Nothing in the world was sweeter or more exhilarating than making love to Elise.
Placing first in a swim meet… besting an opponent on the wrestling mat… building a company from scratch. They all paled in comparison.
Being found worthy enough to taste her, to enter her, to make her come? Better than anything.
And the way she’d looked at me? As if I was her yesterday, her today, and her tomorrow? God, if she could trust me with her heart, I’d guard it until my last breath.
Elise stirred beneath me, her lashes batting as her gaze focused on me. Before, in my bedroom, this was right about the time she’d grown nervous and shy. And I wanted her to stay loose-limbed and at ease with me.
“I’ve never been happier than I am right now,” I vowed.
I watched her bite her bottom lip, catching a smile before it could spread. She shook her head. “Me either.” She blinked once. Twice.
I searched her face. “You okay, baby?”
Silently, she nodded. But then her arms, which were resting along my shoulders, drew in, and for the second time in one night, I watched Elise cross them over her chest.
Disappointment hit me, and I hoped it didn’t show in my face. If earning her trust took years, I’d be patient.
“What can I do,” I asked gently, “to make you feel better?”
She briskly rubbed her hands over her upper arms. “Take me inside,” she said, her chin trembling. “I’m freezing.”
Shit.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry.” I was an idiot. She wasn’t trying to hide from me. She was cold. Elise was always cold. Naked, wet, and lying still after lovemaking, even I felt the chill.
I reached for the edge of the towel only to find it trapped under my legs. I lifted myself off Elise to free it, but as soon as I did, she gasped.
“F-fuck!” she cursed, her teeth clicking together as she shivered. “You were the one th-thing keeping m-me warm.”
I quickly wrapped the towel around her and helped her to her feet, fighting my grin.
“D-don’t laugh,” she warned.
Of course, I laughed then, but I did it tucking her against me. “C’mon. I’ll warm you up.”
The shower took only a second to heat, but by then, Elise was covered in gooseflesh, her lips, normally a luscious pink, now colorless and trembling.
“Get in.” I helped her over the side of the tub and into the hot stream. Her shoulders, which had drawn up under her ears, instantly drooped.
Wearing a grateful look, she breathed out a long exhale. Then she tilted her chin to the left. “You coming too?”
“In just a sec,” I said, and then I drew the curtain closed.
“Mmm… this feels amazing.”
I heard her moan as I walked away. The sound nearly had me turning back to climb in with her, but I wanted to make sure she had towels and clothes ready when she stepped out.
In my closet, I found her a pair of drawstring shorts and one of my Green Wave sweatshirts. I rubbed the fabric inside each between my thumb and forefinger. They were soft enough to go against her bare skin. If I had my way, she’d wear nothing so I could touch her for the rest of the night. For the rest of our lives, if I were telling the truth. But I wanted Elise to be warm and comfortable.
I brought the clothes back to the bathroom and set them on the vanity. When I pulled back the shower curtain to join her, I discovered Elise listing against the long wall, eyes closed. The stream pounded against her back, which was now turning pink under the spray. She looked exhausted.
Biting down on a smile, I joined her.
“Mmm… I’ll move in a minute,” she murmured without bothering to open her eyes.
I approached, lifted both of her arms, and set them on my shoulders, taking her delicious weight against me.
She immediately snuggled in, resting her forehead on my chest, and I chuckled at the sight of her. The feel of her.
God in heaven, thank you for this.
I angled the spray lower on her back and reached for the shampoo. When I squirted a shot of it into my palm and started working it through her hair, Elise raised her head and stared up at me, drowsy-eyed.
“You washing my hair?”
I nodded, grinning, and kissed her forehead. I gently scrubbed the shampoo into a lather, massaging her scalp. A throaty, faintly erotic moan left her. I could have taken her again, there in the shower. Elise seemed to keep me in a state of near-constant arousal. But I’d taken enough for one night. What I really wanted to do now was give. Give her warmth. Comfort. Love.
