When he pulls away, he looks at me, adoration on his face. “Why couldn’t we have met in Sydney? I feel so rushed, like I’ll have to pack you up with my luggage or I’ll never have my fill.”
“Because sometimes all you get is a tiny flower in the bull crap that is life,” I say matter-of-factly. He gives me a wry smile before we continue on our way and try to enjoy what’s left of the night, but our imminent separation is a constant in the back of my mind. Now I understand what Coral is always upset about.
Nineteen
Elliot
“How would you all feel about me and Paige sharing a room together after Shane and Gav go back home?” I ask the group of curious faces in front of me. Paige and I have called a house meeting to see if everyone is comfortable living with a couple who get to sleep with each other in the flat.
“Relieved actually,” Brian states. “I’m always worried I’ll open the bedroom door and find you two going at it.”
“I’m relieved too.” Naomi laughs. “I thought you were going to tell us you knocked her up or something.”
“Definitely not.” I laugh shaking my head at her reaction. “We haven’t even been dating long enough to have an announcement like that.”
“I don’t know exactly when you two started sleeping together. Paige isn’t very forthcoming with the details,” she says, looking pointedly at Paige, who just shrugs at her.
“Well, obviously we don’t care,” Gavin says looking at Shane, who nods his head in agreement.
“So it’s fine?” Paige asks.
“Sure,” they all say at varying times. I also hear a ‘doesn’t bother me’ in there too.
“Well, that was easier than I thought,” I say looking at Paige.
“Thanks guys,” she says to the group.
Once they’ve dispersed, she takes my hand and leads me out onto the balcony which is the only place where you can be alone in this place.
“Are you happy?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her waist trapping her against the railing.
“Very,” she states, tucking her head into the crook of my neck as she sighs contentedly. “I’ve missed having you inside me,” she whispers, tilting her head up and nipping at my Adam's apple, causing me to go instantly hard.
“Oh god, Paige, don’t talk like that. You’re killing me,” I groan, pressing myself against her.
“Are you sure about this, Elliot?” she asks in a whisper, planting soft kisses on my throat. “It won’t be too hard on you when you go? The closer we get, the more difficult goodbye will be.”
“Nothing could change my mind,” I say, as I capture her mouth with mine in a kiss that feels like it tugs at my soul, feeding pieces of it to her, as I draw pieces of hers into me.
* * *
Paige
“How come you don’t talk to me about Elliot?” Naomi asks as I attempt to slip quietly into our room after saying good night to the rest of the guys who are all happily playing cards around the dining room table.
Sighing, I sit down on my bed. She’s normally asleep when I come in this late, so our before bed chats have been few and far between.
“Does it upset you that I don’t?”
“Well, yeah. We’re supposed to be friends, and we’re the only two girls in the house. It’d be nice to have some girl talk, you know?”
I release a slow breath through my nose. Girl talk is one thing I’ve never really gotten into. The few friends I had were lost when I was kicked out of home, and the friends after that were fleeting or untrustworthy. I learned quickly not to share.
“What do you want to know?” I ask.
Slipping her bookmark in place, Naomi places her book on the bedside table and sits up in her bed.
“I want to know how you feel. I want to know if he’s good to you, how he treats you.”
“Can’t you see those things just by looking at us?”
She shrugs. “I guess. But I just want to talk…like we used to.” Her eyes lower as she stares at her hands.
“I’m so sorry, Naomi,” I tell her honestly. “I do consider you my friend. I’m just… I’m not very good at talking to people, you know? Back in Australia I didn’t have anyone to lean on, so I’m kind of used to dealing with all my shit on my own. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll fill you in on as much as I can?”
“Yeah,” she says, offering me a small smile. “I’d like that.”
“I think you already know he’s wonderful. But I can tell you just how wonderful he is. You see, I asked him to come with me to meet a relative of mine for the first time…” I launch into a recount of everything that’s happened since Cambridge. I give her the same story I gave Andrea about meeting a relative. I'm not willing to share the sordid deals of my conception with her, but I do tell her about how patient Elliot has been toward me and that I care for him deeply. “I’m really dreading the day he has to go home. I don’t want our time together to end. But I guess it has to,” I murmur, my voice trailing off as I finish.
Naomi sighs, a whimsical look in her eyes. “He sounds so amazing, Paige. Why don’t you just go back with him?”
“Nomes, I can’t do that to him. He can’t pin all of his hopes on me.”
“Why? What’s so wrong with your relationship that it can’t continue back in Australia?”
“There’s nothing wrong with our relationship, Naomi, I just can’t keep him—it’s as simple as that,” I tell her firmly. Her mouth opens to say something more, but I’m quick to silence it. “Drop it Naomi, please.”
Holding her hands up in surrender, she pushes her feet off the floor and slides back into her bed, reaching for her book.
“I’m glad you two will be sharing a room then,” she says quietly as she reopens the book and settles against her pillows.
“You are?” Does she want to get me out of her room since I won’t talk more?
“Yes. It might make you come to your senses. You shouldn’t put a time limit on love.”
