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“YOU HAVE A LOVELY HOME.” She pretended to glance around as he flipped a few lights on. The house was modern, completely different than the house in New Zealand. It was a decent size for New York with warm colors, hard wood and leather – typical for a guy pad. She didn’t really care about the details at the moment; she was more interested in him and thoughts of what they would be doing shortly and what he could do to her insides. She shivered and ran her tongue over her lips.
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to the side. “It’s a pretty basic, open concept. I bought it when I first moved here as a temporary place and never got around to moving.” He strode back to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his hands on her derriere and pulling her tightly into him.
She could feel his arousal as he pressed against her. It only aided in throwing all concentration out the window – except for what they were about to do. How long had it been? Nearly forever? She planned on creating this hot, magnetic feeling between the two of them a lot more often.
His lips found her neck and his hot breath stroked her skin. Her eyes closed and she felt her jaw drop slightly as a moan slipped over her lips. Where were they right now? The living room? Kitchen? She swallowed and tried to focus as Elijah’s hands pressed and teased her breasts until they ached with need. They wanted his mouth and tongue against them as well. Her fingers tried to bury themselves into his soft, short hair. They curled into fists and she loved the feeling of his hair caressing between them.
A warm hand slid over her dress along her leg. When his fingers traced a trail of fire on her inner thigh, she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She realized they weren’t going to make it to the bedroom. At least not for this round.
Elijah’s lips brushed hers in a sensual, teasing kiss. His hand trailed up the side of her leg under her dress. His head pulled back suddenly when his hand reached her hip bone. “No knickers?” he whispered.
She giggled, despite the intensity of the moment. “Knickers?”
He grinned wickedly. “Sorry, panties? Good thing I didn’t know this during dinner. I’d have never made it.”
Not planned on purpose, but the thrill of exhilaration it shot through her blood made her gasp. She forced his head close to hers and pressed her lips hard against his. His tongue forced its way through her lips and she wrestled it with the same determination as him. Their movements grew frenzied. She stepped back slowly and pressed a hand against his chest to stop him from recovering the distance. She needed to use both her hands. “Don’t move.” It was a breathless order. His hard chest muscles quivered under her touch, but he stayed where he was, his arms at his sides. She noticed his hands clench and unclench.
She ran her teeth over her lower lip and slowly reached for the buttons on his shirt. She undid them, working her way down. Her cool hands absorbed the heat from his chest as she ran them inside his shirt. She looked up at him.
His eyes met hers and did not look away. They burned with his desire, showing her exactly how much he wanted her. She smiled, knowing the silly fleeting power over him she felt was only in her imagination, but it gave her a sexual high she had never had before.
He continued to watch her as his hands slipped under her dress and his fingers traced up on her outer thigh to her hip bone and followed the curve in. She shivered and it took every ounce of concentration not to throw her head back and close her eyes.
Elijah’s fingers curled around her hip and tugged her ever-so-slightly closer to him. She flowed into him, all liquid and burning desire. Hungry, she kissed him before reaching down to squeeze his pressing arousal. Its hardness and strength begged to be set free.
She became consumed by the pleasure of his lips against hers and his fingers brushing her skin. He wrapped his arms around her waist and his hands spread across her bottom again, this time lifting her. Her legs found their way around him and locked themselves at the ankles. With each step he took, she could feel his arousal pressing against the thin material separating them. Ripples of desire tore through her.
He paused a moment, his hand reaching for something behind her. A swoosh noise sounded in her ears and a second later the room danced with flickering lights behind her closed eyelids.
Warmth pressed against her bottom. It sent a flush of heat through her.
The same moment she realized he had turned on his fireplace, he set her down and pulled her to the floor. A beautiful, soft carpet tickled her skin. He sat up and shrugged out of his shirt. The reflection of light from the fire against his skin caught Charity’s eye. She was mesmerized. He’s gorgeous. One of those bodies you only saw in the movies with thousands of women drooling over him. And he’s mine.
She gently pushed his upper body down and straddled him. Her hands spread across his lower rib cage and she watched her hands against his skin. Her right pointer finger traced ink. “You got a new tattoo.” She slid down his body, purposely pressing her center against his erection. She bent down and ran her tongue over the new word. Trust. He tasted delicious.
Elijah’s hands slipped behind his head so he could watch her. He grinned sensually. “That I did.” He shivered. “That feels good,” he whispered.
