“Elle,” I whisper, my fingers running through her long chocolate brown tresses. Lying in my bed with her cradled in my arms has my chest squeezing with a tightness foreign to me.

I’m irrevocably in love with Elle Johnson.

She could run once she finds out the depth of my feelings for her. But I’d rather have her run now than later. By then I’ll be so far gone, there’ll be no recovering.

“What?” she murmurs.

“I’m falling in love with you,” I husk, my voice gritty with emotion.

Her head raises from my chest, her eyes wide in the silver moonlight coming in my windows. “You are?”

“Can’t you tell?” My fingers continue to comb through her soft hair.

“I’m not sure. No one’s ever been in love with me before.”

“I find that hard to believe. You’re easy to love. I can’t believe I’m the only man who’s noticed.”

“I’m different with you than I’ve been with other guys.”

“How so?” My heart thuds at her admission. I want her to tell me she’s never felt this way before.

“We talk about everything and I never feel like you’re judging me, no matter what I might say.” She shifts position, resting both her arms on my chest. “In the past, I’ve never wanted to spend time with a guy outside the bedroom.” She catches her bottom lip between her teeth, raking over it. “And now, I never want to be apart from you.”

I smile, her words symbolize more to me than she realizes. It’s not an outright declaration of love, but it’s almost as good as one. I have to pay attention to the words Elle says and her actions, not what she doesn’t vocalize or do. “I don’t like to be away from you either. Work keeps us both busy and I realize finding time to be together is going to be a struggle. But we’re worth putting in the effort, Elle. You make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

“You’re so sweet.”

“You’re the sweet one,” I smack my lips together. “I did have my face buried in your pussy for forty minutes earlier.”

“You’re really good at that.”

“Eating pussy?”

“Yep.”

“I’ve never been so committed to excelling at it before. You inspire me in every way possible.”

“Well, I hope I keep inspiring you.”

“I don’t see that ever changing.”

“Don’t shave your beard off.”

“You like it?”

“I like the way it feels when you…”

“When I rub it back and forth over your clit?”

“Yes.” She twirls a strand of her hair around her index finger. “When do you think you could do that again?”

Gripping her upper arms, I tug her along my chest until she’s straddling my shoulders. “There’s no time like the present.”

* * *

I’ve been in an incredible mood all day. I’m ridiculously happy. I can’t keep the smile from my face.

“Things are good with you and Elle?” Sean asks.

“Yeah, things are great. Better than I hoped.”

“Oh shit. Guys, Tell E is on. I missed some of it. Why didn’t you remind me it was on?” Tatum questions in an annoyed tone. “This show makes every Friday night bearable for me.”

“Maybe you need to set an alarm. I don’t know when it’s on.” I reply.

“Shh, no more talking. I need to listen. You can’t make this shit up.” She turns the volume up while the three of us sit around, waiting for our next clients.

“The next caller is Harry from New Hampshire. What’s your question?”

“A couple of days ago, my girlfriend and I had unprotected sex. We got the morning after pill and I took it immediately. What are the chances she’ll still get pregnant?”

“Okay,” she sighs. “Let me get this straight. You took the pill instead of your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you take it?”

“Because she told me I had to.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Harry, but you weren’t supposed to take that pill. She was. And it needs to be taken within seventy-two hours after the unprotected sex for it to be effective.”

“So, what should I do?”

“Get another pill and make sure she takes it before the seventy-two hours are up.”

“What’s going to happen to me from the pill? Will I grow breasts? Will my dick fall off?”

She pauses and I imagine laughter being stifled. “Nothing will happen from taking it once. But don’t do it again.”

Her sexy voice is somehow familiar to me. Is she someone I’ve met before?

“The next caller is Leah, from Newton. What’s your question?”

“My boyfriend won’t tie me up and I’ve asked numerous times. Should I forget about it or ask him again?”

“You have to decide how important this is to you. Is it a deal breaker? Are you willing to end your relationship with him over it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Six months. He said I’m weird for wanting to be tied up.”

“There’s nothing weird about wanting that. I’m not really experienced in this particular area. I’ve only let one guy tie me up and it was a spontaneous thing when we hooked up after a wedding.”

“Did you like it?” the caller asks.

“I did. I’d say it was the best sex of my life, but we’re together now and each time is better than the last.”

