CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
NATHAN
I WAS ADDICTED.
The first time had left me craving more. I thought one taste of Elise, one night of claiming her, would be enough to satisfy the gnawing hunger inside me.
I was wrong. So wrong.
One night wasn’t even close. It wasn’t a craving, it was an obsession. Every inch of her, the soft gasp of her breath, the way her body reacted to mine, the little noises that slipped from her mouth like she couldn’t help it, I couldn’t get enough.
I looked down at her now, her hair fanned out around her head, skin glistening with a soft sheen of sweat. Elise was curled against me like she belonged there, like we’d been made for this. Elise tugged the sheet higher, tucking it beneath her chin as warmth bloomed across her cheeks.
I wasn’t her first, but hell, I was gonna make damn sure I was her last.
And I didn’t deserve her. A better man would’ve stopped. A better man would’ve told her the truth before dragging her into this mess.
But I wasn’t a better man. Never claimed to be.
Guilt flickered in my chest. I hadn’t told her the truth. And now, after every whispered moan and every tremble under my touch, I realized how much she deserved honesty and how much I’d failed her.
I should’ve been gentler with her, should’ve held back, but the second she gave herself to me, something inside me broke wide open. I didn’t want to hold back. I couldn’t. And now, I wasn’t sure I could ever be whole again.
“How sore are you?” I asked, my voice rough from hours of broken groans, heated breaths, and whispered pleas.
Elise blinked up at me with those heavy-lidded eyes, the kind of look that made my pulse spike all over again. She was so close to sleep, and I should’ve let her rest. But the idea of her not looking up at me, not having her smile at me... it twisted something dark in me.
Something possessive.
Elise shifted, stretching like a cat, and I swore my heart skipped a beat. She met my gaze, lips curling in that teasing way of hers.
“I think you broke me.” She giggled.
Her laugh, soft and sweet, shot straight through me. I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at my lips. Slowly, I trailed my fingers over her arm, loving the way she shivered, the way she reacted to me.
“Baby,” I whispered, the words falling from my lips like a dare, “that was me taking it easy on you.”
Elise gasped, a sweet little sound that made my blood rush hot in my veins.
I couldn’t resist. My fingers brushed lower, just a tease, before settling on her hip.
She swatted at my chest, but I saw that smile she couldn’t hide.
It was there, curling at the corners of her mouth. She liked it. I could tell.
“But don’t worry,” I murmured, leaning in close, voice husky, “I’ll let you rest. Just this once.”
Her fingers traced patterns on my chest, and I could still smell her mixed with the faint trace of my cologne. She was all wrapped up in me. Her scent, her warmth, her touch. I could breathe her in forever.
God, I wanted her again.
But she was barely hanging on. Her body was more relaxed against mine, her breathing slowing, almost in a lull.
“Only a few more days,” I murmured into her hair.
“Hmmm?”
“Only a few more days until you’re not my assistant anymore,” I said, ignoring the pang in my chest at the thought of coming into work and not seeing her there.
Without realizing it, I’d gotten used to her mango-scented perfume lingering in my office long after she left, the way she seemed to already know what I needed and was ready to deliver before I could ask.
“I can’t believe it.” She mused. “So much has happened in a month.”
I huffed a quiet laugh, tightening my grip around her waist. “That’s an understatement.”
Elise tilted her head up to look at me, her heavy-lidded gaze filled with something soft. “Are you as surprised by this as I am?”
She was talking about us. I let out a slow breath, my fingers tracing idle patterns along the curve of her spine. “Surprised?” I murmured, considering the weight of the word. “No.”
Her brows lifted slightly, surprise flickering in her dark eyes. “No?”
I smirked, tilting her chin up with my knuckles. “I wanted you from the moment you walked into my office.”
Elise rolled her eyes, but the warmth creeping across her cheeks told me she liked hearing it. “Nathan, I spilled coffee on you within five minutes of meeting you.”
I chuckled, remembering it clearly; the way she’d gone wide-eyed and apologetic, scrambling to clean up the mess while I sat there, half-amused, half-distracted by how damn gorgeous she was. “And yet, I still kept you around.”
Elise let out a soft laugh, her fingers brushing over my jaw, her touch feather-light. “I may have come up with a nickname for you during that time.”
I raised a brow. “And what nickname was that?”
Elise hesitated for a second, her lips twitching like she was debating whether or not to tell me. Then, with a teasing smirk, she whispered, “Mr. Asshole.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Mr. Asshole?”
She nodded, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Yeah. You were always…well, an asshole.”
I chuckled, not at all offended. “And yet, you stayed.”
Elise shrugged nonchalantly, a soft blush creeping up her neck. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for blue eyes.”
I nipped at her wrist in response, making her giggle before she curled back into me just as a yawn escaped her lips.
“Sleep.” I ordered.
“I’m not that tired,” she murmured, her voice thick with exhaustion.
I chuckled, pulling her closer until her head rested right over my heart. “Really? Because I’m pretty sure you’re about to pass out on me.”
Elise huffed, but didn’t argue. Her body melted into mine, and just like that, I felt her drifting off.
I brushed a soft kiss against her forehead, my fingers combing through her hair, slow and soothing. “Sleep, Cupcake,” I whispered. “Because tomorrow? Tomorrow, I’m making sure you don’t leave this bed at all.”