Chapter 5 Madeleine #2
“It was something to me.” The words slip from my lips so quickly and softly that I’m not even sure I actually said them.
But the look in his eyes, reflected in the dresser mirror, tells me he heard them.
I avoid his gaze. “I’ll give you some privacy. Sorry about just barging in. It won’t happen again.” Clearing my throat, I add, “My…bridal shower is tomorrow. We’ll need to be there at one.”
I don’t wait for his response as I quickly march across the hall, never once looking back. I enter my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.
Grabbing my phone off my dresser, I call Scarlett.
She answers on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Any chance you feel like coming over and splitting a pint of ice cream with me?”
I crouch down beside my bed, pulling out an old shoebox.
The shoebox that every girl keeps under her bed.
“Eli moving in is going that bad, huh?” she asks sympathetically.
I throw off the lid and reach inside for a specific envelope. Pulling out the piece of paper, I bring it before my eyes, reading the words over and over again to remind myself why I need to keep my distance from him.
The four words send a fresh stab of pain through my chest, doing precisely what I hoped they would.
“Let’s just say it’s a whole bottle of wine kind of night.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she says before hanging up.
As the words from the paper sink into my soul, causing fury to boil inside me, I drop the letter back into the box and flop down on my duvet, staring up at the ceiling.
A tear crawls down my skin, soaking into the pillow beneath me. My heart thunders, my pulse racing as my eyes pinch shut, determined not to let another one escape.
Does he even think about our last moment together?
THIRTEEN MONTHS AGO
As I shove a handful of chocolate-covered popcorn into my mouth, my eyes glued to the TV before me, an alert on my phone lets me know that someone has entered past the gate at my driveway. I tap the screen and zoom in on the unfamiliar black vehicle, which is slowly approaching my house.
The tinted windows make it impossible to see the driver clearly.
It could be one of my brothers.
Or maybe even my mother.
But something in my gut tells me it’s none of them.
Pieces of popcorn fall from my lap as I rise from the sofa, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders.
I walk toward the front door, my gaze fixed on the decorative painting next to it.
I take the painting down from the wall and press my hand against the scanner until I hear the metal door of the safe unlatch. Slowly, it swings open.
Reaching inside, I grab my gun and turn off the safety before facing the door.
I glance down at myself, wondering if I have time to change.
It’s probably frowned upon to meet an enemy in a black silk nightie, but I don’t seem to have a choice, as the sound of tires crunching over gravel echoes just outside.
Standing on my tiptoes, I peek through the peephole and watch as the vehicle comes to a stop about fifty feet from my front steps. My heart races as the driver’s door opens.
Thanks to my brothers, I’ve been trained on how to handle situations like this. However, being trained in a simulated scenario versus participating in a real-life scenario are two completely different things.
A man stands with his back to me as he straightens, adjusting a bag over his shoulder. A dusting of snow begins to cover his shoulders, his body covered in a dark winter coat, most likely hiding his actual size.
Fuck, he’s a big guy.
But I can handle him.
I’m a goddamn Alarie.
Adrenaline courses through me as I open the door and aim with both hands. “I will kill you if you take one step toward—”
All the words die on my tongue as the man turns to face me.
Dropping my gun onto the side table, I step outside, my body humming to life for the first time in months. My bare feet barely register the cold as his eyes land on me, a fire within them scorching a path across my skin.
“Eli,” I breathe.
The corners of his lips curve up. “Princess.”
The blanket falls from my shoulders as my body moves of its own accord, rushing toward him with a burning need like I’ve never experienced before.
He’s here. For me.
He meets me in the middle, dropping his bag and lifting me into the air as I leap for him. My thighs wrap tightly around his torso while my arms cling to his neck, tugging him closer.
His lips connect with mine, his invigorating taste awakening every part of me. Every fragment of my goddamn soul.
This isn’t a gentle kiss.
It’s not slow or soft.
It’s urgent and volatile.
Hungry and desperate.
It says everything we haven’t been able to tell each other while apart.
I’ve missed you.
You’re all I’ve thought about.
I love you.
My fingers slide up the back of his neck, gripping the ends of his hair.
Reluctantly, I pull away to get some much-needed air and bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent.