I pause sketching in my book as I think about E’s words. She got tied up after a wedding and now she’s with the dude. That sounds exactly like what happened with Elle and me. Her show is on every Friday night and Elle always works late or has commitments then. I’ve never thought anything of it because I work late and can’t be with her anyway. My stomach turns when I think of how she’s been keeping this from me and for what purpose?

* * *

“Are we going out for drinks?” Tatum asks as Sean and I clean up our stations. It’s closing time and all I can think about is heading over to Elle’s.

“No, I have plans,” I say, stripping off my gloves and throwing them in the trash.

“Josh is getting lucky,” Sean says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“How are things with you and Elle?” Tatum questions.

“Great.” I’m not going to reveal my suspicions to them. I need to see her and get some answers. “Have a good night.” I give them both a quick wave, pull my keys from my pocket and I’m out the door.

The drive to Elle’s seems longer than the usual ten minutes it normally takes. I don’t want to assume the worst, but my stomach is nauseous with worry.

Minutes later, I’m in front of her apartment door with damp palms and a racing heart. I should’ve come up with a game plan of how to broach the subject, but my mind is still drawing a blank when my knuckles connect with the steel door.

“Hey,” she says her voice laced with happiness when she sees me.

“Hi.” I muster a small smile.

“This is a nice surprise.” She grabs my hand and pulls me inside, closing the door behind us. Her arms wrap around my waist. I’m slow to return the hug and when I hesitate she glances up at me, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

I step back from her, letting my arms fall to my sides. “I need to ask you something and I want a straight answer.”

She nods. “Of course.”

“Are you the radio personality Tell E?”

Her eyes go wide with surprise and her mouth opens then closes, at a loss for words. I don’t fill the awkward silence, instead I wait patiently for her answer. I can already tell what it will be by her reaction.

“Yes, I’m E.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. It never came up in conversation and it’s something I do once a week. It’s not a big part of my life. It’s not like I opened up a business and didn’t tell you.”

“It’s part of who you are, Elle. I want to know everything about you.”

“Like I want to know everything about you? If you remember, I had no idea you were opening Canvas or that you’d been apprenticing for three years. It’s a bit hypocritical of you to ask me to tell you everything when you didn’t do the same.” She points at me and then crosses her arms.

“We weren’t even talking when I decided to open Canvas,” I retort.

“We were good friends and you didn’t tell me about wanting to be a tattoo artist. You didn’t even tell Janny and you guys were dating then.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you guys,” I say, running a hand over my short beard. “I guess part of me felt like being a tattoo artist was something people might look down on, especially with my family’s ties to the Bastards.”

“Josh, I don’t know what you mean, but I would never judge you for what your family does. Tattooing is an extension of your art. You should always be proud of your talent.”

“I don’t really talk about my family much. My father and my older brother are in the motorcycle club, the Bastards. In the past, I’ve been judged negatively for their involvement. That’s why I didn’t tell you or anyone else.”

“I wish you would’ve told me,” she tells me.

“I could say the same for you.”

“I didn’t want you to ask me to quit.”

“Really? If you honestly thought I’d do that, you don’t know me at all.”

“No one knows Tell E is my show. I haven’t even told Janny.”

I’m slightly pacified that no one knows, but I’m still disappointed she didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell me. “Elle, you can talk to me about anything. Two nights ago, you told me you knew I wouldn’t judge. What makes this any different?”

“It’s a show about sexual topics. I think a lot of guys might have a problem with their girlfriends discussing sex so openly. I started to do the show as a way to explore my sexuality and to feel empowered after a relationship I was in ended badly.”

“I keep telling you, I’m not other guys and it’s not fair for you to compare me to them,” I bark, my tone sharper than I intend.

“I know. I’m sorry. I was worried you’d be angry about it.”

“I am angry, but not about the show. I’m upset you didn’t confide in me.” I raise my hand to brush her hair off her forehead and she flinches. Cupping her cheeks with both palms, I stare down into her honey brown eyes. “Elle, no matter how angry I may get when we fight, I’ll never lay a hand on you. I hope you know that.”

She licks her lips and nods. “I do.”

“I promise you, I’ll never physically harm you.”

She nods, her eyes downcast. “I know you won’t.”

“You don’t have to tell me about it now. But there’s a story there and when you’re ready I want to hear all about it.”