“No one said anything about love, Naomi,” I shoot over my shoulder as I brush out my hair.
“No one has to,” she says. “I can see it.”
Elliot
“I guess this means Paige is well and truly off the market,” Shane says, as he deals the cards out.
Scooping up my hand, I fan it out, scrutinising it with what I consider to be a straight face before throwing three cards back in the middle of the table, keeping only the pair of kings I was originally dealt.
“As far as you lot are concerned, she was never on the market,” I say, watching as Shane deals out the second round of cards.
“I don’t know about that.” Shane smirks.
“Shane, quit ribbing him. You should know by now you don’t talk about Paige to him,” Brian says, throwing a handful of chips in the middle of the table to kick off his betting.
“You can talk about Paige with me just fine. It's talking about her like she’s a piece of arse you want to tap that bothers me,” I point out, flicking my own chips in the middle of the table. I still only have the pair of kings, but I’m happy to continue playing. We're betting for the last few packets of Tim Tams and a bag of Minties. We desperately need a parcel to arrive from someone at home before we run out completely and are reduced to paying the exorbitant prices they charge for them online.
“Well, you’re a lucky man, Elliot. She’s a real stunner,” Gavin puts in, evening out the mood a little. “What’s the plan when you go back home? Is it over? Or is she going with you?”
“We haven’t talked about it,” I reply, taking a swig of my beer.
“Geez mate, don’t leave it like I did with Coral. She’s all over the place these days, ‘cause I won’t commit to coming back for her. Her moods kind of shitting all over everything these days,” Shane says, folding his hand and dropping his cards in the middle of the table. “I’ve got nothin’.” he rakes his hands through his dirty blonde hair as he indicates his mismatched cards on the table.
“Why don�
��t you want to come back for Coral? You not really into it?” I ask, continuing to bet on my hand.
“I dunno. Things were great before she started freaking out about me going. But it’ll take me three months before I can even get back here, and it’s just so much money. It took me a year to save up for this trip, so…” He shrugs, swigging on his drink and leaving his sentence unfinished but understood.
I guess if he really cared about Coral, then he’d come back as soon as he could regardless of how much it costs. I know without a doubt that if I can’t get Paige to come home with me, then I will move heaven and earth to get back to her. Now that I have her. I never want to let her go.
Twenty
Paige
I’m a bundle of nerves tonight because Shane is all packed and ready to go. He’s spending his last night with his girlfriend, and Gavin has shifted his stuff into Elliot’s old room for a couple of days before he goes back home to give us the room earlier.
Elliot’s and my stuff are already in our room, but it’s only just happened, and we’re expected to leave to go to some nightclub tonight to give Shane and Gavin a big sendoff.
I’d prefer it if we didn’t go though. All I want is time alone with Elliot. We are always around others and now we have our own space, we can take our time. I’m aroused just thinking about it.
Elliot walks into the room, dressed for a night out in fitted dark jeans, a white jersey knit shirt with a line of buttons at the neckline that moulds to his muscular torso, and a black leather biker jacket.
He looks me up and down, his eyes so dark with desire that I just want to jump into his arms and wrap my legs tightly around him.
“You look stunning,” he says in a husky voice that sends erotic chills through my body. I’m wearing a dress that is a deep red colour, in a stretchy material so it's fitted to my curves. It’s fairly plain besides a cowl neckline, and it ends at my mid-thigh. I haven’t put my shoes on yet, but I’m planning on wearing heels that will bring me a couple of inches closer to Elliot’s face; perfect for kissing him.
“Do you think we could be late,” I ask, my voice deep and sultry as my eyes devour him.
He responds by closing the door and locking it. I almost come from the anticipation from hearing that sound. In one stride he's on me, kissing me frantically as we pull at each other’s clothes.
In seconds we’re naked and on the bed in a desperate tangled heap.
“Quick, please,” I beg, desperate for him to be inside me. We haven’t had sex since Cambridge and kissing just isn’t enough for me anymore. I don’t need foreplay. I just need him, inside me. Now.
He quickly applies a condom and slides himself inside me. A blissful connection. My breathing shakes as he fills me, sliding back and forth, increasing his rhythm. It’s wonderful, and I’ve been so on edge all day that my body is already set to explode.
“Oh god,” I call out. “Yes. Yes!” Tiny fragments of pleasure ripple through me and burst as I come, clenching myself around him.
“Shhh.” He laughs while he continues to pump into me.
“But it feels too good.” I gasp as silently as I can as his thrusts fill me and my orgasm continues. Holding himself up on his arms, he stills his hips, and I can feel his pulsing inside me. He dips his head down and kisses me leisurely, our release found before he rolls off me and lies beside me, chuckling to himself.
“I think they’re going to regret letting us have this room,” he says, smiling at me.
“I don’t care,” I respond, rolling into him and trailing my fingertips in between his pecs and down in between his abs, stopping just above his pubic hair line.
“I don’t either,” he says as he rolls back on top of me kissing me softly and trailing gentle kisses over my body, massaging my breasts with his hands, and twirling at my nipple with his tongue.
