57 Chapter 56: I Like You...A Lot

Xavier could not sleep that night and so he decided to knock on his girlfriend's room.

Maybe the alcohol in his system gave him enough courage to do so.

With his pajama on, he walked to her room and knocked thrice when he finally reached it.

The door opened and he was surprised to see Zarah wearing a nightgown.

He lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist with arms around his nape.

He then leaned forward and huskily whispered, "Can I kiss you?"

He patiently waited for her response. He saw her lips parted and she licked the inner side of her lips it was like an invitation for Xavier to kiss her and so he did.

He kissed her softly as he thought Zarah would push him because he didn't hear her response yet he still kissed her.

Xavier kissed Zarah and she responded. This kiss was different from their past kisses.

There was some spice to it. Xavier used his other hand to lock the door behind them.

Then, he started pacing toward the bed while kissing Zarah.

The kiss was so intense that the strap of Zarah's nightgown slipped off her shoulder.

Xavier paused after seeing that she was getting breathless. He gave her time to recover her breathing as he was not done.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked her. He was sure that should there be any ounce of hesitation in her eyes, he would stop.

However, Zarah just closed her eyes and made a soft hum in response.

The fire in Xavier's eyes ignited and he looked at her with both passion and lust.

Xavier started attacking her shoulder with his wet kisses and licks and Zarah could not hold back the moan from escaping her mouth.

He sat on the bed and placed Zarah on his lap.

She could feel something poking behind the thin fabric of his pajama pants.

Zarah must have realized what was happening as her eyes widened in shock.

Xavier became a little embarrassed and said, "This...this is what I'm talking about. I'm not going to force you. I'll give you time to think."

Even though he wanted to do the deed with her, it should be with her full consent or it would be considered rape.

After all, a 'NO' means 'No' even if she had slept with another man.

Zarah on the other hand could not understand what had gotten into her. She suddenly became impulsive.

Xavier was right. If she was unsure, she could simply refuse him. Simple as that.

However, she felt that this was not the case. She felt compelled to do it with him.

Which was a red flag.

Xavier could feel that she was having second thoughts and so he hugged her hoping that her heartbeat could calm him down.

Her silence was the answer.

She was not ready yet and he respected that.

"We'll do it when you're ready, okay?" Xavier whispered to her.

"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly as she was surprised. After all, Xavier started talking about having kids and a family with her.

She was not that innocent. A baby was formed through s*x.

"Yes. Your boyfriend is not a jerk. I won't force you to do this unless you're ready and we're both on the same page," he said in full of sincerity.

"Thank you. I'm just...I felt that it was too fast." She liked her, yes. However, it was not enough to give herself to him.

She had some reservations about this thing. She was not ready.

She mentally made a note to talk to her doctor about this.

She felt ready to do it with Josh before though there were some reservations in her heart.

However, she was sure that the man would not betray her. So, she thought it was okay since he would be his life partner forever.

Good thing Josh would stop them before they could reach the next base. All they had were make-out sessions and foreplay but they never had s*x.

The closest they reached was she gave him a handjob to release his tension.

However, now was a different story.

For some reason, she didn't want to disappoint Xavier. Therefore, she felt the urge to take action before it was too late.

"I love you, Zarah. Always remember that."

"Ahm..."

"Shh! It's fine. We may be dating now but you don't have to force yourself to respond to it. Do it when you're ready." 'Though I'm waiting for that moment to come.'

"Okay. Do remember that I like you...a lot!" Zarah said and Xavier smiled. It was better than nothing at all, right?

Xavier fixed the strap of her gown and she got off his lap.

She yawned as she felt sleepy all of a sudden.

"Let's sleep." Xavier invited and they both laid down on her bed.

Zarah scooted over and Xavier pulled the covers to cover them both.

The couple cuddled to sleep.

They slept so soundly that when Julie opened Zarah's door the next morning for breakfast, they didn't even wake up.

Julie was no longer surprised to see this scene compared to the first time that she did. She calmly closed the door and left to inform everyone that they were still asleep.

Brian did tell them that they arrived very late. Therefore, they were tired.

Also, he could not stop sharing the news with everyone. And as expected, they were ecstatic to know that these two were dating.

Mr. Henderson asked the chef to prepare a feast for the employees of the mansion since they had an extra budget for it. It deserved a celebration after all.

The couple woke up when it was almost lunchtime.

Zarah woke up and was surprised to see Xavier's sleeping face so close to her.

Just then, she recalled what happened last night.

