Chapter 9

AVERY'S POV

"What are you doing here?" I asked Xander, whispering. Erik was right outside the door and I didn't want him to see me or Xander.

"I wanted to check on you…" He said to me and then suddenly engulfed me in a hug. I was floating at his touch, while taking in his enticing scent greedily. I just could not get enough.

"You smell so good." I heard him say as he put his nose in my hair. I blushed lightly and I just couldn't pull away from him.

While Erik was still standing outside, asking questions which I didn't bother to give an answer to, I felt great in Xander's arms. His touch sent sparks through my body.

"Something smells so weird here. Is anyone in there with you, Avery?" I heard Erik ask in an impatient tone.

I gasped knowing he had probably smelt Xander. I didn't know what to say to refute Erik's words. In other words, I was too disoriented due to Xander's embrace.

"You should make him leave." Xander whispered in my ears and I couldn't agree more. His voice sent shivers down my spine. It was one I wouldn't get irritated with, for years to come.

A few minutes passed with an irritating back and forth with Erik. He finally walked away and I sighed in relief.

"You shouldn't let him come close to you, again. Thankfully, you are not hurt." I heard Xander say this to me and my heart warmed. His hand started to pat my back and I felt like a precious baby in his arms.

However, who was I to accept Xander's feelings? With all the horrible things I had done to him in my past life.

I pulled away from Xander's hold and assumed a serious stance. I needed to make it known to Xander that what was brimming between us, may not work.

However, Xander was reluctant to let me go. This was probably the closest we had been since we found out we were mates. He only relented in letting me go, when he put his hands on my shoulder.

At least, he gets to keep on touching me.

"Xander, you shouldn't put all your hopes on me because of the mate bond." I began. I could see Xander's face clearly and at my words, I saw his face fall.

"What do you mean?" Xander was quick to throw that question at me. His hands fell beside him.

"I mean I might get mated to Erik soon. Everyone thinks he is the best to rule alongside me in the future." I explained and I could see the pain in Xander's eyes.

His hands clenched into fists and at that moment I thought he was going to turn around and leave. Never to come back.

However, his next action caught me off guard. Xander pulled me to himself and slammed his lips on mine.

It was an unexpected situation but I didn't feel disgusted by it one bit.

His lips moved against mine and I reciprocated wildly to his kiss. My bottom lip was cut in between his lips and he sucked on it lightly and gently. His hand found its way into my hair, his other hand around my waist.

In our swift motion, he had my back against the door and our bodies pressed tightly against each other.

What started as a gentle kiss turned into a wild and demanding one. We just couldn't get enough as my hands started to roam all over his body.

After a wild minute, he broke the kiss, his hands still wound around me as he looked at me. He said, "No, I can't let you go, Avery." His eyes were filled with overflowing love for me.

His words shut down all the negative thoughts I had about our relationship. Thoughts about how I treated him in my past life.

"Hmm…" I groaned in excitement, and my knees weakened. I couldn't get enough of the feeling of being cherished and loved by a mate.

"I can't let you get into a lifetime commitment with someone as vile as Erik. You have to get past me in order to do that." He declared. His aura oozed total dominance and it was a total turn on for me.

However, his words made me think twice and I asked, "What do you mean when you say he is vile?" I asked him, but then I had a few guesses as to what he was talking about.

Xander had also told me about the affair between Erik and Shannon but I needed to confirm it.

"I do not want to come off as a snitch but I don't want you being deceived by him and Shannon. Everyone knows at school that they are an item. I just didn't know that you hadn't realized it." He said to me and I nodded my head solemnly and then turned away from him.

"Are you hurt? Do you need me to give him a few punches in the face?" He asked seriously and I laughed out loud.

I didn't know if his words were meant for me to get better with my emotions or whether they were meant to be funny.

However, I didn't feel hurt like I thought I would. "No, I'm not hurt, Xander." I said to him, turning around to take his hand. His other hand was quick to touch my right cheek, rubbing against it.

In the back of my mind, I liked that he was a touchy type.

"I refused to get mated to Erik and I have my father's support." I declared with a happy smile on my face.

"That's more like it…" Xander said to me and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. I was overwhelmed. Still, with his hand in mine, I dragged him toward my bed.

"Ohhh… I never thought you would like to bed me instantly. Anyways, I'm all for you to use." Xander joked and I smacked his arm playfully.

"Just so you know, I like to be dominant in bed." I said, wiggling my brows. I knew a lot about the topic due to my past life.

"Ahhh, I would like that." He continued to joke around and I snorted.

"Wow, you're so cheap." I said, rolling my eyes and he responded by sitting on the bed and placing me on his lap.

His hands wound around my waist, and I put my arm around his neck.

"I'm glad I found my mate and it turned out to be you." Xander whispered while his head was snuggled against my neck.

"I'm not done yet." I said to him, wanting to get serious with our discussion.

"With what?" He asked back and I sighed, knowing he wouldn't like what I was about to say.

"I told father that I would get to know Erik." I reiterated and held my breath.

"It's alright. There is no issue in getting to know him." Xander replied and I was speechless. Was he trying to act oblivious to what I had just said?

"I mean, I might have to get into a relationship with Erik. Please understand that it's for the sake of peace between my father and me. I would break everything off before I'm forced to get matedto him." I explained frantically, as Xander's face fell.

He sighed loudly with his eyes shut. It was obvious he was trying to reign over his feelings.

"Alright… Anything you say goes, as long as you come back to me." He said to me, the trust he had for me was evident in his eyes. Though we didn't define our relationship, it was obvious we didn't want to stay apart.

At that moment, I realized I could trust him as well. I could lay my worries bare to him and he would take them on.

"I want you to see something." I said to him and he nodded eagerly. I then stood up and moved a few feets away from him.

"Don't get scared…" I said simply, looking at the door which was shut tightly. "Concentrate on the door." I added and I stretched my hand and also thought about the door opening up and getting closed immediately.

For a moment, it didn't work and Xander was starting to look at me like I had grown two heads.

Then suddenly, the door opened up like a wild wind had blasted it open and it was shut immediately after, with a loud bang. The room turned eerily silent.

I turned to look at Xander whose eyes were wide open. He was still looking at the door and wondering if it was going to open up again.

"What do you think?" I asked impatiently.

"Did you just do that?" He asked in disbelief.

I didn't know how to convince him, seeing the look of great disbelief in his eyes.

I looked down at his shoes and thought about them coming off and then having them on my hands.

As soon as I thought about it, it happened.

Ahhhh…" He screamed and did the unexpected thing. He followed after his shoes only to be carried in mid air.