As Elijah leaned in for another kiss, Lucy pushed him onto his back as she climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. She took the tip of his cock and rubbed it against her entrance. It was her turn to be the tease. She let out a long deep moan as she lowered herself slowly on top of his thick shaft. She stopped when just the tip of his penis was inside of her. She watched as his face contorted with pleasure and his blue eyes went dark with anticipation.
“What do you have in mind?” he asked. His voice was gruff and hoarse with desire.
“I’m going to take you, Elijah Redford,” Lucy announced in a deep gravelly voice that surprised even herself. She slowly let another inch of him slide inside of her. She felt his cock twitch underneath her, straining and yearning for more.
He wanted to pound her. He grabbed her roughly by the hips with his hands and with one quick thrust, he shoved his cock up, deep inside her quivering pussy. But before he could do it again, she pulled away.
Instead of fucking him hard like she knew he wanted to, she made him wait. She took his swollen erection in her hand and teased it, stroking slowly and gently until he was fully primed and on the brink of orgasm before she climbed back on top of him again. He gasped and groaned as she gently but firmly guided him inside of her walls again. She felt like a goddess as she looked down at the gorgeous man between her thighs.
He reached up to caress her breasts, He pinched and pulled her nipples as she rode him, moving up and down on top of his thickness. She slowly clenched her pussy around him, giving him long strokes that made him moan and writhe beneath her.
It didn’t take them long to find the perfect rhythm. Lucy closed her eyes, threw her head back and enjoyed the ride. The power rush alone was almost enough to bring her to full orgasm.
When the waves of pleasure became so intense that it felt like the world was spinning around her, Elijah gripped her thighs and dug his fingertips into her flesh. She looked down at him and leaned her body over the length of his, while his hard cock was still inside of her. He immediately wrapped both arms around her waist, and Lucy ground against him, giving small but strong, satisfying thrusts.
As she moved, Lucy kissed Elijah’s neck, sucking a love bite into the sensitive skin. He gasped and moaned her name. The sound of her name on his lips in such an electric, all-consuming moment sent a rush of power and delight down the whole length of her body. Lucy picked up the rhythm and soon waves of pleasure came crashing down around them both as they climaxed in unison.
Once the aftershocks subsided, Lucy pulled back slowly and gently disentangled herself and rolled over onto her back. They lay there next to each other in silence, their bodies covered in sweat. Elijah reached over and took her hand in his, pulling it to his lips for a gentle kiss. Lucy was still feeling dazed when she slowly turned her head to look at him.
“Wow!” he said as he turned to face her. He was still slightly out of breath and had a blissed-out smile plastered across his face.
“Yeah, wow!”
Elijah let go of her hand and pushed his fingers through his hair. “It certainly felt like you missed me.”
“Shut up. I think you got it backwards. You missed me—not the other way around.”
“You’re right, I did.” A serious look suddenly clouded his handsome features.
“What the hell, Elijah. I wasn’t expecting to ever see hear from you again, let alone to find you at my door.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He grinned at her sheepishly.
Lucy sat up and stretched her arms over her head, working out a few kinks in her back and neck. “I’ll make some coffee and then we can talk. Sound good?”
He nodded. “That sounds great, thanks.”
Lucy picked up her robe from the floor and covered herself with it. She tied the belt around her waist as she padded barefoot out of the bedroom. She was grateful that Elijah stayed behind in bed so she could have a few precious moments to herself to switch gears from the blissful afterglow of sex to a more lucid place, where she could make sense of things.
While the coffee was brewing, she busied herself readying a couple of mugs and spoons. Going through the motions of domesticity helped soothe her mind.
When Elijah eventually emerged from the bedroom, he was wearing his jeans and T-shirt, but not his socks or shoes. There was something about having Elijah Redford barefoot in her kitchen that filled Lucy with an unexpected kind of warmth and happiness that made her think this might actually be the beginning of something.
He sat at the small table by the window and watched as Lucy moved around the kitchenette. “Your apartment is cozy,” he said.
“Thanks.” The rich aroma of freshly brewed dark roast coffee soon filled the room. Lucy was still in a haze as she distractedly retrieved the almond milk from the fridge and brown sugar from a cupboard. Moments later, she was sitting across from Elijah, nursing a cup of steaming dark liquid.
“So,” she said. “Let’s talk.”
* * *
“I know what you think,” Elijah said after he took a long sip of coffee. He took it with lots of milk and three spoonfuls of sugar. To Lucy, it was a wonder that he could taste the coffee at all.
“I doubt that,” Lucy said as she took a sip of her much darker brew. “Hell, I don’t even know what I’m thinking half the time.”
“I think I know more than you give me credit for,” Elijah said as his blue eyes stared intently at her.
“I had no idea what to think after you went MIA on me. I had a few theories, but…” She let the words hang in the air and shrugged.
He looked at her curiously. “Such as…?”
“At first I thought you might be hurt or offended that I rejected you that last time we saw each other. But then I thought maybe you just decided to just cut me off and leave it at that.”
“I won’t lie. I wanted to and tried to forget you.”
