Page 63 of Ruined
Two sharp knocks sounded, pulling me from my thoughts. I rushed to answer the door, already knowing Eli was waiting behind it. Twisting and pulling on the knob, I found him where I knew he’d be, head hanging, hands braced on either side of the frame.
I held my breath as I took in his disheveled hair and untucked shirt. He looked…defeated. “Eli?” Slowly, steadily, he lifted his head. When his red-rimmed eyes met mine, a small gasp slipped out. “What happened?”
He blinked a couple of times like he was trying to bring me into focus, then moved so fast, I barely had time to react. His hand hooked around my neck, pulling my face to his. A second later, his mouth was on mine, the brutal force of the kiss almost dizzying.
Eli’s fingers pushed into my hair while he sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and tugged it with his teeth. I had no recollection of us moving, but I knew we had because I was no longer standing in my doorway, I was pinned to the wall beside it.
His hands had moved from my hair to my butt, his fingers digging into my flesh while he kept devouring my mouth. I flexed my hips, a low groan rumbled from his chest and settled between my thighs, I did it again.
His lips tentatively slid along my jaw, tasting my skin. When he nipped at the sensitive skin below my ear, I almost lost my mind. Eli’s hand skimmed over my hip then disappeared under my shirt. Everything tingled as his palm scraped along my skin before pushing beneath my bra.
My head lolled to the side as he continued tasting me, feeling me. In a brief moment of sanity, it hit me where we were and what we were getting ready to do. “Eli,” I sucked in a ragged breath. “Molly.” With the way he was playing my body, I was unable to form a coherent sentence.
He understood, though. “Shit!” Setting me on my feet, he immediately scanned the living room. “Where is she?”
My heart was still racing as I smoothed my palms over my shorts and jerked my head toward the hallway. “She’s sleeping in my room.” Taking his hand, I led him to where his daughter was. I didn’t go in with him, choosing to watch from the doorway while he crouched beside the bed and pressed his lips to Molly’s forehead.
He stood and, after casting one last glance at her over his shoulder, he took slow, determined strides toward me, his molten eyes pinning me to the spot. Electricity zipped through my veins at the sight of the storm brewing in those dark depths.
As soon as he reached me, he didn’t stop like I thought he would. Curling his fingers around my wrist, he tugged me toward the bathroom. Once inside, he locked the door behind him then pounced. Whatever protest I had died on my tongue the instant his lips touched mine.
Eli wrapped his arms around my waist before sliding them down to cup my butt. He squeezed at the same time as he bent his knees and rocked his hips. One, two steps and I was trapped between the cold wall and his hard body…again.
His hands frantically roamed over my body, tugging at my shirt, fumbling with the button of my shorts. He seemed almost desperate. I reached between us and flattened my palms against his chest. When I pushed gently, he drew back, brows furrowed.
“Eli, what’s going on?”
Bracing his hands against the wall on either side of my head, he inched closer until our foreheads touched. “I…I…” he sucked in a breath. “I justneedyou right now.” I felt the sting of pain in his voice all the way to my bones.
This wonderful man that had been the salve to my wounds was hurting, and I had the power to ease some of that pain. My hands – that were still perched on his chest – smoothed up over his shoulders. “Then have me.”
