Chapter 32

**Xavier Black**

Screams echo through the hallway as I take the last few steps down the stairs. It's been going on for a few hours now, much longer than I thought it would. I slowly make my way to the door of the room they're coming from and just stop and listen. A few minutes later I enter the room and the sight that greets me would make any sane person puke their guts out. Skyler looks over at me with a blank face when she hears me close the door and I motion for her to come towards me. She drops the box cutter she was busy with and slowly walks over to me, leaving bloody footprints behind her.

"That's enough for today." I tell her and she looks over at the girl she used to call her best friend with hatred shining in her eyes. "She'll be here tomorrow." I say and it takes a few minutes for her shoulders to relax.

"I'm ending it today." She says before walking back over to the table and picking up the gun I gifted her many months ago. It goes of six times before she puts it down and releases the breath she was holding. When she looks over at me her eyes are light again and the pain that's been in them the last few weeks have gone away. Ever since the wedding I've been waiting for her to loose it and when that day finally came I was ready to offer a solution. She probably would have been fine if Tristan made it but after being in a coma for a few months his parents decided to pull the plug and that had Skyler going insane.

"You did good." I tell her as she walks over to me and wraps her arms around my middle. I look at the mess she made and pride fills my chest although I know this might never repeat itself again. I thought of ending Natalie's life quick and easy but I kept her alive until Skyler told me to end it. I didn't think she would have wanted to do it herself but looking at it now I'm sure it was the peace she needed to find before moving on. Natalie was the reason Tristan was taken in the first place and if it wasn't for her he would be fine.

"I need a shower." She whispers after a few minutes and I nod. She takes of the shoes she was wearing before removing the rest of her clothes because she hated walking around in bloody clothes in front of people. I take of my shirt and hand it to her before we walk out of the room and I remind myself to have someone clean it up. In our bedroom she takes a long shower and when she comes out she looks happier than she's looked in a while.

"You want to have dinner in the city?" I ask her and she shakes her head causing me to frown.

"I have something planned for us." She says as she walks into the closet to get dressed, although I would prefer it if she stayed naked. "We have to leave now if we're going to make it." She says as she emerges from the closet, a pair of leggings clinging to her legs and one of my sweaters covering the rest of her body.

"Yeah, sure." I say as I get up from the bed and walk over to her. I run my hands through her hair and seconds later my mouth is covering hers.

"Xavier." She moans as I kiss down to her neck, my hand sneaking up the sweater and resting just below her breast. "We don't have time." She breaths but instead of pushing me away she pulls me closer.

"We'll make time." I mutter against her skin and that's all it takes for her to give in to me.

******

"You ruined everything." Skyler says as she curls up in my arms, a tired but blissful look on her face. "I planned this for a week and you ruined it all." She wines and tries to look annoyed with me but I know she's not.

"Well, maybe you can try again." I suggest while running my fingers up and down her naked back.

"Not a chance. You're going to have to take what you're given." She says and I frown down at her. "Later, now I need sleep and since you ruined my plans you can wait a bit." She says with a tired smile before closing her eyes and shifting closer to me. I wrap my arms around her and watch her sleep, something I've excepted is going to be my new normal from now on. I think back on the past four months and I can't help but smile. It's been a challenge to live with Skyler under the same roof and I quickly learnt that she wasn't going to change just because she loves me.

She still got annoyed with me, more often than not and she ignored me when she was mad at me but those are things I can live with. She didn't suddenly depend on me for everything, like I thought she might, even after Tristan died. She just got this really sad yet angry look in her eyes but that didn't stop her from being my wife. She didn't want to do anything with the crime side of our lives but she didn't shy away from it when business was handled around her, she couldn't really do that. She does come by the office a lot though and she feeds my men more than she feeds me but that's something I can live with too.

"You should be sleeping, why aren't you sleeping?" She moans as she opens her eyes and find me awake. I look at the time and realize I've been lost in my thoughts for a good hour while she was lost in her dreams.

"I wasn't tired." I tell her and she huffs.

"I didn't do a good job then." She says as she pulls away from me and stretches her upper body. One thing I've come to learn about Skyler is that she's not shy about her body, at least around me and she's used it against me more times than I would like to admit these past months. She's also not afraid to pin me down and have her way with me when the mood strikes and she has more energy than I do sometimes.

"Trust me, sweetheart, you did a great job." I tell her and she gives me a coy smile before sliding of the bed, naked as the day she was born, and walking towards her purse. I frown when she comes back with a small box wrapped in black and white wrapping paper and a silver bow on the top.

"What is this?" I ask and she shrugs.

"The reason I've been planning all week long." She says and climbs on my lap, straddling me. She hands me the gift and I stare at her in confusion because I have no idea why she would even get me a gift. "You have to open it." She rolls her eyes like me, much like she does when she thinks I'm being stupid. I sigh and remove the bow and open the box.

"Are you serious?" I ask as I look at the grey picture in the box. She nods with a small smile on her face and I look back at the picture in the box.

"Six weeks." She says and my eyes widen as I stare at her still flat stomach.

"I'm going to be a dad?" I ask even though the proof is right in front of me.

"The best one ever." She whispers and kisses the top of my head. I stare at her in awe before I give her a huge smile.

"Thank you." I whisper back and pull her into a heated kiss. "How about you finish that job now?" I ask her with a smirk and she throws her head back in laughter before kissing me again.