Ava

Dammit.
Elijah’s hand rested on my bare arm as a jolt of electricity traveled down my spine, startling me. His emerald eyes burned into my own, reading my soul like an open book. I tried to gather the strength to pull away from him, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Because being in this man’s space exhilarated me, leaving me breathless. I was angry. No, furious, really, but the damn smirk that played on Elijah’s lips was enough to hold me captive and unspeaking.
When I didn’t move away, Elijah came closer, his breath suddenly warm on my face. He smelled of soap and subtle cologne, a smell so intoxicating that my knees nearly buckled beneath me. I tried to close my eyes to talk myself out of this, but it was impossible to break my eyes away from his. I was frozen in time. Spellbound.
“Don’t tell me you’re not even a bit charmed,” Elijah purred. He was in control now, and I couldn’t even summon the anger I’d had for him only moments ago. I hated that. If he was in control, that meant I no longer was, and I couldn’t bring myself to stick to my guns. The sad truth was, no man in my life had ever made such a valiant attempt to gain my attention.
It was... endearing.
And frightening.
But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t turn away. I couldn’t even look elsewhere as his green eyes bore into mine, lighting a fire in my soul. A small gasp of surprise slipped from my lips as he trailed his fingers up and down my arm, leaving a sliver of electricity with every touch he inflicted.
“You think you’re so charming—” I started but then trailed off. The fact was, he was very charming, and he knew it.
We both knew it.
“You said no to me,” Elijah said, and his head tilted ever so slightly, that self-assured smirk playing on his lips. We were so physically close that his scent wrapped me in, taking me hostage.
“I said no,” I agreed, my voice nothing more than a whisper.
“Women don’t say no to me,” he murmured, and goosebumps rose on my arms. Not out of fear or even intimidation, but out of pure lust. Excitement.
Without even thinking twice about it, I lifted my face to his, eager suddenly—no, desperate—to feel his lips against mine. This was the second time meeting this man, but I felt like we’d known each other for years. His free hand traveled down my arm, resting briefly on my hip and further down to my ass, where he squeezed, teasing me.
“Some women, maybe,” I whispered. “But I believe I already did.”
Elijah lifted his hand and took my chin gently between two fingers. His skin was hot against mine, like fire, but it only drew me closer, yearning for the heat of his body against mine.
“Indeed, you did,” he breathed, drawing his head back just a little to focus on my eyes again. “I’m not used to that.”
“Am I not allowed to say no?” I challenged. Slowly, reality seeped into my consciousness, and I almost took a step back, mentally fumbling for the control I’d lost over the last few seconds.
“Of course, you can say no.” Elijah stepped even closer to me, one free hand rising to take my chin between his fingers. “The question is, Miss Harding … do you want to say no?”
His head came in slightly, his lips meeting mine in a lock so fierce I was caught off guard, shocked into submission. He grabbed me and pulled me into him, snaking his tongue between my teeth. My lips and body automatically pressed into his as a gasp escaped my lips. Without thinking twice about it, my hands traveled up and through his hair and then down again. He was so soft, so strong, so inviting. His dick was throbbing against my groin as I felt his excitement against me. I closed my eyes and snaked my hand down to grip his cock, pleased when a tiny gasp of surprise escaped him. I wasn’t this girl, but something in the way this man spoke, the way he moved, brought it out in me…
A side I didn’t think I had. A woman who embraced the surprises instead of hiding from them. I wasn’t this person, and yet I was. I was now.
I kissed him again, urgently this time, and without even a moment’s hesitation, Elijah lifted me from the floor and pushed me back against the wall, his tongue searching my mouth, smooth hands running up and down my body.
“Wait,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. “This isn’t right, is it? I barely know you.”
More than anything, I wanted to be the fierce woman I always believed I was. I wanted to scold him like the jerk he portrayed and push him out my front door while I screamed about how inappropriate it was for him to show up at my house like this. I wanted to slap him for being a nuisance and maybe even call the cops for breaking and entering, just to convince him he wasn’t in control, not this time, not with me.
I could feel him teasing me, forcing me to beg for more like some harlot. But I didn’t—because I couldn’t. Instead, I reached down and unbuttoned his slacks as he raised the skirt I wore above my waist.
Fuck it. Tonight, I didn’t care.
Elijah pulled a condom out of his pocket and slipped it onto his throbbing dick. He pulled me against him and kissed me, drawing blood from my lower lip with his teeth. The seconds I had to wait seemed to burn me from the inside out, searing me with a deep, passionate need for him.
“I can stop,” he said softly. It wasn’t a question. I couldn’t help myself. I shook my head.
“Do it,” I said. “Show me the man you think you are.”
He shoved himself into me, throwing my entire body against the wall in a moment of heat and desperation. I tossed my head back as he kissed my neck, sucking and nibbling on the sensitive skin around my breasts. He thrust into me again, filling me up, gently at first and then harder. My breath came in quick, sharp gasps, my body tingling from head to toe with such anticipation and lust that I realized that I’d felt nothing like it. Not ever.
“Harder,” I moaned. “Harder.”
He drove deeper into me, faster, his hands tangled in my hair, muscles tensing with every movement. Still firmly inside me, Elijah carried me away from the wall and to the bedroom, where he threw me down on the bed and entered me again. The scent of soft rose petals that he’d sprinkled on the bed reached my nose, and when I finally met his eyes, he was smirking. But it was nothing short of a God-awful, hot-as-fuck turn on. I reached up and fondled my breasts, moaning, which only drove him deeper.
“Don’t stop,” I whimpered in his ear, and my entire body tensed with the anticipation of a young virgin as his body rocked with mine, controlling my body, mind, and soul. “Don’t ever stop.”