“This doesn’t feel real.” I dig my fingers into his shoulders, my chest heaving as I pull back to look at him, our eyes locking. “Is this real?”
He grins and sweeps his nose against mine. “It’s real.”
“What are you doing here? I didn’t think I’d see you until after the New Year.”
“In your last letter, you said you needed me, so I’m here, love. I’ll always be here when you need me.” He softly brushes his lips over mine. “I have three days of leave before my next deployment, and there was only one person I wanted to spend them with.”
I bite my bottom lip as heat creeps up my neck. “Me?”
He presses a kiss to my temple. “You, Princess.” His hand cradles my cheek, his thumb gently stroking my skin. The warmth of his minty breath dances across my face, his lips only inches from mine.
“Then what are we standing out here for?” I brush my lips over his ear. “Take me to bed.”
He doesn’t hesitate as he strides through my front door, his arms securing me to his body. Our lips find each other as he kicks the door shut behind us and walks through my house, knowing every part of it like it were his own, never breaking the kiss as we ascend the stairs.
With every step he takes, my urgency grows, my core throbbing with anticipation for what’s to come.
It’s not our first time together.
Not by a long shot.
But every time we’re together, it feels like it is.
I suppose that’s what happens when we only see each other fewer than a handful of times in a year.
As we walk through the bedroom, he lays me down on my black satin sheets, his body hovering over mine.
My hands slide down his back, my fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt and dragging it over his muscled body before flinging it to the floor.
I stare in admiration at his perfectly sculpted torso, dragging a finger along every ridge across his abdomen.
“My turn,” he whispers, reaching for the bottom of my nightie.
The fabric glides effortlessly up my stomach, over my breasts, and around my head before being tossed to the floor, leaving me in nothing but a pair of black lace panties.
His eyes rake over me, growing darker by the second as his head shakes in disbelief.
“I’ve traveled all over the world, witnessing some of the most famous sights and breathtaking landscapes that this world offers, but you…
You are my favorite view.” He leans down, pressing a kiss between my breasts.
“So soft.” Kiss. “So beautiful.” Kiss. “So perfect.”
I revel in his every touch. Every kiss. Every caress.
I’ve waited months for this moment.
And now that I finally have him back in my arms, I can’t wait a second longer.
I rock my hips up, searching for friction.
“Someone’s impatient,” he teases, taking one of my nipples into his mouth. He sucks and nips, sending a bolt of pleasure straight to my core as his hand kneads my ass.
“It’s been so long without you,” I complain, my fingernails scraping down his shoulders. “Too long.”
“I know, love. I’m sorry.” His smile falls as he sits up and moves his hands to my thighs, pushing my legs farther apart. “I won’t make you wait any longer.” The palm of his hand glides over my core, rubbing softly against my clit. “Is this what you want? For me to take care of you?”
“Mmm, yes,” I moan, biting down on my bottom lip.
He lowers himself, positioning his head between my legs.
“These need to go.” He tugs my underwear down my legs, revealing all of me to him.
“Bloody hell,” he whispers in awe as he bites down on his fist. He glances up at me as he presses a kiss to my center, inhaling my scent.
The act alone makes me wetter than I care to admit.
His fingers grip my thighs. “Spread your legs for me, love. I’ve been dreaming about this pussy for months, and I want nothing in the way of what I’m about to do to you. ”
I do as he says with no shame, a pure carnal need taking over me.
Gently, he leans forward, leisurely dragging his flattened tongue up my slit all the way to my clit.
“Fuck,” I breathe, my fingers curling into the sheet.
“You’re the most delectable thing I’ve ever tasted,” he says right before going in for more.
But this time, he’s not gentle or slow. He’s ravenous.
Like a starved man who just had a taste of his favorite meal.
His tongue thrashes against me better than any vibrator ever could.
I scream out as his lips wrap around my clit, sending me closer and closer to the impending orgasm.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he breathes against me. “Your taste. Your sounds. Every single part of you.”
My fingers twist into his hair, keeping him exactly where I need him to focus. “I’m almost… I’m so…close…”
One of his hands holds down my thigh as his other hand teams up with his tongue. Two fingers swirl above my soaked entrance, relentlessly teasing me.
“Please,” I plead. “I need more.”