Chapter 6 Jules
JULES
Watching Elias perform tonight hit differently knowing we had a date after.
I saw the way women in the crowd stared at him—part starstruck teenager, part wild beast in heat.
And even though I’m investigating him for disappearances—maybe even murder—I felt a bit smug knowing it’s my gaze he looked for in the audience. I guess that makes me an idiot.
I’m leaning against a post near the main tent’s entrance, watching as chittering carnival goers exit and make their way to the rides.
Queues are already forming at the Ferris wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl, and Gravitron.
Screams echo from the drop tower and Fireball.
Kids’ giggles rise from the teacups and bumper cars.
Some of the circus performers head to the booths where people are already parting with their money, but before I can admire the Strongman’s ass for too long, Elias blocks my view with his broad shoulders, long legs, and cocky smirk.
“Enjoying the show?” he asks silkily.
I bat my eyelashes, the picture of innocence. “Your carnival has many delights. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Well…” Elias extends his arm, offering the crook of his elbow. “Good thing you have an expert guide tonight.”
“Good thing,” I echo, taking his offer. As soon as I touch him, even through clothes, my body temperature goes up like I’ve been dipped in a hot bath. This man exudes so much sex appeal… but then again, so did Christian Bale in American Psycho.
I could fix him.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Elias asks as we join the crowd.
“As long as it’s a penny and not Pennywise.”
Elias looks down at me with one eyebrow raised questioningly.
“Not a fan of clowns? Better not join the circus then.”
I snort. “Is that why you run a carnival? Your love of clowns?”
“Among other things,” he muses. “What about you, Jules? What’s your calling?”
“I’m a writer,” I answer without hesitation, my go-to nonanswer.
“Really?” Elias asks as we stop at the mini rollercoaster. “Wrote anything I’d like to read?”
“I’ll give you something,” I murmur, then eye the attraction in front of us skeptically. “A kiddy ride?”
“This is the warm-up,” he says confidently as he leads me through an empty side gate. Kids wave at us, recognizing him from the main event, and he smiles and nods back, a maniacal glee in his eyes that makes my steps falter.
Who is this man? Should I really be spending time with him?
Elias nods at the attendant, who waves us through immediately. As we buckle up, I look around us, noting the fantastical details—the carvings, the clockwork automata.
“This must take ages to set up,” I comment in awe. I can’t imagine the cost.
He shrugs, then moves his hand behind my shoulders, encompassing me in his warmth again. “I have a lot of workers,” he murmurs near my ear.
A shiver races down my spine, and Elias seems to notice my shudder, because he chuckles softly and starts rubbing little circles over my arm.
Beautiful, smug bastard.
The ride does several circles through tunnels with more clockwork figures and roaring sounds, and by the time it’s over, I have a huge smile on my face.
“That was more fun than I thought it’d be,” I admit sheepishly.
“I said I was the expert, Jules.”
Something in his voice makes me look up at him. His pale eyes are accentuated by dark, smoky lashes, and the hunger on his face makes my stomach swoop. I think he’s going to make a move, like lean in and kiss me, but instead, he smiles and pulls me along again.
“Come on, Little Sapphire. The night’s still young.”
The pet name makes me blush, something I’m not in a habit of doing.
“I’m hardly little,” I mutter to myself.
He hears me, though.
“You’re little to me.”
I shouldn’t be letting him get to me. He could be a killer, for fuck’s sake, and here I am, swooning over nicknames that make me feel things I’ve never felt before.
Elias brings me to the Ferris wheel, and I tilt my head back to look up. The cages at the apex seem like they’re touching the stratosphere.
“Afraid of heights?” His lips graze the shell of my ear as he murmurs, and I shiver again, my heart stuttering.
“A little bit,” I admit. “I’m better with speed.”
“We can go back where the kids are. I haven’t been on the teacups ride since we bought it.”
I elbow him in the side—damn, he’s hard. That actually hurt a bit.
“Ha ha,” I snark, rolling my eyes. I resist the urge to rub my elbow. “I’m fine on the adult side.”
“Only if you’re sure,” he drawls.
Grumbling, I march to the back of the queue, letting him trail after me.
His laughter is smooth, resonant, as hypnotizing as the man himself, and when he catches up, I can’t help myself—I lean into his side, surrounding myself with his delicious scent and powerful presence.
I press my palm over his stomach, feeling the hard ridges under his suit.
A low purr rumbles in his throat. His hand glides down my back to my waist.
“Behave, Little Sapphire. Or we’ll give these people a show they didn’t sign up for.”
A moan catches in my throat at his words. I picture myself displayed at the center of the ring, the spotlight shining down on my naked body as he prowls around me, poking that cane in places it has no business being.
“Maybe I’d like that,” I hear myself saying. Elias freezes for a moment before he pulls me closer into his side. His breath ruffles my hair.
“I knew you were a sinner the moment I saw you in the crowd, Jules.”
I open my mouth to respond, but just then the attendant waves us through.
Elias tells him something I can’t hear over the crowd, and the man bobs his head.
Observing them, I realize that most of the carnival workers we’ve run into don’t meet their boss’s eyes.
Are they afraid of him? Should I be? Am I about to be suspended in the air, high above the safety of the ground, with a criminal?
Before I can start answering those questions, Elias’s hand gently guides me onto the bench.
“A clown for your thoughts?” he asks me once we’re seated, and I burst out laughing.
“Keep your clowns to yourself, mister.”
I gasp when the Ferris wheel jolts into motion, and Elias chuckles again before pulling me into his arms. Finding myself pressed against his side, our faces inches apart, all I can do is stare. His pale eyes are all I see, clear pools he could drown me in.
“May I kiss you, Jules?” he asks quietly, the request sounding jarringly formal.
Numbly, I nod, then don’t wait for him to make the first move—I surge forward, pressing my lips against his. A rumbling groan vibrates in his chest when he kisses me, parting my lips and conquering my mouth.
I forget where I am, that we’re climbing higher as the cage gently sways, that there are people below us. I whimper against his mouth, my hands trying to get under his suit, under his shirt, searching for skin.
Elias grabs my wrists and pins them above my head.
“Stay,” he growls. I want to bristle, say I’m not a dog. But my pussy clenches at his curt command, and I melt under his stern gaze.
Just then, the Ferris wheel lurches to a stop. Wide-eyed, I look at Elias, searching his face. His lips are set in a satisfied smile, his eyes hooded.
“Just in time,” he murmurs.
“In time for what?” I ask breathlessly.
“Time to sin, Little Sapphire,” he explains matter-of-factly.
His fingers make quick work of the button on my pants, and he lowers the zipper with practiced ease.
My mouth falls open when his fingers graze over the lace of my panties, pressing the soaked material against my clit. “Let me hear your prayers.”