She got up from the chair and grabbed her bag, standing behind him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Taken aback, he turned to face her. “Where do you want to go?”
“Back to Michelle’s. We’re taking a shower together.” She headed for the door without waiting for an answer.
He called over the bartender to settle the check as she opened the door and walked into the chilly night air. At midnight the East Village is relatively busy any night of the week. Tonight was no exception. There were people walking their dogs, others smoking and chatting, and even some skateboarders doing tricks off a building a couple doors over.
She picked up her pace, done with playing games. If he wanted honesty, she’d give it to him.
Chapter Thirteen
Eli strolled out of the bar to find Rose far up the street already. He scuttled around a skateboarder as he jogged to catch up with her, matching her pace. She didn’t look at his arrival, her face calm and determined. Her heartbeat was a little faster than normal, but less so than when he’d called her out back there. It had been jumping then.
He played those games with his regulars where they acted coy and said things they didn’t mean to bait him, or because they thought it kept him interested. It was something he put up with, part of the keeping-things-light package to not point out when he saw their bullshit. But she wasn’t them. He hadn’t guessed that truth until he saw the lie in her eyes and lost his temper. He didn’t want to play games with this one.
“We’re showering together? When did this happen?” he asked with amusement.
They walked side by side and she kept her stare front and center. “You said no games. Well, I’m not playing any. When you were in that shower, I was about to join you. But I hesitated. So now, I’m showering with you.” She frowned and glanced up. “Unless you don’t want to?”
He burst out with a loud laugh. “Oh no, I want to.”
A relieved smile lit her up. “Good.”
He took her hand and laced their fingers together again. He liked how this felt. He didn’t normally hold hands with women, but he wanted to keep her close. “But I’m calling the shots from now on.”
“Is that so?” she teased, cocking one eyebrow.
He stopped and pulled her to join him. Bringing his free hand up, he held her cheek and full attention. The way she gazed up at him with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers made his wolf go insane. He licked his lips and took a moment to collect his thoughts. “You are powerful. I get that. I like it. It turns me on. And when we’re hanging out with other people, our friends, anyone, you own that shit and don’t let it go.” Her lips parted. “But when it comes to sex, I call the shots. I won’t do anything you don’t want to, but I am the master.” She closed her mouth in surprise and gave him a small nod, her eyes sparking. He smirked, “Good,” and led her back to the apartment, conversation over.
Unlocking the door, he held it open for Rose to pass through first. She walked in and stood in the center of the room, turning like she was waiting for his command. He held her eyes as he shut the door, his wolf loving that she was willing to do it his way. After he’d turned off the shower, he’d heard her running from the bedroom door with his sensitive hearing, and when he found her standing by the flat screen, it amused him. He’d almost walked over and kissed her, suggesting they skip the cocktail so he could drink her instead. And it wasn’t Lana having just been there that gave him pause because he could see Rose didn’t care about that anymore. It was them. The two of them together was complicated. Their best friends were now married and drama was impossible to avoid.
But fuck it.
“Take off your jacket.”
She unbuttoned it and let it fall to the ground around her sneakers. “Take those off, too.” She kicked them off and bent to slip out of her socks, but stopped when he said, “Did I say to take off those?” She straightened up and shook her head, the delicate scent of her arousal returning. A human male would never have detected the gentle sex fragrance from here, but he wasn’t human. “Take off your sweater and let me see what color bra you’re wearing.” She reached around her waist and pulled the soft acrylic fabric over her head, hesitating a moment with her face masked to let him look at her pale pink, lacy bra. He went rock hard in an instant and rasped, “All the way off.” She dropped the sweater to the floor. He tore off his own black, thin jacket and tossed it aside. Licking his lips, Eli stared at the crotch of her jeans, imagining what she looked like underneath. “Take those ripped-up, sexy ass jeans off nice and slow.” She slid the zipper down one tooth at a time, then scooted the denim over her smooth thighs. “You sure have curves, don’t you, Rose?” She smiled at the way he said that. “Those are nice panties. Matching. Too bad I have to rip them off with my teeth.” She gasped as he advanced on her, falling to his knees and burying his face in the V of pale pink lace. “You smell so fucking good. I can’t wait to slide my tongue into you.” He licked the fabric and she sighed and went to touch his head, but withdrew her fingers since he hadn’t told her to do that. “Good, baby. Wait for my orders. Just like that.” He ran a finger underneath the top of her panties, looking up to find her eyes hooded and smoky blue.
