Something flashes behind her eyes, but it vanishes as quickly as it appears. She leans back from me, and my heart clencheswith worry that I’ve just pushed her away with three simple words. But it comes crashing back into place as she tugs off my glasses, reaching over the side of the hammock to place them on the small table.
Her forehead presses against mine again, and warmth blooms in my chest at the much-needed contact. I release a sigh of relief. She plants her icy palms on the sides of my neck, and I suck in a startled breath.
“Sorry,” she murmurs. “Cold hands that match my glacial heart, I suppose.”
Something twists in my chest, and I feel gutted by the knowledge that some part of her believes those lies.
“Adhira, you’re the complete opposite of all the lies you’ve believed about yourself—you’re warm beyond belief, and my entire body blazes from the simplest touch from you. And if the people who labelled you with those falsehoods had been listening, they’d know that every word you speak contains multitudes. Just because you don’t speak in flowery riddles doesn’t mean you aren’t giving pieces of yourself away with every word.” I shake my head with a huff of exasperation. “You say exactly what you mean, never leaving anyone in the dark unless…” I pin her with a pointed stare. “Unless you think it’s for the greater good. And I hope that someday soon, you’ll realise the only future you’re beholden tois your own.”
She swallows, holding my gaze with such fierceness that I’m convinced she can do anything she sets her mind to, even win this war against her own body.
Her fingers tangle in the soft material of my Wyvern Warriors shirt, dragging me flush against her chest, and I’m certain a kiss from her would be the purest form of ecstasy. As if sensing what I need, her lashes flutter closed, and she presses her lips to the corner of mine.
It's barely a kiss, and somehow it's still the most incredible, awe-inducing experience of my life, permanently lodging my heart in my throat as she settles into my arms and cements my desperation for more of her.
“You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever known, Elijah Elliott. Inside and out.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
An early autumnbreeze tickles my nose, carrying with it the fresh scent of rain. I groan, content to continue basking in the comfort of this dream, my body nestled in a cocoon of warmth and safety, the rising sun heating my cheeks.
I shift, dragging the soft blanket under my chin, bristling against something hard dragging against my arse.
My eyes burst open, hand suspended in mid-air as something smooth and featherlight skims over the fine dusting of hair between my legs.
Breathe in.Breathe out.
Memories of last night rush back, reminding me how we got here in the first place, and my body flushes as I replay him telling me I’m beautiful, the way his pulse pounded beneath the skin of his throat, the hunger in his eyes as he drank me in.
But the moments leading up to that memory invade my mind, chewing up the happy glow I’d felt and spitting it out.
My eyes widen with the sudden press of his hand against my pelvis, dragging my ass along the impressive length hidden beneath his grey joggers. He grunts, his warm breath skimming the shell of my ear, causing me to shiver against him.
“Shit.”
The word comes out in a husky whisper as he jerks his hand away, but I snatch his wrist, holding it in place where he was just cupping me.
The realisation slams into my chest with the force of a truck: I want this.I want Elijah Elliott in a way I’ve never desired anyone else.
And it’s not just the physical sensations that are new; it’s this all-consuming feeling of rightness that has been burrowing into my heart since the day he picked me up and scooted my chair in.
“Adhira?” he asks, his deep, sleep-laden voice rumbling through his chest and into my spine. “What are we doing?” The words float away on the wind surrounding us.
“I’m not sure.”
He holds still for a moment longer, releasing a long breath.
“I think—I think it’s nice to feel normal for once. This—” I stroke the back of his hand. “It feels normal.Good.”
“Tell me what you want me to do, sweetheart,” he rasps out, burying his face into my neck with a whimper.
Tension. So much tension and longing coil deep in my belly.
“Would you—” I bite my lip so hard a metallic tang coats my palate. “R-rub my clit? Please.”
My core tightens. Pressure presses behind my eyes.
