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Nix —
Levi appointed himself Sullivan’s personal bodyguard, escorting him into the van with Monty, Titus, and Rhys, and most of our equipment. Eli and I stayed behind to destroy the evidence, wipe fingerprints off surfaces, and generally eliminate our presence from the warehouse before we walked away from it a final time. Knowing Sullivan had been here and X likely knew about the location, my team wouldn’t return when this was all over.
The thought of it being over bothered me, and I wasn’t a coward who would refuse to acknowledge why. Eli. The end of this op meant walking away from Eli. I’d had lovers in the past, even some in conjunction with a mission, but I’d always walked away without a backward glance. Somehow, this man—
The door creaked, jerking me out of my thoughts. Eli walked in. “The other rooms are clear. I took care of the bathroom too.”
I grinned over my shoulder where I knelt, packing Maris’s things into her bag. “A man who cleans toilets. Sounds like a keeper.”
Eli raised his brows, and I realized what I’d said. To hide my blush, I turned my back again quickly. And ignored the low chuckle I barely heard leave Eli’s throat. “This is the last room,” I said. “I’ve been through the downstairs thoroughly.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, focusing on the shirt I was folding and not the amusement I knew was shining from those amber eyes.
“It means you do everything thoroughly.”
The slightest growl came through on the word everything, sending a shiver down my spine. I zipped Maris’s duffel closed and stood, bracing myself before I turned around.
Eli stood, shoulder against the wall, eyes on the floor. The crease above his nose told me he was thinking deeply. Grabbing Maris’s duffel and then mine, I walked them over to stack by the door, trying desperately to ignore his heat as I passed. When he still didn’t speak, didn’t look up, I asked, “What?”
Eli raised his head, and the worry in his eyes as they met mine hit me like a hammer blow.
“What happened? Did Remi call? Is something wrong at the mansion? With Maris?”
Eli reached for me then, hesitated, dropped his hand. “No, nothing’s wrong at the mansion. I talked to Remi a few minutes ago.”
“Then what the hell is it?”
He grinned. Rubbing a finger over that crease I’d noticed before, he looked a little like a sheepish boy—a look I had no doubt he leveraged often. “You curse at me a lot,” he said.
“You frustrate me a lot,” I pointed out.
He dropped his hand but not the grin. “I’m good with releasing frustration too.”
“You certainly are.” I didn’t sound happy about it. When Eli laughed outright, my frown was joined by narrowed eyes. “Don’t act so pleased.”
Eli didn’t stop laughing, but he did grab my arm and tug me to him, throwing me off-balance. I landed with an oof against the solid wall of his chest. My hand slapped the thin barrier of his T-shirt and immediately curled, seeking a firmer grip, deeper contact. More. I barely held back a groan rising in my throat.
Eli tipped my chin up, and I swore he was about to kiss me, but something made him hesitate. The stroke of his thumb along my jaw held me steady while I waited.
“I need to talk to you,” he said finally, the heavy look he’d worn earlier returning.
“Of course.”
Amusement sparked in his eyes, then died just as quickly. “Things have been...”
The end of that sentence depended on what “things” he was referring to, but one word seemed to fit most of what was going on around us right now. “Intense?”
“To say the least,” he agreed. “I guess I...” Another pause, and then he seemed to brace himself, though he didn’t move away for me. “I need to know that I didn’t...push you, last night.” He cleared his throat. “Here.”
I considered that a moment, trying to make the connections he was implying, but it wasn’t until his grip on my chin tightened the slightest bit that what he meant clicked in my head. “Do you think you forced me last night?”
“I didn’t think so at the time,” he said. “I mean, pressed you a bit, yes. But how I perceived it and how you did aren’t necessarily the same.”
He was worried that he’d forced himself on me. The thought actually blew my mind. “Were you forceful? Yes.” Eli opened his mouth to respond, but my fingers on his lips stopped him. “But you didn’t do anything I didn’t allow or participate in fully, Eli. And if you had, well, I’m not a fragile flower, you know.” One side of my mouth twitched. “You’re not walking funny this morning, which is a good sign that I wasn’t resisting.”
