Checkmate??

Xander's POV...

It's her! It really is her!!!  In great shock and disbelief, Xander sat on a chopped tree stump with his palm covering his forehead.  Everything had been too sudden and his mind was yet to process the fact that it was now over. After six years of searching every inch of the realm, he had found her in the least likely place, the human realm. 

Though Griff had abandoned him, he was grateful for the way he had convinced him, against his wishes to come here. She was exactly how he remembered her, the feisty red hair, her captivating eyes and insatiable full lips. They had been inseparable in their previous lifetimes so why had she decided to break the cycle? Was he no longer good enough for her? Why choose to be reborn in the human realm where he would never find her? She had also done a good job at suppressing her inner being and could easily pass as a human. 

I'm so stupid! he beat himself up in his head, remembering his last conversation with her. He should not have left the cabin like a coward, running away from their discussion. Whatever she had to say had the potential to completely destroy him so he felt he wasn't ready. Still the way he had handled the situation made him feel like a fool.  He had done exactly what he had told himself not to do, gotten emotional. Now she was probably laughing thinking of how weak he was. 

 She had recognised him when they met, expressed her joy at seeing him and even attempted to apologise for being here instead of Tithen but he had found it to be completely off. There was no connection or sincerity to her words as if she hadn't been as affected as he was by their magnetic bond.  The thought of a one sided experience hurt a lot but he had to admit that a part of him admired the way she had mastered her restraint. For him their bond was completely impossible to ignore and had he not sealed himself, he did not know what would have happened.  No, he knew exactly what would have happened and it would have ruined everything.  There were too many issues to resolve first, too many words that needed to be said before he could even think of claiming her. Right now he needed to watch her, understand why she was playing this little game. If not a game then what else could it have been? 

Now that he was done with the cooking, he dished the food  then returned to her. His emotions had finally settled and he was more than ready for the battle to begin. He pushed the door wide open with his foot then entered holding two large plates. 

She was seated, feet up hugging her legs with only her suede jacket as a blanket. She looked so innocent, like a child with her wet hair clinging to her skin and it stirred feelings of compassion and the need to protect her. She was silent as he put the dishes down in front of her and he could tell that the atmosphere had changed. Had it finally hit her that he was standing right here, in the flesh, in her presence? 

"Did you find your underwear? " he asked and she tightened her arms around her giving him the most peculiar expression. 

" Yes I did", she answered,looking at her arms and legs 

"It dropped on the floor when I was cleaning and I decided to just toss it in there", he lied through his teeth. He had spent a long time sniffing all of her clothes, including the lingerie, during his cleaning break but of course he couldn't tell her that. 

"Listen, I know that you are upset and don't want me here so can you just put up with me for the night then tomorrow I'll be out of your way". She changed the subject, speaking her words carefully as if trying not to piss him off.

" I might be upset but that doesn't mean that I want you to leave!" How could she think that? He had waited for so long. Why would that thought even enter her head? Was she trying to make him feel guilty for being upset? He had every right to be mad at her. Had he been the one to have disappeared, she would have sulked and reminded him of what he had done for years.

"You don't want me to leave? " she asked slowly, dissecting each and every word, making it sound more like a fact than a question. She uncomfortably tried to move back away from him but the arm of the couch stood as a barrier. He sat forward facing her, his elbows leaning on his thighs. 

"You are free to go if you want," he lied again. He didn't want to seem desperate plus he wanted to see how far she would take this conversation. There was a long rope and some restraints at the back of the truck with her name written on them but he didn't want to go down this route. "I'm willing to share this room with you but don't expect more out of it." He smiled inwardly at his move. He bet that she hadn't seen that one coming. 

"Expect more? " she questioned innocently. 

Aagh! Why?? Her failing to understand his words was her way of telling him that the thought of doing anything with him had never crossed her mind. He leaned back and made himself more comfortable. Even if she had responded impressively, what he was about to say next would leave a dent in her heart. 

"Don't expect me to touch you or do anything with you. You can take the bed and I will take the couch". His victory was difficult for him to hide because he smiled proudly. 

She exhaled and seemed to relax at his words. Was she happy with the fact that he didn't want to sleep with her? No. He wasn't going to allow her to take this win from him. He knew that she was pretending and time would reveal how right he was.

" Thank you! Thank you so much. You don't know how much you have saved me". 

Ha! Don't thank me yet! he laughed inwardly. 

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, picking up her fork from the table and placing it on her plate for her. 

"Yes, thank you", she answered, sitting up and lunging forward towards her plate. Surprised, he watched her eating as if she was competing with him.

"Ah this is so delicious!" she spoke after swallowing many mouthfuls and he slightly shook his head. He had seen many empty cans of spam and baked beans and so he concluded that this was probably her first decent meal in a while. Again why had she chosen this life for herself? He would have given her anything under the sun if she asked for it.

"I'm Helena by the way", she spoke after a while. 

Helena, he repeated in his head. It was different from Savannah but equally beautiful. He hadn't asked for her name or anything else because he didn't want to come across as being eager. If she wanted to tell him anything, she would do so without him compromising himself. 

"I'm Xander", he decided to give her the name that he was currently using. There was no point in him mentioning his former name because she already knew it"

"Xander as in Alexander?"

 "No, just Xander". He had never heard that version of his name before but he figured that it was used in the human realm.  

After eating she quickly grabbed  both of their dishes then stood up. The jacket that covered her slid down her legs onto the floor revealing the entire length of her bare flesh and his eyes instinctively looked away. Before this he hadn't noticed that she only wore a t shirt and that her perky, braless breasts were dangling freely underneath that loose thin material but now that was all he could think about. He cleared his throat wanting to escape. She had expertly caught him unaware and cornered him. How was he going to strike back from this? Was this a checkmate? If he ran right now, he would have definitely lost the battle showing weakness and if he acted on it then he would have eaten his words. 

"Can I wash these outside? " she asked as if she hadn't attacked full throttle. All along, she knew that he was going to reject her sexually and had therefore prepared a quick comeback. 

What was this feeling that was whirling up inside of him? He was meant to be angry and unforgiving but no, the corners of his mouth were twitching and his heart was beaming with pride. The temptation to pull her into his arms and reward her was so strong but it was way too early to throw in the towel. He still had a lot of fight in him and he was intrigued. 

"Yes you may wash them outside but aren't you feeling cold?" he asked in the most concerned tone that he could master without giving himself away.  He was finding it very difficult to not look at the curvy shape of her hips and the way her skin appeared silky and tempting. He had to show her just how unaffected he was by her bold action.  He got up and quickly headed for the closet, returning with five of his track pants. "Here. I noticed that you don't have that many clothes. Feel free to use any of these." 

"No, I can't accept that", she refused at first but he convinced her otherwise. He even offered for her to use everything else in the cabin.