The Devious Husband: Sierra and Xavier’s Story (The Windsors)

I lean back in my chair as I listen to the proposal brought forward by a well-known property hedge fund manager, and he smiles at me reassuringly as he presents his figures.

“I’d like a better look at how you came up with those projected figures,” I tell him, and he nods as he instantly begins to dive into it.

He has my full attention, until I notice a security alert on my phone, notifying me that Sierra just got home — at six in the evening, when she usually doesn’t come home until closer to ten.

“Apologies,” I say, rising to my feet. “I need to go. Something has come up.” I reach for my jacket and throw it on in a rush. “Sam will be in touch to reschedule,” I tell him as I walk out the door.

“Is there an emergency?” Sam asks, concern written all over his face as he follows me out of the conference room, and I shake my head.

“No. My priorities just changed.”

Sam raises a brow and stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “That deal you just walked out of could be worth millions.”

I shrug as I grab my briefcase from my office and press the button that takes me down to my garage. “I don’t need more money,” I tell him. “I just need a chance with my wife.”

“You’re kiddi—” he shouts as the elevator doors close, and I grin on my way out, my entire body thrumming with excitement as I rush home.

My heart is still beating just as wildly by the time I walk into my kitchen to find my beautiful wife standing behind the stove, still in her work clothes, and at least ten different cheese varieties on the counter.

“Kitten,” I murmur as I walk up to her, feeling oddly nervous. She’s never been home early, and I’m not too sure how to behave around her now.

Sierra looks over her shoulder and smiles, her cheeks instantly becoming perfectly rosy. “Hi,” she says, a hint of shyness in her gorgeous eyes.

“Hi,” I repeat, my hand wrapping around her waist from behind as I look over her shoulder at the dish she’s making.

“It’s macaroni cheese,” she explains. “It sounds simple, but it’s a recipe Zane created for me, and it’s honestly just really delicious. I think you’ll like it.”

Pure elation rushes through me at the insinuation. “You’re making enough for me, too?”

She nods and turns around to face me, her gaze roaming over my face. “I thought that maybe, I don’t know, maybe it would be nice to have dinner together?”

I smile as I gently caress her cheek with the back of my hand. “I’d love that,” I tell her. “Let me go set the table.”

She nods and returns to her dish while I begin to set the table and light some candles, before choosing a wine that might go well with her pasta. Sierra looks a little flustered as she carefully carries a serving plate to the table, and I smile at her as I pull out her chair for her.

“Here, try this,” I tell her as I pour her a glass of wine, and she nods as she serves me some pasta. I’ve heard Zane brag about how much she loves this specific version of macaroni cheese, so to have her make it for me is a little surreal — not that I could ever admit that, since it’s not something I’m supposed to know about.

“How come you decided to cook today?” I ask carefully. “You know you can just request any dish from the housekeeper via our app, right?”

She nods and looks away. “Is it not good? I’m sorry… I forgot that not everyone loves cheese as much as I do. I should’ve⁠—”

I reach for her hand and squeeze gently. “It’s perfect,” I reassure her, annoyed with myself for phrasing that wrongly. “It’s actually my new favorite food. Let’s have it every single day.”

My gorgeous wife laughs, and I grin back at her. “I just wanted you to know that there are plenty of employees around if you want anything, even if you don’t necessarily see them around.”

She nods, and we both eat quietly for a little while. “You know, having this dish with you reminds me of something. Do you remember when I’d just started working for Windsor Real Estate? My grandmother was training me, and I’d been working on my first big project with⁠—”

“—with Realiance,” I recall, my mood instantly souring.

Sierra’s eyes widen, and she nods slowly. “Right,” she murmurs. “You know why I remember that project so vividly? I’d been pretty addicted to cheese sandwiches with cheese that Ares had flown in for me, but there was this one time that you’d dropped by the Realiance office for some reason, and you’d just taken a huge bite of my whole block of cheese that I’d kept in the fridge there. I still haven’t forgiven you for it.”

I can’t help but laugh as I recall how petty I’d felt as I looked her in the eye and did it. I’d never in a million years admit it, but I’d done it because I’d overheard her telling the heir of Realiance that she’d make him a cheese sandwich too. He’d clearly been flirting with her throughout that project that I helped fund, and she didn’t even realize it. “You were pretty much fresh out of college then, and you’d been working so hard. I don’t think anyone in the company worked more hours than you did.”

I remember those days all too well. The first time I saw her after she returned from college was at a conference not long before the cheese incident, and I was left reeling for days, trying to convince myself that I couldn’t possibly find my best friend’s little sister that beautiful. I hadn’t seen her in years, and I don’t think I ever looked away from the moment she returned, not while she was even remotely in my field of vision.

“Come to think of it, that isn’t the only time you stole my food. The cheese was pretty unforgivable, but there was one time you really crossed a line.”

I bite back a smile and look away, my cheeks suddenly feeling awfully hot. “The cookie,” I mutter, still ashamed of my actions. I’d found her standing in a corridor by herself before a meeting. She’d seemed nervous, and then she reached into her bag and pulled out a cookie. The way she moaned when she took a bite played a significant role in my fantasies for years to come, and what I’d done after certainly wasn’t one of my finer moment.

“I’d just been peacefully eating one of the cookies my grandma had made especially for me while I waited for my meeting to start, and you just walked up to me, grabbed my wrist, and took a bite of my cookie. I think that’s the moment I realized we would always be enemies.”

I chuckle, wondering what she’d do if she knew what was going through my mind then. “Yet here you are, Sierra Kingston. I don’t know about you, but personally, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

Her eyes widen a fraction, and the way she blushes completely messes me up. “Here I am, sharing my favorite dish with you voluntarily.”

“What do I have to do to make that happen again?” I hesitate, before adding, “this is by far the best meal I’ve ever had.”

She chuckles and pushes her hair behind her ear. “You just have to ask, Xavier. While I don’t have time to cook every day, occasionally making something you love isn’t much to ask of your wife, provided you’re willing to return the favor.”

I stare at her in disbelief, my heart racing wildly. “I love the sound of that,” I admit.

“Of me cooking?”

“Of you calling yourself my wife.”

She looks away and rises to her feet in a rush, but the smile she tries to hide speaks volumes. “Leave it,” I tell her as she reaches for our plates, rising from my seat. She looks up at me, and I smirk as I grab her wrist and pull her against me. “Tell me, Kitten… this dinner date, is this you deciding to stop running?”

She places her hand against my chest, her expression betraying a hint of insecurity. “What if it is?”

I look into her eyes as I thread my hand into her hair and tilt her face. “Then I’m going to kiss you, Sierra. No provocation, no tempting you into biting me just so I can feel your lips against mine⁠—”

Sierra rises to her tiptoes and cuts me off with a kiss, and I moan as I pull her closer, my hands roaming over her body as I step forward, forcing her back, until I’ve got her pressed against the wall. “God, you have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

She moves her hand up from my nape, until the tips of her fingers lightly thread over my scalp. “No more waiting,” she breathes against me, her body moving against mine sinfully.

“No more waiting,” I agree as I lift her up against the wall, and her skirt rides up as she wraps her legs around me. She moans when I drive my cock into her, her grip on my hair tightening as her lips find mine again.

“Xavier,” she whispers, only for my blood to run cold when an alarm sounds through our house. I pull away from my wife and gently lower her to the floor, my stomach turning. “What’s that?” she asks, looking around.

I brush her hair out of her face gently, regret unlike anything I’ve ever known rushing through me. Is this a reminder that someone like me doesn’t get to be with someone like her? Is it fate intervening to show me that my past will never loosen its hold on me?

“I need to go,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.”