AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t know he was recording—I… I...” I take a deep breath, the words drying up in my mouth.
“Her ex took the video, and put it online as blackmail to get her back,” Cole says flatly. “She goes by her middle name to stop people from seeing it.”
Trust him to be able to summarise the worst event of my life in two sentences.
“Oh, baby.” Eli starts kissing frantically down the side of my face. “For God’s sake, I don’t give a fuck about your name, or the video, or anything else.”
A chair scrapes across the floor. I pull away to see Riven heading out of the room.
“Riv,” I start, reaching for him, but he just shakes his head, leaving. I watch him go, my heart sinking. Cole mutters something I don’t understand, then disappears too. It’s just me and Eli, holding each other in the middle of the lounge. He touches his knuckle under my chin and nudges my face up, his green eyes burning into mine.
“You’re okay?” He asks, his voice husky.
I nod. “I’m okay.”
I gasp as he kisses me, hungry and desperate and strong. His hands rove all over my body, like he can’t believe he still gets to touch me. “Baby,” he mumbles against my lips. “Don’tdothat again. I can’t lose you. I swear, my heart stopped.” He grabs my hand and presses it to his chest. I can feel his heart battering away in his ribcage. “God, I fucking love you.”
“I love you, too,” I say. I don’t even have to think about it. I know it’s true.
He winces, pulling back slightly. “Don’t—you don’t have to say that, Tink.”
I narrow my eyes. “You think I’m lying?”
“Nooo,” he says, drawing the word out. “But.Me?”
“Is it so hard to believe?”
He runs a hand through his hair, ruffling his curls. “Usually, girls prefer the others. I’m more of a… good time, than a serious commitment.”
I reach up and cup his unshaven cheek. He turns into my touch, rubbing his lips against my fingers. “I think I love all of you,” I say quietly.
There’s noI thinkabout it. I know I do. I just don’t know what the Hell to do about it.
He makes a soft noise in the back of his throat and pulls me in for another kiss. This time it’s gentle and lingering, almost unbearably tender. As our lips press together, a warm glow starts in my belly, heating me like a shot of cognac. I whine when he pulls away, stroking a hand down my arm. “I know, baby,” he murmurs, “But you’re frozen. Let’s get a shower.”
Before I can protest, he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me up off the ground, carrying me bridal-style to the bathroom.
I shove his chest. “I can walk.”
“Well done.”
“Put me down.”
He gives me a little shake. “I thought you weredead,woman. I need to fuckin’ hold you.”
I shut my mouth. He carries me into the shower, then strips us both off and comes in with me. I’m expecting some wandering hands, but he doesn’t try to grope me at all; just lathers up soap in his palms and helps to wash me down. I think he just wants to keep touching me. The water streams down my back, hot and steaming, and I shiver as he gently massages shampoo into my scalp.
After I’m clean and dry, snuggled up in his hoodie, he heats us both up some leftover stew and pulls me into his lap on the lounge sofa. He sets up a movie on his laptop, but neither of us really watches it. We’re just pressing ourselves into each other, breathing each other in. The crackling fire slowly warms my skin as his hands draw slow circles across my thighs and back.
I push back his auburn curls. “I love you,” I tell him again. His eyes close. His arms tighten around me.
“You’re so fuckin’ special,” he grates out, rubbing his rough cheek against mine.
“You, too.”
He takes a deep breath, like I’ve knocked the air out of his chest. I know how he feels. I don’t feel like I have enough breath in me, either. The fire spits in the grate, and I curl up in his arms like a cat, bathing in all of the love he’s wrapping me up in.
I don’t know if I’m going to be allowed to stay here. I don’t know if Riven will come back in and kick me out any minute. But right now, I’m happy. And that will have to be enough.
