Hearing Elijah’s footsteps as he neared the bedroom door gave me butterflies. These weren’t the same butterflies as before, where the flutters were subtle and fleeting. No, these lingered and reverberated throughout my body, leaving behind goosebumps on my skin. I pulled the covers closer to my chest as I waited for the door to open. After a minute, I resumed watching reruns of Martin. I hoped the show could lull me to sleep like it did a few nights ago. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t going to bed until Elijah did.
The last two nights, we stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning talking. Elijah had spent most of his time in the studio working on his collection. I respected his discipline and his ability to tune out everything to focus on his work. He usually came to bed around three, four at the latest. The clean scent of his body wash always stirred me from my sleep. Not tonight, though. I was up and waiting for him.
He opened the door slowly, smirking when he saw I was still awake.
“You waited up for me?”
I nodded. “I figured you’d wake me up when you came to bed, anyway. Plus, my favorite show is on.”
He looked at the TV mounted on the wall and laughed. “Martin’s on? Yeah, we’re not going to bed anytime soon.”
“Right?” I replied with a laugh.
Elijah removed his t-shirt and slid into bed in nothing by a pair of gray joggers. He moved as close to me as possible, laying on the pillows between us.
“I finished my third painting,” he told me while watching the show.
My gaze remained on the TV. “Only two more to go. How does it feel?”
He blew out a breath. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Oh, please. You’re so dramatic.”
Elijah chuckled. “I’m serious, Mani.”
I met his pensive gaze and turned to him. “Why?”
“I hadn’t painted in months and not because I didn't want to, I just didn’t have any motivation to do it. That’s why I came out here, to isolate myself and focus on my craft.”
“And here I am, messing up everything.”
“Nah, not at all. Having you around has been good.”
I smiled. “Not to be weird, but I missed you today.”
My stomach twisted at how easily those words came out. But it was true.
This morning, I woke up in time to swim during the sunrise. Then I showered before grabbing breakfast from a new coffee shop a little distance away. During the drive, I thought about the past four days. The night at the club and the conversation on the patio that led to me on his lap with our lips getting reacquainted came to mind. I wasn’t sure how far it would’ve gone had his colleague not called him. It quickly reminded me why he was here in the first place. Then, all the reasons we didn’t work out clouded my thoughts.
I went to bed slightly disappointed at the sudden turn of events, but reconsidered in the morning when I found Elijah on my way to the beach. Our morning swim was serene and the subsequent coffee date was the intimacy I'd been craving. Later that day, while Elijah was sleeping, I left for a surfing lesson and when I returned; he was back in the studio working. For the remainder of the day, he painted while I caught up on my extensive to-be-read list.
The next time we saw each other was in bed. He thanked me for ordering dinner and returned the gesture by taking me to lunch the following afternoon. After that, he went back to work, spending the day in the studio. Seeing how hard he’d been working prompted me to prepare for my upcoming interview. And I needed to keep Elijah off my mind. I wasn’t ready to face the resurfacing feelings between us yet. The more time I spent with him, the more I wondered if this could work the second time around. Those thoughts didn’t linger long.
Once I reached the coffee shop, I ordered food and began researching The Jones Collective. I checked out their latest campaigns, looked up past partnerships, and read every article I could find about the company. If I wanted to impress my interviewer, I needed to come prepared with questions.
During my deep dive, Alexis called to update me on the office tea. The meeting where Devin announces the Angel Face campaign was tomorrow, and I'd been in my head about it all day. When I returned home, I wanted to talk to Elijah about it, but decided against it. He had enough to worry about with his show and the upcoming deadline. And not to mention the ex who still lingered.
The feeling of his hand on my cheek pulled me from my thoughts. He grazed the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. I met his heated gaze. A smirk rested on his mouth.
“I missed you too. I thought about calling,” he confessed, still stroking my lip with his thumb. His gaze bounced from my eyes to my lips.
“Why didn’t you call?”
“Did you want me to?” he asked, moving closer to my side of the bed. “Last night, we talked about going for coffee, right?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “Yes.”