“That feel good?” I teased, moving my sudsy fingers down to the base of her skull.
“Mmm,” she murmured, melting deeper against me. “You have no idea.”
Chuckling again, I closed my arms around her, my fingers continuing to caress her.
“So good,” she sighed. And then I felt her arms slip from my shoulders. “Here. Let me show you.”
Elise grabbed the shampoo bottle, clicked open the top, and poured some into her palm. Rubbing her hands together, she looked up at me with a sleepy, satisfied smile. My heart turned over in my chest.
I wanted her to look at me like this every day. Every night. For the rest of my life.
She brought her hands to my head. The moment I felt her fingers move against my scalp, her nails gently scratching through my hair, I unraveled. My muscles. My bones. My defenses.
I leaned us against the shower wall, and she giggled at my obvious enjoyment.
“See?” she asked, scrubbing.
I could only answer with a helpless moan as goosebumps rained down my back, my arms. I’d never felt this. I couldn’t remember anyone washing my hair like this. Barbers and stylists didn’t count. I paid them.
Elise was doing it because she wanted to. She wanted to show me how good it felt.
And it felt incredible. The way she was touching me — with tenderness, with love — it twisted something deep inside me. Like some kind of screw or vice. But instead of tightening it. Elise’s touch threatened to strip it, wrest it wide open.
I caught the feeling in my throat, suddenly holding back a sob. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to hers, catching my control by the barest thread as steam fogged the air and water fell over us.
My hands had ceased moving through her hair, and I just held her against me.
A full minute passed before I dared test my voice, but I wanted her to know what it was like to be with her. What it was like to finally have this. “I’ve never felt this way.”
At first, I wasn’t sure she heard me over the rushing water, but then her hands left my hair, and she tucked her arms under mine, squeezing me tight. Elise tilted her head so that her lips brushed my right ear.
“I’ve never felt this way either,” she whispered.
I don’t know if she understood exactly what I meant, that I’d never had what she was giving me. And that having it now threatened to undo me. But I didn’t think I could explain without embarrassing us both. So, I just held her as tight as she held me. Tighter.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood there clasped together like that. Maybe one minute. Maybe ten. But when Elise lifted her head from my chest and scanned my expression, I had mastered myself again. The watchfulness in her gaze told me she hadn’t missed anything about the moment we’d just shared, including its passing.
She arched a brow at me. “I don’t suppose you have any conditioner.”
I grinned and nodded toward the bottle on the porcelain shelf. “It’s two-in-one.”
“Bah,” Elise scoffed, rolling her eyes. “There’s no such thing.”
I wrinkled my forehead at her. “It says so on the label.”
“They lie.”
I couldn’t help my laugh. “What are you talking about?”
She gave me a pitying glance. “That may work on boy hair — or maybe even short, girl hair if the girl in question has perfectly manageable, cooperative locks, but for the rest of us? No.”
I loved that she could make me laugh at just about anything. Anytime. “Okay, I get it. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the store, and I’ll get you some conditioner.”
Elise leaned back into the spray and rinsed the remaining suds from her hair. “How about we go by my apartment instead, and I can pick up my conditioner and some clothes.”
A thrill shot through me. This meant she intended to stay the whole weekend for real. “Sure,” I agreed.
“And a bikini.”
Now it was my turn to scoff. “You don’t need one of those.” Elise’s laughter echoed off the bath tile.
“You’re funny.” She stepped away from the stream and wrung water from her hair. “I’m going to get out and dry off.”
I ducked under the shower head and rinsed. “Right behind you.”
A minute later when I shut off the water and pushed aside the shower curtain, I found Elise standing at the vanity. She was wrapped in one of my white towels, braiding her dark hair over her shoulder. The towel dipped low, revealing her ivory back and the sensual curve of her spine. The mirror reflected her serene face, eyes cast down to the work of her fingers.
