“What the fuck, Colby?”
“Like it?”
Eli laughs softly. “It’s fucking gorgeous. She’s yours?”
“Yeah, I restored her with my grandfather as a teen. She’s my inheritance.”
“Fucking gorgeous,” Eli mumbles under his breath. “I get to ride in her?”
“Yeah, baby.” I open the passenger door and help Eli in. The awe across his face was worth holding this surprise in. The air is humid when we pull onto the highway, but riding with the windows down is worth it to have the air whipping through Eli’s curls. The smile on his face is priceless too. I can’t help but reach over to tangle our fingers together.
Eli aims one of those lopsided, blissful smiles at me as we make the drive inland, and my heart is a goner. Four days with him and already I know he’s something goddamn special. I want to keep him. How in the world do I even try to lay claim to a wild and beautiful thing like Elijah Ruiz?
The club is dark and full already when we arrive. I usher Eli to the bar with a firm hand on the small of his back. Once we reach the bar, I flag the bartender down, and nod for Eli to order whatever he wants. He orders a shot of top-shelf vodka and I hold my fingers up so that the bartender brings us two.
Eli surveys the crowd while leaning his weight against me. I keep my hand on the small of his back, letting my fingers dip into his waistband just a little. We take the shots at the same time, then Eli kisses me while wearing a blinding grin so that I can taste the liquor on his tongue.
“You gonna dance with me?” Eli asks next to my ear.
The weight of him against me is going to make me do indecent things in public. But I wanted this and I wanted to show him he’s mine, even if only for this week. Bodies sway against us in the crowd, but all I can see is Eli. He twists to the beat, curls all over the place, all I can do is try to keep up.
Other people, even couples, stare at Eli. I understand because I can’t stop staring either. He’s the most beautiful thing on the dance floor. There’s an inherent freedom that radiatesoutward from Eli that others just can’t help but notice. ThatIcan’t help but notice. I’m mesmerized by him.
He sweeps me up with him so that I spend hours dancing with him. At a certain point some other guy tries to dance against Eli’s back, but he pulls away when I aim a lethal look his way. Eli notices my look with a laugh, cups my jaw, and kisses me so filthily that I’m afraid we’ll catch a charge. I tug him against me so tightly that I think maybe he’ll become a part of me.
His laugh echoes against my mouth before he bites my bottom lip. “I don’t want them!” Eli shouts against my ear. “I only want you. My husband.”
All the blood in my body threatens to boil. I tangle my hands in his hair and kiss him with everything I have. I dip him on the dance floor, feasting on his mouth, trying to consume every inch of him. He finally pulls away from me, eyes glazed over from the kiss.
“Take me home,” Eli says so softly that I almost miss it.
But I don’t. I hear him.
I tug Eli out of the bar, ushering him towards the parked car with my arm around his shoulders. He’s quiet on the ride home, looking out the window as we ride up the coastal highway. The cloudless sky blinks stars above us and the sound of the waves curls around us.
I lead him inside, a hand on his back, then give him a gentle shove towards the stairs.
“Here’s the plan,” I say slowly without breaking his gaze, “I want you to go upstairs and get yourself ready. I will give you exactly fifteen minutes to get outside and then I’m going to chase you. I will fuck you where I find you.”
Eli doesn’t move, he just stares at me from the edge of the stairs. I turn my wrist, look down at my watch, and tap it in clearexpectation. That sends Eli scrambling up the stairs. I go to the kitchen, heart pounding in my chest.
I haven’t done this sort of thing in years, not since before Marcus. He was never into primal play, he was just barely into my dominant streak at all. Most of the time we made love which fit us just fine. I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed this side of myself until Eli unleashed it. I hadn’t even intended to be this way with him. Something about him, sweet Eli, just brings it out of me.
After drinking an ice-cold glass of water, I take off my shirt and shoes so that I’m left in only my jeans. The rushing sound of water running upstairs alerts me to the fact that Eli is still getting ready for me. My watch says it’s only been a few minutes, so I go over to the piano. I take a calming breath as I sit down.
I let my fingers dance along the keys, playing a song that I don’t know the words to at all. The sound of the back door opening and closing is the only sign I need that Eli left the house. Time slows as I look down at my watch, the two final minutes crawling by. Pushing away from the piano, the bench screeches on the wooden floor underneath me. I open the back door to step outside. It’s the same cloudless night that it was a few moments ago but the air is full of crackling tension now.
I walk with a purpose to the shore, following the fresh footprints that Eli’s feet pressed into the ground as he ran from me. But in a weird way, it feels like he’s running towards me. The empty beach stretches in front of me both ways. My heart pounds when I don’t see him in either direction. But a noise from the dune to the right has my head jerking in that direction.
“Shit,” Eli mumbles, facing me in the dark.
His chest heaves. His fingers nervously clench and unclench at his sides. Even with only the moon to light him up, he’s the epitome of perfection. We stare at each other for a moment before Eli takes off at a breakneck run towards the water.
I chase after him, feet pounding the wet sand. Either Eli is tired or he’s slow on purpose, but I catch up to him quickly, and topple us to the ground in a heap. Eli lands on the compacted, wet sand with a loud huff. Grabbing his wrists with one of my hands, I hold him still as I unbutton my jeans.
“Please,” Eli begs around a moan.
I slip a condom on before roughly slapping my dick against his ass. “You want this?”