“So, what changed?”
“This is moving kind of fast. You’re fresh out of something and I don’t know. You might want to fix that when you get home.”
“Where is this coming from, Mani?”
His eyes searched mine while cupping my cheek dotingly.
“I saw the missed calls on your phone.”
On my way to the bathroom this morning, I picked up Elijah’s phone that had fallen off the nightstand. It started vibrating in my hand, scaring the hell out of me. I couldn’t scream or react how I normally would without waking him up. Seeing me with his phone first thing in the morning wasn’t a good look.
When the phone finally stopped ringing, I saw several missed calls from her. The situation seemed too similar to what I went through with Ian. After getting dressed for the day, I left out without a word. I hadn’t planned on addressing the calls, but Elijah was eager to know the truth.
“A few missed calls from my ex mean nothing. She likes to play games, and I used to entertain them, but I'm not anymore. I need you to trust me, Mani. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt or mislead you, ever.”
I looked away while biting my bottom lip. Trust was something I lacked these days. Elijah had done nothing for me to feel this way, but I couldn’t stop thinking about past situations. My mind wanted me to ease into this. My heart wanted to throw caution to the wind and fall headfirst into whatever this was with Elijah.
Elijah grabbed my chin, angling my head in his direction. “We’re not moving fast. We're picking up where we left off.”
“And where did we leave off, exactly?”
He picked up the pillows between us and tossed them at the foot of the bed. He moved over to my side of the bed, propping an elbow on my pillow, and he stared at me.
“Here,” he said before kissing me. I melted into him, inhaling a sharp breath when he moved down my neck. Elijah’s kisses were slow and intentional, taking me back to our first kiss three summers ago.
We were sitting on the edge of his bed, sifting through his extensive DVD collection. He revealed his parents couldn’t afford cable growing up, so they relied on DVD and VHS tapes for entertainment. The vulnerability he displayed in that moment allowed me to do the same. I shared how I grew up envying Chris and Jaxon for having a mother who cared about them. My parents were too wrapped up in their toxic relationship to worry about me.
Before that night, I hadn’t ever told anyone I harbored those feelings. Elijah didn’t pass judgment as I listed the reasons why I adored my aunt Alexandria. He held me close and listened to me. The comfort of being in his arms, the closeness, led me to kissing him.
The memory of everything that followed our first kiss came to mind. Remembering how I felt when it ended brought me back to reality.
“This isn’t your side of the bed, Eli.”
The sheepish smirk on his face made my stomach flutter. Heat zipped through me from the warmth of his body pressing into mine.
The sensation heightened when he replied, “I know. I like this side better because you’re here.”
My mouth went dry as Elijah trailed kisses down my neck. He stopped at my shoulder, pulling the straps of my tank top down, exposing my taut nipples. I watched through heavy lids as he sucked on one nipple while tweaking the other. Moans spilled from my lips, from the lashings of his tongue against my nipple. He circled the other nipple with his thumb. He stopped to lick his thumb, then went back to work. My stomach was in knots and my center craved for the same attention.
Elijah took his time peppering kissing down my stomach to my center. My legs spread wide for him. He chuckled while grazing my inner thighs with his hands.
“Elijah,” I breathed when he kissed part of my thigh and stomach, avoiding my throbbing pussy. “Stop teasing me.”
His throaty chuckle did nothing to soothe my frazzled nerves. It should've been a crime how badly I wanted him. Since kissing him on the patio, it was all I could think about. If he wasn’t careful, tonight would be the night.
“You’ve been teasing me since I got here.” He kissed my pussy, sending ripples of pleasure through me. “Wearing those bikinis, giving me your undivided attention one day, then leaving me hanging all day.”
His tongue swiped my clit, making my hips buck and back arch.
“I thought we were past that?”
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry, Eli,” I whined.
Elijah moaned in my pussy, kissing it with just as much passion as he had on my lips. It wasn’t long before he pushed me to my peak. He didn’t let up once I came, either. He kissed and sucked my pussy until I begged him to stop. My body tingled from my head to my toes. Elijah peered up at me menacingly.
