by J. S. Scott
I didn’t think he needed to be remorseful about anything, but I didn’t speak because I wanted him to keep talking.
He added, “I framed all the pictures that Joel gave me. I realized that I can’t keep hating him for what my brother did to himself. My mother said that Joel cleaned up his act after Austin died, so one good thing came out of my brother’s death. And I think it’s time for me to remember the good things about my twin and not try to completely forget the past.”
“Do you regret that you gave up your own dreams to take over your dad’s interests?” I asked.
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t. It turns out that I can do both. I’m pretty involved in my aerospace company, and there’s a certain satisfaction in taking over companies and making them better than they were before.”
“What about your dad?” I questioned gently.
“I loved him. And I know he’d be proud that his company is thriving. But I just can’t grieve anymore. Even my mom has moved on. And she lost a son and a husband she loved. I need to enjoy the time I spend with her. She wants me to be happy.”
Eli’s mother was an incredible person, and I knew what he was saying was true.
“But there’s a problem,” he said.
“What?”
“I can’t be happy without you, Butterfly.”
My heart tripped as I asked, “What exactly does that mean?”
He took my hands and met my gaze. “It means how in the hell could you not know that I love you, too? I think I probably have for a long time, but I was too damn stupid to recognize it right away. The things I said in the beginning weren’t me, Butterfly. I was still a shell of a man who was trying to cope with losing his twin brother and his father so close together. But it’s no excuse. If you give me the opportunity, I’ll make it up to you for the rest of our lives.” He reached out and snatched the box from the coffee table where I’d dropped it to pick up my ice cream. “Which brings me to this.”
He held out the box, and I took it with shaky fingers. I popped the lid and found myself staring at the most gorgeous diamond I’d ever seen. “Oh, my God. Eli? What is this?”
“You know what it is,” he rasped. “Just put me out of my misery. Is it going to be a yes or a no?”
My heart was soaring as I threw myself into his arms. “Yes. Yes. God, I love you so much.”
Eli’s arms tightened around me immediately. “I love you, too, Butterfly. You fucking broke my heart today when you ran out of the office.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
He picked me up and flopped onto the couch with me. Eli held me like he was never going to let me go, and it made me cry even harder.
“I tried to tell you that I hadn’t called you because I’d been too ill to talk, and those texts had been the mindless ramblings of a man who was trying to tell you how much you meant to me, but I failed because I couldn’t form any coherent thoughts while I had a high fever. You didn’t seem to want me to talk about anything personal. At that point, I was already terrified that I’d lost you. I was willing to settle for having you as my intern for a while if it meant I’d get to see you every day.”
The text message really had been a mistake.
I threaded my hand into his hair because I had to touch him. “I was there because I wanted to be. You must have known I came to be an intern because of you.”
“I wasn’t quite sure what your motives were,” he admitted. “But I was so damn happy to see you that I didn’t want to scare you away. And then I ended up doing it anyway.”
“I couldn’t quite let you go, even after your text messages,” I admitted. “I had to make sure that we were never going to work, and that you really wanted me to go.”
He squeezed tightly. “I never wanted you to go anywhere. I always wanted you to stay, Jade. I guess I just didn’t know how to change things. I think I was fucked from the first time you walked into my office and told me off.”
“I thought you just wanted to fuck me,” I teased.
“Oh, I did,” he rumbled. “Still do. But I was a fool to think that I could just fuck you out of my system. There’s never going to be a day when my dick doesn’t get hard the second you walk into a room.”
“You say the sweetest things,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m not exactly good at saying sweet things,” he answered with a frown.
I thought about all the nice things he’d done for me in the past, and the fact that he’d outright deeded the land that he couldn’t previously let go of to me.
His actions said everything. “I was joking, Eli. The things you do matter.”
“Then tell me what the hell to do to make you happy, because it’s become a goddamn obsession for me.”
“You already did it,” I said. “But if you really want to make me happy, then take me to bed.”
CHAPTER 29
JADE
Eli didn’t waste any time. He got up and pulled me up with him.
“The ring first,” he insisted as he took the box from my hand. “I need to know that you’re going to be mine.”
He pulled the ring out and dropped the box on the coffee table.
I started to sob as he put the gorgeous ring on my finger.
“Don’t cry, Butterfly,” he said huskily as he picked me up and carried me into my bedroom. “If I had my way, you’d never fucking cry again.”
“I’m happy,” I said. “They’re happy tears this time.”
“I can think of a lot better things we can do to be happy,” he growled as he lowered me to my feet beside the bed.
“Then show me,” I requested.
My body was already on fire, and he’d barely touched me. I was still having a hard time believing that Eli was really going to be mine.
He reached for the bottom of his sweater and pulled it over his head. “You own me, Jade. You know that, right?” he asked in a deep, sincere tone of voice.
I shuddered as I grabbed the sweater and tossed it on the floor. Eli was intentionally letting himself be vulnerable to me, and I’d never, ever betray that kind of trust.
