Page 60 of Cross the Line
I wish he could see the man I see right now. There’s nothing about him that isn’t beautiful—flaws, scars, monumental strength—and the killer, the thing that gets me deepest, is his love. I never wanted for love until I met him; the only love missing was his.
Now, I have EliandFinley, and I don’t know how there’s so much room in my chest. As I fall into step on the sand, her arm loops my waist, his hand on her shoulder brushes my forearm, and I want more, and more, and more—as if I’m not already bursting.
It hits me then: no matter how much I have of them, I’ll always want more. There will never be too much or enough. When it comes to them, I am greedy and gluttonous.
When it comes to them, there are no limits. There is no end in sight. Our love is an endless horizon.
CHAPTER 17
FINLEY
I think I’m sick.
Feverish. I’m sweating so much my hair is glued to my nape. My limbs feel heavy, weighted into the mattress so I can’t move to cover myself when the A/C’s chill skates across my back.
I’m hot and cold all at once…
“Stop wriggling,” a deep, sleepy voice grumbles from behind me.
I snap my eyes open to Jayden’s soft, sleeping face. His even breaths fan my cheek, sending a warm tingle of goosebumps all the way to my toes.
In the pale wash of moonlight, he looks younger than his twenty-seven years. He could be a teenager with those long lashes and flawless skin. The straight line of his nose has the slightest upturn that emphasizes the defined curve of his cupid’s bow. Jayden has lips made for kissing and kissing and kissing. Hours and hours of it.
My pulse speeds when Elijah’s hand rests at the back of my knee. His lips press to my shoulder, scattering gentle pecks up to the crook of my neck as his hand smooths up my thigh, gripping the fleshy part below my ass.
He’s touching me—really touching me. His hands roam my body, heavy and calloused.
I can’t get enough of it.
“It’s three in the morning,” he whispers in my ear as I twist beneath the weight of his and Jayden’s legs curled over mine, shifting my back to his front while his hand trails up, over his spare boxer briefs and beneath Jayden’s T-shirt from last night.
When I guide it just below my breast, a tortured groan escapes him. “You should be sleeping.”
“So should you,” I murmur, still watching Jayden sleep while Elijah palms the curve of my rib cage.
His other hand slips beneath my head, his arm stretching across the pillows as he rests the side of his face over mine, watching him, too.
“He’s breathtaking, isn’t he?” Elijah murmurs across my cheek, lightly brushing JJ’s rebellious curl from his forehead.
I feel the subtle push and pull of his muscles beneath me as his thumb skims a whisper-light line across Jayden’s brow.
“Yes, he is,” I answer, entranced by the gentleness of his thick, long fingers caressing our man’s golden skin.
There’s something awing about watching them together. Their manly bodies and limbs become this paradox of gentle roughness I’ve never known. The natural coarseness of their moves contrasts with the tenderness of their affections. It’s the most incredible sight.
And I wonder… “Have you always loved him?”
Elijah stills at my question. After a beat, he thaws slowly. “I don’t know. The first time I met JJ, I was lost, Fin. I didn’t know how to feel about a lot of things, and my trust issues didn’t help.” His fingers ghost the line of Jayden’s jaw while his hand on my ribs keeps palming me deeper into him. “But you know JJ—you know he has a way of disarming people. Every time I pushed him away, he would somehow edge closer, even when he gave me space, and at some point, I realized that he is safe, that I can trust him.”
“When did you fall in love with him? Was it like me? You always did, but it took you time to accept it, or…”
“We became friends, and then our friendship grew, and he became a constant. There are days we spend the whole time together from our morning workout, to training, to chilling out at home… even when we’re not in the same room, we’ll game together… He’s always there.”
“So it is like you and me. Even if we had to hide our friendship. We spent every moment we could together after I wriggled myself under your nose.”
“Under my nose?” Elijah chuckles quietly, resting his hand on Jayden’s pillow, half-buried in his hair.
“Yeah, I used to follow you around all the time; you just didn’t notice me until we were in school. Then you saw me standing in the middle of the main hall, working up the courage to break the rules and cross the line for you.” That’s how long I’ve loved him, and there hasn’t been asingle second I’ve regretted it or wished I didn’t. My love for him is woven into every cell of my DNA.