“You broke a promise, Mani.”
I rolled my eyes, still fighting to catch my breath. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Yeah, you will,” he replied. His stare was as hot as molten lava. “I could hardly focus today because of you.”
Elijah stood from the bed and went to the bathroom. I adjusted the straps of my nightgown and waited for him to return. I moved to his side of the bed, sitting with my feet tucked under me.
“I apologized.”
He turned off the bathroom light and sauntered toward me. “Sorry isn’t enough.”
My gaze dropped from his eyes to the bulge in his joggers. I swiped my tongue across my bottom lip.
“Don’t just stare at it, Mani,” Elijah said with a cocky smirk. “If you want it, take it.”
He joined me on the side of the bed. I leaned over him, arching my back dramatically before reaching for his joggers. Elijah watched with curious eyes as I took as much of him as I could. Once his dick hit the back of my throat, I bobbed my head slowly. His hand held my neck as he gently guided my head. We switched positions. I kneeled before him to get a better view of him.
I moaned as I watched him unravel before my eyes. Elijah’s eyes were closed, eyebrows were furrowed, and his bottom lip was tucked between his teeth. The sight was beautiful. I slurped his dick before kissing the head, earning a satisfying grunt from him. I did it again, pleased with his reaction. The tv illuminated the ink covering his chest and stomach, adding to the view, turning me on even more.
Elijah was a masterpiece.
“Damn, Imani,” he groaned while caressing the back of my head and neck. My center throbbed when he held my neck to pump into my mouth. I accepted the challenge, sucking and slurping until his hips froze and his breaths quickened.
“Shit,” he grunted, releasing in my mouth. I didn’t stop until I lapped every drop. He backed away from me, his eyes wild and a half-grin rested on his mouth.
“Forgive me now?”
He chuckled. “You’re off to a good start, but you owe me a coffee date.”
I bit my bottom lip, annoyed with myself for melting at his words. Jumping from the bed, I went to the bathroom. After cleaning up the mess we made, I returned to bed.
Elijah laid in the middle of the bed with one leg up and the other straight. His hands were behind his head as he laughed at whatever nonsense Cole said. My eyes darted between the TV and him. Sharing a bed, hanging out, kissing; this was a recipe for disaster. Elijah caught my gaze and nodded for me to join him. As I made my way to bed, I decided I would enjoy every second of this inevitable disaster.
* * *
“Good morning, sweetie. I’m Mrs. Kimble. I made these muffins for you and Elijah.”
Mrs. Kimble handed me a tan basket that emitted the warm scent of cinnamon and blueberries. I tucked Elijah’s coffee between the muffins. She tilted her head to the side, inspecting my outfit. The mini skirt covering my bikini left little to the imagination, but I was in a beach town and had every intention of going there once I dropped off Elijah’s coffee.
“Thank you so much. I’m Imani, by the way.” I held out my left hand for her to shake. She accepted my hand, lightly clutching my fingers. “Elijah has told me so much about you.”
Mrs. Kimble smiled politely. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. Last time they-he came,” she quickly corrected. “He didn’t stay long, and I wasn't able to make him any goodies.”
I held up the basket. “I’m sure we’re going to love these. Thanks again.”
Before she could say anything else awkward, I walked away. I had two seconds to get over what Mrs. Kimble had revealed. It didn’t matter that he’d brought his ex here. Elijah was a distant memory a few days ago. I had no right to be jealous. Rationalizing the situation didn’t stop the knots from forming in my stomach.
“Your girl made muffins,” I told Elijah as I entered the studio. “I left them in the kitchen.”
“I knew it was only a matter of time.”
He had moved the furniture three times since his arrival. Today, the easel was in the center of the room. From the door, all I could see was him and the back of the canvas. He looked up from the painting and smiled at me.
“And here’s the coffee I owe you.”
