Chapter Fifty-One Ella
Chapter Fifty-One
Ella
Sunlight slips through the curtains in soft, golden streaks.
I try to stretch, but warm arms tighten around my waist, anchoring me in place. The steady rhythm of his breath against my shoulder tells me he’s still asleep.
Carefully, I turn in his arms.
He looks devastating first thing in the morning. Dark lashes rest against his cheeks. His lips are slightly parted, and his hair is mussed.
God, I’m a lucky girl.
A slightly sore but thoroughly satisfied one.
I knew I would love the hot tub. We spent hours in it last night beneath a sky crowded with stars, the Milky Way luminous above us. I’ve never seen anything like it. Sharing that moment with Tiero made it unforgettable.
Since our conversation on the beach, he hasn’t mentioned wanting more again.
I’m grateful for that.
It keeps this… lighter. Contained.
Still, as I lie here wrapped in him, I know better.
His hook is firmly lodged. The line already pulled tight.
How am I supposed to leave without sinking?
He shifts beside me, and the sheet slips lower on his hips. The unmistakable tenting beneath it makes a slow smile curve my mouth.
Hmm. Maybe I should be the one waking him up with my mouth for a change.
I trace my fingers over the hard plane of his abdomen, just to see what happens.
Hazel-brown eyes open slowly. Heat replaces sleep in an instant.
We look at each other.
That current between us sparks to life, not explosive, just steady and inevitable. There’s something softer in his gaze this morning. Something unguarded.
I slide closer. His warmth seeps into me, and my pulse answers without hesitation.
How does he do that?
His hand glides up my back, unhurried, claiming familiar territory. His erection presses against my thigh, and desire coils low in my stomach like it never left.
“Good morning,” I whisper.
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he kisses me and shifts to roll me beneath him without breaking contact, his weight settling over me like it belongs there.
Maybe it does.
Time dissolves after that.
When the sheets are tangled and my body is pleasantly boneless, he props himself up on one elbow and studies me.
“Tell me something about you that nobody knows,” Tiero asks with a soft smile as we lie facing each other on his large four-poster bed.
We’ve been talking in between passionate bursts of lovemaking that leave us energized yet deliciously spent. I love that dichotomy.
Trays of food are scattered around us. We nibble on fruit, bread, cheese, and sweet biscuits whenever we need to refuel.
“Nobody?” I clarify.
Tiero nods.
“Hmm, that’s a tough one. I usually tell Rhia everything.” I tap my finger against my chin, pretending to think.
“There has to be something you’ve kept from her,” he says, nudging me.
Heat rushes to my cheeks. Oh my God. Does he know?
But how?
Can he read my mind? No. He’s guessing.
There is one thing I kept from Rhia… only because she would have made a production out of it, and Connor and I agreed we wouldn’t tell a soul. Ever.
So I’m not about to admit to Tiero, or anyone, that I once nearly slept with Rhia’s brother after a few too many drinks.
We kissed and got naked. It was a mistake, and I stopped it at the last minute, which made everything exquisitely awkward. I don’t feel that way about him. But in a moment of weakness and loneliness, I let it go too far.
We talked it out a week later and salvaged our friendship. Still, if I’d told Rhia, I would never have heard the end of it.
After Marco and I broke up, she pushed for Connor and me to try. In many ways, it would have made sense. Connor is one of the best people I know. Genuine. Funny. Incredibly caring. And yes, hot as hell. But I could never see him as anything more than my best friend’s older brother.
“You’re blushing, princess. Tell me,” Tiero murmurs, sliding a finger beneath my chin and lifting my face to his.
Think, Ella. Think.
Another memory surfaces.
“I’ve cheated,” I blurt out.
Tiero’s eyes widen. “On your boyfriend?”
“God, no.” I laugh quickly. “Though I was tempted once. On a Scotland trip. It was just before Marco and I officially parted ways,” I add, not entirely sure why. It’s not something I’m proud of.
“I cheated in a geography test in year seven… and I’ve never told a soul. I was mortified.”
“Ella, Ella, Ella, I didn’t think you had it in you,” Tiero chuckles. “How did you cheat?”
“It was quite elaborate.” I smile as I think back. “In hindsight, I should have spent the time studying. It took me far longer to engineer my deception. And then I felt awful afterward.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Tell me,” he urges, clearly entertained now.
“Well, first of all, I never cheat. But geography really isn’t my strong suit, and I was petrified of failing… which might explain why I still can’t navigate,” I add, half to myself as the realization clicks.
“Anyway, in my mind, this test was everything. Rhia and I had just started secondary school, and the pecking order was still being established. My arch enemy was in my geography class. Portia O’Brian.
” I groan. “God, I loathed that girl. So pretentious. Always acting like she was superior to everyone else. Even thinking about her now makes me want to punch her perfectly contoured face.”
Tiero laughs, delighted. It’s not often I get this riled up, but even now my fingers curl into fists.
“I considered sewing a cheat sheet into my skirt, but that would’ve meant looking down, which could have given me away. So instead, I stitched an extra layer of fabric into my pencil case. I could subtly lift a corner and peek inside. I even sewed the cheat sheet into it so it couldn’t slip out.”
Tiero shakes his head slowly. “You really committed to this. I love it. Go on.”
Encouraged by his enthusiasm, I continue. “I used blue paper that matched the pencil case. It was a birthday gift from Rhia that year. She’d handmade it and written all over the fabric. So when I lowered the secret flap, the cheat sheet blended right in. I was absurdly proud of myself.”
