Page 74 of Tainted Love
I stop him with a hand to his chest. “I can’t drop out until I’ve talked to Dad. If I want him to take me seriously, I need to go about this rationally. I can’t just drop out on a whim.”
“It’s not a whim,” he says, nipping at my throat. “Besides, you have pressing matters to attend to tomorrow.”
“Mm … is that so? What am I attending to?” I ask breathlessly, my eyes yet again rolling back in my head.
“Staying in bed with me all day.”
My aching pussy throbs at the promise behind his words, but still, I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“Don’t make me tie you up, Duchess.” He bends and throws me over his shoulder, massaging my thigh dangerously close to my pulsing core, It pulls a wanton moan from my lips. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Elias carries me into his bedroom, and the scent of sex in the air causes my cheeks to flush.
“Put me down,” I beg him, squirming in his hold. He does as I ask, and I take a step back, putting space between us and clutching the towel to me like a lifeline.
“What’s wrong?”
Unable to speak, I glance at the bed, mortified to recall what I did earlier.
His gaze follows mine and his lips quirk up into a smirk. “Relax, Duchess.” He walks to the cupboard and grabs a spare doona and sheets to replace the ones on his bed. “I told you earlier it was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
“Can we just not talk about it … like ever,” I mutter as I wrap my arms around my waist and look over my shoulder at the door. I’m so close to my escape, but no doubt Elias will stop me if I try to run.
“Don’t even think about it,” he warns, as if he can read my mind. I turn back to face him, and he tosses me a Driver Era T-shirt. “Put that on and get your cute arse over here.”
SOMETHING CRASHES DOWNSTAIRS. My eyes fly open. I’m anchored to Elias, with his arm and leg hooked around me. I shake him, hissing, “Did you hear that?”
“Hmm …” he mumbles, his voice thick with sleep as he pulls me closer. His impressive erection pushes into my naked arse. “No class … Not letting you go.”
A loud thump and a male voice shouting his name has Elias scrambling up out of bed. “What the fuck?”
“Someone’s in the house,” I whisper, my pulse thunders in my ears.
“Did you lock the front door?” he asks as he pulls on a pair of sweatpants.
“I- I think so,” I say, pulling my knees up to my chest and my eyes dart to his bedroom door. “I don’t know, I was distracted.”
He curses again, pushing his hair back off his face and tugging on the ends.
“Is it one of the guys?” I ask. “Killian or Asher?”
He shakes his head. The voice shouts out his name again, and it’s getting closer. Whoever it is has made their way up to the second floor. Elias tosses me a pair of shorts. “Put these on.”
“Who is it, Eli?” My hands shake as I attempt to pull on the shorts. They’re too big for me, but they have a drawstring, and I pull it tight. “What’s going on?”
He shakes his head as he picks up his phone and heads to the door. “Just stay here. Whatever you hear, don’t leave this room.”
I scramble off the bed, grabbing at his arm as I hiss, “Are you seriously leaving me alone in here when there’s someone in the house?”
Elias releases a deep breath and kisses the tip of my nose as he pries my hand from his biceps. “Let me keep you safe, okay? Stay here, Duchess.”
My protests fall on deaf ears as he slips out of the door, closing it behind him. I wait exactly one minute before opening the door and peering into the dark hallway. Elias has already disappeared down the stairs and I take a deep breath before following behind him.
Keeping close to the wall, I tiptoe down the stairs, but pause halfway when I hear voices.
“—doing here, Benny?” Elias asks, his voice calm. “How did you know where I live?”
“They took her, man,” Benny—whoever that is—sounds strung out. “Tamlin. They took her, and I didn’t know what to do.”
