TEN
Reilly
“All is good, Mum. No, the lights are out here as well.” She continues down the phone at me, worrying about anything she can think of. “Yeah, I’ll stay here until they come back on. If it’s too late, I’ll grab a taxi. My car is stuck behind the gates.”
“Gates?! Has he put you in a cage?” I roll my eyes at my mother’s sarcasm.
She’s not a fan of the wealthy. Her Eat The Rich pin she wears everywhere is a testament to that.
Mum is proudly part of the fourth-wave feminist movement.
Her pixie-cut hair is dyed an unnatural silver, and she exclusively shops in charity shops and on Vinted.
I’ve never seen her without an outrageous pair of dangly earrings.
Dorothy says Mum found her wild side during my early years.
She was a little reserved when she first moved here.
It didn’t take long for her to shed that skin, amazing what a broken heart can do.
“So he’s locked you away in a tower to have his wicked way with you,” she jokes with me. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up at the house, pitchfork in hand, demanding my release.
“God, you sound like the girls. I don’t think he’s into me like that.
Plus I’ve embarrassed myself enough. I’m not going to make another move.
” The sound of Elton moving about in the kitchen stops my confessions and I drop my voice to a whisper.
“Got to go, Mum. I’ll let you know my plans.
You and Dorothy behave yourselves. Love you. ”
I stare out at the blackness of the ocean.
It’s so still. Not even a ripple, just the moon reflecting in the distance.
I can just about make out the edges of the overcast sky.
In the dark and quiet I find a space of peace and the calm washes over me.
My thoughts turn to Elton and his family …
they have been through so much. It explains the air of hardness around him, it’s a protective bubble for him and his.
The door creaks open behind me but I continue to stare out the window into the black hole of the night.
The candle flickers at the breath of air from the door. It blows out.
I feel him behind me. His heat towers over me. I cross my arms over my chest to stop myself from turning round and grabbing him in for a kiss.
His breath hits the back of my neck.
“I love the dark,” I tell him as he runs his hands down my arms and presses a kiss to my neck.
“It’s peaceful.” I don’t know why I’m talking; he is obviously coming onto me, but he makes me so nervous.
Elton slowly turns me around. The room is pitch-black, and the only thing illuminating his face is the light from my phone.
Which he takes and puts on the side table.
“I’m going to kiss you, Reilly.” He leaves me enough space to protest. I don’t need it, I would never stop him from kissing me.
His hands come to my neck; the touch tingles against me.
He holds under my jawline and pulls me to him, pressing his lips to mine.
My stomach flips, and my breath catches.
I can see nothing, but I can feel everything.
The way his body moves into me, pushing me back into the cold glass.
His arousal is obvious as he pushes his hips against my core, tilting my head and deepening the kiss.
He moans into my mouth as his grip on my face becomes firmer.
I grab his T-shirt with one hand, while the other explores his back.
His top is tight across his muscles, and the fabric is soft and smooth.
He shudders as he slips his hands from my face, leaning his forehead against mine, and turns us round.
As I’m walking backwards, I’m a little disorientated in the dark and have no idea where he’s leading me.
“I need you,” he whispers to me. We bump into the edge of what I assume is the table, and I hear a chair knocking against wood. He chuckles. “Oops.” His voice is light and airy as he manoeuvres me around the corner of the table to the edge.
His hands stroke through my hair, running his nails over my scalp, sending ripples of pleasure down my neck and spine. I moan into his mouth.
“Reilly.” His voice is smooth like silk, vibrating through me. He goes to remove my clothes, but stops at the touch of my hand on his.
“Neive?” I question, I would hate for her to walk into this.
He traces one finger across my temple and down to my chin. “She’s asleep. And Jeeves is still tinkering with the generator. It’s just us.”
The link of the catch on my dungarees clinks and the pull of the fabric is rough against my skin as it falls to the floor, and the thump of the material is loud in the silence.
With no light, we rely on our hands to guide each other around our bodies. Elton traces up my thigh and grabs me, hoisting me onto the table. The hardwood cool on my skin.
Elton leans into me and nuzzles his face into my neck, nipping and kissing along my collarbone as his hands ghost up my top, the material brushing me.
My senses are heightened, and my body is alive.
My blood is pumping, my heart is beating against my chest. Elton lays a hand over my heart and his eyes widen at the thumping.
His breath is heavy as he draws circles along the apex of my thighs, brushing over the silk of my knickers.
He takes my lips, parting them with his tongue, stroking my mouth with tentative licks.
His hand stills over my heart as he gently pushes me back, so I’m lying on the table, and nudges my knees apart.
His presence is overwhelming, and I feel myself trembling.