Grabbing her hips with both hands, he dug his fingers into the pliable flesh and traced rough kisses up her stomach all the way until he had her bra in his teeth. Pushing the top of his head into her mounds so she couldn’t see his face, he allowed his teeth to sharpen to fangs and without warning, cut the bra right down the middle. She moaned as her size D breasts tumbled onto him, the bra hanging from the shoulder straps. Keeping his face hidden, he retracted the sharp fangs a little, using the medium-sharp point to trace her nipple until she shivered. Slipping his hand between her legs, he cupped her and moved his hand with sensual slowness around and around. Her body tensed and he could tell she was fighting the urge to move on his hand. “Don’t you dare move,” he thickly murmured, licking her nipple and breathing heat on it before sucking it until she trembled. He held her up and bent her body back, the bra hanging from her shoulders and falling with gravity just like her soft hair. With hungry kisses he covered her chest, her neck, her shoulders, then worked his way down her stomach.
“Fuck, you’re delicious baby. I can’t wait to taste your cunt.” She moaned at the unexpected use of such an obscene word. “Hold onto my shoulders. You’re going to need to.”
She grabbed them so hard he winced. Chuckling, he reached around and slapped her on the ass. “Watch it, Tigress.” She stifled a laugh. Making sure she couldn’t see his fangs grow, he fastened them under the delicate fabric of her pink panties, pausing to enjoy the way she held her breath. Cutting them off took only a moment and they slipped down her legs to the floor, leaving only her socks behind.
He stared at her trimmed pussy and shook his head, growling, “Oh fuck, I’m in trouble.” He licked around the corners of her patch and slipped his fingers into her swollen folds that were drenched with excitement. When he felt that slippery invitation, he grew harder than he ever remembered being.
He cracked his neck for control as she whispered, “Don’t hold back.”
He groaned into the moist tuft of light brown hair and gave it a little lick. “I wish you knew what you were asking.” Without warning, he opened her with his fingers and shoved his tongue into her folds, searching for the hard bead of her clit. She moaned and pressed her fingernails deep into the meat of his shoulders. He loved the sharp burn and worked her more roughly until she started to shake, moaning over and over, her legs struggling to stay strong. “Too much for you?” he smiled, lowering her to the ground where he spread her wide and brought her shaking thighs up around his head, penetrating her with his skillful tongue as deep as it would go, then wiggling it. Lying on his stomach, he drank her in like the sweet nectar she was. When she cried out and grabbed his head, her pussy quaked around his tongue. She gasped for breath and had his head in a vice lock. He licked her slowly until her climax subsided, then pointed his
tongue and concentrated on her clit, lightly flicking one side of it until her moaning rose again. “I think that was just the beginning for you,” he breathed onto her wet flesh.
She cried his name out as he synced strokes with her reactions, flicking that tender little spot that rides between reality and euphoria. For her it was on the right side of her little bean, in that delicious little crevice that would make her never forget this night. She gasped and whimpered, clutching his shoulder. “Oh Eli! I’m cumming again!” He gripped her hips and kept on her until she was screaming, her walls throbbing against his mouth. He kissed her inner thighs gently, rubbing his lips on them so she didn’t freak out when she saw how wet she’d been. That it was all over him. Eli didn’t want her to become self-conscious. He wanted her just. like. this.
He gathered her up and stood smiling down at her spent face. “Hi.”
Cradled in his arms, her body shivering with after-shocks, she smiled. “Hi.”
“Now for that shower.”
