Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
They’d collapsed in a heap and dozed off in a tangle of naked limbs. Elliot had pulled her close and now his … sizeable … cock was nestled against her ass, and his arms were banded around her waist. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, his soft breathing tickling her shoulder.
Daisy bit down on a smile.
Elliot had surprised her once again. For all his nerves, the man had nothing to be nervous about. At all.
The storm was over, and everything was peaceful and dark outside Elliot’s windows. Daisy shifted a little and he murmured in her ear.
‘You awake?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.’
He rolled her over, so he was braced above her. He planted a kiss on her forehead. ‘That was just a power nap. I’m not done with you yet.’
Daisy’s mouth opened a little in shock and Elliot grinned.
‘If that’s okay with you,’ he added and Daisy laughed.
‘It’s very okay with me.’
He leaned down to kiss her, his lips soft and warm. She smiled against his mouth.
‘It was good? Before?’
‘Very good. So good. Did you not hear me screaming?’
His grin grew. ‘Just making sure.’ He nudged her legs apart with his knee. ‘Open for me again, Daisy. I want more.’
Daisy hummed in satisfaction. She was obliterating the hell out of this curse.
Elliot rolled on a condom and then pushed into her, slowly, letting her adjust to his size. Her breath caught and he froze.
‘It’s okay?’
‘Elliot, you do know you have a really big dick, right?’
He breathed out a barely-there laugh, all while holding himself still. ‘I have been in locker rooms before.’ He leaned down and kissed her, slowly, softly, waiting until she relaxed again before he pushed in further.
‘Okay,’ she breathed, nipping his jaw, kissing down his neck. ‘Give me all of it.’
He thrust the rest of the way in, and Daisy moaned. Full. She was so full of him, of Elliot.
‘Holy shit,’ she whispered, and Elliot pressed his forehead to hers.
‘You’re so beautiful,’ he said, kissing her again, her lips, her neck. He devoured her, breathed her in until they were one moving part, one soul fused together. He started thrusting, tentatively at first, searching her face.
‘It’s good,’ she assured him. ‘More. Do more.’
He changed the angle of his hips, diving in deeper and Daisy’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was so full, so hot, so … so … she clawed at Elliot’s back, at his shoulders, his forearms … she needed … she needed…
‘Talk to me,’ he bit out, thrusting into her so hard, her head nearly hit the headboard, but then Elliot’s hand was there to catch her.
‘Harder,’ she gasped. ‘And maybe…’ She tried to tilt her hips up and Elliot quickly caught on, stuffing a pillow under her butt. This man and his pillows. She loved it. ‘Perfect,’ she moaned. ‘That’s fucking perfect.’
Elliot’s smile was quick and wicked before he picked up the pace again and at this angle with his hand padding her head with every ram into the headboard, Daisy fell apart so fast she didn’t even see it coming before she was crying and shaking with the intensity of the moment.
He groaned, his cheeks flushed, and hair tumbled over his forehead. And he looked so damn beautiful like that, Daisy nearly confessed everything she was feeling.
‘Daisy,’ he sighed as he thrust into her one more time and Daisy felt his whole body tremble as he came, one hand still tangled in her hair and one holding tight to her hips.
‘Daisy, that was…’ he panted, his breath hot on her cheek. ‘That was everything.’
* * *
Elliot’s house was kind of a mess. Daisy was taking stock as she sat at his kitchen island while he made her a heaping pile of French toast. The bedroom had been tidy enough, other than the copious stacks of books, but the en suite bathroom didn’t currently have a toilet or working shower, they’d had to use the one down the hall, and in the kitchen the tile back-splash behind the counters had been torn out, and beneath her stool was subfloor and nothing else.
It was the first time she’d been inside and since she was pretty distracted last night, she hadn’t had a chance to look around, but now she had questions.
‘You’re redoing the kitchen?’ she asked as Elliot poured her a cup of coffee.
‘Pretty much always redoing something, yeah. It’s what Caleb and I used to do before I moved here. We flipped houses.’
‘Right. I know, but you’re doing this house by yourself?’
He shrugged. ‘I can manage small projects by myself.’
Daisy raised an eyebrow. ‘Like tile and flooring?’
‘I picked up a few skills along the way.’
‘And plumbing?’
‘Nah, I have a guy come in for that.’
‘Hmm…’
‘What’s that hmm mean?’ he asked with a smile.
‘Nothing, I’m just always learning something new and surprising about you. Like that you’re more than just a designs-things-on-paper guy.’
He leaned forward on the counter between them. ‘And what else have you learned about me?’
Daisy tapped her fork against her lips like she was thinking. ‘I’m happy to say I finally got to learn about your impressive sexual prowess.’
He laughed and slid another slice of toast onto her plate.
‘Thanks for noticing. You were pretty impressive, too.’
Daisy grinned, about to dig into her breakfast when Elliot stopped her.
