Page 30 of Ellie 1

“You’re really not going to say a fucking thing?” she pushed when I simply stared at her trying to find a wine opener.

I just didn’t know what to say. I’d locked the door behind her and followed after like I figured I should.

“Glasses?” she asked when she found the opener.

I went and got two, sitting them on the counter by her. “Wait, you were still going to be with him?”

She froze and then gave me a pissed look. “That’swhat you’re going to say here? Seriously?” She snorted and then focused back on opening the wine. “Un-fucking-real. I’m surrounded by idiots.” The cork came out with a pop. “No, I ended things when I suspended him. Officially. I had already basically told him I was out before that.

“Not that it’s any of your business.” She snorted. “Or apparently it is since I’m getting yelled at because of you and he thinks it’s all because you want to take his place.” I mentally winced again as she poured us each a glass. “No, it seems I’m such a fucking doormat that he assumed if he came at our normal time I would havecooled offby now and just moved past it.

“Completely sure I wouldn’t have stuck to what I’d said because… I have no fucking idea. He is not the only man who can give me great sex.” She took a sip and then stared at me over the rim of her glass. “Right, pup? You made it clear that there would be a line who would want me. Desperately even. And apparently, you made it clear to my former fuck buddy you’re one of them.”

Holy shite, this was really happening.

I snapped out of my surprise and my hormones kicked in as I moved closer to her. I ran the sleeve of her robe between my fingers. “I think that depends if you dressed up like this for me or him?”

She winced and I bit back a growl. “Neither. Habit.” She flushed with embarrassment.

“What does that mean?” I hedged, not able to read between the lines.

She sighed. “Tommy and I hooked up the second and fourth Saturday of the month. Sometimes more, but those were our scheduled nights. For years. Years and years.” She chuckled darkly. “Apparently, I’m a creature of habit. I didn’t even realize I was getting ready for him and fun until I was done.”

“And then?” I pushed, catching there was more to this.

“And then I realized how fucking depressing that was and actually pathetic,” she admitted before taking a big drink from her glass. “So I drank the two bottles of wine I had at my place.ThenI made the mistake of not checking my phone before answering it because not in a million years did I think he would justignore meending things with him.

“That was when I got my ass chewed out and learned you blocked him from the building.Apparently, because you told him you were going to have me every which way and we were going to enter an agreement. And you would treat me better, rubbing that in Tommy’s face. I hung up after a bit, but it seems I’m the fool who knew none of this.”

“That’s not exactly how it happened, and I told security about him after he started problems with me and threatened me.”

She snorted into her wine. “You’re scaredTommy’sgoing to kickyourass? Yeah, right.”

“No, but he pissed me off,” I admitted.

She studied me for a moment. “Is he right?”

“About what?” I whispered, worried I was maybe about to get slapped.

“That you took his place in my life?”

“No, I don’t want to take his place.”

“You don’t want to be my fuck buddy?”

“Oh, I very much want to be your fuck everything,” I chuckled darkly and trapped her against the counter, leaning down and scenting her. “But I don’t want what you had with him. Fuck him. Tommy who? This is about what I want with you.”

“What do you want with me, pup?” she asked, her breath shaky. “Are you going to give me what I need since you blocked me from getting it?”

I wasn’t going to remind her that she’d already dumped Tommy, but then I scented a bit of shame. She thought she might have caved. She didn’t have the confidence in herself that she wouldn’t have held out against her former lover if I hadn’t blocked him from the building.

I didn’t care about all of that. All I cared about was the green light she’d given me.

“Yes,” I growled as I grabbed her glass and set it to the side before lifting her on the counter and moving my hands into her hair. I cupped her head and brought her plump lips to mine. They were as soft as I’d hoped and perfect against mine. I nibbled and licked her lips as I kissed her before pushing my tongue into her mouth.

She moaned and arched into me, her nails running down my neck in a way that fucking set me on fire. Ellie was definitely into kissing and didn’t get enough of it from the way she begged me for more with her body.

I didn’t judge—mine was the same.

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