Chapter Fourteen
Rose slid weak arms around his neck and laid her head on his t-shirt, his chest muscles moving under it as he walked, her stockinged feet bobbing with the journey. He kicked the door open then set her down on a bathroom counter that was barely big enough to hold her. Motioning for her to wait, he turned on the water, guiding the temperature. She watched the cotton tug across his shoulders. She couldn’t wait to kiss them. He rose up and walked to slip her white socks off and tossed them aside, massaging the bottoms of her toes as he reached over and checked the water again. “Perfect,” he said under his breath as he began to strip.
Yes, you are, she thought to herself on a happy smile.
He bent his head, reached back and grabbed the cotton fabric on his shoulder blades, pulling his shirt off from back to front. He tossed it to the ground and looked at her. She was staring at his chest. He smiled. “You like what you see, Rose?”
She nodded. He chuckled and kicked off his red converse as he unbuttoned his jeans. Worn blue denim pulled down over his slender hips and she stared at the v that pointed down. As his pants fell around his ankles and his cock bounced out, hard and hu-fucking-mungous, she gasped. Apparently when she’d seen it earlier, it wasn’t all the way full because now what she was gaping at was so big she had no idea how she’d be able to take it all. Swallowing a nervous lump in her throat, she raised her eyelashes and canvassed his face with concern. He started laughing.
“I’ll go slow.”
She closed her mouth and swallowed again, her eyebrows screwed together. He leaned down, slipped off his socks, kicked his pants to the side and took her hand, placing it around his length. She stroked him from root to tip gently at first, then pulled a little rougher as his breath caught. She cupped him with both hands and looked at the beauty of his throbbing veins and crimson mushroom head. “Your cock is gorgeous,” she whispered.
He didn’t laugh this time. “Look at me.” He wrapped his hands around her thighs.
Her eyelashes fluttered up and she blinked at him because something had changed. He really seemed to glow. She couldn’t ignore what she saw. She thought she’d imagined it in the hallway earlier, but now there was no denying his eyes looked supernatural. It was dark in the small bathroom and the steam drifted around them like fog; he hadn’t hit the light switch so his eyes should be darker, not lit up from the inside, the color of honey.
She let him go and laid her hands on his chest, studying him.
“What’s wrong? You look like…” he bit off the rest, a frown leaping into his forehead.
With awe and shock, she whispered, “Your eyes! They’re glowing!”
He stepped back like she’d slapped him, his head dropping to the side so she couldn’t see his face anymore. He reached for the faucets, shutting the water off, the steam thickly clouding around him. She watched the muscles of his back clench as he threw his hands onto the wall, facing away from her and breathing heavily. “I don’t think this is a good idea. You need to go.”
She squeaked for the first time in her life. “What?”
He was struggling to breathe, cracking his neck over and over. After a moment, his voice grated low and guttural, “Look, it just hit me. Our best friends are married. It’s a bad idea for us to go further.”
The room spun, and the heat from the steam only added to her dizziness. It had taken an enormous amount of trust for her to give the reigns so completely to a man she barely knew. When he’d told her he was the master, she hadn’t guessed her reaction would have been to surrender as she instantly had. Had it been anyone else, she would have laughed in his face, but with Eli she’d willingly agreed and had submitted totally. In more ways than just sex she opened herself to him back there in the living room. He was pulling the plug when her guts were splayed out for him to stomp on??! No. Fucking. Way.
She jumped off the bathroom counter and ran to the living room.
“Rose,” he called after her.
“I can’t believe this,” she muttered as she grabbed her things. She straightened up and looked to the bathroom realizing her socks were in there. She barreled back to get them and ignored his watching her. Snatching them up from the floor, she rushed back to the living room very aware he was right behind her. She wanted an explanation, but her emotions were so hot she could only shout, “Don’t follow me. Not unless you want to tell me the truth about what just happened and not some bullshit excuse about our friends. You didn’t care about them ten minutes ago!” She stared at him, both of them naked, and threw her socks to the floor.
“Rose,” he whispered, lowering his head.
