17. Gemma
The aroma of garlic, vegetables and herbs fills the kitchen as I chop everything into pieces. The knife slices through a bell pepper with crisp snaps.
I can’t stop thinking about last night with Elijah and his father. A dying man’s request to see his son happy—that’s some deep shit. Those pale, sunken cheeks and the desperation in his eyes to believe his son has found love before...
I shudder, the knife slicing through an onion with too much force.
Elijah’s kiss in the hallway afterward burns bright in my memory. The way he crowded me against the wall, hands roaming like he couldn’t get enough. This man has crawled under my skin in a way I can’t explain. His intensity, his pain, his passion, it all calls to some part of me.
I drizzle more olive oil into the pan, heating on the stove, the sizzle of veggies hitting the bottom. My fingers curl around the silicone spoon, stirring them and adding tomato sauce. The savory aroma wafts up, and my mouth is already watering.
I’m in deep with this one. Deeper than I should allow, considering his engagement to Esther, hangs over us like a guillotine blade. But something about Elijah tells me he’s as consumed by this.
And having met Charles, having seen that desperate light in his eyes for his son’s happiness...
I finish my lunch in silence. We should take things slow and see how things progress.
When my phone buzzes, I jump.
Elijah: Still on for this later? Can’t wait to see you.
Gemma: I’m on my way.
After getting ready, I head to his office.
Stepping inside the building, I’m struck by its grandeur. It’s big. Elijah’s office is on the top floor, and an assistant is positioned in the front.
“Ms. Barron, please step inside.” Elijah’s assistant holds the door open for me to go through. It clicks shut behind me.
Elijah looks up from his desk, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of me.
“Gem.” He leans back in his chair, his eyes traveling over my blue dress with a v-neckline. “You look beautiful.”
Heat rises in my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Let’s discuss your fashion line. Please, have a seat.” Elijah stands and gestures to the couch.
“Of course.” I force myself to focus on our conversation and not on his broad shoulders or the fact that the sleeves of his shirt are folded up, showing off his veiny muscular arms.
We spent the next hour discussing the details of how my lingerie line will be exclusively launched in Elijah’s fashion stores, both offline and online. It’s a detailed plan with timelines, budgets, and marketing activities.
He really was serious.
In a few months, the company will host a fashion show and launch party to showcase the line.
Eventually, the conversation winds down, and Elijah leans back with a satisfied look on his face. “So it sounds like we’ve got everything set for you. I think this could be a great success.”
“Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
Elijah’s gaze lingers on my mouth. Is he thinking about kissing me as much as I am about kissing him?
I shift on the couch, squeezing my thighs together to ease the ache there.
“In the end, it’s also my business that profits from it.” His hand brushes my knee.
“So, our meeting is over?”
“Hmm… if there’s nothing else you want to discuss?”
Yes. There is.
“No, I think that covers everything for now.” My voice turns shrill. “Thank you again for agreeing to see me on such short notice.” I rise from my chair, needing to put some distance between us.
He nods, following my movement. “Of course. I’m always happy to make time for my gem.”
This damn nickname. It’s so cliché, and yet it makes me weak.
“I really should be going. You must be incredibly busy.” I move toward the office door but pause with my hand on the knob. Curiosity gets the better of me. “Tell me... does that line usually work for you?”
Elijah stands and walks toward me. He reaches around me to lock the door, his body close to mine. “You tell me.”
“Maybe there is one more thing.” I turn our faces inches apart and lick my lips.
His gaze drops to my mouth. “And what would that be?”
You.
My hands grasp his shirt, pulling him down to seal my lips to his.
The kiss is hungry and desperate. Elijah groans, fisting a hand in my hair to hold me in place as he salvages my mouth with the same hunger and desperation.
I moan, surrendering to the kiss and winding my arms around his neck. Every point of contact between us burns, desire raging inside me like an inferno.
When we break apart, Elijah rests his forehead against mine. “I could do this all day long.”
“What’s stopping you?”
A deep growl rumbles in his chest as he kisses me again, hard and demanding. His hands drop to grip my ass, pulling me flush against him, and I gasp at his erection pressing into my lower belly.
I pull away, my breathing ragged. “We can’t do this.”
His eyes darken, and he leans in, his lips brushing my ear. “Why not?”
“We’re in your office.”
“And why should I care? This is my building. This is my office, and I want my little gem. Now.”
Elijah lifts me up, carrying me across the room as if I weigh nothing. He sets me down atop the smooth mahogany surface of his desk and sends papers and pens to the floor behind my back.
We’re really doing this. In his office.
I unbutton his shirt, neither of us willing to break apart long enough to stop and fully remove our clothes.
“So beautiful.” He nips at my pulse point. “So perfect.”
I tilt my head to give him better access.
Elijah’s hands skim up my thighs, inching under my dress, while crashing his lips to mine once more. He tugs me to the edge of the desk, grinding against me. I’m going crazy, and we haven’t even started.
