First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess

Xavier leaned back on the couch, arms stretched across the backrest, eyes never leaving hers. His voice dropped into that blunt, no-bullshit tone that cut straight through her storm of doubts.

”It’s not that I don’t want to, Angel. It’s that there isn’t a moment where I don’t want to.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

”You think I’m holding back because I’m not interested?” He gave a dry laugh. ”The truth is the opposite. Before tonight, I didn’t even want to see you like that. Because once I did, once that line was crossed—” his gaze dropped, sharp and heavy on her—”it’s hard to go back. Hard to sit alone with you in a room and not make a move. Hard to even pretend I can control it.”

Angel’s chest tightened, her pulse hammering.

Xavier’s eyes softened, but only slightly. ”And now... we’ve already done the first stage. You think I can just brush that off? Act normal? No. Every second I spend near you now, I’ll be thinking about it. About what I want to do next.”

Angel swallowed, her face heating. ”You... really mean that?”

He nodded once, then added, almost like he was confessing something he’d buried, ”It was the same with Lyra.”

Angel blinked, stunned. ”Lyra...?”

”When I first saw her, I lusted after her. Every time since, it’s been the same. I can’t think of her without lewd thoughts creeping in. That’s why I’m never alone with her without reason. Because I know myself.” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees now, eyes steady on Angel’s. ”That’s why I bought a bigger apartment the moment she moved in. Because if she was in my room, sleeping under the same roof, I didn’t know if I could control myself.”

Angel shifted awkwardly, her hands playing with the edge of her skirt. Her face was red but she still pushed it out.

”Then... I wouldn’t mind if you did something to me. I don’t wanna be the one making moves on you.”

Xavier grinned right away. ”Oh? So that’s what it is. You don’t wanna ask for it, you want me to force it out of you. Sounds like you got yourself a rape fantasy, Angel. You want me to pin you down and fuck you until you can’t even breathe, so you can say it wasn’t your fault. That’s a fetish, you know?”

Her face burned hotter and she turned her head, but she didn’t say no.

Xavier laughed under his breath. ”We can make it official then.”

Angel blinked at him. ”Official? How?”

Xavier leaned back on the couch. ”Simple. You already work for me, right? I give you jobs, you deliver. So, if you want... you can ask for sexual pleasure as your form of payment. Nothing wrong with that. A request. A deal.” His grin widened. ”That way you get what you want without the guilt of making the first move. Clean and fair.”

Angel’s lips parted, her heart thundering. ”A... deal? Like... Reva?”

Xavier’s eyes glinted. ”Exactly. Same kind of deal Reva and I have—you already know about it. She wants blood, I want her body. Fair trade.”

Angel frowned, chewing on his words, then pressed, ”But... you said before you didn’t want sex to feel like some cheap transaction. So... what is this, then?”

Xavier tilted his head at her. ”That’s different. A transaction is cold. Meaningless. This...” His hand brushed the back of her neck, holding her still, making her meet his gaze. ”...this is give and take. Equal. Both sides want, both sides benefit, both sides feel good. That’s not cheap. That’s balance.”

His eyes narrowed a bit. ”With Seraphina, it’s different. She gives me kindness. Peace. I don’t give her anything close to what she gives me, and I don’t want to taint that. That’s why I don’t fuck her unless she asks. That’s why I never treat her like the others. But you, Angel...” His hand lingered, thumb brushing her skin. ”...you want me, and I want you. That’s not a debt. That’s a fair trade.”

Angel stayed quiet for a moment, chewing on his words. Her face was red, her chest rising and falling a little faster than before. Then she let out a small laugh under her breath and looked him dead in the eye.

”Fine... deal. But you better make sure to pay me enough to satisfy me, or I’ll call you a cheapskate boss.”

Xavier’s grin widened. ”Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be begging me to stop before I’m done paying you.”

Angel rolled her eyes, though her flushed face betrayed her. She was about to say something back when her phone suddenly buzzed loud against the table. She flinched, grabbed it quickly, and turned away while answering.

”...Yeah? ...Mhm... understood.” Her voice dropped lower, serious now. After a short back-and-forth, she hung up, her expression shifting from flustered to sharp.

She turned back to Xavier. ”The Underworld Auction’s been decided. It’s tonight.”

Xavier rubbed his chin, brows lifting just slightly. ”Tch, I assumed they’d at least give us a few days to prepare... but suddenly dropping it on the same night? Bold. Doesn’t matter though.” He pushed himself up from the couch, stretching his arms.

He glanced over at Angel, her hair a little messy, her clothes wrinkled from the night before. ”First, fix yourself. Then we’ll eat. After that, you’ll drop me at my apartment, and we’ll meet again tonight at the auction.”

Angel gave him a look, halfway between annoyed and embarrassed. ”Fix myself? You make it sound like I’m a total mess.”

”Why don’t you look in the mirror and decide for yourself?”

”Do I look ugly now?”

Xavier smirked. ”Didn’t say you were. But if I walk into the auction with you looking like that, they’ll think I raped you until you submitted— which I know you want me to do.”

Angel’s face heated again, and she grabbed a pillow to throw at him. He caught it with one hand, still grinning.

”You’re impossible.”

”You’ll thank me later,” Xavier replied, tossing the pillow back on the couch.