Chapter 7
Ian
Her eyes widened. I cupped her cheek, running my thumb up and down her soft skin.
I had no idea where the words came from, but they were true.
They were so fucking true . I claimed her mouth, needing to kiss her.
She tasted like mints and responded to my kiss with so much fervor that I instantly turned hard.
She moaned against me when I deepened the kiss.
Fuck, I was losing control already. I was desperate for more.
She tugged at my shirt, sliding her hands underneath it and tracing my abs with the pads of her fingers.
I skimmed my hand from her neck down to the side of her breasts and put it on her hip. Then I remembered what brought me here in the first place, and I pulled back.
"Ellie, you're not feeling well."
"Yes, I am," she whispered, but she sounded uncertain. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath before opening them. “There’s something you need to know. I… I’ve never done this before.”
“What?”
She bit her lower lip, looking uncomfortable. A moment of silence sat between us before she said, “Sex. I’m a virgin.”
My brain froze. Several seconds passed until her words sank in. I pulled back a bit so I could look at her better. Her eyes were wary. She was biting her lower lip, obviously worried about what I was going to say next.
“It’s not a big deal,” she said quickly, interrupting my thoughts as I considered how to respond. “It just never happened when I was younger, and then as I got older, it became a bit weird whenever I brought it up….”
She sounded apologetic. Why the fuck would she think she needed to apologize?
“Ellie, you don’t have to explain yourself.” I ran my fingers through her dark hair. It felt even smoother than I imagined.
“I just thought you should know… before you get in there.” The corners of her mouth tilted up in a taunting smile, but her eyes were still wary.
Some asshole made her feel bad about this, I was sure of it.
I wanted to punch the nameless, faceless bastard.
I cupped her cheek with one hand, resting the other one on her hip.
“Ellie, let’s get a few things straight. First: you don’t have to feel ashamed about anything. Second: you’re not going to lose your virginity after you’ve had a concussion and the doctor told you to take it easy. I just got… carried away.”
Her smile faded. “You don’t want this anymore.” Her hand motioned between us, then stopped. “Me?”
She tried to crawl back further on the bed, but I caught her ankles. “Ellie, I want you so much that I can barely think straight. But your first time… it’s not gonna be like this. I’m going to take my time with you, and it’s going to be special. I’ll make it special.”
“I wasn’t expecting this,” she murmured.
I frowned. “What did you expect?”
“Not sure. Doesn’t matter. I’m not a prude or anything. I have a vibrator, and?—”
I groaned, pulling her closer to me, until her mouth was almost level with mine. Grabbing her hand, I pressed it against my erection. She gasped.
“Ellie, I’m hard as fuck. Talking about a vibrator will not make things better.”
She giggled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it.”
I kissed her hard. My cock pressed painfully against the zipper of the jeans.
I needed to explore her body, feel her skin beneath my fingers.
But I couldn’t do any of that tonight and not lose complete control.
I’d meant what I told her. I wasn’t going to rush this.
But I couldn’t help myself and kissed down the side of her neck.
It was the only bit of skin not covered by her chef jacket.
A light quiver took over her body as she dug her fingers in the mattress.
I straightened up, looking her straight in the eyes. “I need to take a cold shower.”
She smiled, shimmying against the mattress. “That bad, huh?”
“Woman, stop teasing me.”
She schooled her face in what she probably thought was a serious expression, but by the firm way she pressed her lips together, it was obvious she was holding back laughter.
“It’s outside on the left,” she said.
The bathroom was as tiny as the one in my dorm room when I was in college.
You could practically sit on the toilet and wash your hands and hair at the same time.
When I got inside the stall, I could barely move without hitting my elbows against tiles.
Fucking hell. Ellie was a virgin. I didn’t see this coming at all.
Grabbing my cock, I moved my fist up and down, imagining it was her hand and groaned.
I immediately dropped my hand. No. If I rubbed one out, it wouldn’t calm me down.
It would have the opposite effect. I turned the water as cold as possible, just standing under the spray.
Afterward, I dried off and put my jeans back on, but I didn’t bother with the T-shirt since it was just the two of us.