I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and tossed that away, too, leaving me bare from the waist up.
“You own me, too, Eli,” I told him.
Because the emotion between us was so intense, there was some kind of crazy primal need we both had to belong to each other. I could feel it thick in the air around us.
All I really wanted to do was surrender to it.
I wasn’t afraid to give myself to Eli, any more than he minded letting me make him mine.
He snaked an arm around my waist and tugged me in until our upper bodies met skin-to-skin.
And it was bliss.
“You were always meant to be mine,” he rasped before his head came down to capture my mouth.
I opened for him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I was greedy for the taste of him, every single bit of longing I’d harbored for weeks pouring from my lips to his.
I touched every inch of bare skin I could find, and then searched for more, my fingers exploring, trying desperately to bring Eli as close to me as I could possibly get him.
“Fuck!” he cursed when he’d lifted his hungry mouth from mine. “I need you, Jade.”
I needed him, too, and he didn’t resist when my fingers fumbled with the buttons of his jeans. They were tight because he was enormous and totally erect, but I managed to finally get them undone.
I dropped to my knees and practically clawed at the material to get it down his muscular legs, taking his boxer briefs with the jeans.
He kicked them aside as I palmed his enormous cock. I shivered as my fingers moved over what felt like silk over steel, and I bent forward to let my tongue taste the tiny bead of moisture on the tip.
I didn’t get another taste because Eli hauled me to my feet.
The expression on his face was fierce as he said, “You have no idea how much I’d love to have those beautiful lips wrappe
d around me right now, but there’s other things I want more.”
“Like what?” I asked breathlessly.
“You,” he grunted.
He reached for my shorts and tugged them down my legs until they were bunched at my ankles so I could kick them off.
His eyes roamed over me possessively as he said, “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”
I shivered as his hands cupped my breasts, his thumbs tracing over my hard nipples. He squeezed them for a moment and then let go, and the painful pleasure made my core clench with a need so savage that it was overwhelming.
His hand slipped between my thighs, and he was met by nothing but wet heat.
“God, baby, you’re so damn wet.”
I closed my eyes and moaned, helpless, as his finger slid over my clit. “Eli,” I whimpered, my longing for him so deep that it was almost scary.
His fingers were merciless, every stroke driving me higher and higher.
I let out a whine when he suddenly stopped, lifted me, and tumbled us both onto the bed.
In an instant, his mouth was where his finger had been, and it was scorching hot as he buried his head between my legs.
There was no gentle teasing. He devoured me with a white-hot passion that made me half-crazy.
Eli wasn’t tentative in anything he did, but when he threw himself into my pleasure, it felt so good it was almost unbearable.
His tongue moved in a carnal, ravenous motion, over and over on the tiny bundle of nerves that was screaming for attention.
My climax rushed up to meet me so quickly that I was mewling nonsense as my thighs began to shake.
His fingers slid inside me, and he curled them until he hit a spot that sent me careening over the edge.
“Oh-my-God-I’m-not-going-to-live-through-this,” I screamed.
My back and hips arched off the bed as my orgasm steamrolled over me.
I was a panting mess after my climax had chewed me up and spit me out.
But it had only made me all the more desperate to get Eli inside me.
“Okay?” Eli asked gruffly as he moved up my body.
“Fuck me, Eli,” I pleaded.
I was feeling desperate.
He pulled me on top of him. “Ride me, baby,” he demanded.
I straddled him eagerly, but I had no experience with the position. “I don’t know what to do,” I confessed.
He grasped my hips and lowered me down until I could feel the tip of his cock against my sex.
I lowered myself down, savoring every single inch until he was buried to his balls.
“Yes,” I hissed as I balanced myself with my hands on his shoulders.
It felt like he was buried so deep that he’d never come out. But he proved me wrong as he guided my hips to pull out, and then sink down on him again.
We moved just like that together, Eli pushing up as I sank down, every thrust slow and deep.
I purred, my carnal urges momentarily satisfied, but I still wanted more.
My eyes roamed over Eli’s face, relishing the intense pleasure I saw there. I straightened up and leaned back as he increased the pace, noticing that he had his legs bent so I could rest against them for support.
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, getting lost in the erotic pleasure of the steadily increasing rhythm that was threatening to tear me apart.
“Fuck, Jade,” Eli growled. “It’s too damn good.”
I leaned forward again, putting my hands on his chest. “Just come, Eli,” I said. “Don’t hold back.”
“I’ll never come without you,” he said roughly as he reached a hand between our bodies and found my clit.
It took very little stimulation to set me off.
My channel clenched hard around Eli’s cock as I shuddered my way to climax.
He tightened his hold on my hips and started to slam his hips up in a frenzied pace while he put a hand around the back of my neck and pulled my mouth down for a kiss that tasted like love, lust, hot and sweaty sex, and intense orgasm.
I lay sprawled across his chest, my body totally spent as I tried to catch my breath.