One look redefined beauty.
I didn’t want to move. I didn’t dare breathe. I just stood there, letting the image brand my mind so I’d always have it.
“Staring is rude,” Elise said, her eyes never lifting from the braid, but I could see the upturned corners of her mouth.
I reached for my towel. “What about admiring?”
A flush of pink met her cheeks, but her smile grew. She turned to look over her shoulder at me, her color deepening.
“I have a hair tie in my purse in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?” She ducked her chin shyly. “I don’t want to run into Ava.”
I wrapped the towel around my waist. “Of course, but Ava’s probably sound asleep.” I crossed the bathroom and touched the pile of clothes on the counter. “These are for you.”
“Thanks.”
I leaned in and kissed her on the nose before padding out of the bathroom. The living room was dark, but the light over the oven was enough for me to find her purse. When I picked it up, I glanced down the hall and frowned. Ava’s bedroom light was on.
I crept down the hall and put my ear to the door but heard nothing. Back in New Orleans, my first instinct would have been to try the knob. I was tempted to do that now, but I wouldn’t. Ava could be reading, or maybe she fell asleep with the light on. Or she’d awoken early — it was after four now — and she was sitting in meditation. I had to respect her privacy and give her the benefit of the doubt. No matter what, I reminded myself, Ava’s life was in her control, not mine.
When I returned to the bedroom, I found Elise sitting up in bed, my Green Wave sweatshirt swallowing her and the covers drawn up to her waist. If the sight of her wrapped in a towel and braiding her hair had been the definition of beauty, this was the epitome of cuteness.
“You’re adorable.”
She gave me a sheepish grin, accepting her purse from me. “I’m cold again.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s something I can fix.”
I dressed quickly, climbed into bed, switched off the lamp, and took Elise in my arms. She settled against me with a sigh. I knew I’d probably wake up aching for her again, but her relaxed body in my embrace and the pleasure we’d taken in the wee hours left me heavy-limbed and content. And sleep took us both.
“We should have breakfast at the cafe.”
I’d woken up after nine — hours late for me — but so worth it to open my eyes on a sun-drenched room with Elise curled against me.
She now stood on the other side of the bed, dressing in last night’s clothes. Well, last night’s clothes minus her undies. I’d have to fish those from the bottom of the pool sometime today. Along with my shirt. The thought had me grinning.
Elise poked her head out of the neck of her coral T-shirt, her eyes wide. “Mama’s cafe?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, she’d love it.”
She spluttered a nervous laugh. “Oh, hell no.”
“Why not?”
She batted her eyelashes, her face turning a rather pretty shade of scarlet. “Because she’d know.”
“What?” A crack of laughter left me.
“She’d take one look at me, and she’d know.”
I laughed harder because I saw she was right. Elise couldn’t even think about the two of us meeting her mom without blushing like a Ruston peach.
I nodded. “Yeah, she would,” I conceded. “But would that be so bad?” I was ready for the world to know. I’d already thought about calling Louis. I’d never confessed my feelings for Elise to him before, but he’d get no end of pleasure out of teasing me. He’d been calling me The Modern-Day Monk for a few years now.
“Bad?” Elise echoed, ducking her chin and lifting her brows. “It’ll be a sideshow. She’ll dance. She’ll sing. She’ll climb onto the roof and jump for joy!”
I resisted the urge to point out this this was pretty close to what I wanted to do.
Elise shook her head, still picturing Flora’s inevitable hysterics. “We just can’t do it in public. I’d die of embarrassment… Oh, shit.” Elise froze, her wide eyes seeking mine.
“What?”
I watched her swallow. “She’s making Sunday dinner tomorrow.” Her words came fast, frantic. “I can’t face her alone. E-even without you, she’ll know something’s up the moment she sees me. You have to come with me. We can tell her together.”
“Baby, of c—”
“What are we going to tell her?” Elise’s hands were knotted at her middle, her knuckles white.
