Shit.
“Nothing.” I gave my head an unconvincing shake.
The room was dim, but there was a lamp in the corner that shed enough light on Ellie for me to see color flood her cheeks. The prettiest blush, like she’d belatedly realized what she’d done.
“You tried to say it was nothing earlier, too.”
A heavy exhale fell from my lips. “Well, that’s all I can really do here. I’m just…trying.”
Ellie nodded and pulled her feet from my grasp, twisting her body away from me and tucking her legs back up, curling into a ball again. And while I knew she was trying to make everything better, it did, in fact, make everything worse. Because the blanket got yanked forward in all her frantic rearranging, and the little sundress she’d been wearing tangled around her, too, meaning I was left with a perfect view of her nearly bare—and completely perfect—ass.
This time, a groan came out ofmymouth, and then I was desperately grabbing at a discarded throw pillow on the ground and launching it between us.
Dramatic, probably.
But necessary.
My erection was already raging; I didn’t need any fuel to make it worse.
“Oh!”
Ellie seemed surprised by my pillow assault, the exact thing I’d saidwouldn’thappen now that we were older, and then comprehension appeared to dawn as she laughed, pulling at her dress and readjusting the blanket.
“Sorry.” She gave another breathless giggle. “I mean, it’s not anything you haven’t seen before.”
“True.” I ran a hand down my face, trying to get my shit together. Trying not to think of the last time I’d seen her bare ass: when she’d been bent over for me on a hotel bed while I fuckedher senseless. “But I’m not used to seeing you and not getting to touch you.” I cleared my throat, and my voice dropped a degree. Or ten. “I also really don’t need fresh reminders or images to torture myself at night.”
Ellie’s breath visibly hitched; I could see the catch in her throat and the way her breathing stuttered. Our eyes caught, hers bright and mesmerizing, as we locked into an odd battle of restraint and regret and desire.
And then Ellie surprised me, turning onto her back, propping herself against the pillow, and leaning forward with captivated interest. Her eyes flicked to my lap, finally taking note of the bulge there—how fucking hard I was for her.
“Earlier, in the car,” she started, and ohhell, her voice was all husky and thick. I recognized that voice, knew what it meant. “You said that you’ve spent the summer getting off to memories of me.”
“Eleanor.”
I didn’t know what she was doing, didn’t know if it was a good idea. But she was right; Ihadsaid that. So I couldn’t exactly cast stones.
“Was that true?” she asked, ignoring me.
“Yeah, El.” No use in denying it, even if my voice sounded gruff, gravelly. Like I couldn’t quite get my throat to work properly. “All true.”
Very, very, undeniably true. She was all I ever fucking thought about when my hand was around my cock.
Her gaze dropped once more to it, to my aching erection, which pressed painfully against the zipper of my jeans. “Will you tonight?”
“What?”
She couldn’t possibly be asking what I thought she was asking.
Ellie brushed her bangs out of her eyes, almost like she wanted to see me better when she clarified, “Get off to memoriesof me.”
Yeah, okay, she was definitely asking what I’d thought she was asking.
My pulse pounded in my ears. “Do you want me to?”
I needed to know what the hell this was all about before I dared to say more.
Ellie flashed a surprisingly soft smile. “It doesn’t bother me…if that’s what you’re asking.” Yes, that was exactly what I was asking, actually. “So, will you?”