Lucy did her best to ignore the pang in her stomach. Even though he was here, in her kitchen, drinking coffee, knowing that he actually thought he could cut her out of his life really stung.
“But not for the reason you probably imagine,” he said. “I mean, yes, your rejection hurt my ego a little, but that wasn’t the point.”
“Then what was the point?”
Elijah took a deep breath. “I realized I’m really into you, Lucy Smith. And I mean, really into you. On any and every possible level.”
She blinked. Her heart began to beat faster in her chest. He took yet another breath and stared down into his coffee cup like it might contain all the answers to all the questions he ever wanted to know. It felt like an eternity had passed when he finally looked up. His blue eyes burned so intense that Lucy almost had to look away.
“I’m saying I realized that I was an idiot and that I’ve been falling for you ever since the moment we met.” He shrugged helplessly. “God knows I tried to stop it.”
Lucy stared at him. She was completely speechless. As it turned out, it was a good thing that she couldn’t find her voice, because Elijah wasn’t done talking.
“After you rejected me that night, I tried to get you out of my mind. But I couldn’t. No matter what I did or where I was, you were always in my thoughts and there was nothing I could do to prevent that. So when your e-mail came…” He trailed off and smiled sheepishly. “I guess you can figure out what happened next.”
Was he serious? Lucy blinked at him again. “No, actually,” she said. “I really can’t.”
“What don’t you understand?”
Lucy shook her head at him incredulously. “If you really felt that way, then why did you disappear and why didn’t you respond to my email?”
“I didn’t respond because of how strong my feelings were for you. It scared the hell out of me.” Elijah admitted. There was a small, self-deprecating smile on his face as he looked away and took another hearty sip of coffee. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So, eventually, I decided to give in to it.”
“And that’s how
you ended up here?”
“No.” Elijah grinned. “That’s when I sought out all the women I had started something with, including all the one-night stands that I had waiting for me in every major American city.”
Lucy could feel her body stiffen as jealousy bubbled up inside of her. She glared at him. “You better be going somewhere with this, Elijah,” she said impatiently. “I really don’t need to hear about how you have a woman in every port.”
He chuckled, amused by her emotion. “Don’t worry, I cut them all loose.”
“What?”
“I talked to each of them and I sorted it all out. I never gave any of them false hope, but still I felt it was the right thing to do—to tell them that my days of hooking up were over.”
He looked at Lucy hopefully. “You wrote in your e-mail that you don’t know what you want. But that’s alright because I know what I want. I want you and I’ll wait until you know you want me back.” He looked straight at her.
Lucy stared back at him in stunned silence. She tried to wrap her head around everything that she had just heard. “You want me?” she finally said. She hated the tinny sound of hope and insecurity that crept into her voice.
Elijah smiled softly. He reached out and covered her hand with his. “Yes,” he said. “I want you.”
Lucy turned her hand, palm up and entwined her fingers with Elijah’s. She did so almost without thinking when she realized then that her body was giving her the answer that her head had been unable to comprehend. She finally knew what she wanted and that was Elijah.
“I want you too,” she said softly. Just speaking the words felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders, almost as if a chain had snapped and set her free.
Elijah’s eyes lit up as he beamed at her. God, he was gorgeous! He leaned over the table, careful not to knock the coffee over and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her in for a tender, slow and patient kiss.
* * *
Elijah spent the night at her place but they didn’t have sex again. They just talked, snuggled up in front of the television together and watched old movies. They fell asleep in each other’s arms with Toby pressed between them. Elijah didn’t seem to mind having Toby there—in fact, he seemed almost as enamored with the pup as Lucy was.
The next morning, they went running with Toby in tow and on their way back, they stopped for breakfast. They chose a table with a large umbrella over it on the patio. In between looking for handouts and free pets from adoring strangers, Toby napped peacefully at their feet while they talked about anything and everything under the sun.
“So what’s next on your schedule?” Lucy asked as she used her fork and knife to cut into her eggs benedict.
Elijah shrugged. He dove into his omelet with vigor and said thoughtfully, “I think I’m going to take some time off.”
Lucy looked up at him, surprised by his answer. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve just been in overdrive for such a long time. I think I’ve forgotten what it’s like to slow down.”
“You can do that? You can just not work when you want to?”
“It’s one of the benefits of being my own boss.” He grinned at her. “I can choose my own schedule. I’m finishing up with the summer convention circuit, so now is as good a time as any to take a break, especially before I delve into the new program I’ve been working on.”
Lucy perked up instantly. “New program?”
He laughed. “Easy there, fitness journalist.”
“Oh come on,” Lucy pouted. “You’ve got to fill me in!”
He pretended to think it over, then leaned in and kissed her. “Well, for you, anything. Off the record, okay?”
Lucy winked. “Of course.”
He went on to tell her about the new fitness and nutrition program he was developing for people suffering from heart conditions. The idea had come to him after his mother had a scary episode a few months back. The doctor recommended a few exercises but they realized that there was nothing out there specific enough to her situation. So Elijah designed a custom diet and exercise program for his mother. Seeing how his mother was thriving on the custom plan, he then decided to expand and perfect what he had come up with and make it available to the masses.