I gasp out and arch my back in response, so ready for him again. As he trails his kisses down my stomach, he slides his fingers between my legs and circles around my now hypersensitive clit.
My chest heaves and my eyes roll back in my head as his fingers curl inside me, massaging my depths as his mouth presses kisses all over my body as he edges his way down.
Just as his tongue brushes my clit there is a loud banging on our door. “We’re just about to leave,” Brian calls from the other side.
“We’re coming,” I call back breathlessly. Elliot's shoulders start bouncing up and down in laughter from where he’s situated between my legs.
“Literally,” he whispers to me. He dips his head and sucks gently on my clit, swirling his tongue around it. He moans softly and plants a chaste kiss there before sliding back up the bed and kissing me on my neck behind my ear. “To be continued.” He withdraws his fingers.
I whimper my disappointment and turn my head to kiss him passionately, clinging to him. He sits up and pulls me toward him, helping me up off the bed as our mouths stay connected, refusing to waste any more time.
Quickly, we put our clothes back on, and I do my best to straighten up my hair and makeup. I wasn’t wearing much makeup in the first place, so I just run my powder brush over my face and reapply some lip gloss. I'm so flushed and red-lipped from Elliot’s attentions that I look like I’ve gone to a lot of trouble.
Elliot
When I step out of the room, I'm met with a group of people with, ‘I know what you just did,’ expressions on their faces. Paige comes out behind me and notices the same thing.
“Thank you, and you’re welcome,” she says with a curtsey.
The guys find this hilarious and Naomi just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “You two will make me regret agreeing to this, I’m sure,” she says, standing up and grabbing her purse.
After a short tube ride, we get to the nightclub. It’s almost 11pm, so the place is already starting to fill up. Shane’s girlfriend has gotten us all put on the door list, so we don’t have to wait in line. Inside there is a sectioned off area for private parties. There we find Coral and a few other people I’m guessing are friends of hers or workmates of Shane or Gavin.
A waiter comes over with a tray of jaeger bombs to get us started. They're passed around, and everyone quickly drops their shot in the glass and starts drinking and cheering each other on.
I look over at Paige and notice that she isn’t drinking. “You’re not a big fan of alcohol, are you?” I ask in her ear. The club is so loud you can barely hear yourself swallow.
She shakes her head. “I like to be present in my life.”
Paige
Elliot looks at me quizzically and asks in my ear. “Have you ever been drunk?”
I laugh. If only he knew. I lean up to his ear and yell over the music, “Of course I have. I just don’t like it.”
He gives me a look that says fair enough and takes a small sip of his drink.
I lean back up to him. “That doesn’t mean that you can’t drink.”
He gives me a wicked grin that sends bolts of desire through my body. “I want to be sober when we get back. I want to be with you every moment,” he says into my ear. I have to let out a steady breath to calm myself. “Do you want to dance?”
I lock eyes with him and shake my head slowly. He raises his eyebrows as if he's reading my mind. Looking around at everyone else in the party group, I can see that they’re all having fun. No one’s paying attention to us. I incline my head towards the exit. “Let’s get out of here,” I suggest.
Without missing a beat, he grabs my hand and drags me out of there. In the twenty minutes we spend on the train, barely a moment is spent not kissing or touching each other like we’re teenagers.
We literally run from the station back to the flat, so eager to have the place to ourselves. This is one night that we know no one will be home any time soon. We're all alone.
As we get to the outside door, I slip my shoes off my feet while Elliot uses his keys to let us in. He turns to me, holding the door with his foot and kisses me quickly before sweeping me up in his
arms and carrying me effortlessly up the four flights of stairs to our flat.
I don’t think I’ve stopped laughing for a moment. I feel like a feather in his arms, and he’s barely out of breath.
“Are you even from this planet?” I ask, amazed by his strength and stamina. Amazed by him.
Elliot
As soon as I get us through the door, I put Paige down and take her mouth in mine, moaning as she responds by wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her body into mine. I feel possessed by her as I run my hands through her hair, over her body, and under her dress. I can’t stop touching her. I need to feel her everywhere. Kissing along her jaw and down her neck, her skin tastes divine, and I want more.
Leaning up against the front door, we slowly undress each other. My jacket and shirt are the first to go as she pushes and pulls, kissing me and gasping in between until she drops them on the floor at our feet and runs her fingertips over my chest, and down toward my jeans. For safety’s sake, I slip the chain bolt to give us a little warning in case someone else has the same idea we did.
“My turn,” I murmur into her ear, halting her progress as I peel off her fitted dress. It clings to her delicious curves and has been driving me wild as well making me a little territorial whenever I noticed the appraising looks from others. Dropping her dress on the floor with my shirt, I run my hands down over her soft skin, loving the way my hands curve in and out over her waist and hips.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I growl in her ear as I clutch her behind, urging her closer to me. She lifts her leg and wraps it around my waist before I pick her up and carry her over to the closest surface.
I bury my face in her neck and make my way down to her breasts as her hands roam all over my bare skin.
Forever: Beautiful Series, book two Page 15
