That surprised me. I glanced up at him. “Handled what?”
“Stopping.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and my breath caught. For a split second, I was certain he was going to kiss me again. My body leaned toward him before I could stop it, anticipation building in my chest. But he didn't dip his head like before. Jerking his head away, he guided me forward again.
Slowing as we reached my building, he finally turned to face me again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded and stepped inside, the door closing behind me with a soft click. I stood there longer than necessary, my fingers brushing my lips.
Reeve wanted me. I might be inexperienced, but I felt that much in my bones.
I just didn’t understand why wanting me meant holding himself back. Or why it made me want him even more.
6
ONYX
Ihadn’t stopped thinking about her mouth.
It had been three days since I kissed her in the supply room, three fucking days since her body had melted against mine and her fingers had curled into my vest like she never wanted to let go. I’d pulled away before I could strip her bare and fuck her right there against the wall, and I’d regretted it ever since.
But I’d still do it again.
I wanted her so badly it was getting hard to breathe when she was near me. But I wasn’t going to take her in a fucking storage closet like some uncaring jerk. Especially not when she’d looked at me with that wide-eyed hunger that hadn’t known what to do with itself. She hadn’t touched me like a woman who’d been kissed a hundred times before. Her breath had hitched like it was her first real one. As though it meant something.
All of it added up to her being a virgin.
She wasn’t a fling. Just a good time. She was mine.
I would be her first. Her last. Her only.
That realization had turned something primal loose in me. That no other man had touched what was mine made theobsession worse. My cock throbbed every time I so much as heard her voice.
I wanted to mark her. Possess her. Bury myself inside her until she forgot what it felt like to be without me. I wanted her swollen with my come, ruined for anyone else, and begging me for more. I sought to pull those soft little moans from her mouth, then make her scream in ecstasy until she had no voice left.
But I was also determined to make that first time special. And she needed to be ready because I had no doubt that once I got inside her tight, virgin pussy, I wouldn’t leave it until she craved every filthy fucking thing I wanted to do to her.
So I took things slow.
For the past three days, I’d done my best to play it cool, while still inching us forward. I still walked her home every night. But I also stood a little too close, let my touches linger, and stared at her with so much heat I was sure she felt the burn. There’d been a few times when I wasn’t able to resist, and I’d stolen a deep, steamy kiss. Never at the end of the night, though. Walking away would have been asking too much of myself.
My mind was an absolute war zone, though. Since I mostly kept my hands off her, everyone except my club brothers seemed to think she was fair game.
I’d finally given her a client to ink, and when she was done with the fucking brilliant piece, he tried to get her number. I shut that shit down with one fucking look. One of my regulars commented on her smile, and I nearly broke his fucking nose. And some guy who came in to schedule an appointment had the nerve to compliment her hair while undressing her with his eyes. I stepped right between them and smiled a warning that said to keep fucking talking and see how many teeth he’d leave with.
Elena clearly noticed my over-the-top possessiveness, but she didn’t say much about it. I often caught her watching me with those gray-blue eyes, and her breath would catch just a littlewhen our gazes locked. She looked at me like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to run or crawl into my lap. And every time she flushed or shifted in her seat like she needed friction, it drove me right to the edge.
I pulled back just a little less each time. It wouldn’t be long before I broke, and I hoped like hell she was ready for me when I did.
That night, just as we were locking up, I got a text from our prez.
King
Need to meet. My office. Twenty minutes.
Elena had just slipped her sketchbook into her bag. I opened the door, and she stepped outside, then waited for me to lock the door before moving into her place beside me as we hit the sidewalk. She didn’t ask me anymore if I was walking her home.
She was moving a little slow, and I frowned. “You okay?”