I grin at the memory. “During the test, though, I was sweating bullets. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might give me away.”
“And did it?”
“Nope. I got away with it and aced the test.” I laugh softly. “But I felt horribly guilty afterward. I never told anyone. Not even Rhia. Even though she would have cheered me on.”
“Fascinating,” he says, studying me. “And unexpected.”
I lift my chin. “See? I have some badass in me. Don’t underestimate me.”
“Noted,” he replies, tickling me lightly. “Now… tell me about that time you were tempted to cheat on your loser boyfriend.”
“Ah, but that’s not a secret. Rhia knows about it.”
“And let me guess, she cheered you on?”
“Hmm. I see you’re getting the picture. Of course she did. Doesn’t mean I acted on it, though.”
“So, who was the guy?”
“Why do you want to know? If I asked you about every woman you’ve taken to bed or been tempted by, we’d still be here tomorrow… assuming you could remember them all,” I tease, even though I’m fairly certain it’s true.
Tiero ignores that completely. “I want to know all about you, cuore mio. Everything there is.”
He looks so earnest it tugs at something in my chest. So I give in.
“It was two years ago on our Scotland trip. That’s where Rhia met her boyfriend. I entered a speed stacking competition, and my main competitor was this Scandinavian guy who looked like he’d just stepped out of a Viking saga.”
“Speed stacking?”
“Yeah. Do you know what it is?”
“I do. I just can’t picture you doing it.”
“I’m actually brilliant at it. I won that tournament.”
“You did?” Tiero looks genuinely impressed.
“Yes. And a Highland calf was the prize. Knox was tiny back then. Now he’s fully grown and still has the sweetest temperament. Rhia’s parents have a large property, so he lives there. I visit him whenever I can.”
“You have a Highland bull as a pet?” Tiero asks, half incredulous, half amused.
“I do.” I grin. “See? I’m unique in so many ways.”
“I figured that out the moment I met you.”
He leans in to kiss me, and I melt instantly.
I could do this for hours. Actually, I have. And I still can’t get enough.
He growls softly against my lips. “Woman, you distract me far too easily. You were telling me a story.”
“Huh?” My brain has dissolved, and all he did was kiss me. Unbelievable.
“Viking,” he prompts.
“Oh. Right. Eero was his name. He came second.”
Let’s leave it there. Given Tiero’s jealous streak, that should be enough. But of course, it isn’t.
“And how exactly did Eero tempt you?” he asks, watching me carefully.
“Well…” I stall. Not much happened. Technically. “We flirted during the tournament and celebrated my win afterward. He was easy to talk to. We clicked.
“When Rhia disappeared with Lex, he was a proper gentleman. He walked me back to my hotel and everything,” I say the last bit a little too fast.
I conveniently omit the part where Eero kissed me in a shadowed corner of the pub and at every dark stretch of pavement on the way back.
My body warms at the memory. He could kiss. Not like Tiero. But at the time, he ranked very high on my personal scale. He wanted more. I was dangerously tempted. If it hadn’t been for my period, I’d have done something stupid.
Tiero doesn’t need to know any of this, though.
A blush creeps up my neck, and of course he notices.
“Define everything,” he pushes, eyeing me closely.
I swallow. “As I said, he walked me home. Kissed me goodnight… on the cheek,” I add quickly. “And left. I saw him the next morning when he delivered Knox, but Marco showed up unexpectedly, and that was that. I felt guilty enough just having another man on my mind while I had a boyfriend.”
Over the past two years, I’ve wondered more than once what it would have been like. The way Eero made my skin burn. The way I made him—
“What aren’t you telling me, princess?” Tiero cuts in, eyes narrowing slightly.
Bloody hell. I’m far too transparent.
“Nothing,” I reply sweetly, batting my lashes before I can overthink it. Time to redirect. “What about you? What’s something nobody knows about you?”
Tiero studies me for a moment, as if deciding whether to let me off the hook, then says, “I’ve never loved a woman. Other than my mother, when I was little.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t count.”
He lifts an eyebrow.
“I assumed that already, given you’ve never had a girlfriend. Try again.”
He smiles, and something shifts in his eyes. It looks dangerously close to affection. To something deeper.
Love?
That can’t be right. He just admitted he’s never loved a woman. Though he used past tense. And he said he feels a connection with me…
No. I’m reading too much into it.
“Surely there were women you felt something for?”
“Yes. Lust.” His mouth curves faintly. “But once that’s sated…” He lets the rest trail off into silence, like the women themselves.
“Do you give all your conquests earrings to remember you by?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He breaks into a wide grin. “Are you jealous, princess?”
“Of course not,” I huff.
I absolutely am.
He lunges, pinning me beneath him with a laugh.
“I like it,” he murmurs, kissing me. “But you have nothing to worry about. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt this connection with.
The only one I’ve ever given a gift to… aside from my cock, of course.
That’s a gift in its own right, wouldn’t you say? ”
“Oh.” That is not the answer I expected.
He’s never bought another woman a present?
I go quiet, ignoring the arrogance of his last comment because the rest of it hits harder.
“Why me?” I whisper.
“You, angel, are special.” His fingers twine into a strand of my hair, his gaze steady and intent. “You stir things in me I didn’t know existed.”
My heart stumbles. Heat spreads low and slow through my body, but this time it isn’t only desire.
This feels different.
Dangerous.
He pulls me closer, and words become unnecessary as his mouth finds mine.
Round six for today, here we come.