Page 32 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
“Maybe, but I get why you are. I’m going to wait for you to be ready to face the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That we are a perfect match and no other alpha will get you the way I do.”
Thirteen
Brady
Withtheutmosttenderness,as if I were made of porcelain, Xavier led me to his car. He opened the door for me and secured my seatbelt once I was sitting comfortably. If anyone else had done such a thing, I would have felt like a child, but with Xavier it was protective, doting, absolutely perfect.
When he took the driver’s seat, I leaned into his space and pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth. He turned and captured my lips with his own. The kiss turned hungry fast. His tongue swept across the seam of my lips and delved into my mouth. Xavier moved closer until all I could feel, see, smell was him.
I sighed with relief, and something in that sound jolted Xavier back to himself. He broke away with one final kiss. “We shouldn’t do this,” he whispered in the quiet car. His fingersflexed on the steering wheel as if he were battling not to reach for me again.
“It’s fine. I started it.” Kissing him had given me a sense of safety once more.
“No… fuck, Brady. You almost got assaulted!”
“I had it handled. I’m fine,” I protested weakly. If Xavier hadn’t been there, would I have been able to fight Lucas off if it had gone any further than just a forced kiss? I scoffed internally. Just a forced kiss, as if that was innocent, not invasive. I had been out of my depth then. Between Lucas’ pheromones and his larger build, I would have struggled if he had tried to take more.
Xavier let out a humorless chuckle. “Well, I’m not. I wanted to break his face for touching you.” He started the car and pulled out of the space effortlessly. We remained in silence during the brief journey to my apartment block. He didn’t stop in the garage but in the street outside the main door.
“Do you want to come up?”
“Yeah, not going to though.” His expression showed how conflicted he was.
His answer felt like a slap. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. It’s inappropriate.” I sat there wondering how to voice my next thought. “Maybe I should give up on the app.”
“Don’t. You can’t let that piece of shit steal this from you.”
I jolted. “Don’t you want me to give up on dating and come back to you?”
He laughed bitterly. “Not like this,” he paused. “Brady, I want it to be your choice to give up. For you to be absolutely sure you want to restart things with us.” His words cut off. “No, I want to be your Mate Match, to prove it to you.”
“But you haven’t shown up on the app!”
“Yet.” He gave me a devilish smile. “I think you should go inside and call the support line. You need to report that guy.”
The thought of letting him drive away hurt more than I thought it would. “Thank you for finding me. I’m sorry you keep having to—”
“I’m not,” he said with a set jaw. Determination lined every part of him. So sexy. “Being there for you is what I want to do. If I didn’t want to be at your beck and call, I’d tell you. I’m your alpha, Brady. Your partner, but not until you’ve really worked this all out. Now go inside and report that guy, okay?”
“Yeah, I will. Thank you, Xavier.”
He watched me leave the car and walk up to my building. The car only pulled away once I was safely inside. I sat heavily on my couch with a sigh, the number for Mate Match customer support waiting for me to press dial.
The call connected quickly, with a familiar voice answering. “Brent, don’t you have a social life?” I teased after he introduced himself.
There was a warm chuckle. “A life, a mate, a kid, but our little startup takes a lot of time. What can I help you with, Brady?” I quickly outlined the date. “Okay, this is going to be unprofessional,” he warned before letting off a line of curses.
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. “Wow! That was impressive.”
“Are you okay? That’s two dates now that could’ve gone really bad. This shouldn’t be happening.” I could almost feel his despair.
“Yeah, I had a friend who was nearby,” I said, downplaying the event. Maybe I was shaken up. Still, Brent didn’t need to know that.
“Good, that’s good. Maybe I need to add some date guidance and rules to the app.” There was tapping on the other end of the line.
