Chapter twenty-three
~ADRIAN~
Elana doesn’t say anything on our way back.
I don’t either. I know better than to explain myself while she’s drenched, shivering, and hurt.
I need to get her home, dry and warm. My mind races as I drive back to my building.
There’s so much I want to say to her, but the glare she shoots my way tells me to keep quiet for now.
That piece of shit. I should have taken better care of him.
Apparently, cutting his father off and pulling some strings to get him kicked out of college only added fuel to the fire.
I’m not worried about him pressing charges against me.
He would have to explain what he was doing that got his sorry ass beat, and I’m sure his version of the story would clash with ours.
No, even he’s not dumb enough to go to the police, and I’m sure Mac can handle the paramedics.
“I need to go shower,” Elana announces the second we step out of the elevator and into the penthouse.
“First, you’ll listen to what I have to say.” I gently grab her elbow and pull her back.
“I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say.” She shrugs out of my fingers and turns to face me. “You kissed her!” she raises her voice. I’ve never seen her this furious, this hurt.
“She kissed me.”
“As if that makes a difference.” She shakes her head in disbelief. She doesn’t have the full picture.
“I’m assuming you didn’t stay long enough to see me push her away.
” I keep my voice steady. I don’t blame her for the anger.
I don’t blame her for lashing out. God knows what I would have done had I seen another man kissing her.
I just need her to hear me out. She looks at me, unconvinced.
“Elana, Victoria and I have never had that kind of relationship and never will. She came here uninvited, started talking bullshit, and kissed me, so I threw her out.”
“And I assume I have to believe you.” There’s hurt in her eyes. No defiance, no hatred, just hurt and anger.
“I fired her,” I state dryly.
“You fired her?” Elana widens her eyes—finally, something other than anger.
“I did.” I nod and step closer to her, my wet clothes clinging to my body. “It was a long time coming, and I should have done it sooner. But she crossed the line when she assumed she could interfere in my personal life… our life.”
I take another step towards her and take her hands in mine, relieved when she doesn’t step away. God, she’s freezing.
“It’s only you, little duck.” I plant two kisses on each hand.
“It’s been you from the moment I saw you in that cafe.
Everything I told you, every goddamn word, is true.
When I realized you’d left, when I couldn’t find you anywhere outside—” I close my eyes and shake my head.
“I was so scared. I knew you were somewhere out there alone. And I was so afraid, so fucking powerless.” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“I was afraid, too,” Elana murmurs. “How did you find me?” Her eyes soften, and she squeezes her hands around my thumbs.
“How many times do we have to go over this? I have the habit of being everywhere, especially when it comes to you.” My lips curl up, and I see a small smile playing on her lips as well. Thank fuck. “Everywhere you go, I go.”
To my surprise, she rises on her tiptoes and kisses me, soft and sweet. I let go of one of her hands and cup the back of her neck.
“Thank you for finding me,” she says against my lips, and I smile against hers. Thank you for finding me.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” I say after pulling away from her.
I take her hand and lead her upstairs to my bedroom. I flick the lights on and step inside with her, hand in hand.
“I’ve never been in your room.” She looks around, taking it in. Her eyes land on the books on my nightstand. “You like reading?” She rushes over to them to take a closer look.
“I have a library,” I remind her with a wink.
“I’ve always loved reading. My grandparents had a small library of their own.
It was my favorite place in the house. Treasure Island is what got me into reading, and despite having little money, they would try to buy me a new book each week.
” I’ve never told anybody but Ethan this—never felt the need to tell anybody else.
“So, where are your parents, Ethan n?” She turns to me, holding one of the books.
“I—” I blink at her. “I don’t have any. They passed away when I was a baby, so my grandparents raised me.”
“Adrian, I’m so sorry.” Elana looks at me, devastation written all over her face.
“You shouldn’t be. My grandparents raised me with love.
They tried their best to make sure I had everything I needed.
” I take a deep, shaky breath. I haven’t spoken about them in so long.
“Everything I’ve achieved, I’ve achieved because of them- for them.
I wanted to give them a better life, and I did.
Right until the very end.” My vision gets blurry, and I blink back the tears threatening to spill.
Fuck. Get it together.
