Chapter 46 #2
He kissed each nipple tenderly, suckled on them just enough to pull them into stiff peaks, then began a trail down my stomach.
He kissed my hip bones and paused to trail his fingers along the curve of my waist. Then his head bent, his hands holding my thighs open, and I thought I might finally get some release, but instead he kissed each bruise on my thighs.
He paused, his eyes locking on the purple marks, his gaze darkening.
“I trust you,” I whispered and his eyes found mine again, the softness returning slightly.
I reached up for him and he fell into my arms. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him into me.
His eyes widened in surprise at my boldness.
He took me slowly and almost in silence.
I felt the parts of us reconnect, reach out and touch, my body alive with joy at having him inside once again.
Alfie and I lay on a sparring mat made for dirty trainers and bare feet, breathless, naked, our skin slick with sweat. My hair was a thick, tangled mess and his was no better.
“We need a shower, Alfie. We’re all kinds of gross.”
He chuckled—a contented sound that had my heart singing.
He rose onto his knees and lifted me. For once I didn’t mind it and I wrapped myself around him like a monkey.
There were certain advantages to being carried around by Alfie Tell, and being this close to him was one of them.
I planted playful kisses on his face as he carried me upstairs and into our bedroom, where I remembered something that had bothered me earlier.
“Hey, where are the pills?” I asked as he carried me straight into the bathroom.
“What pills?”
I had a brief moment of anxiety upon entering the bathroom, memories of him hunched under the water hurting himself flashed through my mind, but I shook them away.
“The ones Elliot brought last night. I left them on the nightstand.”
He took us straight into the shower, depositing me on the bench and turning on the faucet. I winced at the sound of the shower head spurting into life. I watched the temperature carefully and didn’t miss that he had set it so low it was almost cold. I was grateful for that.
“I threw them away.”
I almost started to question him, to take him down another path he didn’t want to go down. Almost. Then I thought better of it. Today wasn’t the day. “Okay.”
His eyebrows rose, his gaze turning so suspicious I had to stifle a laugh. Alfie Tell could be so damned serious. “That’s it?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s it. I’m taking the day off from interrogating you.” I pressed my lips to his and kissed him sweetly.
We took our time to soak in the warmth of one another.
So much of our time together had been turbulent that I’d learnt to value every peaceful moment I could get.
Happiness brewed inside me as we bathed and foamed one another.
I caught him looking at me as I washed him, fleeting glances of suspicious disbelief, of cautious optimism.
We played out the next hour in a series of flirtations.
He kissed my neck as I brushed my hair. I bit my lip at the tone and flex of his torso as he pulled on a grey shirt and black sweatpants.
I almost pounced on him then and there, but his phone rang and he took the call, keeping his eyes on me as he talked, following me around the room as I put on one of his shirts and twisted my wet hair up into a bun.
I opened my handbag and took out my coin purse with a cartoon cat on it and popped my birth control pill.
His eyes never left me but for once it didn’t unnerve me.
Last night had broken new ground for me.
Alfie had taken me into the pits of his soul and we’d survived, but part of me couldn’t help but wonder if there was a whole other, deeper pit still to be excavated.
I steeled myself at the prospect of another night like the last one.
Whatever he threw at me, I could handle it. I was pulling on a pair of his socks when he finished up his call and came over to me. His arms wrapped around me, one of his hands roaming down to cup my bottom with a bluntness that only Alfie Tell could pull off.
“You need to get changed.”
“Why?” I asked, suspicion leaking into my voice.
“I want to take you to London tonight.”
I tilted my head to one side, wondering what his game was. “Is that so?”
“Yes. I’m going to have Elliot drive us, and from there, the night is entirely yours.
We can have dinner at The Dorchester, or if you would prefer I can take you to The Royal Albert Hall.
I have a private box there.” He gave my bottom a delicious squeeze and I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips.
“Have you ever been inside Tiffany’s at night?
The jewels are exquisite in the moonlight.
Maybe I can buy you diamonds that won’t end up buried in your garden.
” His words tantalised me but I couldn’t help but wonder at the motives behind them.
Everything with Alfie was a multi-layered affair.
“Why?” I asked. He caressed my cheek with his thumb, the small touch sending tingles of delicious pleasure down my spine.
“I want to spoil you, Lola. You’ve earned it.”
“Earned it? You think that’s what I was doing last night? Earning my way into your wallet?” I asked, making sure to keep my voice soft and even. I wasn’t going to start another argument. I absolutely refused.
Alfie’s brow furrowed as he recalculated. “Alright, let me try this again. Lola O’Connell, I want to give you the whole fucking world. Today, anything you want, anywhere you want to go, any experience you want to have, just say it and it’s yours.”
My breath caught. I thought of what he was offering me. It was life changing.
“Anything?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. One day, I swore it to myself, I would see him smile without trying to hold it back.
“Anything. Just ask.” He stood as still as a statue, waiting for me to deliver my rider, my wish list. His gaze slowly turned suspicious as my face broke out into a devilish grin.
This was going to be so much fun.