Page 67 of Cross the Line
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Why?”
I inhale her shaky breath. “Because I want you sober. I want you all here with me and Eli.”
“And Eli?” Her big, baby blues widen on my hazel stare. “You and Eli?”
“You—” I lick across her bottom lip. “—me—” I suck it into my mouth and bite down with a hard pull. “—and our man.”
A wispy breath pushes past her swollen, trembling lip. “Our man.”
“Yes. Do you want that, Baby?”
“God, yes,” she blusters back, tugging at my shirt, pulling it out of my pants as the doors ping open on our floor. “Where is he? He’s not...”
“Trust me,” I say, nipping her lip. “He’s following.”
You can’t ache this deep, this savagely, and not seek a reprieve. Not give in to the pull. I don’t care how much control Eli has—this…us—we’re beyond it.
We’re beyond any limits. Any lines. Or boundaries.
We all know it. A certainty we can’t escape or ignore.
With Finley’s arms wrapped around my shoulders, I guide us to our suite. My hands fumble in my slacks for the key card between urgent kisses.
What the… I come up empty.
“Fuck… can’t…” The frisson of heated pain from Fin’s bite on my lip scrambles my words. “Fucking… key… the?—”
“I got it.” Eli’s low gravel vibrates through me, wracking Finley deeper into me as the door gives behind her.
I move her inside, keeping myself outside of the threshold, even though my hand is still fisted in the waistband of her leggings. I don’t step into the room.
I won’t force anything on him.
Whatever happens now has to be his choice.
I’m giving him the control he needs to know he’s safe. With me. With Fin.
With a trembling hand to the small of my back, he takes it.
Coaxing me into the room ahead of him, Eli locks the door behind us. A soft click leaves us in silent anticipation. Crowded in the snug entry’s white walls. Completely encapsulated by our need.
“What now, Sweetheart?”
Eli’s dark stare flashes to mine. He’s breathless, chest heaving like he ran a marathon to get to Finley and me.
With a shrug, he fists my shirt, urging me closer with the lightest tug as his other hand reaches for our girl. He looks a little lost. Like he knows what he wants, just not how to start.
I remember that feeling. Like my natural instinct somehow wasn’t right or enough to guide me. I feel it now—the whisper of it—percolating like nostalgia through my limbs as I step forward and bring our girl to us the instant she takes his hand.
Carefully turning Finley in my arms, I angle us to face Eli. Finley’s sandwiched between us. Her chest to my front as his hand slides to my hip, and he steps into us. It’s like the jet all over again—except this time, all three of us are as nervous as each other. The urgency is cutting all logic from our brains.
Then, Eli kisses Finley’s shoulder. Right where my dinosaur is. And that’s it. Every thread holding me together snaps.
My mouth falls inches from Eli’s, and I taste his breath. Feel the hot trail of his slick lips on her skin as he peppers kisses from her shoulder to her nape. The tip of his nose skims mine when I nip at the edge of her jaw.
I don’t know how it happens, but the instant his mouth ghosts mine at her ear, I don’t hold back. I can’t. Pulling his sulky lip into my mouth, I tug Finley completely flush to me.
