I KNEW BETTER THAN TO read too much into Elijah’s words. He wanted to physically love me, not emotionally. There was a big difference, but not enough that I gave a fuck at that precise moment. My breasts were swollen and my clit throbbed hard enough to tip the balance in favor of pain over pleasure. I was every cliché I’d ever read in a romance novel from my aching nipples to my wet pussy, and I wasn’t about to let my brain ruin this for me.
As badly as I wanted to ride Elijah’s cock, I didn’t want to waste the opportunity my current position afforded me. I felt his gaze on my mouth and the way his grip tightened on my skull when I licked my lips in anticipation of sliding them down the length of his erection. Elijah’s eagerness radiated off his body as I leaned forward and captured the bead of pre-cum gathering at his slit with my tongue, swirling it around the velvety head, then retracting it back inside my mouth.
Elijah’s eyes snapped up to meet mine as a moan rumbled low in his throat. His cupped my chin with his free hand, applying enough pressure to open my jaw, but not enough to hurt me. I released his cock and placed both of my hands on the back of his thighs. Elijah stepped forward until his cock jutted against my parted lips, painting them with his essence. His upper body looked like cut marble and the muscles in his legs tensed beneath my hands from the restraint he exuded over himself.
He removed his hand from the back of my head and firmly gripped his shaft, feeding his cock to me slowly. I curled my tongue up slightly at the tip to tease that vein that ran from base to crown.
“Maegan,” Elijah said huskily. “You feel so good.” He hadn’t seen anything yet. I channeled every gay porn video I’d ever watched and worked his cock like a champ, savoring every grunt and groan I elicited from him. Looking at us, one would think that Elijah was the powerful one in our dynamic, but I ruled him from my knees and had the power to bring him to his. That knowledge was a heady thing and I laved, licked, sucked, and savored every second that he was in my mouth and every response I garnered from him spurred me on.
It was easy to lose myself in him because every single thing about the man, from the natural, masculine scent of his skin to his ripped body, drove me wild. It felt like our bodies communicated in their own special language when he was inside me. It was thrilling in both beautiful and terrifying ways; like he could either heal or destroy me if I let him.
Lust and need glittered in his dark gaze as Elijah approached the point of no return. He pulled his cock from my mouth and pushed his jeans down to his knees and gravity took it from there. He stepped out of his jeans and kicked them out of the way leaving him in nothing but a pair of black socks. Not even Elijah could pull off that look, so I slid my hands down his legs and removed his socks so that we were both naked.
I turned off the water and said, “Our bath is ready.”
“Ladies first,” Elijah said.
“Huh uh,” I replied. “You sink down in there and I’m going to sink down on your cock.”
“Jesus, Freckles.” Elijah reached for a condom and quickly suited up before he eased into the water.
I sounded confident, but the truth was I had never attempted bathtub sex before and wasn’t one hundred percent sure it would work. I’d be damned if I showed Elijah that though. Luckily the tub was deep enough so that it came up to his mid-torso, leaving his carved upper chest on display. I couldn’t wait to run my hands over his pecs, tease his nipples, and grip those massive shoulders while I… Stop daydreaming and get to living.
Elijah held out his hand, and I accepted it as I stepped into the tub. Not only was the tub deep, it was wide enough to accommodate me comfortably when I straddled his thick thighs. It wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be, but I felt the need to draw out our pleasure even more. I took the hand that held mine and placed it against my upper chest near my collarbone.
“Touch me, Elijah.”
I expected him to go straight for one of my breasts since he was so fond of them, but he surprised me by gliding it slowly down the center of my body beneath the water line until he reached my bare pussy. He turned his wrists and slid two fingers inside me, hooking them while covering my mound with his palm. He pulled his arm back slightly, tugging me toward him playfully.
“You’re too far away, Freckles. Come a little closer.”
“Says the Big Bad Wolf,” I replied coyly, but slid up his legs until I felt his hard-on brush my inner thigh.
