Page 164 of New Growth
He leaned in, touching his forehead to mine. “I’m building something, Ellie. A legacy. And it’s not just mine—I want you in it. I see the way you work, the way you fight for this, for your girls, for your name. I love that about you. That’s what I’m doing too. For us.”
I blinked, hard. He wasn’t wrong. We were creators at heart. Passionate. Obsessive. Addicted to our crafts.
Elliot cupped my cheek, his thumb grazing my skin. “I’m sorry about today. You’re right. I should have prioritized taking care of you after the night we had. I got caught up in work, and I promise I’ll make it up to you. But don’t ever question what you mean to me. Your trust in me can’t fall apart so easily, Ellie. I said I’m not going anywhere and I meant it.”
I looked away, eyes stinging. I still had a long way to go when it came to this new chapter I was writing for myself. Last night had me thinking all my problems could be fixed with a little ‘TLC’, but evidently, there was more to it than that.
Maybe this wasrealhealing. Messy. Slow. Unpredictable. Incomplete.
“I’m sorry too,” I whispered, voice barely there. “I’m still working on letting you all the way in.”
His gaze dipped to my lips.
“I know. I love you, Elliot. I’ll wait,” he breathed. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling me in.
The moment our lips met, the tension broke. His hands roamed down my spine, slipping under the hem of my shirt, anchoring me to him. I clung to him tightly, like I could fuse our bodies together if I tried hard enough.
“Open your legs, Elliot,” he growled.
I obeyed without thinking.
He slid his hands down my back, into my pants, cupped me through my panties first with just enough pressure to make me gasp. Then he forced them aside, fingers sliding into me like he already knew my spot. He never looked away from my face—watching the way I unraveled under his touch, like it fed something primal in him.
“I missed this already,” he rasped. “I missed you.”
“Elli—”
“I’m right here,” he said, kissing the words off my tongue. “I’ve got you, baby.”
And then—of course.
“Ellie, we need you back up here!” Johanna’s voice cut through the haze like a damn fire alarm from the other side of the door.
“Fuck.” I groaned, pressing my palms into my eyes.
Elliot stepped back slowly, his breath ragged, hand flexing once at his side before he adjusted himself. His jaw was locked tight, his pupils dark and blown with need that hadn’t gone anywhere.
He stared at me like I was a meal. “Come over tonight.”
It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed hard. “I—”
“Elliot. If you’re not in my bed with me between your legs by nine o’clock,” he said lethally, “I’ll be in my car. Hunting. You. Down. And believe me, you don’t want that. Because wherever I find you, that’s where I’m having you. Do you understand me?”
My breath caught. “Y-yes.”
“Good.”
He pulled out his wallet, peeled off five crisp hundred-dollar bills, and pressed them into my hand.
“For the lady’s hair,” he said with a smirk, kissing the corner of my mouth before leaving the room like he hadn’t just ruined my entire ability to function for the rest of the day.
Renew.
Ifeltoutofplace as I walked beside El through his childhood backyard.
It had been about a week since we started sleeping together, and things were getting…serious. For the most part, El was right. Nothing has changed about our friendship. Except now, I was occasionally pinned beneath him, whispering his name into the hollow of his throat.
