Chapter 23 #2
“I’m so sorry,” Ella gushed. “I woke up and got thirsty. I always get dry mouth when I drink and I thought I could get a glass of water without waking you up, but the cabinet was way higher than I remember and I didn’t realize you were sleeping on the couch—”
My eyes zeroed in on her hand, blood dripping from her finger.
“Did you cut yourself?” I interrupted.
She paused, glancing at her finger. Immediately, she stuck in her mouth. “I tried to pick up the first one before I decided to try for another glass.”
“I’ve got Band-Aids in my bathroom.” I nodded toward the hall and said, “C’mon.”
My bathroom wasn’t that big, so there wasn’t a way for both of us to step into it without taking up every inch of the space. Ella didn’t seem to mind being pressed up against me as she shimmied into the bathroom.
“Let me see.” I held out my hand for hers while she shook her head.
“Really, it’s fine.”
“Let me check that there isn’t any glass stuck in there,” I commanded quietly. Her green eyes met mine, holding my gaze. It was painful to know she was just as beautiful as soon as she woke up. That if I were in that bed next to her I would want her just as bad as I had been.
After a moment, she pushed her hand toward me. I had to bend my head low to inspect it. My head was at an awkward angle and Ella bent her knees to try to get a good look, too. “Sorry,” I said. “I can’t really—”
“Here.” She hopped onto the counter and held her finger out to me. “Better?”
Sweat rolled down my back at the idea of standing between her parted thighs.
My last name was strewn across her back and I’d never been a man who cared about something like that.
With past girlfriends, I was gentle, maybe even too passive at times.
But something about Carmella in this light was making me want to take control.
Grab onto her tightly just so I had proof that she was here with me.
I gulped and stepped forward, gingerly holding her finger. I looked at it from each side until I was satisfied there wasn’t any glass.
“What’s the diagnosis, doc? Will I make it?”
The sides of my mouth quirked into a smile. “Inconclusive evidence. I think if we can add a Clifford Band-Aid then you’ll have a better shot.”
She brightened. “Oh, I’m glad Leo still has those.” Then she deflated a bit. “Well, I guess if he had them a month before …”
I tsked, trying to draw her attention away. “Please, let the doctor work.”
“Sorry, sorry, I’ve been known to distract men with my womanly wiles.”
I tried to keep my face impassive as I reached past her to open the mirror cabinet. But as I was reaching for the Band-Aids, I had to step closer or else lose my balance. Then my face was closer to hers, my bicep almost enclosing us.
She looked up at me as I did, her lips parted. Her eyes flickered between my lips and my eyes, flitting to my bicep just once.
“Hi,” she whispered, looking up at me with those big green eyes that I couldn’t resist. They were often my last thought before going to bed.
“Hi,” I whispered back.
“I’m sober, by the way,” she said. “In case you had any ideas.”
I huffed out a laugh, finally pulling the box down. I slipped one from the box and carefully unwrapped it.
Before I could place the Band-Aid on her finger, I parted her thighs and stepped between them. My eyes flickered up to hers. “Just want to make sure I can see it okay.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice raspy.
I wrapped it around her finger, slowly. But even once I finished, I didn’t take a step back. I looked her in the eye and said, “I’ve got a lot of ideas when it comes to you, Carmella.”
Next thing I knew, her hands were fisted in my shirt, yanking my mouth toward her.
Kissing Carmella Sanchez felt like the free fall in a roller coaster. I wanted to throw my hands up and experience every single emotion, but I also wanted to hold on tight, hoping I wouldn’t lose my balance.
Ella’s lips were soft but moved urgently against mine, as if there was a timer that would stop us.
I caught her bottom lip between mine, nibbling quickly before continuing to move my mouth against hers.
I cupped her cheek with one hand, my thumb placing pressure under her jaw so I could tilt her head further up toward me.
My other hand sank into that silky hair that had become the biggest distraction of my day.
I was hot everywhere, desperate to touch her more and more.
My heart hammered against my chest, wondering how I’d gotten this fucking lucky. To get this woman’s attention to stay on me long enough that maybe she thought of kissing me, too.
When her tongue swept against my bottom lip, I clutched her hair tighter in my hand, groaning.
Her mouth parted open with a sigh and my tongue flicked against hers.
With one hand, I grasped Ella’s hips so she was at the edge of the counter, her core flush against my length.
A soft noised escaped her as she involuntarily jerked her hips up.
I kept a steady hold on her, moving us together, when the universe intervened with a quiet “Meow.”
Ella broke away from me with a gasp. My hands were still on her waist as we both looked over at Emily Lickinson.
“Meow,” she repeated impatiently.
Ella and I looked back at each other, both uncertain of what to say. Slowly, my hands fell from her waist and she looked down at her lap, tucking her messy hair behind her ear.
“We should probably feed her,” she said, hopping down from the counter and scooping up the cat. When she bent over, I could see the curve of her ass and the dark blue of her underwear. I looked up and adjusted myself in my pants, blowing out a deep breath.
“I thought you were hiding from me, but you could never, right?” she said, mushing her face against the cat’s. With that, Emily leapt out of her arms and scurried off to whatever hiding spot she loved.
Ella looked after where Emily had run off to for a beat before she turned around, her lips still swollen and hair mussed.