Page 69

That was all I needed and the next thing I knew, my cock was erupting over his fist, cum streaming over his knuckles and splashing his chest. I moaned loudly as I came, my hips bucking erratically and losing the rhythm I’d set.

It didn’t matter—a second later, Ellis’s cock thickened inside me and he groaned as he pulsed into the condom. Distantly, I wished I could feel it, the heat of his cum filling my ass, but I focused on the moment instead, the pleasure washing over me, the way he was buried deep inside, and the broken sounds he’d made as he’d come.

When our orgasms subsided, Ellis moved his hand from my hip to the base of his cock to hold tightly to the condom as I swung my leg over and eased off, before collapsing onto the bed next to him. We lay next to each other, chests heaving as we caught our breath, the room otherwise silent.

Ellis sat up and groaned quietly. “Be right back.” Quickly, he’d left and returned with a damp towel to clean me up. I didn’t have a moment to protest that I could do it myself before he wiped my thighs and ass gently with the towel, washing away the residual lube, and tossing the towel haphazardly into a hamper nearby.

A few seconds later, he crawled back into bed with me and pulled me close, holding me against his chest, his breath soft and warm in my hair, his fingers stroking along my back soothingly. I was at a loss for words, so instead, I just absorbed the moment, the soft touch of his fingers, the way my body ached, the sound of his breathing.

I wasn’t sure how long had passed when Ellis spoke again. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I chuckled softly. “Where else would I be? On the couch?”

“No,” he said. “I mean, I’m glad you came to Pine Bluff. I’m glad you didn’t let my bad attitude scare you off. I’m glad this happened.”

I pressed a gentle kiss to his chest. “Yeah. Me too.”

Before I could say anything else, the sound of the front door swinging shut echoed through the house. I froze and held my breath, trying not to panic.

“Guys? I’m home,” Lena called out.

Chapter Thirty

Ellis

“Shit,” I muttered, barely audible. My heart raced and panic washed through me, cold and fast. I fought the urge to scramble up and push Kieran away.

He looked at me with wide eyes, a question in his gaze. I sighed softly and pulled my arm from underneath him before getting up and pulling my clothes on. Before I could hand Kieran his jeans, Lena knocked on the door.

“El? You in there?”

“Yeah,” I called out. “Just a sec.” I looked at Kieran one last time, grimacing, before turning to the door, taking a deep breath, and opening it just enough to step out into the hall before closing it behind me.

Lena gave me a quizzical look, eyebrows furrowed, head tilted. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I repeated. “Great.” I didn’t sound convincing.

Slowly, Lena smiled at me. “You have someone in there, don’t you?”

“I—”

“You do!” She laughed a little. “Finally. Or—wait—is it Eva?” she hissed.

“For fuck’s sake,” I said. “No, it’s not Eva.”

She frowned and hesitated for a minute. “Okay, well, don’t tell me anything, I guess. I’ll just find out when they do their walk of shame.”

“Lena,” I said slowly, trying to be patient. “Please. Just go to your room and let me have some privacy. Please.”

“Fine,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll just grab a bottle of wine and Kieran and I can gossip in my room until your guest leaves.” A beat passed. “Wait.”

The icy panic was back, my stomach sinking. “What?”

“I swore I saw Kier’s car out there. Is he home?”

“Kieran?” I echoed. “I don’t know. I’ve been… busy. Obviously.”

She pulled her phone out. “I’m going to call him. Maybe he went out for a walk or something. Maybe he walked into town to get dinner. I don’t know.” After she tapped Kieran’s icon on her screen, she shrugged. “See you later.”