Chapter 23
23
ELLIE
T he soft whoosh of the door opening had my eyes flaring wide. I’d crawled in bed only moments before, disappointed, after waiting up well past midnight for Chandler to come home. Twisting along the mattress, I peered through the dark to the tall, lean silhouette of a man moving through the room. A loud crash followed by a whispered curse interrupted the quiet. Hand pressed to my mouth, I laughed. The muffled sound made Chandler turn toward the bed.
“Damn wall.” His voice was gruff from prolonged use. “When did that get there?”
“Pretty sure it’s always been there.” Rising, I pressed both elbows into my pillow. “You’re back late.”
His features were doused in darkness, preventing me from seeing his expression, but the sluggish and careless way he moved about the room signaled his exhaustion.
“Long day, and I have shit to show for it.” The whisper of clothes and a clink of metal had my ears perking up. The soft sheets suddenly felt rough against my warm skin while my heart rate kicked into overdrive.
“Nothing pan out from your questioning?”
The bed dipped beside my knees. One shoe clattered to the floor followed by another. An almost silent rustle caught my ear as his pants puddled to the floor. I yelped when cold air blasted against my skin before a hot, solid body snuggled against me.
“A few things came out of the questioning, but not what I was hoping for. The more I dig the more questions I have. I’m nowhere closer to identifying the unsub than I was when I first got here.” Guilt and disappointment weighed in his tone, making my heart hurt for him.
“You’ll figure it out,” I whispered as he nuzzled against my neck. A contented sigh brushed against the sensitive skin of my throat, kicking my libido up another notch. I squirmed along the sheets, pressing my thighs together to keep them from swinging over Chandler’s hips and straddling him. “I believe in you.”
He pressed a tender kiss just beneath my ear. “What if I asked you to move with me?”
I stilled. Surely I didn’t hear him right. “What do you mean?”
His hold around my waist squeezed. “I mean, after all this is done, move to DC with me.”
Excitement and sadness mixed, confusing the hell out of me. “Chandler, I can’t. I’m a nobody, remember? Stuck in this town, staying one step ahead of Jacob and dodging Brett’s advances for the rest of my life is my destiny. There’s no changing that, no matter how badly I want it to be different.”
“Give us a chance, Ellie.” Pushing onto an elbow, he hovered over me, the faint light from under the door highlighting the sincerity on his face. “Give me a chance to show you this isn’t all that’s out there for you. We’ll figure out the papers, name, all that. Just give me a chance.”
My lips parted, ready to tell him that no matter how desperately I wanted to say yes, I couldn’t, but his mouth pressed to mine in a hard kiss.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, his lips moving over my own. A hint of spearmint wafted up with each of his tight breaths. “We could use someone like you.”
“Who?”
“The FBI. You could partner with the BSU when there’s a survivor who’s too intimidated to talk to us. It happens more than you think. You could help make them feel comfortable, help them open up and possibly reveal details that could help the case. You could help be their voice when they’re too scared to do it on their own.”
“Chandler, that would be amazing, but I don’t have a degree. I don’t even have a high school diploma. They would never?—”
“Just think about it, okay? I don’t want this between us to end when I leave. And maybe a part of me isn’t piecing together the clues as quickly as I normally do because subconsciously I know that means I’ll leave, that I’ll go home. Come with me. Make me your home.”
Fresh tears dripped down my face, disappearing into my hairline. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Maybe you just need more convincing.”
Despite the heartrending sorrow eating at me, I smiled and nodded, my hair sliding against the pillow. “Most definitely.”
This time when his lips touched my own, it was soft, caring, almost like he was attempting to cherish the moment. Reaching up, I gripped his bare bicep and held on tight. Rolling the rest of the way, he positioned both knees on either side of my thighs.
Interlocking my fingers behind his neck, I pulled him closer, demanding more. Understanding the subtle hint, the soft kiss turned demanding. Pulling back, he nipped at my lower lip and along my jawline.
“Are you sure?” he whispered into my ear before tugging the lobe between his teeth.
