Page 10 of Spellbound
I’d barely shook my head no when he laid his lips on mine and let me soak in the taste of him, malty from the beer. The essence of him, fresh and sweet. I kissed him back, my tongue sneaking out to memorize the curve of his lips. I’d replay that move later, alone in my dark room—as I got myself off. I released him and put my forehead to his.
He moved back an inch, no more than that. “And back to your original question, no, thank you, babe, but I really don’t want another drink. What I want is to take you back to your cabin and peel you out of your clothes. Then I want to worship every line, every curve, every magnificent inch of your body.” My heartbeat tripped and then galloped, erratic in my chest. My pulse raced in a path clear to my toes and then back again. His hands trapped me at my waist, then roamed upward till his thumbs grazed the undersides of my breasts. My nipples grew turgid and evident through the soft cotton of my sweater.
He closed his eyes, almost as if in pain, then opened them again, wide and clear so I could see into his soul. “You’ve caught my heart, Emma Grayce. It’s so damn fast and beyond my imagination, I wonder how this is even possible.”
Again, he was mirroring my thoughts. As if we were somehow bound to each other, him caught up in me the way I was entranced by him, the man from my drawing.
Eli stood from the table, drew me up and into his arms. I went willingly. Ineededto be there in his embrace. I needed to be closer still. “I’ve never before felt I had to be with a woman, that I’d rather have her company than anyone else’s, even my own. But it’s you, sweetheart. You do that.”
The feeling was heady and powerful. And oh, so dangerous to my self-control. However would I get through this wedding without falling completely in love?
6
Eli
Emma Grayce tookmy hand and led me toward the exit. “You know, since the beginning you’ve had the advantage in this—” She paused, shrugged, and waved her hand vaguely. “For argument’s sake, we’ll call it a relationship.”
Relationship. The idea intrigued me rather than scared me shitless as I’d expect. The notion alone fascinated me. And maybe charmed me too. This woman had me in her spell, the whole of me—my head, my dick, and very nearly my heart. I stepped ahead of her and shoved open the door. Led her through the parking lot to Mimi’s miniature sedan. I wanted this woman naked and under me, her breast in my mouth and my cock in her pussy, and there was a clock on my reserve that might run out before we reached her cabin.
“Advantage? How do you figure? Do you know the hell I’ve been through in the past day? Here I am, enjoying a visit with my grandmother, doing my best to fly under the radar, and then you pop up out of the blue and blow away all my good intentions.”
“The hell you’ve been through? Well, excuse me!” She jerked open the car door and lowered herself into the seat as gracefully as any royal.
But damn it, I was the royal . . .ass. I didn’t intend that to come out angry. I didn’t mean to sound mad. What I was, what I never expected to be when I picked her up on her porch earlier in the evening, was fucking unnerved. I wedged myself in behind the wheel and rapped my head—fucking again—as I yanked the door closed. I made the engine roar, then raced out of the lot with gravel spitting behind us.
The woman sitting beside me unsettled and intimidated the hell out of me. But all I could think of was being with her. I had three more days before I was scheduled to fly to Florida—to a buffet of babes wearing little more than dental floss as they soaked in the sun’s rays, and a margarita glass that was never empty—yet I wanted to spend each and every minute with her. Caution bells were ringing in my head. This was so not part of my plan. I was so not ready for this.
Or was I?
There was nothing subtle or artificial about this girl, not like the women I usually dated. The ones my agent claimed I needed to gain street cred as a professional ball player. Those women were sophisticated and mostly interested in what I could give them, whether it was a Saturday night club hopping the VIP sections, or orgasms that lasted through till morning.
They were probably to be expected, those groupies who only wanted to be photographed with me, to maybe get tagged in a social media clip. To claim celebrity by association. To date, I’d spent my career feeling as if my mission was to do their bidding, but I’d been on guard against them.
At war with my thoughts, I reached the town limits sign in what seemed record time. Silently, I traveled down Center Street, past the town square and the ever-popular water tower, then turned off the main drag and headed toward the Tumble Inn.
Emma Grayce didn’t know who I was. Well, I didn’t know much about her, either, other than where she went to college. And I only knew that because Grant happened to mention which school they attended. But me and Emma Grayce—my Eegee, because that’s how I thought of her—had discovered a multitude of common interests in the bursts of conversation we’d enjoyed over the past day or so. Our opinions had differed sometimes, yet neither of us found it a burden to acknowledge them with respect. And then she demonstrated a healthy and fun competitive spirit, my favorite trait of all, and a deal breaker when it’s missing.
I pulled up to her cottage and shoved the car into park. My hands remained on the wheel, and I dropped my forehead to rest on them. “Look, I apologize. I’m sorry. I was a dick.” I lifted my gaze to look at her. For an apology, she rated my full attention. “It was a gut reaction. It was stupid. I don’t even know why, but I know you don’t want excuses. You don’t want that. And you deserve better.”
Unlike any woman I’d known, she didn’t want anything from me other than what I wanted to give.
“You gave me the silent treatment the whole way home because you were deciding whether you could manage a simple apology? You’re really something, aren’t you?”
She shoved out of the car and I scrambled out after her. When she marched onto her porch, past the bright wooden chair and the pot of vibrant blossoms, I followed like the whipped puppy I was.
She halted at the door. “Color me confused, Eli. We may have been shoved together—” I opened my mouth to argue. She shot up her hand and I shut up. “No, youwereforced in a situation you objected to. I get it. I was on the same page, actually, but then what happened? Lo and behold, it wasn’t a miserable evening. I’ll even confess to having a great time. You’re fun to be with. I like talking to you.” She let out a scoff of sarcasm. “Talking; imagine that. Relaxing. Hanging out. And maybe it was my imagination, but wasn’t that you who could barely keep his hands to himself? I don’t know what flipped your switch, but news flash, bucko: I don’t have an end game. No expectations here. I don’t wantanythingfrom you.
She’d been clawing through her oversized purse and came up with the key. “Now, thank you for a wonderful evening, but excuse me. We’re done here.”
She was in a mad, for sure, and glorious in it. If I was smart, I’d leave her to it and walk away.Runaway until she was more malleable. But fuck that. I could be strong-willed, too, and face it, none of my teammates ever accused me of brilliance. I used my hand to cover the smile that wanted to twitch and trained my eyes to seem contrite. When she unlocked the door I slapped my palm against the panel before it swung open. Blocked her in.
She swatted at my arm. “For God’s sake, Eli. What do you want now?”
Jesus, is this the moment?I knew it would happen at some point in my life, but right now when she was so pissed her flushed cheeks practically glowed?Right fucking now?Fate—or Mimi, because I wouldn’t put it past that interfering old bat—had one hell of a sense of humor.
Yeah. This is it. I sucked in a deep breath for courage. Removed my hand from the door, smoothed my knuckles over the smooth skin of her cheek.
“Everything. I want to give you everything.”