I found her in the kitchen, taking food out of the fridge. She was wearing black shorts and a pink tank top, looking so damn delicious that I just wanted to bend her over the kitchen counter. Damn it, no. I knew that I had to think about something else.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Emptying all the containers of takeout from this past week so that we can have dinner."
"Ellie, get on the couch. I'll bring the food to you."
She looked at me over her shoulder. "Why?"
"You were in the hospital because of a concussion."
"But I’m feeling better,” she said.
"Go. Sit." My tone was stern and brooked no argument. She sighed, strolling to the couch, stretching out on it.
She wasn't kidding when she said that she was emptying take-out containers.
I put a sandwich and a slice of pizza on the platter and brought it to the couch.
Fuck me! She was lying down on one side.
Her breasts were squished together. Her upper thigh was slightly bent in front of the leg beneath. She looked like a goddess.
"Oh, you're distracted already," she said. "I like where this is going."
I shook my head, looking her straight in the eyes. I sat down at her feet, holding the plate between us.
She sat up. "I like this. Want to bring me breakfast tomorrow too?"
"Yes. I want to stay here the whole weekend and take care of you."
She looked up at me in surprise. I was shocked too, if I was honest. It wasn't my usual MO. But the instinct to make sure she was all right was stronger than anything else.
A smiled inched on her face. "Oh, please do.
I'm enjoying this immensely." We ate the pizza and the sandwiches—they didn't taste like much, but it was enough to stave off the hunger.
After she pushed the empty plate to the coffee table, she lay back down.
I took her feet in my lap, massaging her soles and her calves.
She hummed, stretching into full relaxation.
"Oh, I like this. My feet are always killing me."
I laughed but then looked her straight in the eyes. "You scared me today, Ellie. Don't do it again."
"Yes, sir."
I growled. She looked at me intently, opening her mouth, then closing it again. Did she want to talk about earlier?
“Ian… about earlier… do you want to talk about it?”
“Only if you do. A word of warning. No mentioning vibrators.”
She grinned. Good. I wanted her to feel at ease.
“I didn’t mean to spring it on you. I just didn’t know how to bring it up before. Being a virgin at twenty-three is not something I intended. But when I dated in college, it never got that far, though I did other… things.”
My mind went blank. No. Fucking. Way. I couldn’t picture Ellie doing anything with someone else or I’d go stir crazy. When did I become so damn possessive? It wasn’t like me.
“And the older I got, the weirder it became when I brought it up on dates. It seemed to scare off guys, making them think that I was waiting for someone special. Maybe I was. I mean, I wasn’t going to sleep with just any guy off the street.”
“Good to know I rank above that,” I said in a teasing tone.
“You definitely do. I mean, you bought me a teddy bear and want to stay the weekend, even though you’ll probably have blue balls.”
I growled again. “Another rule: I don’t want to hear the word ‘balls’ from you.” She smiled, mimicking a zipping gesture over her lips. "Now, I want to talk to you about something else. Tell me when you're sick or have an accident. Don't just stay in the hospital by yourself."
"Okay." She bit her lip, wiggling her toes. "Ian, about… you know… crossing boundaries."
I groaned, pulling her legs to me until her ass was nudging my thigh. "It's no use pretending we can respect them."
"True," she said.
"Fuck boundaries, Ellie."
"I agree."
She looked down, shaking her head. "How did I end up inches away from your cock again?"
"You want to drive me crazy?"
"I was just asking a question," she said with sass.
“And I was answering it. That’s another word I can’t hear out of that pretty mouth tonight."
“What? Cock?” she asked with fake innocence.
“Yes, Ellie. Damn it. Have some mercy.”
I fondled her ass, kissing her shoulder, then up the side of her neck. She shimmied in my lap.
I loved her reaction and the way she responded to the slightest touch.
But despite what she said, her doctor's order had been for her to rest. I wanted her to fully recover, and concussions were nothing to play with.
She pouted when I set her back on the couch, but then she lay down, looking around on the floor.
"What are you searching for?" I asked.