She yanked on her jeans, creating a fresh tear with her haste. “Great. Just fantastic.” Picking up her ripped, unwearable panties she threw them at his face. He caught them with one hand as she reached down to grab her bra. She threw that at him, too. “Keep these for prosperity.”
He frowned. “What does that even mean?”
She pulled her sweater on and dropped to the floor for her socks and sneakers as she explained with biting precision, “It means this is the last time you’ll ever touch my bra and underwear, Eli. That’s what it means.” She could not stop shaking her head. “It means I don’t know what the hell you are, but it isn’t human. And you can lie to my face and say this is because of Nathaniel and Michelle and all I can say is…” She jumped up, grabbed her jacket, her purse, and headed for the door. As she opened it, she whipped around. “…don’t ask a woman to be honest when you can’t be the same. That’s just fucking bullshit and it’s not fair!”
The elevator was like a miracle; the doors opened immediately. She rushed in and hit the first floor button over and over. As the doors began to close, he stopped them, throwing in his hand. He stood there with nothing on and she looked away. He was too fucking gorgeous all naked like that.
“Rose. Look at me,” he said with authority.
She huffed and pursed her lips. “What?”
“You don’t understand.”
Her jaw was tight and she felt like she might cry. “Are you asking me to come back inside?” She couldn’t believe she said that. She wanted to crawl into a hole and not hear the answer she knew must be coming.
He winced, his eyes now deep brown again. “I can’t.”
She waited for more, and when nothing came, she whispered, “Let the doors close, Eli.” The metaphor was not lost on either of them as they stared at one another. He let go of the metal doors and stepped back, and with that decision, her heart crumbled to tiny bloody pieces. She watched his eyes flicker as an inner battle raged within him, but he let the doors close all the way. The elevator began its descent. Rose went limp against the wall and burst into tears. She whispered, “God, all I want to do is run back up there and tell him I don’t care, just don’t send me away.”
The lobby button lit up and Rose sucked up a final sob and shook herself off as the doors opened. She stared into the foyer so tempted to push the button to take her back up again. But h
e didn’t want her there. He’d stepped back. He’d let her go. That was his choice. And she didn’t want to be like Lana asking him to do something he didn’t want to do. Eli Jackson is not the type of man you give your heart to, she told herself knowing it was too late.
On 1st Avenue, running to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a taxi, she shouted at one, “Hey! Hey, stop!!” The car pulled over and she opened the back door and climbed in, her body shaky. “Thank you. Downtown, please.”
They pulled away from the curb and she looked up toward her friend’s old floor. Pulling out her phone, she tried again to call. Again it went straight to voicemail. “Michelle, it’s me.” Her heart twisted in her chest as she whispered, “Call me. Please.”
Chapter Fifteen
Eli knocked louder on the door. It was only two in the morning. It’s not like it was late. “Why’d I give him my fucking keys?” he muttered under his breath.
Footsteps from inside. The door opened with Nathaniel standing there, his hair pointing in all directions and his green eyes hazy from sleep. “Hey. Come in.” Like he was still in dreamland, he turned and padded naked into the hall.
“Hi Eli!” Michelle’s groggy voice called from the bedroom.
“Hey Michelle,” Eli called back, feeling like a dick as he locked the front door. “I won’t keep him too long.”
“It’s totally fine.” The sentence faded like she was disappearing down a cave.
“I found your phone,” he called to her. She didn’t answer.
When Rose left, he’d sat down on the couch trying to figure out what to do. She’d called him out, had seen his wolf, and that had never happened before. It took everything he had to let those elevator doors close. He couldn’t tell her what he was. He couldn’t make that choice for them all without consulting his brethren. Frankly the thought terrified him. It was never anything he imagined he’d do, and that he wanted to confess to her was a mystery even he couldn’t understand. In the bathroom, his wolf had refused to be ignored as it growled in his soul, Tell her! Tell her and claim her. She’s ours. Tell her!
Werewolves of New York: Eli (Werewolves of... Book 2) Page 6