That's right, she accepted to date this man.

And no! She was sober when she did that. The alcohol only gave her the courage and confidence to do so.

Did she regret it? No! Never! She was even happy that she did.

She heaved a sigh as she looked at the handsome creature beside her.

Xavier looked so peaceful and innocent like a baby with his eyes closed contrary to when he was awake.

"Don't look at me for so long, I might melt," Xavier said in his hoarse voice.

"Good morning, mon amour." He added.

Xavier was already awake half an hour before her.

However, he didn't wake her up. He did the same thing that she was doing earlier. Appreciating her ethereal beauty.

He could not believe that she was his girlfriend and he could comfortably sleep with her at night. His comfort pillow was back. And so he would make sure that no one could snatch her away from him.

"Do you speak French?" She asked in surprise which also snapped him from his thoughts.

"Good morning to you, too." She added.

"I have to learn how to speak the language. Otherwise, I would lose my French clients," he explained.

"Oh, I see."

Xavier was not surprised to know that she knew the language, too. He knew that his girlfriend was a walking polyglot.

The only thing he didn't know was the number of languages she was currently fluent in.

Four years ago, he knew that she could speak French, English, Korean, Italian, and Japanese.

He was proud of having a girlfriend like her.

Xavier then pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead.

"Are you hungry? Lunch would be served soon." Xavier said after looking at the clock on her bedside table.

"Yeah."

The couple got up from the bed and temporarily bid goodbye to each other as Xavier went back to his room to get ready for the day.

Then, they came out of their respective rooms and had their first meal as a couple.

If Xavier was so attentive and caring to Zarah back when he was still pursuing her, he leveled it up now that they were a couple.

Forget about table etiquette. Zarah was sitting on his lap and he was feeding her.

Zarah's face was red in embarrassment, especially as servants were watching them.

However, she didn't dare to protest it as she feared Xavier might do another shameless thing again in front of Julie and the others.

After their meal, the couple decided to hang tour around the mansion to check if there was something that they wanted to improve.

After all, this house was already his. And if Zarah loved this mansion, they could live there one day after they married.

Xander also joined them on this tour.

The cat even knew the way and walked ahead of them.

Xavier spotted something that he wanted to modify on the facade of the building.

He also wanted to make some adjustments to the landscaping.

They both agreed to make a man-made pond inside the property and have a little cottage beside it.

Xavier and Zarah made the plan and they immediately called the professionals in their company to do the task.

Jackson also came over to hand the bracelet back to its rightful owner.

"How are you, Jackson?" Zarah asked him as they made a big scene last night.

Good thing Xavier blocked the media from releasing any news about this for the retired General's sake.

"I'll be fine, Zarah. Thank you. And oh! Congratulations to you both by the way."

Zarah felt that everyone was making their relationship a big deal. Like they were only starting. It's not like they were married already.

And so, she felt shy about this but still accepted it and said, "Thank you."

Jackson then grabbed the briefcase which contained the bracelet.

"I didn't know the true value of this item until I saw someone following me the moment I stepped out of the office." He paused and then opened the case to let the couple see the bracelet.

"I promised to return it and so here it is."

Xavier then took the bracelet in one hand and grabbed Zarah's hand with the other.

As she realized what he was trying to do, she stopped him.

"What are you doing, Xavier?"

"I'm just giving it to its new owner and that is you," he casually explained.

"But...this is so precious. I can't wear this casually." She tried to reason with him.

Then she recalled that Jackson had told them earlier and said, "As what Jackson said, he was followed the moment he left his office. Then, don't you think this bracelet will only bring me trouble should others see me wearing that?"

Her explanation did make sense.

However, she saw Xavier smirking.

"I'm sorry to say this Jackson but the man who was following you is one of my men."

It's not that he didn't trust Jackson. He did. What he didn't trust were the people who saw this bracelet at the auction.

And Zarah was right, this bracelet was so precious to him as this was not only a family heirloom but also an item that his mother cherished the most.

However, he treasured Zarah more over this.

Zarah was racking her brain on how to convince him.

"I don't want to wear it yet. I promise that I will someday but not now." She hoped that this would convince him though.

And somehow, it worked.

"Okay, since you said so, then, I'll put it back here." Xavier returned it to the case.

"Thank you," Zarah said as she heaved a huge sigh of relief.

She could not afford to lose or damage it.

"You're welcome, mon amour."

Watching Xavier so affectionate to Zarah, Jackson suddenly became sad because he realized how single he was.

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