34. Stella
34
STELLA
T he night air brushes against my skin, cool and refreshing, as I stand at my apartment door, Paul standing beside me.
“Stella,” Paul says softly, pulling me into a gentle hug, “are you sure Elio is the one for you? You know I’m rich too, right?” He tries to joke, but there’s an earnestness in his eyes that tugs at my heart.
Paul is the kind of man that would give me the world if I let him…I wish I could just let him. I wish that, for once, I would put myself on the winning side.
Any other man, and I’d snap at him for trying to say it’s all about the money however I know Paul doesn’t mean it that way. He’s trying to be sweet – trying to win me over, and if I hadn’t already gotten a taste of the dark desires that Elio had introduced me too – I’d oblige.
I pull back from him, looking straight into those brown eyes, feeling bad that I have to reject him. I never should have agreed to this date because I won’t be able to feel for him, or any other man, the way I do for Elio. He’s ruined me.
“Paul, it’s not about the money,” I admit, feeling my cheeks flush. “Elio... he’s just gotten under my skin.”
“Isn’t it a bit taboo to date your ex’s dad?” he teases, trying to lighten the mood. But I know he doesn’t mean it. He really isn’t the kind of guy to judge me. A smile pulls at the corners of my lips, and I lean in to press a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Good luck with that argument,” I say, stepping back. Paul turns to walk away, but my voice stops him. “Promise me you won’t tell Anastasia?”
He hesitates, then nods. “Alright, but you’ll have to fess up at some point.” His voice holds a note of warning, but also understanding.
“Thank you, Paul,” I whisper, watching as he disappears down the hallway, leaving me alone with my swirling thoughts.
With a sigh, I unlock my apartment door and step inside, letting the familiar surroundings envelop me like a comforting embrace. My mind, however, refuses to settle, still consumed by thoughts of Elio and our complicated ‘relationship’ – if I can even call it that.
First a shower and then bed.
I slip between the cool sheets, shivering slightly as they brush against my freshly showered skin. My body craves rest, but my mind refuses to cooperate, thoughts of Elio consuming me like wildfire. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, willing myself to focus on anything else – the soft hum of the air conditioner, the faint glow of streetlights filtering through my curtains, the distant sound of traffic. Yet, despite my efforts, images of him continue to flicker behind my eyelids, taunting me with memories of his touch.
Should I text him…? Maybe, I need to explain what he’d seen today although, by the lack of interest on his face, at the restaurant he wouldn’t care. Is this thing between us over already?
I just need to shut up and go to sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.
So, I do.
I moan, my body slowly waking up, as a wave of pleasure crashes over me, nearly leaving me gasping for breath. It takes me a while to focus, to understand what’s going on. I feel laps against my clit, gentle but insistent, and sucking that’s driving me insane.
My hips buck instinctively, and then I hear his voice.
“He can’t make you feel the way I do, can he?”
Elio.
It’s his mouth working magic beneath the covers as he devours me with a hunger that I’ve never felt before.
“Elio...how--” I begin to question, but my words dissolve into moans as his tongue strikes a particularly sensitive spot, rendering me incapable of coherent thought.
“Shh, Stella,” Elio murmurs against my heated flesh, his voice a seductive caress that sends shivers down my spine. “Just enjoy.”
And despite the confusion and uncertainty still swirling through my mind, I find myself surrendering to the pleasure he so skillfully elicits, allowing myself to be consumed by his fire.
My fingers thread through his salt-and-pepper hair, instinctively gripping it as I ride the crest of rapture he sends me on. Every stroke of his tongue sends my heart racing faster, each flicker of contact bringing me closer to the edge.
“More, Elio,” I gasp, my voice barely above a whisper. He responds with a low chuckle, his breath fanning across me and heightening my need.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he warns, the sentence punctuated by a particularly deft move that leaves me reeling.
“Please,” I moan, no longer able to form coherent thoughts as the intensity of my desire consumes me. My body moves in rhythm with Elio’s ministrations, my hips undulating as I seek out every ounce of pleasure he offers.
“Such a greedy little thing,” he teases, his voice laced with affection. “But I can’t say I mind.”
I don’t know if it’s the way his words wrap themselves around me or the skillful way his mouth moves against me, but I feel myself spiraling, closer and closer to the brink. Elio senses this too, his pace quickening as he seeks to draw my climax from me.
“Come for me, Stella” he commands, his voice authoritative yet tender.
The dam finally breaks, and my climax washes over me in waves. I cry out, the sound of my pleasure echoing off the walls as my body trembles with the force of it. Elio doesn’t relent, continuing to draw every last shudder from me until I’m left breathless and spent.
As the aftershocks subside, reality begins to seep back in. What is Elio doing here?
“Elio…” I start, but he cuts me off. “About what you saw…”
“I didn’t ask.”
Elio’s fingers trail a path down the curve of my spine, sending shivers through my body as they come to rest at my wrists. He pulls me closer, pressing my back against his chest. I can feel his steady breaths on my skin, and it takes every ounce of restraint I possess not to melt into him.
“Stella,” he says, his voice low and commanding, “I’m not the jealous type.”
His words elicit a gasp from me, especially when I see how serious he is.
“I don’t want another man.”
He stares at me, surprising me by not asking for an explanation. Instead he nods.
Elio presses a rough kiss onto my lips, effectively silencing any further objections, not that I had any.
“You’re going to be a good girl for me, aren’t you?”
I bite my bottom lip. “Yes.”
“Yes what?” He lands a good smack against my ass, leaving me tingling in all the right ways.
“Yes sir.”
There’s nothing more exciting in this world than being Elio’s good little girl.