Page 30 of Elijah's Hope
Apparently, no one did. The conversation started up again around us as Eli took his seat. The big guy never did come back.
“Sorry about that,” he muttered, sitting across from me.
That’s when I realized two very important things.
The sweet, patient Eli I knew obviously had another side. A very dangerous side who had no problem causing someone he didn’t like pain.
This was a man I was seriously lying to…about everything!
Suddenly, this wasn’t a game anymore. If he found out what I had been doing this whole time, I had no idea how he would react. I didn’t think he would hurt me, but I didn’t want to find out.
The only thing that made sense was to tell him I wanted to leave as soon as possible and get started with step three of the plan.
The problem was that other realization.
Seeing this version of Eli, the one who didn’t hesitate to step up and protect me, only made me want him more.
I didn’t say anything. Just lifted my glass and drank my wine down in one big gulp.
I set it on the table and slid the glass in Eli’s direction.
“I’m going to need another drink.”
* * *
Later that night
Eli
“I don’t think we should kiss,” Shelby announced as I opened the door to our room and let her walk by me.
Two glasses had become three before I could finally convince her to leave the bar. And now I knew why.
Shit. She was afraid of me.
I sighed.
“Look, Shelby, about tonight. I told you. Sometimes I have a temper. I especially have a temper when any guy is talking shit to a woman. I have a seriously large temper when someone is talking shit to my—”
I stopped myself. She wasn’t my woman. Yet.
“You. If they are talking shit to you.”
“You splatted his entire face,” she said on a hiccup. “Likesplat.”
I moved to get in her face. “Please tell me you know, you know deep inside, I would never lay a finger on you. On any woman for that matter.”
“Of course I know that.”
She said it with such certainty that something eased in my chest.
“If you’re not afraid of me, then why don’t you want to kiss me?”
She flopped onto the bed tucked into the corner of the small room. “Because we’ll get all worked up like we did this afternoon. Remember? Only we’ll be in a bed instead of alongside a river where we couldn’t really do anything about it. Only now we can do something about it.”
“Shelby, you’re exhausted and you’re tipsy. You’ll be out cold in about two seconds. I have no interest in messing around with a woman who is passed out.”
“Is that true?”
