Xavier had you worried sick. Ten days gone on his mission, not a single reply to your texts; only to come back wounded. And so, after you patched him up, you’d thought to teach him a lesson, pinning him to illustrate his helplessness. Oh, he’s anything but helpless.

“And you’re not worried about me retaliating?”

He’s on you before you can answer. He pitches you over and rolls on top of you in one fluid motion, hovering over you just as you had been doing to him. His gaze roams your face, piercing, not at all the demure look from moments ago.

“Are ‘small animals’ like me pushovers? Since you seem to know everything, you should enlighten me.”

His voice retains a low purr as his hand reaches for your face, knuckles gently running down your cheek.

“When faced with a hunter who knows my weaknesses and how to take advantage of them, is there anything I can do?”

There’s a clear challenge in his blue eyes, a mixture of mischief and something…darker.