“Is that what you want?” I ask him. I need to know more now, after experiencing his dominant side. “Do you like to be rough with me? Is that what you’d want all the time?”
I can feel him shift nervously behind me as his body stiffens uncomfortably. He gives me an answer before he even starts speaking, and that hurts. It really hurts. “I do, but I don’t want to hurt you…ever. I’m scared of losing you, Elyse. I’m terrified of hurting you or scaring you, and if me being rough does either of those things, I’ll just learn to deal with it.”
What does deal with it mean?
Is he just not going to be satisfied, or is he going to satisfy himself? Or maybe he’ll find someone else who does like it that way to get him off. Every impossibly bad scenario runs through my mind.
I don’t say anything for a long moment. I think Hero realizes something is wrong because he tips my head back and angles me so he can reach my lips. He kisses me so fiercely, I can’t even remember my own name. When he pulls away, I’m breathless and a goopy mess of nothing.
“I know you’re probably thinking the worst things possible...wondering if I’ll keep you. If I’ll find someone else to satisfy my needs.”
My breath hitches at the very thought. Hero grips me by the chin, forcing me to look into his soft green eyes. His touch makes me shiver, and I feel at home in his arms. If I ever lost him, if he ever told me he didn’t really want me anymore or tossed me away…
I’m not sure what I’d do.
He continues, refusing to let me say a single word. “There’s a difference between the man Damon told you about yesterday and the man holding you right now, the man who gives you pleasure like you’ve never felt before.”
“Yeah, and what is that difference?” I ask nervously, afraid of the answer I might receive.
He smirks, two perfect dimples appearing on his face.
“I’m in love now. In. Fucking. Love. With you. I’d never risk that for some piece of ass. I’d never jump ship because you don’t want to do something. You’re mine, Elyse, until the day you stop breathing, and if you think you can get rid of me that easily, then you’re in for the ride of your life.”
His words calm me, and the possessive look in his eyes proves he isn’t lying. That’s all I need to hear to know Hero wants me and only me.
I kiss him again, knowing he’ll always protect me—always love me.
Chapter Nineteen
Hero
The weeks pass, all seeming to blend into one. Nothing has changed. Elyse is still staying with me and remains by my side day and night.
I’ve even been taking her with me on drops, unable to bring myself to a level where I feel comfortable leaving her alone at the house. And to make matters worse, she has been asking to go back to classes. I don’t want to be a bastard, the asshole who is over protective or possessive as hell, but this is how it needs to be right now.
Until I know she’s absolutely safe, secure, and no one is after her, she won’t be attending classes. I don’t care how much she fights me on it.
“Get dressed, babe. We’ve got to meet someone.” I don’t ever tell her what exactly we are doing, or who we’re meeting. Not because I don’t trust her, but because if I were to ever get caught, she technically wouldn’t be lying to the cops when she said she didn’t know what was going on.
“Okay.” She gets off the couch, without questioning me even a little bit.
I watch her walk into our bedroom and over to the dresser holding most of her clothes. I can’t pull my gaze from her. The way the fabric covers her perfectly sculpted body, those hips I love to dig my fingers into while I’m fucking her, and her curves that give me enough cushion…enough to hold onto.
Fuck, I can feel myself getting hard, and all she’s doing is putting clothes on. Damn, everything she does is sexy to me.
I’m so enamored by her getting dressed, I almost forget to get dressed myself. After quickly pulling on my own clothing, we head out the door. Like the gentleman I am, I hold Elyse’s door open for her and let her get in the car before I get into the driver’s side.
“Where are we going?”
“Meeting a friend at the football field. I just need to give him something. Then maybe we can go out for dinner or something?” We’ve been cooped up in the house the last couple days, maybe a night out is what we need.
“I’d like that.” She gives me the most gorgeous smile, making my heart skip two beats.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the football field. When I pull up to the field, I spot Gunner’s car parked at the far end of the lot.
As I get closer, I see he is not inside. Instead, there’s a girl leaning up against the hood. Strange. It isn’t normal for Gunner to have a girl with him.
I take the spot next to him and cut the engine.
“Just sit tight for a minute. I’ve got to see where he is.”
Getting out of the car, I feel myself getting pissed off. I told him what time to meet me, and I expect him to be here. Everyone knows you don’t make your dealer wait.
The girl sitting on his car straightens. She eyes me nervously, a lot like Elyse did when I first met her.
“Where is Gunner?” I growl, a little harsher than necessary. She flinches at my tone, and I feel a little bad for acting like an ass.
It’s not her fault he’s not here.
“He—He went to the locker room, I-I think. He said he’d be right back,” she tells me with a shaky voice.
The passenger door of my car opens, and Elyse climbs out.
Fucking Christ.
“What are you doing?” she yells at me, like she’s accusing me of a crime, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t you see you are scaring her?”
I inhale a calming breath, but it doesn’t really help, not with Gunner not being here. All I want is to finish up business and take my girl out for dinner, how fucking hard is that?
Elyse stomps across the parking lot and goes to stand next to the girl. She holds her hand out as if she’s offering a hand shake. “Hi, I’m Elyse. Don’t mind him. He can be a little grumpy sometimes, but once you get to know him, he becomes a sweetie.”
