Star-Crossed

Chapter Twenty-Eight: I'll search the world until there's no place left to go

Xerxion is currently in the bathroom that is connected to his room, showering. He leaves the door cracked, piles of steam spilling from the bathroom to his room. It makes it extremely difficult to concentrate on anything important when all I can think of is going into the bathroom and joining him in that shower.

In fact, I have to force myself not to act on those thoughts. I sit on his bed with my legs tucked underneath me and my hand clenched into fists. I force myself to look out of his small window instead of looking at the cracked bathroom door. We've only just had our first kiss not too long ago. And while Rania of the Cosmos and Xerxion may have been intimate, I, Rania of Earth, am a virgin. How could I not be when Xerxion's face has been in my mind for the last seventeen years? How could I sleep with another man when I felt like I belonged to another man? Even if I didn't think he really existed at the time, my loyalty to him ran deep.

To be quite honest, I've never really had a chance to think about sex. It's an experience I never truly thought I'd ever get to have. Like I've said, Xerxion's claim on my heart was strong even when I thought he didn't exist, and I'm not the type to sleep with someone who I don't love. Not to mention, I never found myself attracted to other men. None of them did it for me. Not the boys next door or the bad boys or even the model-like guys with rippling abs and what women deemed as perfect features. None of them did it for me because I had seen true perfection in my dreams every night.

Because of this, I had pretty much reserved myself to the fact I'd probably never have sex with anyone. It didn't really matter to me, in complete honesty. I have never been ruled by my hormones like most people my age. Perhaps, it's because my soul is thousands of years older than my body.

But now, for the first time, the thought of a sexual relationship was there. The thought had been sparked when Xerxion had pulled that prank on me in the grocery store not too long ago. He had asked me then if I had wanted a sexual relationship with him and, obviously, the thought crossed my mind in that moment. I had been so flustered, though-and he had clearly been pranking me-that it never crossed my mind again. Because, I was thinking that the idea of us kissing, let alone having sex was very far off the mark.

But now, we had kissed. And call me crazy, but I got the strongest feeling that the sexual stuff wasn't too far off the map.

I hear the hissing of the shower water stop and I relax slightly. I won't have to endure this torture much longer. He'll come out, completely dressed and then I'll be able to think a little straighter.

I don't hear the door when it opens, but I see the light from the bathroom spill out and paint the room. I turn around, attempting to talk to him and forget all the pervy thoughts I'd had while he was in the shower but my words die in my throat as soon as I see him.

I curse everything as my heat courses through my veins and my heart races. Xerxion is standing in front of me with nothing but a white towel on and that towel is slung low on his hips. There is very little left to the imagination and Rania of the Cosmos' memories fill that blank very easily. I know exactly what he would look like if he decided to let that towel fall and it makes my mouth water. It makes the heat in my veins burn hotter, like lava instead of blood. It makes the birthmark we share throb, makes the invisible string stretch tight and hum a seductive tune.

I can tell Xerxion feels it, too. The expression on his face is one that I've seen before in the memories I've been given: lust. I can tell that he wants to cross this small distance between us. The thought that he wants me as much as I want him makes me so happy, I feel almost as if I've completely lost my ability to stay grounded. Gravity cannot keep me down as Xerxion's genetically mutated eyes hold mine.

"I need to get dressed. We've landed." His voice is deeper, huskier than I'm used to hearing it. It's the voice of a man wild with lust. Despite his words, he doesn't make any move to head to the dresser and get something to wear.