JADE
“How is it that I never heard about Austin?” I asked carefully as Eli and I ate breakfast the next morning. “I never even knew you had a twin at all, much less that he was addicted to drugs.”
I watched as Eli devoured the eggs, bacon, and pancakes I’d just put in front of him moments before.
He was easy to stare at since he’d only pulled on a pair of jeans and was shirtless.
He paused and downed some of his coffee before he spoke. “My parents tried to protect both Austin and me from the media. My dad worked especially hard on keeping my brother’s addiction problem a family issue. They kept a low profile and pretty much just worked. The press had nothing to talk about.”
“Until you broke out with crazy stuff,” I said.
He nodded. “I wanted the attention because of my charities, and I managed to attract a lot of celebrities and athletes for my events. Especially racing. The events got a lot of publicity.”
I sat down, and we were quiet for a few minutes as we ate. When I finally put my fork down, I said, “I’m full.”
I had to wonder whether I still had Ben & Jerry’s overload from the night before.
He lifted an eyebrow. “What happened to my woman who likes to eat?”
“I ate plenty,” I answered, and then swiped his empty plate and pushed mine in front of him. “Can you finish it?”
“After last night, I’m pretty sure I can,” he teased.
“You need to keep up your energy,” I agreed, watching as he plowed through the rest of my uneaten food.
“Do you have any complaints?” he rumbled.
I sighed. “Not one.”
Eli could surpass any of the romance heroes I read about. In fact, he was so much more than I’d ever imagined. He was relentless, and we’d both been greedy all night long. I doubted that I could ever get enough of him, even though every part of my body was sore from overuse. And I was exhausted because we only slept for short periods throughout the night.
“Unless you want me to burn all this energy I just put in, I suggest you wear something other than my sweater.”
The garment was so warm, and I never wanted to take it off because it smelled like Eli.
“I’ll get it cleaned,” I told him with a smile.
“Baby, I’m not worried about clean clothes. I have stuff next door. But every time you bend over, I can see that gorgeous ass.”
“Is that a problem for you?” I provoked.
He gave me a deliciously dangerous look. “You know it is,” he said in a raspy voice.
There was something incredibly wicked about poking the beast, and Eli could become an alpha caveman in a New York minute.
To be honest, I loved bringing out the impatient, dominant male side of him. It wasn’t the least bit daunting, because he only became that man with me. And it was the hottest damn thing I’d ever seen.
I got up and started clearing the table, and I could feel his eyes watching me as I repeatedly and purposely bent over to reach across the space.
When I was done, I moved next to him and bent to pick up an imaginary piece of lint on the floor.
He was on me before I could blink.
I savored the feel of his powerful chest pressing against my back, and his jean-clad erection against my rear.
“You were warned, Butterfly,” he growled into my ear.
“I guess I wasn’t all that scared,” I said breathlessly as I placed my hands flat on the table.
I trembled as his hand stroked over my ass.
“I still don’t know whether to spank this or fucking worship it,” he rasped, his voice heavy with need.
“Maybe both,” I suggested hopefully.
Eli turned me on no matter how he touched me, and I didn’t suppose it would be any different if he slapped my ass. As long as he fucked me after he was done.
He pressed gently on my back, lowering my upper body to the wood surface and making my ass go up in the air.
I don’t think I was quite ready for the feel of his big, strong hand connecting with my ass.
I yelped as it connected, even though the pain was minimal.
The sharp tingle of his hand slapping my vulnerable butt cheeks was so erotic that I moaned.
It was in no way a punishment. He smacked it a couple more times, caressing the globes sensually every time he met my flesh.
When he reached between my thighs, I was almost disappointed, but the lingering sting ramped up the pleasure of him stroking my saturated folds and zeroing in on arousing me by rubbing hard against my clit.
“Eli,” I moaned. “Fuck me,” I demanded.
I could feel him fumbling with his jeans as he rumbled, “I’ll never fucking get tired of hearing you say that.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have been, but I was shocked as he drove himself home from behind.
The angle was so incredibly different, and he was so deep that I gasped.
“Yes,” I encouraged.
My tight channel accepted him, and there were no preliminaries. Both of us were too hungry, too needy.
I pushed back against him, finding my own rhythm as he impaled me over and over again.
“Harder,” I begged.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled.
“You won’t. I need you, Eli.”
Incredibly, he grasped my hips even more forcefully and hammered into me at a pace that had me rising toward climax.
When he reached a hand around my body and caressed my clit, I imploded.
“I love you so damn much, Jade,” he grunted.
Those words flowed over my shaking body and invaded my soul.
“I love you, too,” I said on a sharply drawn breath as my core spasmed so hard I could barely breathe.
He roared incoherently as I milked him to his own powerful orgasm.
Eli stayed buried deep inside of me for a moment, and then scooped my limp body up and sank into one of the dining-room chairs.
“I’m fucking hopeless,” he said in a graveled voice. “I could never survive without you anymore, sweetheart.”
He held me like I was his most precious treasure, and I could feel the emotion emanating from his body.
“You don’t have to,” I said in a voice husky with postorgasmic satisfaction. “I’ll always be here.”
He kissed me softly, lingering over my lips tenderly.
“Damn good thing,” he answered. “But you really have to stop bending over stuff. You’ll give me a heart attack.”
I smiled against his shoulder. There was something sinfully appealing about the fact that I could bring a powerful man like Eli to his knees. And he trusted me enough to let me know it.
“God, I’m sore,” I shared as I stood up slowly and stretched.
He frowned. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t want to stop.”
He stood. “Hot tub. Now.”
“I don’t have a hot tub,” I informed him.
“Then it’s a good thing I own the house next door that does have one,” he said with a grin.
I smiled back at him, utterly happy that Eli had made that purchase that I’d once found to be crazy extravagant.
Maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.