“Let’s not pretend it isn’t exactly where your greedy cunt wants to be,” Elijah told me. “Fuck me like you mean it.” Elijah released my pussy and leaned back against the tub, propping his arms on the sides. “Take what you want, baby.”
I gripped his cock at the base and lowered myself on his turgid rod. My head felt too heavy to hold up so I let it fall back, closing my eyes and just savoring the way he made me feel. I braced my hands on his shoulders and began to move, slowly at first because it was too amazing to rush. The water lapped against the sides from the waves my undulating hips made, going higher and coming faster as I gave in to the passion rising through me.
“You are so beautiful.” Elijah’s words snapped me out of my sensual trance and I opened my eyes to meet his hot gaze. He touched me then, and not just with his hands. I felt him in my soul. I was in so much trouble, but it had never sounded or felt so fucking good. Elijah took a breast in each of his hands, flicking his thumbs over the tips of my nipples. His jaw tightened as arousal threatened to pull him beneath the current with me. God, I wanted to make him lose control with me. I placed my hand over his and moved them down to hold my hips beneath the water line. I pressed my breasts against his chest and rocked up and down his length faster. Elijah captured my mouth in a hot, hungry kiss, catching my gasps of pleasure on his tongue. The friction created by rubbing my sensitive nipples against his chest hair and grinding my swollen clit against his washboard abs sent me spiraling into a hard orgasm. My pussy contracted around his cock, milking his orgasm from him at the same time.
My body shook and trembled as pleasure rippled through me. Elijah kissed me through it, never taking his mouth from mine until I collapsed against his chest in exhaustion. He rubbed his hand up and down my back, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but he seemed content to hold me tight against him. All the emotions from earlier in the evening, the ones I could ignore while my body demanded satisfaction, flooded my brain causing me to shiver hard. I wasn’t cold, in fact, I was the furthest thing from it; I was frightened.
“I got you, Freckles. Please believe me.” I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “Let me feed you and tuck you into a warm bed so we can say goodbye to this day. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll move heaven and earth to solve this case and eliminate the danger to you. Say you believe me.”
I could tell how much he wanted me to trust him, and I suspected there was a clue somewhere in his words that explained the aloofness I saw in his eyes at times. I hoped to unravel all his mysteries, but it would need to happen another day because it would require more energy than I had to give after a trying day and an earth-shattering climax.
“I believe you, Elijah.”
“Atta girl, Freckles.”
“What do you feel like watching?” Elijah asked as he scrolled through the cable guide on his screen.
“I’m not picky.” I blew softly on the spoonful of savory stew in front of my lips. “I’m mostly interested in the food.”
“Since you already had your way with me,” Elijah teased. “How about this?”
I glanced up and saw The Notebook highlighted. I set my spoon back in the carton, placed it on the coffee table, and pinned him with a menacing glare. “Are you asking because I’m a woman?”
“Um…”
“Are you assuming because I have tits that I want to watch a chick flick?” I asked.
“Uh, no…”
“What did you base your decision on then?”
“Well, my mom and my ex loved this movie. They talked about it all the time,” Elijah said, managing to sound both defensive and fearful.
“Don’t lump me in the category with any of your exes,” I warned him. “I’m sure your mom is really sweet, but chick flicks aren’t for me. I had to suffer through hours of them with my mom last night to make her feel better about me nearly discovering a dead body last night. Just be glad I talked her down from coming over here tonight.”
“I’m sure your mom is a lovely person,” Elijah countered.
“She is, but she would’ve crimped our style.” I tipped my head toward the second story where the magic had happened.
“So, what would you like to watch?” Elijah asked, holding the remote toward me. He picked up his stew and started eating it while I took over surfing duties.
“This!” I announced when I came to one of the movies I had loved watching with my dad.
“Lethal Weapon?”
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked him.
“Nothing; it’s a great movie. I’m just surprised you think so.”
“Because I’m a woman?”
“No, not really. Well, maybe. I guess I’m basing it on my universe where women don’t care for action movies.”
