Page 30 of An Eye For Illusion

When the driver’s side door closes, I release a heavy breath. I sit upright and smooth my dress. Why the fuck is Colin Brooks haunting me while asleep and awake?

I allow that thought to fall away as Thomas opens my door and extends his hand to help me from my seat. Taking it, I step out of the car and smooth my dress again. It’s become a nervous habit. I reach back inside the car to retrieve my clutch.

I know Thomas senses my nerves when he says, “I’ll be right here when you’re ready, ma’am.” His kind smile eases the tension some.

“I won’t be long. I need to get to work myself. Just wanted to pop in to say hello to Elliott.” I force a big smile, and Thomas offers a genuine one, but I know he doesn’t buy an ounce of my bullshit.

I walk through the lobby with my shoulders squared and my chin held high. The persona I’ve made for myself is in full swing. I press the up button on the elevator, and the doors immediately open. A few people step off the elevator, leaving it empty for me. I press the button for the third floor and step back against the rail.

Just as the doors begin to close, a man passes in front of the elevator. I step forward, thinking I recognize him. The doors close before I can get a good look, and I shake my head.

“Get it together, Jade,” I scold myself. It wasn’t Colin, and I need to put him far from my mind in order to pull this off.

No distractions.

When the doors open, Elliott is standing in front of me. I’m startled, which is stupid. I’m here to see him, but I didn’t expect him to be right here, though.

“Jade,” he says with a contemplative smile spreading across his face. He’s just as surprised to see me as I was him just seconds ago.

I awkwardly open my arms, gripping my clutch in one hand and offer a big smile. “Surprise!” I say a little louder than I meant to. My nerves get the best of me.

Elliott looks up and down the hallway as his eyebrows draw together. It’s like he can’t quite believe I’m here, and he doesn’t know what to do with me. He plasters on a fake smile and steps into the elevator with me.

“I was just on my way out. What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

Elliott presses the button for the parking garage, and the elevator doors close. It’s just the two of us in the small space, and I have to fight to keep from squirming. I steady my hands and walk over to him, pressing my body against his.

“No, I just…missed you.” I place a light kiss on his lips.

He sucks in a surprised gasp, but he doesn’t waste any time greeting me back. He wraps his arm around my waist, pulls me tighter against him, and then deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue past my lips. I force a soft moan because he has to believe I want this, that I’m ready to forgive him.

The elevator slows to a stop, and he breaks our connection. I couldn’t be more thankful for the reprieve. This is even harder than I thought it would be, and I didn’t have any preconceived notion that it would be easy.

A small group of people wait for the elevator as we step off into the parking garage. I force a bright smile as I cuddle into Elliott’s side. He rests his hand on my lower back, almost on my ass, as he glides me out of the building.

He’s silent as we walk through the parking garage, and I’m too stunned to make conversation. I expected a little bit of pushback, or at the very least for him to be hesitant. Instead, he took what I offered and barely blinked.

What the hell does that mean?

When we reach his car, he catches me off guard again. He turns me and presses my back against the driver’s door. Without hesitation, he leans down to kiss me hard on the lips. It takes a colossal amount of focus to relax my body into his arms.

I lift my arms and rest them around the back of his neck like I imagine I would do if I loved him—if I wanted him to kiss me like this—but I don’t. I want to knee him in the balls and lean down to his ear while he’s writhing on the cold, concrete floor and tell him to go fuck himself.

Unfortunately, I do none of those things. Instead, I run my free hand up his chest, fisting his perfectly ironed dress shirt in my hands as I tug him closer.

This better fucking work.

His hands hitch up my dress on both sides. They slide up my thighs and cup my ass hard. It’s barely covered by black lace panties. His bare hand hits my skin, and I fight back the uncomfortable shiver the contact causes.

He pulls me against his erection, grinding it against me. He breaks our kiss to trail his lips across my jaw before whispering low in my ear. “Is this what you really want? Because if it is, I can rock your world, babe.”

My stomach flips. I definitely don’t want that. I want to push him far away, but I’m far too invested to simply give up now. I simply moan back to him.

That simple sound drives him on. He kisses down my neck and swipes his tongue across my collarbone.

The sound of my phone ringing makes us jump. I’ve never been so thankful for a phone call in my life. I thought I could do this, but now I’m not so sure. I give a shaky smile in apology for the interruption.

He steps back and watches me carefully, as though he knows what I’m up to. The look he gives me makes me even more nervous as I fish my phone out of my purse. As soon as my fingers wrap around it, it stops ringing.

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