Chapter 13 Maybe This Time
MAYBE THIS TIME
STELLA
The penthouse feels quieter now, as if the storm outside has sealed us off from the rest of the world.
The door clicks shut behind us, and for a second neither of us moves. The music, the laughter, Bunny’s venom—all of it feels far away. It’s just Eli and me now, still dressed as heroes, breathing the same air.
I know what he wants. And I know I’ve been slow to give it to him, to give in to all these feelings growing between us again.
Tonight could have been chaste. We planned on him taking me back to Boulder after the party.
But now with the storm outside… the storm of desire swirls around us stuck here in the suite together.
I think I know what we both want.
He loosens his cape first, setting it aside, then helps me with mine, sliding it from my shoulders with care, as if it’s something fragile instead of satin. His fingers linger at my collarbone, and my body reacts instantly.
“I’m going to run you a bath,” he whispers, already moving toward the bathroom. “If that’s okay.”
“I’d like that,” I croak, following him.
The sound of water fills the suite. I watch as he lights candles—one after another—until the bathroom glows amber and gold.
“Which do you prefer?” He asks, holding one bottle of bubbles up to his nose and nodding in approval. He holds it out for me to smell, vanilla with a hint of something like jasmine. The next one he brings to my nose is more floral, like a rose garden. The last like fresh linen and lavender.
“The first one.” We say and agree at the same time, chuckling about our similar tastes. Steam curls up as he pours it in, carrying the scent wafting through the air, luxurious and intentional.
“Jerrod never did this for me,” I muse. The thought slips in uninvited, sharp and unwelcome.
Eli glances, catching something in my expression. “Hey.” His voice is gentle, but there’s an edge there too. “Can we not bring him up tonight?”
I swallow and nod.
“It’s bad enough we had to run into Bunny,” he continues. “If it’s okay with you… I’d like the rest of tonight to be a private party for two.”
Something in my chest blooms at that. I step closer, toeing off my heels, letting them fall forgotten onto the tile. Somewhere on the dance floor, I’d lost one of the satin shoe covers.
“Then I guess it’s time to morph out of my hero costume… and back into just little old me.” I take my time undressing for him—not to tease him, though that’s part of it, but because I want to feel every second of being seen by him.
His eyes darken, watching my every move.
The mask slips free, and I toss it to the counter, ready to return to reality, to just me with Eli. I unzip the mini-skirt and push it down my body to the floor; his eyes practically undress me too. With the bodysuit, I slowly, inch by inch, shimmy out of it until it pools at my feet.
I hesitate but then remember—he’s seen me naked before, worshipped me head to toe, but childbirth and time does things to a woman’s body. If he doesn’t like what he sees now… but Eli doesn’t look away, not once, as I slip out of my bra and panties. The air kisses my skin, cool and thrilling.
He eyes me like I’m something sacred, licking his lips, eyes dark, chest heaving.
By the time I step into the tub, it’s full and waiting, bubbles climbing the porcelain sides, candlelight flickering across the water. I lower myself in slowly, the heat wrapping around me, coaxing every bit of tension from my shoulders.
Eli’s bottom lip is caught between his teeth, waiting, just waiting.
“We never bathed or showered together in college,” I begin, resting my arms along the edge of the tub. I look up at him and hold out my hand. “Join me.” Not a question, but a statement.
He doesn’t waste a second. He undresses with none of my ceremony, all strength and purpose. I take him in—every hard-earned muscle, every broad line, sculpted as if he’s carved from stone. So much more than he was when we first met years ago—now the man he was meant to become.
He steps into the tub behind me, settling in carefully, drawing me back against his chest until I’m cradled between his legs. His arms wrap around me, solid and sure. I melt into him like I’ve been waiting to fit with him all along.
This feels so… right. I’d be a fool not to notice everything about him. The way he takes care of me. The way he looks at me. How he makes space for who I am now, not who I used to be.
Something deep inside me stirs, knows this was meant to be. He’s the only man who could ever give what I need. Affection. Understanding.
Love…?
All the things I was never given before with my ex—and don’t miss anymore because I have them with Eli.
I thread our fingers together and admire the size of Eli’s enormous hands eclipsing mine. Maybe we needed the years apart to appreciate each other better. Maybe that’s why every second with him fills me until all I can breathe is him.
