Page 61 of Slow Burn

“I want,” he groaned out as he followed her into the lobby, watching her shake her hips left and right. They were in the elevator, and she stood in front of him, her butt pressed against him. “Georgia,” he warned through a clenched jaw.

The elevator doors swooshed open, and she glided out to her apartment. They were inside her home for all of two seconds before he grabbed her hands and locked them behind her back.

“Stop taunting me,” he said lowly, his voice making her tingle.

She arched her head back. “You said you have resistance.”

He dropped her arms and moved to sit on the couch. “It’s not as good as I thought it was. You.” He pointed to the other side of the sectional. “Sit there.”

Georgia did, but she kicked off her shoes and put her feet in his lap. “Thoughts on watching a movie or show?”

“Can I pick it?” Elijah’s hands massaged her feet, and it felt amazing.

“As long as it isn’t scary.” She reached for the clicker on the coffee table and tossed it to him, which he caught with one hand.

He scrolled to Hulu, clicked on Chicago Fire, and pressed play.

“You are so predictable,” she teased him.

Back to rubbing her feet, he tossed back, “And you love it.”

They were a few episodes in, and Georgia wanted to scream at him about how there were firefighters married on the show but kept it to herself. She wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make. Not when he was still notoriously known for rejecting commitment, which gutted her. It was a bitter pill to swallow that he was enough for her, but she wasn’t for him.

By the time the sixth episode came on, a soft snore came from the other side of the couch. She slipped her feet from his lap and got up to grab the blanket draped over the back of the recliner.

She went back to Elijah, who was so peaceful in his sleep, and covered him up.

Unable to stop herself, she climbed on the couch and curled in next to him. His arm instantly went around her, tugging her closer to him. Then he bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before stretching his legs out in front of him.

That was how they fell asleep.

It was perfect, but it wouldn’t last long.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

THE AROMA OF coffee awakened Elijah. He sat up on the couch, not in his house, and he studied the living room. Everything in the room screamed Georgia, from the bright painting hanging on the wall behind the television, to the yellow throw blanket, and of course, the music.

Taylor Swift was softly coming from the other room.

Thank god she wasn’t singing. He smirked.

Who was he kidding? He would definitely listen to her sing again despite her sounding like a cat being thrown into a river. Her upbeat attitude was contagious, even for someone like him, who wasn’t known to be all sunshine and rainbows.

Standing, he stretched and saw the little details in her space. One thing was certain: she loved color. Elijah walked to the wall next to the television, which was covered in framed photographs. There were pictures from her childhood, from college, and even a recent one of her, Sophie, and Anna at Roman’s house. He recognized the outfit. It was a memory ingrained in his head when he went down on her for the first time.

That night was so fucking hot. It started his obsession with making her orgasm.

Damn, he was getting hard just thinking about eating her out.

“Good morning!” Georgia, a ray of sunshine, greeted him. She stepped over the blanket and met him by the collage of photos, handing him a cup of coffee. “Not to ruin your reputation of being a tough guy, but you are so adorable when you sleep. That’s why I didn’t wake you.”

He took a sip of the black coffee. “Just promise to keep it a secret.”

A quick knock on the door had Georgia rushing to answer it. He heard her yell out thanks and come back to him in the living room, holding a paper bag.

“I can make coffee, but I need to go grocery shopping,” she told him as she got comfortable on the couch. “I DoorDashed us egg wraps and fruit salad. Come sit next to me.”