***
We didn’t stay long at the reception, just enough to make an appearance. I stayed by Elias’s side most of the evening. The only person who came up to talk just to me was Grace. Most of the people who congratulated Elias barely looked at me, so it was no great loss when my new husband tugged on my sleeve and leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“I think we can leave now.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Within five minutes, the three of us were in a large limo Elias had rented for the evening, despite the trip not being particularly long. We were at Elias’s front step in fifteen minutes.
The outside hadn’t changed much. Still large and modern-looking. Grace’s mouth dropped open as her eyes went wide as saucers. I couldn’t blame her. This was the biggest house she had likely ever seen. She bolted inside the second Elias opened the door.
I didn’t say anything for a long moment as I looked around the space. He hadn’t changed much in the last few years. The spacious living room still had the same expensive yet comfortable furniture, the same elegant rug. To the left, I could see the entrance to the large kitchen. At the far end of the large room, a staircase led upward to the second floor.
“Your room is up there, third on the left,” Elias told Grace. “I went ahead and had all your things brought over.”
Grace didn’t waste any time. She bolted up the stairs.
“No running in the house,” I called, even though I already knew it was pointless.
“She’s just excited,” Elias said. “I’m sure she’ll get used to it.”
He came up behind me and put his arms on my shoulders. I stiffened beneath his touch, but eventually relaxed as he began massaging me. I let out a soft moan as the tension from the last few hours finally began to ebb under his skilled hands.
“You looked incredible in that dress,” he growled in my ear. One hand slid down from my shoulder to grip my waist. “I could barely keep my hands off you at the reception.”
Bending down, his lips went to my neck, moving down to where he had bitten me, kissing me gently.
The sensation snapped me back to reality, and I stepped away. I turned to face him, my jaw tight as he blinked in mild confusion.
“I’m not having sex with you,” I said, the words so blunt, so matter-of-fact, that he actually took a step back.
Then the words hit home. His eyes narrowed, and a snarl escaped his lips.
“What?” he growled.
“I’m putting my daughter to bed, then I’m taking a shower,” I said. “I am not having sex with you tonight, Elias.”
His eyes turned to slits. Inside, my wolf snarled with frustration and longing. I could imagine how his wolf was feeling. He wanted—needed—to consummate the bond. Hell, I could sense that urgency, and I could feel the tug of completing the bond myself. I wanted him as much as he wanted me. But I owed this to myself. I wasn’t going to have sex with him just because of some primal urge.
Instead of spitting vengeful barbs, he stepped forward, hand reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch electrified me as the backs of his fingers caressed my cheek. I didn’t recoil, but the defiance in my gaze lingered. His hand cupped my cheek. I didn’t move away.
“You might feel differently once you come to bed,” he said, his voice low, husky with need as his thumb stroked my cheekbone. “Who knows what might happen in the dark while we’re pressed against one another.”
My breath hitched, barely perceptible, but still there. For a moment, triumph flashed in his gaze. He thought he had won,that he could carry me up to the bedroom and have his way with me all night. Part of me wanted it. He could sense it, even, some pulsing need coming from whatever bond connected us now.
For a wild moment, I almost gave in. It would be so easy to just succumb to those urges I had been resisting, to just give in and let him take me. It wasn’t as though I didn’t want it. The mating bond tugged at me with the same urgency as it did him.
But I couldn’t forget the last time I was in this house. The last time I had sex with Elias, he had discarded me like I was garbage. He had used me then. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him use me again. And that’s all this would be.
I shook my head. “No.” I stepped back. “I’m not doing this. I’m putting Grace to bed, then I’m taking a shower.Alone.”
I spun on my heels and walked out of the room.
Chapter 7 - Elias
I stared after her, jaw dropping as she disappeared up the stairs. Her scent still lingered in the air around me, driving my wolf insane with need.
She had rejected me. Out of everything that I could have expected, this was about as low on the list as possible. I could tell she wanted it, could tell she was fighting that urge to be with me. I just couldn’t figure out why.
I wished for a wild moment that I could read her thoughts. Or maybe that was the mating bond. It had only been a couple of hours, but she seemed to consume my thoughts, driving me and my wolf wild. It hadn’t even fully locked in place yet, and I already felt this overwhelming need to be near her as much as possible, to taste her lips, to feel her against me.
