Page 41 of Bad Situation

He lowers his voice. “You’re the one talking about going after my cock right outta the gate.”

I keep my voice even, but I have to work for it. “How Texas of you, with the rodeo metaphors.”

“You started it with the New York metaphors.”

He’s close now. He’d barely have to reach with one of his long, strong arms to touch me, let alone seize me. Neither of us say a word and the only sound is the buzz from the ancient, rusted-out hanging light.

His tongue snakes out to wet his lower lip, making me drop my arms and flex my fingers.

His voice dips—gravelly and deep. “You ready?”

I mock him, but my voice wobbles, matching the state of my knees. “I dare you.”

A smirk starts to form on his lush lips and, just when I can’t think of anything but those lips on me—my neck, my breasts, between my legs where I’m already wet—he moves.

And no amount of self-defense training could prepare me for an onslaught by Elijah Pettit.

I yelp when my body defies gravity but it happens too fast for me to all-out scream. I’m up, off the ground, and my rose-gold Adidas running shoes search for leverage but come up empty. How he did it, I have no clue, but my arms are pinned, my legs thrown to his side where I can’t go for his cock if I had the mind to react. Before I know it, we’re both going down—Eli first with me on top, pinned to his wide chest—hitting the mat with a humph.

My heart speeds and I do everything I can to kick, find purchase on him or the floor for leverage, but before I can manage anything, he flips me to my back. My arms are pinned above my head and his big work boots might as well have tethered my ankles to the floor like chains. I barely have a chance to look up through the dark room when those work boots pull my feet apart and he presses that same cock I threatened earlier between my legs at the same moment his lips land on mine.

And here, in a warehouse that smells like a dirty men’s locker room, my world shifts.

The man I shouldn’t be with—the man who called me a bad situation—lays claim to me in a way I’ve never experienced.

When he presses his cock into my clit through my joggers, I gasp and he takes advantage. His tongue invades my mouth. Tasting Eli for the first time is something I’ll never forget. I press my lips to his, my head being the only part of my body I can move with his heavy bulk pressing me into the mat.

He squeezes my wrists as he drinks me up, consuming me like I’m his last meal and he couldn’t be happier about it. Transferring my hands into one of his, he supports himself on a forearm to cup my face, his thumb framing my jaw. When he grinds into me one more time, he slows his lips on mine enough for me to catch my breath.

He lifts his head just far enough that, when I open my eyes, I see nothing but him. His chest is moving heavy against mine with labored breaths, just as affected as me. Tipping his forehead to mine, he squeezes his eyes shut and surprises me by rolling, taking me with him.

With my hair in his face, he mutters, “Fuck.”

I breathe against his neck and let my body sink into his. “You surprised me.”

“You’re slow. We need to work on that.” After our first kiss, that wasn’t what I expected him to say. He pulls my head up and his eyes are heated. Wrapping me up in his arms and lifting his knees to the ceiling as he parts my legs, he presses up into me again.

My messy hair falls around our faces and I frown. “I didn’t think you’d really come at me.”

“I know.” He slides a hand to my ass, keeping the other angled up my back. “No one ever expects an attack. You need to work on your reflexes. That other guy doesn’t know what he’s doing. From now on, you’ll work with me.”

I draw my knees up and press down on his cock, liking the feel of him a whole hell of a lot. “There’s no reason to worry about Jase. He’s just my trainer. I was giving you shit earlier.”

Tangling his hand in my hair, making it messier than ever after our romp on the mat, he nods. “Good, but you’re still working with me from now on. Tomorrow you can free up Jase’s schedule.”

I tip my head and shake it. “I have more important things to do tomorrow, Eli.”

He knifes up at the waist, circling my legs around his hips. With his hand still in my hair, he holds me close and his features turn to a different kind of serious. One that has nothing to do with pinning me to the floor and kissing the hell out of me. “I’m working on that, too. I wish I could tell you what to expect tomorrow but, at this point, I have no clue. Some stuff happened while you were with your family—a lot that pisses me off. All I can say is if you don’t get a dismissal tomorrow, your shit will be caught up in court for a while. It’ll give your people time to do what they need to do and I can figure shit out on my end. But as of tomorrow morning, don’t sweat it if you don’t get a dismissal. It’ll come soon.”

I tense around his body and hold tight. “Tell me.”

He shakes his head and I believe him when he says, “I’m sorry.”

“You expect me to just trust you? You have to know everything about this goes against who I am—how I operate.”

His hand on my ass curls under me and pulls me down tighter on his hard cock and he leans in to kiss me, softer this time. When he lets me go, he brushes the end of my nose with his. “Baby, if you can trust me with your body, then do yourself a favor and trust me with your life. You won’t regret it.”

My heartbeat echoes in my ears—the rush of my blood creating a tsunami between my head and stupid heart. I’m not sure I can do what he wants.

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