Page 31 of Dare (Fighting Fate)

He nodded as he watched me, his gaze intense and dark. “Good.”

I didn’t know how he did it, but all the apprehension I’d had—all the nerves and worry I’d carried over seeing him again—was gone. My chest lightened, my breath becoming freer. “I had a dream about you,” I said suddenly, shocking my own voice of reason into a muted state.

Eli’s eyes narrowed a fraction, his head tilting a little with confusion. Shit, my admission confused me.

“The night I was drugged,” I continued, obviously ignoring the panicked flailing my voice of reason was in the process of doing. “You were there.”

His head shook a little in protest, concern creasing the corners of his eyes.

“I know you weren’t. It was just a dream. But it felt so real,” I said, unable to take my eyes off him. “Before I passed out, Wyatt had been talking weird, telling me about his . . . fantasies. He’d said he wanted someone to watch us.”

I watched Eli’s shoulders tense, his jaw clenching a fraction as he raised his chin.

Somewhere inside me, I knew I should stop, that I was only making things worse for myself, but my mouth just kept on going. “Next thing I knew, you were there, watching me,” I said, my body still strangely calm. “I was naked—tied up and blindfolded—but I knew it was you. I could hear your voice.”

“Jess,” Eli said, his voice tight.

I knew it was a warning to stop, but I ignored him. “I don’t know why, but I was insane with need. I begged you to make me feel better—”

That was as far as I got before Eli grabbed me and pushed me up against the wall, taking my mouth with the same kind of need I’d felt for him in my dream. There was no moment of shock or confusion. It was as though I’d been expecting it. I just melted against him, my hands grasping his hips as his clutched onto me, one gripping the back of my head, holding me to his frantic kisses, and the other seizing my waist, squeezing, pushing, stroking.

For the first time in my life, I knew the meaning of passion. I finally understood what people meant when they spoke of feeling connected to someone. It was as though everything just clicked into place for me. It all made sense.

Letting go, I sighed,

my hands moving over his stomach, finding the warmth of his skin and the contours of his muscles. God, I wanted him. I moaned, kissing him deeper, my tongue tasting his, knowing I’d never get enough of this, never got enough of him.

But then his kisses were gone from me, his hands grabbing at mine, pushing them down, holding them by my sides while he pushed his body hard against mine, pinning me to the wall. I stilled as his breath caressed my neck, my thoughts too scattered to understand what was going on.

“Goddamn it, Jess,” he growled against my ear. The amount of need in his voice sent shivers thundering through my body. “You have absolutely no idea what you do to me, do you?” With that, he pushed away from me, releasing his hold, and strode from the room.

As the door swung closed behind him, all I could do was try not to melt into a pile of swooning limbs on the floor.

I had no idea what the hell that had been, but I was ruined. Crap.

Chapter 20

Eli

Putting the last screw into place, I tightened it and dropped the screwdriver back into the toolbox. Swinging my leg over the seat, I cranked the engine and revved the throttle hard, listening to her sing. Happy with how she sounded now, I turned her off again and let out a long, slow breath. As much as I’d been using her as a distraction, the tuneup had honestly been something I’d been trying to get to for the last week. I was happy it was finally done.

As I finished cleaning my hands, Brad came striding in, a six-pack slung over his finger. “I thought I’d find you here,” he said, depositing the beer on the workbench beside me. “Want one?”

He knew I didn’t usually drink much, but we were on break, after all. “Sure.”

Handing one over, he cracked his own and took a swig. “So, you going to tell me what happened last night?”

I’d had a feeling he would go there. Sighing, I glanced up at the ceiling and tried not to lose my shit. I was well and truly over trying to explain to everyone what was going on when it came to Jess. But Brad had done me a solid by coming with me to Amber’s opening, and after I’d just left him there without so much as a word, I knew I owed him one. But where the hell did I start? I had no idea what the hell was going on more than the next person. I actually wished someone could come and explain it me too.

“I did what Adam suggested and went and talked to her,” I started.

Brad nodded and took another drink. “I assume it didn’t go well?” he said, pity clear in his eyes.

It was one of the reasons I considered him such a good friend. He didn’t judge and he didn’t make fun. “No, it went great,” I said, sarcasm obvious. “I made her so comfortable in talking to me, she decided it would be a great idea to tell me about the very vivid, very erotic dream she had about me the night she was drugged.”

Brad spat his drink, the action saying everything, really. “What the fuck?”

I pressed my lips together and raised my eyebrows in a what-do-you-do kind of way.

---