Chapter 8
eight
VI
Eli didn’t start another conversation as he turned his back while I got dressed. Or while I dried my hair as much as I could with my towel, before tying it up in a bun on top of my head.
He didn’t even say anything when I set a pillow and blanket down on the couch we both knew he wouldn’t fit on. Or claimed the single bed in the room.
I felt kind of bitchy for the couch thing, but he was the one who’d booked a room with a single bed. The bastard should’ve known better. The bed was a super-king, built for supernatural guys, but that didn’t buy him the right to sleep with me.
I still wasn’t interested in a relationship.
And that meant I had to maintain distance between us, despite feeling bitchy about it.
Eli didn’t complain, hesitate, or give me a dirty look when he plopped down on the couch across from my bed. Instead, he watched me.
I glanced down at my sleep clothes, and realized the points of my nipples were very visible through the fabric. I’d had the set for years, and still loved it. I wouldn’t throw it out until there were holes in it big enough for my breasts to fit through.
“You’re staring at my boobs,” I said.
“They’re so perfect, it’d be a sin not to.” Though his words were playful, his expression was still serious for the most part.
I wasn’t actually sure if he was joking.
And that made it difficult to decide how to respond.
“You should’ve gotten a room with two beds,” I finally said, tucking myself under the blankets to forcefully end the staring.
“They only have super-kings in single-bed rooms, so it would’ve been pointless. I fit on a couch about as well as I fit on a human mattress.” He leaned back, stretching his body across the entirety of the furniture. His legs draped over the edge, his head propped up almost vertically on a pillow, but he still managed to look comfortable somehow.
The bastard was so pretty, he’d probably look cozy on a volcano.
“We could’ve gotten our own rooms,” I pointed out.
“If you want me to kill someone, sure.”
I rolled my eyes. “You haven’t even gotten violent yet, E.”
“ Yet is the key word in that sentence. Heat will get worse, especially if we deny it.”
I couldn’t imagine it getting worse than it had been the night before.
Didn’t even want to try.
I’d probably end up begging Eli to join me in the bed if that happened.
Which, on second thought, was probably the real reason he’d only gotten one room. I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed by that, or to give him the grudging respect he deserved for planning ahead in that way.
“Well, goodnight,” I said, reaching over to turn off the lamp beside the gigantic bed. I’d never slept in a bed that big, and it felt kind of empty with just my average-sized human body in it.
“Goodnight, Spaghetti,” Eli said as the room went dark. I could still see fairly well, thanks to his magic I guessed. Which meant he could probably see just fine, if not great.
The nickname was growing on me annoyingly fast.
I didn’t know how to stop that any more than I knew how to stop heat.
“Tell me when you start hurting,” he said, his voice growing quieter with the lights off. “You don’t have to tell me why you’re pissed with me, but you don’t get to suffer in silence.”
“Sure I do,” I grumbled back.
“I’m not joking, Vi. If I feel a wave of pain again like I did when you were in the shower, I’m going to burn your clothes so you have no choice but to spend the rest of heat naked.”
“You wouldn’t,” I growled, sounding a bit animalistic myself.
“Try me.”
I hadn’t thought he would break the bathroom door down in my apartment, either.
So, I couldn’t try him .
I’d have to tell him when the pain was getting too awful to bear.
“Fine,” I said.
“For once, she doesn’t argue,” he muttered.
I lifted my hand from the bed, middle-finger extended, and he snorted.
My lips curved upward as I turned onto my side, settling on the mattress. I had already started sweating again, so… it was going to be a long night.
Then again, the clock said it was almost 5 AM. So, maybe it would be a long day.
I tossed and turned for about three hours, once again unable to fall asleep.
It still made me feel absolutely insane.
And, after struggling to keep myself quiet for hours, I finally spoke up. “Eli?”
“Mmhm?” he sounded as exhausted as I felt.
I didn’t know how to tell him I was in pain, so I just bit my lip.
“You’re hurting?” His voice was low. Sexy. But soft, too, in a way that made me feel like he really did care whether or not I was in pain.
“Yeah.”
“Can I hold you?”
Though he knew that was why I was speaking up, I still appreciated the request. It made me feel like I still had a little bit of control.
“Sure. That would help,” I said.
He slipped off the couch, padding across the room. All he had on was his boxer-briefs, but I couldn’t say I minded the sight.
Or the feel of him, as he joined me beneath the blankets and spooned me from behind.
My throat swelled and my eyes closed as the pain slowly vanished.
“Is it worse tonight?” he murmured.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I don’t think staying up all night helped anything, though.”
He chuckled lightly, his chest barely rumbling against my back. “Probably not.”
“Thanks for fixing it.”
“Don’t thank me for holding you. I’m already thinking about all the possible ways I could fuck you from right here.” His breath was on my ear, and I couldn’t stop the goosebumps that broke out on my skin.
“So horny,” I teased, though my voice was soft.