“Elyse!” The last thing I need is her making customers think I’m weak. When you’re weak, you get taken advantage of.
The girl visibly relaxes with Elyse’s friendly gesture. In fact, she takes her extended hand and shakes it. “Hi, I’m Lily.” She gives Elyse a soft smile, and I can easily see them becoming friends.
Out the corner of my eye, I see Gunner walking out of the locker rooms. As soon as he sees me, he picks up speed, almost running straight toward us. Jocks…they’re always buying some shit. Today’s pick is molly. I hope like hell he’s not using it on the girl with him tonight. Then again, it’s none of my fucking business. I’m the dealer. Not a guidance counselor.
“I’m sorry, man,” he apologizes once in earshot.
“Don’t ever make me wait again,” I say through my teeth. I don’t want to get violent, especially with Elyse here, but the job means I have to get my hands dirty sometimes. And this might be one of those times. “Elyse, get back in the car,” I order, and by some fucking miracle, she listens to me without question. She gives Lily a small wave as I walk to the trunk of the car and pop it open to get out the package he orders. He slips me a wad of cash without me asking for it, and I hand him what he paid for.
“See you next time.” I get back into the car, glad this is all over with. I hate doing these drops. I hate working for Damon. And more than anything, I hate bringing Elyse out to do bad shit when she’s the purest fucking thing in my life. Gunner gives me a nod as I get back in my car and race out of the parking lot as if I can’t get away from the shit fast enough.
Elyse fumbles with her seatbelt, my reckless driving throwing her all over the car. She’s got a worried look on her face, and I wonder what she thinks of me doing all this shit. She could have someone better—hell, she deserves better. But I’m selfish…too selfish to let her go an
d be with someone else.
“Where are we going?” she questions cautiously.
My grip on the steering wheel tightens, my muscles bunching together. Fuck, why was I given an angel when God knows I’m the fucking devil in disguise? “Wherever you want, baby,” I grit out, refusing to take my shit attitude out on her. I’ve been treading lightly lately, not wanting to set her off.
The day I lost it and took her roughly, I could’ve sworn I’d saw some type of fear in her dazzling blue eyes. After seeing it, I never want to see again. Especially not when she looks at me. Then, during the bath, the way she looked at me and the things she asked me…
Like I’d ever fucking give her up for some whore I could fuck however I want. Yeah, no. Elyse is worth cherishing, worth protecting and making love to. She is what I want, what I always want.
“Can we go to Chips?”
The smile she gives me lessens the tension building deep inside me. I can’t help but smile back at her. It’s a tight smile, but a smile nonetheless.
“I want a strawberry shake, double cheeseburger, and french fries.”
I chuckle. “Wow, that’s a lot of food, baby. Where you putting all that?”
Elyse shrugs. “I don’t know, but if I keep eating the way you’re feeding me, I’ll be gaining weight in no time. I hope you’ll still love me when I’m fat.”
I know Elyse thinks she’s not good enough. I think part of that stems from her family always telling her how worthless she is. And then the things Damon said to her that night at Night Shift didn't help her confidence.
The opposite took place. It broke her down, made her insecure, but fuck, how could she not know how perfect she is?
Silence settles between us, her eyes moving over the scenery as I drive. I take my hand and place it on her knee, squeezing it gently. Her gaze drops down to it, and she places her tiny hand on top of mine.
When we pull into Chips, I order our food and pay. It’s a little drive-in place that has the best handmade shakes in town.
Elyse takes hers and licks the whipped cream off the top. The move is so seductive, my cock hardens at the image before me. Then, her eyes drift closed, and she moans.
Jesus, woman.
“Growing up, my parents never let us have ice cream or cake,” Elyse confesses, her eyes back open as she places a big spoonful of strawberry shake into her mouth.
“Wait, you never had cake and ice cream? For your birthday?” For some reason, this angers me.
She shakes her head, swallowing the food in her mouth before speaking. “Nope. We don’t celebrate birthdays or holidays. We go to church. That was our exploration outside of the home for the week. The women stay in the house, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children.”
“You left the house once a week? What the fuck?” I shake my head in disbelief. “Now I feel bad about not slugging your dad in the face when I had the chance.” I should’ve. I should’ve knocked him right the fuck out.
Elyse giggles, her eyes sparkling, her hair flowing in the wind as a light breeze blows through the rolled down windows. “It’s okay. I got out. I feel bad for the rest of my siblings, though.” She frowns.
“Was it hard leaving them behind?” I ask, unsure why I want to know. Our pasts don’t matter, not really, but knowing where Elyse came from helps me understand her better. She’s so sweet and innocent and gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. But only because she doesn’t know better, and I finally get a glimpse of why.
“A couple of them I miss…” She shoves a fry into her shake, then into her mouth. “But most of them hated me when they found out our parents were letting me go to college. And the only reason I think they let me go was because they knew I’d do it anyway, even if they didn’t want me to. I've always been kind of the troublemaker, did what I wanted and got the belt a couple times.” She pauses briefly.
