The Billionaire's Virgin(38)

Xavier said nothing, but his hand on hers was tight, strong.

For long moments they just sat there in silence and she felt strange, vulnerable, but not in a bad way. As if the gift of her story had been accepted and not only that, treasured.

“You want a home?” Xavier said at last, his voice even deeper than normal. “I’ll get you a fucking home.” It sounded like a vow. “One that’s yours, that no one can ever take away from you. Where you’ll be safe. I promise.”

Her throat closed up painfully. She kept her gaze on the hand over hers, staring at the scars on it. “I can’t have one. I don’t have a birth certificate. I don’t have a social security number. And I need those before anything else.”

A gentle finger caught her beneath the chin, turning her face toward him. “Then we’ll get those too,” he said. As if it was easy. As if all he had to do was snap his fingers and they’d appear.

“Tony at the shelter was helping me,” she explained. “But it’s hard. I don’t know my Mom’s surname and I don’t know where she was born. Tony told me I need that information for the birth certificate, but Grandma never talked about her. I don’t think she ever told me.”

He frowned. “What about your own surname?”

“I don’t know, my Grandma never said.”

“What about her then? Was she born in New York?”

Mia shook her head. “She talked every so often about it being a mistake to come here so I guess she was somewhere else first” Her jaw tightened. Her grandmother had been a mean, bitter old woman and she didn’t like thinking about her too often.

“Okay, but she had a name?”

“Yeah. People used to call her Hazel or Mrs. Clare. But I don’t think Clare was my Mom’s name because Tony searched on it for me and couldn’t find anything.”

One side of Xavier’s mouth curved in an attractive, lopsided grin. “Don’t worry, sweet thing. That’ll give me enough to go on. I’m pretty sure I can get that birth certificate for you.”

She became conscious all of a sudden that he was still holding her chin, and that his other fingers had curved out, lying lightly against her throat. Her skin tingled where he touched, like little sparks scattering everywhere. “I don’t know how you can,” she said, her voice sounding thick. “Tony was having real trouble.”

Xavier’s grin deepened. “Yeah well, I’m not Tony. I’ve got a lot more money at my disposal, not to mention a shitload of useful contacts in various government departments.” His fingers pressed lightly. “I’ll get your documents, Mia. And once we have them, we’ll find you that home.”

She shouldn’t be letting him do all these things for her. She should be insisting on getting her clothes back then leaving, going back to the shelter, going back to Tony and all the things he was going to help her with. But . . . Tony hadn’t had much success. It was winter and she didn’t want to stay in the shelters. She didn’t want to go back to her alley, where it was freezing and dangerous and dirty. It had only been a couple of days but already she’d gotten used to being warm. She’d gotten used to having food. She’d gotten used to being safe.

It was scary to admit that, because when this was all over—and it would be over at some point—it was going to be so very hard to go back. But there was a part of her that wanted to grab it while it lasted and take as much as she could, while she could.

Who would it hurt to accept his help? No one. And if she didn’t, the only person who would suffer was her. So why not accept it? Why not take the easy route while the going was good? Because God knew, she hadn’t ever had easy in her life, not once.

Mia looked into his eyes, blue like the sky. “Okay,” she said.





Chapter 7


Xavier didn’t think her acceptance would feel like victory, but it did.

Her dark eyes were very serious and he knew she meant what she said. But that was good, because he’d meant it when he’d promised her he’d give her the home she needed. When he’d promised to get her documents for her.

He’d also meant it when he said he wasn’t going to let her go.

The decision had been made the moment that spark of sass had glowed in her eyes and he didn’t question it. He knew it for truth all the way down to his bones.

She’d been abandoned and hurt by people who were supposed to care about her. And when she’d left home, no one had come searching for her. She’d been left out on the streets like trash and no one cared.

Fuck that. He was going to make sure that never happened again.