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“Thank you for that, baby,” I murmur against her hair just as a loud knock echoes down the hall making us both aware again of where we are.
“Dinner’s here,” Ana shouts from the living room, “If you two are finished making up, could you bring the iced tea and some glasses out with you?”
I think I hear Travis laugh and say, ‘making out’, but I’m not sure. Then Faye’s giggling voice chimes in, “Don’t forget to wash your hands!” Bawdy laughter follows and Ellie’s cheeks blossom with renewed embarrassment. I prefer when her being turned on makes her blush.
“They’re just teasing, Ells. They don’t know what we were just doing.”
“I know,” she nods, nervously redoing her ponytail and fidgeting with the collar of her dress.
Leaning down I kiss both of her hot cheeks before giving her lips a light kiss. “You get the tea, babe. I guess I need to wash my hands.” I exaggerate a pout, making her smile and turn her toward the fridge with a light tap on her ass to get her moving. She peeks over her shoulder and sticks out her tongue at me teasingly. “Keep that in your mouth, little lady, before I teach you what it’s used for.” I grumble, making her giggle again.
Relief pours through my veins at the happy sound. I think things are going to be okay. I just need to get through this mission tonight and then I can focus all my attention on making my girl happy, every day from now until forever.
Chapter 24
Ellie
I sit, pinned by Blake’s unflinching gaze, picking anxiously at the food on my plate. His protracted observation coupled with the self-satisfied smirk twitching at the corner of his sexy-as-sin mouth practically melts me to my seat. If my panties weren’t already soaked, they would be from that look alone. It’s all I can do not to squirm under his continued perusal. I just had an orgasm on Ana’s kitchen counter! From my seat I can see the exact spot that it happened. Every time my eyes wander in that direction my cheeks, and other body parts, burn with the memory of Blake’s long, hard fingers slipping against my slick flesh.
I’ve never felt so utterly relaxed and completely wound up all at the same time. After what just happened, I know I need to explain my reasons for freaking out. I’ve already been doubting them, and I’m not sure if I deserve his forgiveness. I’m still going to tell him and hope that I don’t push him away even more because of my weakness. Now that I’ve decided I don’t want to wait. I want to get it over with so that I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
I know that he has to go tonight, even though I wish he didn’t have to. Pride burns in my heart when I think about what he is going to do to help liberate those people from the man responsible for what happened to Ana and Faye. He’s trying to act like his part in it is small and unimportant, but I can tell that isn’t true. When Blake insists that all he’s doing is waiting in the car and playing with his computer while everyone else does the heavy lifting Travis shakes his head with a roll of his ey
es.
Ana keeps looking at me with a speculative gleam in her eyes. The knowing look sends blood rushing into my face again. At least I’m not a ginger like Faye, when she blushes her face glows.
Rising from her seat Ana starts stacking dirty plates. I rise to help her. I’m not going to finish eating anyway. Faye does the same and the men excuse themselves and make their way to Xavier’s office. It’s getting easier to think of him by his given name the more time I spend around him.
“We are so lucky,” Faye says, “I heard Blake tell Travis that he only saw six guards at the place where Grace is, and I think he said they have five extra guys going with them.” I don’t know how she manages to sound so calm. I have been freaking out inside, but knowing that they will outnumber the criminals helps ease my anxiety. I release a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding while she was talking.
I focus my attention back on the dishes I’m rinsing and pretend I don’t notice the smiles they share when they look at me. It’s obvious that they suspect something is going on between Blake and me, but I’m not going to discuss it with them until we talk about things. I know I made a huge mistake by shutting him out, but he deserves to hear that from me before anyone else does. I bite my tongue and keep my mouth shut. It’s a good thing that I’m comfortable being the quiet one.
We are planning for what sounds like could be a crowd, so it doesn’t take long for them to abandon the curious looks. The fridge is stocked, and the plan is to make a bunch of sandwiches. Enough for anyone who is hungry, including Xavier’s men and K&S people and anyone else who turns up over the course of the evening.
“We’re going to need blankets,” Ana says thoughtfully, and she’s right. The only traumatic experiences in my life were when we lost dad and the night of Lizzie’s accident. I remember how the shock of the news had made me shiver uncontrollably, even in the warm Las Vegas air. Blankets are sure to be welcome. I quickly load the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher while Faye pulls out trays and cups as well as packages of instant hot cocoa and tea bags from the pantry and organizes them on the counter.
“I’m going to see if one of the guys will go get blankets with me.” I tell them, walking down the hall toward the office. There is a big linen room a few floors down where I should be able to get more than enough for anyone who needs one.
I know that I’ve reached the right place when I hear the rumble of male voices from behind a closed door. Screwing up my courage I rap lightly on the door and wait until the door opens revealing Xavier. He smiles kindly at me. I think he knows that he still frightens me.
“Hey Ellie, what’s up?” He asks, his voice mild and kind like it always is when he addresses me directly.
“I need someone to help me get blankets and pillows from downstairs.” I say quietly.
He nods and opens the door the rest of the way, looking over his shoulder he asks, “Anyone wanna help Ellie get some blankets from downstairs?”
“On it.” Blake says, rising from the big leather chair where he was seated with a grin.
He follows me closely down the hall toward the door and I smile and wave to Ana and Faye as I walk by doing my best to ignore their wiggling eyebrows and soft laughter. Such brats, but I can’t lie and say that if I was in either of their positions I wouldn’t be doing the same.
The elevator doors slide shut, enclosing me, shoulder to shoulder, with Blake. Wanting to apologize but not knowing what to say or how to start I reach out my finger and hook my pinky around his and lean my head against his solid bicep. I hope that for now it’s enough to show him that I’m sorry.
His lips brush the top of my head softly as the doors slide open, making me feel lighter somehow. When he gets back tonight I promise to stop hiding my fears from him. He deserves to know why I have been avoiding him, and I’m ready to tell him. The more I think about it the more certain I become that I over-reacted terribly. Blake isn’t the kind of man who would ever try to hold me back or control me, but he’s a protector, and I know now that’s all he was trying to do. Protect me from Lawrence when it was obvious that I wasn’t going to stand up for myself.
Blake keeps me tucked close against his side as we stroll silently down the hall toward the linen room in easy silence. It’s nice. I’ve always been quiet and content with my own thoughts, so finding someone who doesn’t feel the need to fill every hushed moment with needless chatter is like winning an unexpected jackpot. Just being close to him for a few minutes has all the jagged edges of my emotions realigning after days of feeling raw sadness and self-recriminations.
When we reach the door to the linen room, I slip my master key from my dress pocket and open the door to the large room. Automatic lights come on as we enter, illuminating shelves of clean linen and full laundry carts, waiting for someone to put everything away. Clean blankets and pillows are easy to locate, and Blake helps me load a small wheeled cart with the needed items. He stops me with a hand on my shoulder when I move to push it toward the door.