“Perhaps you need to expand your universe.” I thought about what I said and how awkward it sounded. I basically encouraged Elijah to go out and meet more women.
“Nah,” Elijah said, hooking his free arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him. He kissed my temple then dropped his arm from my shoulders. “I like my universe the way it is right now.”
I wasn’t convinced that he truly meant what his words implied. Elijah owed me nothing, but I hoped I wouldn’t have to see a parade of women coming and going from his house anytime soon. In fact, my churning stomach at the mere thought of another woman curling up next to him on the couch told me that I was more invested than I had realized. I tried to mentally put some distance between us when I straightened away from him, but it didn’t work. I felt his pull like a huge invisible magnet.
We settled into comfortable silence while we ate our savory stew and watched the shenanigans of Riggs and Murtaugh. I expected Elijah to interject and tell me which parts were not how real cops did things, but he just laughed along with me.
“Ready for dessert?” Elijah asked halfway through the movie.
“Dessert?” Hell, I thought we already had dessert before dinner.
“Miss Emma said that you love pecan pie and added two pieces in the bag. She said it won’t make up for the rough couple of days you’ve had, but she hoped to put a smile on your face.”
“That was so sweet of her,” I said, rubbing my hands together gleefully. “Emma makes the best pies.”
“This is a very nice town,” Elijah said. “You look out for one another here.”
“You mean when we’re not killing each other?”
“Thom Renzo hasn’t lived here in several years, Maegan. Maybe his trouble followed him here from Kentucky.”
I wanted it to be true, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Wouldn’t the killer flee back to where they came from instead of hanging around and risk getting caught? I hated wondering if the person that stood across me at the counter or was on the other end of the phone line was the person who ended Thom’s life. That person apparently wanted to pull me into the murder investigation by dropping off evidence behind my building and putting the only witness inside my house. It wouldn’t be the first time that our town was shocked when one of our citizens turned out to be a killer, which meant my negligence was unacceptable.
“I know why there was no forced entry at my house tonight,” I said guiltily.
“Let me guess,” Elijah said dryly, “you had a key hidden beneath the doormat.”
“No, but just as stupid. It was under the planter on my porch.”
“Stay here,” Elijah said, jumping to his feet. He ran out the front door without even stopping to put shoes on.
I turned off the television and cuddled my pets closer to me. Surprisingly, Lulu took to Rascal right away. Maybe she sensed his loneliness or smelled his terror, either way, I was just grateful that they got along and hoped that Rascal’s difficult days would soon become a distant memory.
Elijah wasn’t gone long, and when he returned, he was wearing black latex gloves and holding a folded piece of paper in one hand and an evidence bag in another.
“What’s that?” I asked with a pounding heart.
“It looks like evidence,” he said. “I stopped by my truck to grab a few things in case. Will you put on the extra pair of gloves in my pocket and open the evidence bag for me?”
“Sure.” I set the pets on the couch and walked to him.
“I don’t know what’s inside this folded piece of paper, but I don’t want you to look until I know it’s not too graphic.”
“I won’t faint,” I said dryly.
“I know you’re a badass, Freckles. Just do this for me. Some things can’t be unseen if you know what I mean. Just let me protect you from the ugliness the best I can, okay?” I knew he referred to Thom’s dead body.
“Okay.” Being an independent woman didn’t equal being silly. Did I want to see graphic images of dead bodies or read something creepy that was written about me? No, and those were the two most likely scenarios. So, I let Elijah don the figurative cape and shelter me from the ugliness.
“Hold open the bag in case something falls out,” Elijah said then slowly opened the paper. My spare key fell into the bag. “Huh, not what I expected,” he said once he examined it. “Abandoned barn on Willow-Jasper Road about a quarter mile past New Albany Road,” Elijah read out loud.
“That’s what it says?” I asked. “What’s he referring to?”
He carefully slid the letter inside the evidence bag then sealed it. He crossed the room to the coffee table and picked up his phone. “There’s only one way to find out,” Elijah responded.