7. Ella
7
ELLA
A s we step out of Theias’ Maserati, I’m still laughing in a way I haven’t in so long. He spent some time telling me stories of the rivalry between him and his younger brother from their school days, and I can only imagine the trouble the two of them got into as boys and then teenagers.
Theias rests his hand on my lower back as we walk up the steps to his home, stopping in front of the door as if dropping me off from a date. Facing each other, he doesn’t take his hands off me, which has been his behavior for most of the night.
Feeling slightly unsure of myself, I shift on my feet. “I had a nice time.”
“Me too.” His voice wreaks havoc in my body. “I’d like to do it more.”
Stunned, I stare up at him. He’s so damn tall. “You would?” My voice is shaky.
“You wouldn’t?” He lifts a brow in question.
“It’s just…I’m pregnant,” I blurt out miserably, expecting him to remember and then decide I’m not worth the trouble.
“And?” My jaw drops. “Tomorrow, I’ll start looking into obstetricians in the area. Do you prefer a man or a woman?”
I break out in a fit of laughter as this enormous tough guy, looking like the devil himself, asks me what gender I’d like looking at my lady bits.
“What’s so funny?” He could never truly understand.
“Not funny, per se. Just sort of…odd. You worrying about my doctor. It feels out of character, I guess.” Oh, I hope I haven’t insulted him now.
“I suppose,” he murmurs, thinking about it now. “Yeah,” he sighs, a smile turning up the corners of his lips.
“You’re handsome when you smile.” The words thoughtlessly pop out.
Theias drags me in closer so our fronts are flush with each other. He leans down and cups the back of my neck in his powerful hand, holding me in place as our lips touch gently once, twice, and then he dives in and devours me.
His other hand presses tight to my back, slowly stroking as he lifts me slightly onto my toes. A moan works through me as his tongue seeks entrance to my mouth, overtaking me until I can hardly breathe through the tension floating between us.
“Theias,” I whine, needing something but afraid to ask for it.
“I must tell you, Ella, my sweet little doll.” My body jolts at the pet name. “I need you to do something for me, and you might not like it.” His hand moves around to my front, where his fingers graze across my pebbled nipples. Gasping, he swoops in with his tongue, tasting me everywhere.
“What?” I can’t suppress the way my body rubs across him as his leg shifts to move between my thighs, applying pressure right where I need it.
“Call me Daddy.”
I freeze, pulling back and looking into his obsidian eyes filled with a craving for me, for more of what I can give him, and I can’t find it in me to object.
“Daddy,” I whisper in a throaty tone that makes him growl and pounce on me like a starved animal. A man catching his prey and not releasing it.
His mouth shifts to my neck, sucking on a spot that’s a direct line to my pussy, and I squirm in his hold, rubbing my heat against his sculpted thigh until pressure builds to a painful peak.
“Fuck, sweet doll, so good for Daddy.” I explode, eliciting a scream that leaves no doubt as to what we’re doing. “Sshhh, sweetness, only I get those sounds from you.” Bobbing my head as he picks up my limp body, I cuddle into his chest and close my eyes.
The softness at my back makes me feel like I’m floating as Theias places me on a bed. I hadn’t even realized we’d begun moving. Opening my eyes, I know we’re not in my room. Must be his. The shades are mostly darker here: black, silver, and navy blue. There are touches of white on the bed and the walls.
“There’s my girl,” he whispers, removing my black pumps from my feet and dropping them on the floor. Kissing the inside of my ankle, he nuzzles his face against my calf, tickling the skin with his beard. “Thought you passed out on me for a minute.”
“I think I did,” I giggle, never having had an orgasm so intense and from such little stimulation. “That was amazing.”
“If that was amazing, I’m curious how you’ll come apart with my mouth.” My eyes widen in shock.
“I’ve never done that before,” I confess. The post orgasmic haze brings out an honesty I ordinarily wouldn’t share.
“Good. I like the idea of being your first.” His smug look makes me blush again.
Watching as he stands up, Theias strips off his tie and tosses it on the bed, making me think he has plans for it. Unbuttoning his shirt, he removes it with a finesse I’ve never come across and drapes it over a bench seat at the end of his bed.
He unbuckles his belt, and I grow nervous when he unzips his pants next, showing off the patch of hair leading to between his legs. I like the fact that he’s not so polished or refined, with no body hair. There’s not an abundance of it on his chest but enough that he could be a model or a mountain man.
“You’re beautiful,” I whisper. His chest and arms are marked with intricate tattoos filled with detail that I probably couldn’t decipher in my lifetime.
“Beautiful?” He tries the word out while thinking of himself. “Never been called that before.” His chuckle makes me squirm again, and I rub my thighs together to quell the throbbing.
“Well, people are idiots.”
He kneels on the bed now, one leg on the outside of my hip, the other between my thighs, pressed up tight to my sex. His necktie is in his hand as he reaches for me.
Wrapping the silk around my wrist, he fastens the other to his. Not what I expected.
When he notices my confusion, he says, “Can’t have you running from me.” As if I would. Well, if he reverted back to the asshole of earlier, I might consider it.
“Can’t have that, Daddy,” I whisper, holding my breath as I wait for his reaction.
“Christ.” His head drops to his chest. “I know you heard our conversation earlier. About the girls Rue has sent to me.” I swallow but don’t say anything. “It’s not like it sounds… No, it is. It’s a long fucking story, so I’ll condense it, and you can ask questions tomorrow, okay?”
I nod, preparing for what he’s about to tell me.
“I purchased Rue a few months before Nick got his hands on her.” My eyes widen in shock. Not what I was expecting. “Rue promised to find me a woman who would match my desires.” He shakes his head while closing his eyes as he thinks about the deal. “Over the last year, she’s sent five or six women to me, hoping we’d be a match.”
“And me?” I almost don’t ask that, but I have to know. “I probably come with the most baggage.” And I hate that it might mean he won’t want me in the long run.
“I knew you were special from the way Rue described you. I was defensive and pissed this morning. Pissed because I thought she’d be wrong. But I’d already been an asshole and defensive, having a hard time believing you were exactly what I’d been looking for, for so fucking long.”
Brushing the hair off my face, he kisses each cheek, then moves to my forehead, whispering something I can’t hear before pulling back. “Your baggage is life. I can’t say I’ll get everything right, or that I won’t be an asshole again, because I will, but if you give me a chance, Ella, I swear I’ll treat you right, and we’ll have an amazing life together.”
His words are perfect. But I have one question. “What about love, Theias? Can you ever love me…love us?”