That wouldn’t do. I cleared the foot of the bed and pulled her into my arms. “Whatever you want to tell her,” I soothed.
She braced her forearms against me so she could peer up at my face. “Yeah, but… what are we doing? I mean… what are we?”
Understanding dawned, and I brought a hand to her cheek, running my thumb over her soft skin. What we were had happened so fast. And it had taken forever. Elise’s uncertainty was understandable, but I wanted to be absolutely clear.
“I don’t care what you tell Flora, as long as you know we’re together. We’re exclusive. And we’re going to stay that way.” I cocked a brow at her and gave her a wry smile. “If that’s okay with you.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, and her body softened in my arms. “Y-yes… that’s okay with me,” she stammered. Her eyes, warm pools of honey, seemed to drink me in, so, of course, I had to taste her. I lowered my head and captured her lips just as they shaped into a smile.
I kissed her, my tongue entering her mouth with soft, teasing strokes. She angled her head back, welcoming me. And just as I wondered if breakfast could wait another couple of hours, my stomach gave a loud, demanding growl.
Elise broke away, smothering a laugh against the back of her hand.
“So,” I said, chagrined, “if the cafe is out, where should we go for breakfast?”
Still smiling, Elise gave me a consoling pat on the cheek. “You’re hungry, so we should probably pick something close,” she teased. “Rusted Rooster is just around the corner.”
I grinned. “I’m guessing they have eggs.”
She nodded. “And biscuits. And bacon. And coffee.”
My stomach growled again.
Elise clamped her lips together, her eyes shining.
I ignored her amusement. “Would you mind if Ava joined us?”
“Not at all.” She gave a decisive shake of her head.
I arched a brow at her. “You won’t be embarrassed or uncomfortable?”
Elise rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, I’ll be embarrassed,” she said with a head bob. “But I won’t be uncomfortable. Not with Ava.”
Her answer soothed me in places I didn’t know needed soothing. Ava was sure to make a fuss about us. Elise had to know this. And even though the thought of Flora’s reaction had sent her into a tailspin, she’d accept whatev
er Ava gave us. It was unspoken, but I sensed she accepted my need to keep my sister close. And her understanding touched me.
Wordlessly, I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
I left my room in search of my sister, but I found her bedroom door closed, just like it had been the night before. I frowned because I could tell in the dim hallway that her light still burned. I knocked on the door.
“Ava?”
Silence was my only answer. I knocked again, waiting what I thought was a reasonable, respectful amount of time before opening it. When I did, I found everything in order, the room tidy and her bed made.
Frowning, I returned to the kitchen, aiming to check the garage for her car. But on the way there, I saw slip of notepad paper on the dining table.
Morning Cole (and Elise!),
Going to a yoga class, then a meeting. See you this afternoon.
Xoxo,
Ava
“Everything okay?”
I looked up from the note to find Elise dressed and ready to go, wearing a concerned frown. I glanced back at my sister’s words.
“Everything’s fine,” I said. Then I admitted the truth. “I just have some work to do.”
“Work?” Elise’s frown turned curious.
“I mean I need to learn how to live with a sister who’s in recovery instead of one who’s in the grips of addiction.” I shook my head. “I keep waiting for her to screw up again, when what I really should do is have faith that this time she won’t.”
Elise moved closer until she stood right in front of me. She placed a hand on my elbow. “It sounds like she’s doing everything right.”
I nodded. “She is. I’m the one who’s still stuck in the past.” The concern returned to her eyes. Her hand clasped around mine. I squeezed back. “My life has revolved around Ava and her problems for so long I don’t know anything else.”
I watched her swallow. “Don’t expect to change overnight.” She spoke gently, but her words were measured. “This is who you are. It’s who you’ve always been.”
I heard a hint of sadness in her tone, and I saw it there reflected in her eyes. Sadness was not where I wanted the morning to go. I shook my head roughly, ready to shed the heaviness.
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