about, Xander?"

"If that"s what I have to do for you to be mine in your eyes, let"s do it, Rabbit. " He moves closer to me and wraps a hand around my waist. He"s hugged me before, but this feels different. I know for sure it is when his hand slides from my waist down to my ass, and he pulls me closer to him.

"What are you doing? What"s going on?"

"You"re mine, Melisande. If I have to be your man to prove it, then so be it."

Sound and air clog my throat as I listen to what he"s saying, "You… I… We… you don"t even like me like that, Xander. Don"t be ridiculous."

"Don"t tell me what I don"t like." He growls out, and he tugs me tighter to him, the hard-on he"s sporting pressing against my stomach. "No one fucking touches you but me, Mel. You want a boyfriend. Here I am."

I try to stay strong, but feeling him pressed against me has my pussy dripping wet. Holy fuck, how the hell did his happen.

"You don"t want to be with me. This is a joke." I shake my head and keep my eyes closed.

He leans in and pushes my hair to the side, so he can whisper in my ear. I have to put my hands on his shoulder to keep myself from crumbling at his feet. My knees are so weak.

"You keep saying I don"t want you. How wrong you are, Rabbit. I"ve wanted you since before I even knew what to do with my cock. I"ve dreamed about the different ways I"d be able to sink my dick into those tight, pretty pussy lips. I"ve wanted you so bad, even hours in the shower jerking myself off did nothing to make it go away. I want you, Mel. I want you, and I"m not fucking sharing you with anyone else. You"ve had your fun; now you belong to me."

I don"t think I"ve been breathing this entire time, but when he leans back and presses his mouth to mine, I"m sure I pass out, and my soul goes straight to heaven before I wake back up and my body flames with a carnal need for him.

Oh, no, this is bad, but oh god, does it feel so damn good.