Lucy listened, enraptured as she always was by the passion with which he talked about his work.
“So what do you think?” he asked once he was done.
“I think it’s brilliant,” she admitted. “Seriously. You’re going to help so many people with this one.”
“I hope so,” he said softly.
Lucy smiled, bursting with pride and admiration.
“So…” he began after a few moments of companionable silence. “What’s next for us?”
“I don’t know. A nap, maybe?” Lucy laughed.
“No really, are we going to give us a shot?” Elijah stared at her again with those piercing eyes.
“Yes, of course.” she said, surprising herself with how quickly the answer came to her.
Elijah seemed relieved. He leaned across the table and captured her mouth in a long kiss. When they finally emerged for air, Lucy felt like she was walking on sunshine.
* * *
Lucy and Elijah were inseparable. They spent most of their free time together. And just when they didn’t think it was possible to be more in love with each other, their relationship would evolve and become richer and deeper.
Lucy and Michael, however, barely saw each other anymore. Lucy’s career was taking off at Clean magazine and so was her love life with Elijah. Meanwhile, Michael ended up moving in with Jeff and was gone for good chunks of time, traveling around the world for photo shoots in exotic destinations.
The four of them had become fast friends. Even though Michael had been wary of Elijah at first, he was quickly won over by Elijah’s charm. Elijah had also become very fond of Michael and had started collecting Michael’s photographs. Lucy and Jeff were also close, having gotten to know each other well during Michael’s long and frequent absences. They even joined the same book club together.
This was why tonight’s dinner was so important to Lucy. Michael had just returned from Morocco and had less than a week in town before heading to Thailand. Lucy missed Michael dearly and couldn’t wait to catch up over a long and leisurely dinner at an upscale steak house.
As soon as Elijah and Jeff left to check out the cigar lounge, Michael turned to Lucy and whispered conspiratorially, “Well, things definitely seem to have taken a turn for the better.”
Lucy smiled. She had been doing a lot of that lately. “I’d dare say.”
“You go, girl!”
Lucy was very happy for herself, too. Lucy thought back on the turn her life had taken over the past year. When she had set out for L.A. from her hometown in Colorado, she had done so with an open mind and open heart, and a whole lot of hope. But she had never imagined that it would turn out so splendidly. She felt at peace. She felt serene, safe, and loved. She felt like she had found her place and her purpose, and that she had found her tribe too.
“What are you thinking?” Michael asked.
Lucy jumped, his voice startling her out of her reverie. She turned her head to look at him, and she smiled. “I was thinking that I really may be the luckiest woman on the planet.”
“He’s quite the catch, I’ll give you that.”
“I’m not just talking about Elijah,” Lucy said, hitting Michael’s arm playfully. “I’m talking about you too.”
Michael toasted her with a half empty bottle of beer. “I’m happy too. I’m very happy.”
Lucy grinned. “Jeff is quite a catch too.”
He laughed, pleased. “Yes, he is.”
Lucy settled back contently against her own cushion. Life, she thought, truly rewarded those who dared follow their dreams.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SAN FRANCISCO IS ONE of the most romantic cities in the world. There was something special about the city. It was fresh, modern, and enticing,
in an old-school kind of way. Lucy still couldn’t quite believe she was really there with Elijah.
Elijah’s new program was launching tonight. He had spent months developing it and tweaking it to perfection, and it was finally ready for the big release.
The venue itself was a dream—an elegant hall that overlooked the city and the bay from the top of a hill. Lights flooded in from outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows and made everything look golden. The biggest names in health and wellness industries were here, all dressed to the nines. Everything glittered and sparkled, including Lucy, herself.
But nothing was as large and as luminous as Elijah himself. He was positively radiant. He looked like he just stepped off of a GQ magazine cover in his dark gray tuxedo. Lucy watched him with admiration. She desperately tried to keep it as professional as possible, but it was hard for her not to reach out and touch him when he looked that good.
Still, she was also there on business. Carey Wayland had assigned her to cover the event for Clean. It was her first big assignment outside of Los Angeles and Lucy was determined not to screw it up. She was excelling at work and was building up a name for herself. She was still blown away when people recognized her.
Their relationship was not a secret—they had decided early on that it would be a lot easier for everyone involved if they didn’t try to hide it. But she wasn’t known for just being Elijah Redford’s girlfriend. She was recognized for her work. Lucy had pretty much taken on Clean’s blog single-handedly, and her posts had become so popular that the editors gave her a regular column in the magazine.
After all the interviews were done for the night and the big event had switched from an elegant, frantic affair to a more subdued and yet always fancy after-party where everyone mingled, conversed, and generally enjoyed themselves, Lucy felt like she could finally let her hair down and relax.
Basking in the glory of the successful product launch, Elijah wanted to spend the rest of the night with Lucy by his side. When he found her, she was helping herself to a glass of champagne from one of the waiters. As a rule, she never drank when she had interviews to do, but this was her reward for wrapping up work.
Sweat It Out: A Billionaire Love Story Page 9