Breaking the kiss, his lips trail from my neck to the swell of my breasts, nipping and sucking. A gasp escapes me as he tugs the neckline of my dress down.
“Fuck.” His fingers trace along the fringes of my bralette.
The look on his face is worshipful, like he can’t quite believe that I’m here, in front of him like this. And I can’t either.
My head tips back as Elijah cups my breast with his hand, kneading it while his thumb teases the peak of my nipple through the thin fabric. His other hand moves around to unclasp my bra, letting it fall off before his lips close around my hardened nipples, licking and teasing.
“Will you scream my name?”
A needy whine slips out of me, desire and frustration warring within me. To give in, beg, and plead until he gives me what we both desperately crave.
“What are you doing to me?”
“Only what you’re doing to me.” His fingers around the waistband of my panties, slowly pulling them down my legs.
At the sight of me, his eyes darken further, pupils blown wide with lust as he prowls closer to stand between my thighs, running his finger through the dampness between my legs.
There’s no point in denying I want him.
He kneels before me, his strong hands gripping my upper thighs and his lips placing kisses on the inner side.
“Let me show you how good I can make you feel.”
Finally, his tongue makes contact with my slick folds. My body quivers, soft moans escaping me. I grip the side of the desk as he sinks a finger inside of me while teasing my clit with his tongue.
“Elijah!”
“Tell me what you want.” He pulls back, his eyes filled with hunger.
“More.” I pause to exhale. “I need more.”
“Not yet.” His fingers slip inside me again, pumping in rhythm with the flow of his tongue.
My thighs start trembling, and after a few more strokes of his fingers, I collapse onto the desk. My back hits the cold surface while I cry out his name, and a wave of pleasure crashes over me.
“That’s it.” He presses a kiss on my core, taking out his fingers while I’m still trembling. It’s like I’m his lunch, ready for him to finish.
Elijah stands up and unbuckles his trousers, never breaking eye contact with me.
“Turn around.”
Although he told me to do it, he doesn’t wait for me to move. Instead, he flips me around, bending me over his desk. I brace my hands on the smooth wood, the skirt of my dress riding up to my waist.
He makes an appreciative sound, one of his hands gliding over my backside. “Lovely.”
The sound of a zipper fills the air. I glance over my shoulder. Elijah stands behind me, his cock hard and heavy in his hand.
“Is this what you want?” He nudges my entrance, giving me only the head of his cock.
I try to rock back and take more of him, but his fingers dig into my hips, holding me still.
“Such a needy girl.” He slaps my ass, the pain only increasing the ache inside of me.
“Please.” I tremble and squirm in his hold.
“Please, what?” He kisses my left shoulder.
“Fuck me.”
With a slow, deliberate thrust, he enters me. I gasp at the sensation of him stretching me, filling me completely.
Elijah stills inside me, his chest rising and falling against my back. “Fuck, you feel amazing.”
He moves, slow and deep, dragging along my inner walls, and his hands grip my hips harder.
Each slam of his hips takes me closer to release.
More. I need more.
Wrapping his arm around my arms, Elijah pulls me up, making my back arch. His other hand snakes around to the front, his thumb rubbing circles on my clit as he picks up the pace. Pounding deeper into me.
“Scream my name, little gem.”
And I do as another orgasm crashes over me, my insides clenching around his cock. Elijah’s name torn from my lips in a primal scream.
“Fuck.” He grunts, painting my insides with his cum, his grip on my arms loosening.
Still bent over Elijah’s desk and panting, I gradually come back to reality. My dress is bunched up around my waist, my panties dangling off one ankle.
What the hell did we do?
I want him. There’s no denying that. But this, in his office? I’ve never done anything so reckless before.
Elijah slides in and out of me again, his seed slowly trickling down my thighs. It’s filthy and depraved, but I don’t care.
He nuzzles my neck, pressing a soft kiss below my ear. “I can’t get enough of you.”
My body still tingles from the intensity of it. I’ve never had a man who could play me so skillfully, bringing me to the heights of ecstasy again and again. Elijah possesses the ability to touch me in a way that unravels me completely.
“I’ve never felt this way before.”
“Nor I.” He cups me between my legs, slick fingers teasing the swollen flesh. I gasp, arching into his touch.
“You make me crazy. In all the best ways.”
I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Elijah’s hands glide up and down my back in a gentle caress as I try to catch my breath. I glance over my shoulder at him. Those fathomless gray eyes say it all. I’m his, and he is mine.
His hands grip my hair to angle my mouth to his.
The kiss is soft and tender. Elijah’s grasp tightens as his tongue slips between my lips, and he fills me up again.
I never knew I could crave someone so much. Until now.
Stepping out of Elijah’s office, my limbs still tremble from the sex we had. It’s scary how he knows exactly what I need. I adjust my disheveled clothing. There’s no need for anyone to find out about what happened.
But as I glance around the waiting area, Esther’s gaze pierces through me like an icy dagger. She sits a few feet away from me, her lips twisted into a sneer.