Chapter 66
CHAPTER
SIXTY-SIX
ELODIE
I have a love-hate relationship with the building I’m standing in front of. I love it because it’s part of Coast. I hate it because it’s part of Coast. I think most of the reason is that he’s not here. He’s still in Vegas, and I wish he were back already.
The clubhouse.
“You ready to tackle this place?” Alex asks.
“Not really.”
He snorts. “Let’s clean up some cum stains. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
And those words make me laugh because he is not wrong there. I walk around to the back of my car, pop the trunk, and both of us gather our shit and carry it into the quiet clubhouse.
I prefer coming here fairly early, not only because it takes a full day to clean but also because of that woman. Velvet… or whatever the fuck her name is. She loves to corner me and make me feel like I’m the smallest woman in the world.
I’m not someone who enjoys confrontation. I don’t like to be around people who do. And this girl does, or maybe she just wants Coast for herself that badly. If he wanted her, he could have her, and I’m sure he already has plenty of times, and yet, he doesn’t want to keep her, so there is that.
But also, I’m not going to fight over a man or anyone. I’ve seen my mom do it so much over the years that it’s not anything I want to be part of.
Alex lifts his hand to me as he walks toward the back of the bedroom area, and I move to start in the kitchen. I’ll do the bar next, then the bathrooms. It’s a good routine we have now, and it doesn’t take nearly as long as it did for the first deep clean. At this point, we’re maintaining.
I’m moving through the job. The kitchen doesn’t take too long, and I’m mopping the floor to finish up before I turn around to see her standing in the doorway. I don’t know how long she’s been there, but I brace because I know she’s going to come at me with some bullshit.
“What do you want?” I ask with a heavy sigh.
She tilts her head to the side, pressing her lips together and making a kissing-type face. I almost roll my eyes, but I want this done, and getting into any kind of argument with this woman would be counterproductive.
“You know they went to Vegas, right?” she asks, her voice coming out smooth, almost as if she’s purring.
Closing my eyes slowly, I try to gather my patience, knowing that with this woman, it’s already freaking gone.
Left the building, never to be returned again.
So instead of responding to her, I open my eyes, arch a brow, and wait for her to continue with whatever bullshit she’s about to throw my way.
“They went to some high-dollar strip club. I doubt those girls only strip, though. Probably had themselves some serious fun all night long, if I had to guess.”
She’s pleased as punch, standing in front of me, dropping her bombshell.
I blink, giving her zero reaction even though on the inside, I’m already tearing up and ready to bawl like a baby.
What do you mean, he went to Vegas for a strip club when he said it was for the club, for the job, for the event center thing? What in the hell is going on?
I don’t say any of that, though, because I would never give this woman the satisfaction.
I open my mouth to tell her to kick rocks, to eat shit, to go fuck someone and leave me alone.
But when I start to talk, a deeper, richer, sexier voice speaks, and my eyes widen as I flick my gaze past her shoulder and in the direction of said sexy voice.
“Velvet, the ice you’re on is so thin that I can see through it, and it doesn’t look pretty on the other side for you.”
Her spine straightens, but I can’t be bothered to give much of a fuck about her, not when he’s standing just a few feet away and looks absolutely freaking amazing. Velvet spins around and takes a step toward him, then another.
My breath hitches when she lifts her hand to touch the center of his chest. My jaw clenches at the sight, and I am ready to go full-on crazy attack mode, but then I take a few calming breaths because I just swore I wouldn’t do that. She’s baiting me. I know she is.
“I’m just telling her like it is. If she’s going to be an old lady, shouldn’t she know exactly what she’s getting into?”
That bitch.
I start to say that to her. Because seriously, that bitch. But I don’t get the chance. Coast takes care of it for me. He wraps his fingers around her wrist and tugs her hand away from him.
“She knows what she fucking needs to know, and considering you’re a whore, you don’t actually know fucking shit about it.”
She gasps, and I press my lips together in a tight line. I don’t necessarily love his words, but he’s getting his point across, and maybe that’s what this woman needs, because nothing else has worked so far.
“I’ve been in this club since I was sixteen years old, Wrath,” she grinds out.
“Yeah?” he asks. “As a whore. You spread your legs and open your mouth, babe. You get the respect you deserve for that station. What you don’t get is the respect of an old lady.”
“You’re an asshole,” she snaps.
“Got that. Now get fucking gone.”
Without another word, he walks past her, straight to me, and he doesn’t stop until he’s so close that I can feel the heat from his body. Coast cups my cheeks, and without saying another word, his mouth slams down against mine in a hard yet chaste kiss.
When he lifts his head, he doesn’t say anything. He rests his forehead against mine, closing his eyes before he lets out a heavy breath. I expect him to speak, but he doesn’t.
Instead, he grips the waistband of my shorts and pushes them down. I don’t know what I expected from this moment, but I am surprised that he’s taking my clothes off. I should care that I’ve been cleaning. I should care that anyone can walk in here. I should care, but I don’t.
I wiggle out of my shorts, and he reaches down, grips the backs of my thighs, and picks me up, hitching me so that I can wrap my legs around his waist. He walks me over to the table and plops me down on it.
I start to protest because this is where people eat, but then I remember where I am and that I can clean it up in about two seconds, so I let the protest die on my tongue.
When he dips his chin, I feel his lips touch mine, and then his tongue slides inside me. It’s a contrast to the kiss of just a few moments ago, and I love both equally, but this one feels like love.
His finger slips between us, gliding through my folds and then circling my clit before he dips it inside me. A whimper escapes my lips when he curls it inside me, his thumb pressing against my clit.
It’s not enough, not even in the slightest, and thankfully, he realizes my need because he breaks the kiss to nibble on my bottom lip before he shifts his head back slightly. His eyes search mine.
Reaching for his jeans, I unbuckle his belt, boldly unbutton and unzip his jeans before I reach into his underwear and wrap my fingers around his length. He groans, his eyes sliding closed.
“Please,” I whimper. “I need you, Coast.”
“Yeah,” he grunts as he shifts his hips back slightly, my hand falling from his length.
Then I hear the fabric of his jeans rustle, his finger and thumb still working me. I grab ahold of his biceps for stability, and then his finger and thumb disappear right before he slams his length deep inside, filling me to the hilt.
I cry out, my head falling back as I hold on to him. The only thing gentle about this was that kiss, because Coast isn’t going gently right now. He is fucking me. It’s hard and fast, and it is perfect. Absolutely perfect.
My body climbs higher and higher, inching toward the edge, and I’m about to tumble over when he slows down.
I open my eyes and lift my head, my gaze finding his.
I open my mouth to protest the soft moment, because I am so close and don’t want him to stop anything he’s doing, but when he looks into my eyes, my entire body turns to mush just at the sight of him.
“I love you, Elodie,” he murmurs. “Fell for you the moment you pulled up in your car and I watched you walk into this clubhouse, clearly scared shitless but brave as fuck.”
I want to tell him that I was stupid as fuck to walk in here like that, but judging by the way he’s looking at me, I know that he wouldn’t appreciate it, so I don’t say anything. But then the realization hits me that he’s just told me he loves me.
“You love me?” I ask in a whisper.
He hums. “Down to the fucking marrow of my bones, baby. Never felt this way before in my whole goddamn life.”
I open my mouth to tell him that I love him, too, but he doesn’t give me the chance. He’s finished talking. He shifts his face forward, touches his mouth to mine, fills me with his tongue, and then fucks me… expertly.
Holding on to him, I’m back at the edge and ready to tumble over. Ready to come. Ready to spend the rest of my life with this man. This man who touches me as if he owns me, and I let him. I’ll always let him, because I love him, too.