Page 55 of Cross the Line
“Always.” The breath in my answer doesn’t waver.
“Come with me,” Elijah says with a quick kiss, leading me inside.
The room is decorated in whites and light grays, airy and calm, with teak accents warming everything. When we arrived, I didn’t really take it in. I needed the time to check in with myself, replenish my energy reserves, and let the day’s chaos settle.
Elijah guides me into the bathroom and lifts me onto the vanity, then rummages in Jayden’s wash bag and pulls out his body wash.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he beams up at me.
“You said you trust me.” He winks and heads to the massive tub in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.
He flips the water on; rain sings from the ceiling as it spills into a bath big enough for two of us twice over. He pours Jayden’s soap, then returns.
“Bathe with me?” he asks, hands smoothing up my thighs.
The soothing patter morphs to a brutal hiss. My pulse cuts through my veins, hard and fast. I can’t think to breathe or speak through my dry throat and mouth.
“I’m going to sit in the bath, and you can lean into me. I’ll hold you the whole time, Fin.”
Elijah unbuttons his polo and pulls it over his head, all that beautiful skin on display. Until I find the scars… the scabs. My finger traces the lines along his ribs. He doesn’t move or speak, allowing me to explore his body. Even when he stiffens.
When I look up at him, he greets me with a faint smile. “So?”
“Okay,” I whisper back through my gnawing fears. “As long as you don’t let me go.”
“Never.” His smile grows bigger. “Ever.”
Slowly peeling my t-shirt off me, he leans into me. His mouth ghosts over my jaw while he pulls it up my extended arms and discards it on the floor with his.
I’m half naked as Elijah peppers kisses over my face and shimmies his chinos down his legs, along with his underwear. He toes it all off, still covering my face in his soft kisses. Light and playful, he is more like theboy I remember than that boy might have ever been. So wonderful that he is the sole focus of all my attention.
Warm hands loosen my jeans, and he pushes them down as he crouches. His mouth traces my body from lips to throat to sternum, lingering open-mouthed where my heart hammers.
“Mine.”
I shake my head, bringing his hand to my chest. “You. This is you, Love.”
Emotion ripples across his face, deepening his gaze. He kisses lower and lower, and I brace on his shoulders to step out of my bottoms. He hugs my legs and kisses the flat of my belly.
“Fin…” Wet and hoarse, his voice trembles across my goose-pimpled skin. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know what the apology means. What it’s for.
“Elijah?”
His arms tighten around my thighs, as if to keep me from bolting. He peppers kisses above my navel and buries his face in my stomach.
“I love you,” he breathes between kisses, the words seeping all the way down. “I will always love you.”
Flames lick deep and hot in my belly. I gasp when he nips my skin and then nuzzles to the apex of my thighs, hands cupping to open me. He licks and kisses over the bite marks Jayden left.
They’re yellowing and fading, much to my disappointment. I want him to do it again, and as if he hears it, Elijah bites around the lightest mark and sucks until it burns, pulling off with a soft pop.
“Eli… Love…” I moan, tunneling my fingers into his mess of knotted hair as he licks over my thigh with a savoring hum.
It’s the most intoxicating sight. This beautiful, strong man, on his knees for me. Worshipping my body with reverent kisses.
A flush blooms across his face as he cups me. Without hesitation, he pulls my tampon, tosses it into the sink, and rises. His length is hot against my belly while his deft fingers free my hair.
