Page 33 of Elijah's Hope
“You know a lot of stuff about people,” I muttered and kissed her on the forehead.
“I don’t know about that. I just live by the old saying judge not, lest ye be judged. That’s good old-fashioned Bible wisdom right there.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Shelby. For listening. I’ve never told anyone about my mom. It feels…good. To share, you know.”
“Uhhmm.”
“Now it’s your turn. Tell me one of your secrets.”
I waited but her only answer was a breathy sigh and I realized sleep had claimed her.
As I drifted off myself, I thought I would have to get one out of her tomorrow. After all, one secret for another was only fair.
The good news was she was neither a snorer nor a farter.
7
Shelby
In my life I had never felt this way. I couldn’t say I was truly happy. There were too many worries to be happy. Too much thinking about how I needed to move on combined with too many fears about how this could all fall apart if Eli ever learned the truth about me.
I guess, then, I could say I was content.
I could hear the rustle of the trees outside the house. I could smell breakfast being prepared downstairs. Bacon was redolent in air. Eli was snoring softly, but in this easy, somnolent way that kept me drifting in and out of my own sleep. I was warm, I was tucked against his side and I thought I never wanted to leave this place.
I never wanted to leave his side. I fit. Here, right next to him in this bed. He seemed to know that, too, because he hadn’t let me go all night. I knew because I couldn’t sleep much. Too many thoughts swirling in my head. Too many things I couldn’t believe were true.
How kind he was. How sweet he was. How patient he was.
How badass he could be.
All for me. As if I deserved it. When I had done nothing to deserve any of this. It was like winning my very own version of the lottery. Or leaving one place to come to another place only to find there was an Angel waiting for you.
He deserved more than I was giving him. He deserved a woman free from her past. One that was loving and generous in return, not skittish and standoffish. Only it was too late. That person hadn’t arrived and now he was mine.
Right there, in that moment, I decided I wasn’t ready to give him up.
That might make me the most selfish bitch around, but I did not care.
He grunted then and shifted toward me, though still asleep. I could feel his morning erection pressed against my belly and I moved myself so I cradled him more closely.
I wanted to give him something, anything to repay him for what he’d given me this past week. I wanted to show him how much his thoughtfulness and caring meant to me. How in some ways he’d healed me, even though he didn’t know I had been broken.
I knew he didn’t like to think of sex as transactional but sometimes that’s all a person had to give to another person. Comfort. Intimacy. Pleasure.
Not stopping to think about it too much, I shifted down on the bed until my face was level with his dick. And a fine dick it was, too. Thick and hard with a flared head that was poking through his cotton bottoms.
Something I instinctively knew he’d worn just for me so I would be more comfortable.
I pressed my cheek against his hardness and loved that I could feel the heat of his body through the cotton pants. I glanced up at him, but his eyes were still closed and he was breathing evenly.
Courageously, I pulled against the elastic band at his hip and the pants, which were loose on him anyway, gave way and his cock sprang out like a captive suddenly released. Looking for the woman who had freed him so he could show his gratitude.
Only I was the one who was grateful. I licked the wide head, dipped my tongue into the slit at the top then in one indrawn breath, I took him as deep into my mouth as I could.
Eli stirred then. I could feel his hand searching and reaching for my hair.
“Baby,” he muttered sleepily. “What are you doing?”