My body shivers in the wake of his touch as his fingers drift along my stomach and dip into the top of my underwear.
The silk glosses against my legs, and a rumble comes from Elton’s throat as he relieves me of my knickers.
The heat of his mouth moves over me … his kisses are light against my inner thigh, in contrast to his rough hold on me.
Warmth spreads through my body when he runs a finger through me, and I gasp at the coldness of his fingers against the heat of my pussy.
He whispers against me, but I can’t make out the words.
The roughness of his tongue circles my clit, round and round.
Gentle and light. My back arches, and my hand moves to his hair, gripping the velvety mane.
I hold it there, no pushing or pulling. I don’t need to guide him.
He’s using his tongue to find every corner of me; vibrations from his moans of appreciation travel the length of my body.
I’ve lost all sense of where I am as my moans and pleas become louder.
Elton slides one finger inside me, and I invite him in, begging for more.
He slowly edges in and out. How can one finger and tongue make me lose control like this?
I can feel him moving around, touching every part of me.
His body shifts, and he slips another finger into me with his thumb on my clit, increasing his speed.
His lips are wet on my throat, and his breathing is erratic.
He holds his fingers still and adds more pressure to my clit.
My climax building, the waves of pleasure crashing over me.
“I need to be inside you, Reilly. Come for me.” His voice is hoarse with need and desire.
I fall over the edge and call out his name; fireworks run from my toes through my body. I lift my hips off the table and see stars in my vision. As I open my eyes, the lights come on, and Elton is smiling at me. His face is a picture of awe as he scans every inch of my expression.
My breathing calms, and I run my hands through my hair, blowing out a breath, trying to bring myself back round.
Elton has one hand behind my head and the other on my hip, stroking me.
My skin is so sensitive it tickles, making me laugh, and a slight snort jumps out before I slap a hand over my face.
His smile stretches. “You’re amazing.”
“No, Elton, you’re amazing.”
The shock of the lights coming on brings us back to reality.
I go to sit up, and he moves off me, helping me to re-dress.
“Stupid sexy dungarees.” He chuckles to himself, before bringing his eyes to mine.
“Stay the night with me?” he pleads, tucking my loose strands of hair behind my ear and placing a kiss against the corner of my mouth.
My body screams at me to give in, hand myself over, but my head is the driving force now.
Things went wrong last time, and now Neive is involved.
“I can’t, sorry, Elton. I have to go home.” He doesn’t hide his disappointment but leads me back through to the kitchen and offers me a bottle of water.
“I’m going to check on Neive.” He hops up the stairs, and I can’t help but admire his physique; his strong arms flex as he grips the railings.
I pop my shoes on and get to cleaning up the mess from earlier.
Bits of broken glass still scatter the floor and the KitchenAid mixer needs rinsing out.
The oven has clicked back on with the electricity so I turn everything off and start boxing up the ingredients.
“Please leave it, Reilly. I’ll sort it out in a bit. You should get yourself home. Check on your mum.” He smiles and hands me my tote bag. Why am I going home again?
I finish what I’m doing, grab my bag and coat and head for the door. Elton has a solemn expression on his face as he walks me to my car.
He opens my door for me and places a kiss on my cheek. “Good night, Reilly.” I can only nod. If I open my mouth, I’m going to talk myself into staying.
Although our attraction is obvious, we both have walls that won’t come down, and I will most likely end up getting hurt.
Elton
As her car pulls out of the driveway, my brain is a hive of activity.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
It had chanted through my head as she clamped around my fingers. I can still feel her on me. I can still smell her.
Why wouldn’t she stay? I wanted her to stay.
I need another opportunity with her. Maybe eating her out on my dining room table in the dark didn’t scream committed relationship. Understandably. I couldn’t help myself though.
I poke my head around Neive’s door. She’s still asleep.
I check in with Claire and MJ and all is okay with them. Jeeves slips through the side door from the garage. He grabs two bottles of water out of the fridge and throws one to me.
“You fixed the generator?” I ask.
“Lights came back by themselves. All of Bournemouth is back up and running.” He’s tapping away on his phone, making sure all our servers are as they should be. His focus constantly splits every which way.
“Are you a trained electrician?” I check, still not completely aware of Jeeves’s full range of skills.
“Nope.” He tucks his phone into his pocket and keeps his focus on me.
“But you can fix generators?”
He shrugs, his favourite non-committal answer.
“What did you do in the army?”
He shrugs at me again, pockets his hands and walks off whistling. “Meet you in the gym in ten. You look like you need to get rid of some energy.”
That I do, my friend. Stepping into the boxing ring right now is exactly what I need