"For my phone. I just realized my stepdad's birthday is next week, and I forgot to order his present. I always send them directly to their place. I hope I don't forget to do it later."
"I'll remind you," I said. "So you get along with both sets of stepparents?" I asked while I resumed massaging her legs. She seemed to like it, and I wanted to please her.
"Yes, I try to. As a teenager, I resented them, but then I grew to appreciate them. My parents couldn't make each other happy, but they found happiness with others."
"I can't even imagine what that's like. My parents were always happy together. I rarely remember them fighting."
"You're lucky. I honestly think watching their relationship fall apart gave me some issues. Even though they did find happiness with the stepparents, Henry and I were caught in the middle for so many years. I played peacemaker every time one parent complained about the other. After the divorce, Mom was devastated in the beginning, before meeting my stepdad. She was too proud to go to a therapist, so she mostly spoke to me. I couldn’t give advice, but I listened, and that helped her." She looked vulnerable, and I wanted to erase those unhappy memories. She was so strong and fucking incredible. Even though she’d been a kid and suffering, she’d still wanted others to be happy.
She yawned, holding her palm in front of her mouth and then rubbing her eyes.
“You should go to sleep,” I told her. “I’ll take the couch.”
She jerked her head back. “No, you won’t. My bed is big. We can share it.”
I stared at her. “Bad idea.”
“Why? Am I so hard to resist?”
“Yes,” I said honestly.
“Well, I have full confidence in you. Besides, this couch is horrible. I fell asleep here one time after work and woke up with a sore neck and back two hours later. Can’t imagine how bad it is after spending one night on it.” She rose from the couch, pointing with her head toward the door.
“I’m going to shower.”
I wiggled my eyebrows. “I’ll wait in bed.”
She blushed, giving me enormous satisfaction. This was a bad idea. I knew it even before I got into her bed, but I did it anyway. When it came to Ellie, I clearly couldn’t heed my own advice.
I yanked off my jeans, getting in her bed in my boxers.
When she came back from the bathroom, with her hair piled up on top of her head, I nearly swallowed my tongue.
She was a sinful sight with her pink top clinging to her skin.
It was damp in places—like her navel and breasts.
I instantly turned hard at the sight of her puckered nipples.
She turned off the light, but I caught her shy smile just before the room went dark. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. I’d never slept next to a woman without having sex first. I’d also never taken anyone’s virginity. There were many firsts with Ellie.
“Are you comfortable?” she whispered, cramming in next to me.
I grunted noncommittally. The bed was all right, but my raging erection was painful.
I turned on one side, reaching for her in the dark and pulling her close.
She smelled amazing, like fresh flowers or fruit, or a combination.
I parted her lips with my thumb before claiming her mouth.
Being so close to her and not making her mine was torture.
I needed this at least. She tasted delicious, and I couldn’t get enough.
Deepening the kiss, I moved one hand down the side of her body, cupping her ass.
She lifted one leg on top of me. On instinct, I moved my hips forward.
My cock nudged her clit. She moaned against my mouth, tugging at my hair.
Goose bumps broke out on her arm. The leg she had around me shook.
Fuck. Fuck. No.
I pulled back, trying to regain some semblance of control. Moving my fingers down her thigh, I felt the raised flesh there and on her calf too.
“Right. Kissing is off-limits tonight too,” I said.
“Ian,” she whispered. “We can kiss.”
I touched her lips with my fingers, feeling how swollen they were. I couldn’t stop imagining them around my cock. Mind out of the gutter, Gallagher.
I smiled, bringing my mouth to her ear. “I know we can. It’s just not a good idea. Not right now. Good night, Ellie.”
“Good night.”
She curled up inches away from me. Heat came off her in waves.
Her smell was intoxicating. I wanted to know exactly what it was.
Only a few minutes later, her breath slowed, and I realized she was already asleep.
I was awake for what felt like hours, thinking about everything she’d shared with me.
Even though she’d downplayed everything, a sentence stuck in my mind: I wasn’t just going to sleep with any guy off the street .
Sex was important to her. Waiting wasn’t my strong suit, but I was going to wait for her. Even though being so close and not making her mine was pure fucking torture.