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She was lightheaded with the realization of what she’d said. Worse, of how much she meant it. She wanted Epimetheus with a primal hunger she’d never felt before.
Clinging to his arms as if to life itself. Wrapping her legs around his waist. Claiming his—
Her premonition dissolved into reality, as he crushed his lips to hers with such force, he drove her backward into the wall. Her hands were trapped between them, but she extricated them from where they lay pressed against his impossibly hard chest, and dug her fingers into his shoulders, needing to feel more of him. His muscles bunched under her touch, and she was delighted when goose bumps broke along his skin.
Epimetheus plundered her mouth, his tongue finding hers and dancing with it while his teeth grazed her lips. He closed his palms around her waist and lifted, and Elpida brought her legs up around his hips, as if she’d done so a million times before. At a meter fifty-seven, she was tiny compared to him, but when the clothes she’d brought him slid to the floor and her nipples rubbed against his chest, all she could think of was that he fit her perfectly.
His length was insistent between her thighs, and for a second, she wished she was naked and could take him inside her now. Here. But he was huge. Could he even fit inside her? She hadn’t had sex in so long, hadn’t even had time to date in the two years she worked for Daphne, she felt like a virgin. A very horny virgin, who bucked her hips and rubbed against Epimetheus’ monster cock like her life depended on it, but still too tight for his intimidating girth.
“I want you,” he whispered against her lips, and she heard the words echo in her mind, like he was somehow projecting his thoughts at her.
“Uh huh,” was Elpida’s brilliant reply. But when he slid one of his enormous palms down the seat of her jeans, to tease the string of her thong, she stiffened. If she gave into this, she brought herself one step closer to the future she’d gleaned in her vision. In her premonition, he looked as old as he did now, which meant if she fell for him, she didn’t have long to live. And she couldn’t fathom being that intimate with him while safeguarding her heart.
She halfheartedly dropped her legs from around him and glided her palms to his chest—God, it was so masculine, wide and hard and smooth, with a sprinkle of dark curls she ached to twirl her fingers in—to push him back. She turned her head to the side, and tried not to melt when he kissed and licked a trail along her jawline to whisper in her ear, “I want you.”
“No.” It was barely audible above the sound of her heart breaking. “I can’t.”
“Is there someone else?” He nuzzled her hair.
“No. I just... I don’t see you that way.” The lie burned her throat.
He stepped back and stared into her eyes. “I would have the truth.”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid.”
His smile almost made her forget the danger she was in. “We’ll fix that.”
For a moment, she believed him.
Epimetheus ducked down to grab the clothes she’d brought him. When he straightened, his expression was dark. “These smell like another male.”
“What?” She was so frazzled by the dichotomy of what she wanted and what she needed, she thought the floor shook. When her brain caught up with the accusation in his voice, she managed a small laugh. “My brother left them here last time he was in town.”
A breeze caressed her temples. Had she left a window open all night?
Epimetheus licked his lips. “Good. Because you’re mine.” His lips didn’t move, but the words reached he ears loud and clear, as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
She wanted to kiss him again, but instead, she hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Bathroom’s back there. I put up fresh towels.”
She gathered herself and kept from joining him in the shower—barely—by tidying up the living room. The stale Chinese still smelled good. Should she put the cartons in the fridge instead of throwing them away? Nah. She couldn’t feed her guest leftovers for lunch.
A flash of panic that had nothing to do with her premonitions ran like a shiver down her spine. Lunch was only a few hours away. She’d driven all night. She was exhausted.
But she didn’t have to go to work tomorrow. Well, today. She could sleep in. And she could sleep in tomorrow too, because she had no job to wake up for.
She waited for the panic to resurface at the reminder she was out of work, but what made her pulse race was the thought of Epimetheus naked under the water jet.
Gah.
She folded the blanket she usually huddled under and placed it on one of the armchairs, then draped a sheet over the sofa, taking her time to stretch it along the back. She wedged two of the throw cushions into the pillowcase and fluffed them up. She’d let him have her spare pillow, but she couldn’t sleep next to something that smelled of him after he was gone. It would hurt too much.
And this was stupid. She’d known the guy for like five seconds. He wasn’t a part of her life, and his absence wouldn’t carve out a chunk of her heart, though it made her gut twist.
She sensed more than heard him return. She hadn’t noticed the sound of the bathroom door opening, but she knew he was behind her. She felt the weight of his gaze on her, and she may have wiggled her ass just a little bit before straightening and turning to face him.
Woah. His long hair was plastered to his head and shoulders, accentuating the angles of his face. Water dripped down his chest and rippling abs, leaving lickable trails behind. The rays of the dawning sun filtering in through the window bounced off the droplets and made him look like he was made of light. The towel tied around his waist did nothing to dim the desire sparking along her skin. She’d seen and felt what was beneath the fluffy white fabric. And she wanted more of it.
“You didn’t give me any underwear,” he said with a smirk, holding up the shirt and pants.
“Told you I don’t have any.”
His lips formed a full smile as he shrugged. “Mostly wanted to remind you what you were turning down.”
The wicked man would be the end of her. “Oh, I remember. Trust me.” Not like she’d be forgetting that anytime soon.
“Good. Then this should be okay.” He undid the towel, balled it up, and threw it at her, then dropped the T-shirt on the pillow. Under her watchful gaze, he pulled on the sweats slowly. “I’d rather sleep topless. Feel the sheets against my bare skin.”
Elpida had no idea how she mustered the strength to mumble goodnight and head to bed, but she didn’t expect to sleep anytime soon.
She undressed and put on her pajamas, then changed her mind and took off the top. The sheets were cool, and her nipples hardened on contact. She wiggled, enjoying the rasp of the crisp fabric on the tender buds, but it was nothing compared to how Epimetheus’ touch would feel. She was wet and needy, and he was in the next room. She could go to him. Have one night of what she knew would be spectacular sex. It didn’t need to mean more than fun.
Liar.
She rolled to her belly and inched her hand down her stomach and into her pajama pants. Her clitoris begged for attention, but her own touch did nothing to soothe the desire tightening in her belly. She rubbed and pinched and slid a finger inside herself, but it wasn’t enough. Every fiber of her being tugged her back to the living room, to Epimetheus, who made her body feel alive.
It was almost ten by the time she gave up on the idea of ever going to sleep unless her hunger was satisfied. Not bothering to put her shirt on again, she threw back the covers and lowered her feet to the floor. The distance to the living room seemed vast, and her heart thrummed in her throat when she looked down at his sleeping form.
He was stretched on his back, one hand tucked inside the waistband of his pants.
Now she was here, she didn’t know how to go about making a move. She couldn’t climb on top of the man while he was sleeping. Instead, she knelt beside him and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the inside of the arm folded under his head.
His long, dark eyelashes twitched.
She kissed him again, at the corner of his jaw, inhaling his dark, luscious scent beneath that of her fruity shower gel. “There’s room in my bed, if you want to join me.”
She barely saw him move, as he snaked his arm around her waist and lifted her to lie on top of him. He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her down for a kiss that stole all semblance of reason.
In her mind, a word echoed, repeated like a chant. “Mine.” It was spoken in his voice.