The raw need in his voice created a hotter fire inside her. She ran her fingers eagerly over his skin toward his belt. His breath caught as she undid his belt and slowly pulled his zipper down. Her fingers traced a circle around his belly button, his strong abdominal muscles tightening as she trailed a line lower and found her way under the elastic of his boxer-briefs.
Her hand enclosed around him and squeezed. He moaned and when he gripped her hips, she slid her hand up a couple of inches, and then back down. She felt his nails dig in to the crest of her hip.
His hips arced toward her. He grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it up. It forced her to move her hand away from him but she straightened and let him take it off her. Her hair lifted and fell over her face and shoulders. She reached and ran her fingers through it to pull it back. His hot breath travelled up near her breasts as he pulled her tighter against him. She sat straddling him in only her lace bra.
His hands trailed up her back and undid her bra. He slowly tugged it off.
“Take your pants off.” She shifted off of him and stretched out beside him, the flames warming her. She had no idea if it came from inside her or from the fireplace.
He obeyed and laid down beside her. She ran a hand from his neck to his chest as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “Are you aching for it as bad as I am?”
She wasn’t thinking anymore; primal need was taking control, but she knew that. “For you – yes.”
Gripping her hip, he slid inside her a couple of inches. She dug her nails into his shoulder and draped her leg high over his hip. He forced himself fully into her as his lips met hers. A guttural desire vibrated against her throat. “Please don’t stop,” she begged.
He didn’t. He moved inside her again and again. She rolled onto her back and he stayed pressed against her, his hips moving in a frenzied motion. He pinned her to the ground as pleasure built into a screaming ball of desire begging to burst inside of her.
He must have known how close she was. He slowed his rhythm and slid out torturously slow, and then slid in the same way. He repeated and Charity’s eyes flared open. “Again,” she demanded.
Teeth bared, he did as she asked until every muscle inside of her exploded. Her body trembled and her hips arced high against his. She gasped and panted, unable to stop. She shivered and sighed. “Wow,” she said. “Wow.” She smiled wickedly at him. “Your turn.”
His eyes burned with a primitive hunger. He rotated his hips sliding in and out of her. He entered her faster, pounding hard against her. His pace grew fast and primal. When he came he clung to her, his heart drumming fast against her with nearly the same manic pace as hers. He finally collapsed against her, his face pressed into her hair.
They lay panting and tangled in each other. Elijah finally moved to lie beside her. He grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his hip. She rested her head on his chest. “You’re freakin’ amazing in bed,” he said, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers.
Charity could hear the smile in his voice. She curled her hips against him and rubbed her leg against his skin. “I don’t believe we made it to the bed. Maybe next time?”
“Absolutely.”
Her finger lightly traced his new tattoo. “When did you get this?” Her body was excited, but her mind worried about the meaning behind the word. Trust.
“After the funeral, before I flew home.” He sat up and reached over her, pulling a soft blanket off the back of the couch and spreading it over them. He laid back down, bending his arm to rest his head against his hand so he could watch her.
She froze inside when he mentioned the funeral. She hadn’t stayed for it and they were eventually going to have to talk about it. Not now, she silently begged. Elijah’s elbow lightly brushed her breast and sent a shiver of longing through her again. Her nipple hardened as if trying to get closer to him.
The fire’s flames made wavy shadows across his face and chest. “Why did you leave?”
‘Cause your mom told me to get the heck out of Dodge. She rolled onto her back and pulled the soft blanket under her armpits, covering her breasts, embarrassed they didn’t have the decency to hide their desire for him. Here we go. She stared at the ceiling, too embarrassed to look into his eyes. “It... It felt... I... I just thought I shouldn’t be there. I didn’t want to cause any problems.”
Elijah sat up, confusion written across his face. “You weren’t the cause of any problems. You just left. Why didn’t you come and talk to me?” He leaned over so she had to look him in the eye. “You didn’t even say goodbye. Or call or text me when you knew I was back.”
Neither did you. She knew going further with this conversation wouldn’t end well. She lifted her head to press her lips against his, her eyes closing in anticipation. In between kisses she whispered, “It’s not important now.” She let her head fall back slowly and opened her eyes when cool air brushed by her wet lips instead of Elijah’s sultry ones.
Elijah stayed in his position. “It is important. To me. Why’d you run away?”
