Page 66 of Ruined
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“You look beautiful.”
Eli’s image appeared behind mine in the full-length mirror. His lips lifted into a smile before he lowered his head to press a kiss to my bare shoulder. He smoothed his palms down the fabric of my dress. “I’m starting to think yellow is my favorite color.”
“You said the same thing when I wore the pink dress two days ago,” I scoffed, playfully swatting at him.
“Okay, so maybe you’re my favorite color.”
Laughter bubbled from my lips as I turned around. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
He just shrugged and pulled me in for a hug. “Are you nervous?”
Eli had asked me to join him at his parents’ BBQ. Apparently, they used to do it every Sunday but since his mother got sick, they hadn’t gotten together as much. “More like excited.” I’d briefly met his parents at Kenzie’s wedding and I was really looking forward to learning more about the people who’d raised such an incredible man.
“You know, Mama is feeling better, the chances that she’s going to play twenty questions with you are one-hundred percent.”
I pulled out of his embrace to grab my cellphone from my nightstand, eyeing him as I dropped it into my purse perched on the edge of the bed. “She can ask whatever she wants.” With a wink I added, “Because I’ll get to ask her all about you.” Eli folded his arms over his chest, the white fabric of his tee pulling taut over his bulging biceps. My fingers twitched with the need to dig my nails into his skin, just so I could feel the muscles jump beneath them.
The moment he caught me staring, his lips curled into a smirk while one dark eyebrow arched. Whenever he looked at me like that, like he knew my feverish inner thoughts, I wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. “Don’t look at me like that, sunshine, we don’t have time.”
“Like what?” I shrugged my shoulders, feigning innocence.
He started moving, reaching me in three easy strides. The heat of his palms seared through the fabric of my dress as his hands dropped to my hips. When he lowered his head, I closed my eyes in anticipation of the kiss I knew was coming. Only, it never came…
His warm breath blew over the shell of my ear. “You’re looking at me like you want me to make you moan and scream.” Goosebumps popped up all over while he pressed his lips to my skin, “I can’t do that right now, a couple of minutes will never be long enough. But I promise you, tonight I will take my sweet time loving on your body until your voice is hoarse from begging for more.”
If I hadn’t been turned on before, I certainly was now. Eli wasn’t doing much to help, either; he kept trailing his lips along my jaw while his hands slid to my butt. Flexing his fingers, he squeezed hard, then whispered against my mouth, “Come on, we don’t want to be late.”
And just like that, he took two steps backward, turned on his heel and ambled out of my room. I narrowed my eyes at the empty doorway while I threw my bag over my shoulder. “Oh, we’ll see who’ll be doing the begging,Sheriff.”
“Well, aren’t you as pretty as a peach.” Eli’s mom, Daisy, held my face in her hands. Even if I hadn’t known she was sick, it wouldn’t be a hard assumption to make. The black and blue smudges under her eyes, along with her pale skin was an unfortunate giveaway, but her demeanor was one of a fighter.
The corners of her eyes crinkled with her growing smile, the dark depths reminded me so much of Eli’s. Daisy finally released my face only to wrap her arms around my shoulders, pulling me to her chest. She was a bit taller than me, so my head was tilted back in an awkward position, my arms pinned to my sides, making it difficult for me to return her embrace.
I didn’t mind, though.
When she pulled back, I was stunned to see that her smile was even wider than it had been. “Little Molly has not stopped talking about you since her daddy dropped her off this morning. I think she’s smitten.” The older woman laughed delightfully.
I leaned closer as if I was preparing to divulge a secret. “Between you and me, so am I.” Daisy threw back her head and laughed even louder, the sound filling me with inexplicable joy.
“I’m afraid to ask.” Eli came sauntering in with his father on his heels. The resemblance between the two men was striking. “What’s so funny?” He sidled up next to me while his father stood next to his mother, lovingly draping an arm over her shoulder.
“That’s for us to know and for you to find out.” Daisy winked at me before she aimed her narrowed gaze at her son.
“Seriously? I leave you two alone for less than five minutes and already you’re trading secrets?” He mimicked his father’s pose and tugged me close. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on you.” In the distance, the sound of car doors opening and closing filled the air.
Although everyone knew we were seeing each other, this would be the first time we’d be together with all of them, I suddenly felt a bit nervous. Eli must’ve picked up on it, because while his mother and father moved to the door, he didn’t. Hugging me closer to him, he lowered his head, whispering in my ear, “I know my family is a bit much. If you feel overwhelmed, you just say the word and we’ll leave.”
I angled my head to face him. His eyes held so much emotion, it was still hard to believe that it was all for me. “You tryin’ to be my hero, Sheriff?”
“Maybe…Is it working?”
“That would be a yes.”
I swear, I’d never grow tired of the sight of those sinful lips of his stretching into a grin or the look in his eyes as he prepared to kiss me.
“Hey, man! You’re in Mama’s house. Do you have no shame?” Logan’s voice infiltrated the love bubble we’d created. A low curse slipped from Eli’s lips, but he didn’t lift his head. His mouth hovered just above mine while his gaze focused on where I assumed his brother was standing. Something unsaid passed between them right before Eli grabbed my face and kissed me so hard my toes blushed.
