ZODIAC
Elle remained in my bedroom for so long that I assumed she was taking a nap. During a commercial, I finally went looking for her. Rather than sleeping, she was sitting on my bed, staring out the window and daydreaming.
“What are you doing?”
“Coming to terms with reality,” she said and smiled at me. “Who painted the mural on your ceiling?”
“Ojai likes art.”
“Vanessa paints, too. I’ll have her do something cool for the baby’s nursery. She recently painted the periodic table on Sutter’s wall.”
Admiring Elle’s relaxed expression, I wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. A sexy woman was on my bed. Earlier, she’d been exceptionally horny considering she was sober. However, she wanted promises I wasn’t willing to give her.
“I never plan on getting married,” I said, refusing to ease my way to the point.
“Neither do I.”
Leaning against the doorjamb, I asked, “Why are you here exactly?”
“I’ve already explained my reasons three damn times.”
“I wasn’t listening earlier. Repeat yourself.”
“I was curious about you.”
“Because of your crush?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you think would happen?”
“We’d fool around. Maybe I’d see something sweet about you that would help me stop viewing you as a ruthless fuckwit. Then, we could get along for the baby.”
“You kept the kid a secret from me for months.”
Leaning back on the bed, she rested on her elbows and eyed me. “Yes, I did, and I feel zero guilt over that. It’s not like you would have done anything different if you had known.”
“If you want to fool around, the game has been slow. Drop your pants, and I’ll give you a quickie.”
Sitting up, Elle smiled at me. “I find your lack of charm to be quite endearing.”
Chuckling, I walked toward the bed. “Did you tell your cousin to get a hotel room for the night? I want you to stay here. Once the game is over, I’ll pin you to the mattress with my dick for a few hours.”
Elle’s gray eyes lit up. “Or, and hear me out, I’ll bail on you today since you’re busy being a jackass. And then, the next time you’re in Little Memphis, we’ll meet at a hotel, and you can pin me to that mattress with your dick.”
“You’re playing hard to get, huh?”
“You played it first. Now, it’s my turn. I’m no longer in the mood to have my pussy drilled.”
“Were you in the mood the night at the clubhouse?”
“A little, maybe,” Elle said, studying me with her beautiful goddamn eyes. “I was excited to see you. You’re hot. I probably drank just enough to say yes. But there’ll be no booze for me for another two trimesters, and you’re jackhammering my nerves now.”
Grinning, I dropped next to her on the bed. “I could get you excited right now.”
“But only until the game picks up, right?”
“I’ve sliced open your lady feelings. Now, they’re pouring free and making a mess.”
“You don’t get how other people work, do you? Like, you just expect everyone to bend to your will.”
Nuzzling my lips against her forehead, I sighed. “Tell me what I need to do to stop your whining.”
“You’re mad I showed up. That’s why you’re being a dick. I get it. You’ve got foster kid issues.”
When Elle stood, I seized her hand and looked up at her. Her gray eyes watched me in a curious way as if I were a strange thing she found crawling around on her back porch.
She cocked an eyebrow and murmured, “You’re just a lost little boy mad at the world.”
Feeling her fucking with me, I grabbed her around the waist and spun her onto the bed. Elle didn’t fight me. She toppled onto her back and stared amused at my face.
“Growing up with violent men has made you reckless,” I said, admiring her beauty. “You ought to be careful with me.”
“No.”
Her tone wasn’t hostile or playful. She was just telling me no. That was it. She refused to fear me.
“I could hurt you.”
“Only my heart.”
“You don’t know me.”
“You’re no open book, but I understand your goals.
You want something from my brother. You also respect my father since he made you cry like a bitch in a fight.
Hurting me will put you on their bad side.
So, even if I don’t have value to you, they do.
That’s why I’m not scared of your sad, foster boy threats. ”
Narrowing my gaze, I switched gears and slid my hand across her belly. “When do you think my boy will be big enough for me to feel him kicking?”
“A few more months, maybe. Do you really care?”
“I want this kid.”
“If you wanted a kid, why not knock up a local girl?”
“I didn’t say I wanted a kid.”
Elle’s gaze focused on the ceiling while she replayed our conversation. Finally, she nodded and looked at me.
“Do you bring women here?”
“No.”
“Because you’re a private person?”
“No, because when I’m done with a woman, I want to leave. I can’t do that if I’m already home.”
“There’s a part of you that wants to be charming. I feel like you even tried before you got into my pants.”
“Yeah, well, I already claimed your pussy. Don’t need to fake anything now.”
“But you want another screw, don’t you?”
“Of course, and if you hadn’t fessed up about your crush, I’d be lying so smoothly right now.”
“What would you tell me?” she asked, stroking my jaw and teasing me again. “How would you trick me into wanting you?”
“I’d say you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”
“What makes me so beautiful?”
“Your eyes comfort me,” I admitted, watching her casual indifference melt into affection. “You also have great tits and a banging ass.”
Elle smiled widely. “I wouldn’t call my tits great. Above average? Oh, no doubt. But great? I don’t know about that.”
“I know tits, and yours are great.”
“Did you get my top off when we were in the office?”
Grunting, I scowled hard at her. “What do you remember?”
“You smelled great.”
“That’s it?”
“I remember feeling good. Like happy and I might have rated you above my vibrator. But I don’t remember conversational topics or what you looked like with your dick out.”
Leaning away from her, I shook my head. “You said yes.”
“I know I did. But I wouldn’t have agreed if I had been sober.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because my brother was in the next room and Sabrina was down the hall. I also didn’t know you.”
“You didn’t know the guy you made Sutter with.”
“Sure, but that was a drunken night in Mexico at one of those resorts where everyone walks around wasted and mostly naked. I wasn’t the same kind of drunk when you and I hooked up.”
“So why don’t you remember anything?”
“I never remember shit from when I’m drunk. Why does it bother you so much? Was that night very special to you?”
Elle struggled not to laugh at me. The more I glared, the less control she had over her giggles. I nearly ditched her and went back to my game.
That night at the Fire Hooch, Elle had pushed me away like usual. Until she suddenly pulled me closer. I thought she finally caught on to how we shared chemistry. Now, I knew she was just excited someone knew the name of a character from an old horror movie.
Before I bailed on her current teasing, I reminded myself that Elle drove down to Baton Rouge over her girly feelings for me.
“Stay here tonight.”
“No.”
“I think you want to. Besides, you’ll get back to Little Memphis too late to be of any use to your boy. Stay here tonight and go back in the morning.”
“What if you’re mean to me and I’m stuck in this fucking apartment all night?”
“You can tell the judge your sob story when I file for full custody.”
“Where will I sleep?”
“In my bed.”
“What if my pussy remains sandpaper dry all night? Will you get mad and pitch a fit like a dumb bitch?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s not much of a sales pitch.”
I rested my hand against her belly before nuzzling her neck. Elle froze at the feel of me against her. I sucked at her soft throat. A smile washed across her face. Everything about Elle felt familiar, like she was always meant to exist in my bed at this moment.
Though I believed in fate, I also knew my limitations. I wasn’t a man willing to sacrifice much for anyone, not even the sexy blonde haunting my every thought.