“It was.” She took in a deep breath that was half sob. “Mom didn’t get along with her parents and I’d never met them. But she was desperate so she called them. We moved in with them until the house sold and we had some money again. My grandparents were yellers, too.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He kissed her forehead.
Wren shook her head. “Actually, it wasn’t bad. They didn’t yell at me. They doted on me. Thought I was the funniest thing going. I loved them, I really did. They were just loud, you know? Arguing was a way of life, a way to get your point across. I didn’t understand that there wasn’t malice behind it. They never said things like my parents did, they never said ‘I hate you’ or ‘It’s all your fault.’ But by then, any yelling made me anxious. But loud laughter didn’t. So I kept them in stitches.”
She laid her head against Elias’ chest, suddenly exhausted. And yet, she also felt like a burden had lifted from her shoulders. Elias didn’t push her away. He just kept stroking her hair.
“Baby, I don’t ever want you to laugh when you really want to cry. When you laugh, I want to know it’s real, that it’s because something has tickled you. Because I’ve done something goofy that’s made you happy.”
Wren nodded against his chest. “You do make me laugh for real, I promise. Just please don’t question me or yourself every time I do laugh. That’ll take the fun out of everything.”
“I promise, so long as you promise to always tell me when you aren’t comfortable.” He tilted her chin up again. “I know how your parents messed you up with their fighting. That doesn’t need to be us. I don’t like yelling at the people I care about, either. Maybe if we keep on treating each other like friends, with respect, then it won’t ever come down to fighting like that.”
Wren grinned at him. “Friends with benefits I hope.”
“Friends with many, many benefits,” he told her. Then he moved in for a kiss.
SIXTEEN
Oh, this woman.
So much heartache hidden under layers of laughter. And yet, she revealed herself to him. Stripped herself of her defenses. Trusted Elias not to hurt her when she was most vulnerable.
So brave.
Elias gave Wren his sexiest smileas he dipped his head and brushed his lips across hers. “Mmm.” He brushed her lips again. On the third brush, he licked her bottom lip and she made the sexiest sound as Elias felt his heart speed up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and found his nape. Wren parted her lips against his, letting him enter her mouth and explore. He groaned and pulled her closer, then broke off their kiss, savoring her sounds of protest.
“Right now, I’m going to show you just how many benefits you have.”
And with that, he slid his hands down her body and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his torso and giggled all the way down the hall as he carried her to his bedroom.
“Hey! It’s your hostages,” she joked when she saw her panties and bra on his dresser. Now that he understood her, Elias didn’t have to question if she was joking because she was anxious.When she got anxious, she sucked her cheeks in. Right now, her other tell was right there—that gorgeous sparkle in her eyes whenever something made her happy.
“We’ll discuss the hostages later. Right now, I need you too much to stop and let you put those on.” Elias laid her down on his bed then covered her with his body. He leaned down and growled, “I’d only rip them right back off of you.”
Wren moaned and arched up, pressing her body against his erection. He straddled her and pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it into the corner as she watched. God, he loved being watched by her. Loved seeing the raw, naked desire in her hazel eyes. Her salty-peach scent rose up, tantalizing him.
Her hands went to his waist and she began undoing his pants. Her fingers brushed him—sheer torture as his cock strained against his boxer briefs. He moved off the bed then pulled off his jeans and boxer briefs, revealing his weeping cock. Wren sat up and pulled off her V-neck tee, revealing a pink silk bra with dark gray lace and trim. Elias could see her dark nipples—hard little pebbles under the thin fabric.
“Take your jeans off for me right now,” he growled. “Make it fast.”
Wren got to her knees and undid her jeans. But instead of pulling them off, she ran her hand down her belly until her fingers disappeared into her jeans. Elias groaned as he watched her hand move, imagining her fingers gliding over the silk barely covering her sweet pussy. Her eyes twinkled, full of equal parts of joy, mischief, and lust as she teased him.
“Do you trust me to make you feel good?” he asked.
“Always,” she answered in a throaty voice.
“Then stop. That’s mine to play with right now. Jeans off.”
Her half-masted eyes widened as she licked her lips. “The panties too?”
“Not yet.”
She kicked off her heels and peeled off her jeans and Elias got to see exactly what he’d hoped for. She’d soaked her panties for him.
“Oh, yeah, baby. That’s what I wanted.”
When he reached toward his nightstand to get a condom, Wren grabbed his wrist.
