Page 22 of near

“Well. I have to keep up with you.”

Is he joking?

A bitter chuckle bubbles up. “This is keeping up with a model, not me.”

He tilts my chin up, forcing my eyes to his, and I can see the hunger in them, mirroring my own.

I swallow hard, his thumb swiping across my lower lip.

Elijah smiles. A slow, sexy smile that makes my heart race. “You’re beautiful.” He bends down, his lips softly touching my ear. “I mean it. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

I feel my face flush at the compliment, and blatant desire courses through me. It’s been so long since someone has looked at me the way Elijah is looking at me. This raw, primal hunger is so different from the polite restraint I had with Oliver. For the first time in a long time, I feel desired and wanted. And it’s all thanks to Elijah.

Elijah steps closer. His fingers tangle in my hair, tilting my head back as his lips claim mine in a searing kiss. I melt into his embrace, dizzy from the potent mix of his woodsy cologne.

With a gentleness that belies his powerful frame, Elijah walks me back towards the bed, our bodies never parting.

His lips blaze a trail down my neck as he tugs at my dress and opens up my bra. Both fall to the ground as he shoves the fabric down.

I reach for his belt buckle, impatient to unwrap the rest of him, but he catches my hands.

A throaty chuckle. “On the bed. Now.”

I scramble onto the king-sized bed with dark blue sheets. He moves toward me, sliding my panties down my legs in one smooth motion.

I shiver, completely bare before him. But the heat in his gaze banishes any self-consciousness as he drinks in every inch of my body with undisguised hunger.

“Spread your legs for me.”

I do as he says with no hesitation, parting my thighs and arching my back in invitation. He runs his hand up my inner thigh, tracing a line of heat until his fingers stop right in front of my core.

He pins my wrists above my head and captures my mouth again.

His lips move from my neck down to my collarbone. My body trembles with need as his tongue flicks over my nipple, and he palms my other breast, thumb circling the hardened peak.

“I could spend hours exploring every inch of you.”

I gasp and arch into him as he kisses his way down to the apex between my thighs, where an ache is already consuming me. It’s been ages since I’ve felt wanted like this.

He inserts one finger inside me, and I moan in delight as he begins to move it tantalizingly slow.

“So wet for me again.”

He circles my clit until I’m writhing beneath him, desperate for more.

Just when I think I can’t take anymore, he removes his finger and positions himself between my thighs, trailing his fingers along the inner side. Bending his head down, he licks a hot stripe along my folds, circling my clit with the tip of his tongue.

I cry out, fisting my hands in his hair. He’s driving me out of my mind, and I would like to return the favor before I’m pudding in his hands.

“Wait.”

His eyes shoot up to mine.

“Don’t you like…”

“Like what?” He teases my core with suctioned kisses.

“A blowjob?”

---