Elana quietly puts the book down and walks over to me. She doesn’t slide her arms under mine like she usually does. Instead, she rises on her tiptoes and goes straight for my neck, pulling me into a soft embrace.
“I’m sure they’re so proud of you,” she whispers against my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her off the ground.
“Let’s get warmed up.” I carry her to the bathroom and put her down. “Clothes off.” I flick her nose and move to start the bath.
“You’re running me a bath?” She raises her brows with a smile.
“I’m running us a bath.” I flash her a grin and watch as that rosy color returns to her cheeks.
“I haven’t had a bath in forever. Can we make it a bubble bath?” The excitement in her voice makes me smile even wider.
“Of course. Anything you want.”
I run the water, adjusting the temperature to ensure it’s not too hot. Meanwhile, Elana rummages through the cabinets, searching for something. She returns with my shower gel and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she says with a grin, squirting a generous amount of shower gel into the running water. Within moments, the bathtub fills with fluffy bubbles.
“These can’t keep me from looking at you,” I tease, stepping closer to her. “I said clothes off.”
Elana reaches for the hem of my shirt, and I raise a brow at her.
“You said clothes off.” She gives me a playful smile as she pulls it up past my abdomen.
“These semantics again,” I murmur and let her slide my shirt off.
“Seems like they’re not your strong suit.” She giggles as she tosses my shirt to the floor.
I take her jacket off and toss it next to my shirt, and it lands on the floor with a wet thud.
“Hands up,” I order gently, and she obeys. Once her shirt is off, I quickly unclasp her bra, and it joins the pile of clothes on the floor. “Your turn.” I stand back with a smirk that grows wider as Elana’s cheeks turn pink again.
She slowly reaches for my belt and gets to work. My cock is already pressing against the damp material of my pants, and the second she pulls them down, it springs up, making her flinch. She looks up at me with wide eyes.
I chuckle at her. “Keep going.”
She pulls my pants all the way down, and I step out of them, kicking them to the side along with my shoes.
My hands are on her before she can fully rise to her feet. I unbutton her jeans and slide them down, telling her to step out of her shoes before removing them.
Once I’m done, I slowly rise, sliding both hands up her legs until my left hand is resting on her waist, and my right hand continues its ascent. It finds its way to her perfect breast as my lips crash with hers. I feel her hands slide up my arms and shoulders with desperation.
“If you keep doing that, we’ll never get to the bath.” I chuckle between kisses and step back, my eyes scanning her body. “Mmm,” I hum in approval and offer her my hand, which she takes without hesitation. “In the bath you go, little duck.”
She gives me a coy smile as she raises a long leg and climbs into the bathtub, with me following behind her. This gives me a magnificent view of her ass, and I smack it, unable to resist.
“Ow!” She turns back and rubs the spot with her hand, but there’s an amused smile on her face.
“I’m just a man.” I shrug apologetically.
Catching me off-guard, Elana bends down, and with a swift scoop of her hand, splashes me with the foamy water.
Before she can send another handful of water flying towards my face, I quickly grab her and send her flying into the mountain of bubbles, splashing some out of the bathtub.
She squeaks as she hits the hot water, and I follow her down with a laugh.
This is not my first time taking a bath with someone, but it certainly is the first time I’m so at ease, so content.
Elana quickly turns to face me and scoops a handful of bubbles before blowing them in the air. The bathtub is big enough to comfortably fit four people, so there’s plenty of room for both of us.
“Why did you make your bathtub so huge?” she asks, splashing in the water.
So, I could have threesomes. But that’s not who I am anymore.
“Because it’s a hot tub.” I shrug, and Elana whips her head to me.
“A hot tub! Can you turn it on?” Her eyes are wide with disbelief and excitement.
“The switch is to your left.” I point a finger at the button. “Just push it in.”
She does exactly that, and the bubbles immediately begin to bounce and jiggle above the water.
“This is so wonderful!” Elana squeaks again and splashes over to where I am. “What?” She pauses, scanning my face.
“You were so angry with me, so hurt.” I shake my head. “It’s nice seeing you happy again.”
To my surprise, Elana comes closer, straddling me. Whoa.
“What are you doing?” I narrow my eyes at her with a smile.
“Getting comfortable,” she says sweetly and shifts closer until my hard cock is resting right between her legs.