“I might pee my pants,” comes out in a wheeze.
Taking that as my cue, I climb out from under his hoodie and breathe in fresh air and watch the scene unfold.
Her tiny arms cross. With a pout, she demands, “I didn’t say anything funny. Stop laughing and answer my question, Elijah.”
I look around his bed, trying to spot this supposed stuffed bunny she’s talking about. “Let me see it.”
My hand extends out to her. She huffs and reaches behind her back. A millisecond later, she proves herself right when it plops into my lap rather than my hand.
Oh my God. Am I dreaming? I must be.
“Don’t tell me it’s?—”
“The bunny I stole from you and refused to give back when we were fifteen.” Happiness is deeply layered in his voice. “Yes.”
I hug it to my chest, hiding it over my frantic heart, and he sees my shock.
“I can’t believe you still have this, let alone take it on tour with you.”
“I told you, it’s special to me; not my fault you didn’t trust me.” Reaching out, he rips it possessively from my grasp. “Don’t get any ideas in that head of yours.”
I flick his nose, making him flinch. “Care to elaborate?”
Leaning back with his brown hair sticking up in several directions, he graces us with a sleepy smile. “You can’t have it back because it’s mine now.”
“It’s okay. You can have it.”
I give Stella a look like he’s crazy. She hides her smile behind her hand.
“You know what actually?” Elijah sits up so fast that I wonder if he got whiplash. With the stuffed animal in hand, he rubs it along my chest, neck, and face. “She hasn’t had your scent in a while, so this is perfect.” Bringing it back to his nose, he sniffs loudly, rolling his eyes back. “Perfect.”
“Stella, go to the table and wait for me.”
Showcasing how she’s a perfect little girl, she climbs over Elijah’s legs and runs to her work.
“Just letting you know, I’m ovulating right now, so if you could keep the cuteness down to a simmer, that would be great.”
“No can do. Can’t hold back what comes naturally to me.” Smirking, he takes me by the back of my neck and takes my lips in his hungrily. Keeping up with his pace isn’t hard, seeing how he kisses me slowly and sensually, savoring any moment we have together.
“I’ll just take her and leave you two alone.”
We break apart. Amelia lingers in the doorway. Stella skips happily, completely forgetting us, and follows Amelia down the stairs.
Resuming where we left off, Elijah grabs my butt and says each word between kisses. “I want a mini us so badly, please?”
“Not until I’m Mrs. Drakos.”
Groaning, he throws his head back.
FORTY-THREE
ELIJAH
“You guys look so cute that I could just eat you,” Amelia gushes behind her phone, taking a group picture of Leonidas, Trinity, Lily, and me.
We have a week-and-a-half break, so everyone decided to fly back to London and spend some time there as tourists.
When the two bands get together, something happens to all our brain chemistry. We suddenly forget to hide from the public or that fame follows us everywhere. Like chickens with their heads cut off or children that just ate Red 40, Lily climbs on my back and poses for the photo, Leonidas and Trinity get in the classic telephone booth and make out for a picture, and Amelia forces Levi to skip down the streets with her. And like sad little puppies, Axel and Rowan follow—before Axel ditches all of us for a girl he meets.