“Only for you, Spaghetti.” His lips brushed my temple before he settled on the pillow with me. I knew the words were bullshit, but they still made me feel good. “Good night.”
“Good morning, you mean.”
He chuckled again. “Sweet dreams.”
My lips were still curved upward as I fell asleep.
Nighttime had arrived again when we finally woke up.
I was covered in sweat, though only some of it was from heat. The rest was from having a hot, nearly-naked man pressed up against me for more than twelve hours.
I hadn’t slept in bed with a man since…
Well, I wasn’t going to think about that.
Nope.
Not even a little.
Eli’s stomach growled loudly, and I smiled. He laughed. “Guess I need to order us some food.”
“Guess so,” I murmured.
“How’d you sleep?” His hand smoothed a few wild strands of hair off my face, giving me more goosebumps. I was not prepared for him being sweet to me. Or anyone being sweet to me, actually.
“Really well,” I admitted. “You?”
“Better than ever.” He kissed my temple like he had the night before, and my face would’ve warmed if I wasn’t already so flushed.
And wet between my thighs.
Really, really wet.
Eli inhaled. “You smell so damn good.”
My lips curved. “I’ll work on it.”
“Don’t even think about it.” He squeezed my hip, his hand still resting on it beneath the blanket. “What do you want for late-night breakfast? I can order room service.”
“We could go out and look for something outside. I’d like to explore a little, before heat gets worse.” My eyes focused on the window in front of us. A thick blackout curtain was closed over it, keeping the room dark, but I’d peeked through the night before. The city was stunning, and I was dying to see it.
Eli didn’t answer right away, which told me he didn’t like the suggestion. My hopes fell a little, and I braced myself for disappointment.
Instead, his hand slid off my hip and over my abdomen, gliding smoothly over my skin. My lower belly tensed, but I loved the touch.
“I’d like to explore with you,” he said. “But I’m volatile right now. If someone looks at you wrong, I may remove his head.”
Ah.
Well, at least he was honest and hadn’t given me some bullshit about being lazy or tired or whatever. I appreciated the truth, always. Even when it sucked.
“Is there anything we can do to reduce it?”
He considered it for a moment, still moving his hand over my belly. It was making me hornier, but I didn’t bring that up. He could probably smell it anyway. “If you let me get you off before we go, and you agree to stay right by my side so we’re touching continuously, I’d be willing to try it. No promises I’ll make it long out there, though.”
My eyes widened.
Had he just offered to give me pleasure without taking any himself?
He had.
Wow.
I considered it.
Letting him get me off would give me more feelings. And I was trying to avoid feelings as much as possible.
But it would feel good.
And I really did want to explore.
So…
I was going to have to do it.
“Alright,” I finally said.
His hand slid down my stomach and beneath the waistband of my shorts. My entire body seemed to arch when his fingers dragged over my clit.
“You’re soaked for me,” he murmured into my ear. His bare chest was still pressed against my back, warm and strong and steady as he touched me. “Feels damn good.”
My lips parted as he increased the pressure just slightly.
I was so needy, I was already nearing my climax.
My hands wrapped around his arm, but with the one beneath my hip, he lifted them to his hair one at a time.
My fingers sank into the silky strands as he worked me, making my hips rock and jerk desperately. I was close. So, so close.
“Are you aching for my cock yet, Spaghetti?” the words were in my ear, low and sexy.
And it sent me right over the edge.
His free hand muffled my cries as I moved with my pleasure, the motion entirely out of my control.
I panted as I came down from the high, my hips still rocking a little.
The orgasm felt good, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more. And his hand didn’t leave my core, telling me he wasn’t done yet either.
“You’re hot as hell, Vi.” His teeth caught the shell of my ear, and he tugged lightly. I turned in his arms, pressing my chest to his. His hand was trapped a bit awkwardly, but he used it to drag my core closer to his erection.
I wanted him, but didn’t want to say it aloud.
So, I kissed him.
He kissed me back without hesitation, his tongue moving with mine as he gripped my bare ass, tugging me closer to him.
He tasted good, and felt even better—but it still wasn’t enough.
I didn’t want to end the kiss, so I finally reached my mind to his, like he did when he was talking to me mentally. “I need your cock, E.”
He growled against my mouth, freeing his erection with one hand while he pulled my loose shorts to the side with the other. He lined us up just as quickly, and kissed me hard as he pulled me down over him.
Eli swallowed my cries of pleasure as he filled me, thick and hard and perfect.
We moved together, making out while we screwed, until we climaxed. Our mouths were still pressed together as we came, trying to quiet ourselves through it.
His finger traced the place we were connected as the high faded, dragging me back into reality slowly.
And as much as I didn’t want to, I had no choice but to accept the truth:
I wasn’t getting through heat without having more sex with Eli.
Lots of sex.
Which meant I was going to have to figure out how to mentally and emotionally distance myself from him while we were having the best sex of my life.
Yay.