He placed his brush and palette down to meet me halfway. The olive coveralls he sported looked good on his cinnamon brown skin. The sleeves were cut off, and underneath he wore a gray tank. I couldn’t stop staring at his arms. The muscles were so defined and the intricate tattoos adorning his biceps made my mouth water. My gaze slowly traveled up his frame until I met his eyes. Hooking an arm around my waist, he held me in place.
“Thanks, Mani,” he crooned before dropping a kiss on my forehead.
I grinned. “Anytime.”
“What are you about to do?” His eyes raked over my appearance.
“Go to the beach, duh. Is the bathing suit top not a dead giveaway?” I tried to move from his grasp, but it was no use. “I’m going to rent a cabana and read until my heart’s content.”
Elijah didn’t want to wake up to swim this morning, so I went alone. I didn’t stay too long since he wasn’t there and the beach was practically empty at that hour. When I returned home, I heard him moving around in the studio. I hadn’t made any actual plans and after he called me out for being gone all yesterday; I figured a short beach day wasn’t the worst idea.
“Then what?”
I shrugged. “Probably get food on the boardwalk.”
“Let me know when you’re heading out. If I’m in a good spot, I’ll join you.”
My eyes lit up, but I quickly recovered. “Sounds good. Bring your camera. I saw some cool murals the other day.”
“Good idea.” He simpered.
The endearing look in his eyes was too much to bear. I pressed my hand into his chest, forcing him to release me. His hand lingered on my waist for a second. I hated how much I enjoyed being in his arms. The mix of his cologne and our closeness took me back to last night. My mouth watered at the thought of him between my thighs. I could tell by the look in his eyes, he was having a similar thought.
“Get back to work,” I scolded, backing out of his reach.
“See you later,” he replied with a wink.
I smiled softly before leaving the room. “Later.”
* * *
With a smirk, I picked up my cheeseburger and took a bite. Elijah gawked at me from the other side of the table.
“Damn, Mani.”
I covered my mouth, feigning embarrassment. “When I’m on vacation, I like to eat the foods I don’t eat at home.”
After popping one of my fries in his mouth, he sat back in his seat. “My bad. Do your thing, baby.”
“Thank you.” I took another bite out of my burger, moaning in delight. Elijah’s regard remained on me instead of the ten-piece wing combo he ordered.
Before I could question his staring, my phone rang. My stomach twisted and my heart beat double time. Alexis was calling to tell me what Devin said in the meeting. I declined the call, then sent a text promising to call back later. Not even a second later, she replied with a rundown of the meeting. I wiped my face and hands before reading the paragraph she sent me.
“What’s wrong?”
Peeling my eyes from the phone, I met Elijah’s gaze. “Work stuff.”
I put my phone down when Devin’s name appeared on the screen. Elijah’s eyes bounced between my phone and me. I offered him a weak smile before declining the call. A beat passed before Devin called again. This time I answered.
“What is it, Devin?”
“Damn, that’s how you answer the phone now? I’ve been texting you.”
“I’m on vacation.”
Elijah chuckled before finishing his drink. I bit my bottom lip and looked away from him.
“Listen, I just told the team about the AngelFace campaign. I’m going to lead it but I need you and Sam to be my second in command.”
I rolled my eyes, avoiding Elijah’s pensive stare.
“We can talk about it when I get back.”
“That’s cool. I just didn’t want you to hear this anywhere else. I have another project in the works for you. Don’t worry, Imani.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you when I get back.”
Devin chuckled. “You know, we don’t have to treat this as a business call.”
I pursed my lips together. “This is a business call. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to get back to my lunch date.”
Elijah’s cheek lifted into a half-smile.
Devin didn’t seem bothered when he replied, “Whatever it is, it’s temporary. See you when you get back.”
I ended the call and placed my phone back on the table.
“Sorry about that.”
Elijah shrugged. “I’m not trippin’. Everyone has a little baggage.”
I burst into laughter, tossing a balled up napkin at him. “Did you just call me a bag, lady?”
“I said, ‘everyone,’ that includes me too. I’d never judge you, baby.”
Ignoring the fluttering in my center, I said, “Let’s hurry before we miss golden hour.”