The idea of someone spanking her, touching her porcelain skin...yeah, it makes me want to kill.
“This way, it made it look more like they were approving even though it’s painfully obvious they weren't.”
That makes me straight up laugh. “You were the troublemaker of the family?”
“Yeah, I know, shocking. But being the youngest has its perks.” She winks.
It’s so adorable, I want to kiss her, but don’t. Instead, I let her continue to eat. “Is that where you went that morning? To see your parents?” I take a bite of my own burger, mainly because I look like a total idiot sitting here watching her eat while I ask a million and one questions.
Elyse nods, her eyes professing how sorry she is…still. Fucking Christ, this girl doesn’t let anything go.
“My mom said she had something to tell me, something she couldn’t tell me over the phone.” She rolls her eyes. “But like always, it was just another stunt to get me to come home. This time, though, she blew it. I don’t plan on talking to either of my parents ever again.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. Honestly, I wouldn't want you to. Trust me, sometimes you’re better off cutting your parents out of your life.” Just thinking about the scumbag of a father I have makes me lose my appetite. He’s not even worth the thinking space inside my head.
“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”
“Nothing gets by you, detective.” I think about changing the subject, so I don’t have to talk about him, but Elyse just shared something about her family and now I feel obligated to do the same. That’s what normal couples do, right? They share things, even stuff they don’t want to talk about with anybody else. “My mom was the sweetest person you could ever meet, but she had a talent for picking the biggest assholes. She married my dad right after high school. He got her pregnant before she even graduated. I think they might have gotten married just because of it. Anyway, he started drinking, cheating, and abusing her when I was just a baby. My mom was scared of leaving him and raising me on her own, so she just let it happen. My grandma told me years later it wasn’t until he put his hand on me that my mom got up and left his ass. Of course, the guys she dated after weren’t much better. Like I said, she had a talent.”
“I’m so sorry. Is your grandma still alive?”
I can tell Elyse feels bad for me, but there isn't any point in it. I don't want her pity. “No. She died a year before my mom did.” Elyse frowns even more, and I hate the look on her face. I want her smiles, always.
“I’m really sorry, Hero.” She places her hand on my knee.
I welcome the warmth of her touch.
“What about your dad? Is he still alive?”
The subject of my father stings and leaves me feeling angry and disappointed. “Unfortunately, yes. I wish the fucker would die, but that'll never happen.” No, god no, why take a piece of shit junkie who’s wasting their life when you can take a caring mother from her son?
Elyse seems a bit wary, her eyes bleeding into mine. “You don't really mean that, do you?”
I swallow down some of the anger I was about to unleash. Her question pisses me right off. “You can't be serious,” I growl.
Elyse’s eyes widen with confusion.
“He abused my mother and me. He's the reason my mother married my now dead stepfather...” I’m seething. My entire night is ruined, and all because of him. “You know, Elyse, you're naive to the world. You believe everyone has some type of good in them. I get that.” I clench my jaw. “But he doesn't deserve an ounce of space in our conversation. He doesn't deserve anything but a bullet in the head.” I let the words hang in the air, my eyes refusing to meet Elyse’s. This is where we are not alike—the part of us that would always remain different. Elyse sees the world as her oyster.
I see it as something that could destroy you because despite what Elyse believes, there are more bad people than good in the world.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I don’t want a relationship with my parents anymore, but I can’t imagine ever wishing they were dead.”
“Let’s just go home and
forget about this conversation, okay?” This was supposed to be a fun date, but it turned into a shitshow as soon as my dad was mentioned.
Way to ruin everything, Dad.
Chapter Twenty
Elyse
“Come here.” Hero’s voice is soft, his green eyes kind, and the way he’s looking at me has my body turning into melted butter.
I walk across the living room slowly, my hips swaying, a sultry smile on my lips. “What if I don’t want to come over there?” I bat my eyes, playing hard to get. I like seeing Hero smile and laugh. It reminds me there is more to him than what he lets the world see, and right now, he’s smiling like he never has before, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
He’s happy. If I could bottle up this moment and save it, I would.
My chest heaves as his pink tongue darts out over his bottom lip, a playful grin pulling at his lips. “Then I guess I’ll have to bring you over here myself.”
I wiggle my eyebrows and make a move toward the kitchen, but I know before I even take a step that I’m not fast enough to get away from him. At six-foot-three, Hero could eat up the distance between us like it’s nothing.
In seconds, he has me in his arms, his lips on mine, his hand tangled in my hair as he drags me back with him in the direction of the couch. I’d let our slight argument from the night before go. There’s no point in fighting with him on something he’s set in his ways about.
“I want you,” he murmurs into my ear, his teeth raking against the sensitive lobe.
I arch into his touch. My panties are already drenched, my need for him all-consuming. I let him make quick work of my clothing while I grasp his pants and t-shirt, undressing him just as hastily.
“Come sit on my lap, straddle me,” he instructs, sitting back on the couch. Taking my hand, he pulls me forward. “I want you to sit on my dick and ride me. You’re in control today. Use me as you please. Take what you want, baby.”
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