Relief mingled with his amusement. “I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, Beautiful. I just...didn’t want you to have any regrets. I pushed pretty hard, pretty fast.”
I settled myself a little more firmly against him, more accepting now that I knew what had been on his mind. “If I remember correctly, I’m the one who kissed you first.”
He tucked his head down close to mine, his breath washing over my neck. “And that was all it took to rip through any control I’d ever hoped to have with you.”
Goose bumps washed across my skin, and my nipples pressed hard against Eli’s chest. He had to feel it, just like I could feel the sudden firmness against my belly, but he didn’t move to take this any further and I thought I knew why. Eli was dominant in bed, and I was a dominant female. Out of everything we’d done together, that was what had stood out. He’d taken control, and despite my body’s reactions, he needed to know for certain that if it happened again, I would be okay.
Chances were, it would happen again. And chances were I’d enjoy it just as much as I had the first time.
“Look, Eli...”
His nose trailed across my skin, and my knees threatened to buckle. “Yes, Beautiful?”
I’d never thought I’d like being called that, but in Eli’s deep, drugging voice? With that hungry tone? Oh yes, I did.
I forced myself to remember what I’d been going to say. “I...” Shit. I cleared my throat to stop my voice from cracking. “I’ve never really been into being controlled.”
He stilled against me, even holding his breath. His heartbeat kicked against my hard nipples.
I found myself sliding my hands up and down his biceps, soothing him with my touch. “Sex has always just been a function—something I needed, found, over and done. But...”
Come on, Nix, spill it.
“But you gave me something last night that I didn’t know I needed. Desperately. Exactly when I needed it.”
Eli released his held breath, and his head came up, those golden lion’s eyes meeting mine. Our positions from last night were reversed—him against the wall, me pressing him into it—but his hands were on my hips, gripping me tight, and the push of his hard erection was getting more urgent every second.
I smiled up at him and indulged myself by pushing my fingers through the silken strands of hair falling over his eyes. “I have no idea how all of this is going to play out. But for now, what I do know is that I wouldn’t mind what happened last night happening again.” And then I pulled one of his hands from my hip and moved it to my breast.
“Holy shit.” Eli squeezed just enough that I knew he was testing my weight in his palm. Enjoying the feel of me. I was definitely enjoying the feel of him. In fact, I suddenly found myself desperate for his bare fingers on me, on my nipples. My clit, those calluses rasping my sensitive skin in ways I knew would set me off with very little effort. “Eli.”
He must’ve heard the need, the hunger in my voice. A pinch took my breath. God, my nipples ached for him. “Do it again.”
Eli rolled my tip between his finger and thumb, his intent eyes watching the smallest of reactions, learning what I liked, what pushed me, heightened my desire. “Your eyes are like green fire,” he whispered. “And every time I do this”—he pinched—“they get even hotter.”
Talk about blazing eyes... I grabbed the side of his head and pulled him down to me. He paused just as our lips touched, his breath filling my mouth. And then it was his tongue, our lips sealed together. The power of his kiss shocked me. It had been like this last night, yes, but somehow I’d thought that was because it was the first.
No. Hell no. This was like drinking fire—his heat was on my skin, in my mouth, filling me up. Satin-smooth lips, the rough scrub of stubble. The heavy rush of both our breaths. That was all it took to have me climbing him, desperate for more.
A rough laugh echoed in my mouth as Eli pulled his away. “Hold up there, monkey.” His palms, somehow cupping my ass cheeks even though I didn’t remember them moving, squeezed me just like he had my breast. “Not this time.” Hunger darkened his words. “We’ve got some time, and I need a lot more than a quick jerk-off session.”
I did too—I was ready for him, so ready—but that didn’t stop me from whining when he lifted me away from his body.
Eli set my feet on the ground, his hands finding every nook and cranny as he glided back up. Gripped my hands and urged me to release him. A hard, quick, frantic kiss and then he stepped away from me. “Come on, Beautiful. I want to see you naked.”
I didn’t hesitate. Just took his hand and followed where Eli led me—straight to my pallet.