‘Wait, I didn’t do the best part.’ He grabbed a small sieve and scooped powdered sugar into it and then tapped the side until it sprinkled sugar over her French toast. ‘Had to make it snow.’
‘That’s adorable.’
‘My mom used to make it for us on snow days, but I feel like it works in June, too.’
‘Totally,’ Daisy agreed, around a mouth full of sugary bread. ‘Delicious.’
Elliot grabbed a plate of his own and joined her at the island.
‘Now I have to add amazing cooking to the new and surprising things about you,’ she teased.
‘Don’t get too excited. This is my fanciest dish.’
‘Still, a man who can do home renovations, make French toast, and give a woman multiple orgasms is a pretty good résumé.’
Elliot choked a little on his breakfast, his ears turning bright red. Daisy ran a finger over the rim.
‘Oh, good,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I was afraid that after we’d done it, I wouldn’t be able to make you blush anymore.’
He turned to face her, so their legs intertwined in the space between them. ‘I don’t think it’s possible for me to stop having a face that alerts the world every time I’m embarrassed…’
‘Or turned on.’
Elliot dropped his head with a laugh. ‘Right. Or turned on. It’s very inconvenient.’
‘I still think it’s cute.’
She’d slept in a pair of his boxers and one of his T-shirts, and Elliot’s fingers were currently making circles on her bare knee.
Sun slanted in through the windows over the sink and the air coming in was already warm.
Goldie was sprawled out on her belly at their feet.
It was going to be another summery day, but Daisy was sure that wasn’t why her skin was heating.
‘So, what’s the plan for the renovation?’
‘It’s an old house, which was the main part of its appeal, of course.’
Daisy laughed. ‘Of course.’
‘I had originally planned to restore it and sell it, but now…’
‘But now?’
Elliot’s smile grew. ‘Now I want to stay.’
Daisy leaned forward and kissed him. He tasted like cinnamon and maple syrup.
He ran his hands through her hair, gathering the strands at the nape of her neck. He twisted the elastic off his wrist and tied her hair back, giving that little piece back now that he had all of her. She kissed him again.
‘Do you want to tell me what was in the diary that had you running over here practically naked in the middle of the night?’ he asked, nipping at her lips as he said it, his hands wandering up her thighs.
‘You live like two blocks away. I didn’t run. I walked. Quickly.’
His delighted laugh made her smile.
‘And I wasn’t naked. I was wearing my PJs.’
‘PJs that were completely translucent by the time you got here.’
Judging by the way Elliot’s ears and cheeks were glowing, he was clearly picturing the whole scene. She squirmed a little on her stool, remembering how his hungry gaze had felt on her, and then his hands, his lips…
She shook her head, trying to stay on topic.
‘That’s all beside the point.’
‘Okay,’ Elliot straightened. ‘Tell me. What was in there that was so urgent?’
Daisy frowned, remembering how frustrated and sad she’d felt reading her great-aunt’s latest entries.
‘I just got so mad at her. And then mad at myself for being just like her.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She couldn’t let the past go. She’d been hurt before, and it was clouding her judgment. It was making her push away a sweet, loving man because she was assuming it would end the same way.’
Elliot was very still, watching her. Waiting for her conclusion.
‘And it made me wish I could go back in time and shake the damn woman!’
He cupped her face in his hands and traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into the touch.
‘She talked about being cursed. She thought she was cursed to stay broken-hearted forever, but it was her own fault for not seeing what was right in front of her. I don’t want to be like that … I don’t want to do that.’
‘What do you want to do, Daisy?’ he asked, his voice as soft as his touch.
‘I meant what I said last night. I want to be with you. For real.’
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, his fingers threading through her hair, and she felt safe. She felt adored.
‘Daisy, I’m so in love with you.’
She wasn’t expecting the tears. She wasn’t expecting to crumple like she did, but Elliot scooped her up to his chest and held her close.
‘Shh…’ he crooned. ‘It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.’
‘I’m so in love with you, too,’ she sniffled. ‘And I didn’t mean to be, and I swore I wasn’t going to do this again but’—she breathed, looking up at him—‘I’m so in love with you. You made it impossible not to be.’
There was the lopsided smile she’d loved from the start.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘But you didn’t make it easy on me, either, you know. I came here to live like a hermit, alone with my history books, and look at me now! Spotted around town canoodling with the florist!’
Daisy’s tears quickly turned to laughter.
‘Well, you had to be sweet and understanding all the time and then you threw in French toast and a giant…’
He kissed her.
‘Stop trying to make me blush,’ he said against her lips and she giggled.
‘It was just … after I read those last few entries, I knew I was making a mistake keeping you at arm’s length. I don’t want to be cursed anymore. I want to be with you.’
‘You’re not cursed, Daisy,’ he said, kissing her forehead. ‘But’—he picked her up off the stool, and Daisy let out a startled squeak—‘if we need to do this a few more times to convince you, then I’m game.’ He tossed her over his shoulder, gave her ass a smack and carried her off to the bedroom.
Surprising her once again.