My entire body was limp, but Eli was cradling me protectively, so I knew I’d eventually recover.
When I could move, I slid to Eli’s side, and his arm tightened around me again.
Emotions welled up inside me, and they were all so jumbled that I couldn’t identify much except the love that I had for the man who had just completely rocked my world.
“I love you,” I told him.
“I love you, too, baby,” he answered.
It was the last thing I remembered hearing before I fell asleep.
CHAPTER 30
JADE
“How is it that I never heard about Austin?” I asked carefully as Eli and I ate breakfast the next morning. “I never even knew you had a twin at all, much less that he was addicted to drugs.”
I watched as Eli devoured the eggs, bacon, and pancakes I’d just put in front of him moments before.
He was easy to stare at since he’d only pulled on a pair of jeans and was shirtless.
He paused and downed some of his coffee before he spoke. “My parents tried to protect both Austin and me from the media. My dad worked especially hard on keeping my brother’s addiction problem a family issue. They kept a low profile and pretty much just worked. The press had nothing to talk about.”
“Until you broke out with crazy stuff,” I said.
He nodded. “I wanted the attention because of my charities, and I managed to attract a lot of celebrities and athletes for my events. Especially racing. The events got a lot of publicity.”
I sat down, and we were quiet for a few minutes as we ate. When I finally put my fork down, I said, “I’m full.”
I had to wonder whether I still had Ben & Jerry’s overload from the night before.
He lifted an eyebrow. “What happened to my woman who likes to eat?”
“I ate plenty,” I answered, and then swiped his empty plate and pushed mine in front of him. “Can you finish it?”
“After last night, I’m pretty sure I can,” he teased.
“You need to keep up your energy,” I agreed, watching as he plowed through the rest of my uneaten food.
“Do you have any complaints?” he rumbled.
I sighed. “Not one.”
Eli could surpass any of the romance heroes I read about. In fact, he was so much more than I’d ever imagined. He was relentless, and we’d both been greedy all night long. I doubted that I could ever get enough of him, even though every part of my body was sore from overuse. And I was exhausted because we only slept for short periods throughout the night.
“Unless you want me to burn all this energy I just put in, I suggest you wear something other than my sweater.”
The garment was so warm, and I never wanted to take it off because it smelled like Eli.
“I’ll get it cleaned,” I told him with a smile.
“Baby, I’m not worried about clean clothes. I have stuff next door. But every time you bend over, I can see that gorgeous ass.”
“Is that a problem for you?” I provoked.
He gave me a deliciously dangerous look. “You know it is,” he said in a raspy voice.
There was something incredibly wicked about poking the beast, and Eli could become an alpha caveman in a New York minute.
To be honest, I loved bringing out the impatient, dominant male side of him. It wasn’t the least bit daunting, because he only became that man with me. And it was the hottest damn thing I’d ever seen.
I got up and started clearing the table, and I could feel his eyes watching me as I repeatedly and purposely bent over to reach across the space.
When I was done, I moved next to him and bent to pick up an imaginary piece of lint on the floor.
He was on me before I could blink.
I savored the feel of his powerful chest pressing against my back, and his jean-clad erection against my r
ear.
“You were warned, Butterfly,” he growled into my ear.
“I guess I wasn’t all that scared,” I said breathlessly as I placed my hands flat on the table.
I trembled as his hand stroked over my ass.
“I still don’t know whether to spank this or fucking worship it,” he rasped, his voice heavy with need.
“Maybe both,” I suggested hopefully.
Eli turned me on no matter how he touched me, and I didn’t suppose it would be any different if he slapped my ass. As long as he fucked me after he was done.
He pressed gently on my back, lowering my upper body to the wood surface and making my ass go up in the air.
I don’t think I was quite ready for the feel of his big, strong hand connecting with my ass.
I yelped as it connected, even though the pain was minimal.
The sharp tingle of his hand slapping my vulnerable butt cheeks was so erotic that I moaned.
It was in no way a punishment. He smacked it a couple more times, caressing the globes sensually every time he met my flesh.
When he reached between my thighs, I was almost disappointed, but the lingering sting ramped up the pleasure of him stroking my saturated folds and zeroing in on arousing me by rubbing hard against my clit.
“Eli,” I moaned. “Fuck me,” I demanded.
I could feel him fumbling with his jeans as he rumbled, “I’ll never fucking get tired of hearing you say that.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but I was shocked as he drove himself home from behind.
The angle was so incredibly different, and he was so deep that I gasped.
“Yes,” I encouraged.
My tight channel accepted him, and there were no preliminaries. Both of us were too hungry, too needy.
I pushed back against him, finding my own rhythm as he impaled me over and over again.
“Harder,” I begged.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled.
“You won’t. I need you, Eli.”
Incredibly, he grasped my hips even more forcefully and hammered into me at a pace that had me rising toward climax.
When he reached a hand around my body and caressed my clit, I imploded.