“Yes, please.” Embarrassment slammed the brakes on my desire. “But, um, do you have a condom?” His head tilted to the side. “I don’t, and, well, I’m not really sure… I’ve never had blood work, you know?” Oh hell, here I was ruining the moment.
But instead of leaping off me like I had the plague, he smiled. “I do.”
I sank into the bed in relief.
Stretching toward his bag, half his body suspended midair while his lower half dug against me, he tossed out a few clothes before shifting his body back over mine. He held up a foil packet, then scissored his fingers, turning the one into two. He tossed the two packets to the bed and returned that intense focus to me.
A hand snaked lower and gripped the edge of his T-shirt that I tossed on before bed. I wiggled out of the shirt as he pulled it over my head. Hovering over me, he dipped his head, catching a peaked nipple between his teeth. I sucked in a sharp breath when he tugged, the pain spiking before morphing into pleasure. A loud moan vibrated in my chest. I held the back of his head as he switched to the other breast, repeating the torture I desperately needed.
When he started trailing nips and kisses down the center of my stomach, I gripped the short ends of his hair and tugged him back up to me.
My hair slid beneath me as I shook my head. “No, I need you. You. Now.” I was desperate for him to fill me, to give me what my body had begged for since he walked into the bar.
A dark, humorless chuckle sounded above me. Without taking his eyes off mine, he slipped a hand into my panties. He groaned when he found my core slick and ready for him. “Were you thinking about me before I came home, baby?” I nearly screamed when he flicked my swollen nub. “You’re soaked.”
I wouldn’t lie even though my cheeks now warmed with embarrassment instead of lust. “Yes.”
“Tell me,” he demanded. Again he flicked my clit, causing tremors to rack through my entire body.
“I imagined you exactly like this,” I said between breaths, “and the feel of you inside me.” I groaned, thrashing my head when he thrust two fingers past my entrance.
“Did I feel good in your dirty little wet fantasy, baby?”
“Yes,” I moaned. “Please, Chandler. I need you.”
“Begging will get you everywhere.”
A pathetic whimper slipped from my pouting lips when his hand disappeared and his body vanished from above me. Frantic, I searched the dark. My vision adapted just as his boxers slid down his thighs.
“Hand me one,” he said and pointed toward the condoms. I patted along the bed, the thin metal wrapper poking into my palm. With great interest, I watched as he ripped the small packet open with his teeth and slowly rolled the sheer rubber down his twitching length.
“Last chance, Ellie. You sure?”
Instead of answering, I swiveled on the bed, allowing my legs to dangle off the side, and widened my knees. With zero hesitation, he stepped between my spread legs and pushed them wider to accommodate his hips. With a strong tug, I nearly fell off the bed, only held up by his grip beneath my bent knees. Ass floating in the air, I rocked forward until the head of his dick barely brushed against my center.
I gasped in pure delight as he pressed against my entrance. Agonizingly slow, he pushed inside me inch by inch, stretching me fuller than I’d ever felt. Fisting the sheets, I held tight to keep from sliding backward along the bed. Another blissful whimper poured out of me when he pulled out, leaving me hollow and desperate for more.
“Hold on” was all the warning I had before he slammed into me. My grip slipped, but I adjusted my hold to stay exactly where I was. Over and over he thrust into me, pulling out to the tip before rocking forward again.
Sweat glistened along my forehead, breaths turning into wheezes. Each time he thrust deep, a burst of tingles and quivers spasmed in my lower half. I twisted my hips to the right, and he quickened his pace.
“Oh fuck,” I nearly yelled as a full-body, mind-exploding orgasm ripped me apart. Everything tightened and loosened and tightened again as he continued to pound into me, elongating my pleasure.
Swallowing past a dry throat, I forced my lids to open. Still thick and hard inside me, Chandler smirked, full of male pride as he slowly slid himself in and out.
“Wow,” I breathed. “Did you not…?” I didn’t finish the sentence; we both knew what I left off.
“I will, maybe next round. Or the next.”
“Or the next?” I squeaked.
“Yes, baby. Or maybe the next. I’ve waited for this moment, and I sure as hell won’t rush it. Now.” He slapped my still raised ass. “Flip over.”