We linger here, and the candles flicker low. I let myself believe—that perhaps this time it’s real.
Laughter erupts from within, and I don’t even know why.
“Still a little drunk?” He asks.
“Not from the champagne. I think from you. And this. Just giddy that we’re actually here. This is really happening.”
“Believe it. Need me to pinch you to prove you’re awake?” He mockingly pinches my arm. I laugh more.
“I enjoy being here with you.” I know he does, too, judging by the hard rod poking into my back. Everything inside of me yearns for it, to know what he’d feel like inside of me again.
I turn in his arms, facing him, slowly straddling his lap.
“Well, hi there,” he quips, a corner of his mouth turned up.
“Just needed to get closer to you,” I explain, now sitting with his thick rod between us, twitching against our stomachs.
“Believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m all about you. We’ll go as far as you want, at your pace,” he reassures.
“That’s not fair. The closet was at my pace. And tonight… but what about yours?”
“If it were my pace, baby, I’d have you in bed already and giving you orgasm number two or three.”
“There’s the cocky college boyfriend, at last,” I tease, and reach down between us, familiarizing myself again with his thick cock. I stroke it base to tip. In the water, it feels like velvet, smoother as I go.
“What are you doing?” He groans as my movements gain confidence.
“Pleasing you.”
“But you should come first,” he retorts, growling as my hand picks up the pace.
“Who says? Maybe I enjoy being in control for once.”
He grunts, his hips into it, bucking into my hand. His fingers dig into my hips. “Fuck, baby. You never did this to me before.”
“I’m not that shy girl anymore. I’m all woman now.”
“Yeah, you are. I like that you know what you want.” The way he gazes upon me—like he can’t believe this is really happening and so thankful it is—makes me ache in an entirely new way.
“What I want is you. Come for me, Eli,” I implore, and capture his lips with mine, but not for long.
My motion speeds up. His breathing becomes erratic, swallowing hard, staring deeply into my eyes. I enjoy this, having him at my mercy.
“That’s it. Careful.” He quickly grabs a washcloth from the clean stack next to the tub and holds it over him to catch his release. His head falls back, chest heaving, as waves pass through him, jerking into the cloth. He moans my name, and I watch, completely satisfied with the results.
He tosses the washcloth aside, gasping for air. I chuckle and lay myself fully against him, head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat hum steadily beneath my ear.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” he chuckles, planting a kiss on the top of my head. His fingers play with a lock of my hair.
“Neither was I. It felt good to just go with it.”
“Feel free to do that anytime. But now, it’s your turn.
” He somehow picks me up as he stands, so strong, and carries me out of the tub.
He sets my feet on the bath mat. With a large, plush white towel, he dries every inch of me, wrapping me snugly in it.
Then he dries himself. I admire how his muscles contract, how his body moves, until he tosses his towel aside.
He picks me up over his shoulder and I yelp, laughing more. He lays me out on the bed, and I have just enough time to work out of the towel and shove it away before he’s hovering over me, devouring my lips.
“You didn’t really want me sleeping on the couch tonight, did you?” He asks.
I bite my lip and shake my head, being fully honest with myself. “Not really.”
“Oh, Stella, I want to be with you. Know what it feels like inside of you again.” He sucks at my pulse, then kisses down my neck, my chest, and inhales a nipple.
He teases it to a peak with his tongue until I’m writhing beneath him and then works over to the other, commanding it in the same way.
My body responds, like it knows who it belongs to, a sleeping beauty coming alive after being a sleep so long.
“Yes, Eli, I can’t stand another minute without you.” Desire pools between my legs, and I ache there for him. My hands brush down his abs, counting every muscle, down his V, and—I suck in a breath, playing his heavy balls through my fingers, palming his length. “You’re hard for me again.”
“You got me too excited, but he can wait.” He trails his mouth further down my body, his knee pushing my legs open wider, until his mouth lines up to me.
“Wanna taste you…” Then he descends on me, tongue finding my clit, fingers sliding into me.
I arch my back, grasping for something to hold onto.
One hand finds a pillow, the other threads through his hair, pulling him deeper into me.
“Yes, fuck yes,” the words slip before I could stop them.