Page 63 of Lost Love Found

“Fuck me, Elaina.” And my fingers are already moving to the hem of her dress.

“I’d love to.” I love her breathy voice, and the way her soft gasp sounds when my fingers skim her thigh.

I shake my head, pulling away so I can look into her eyes. “No, baby. You know that's not what I meant. The first time I’m inside you isn’t going to be a quick fuck in a bathroom. I’m going to make love to you slowly. So, slow you’ll be begging me for release. I’m going to worship every inch of your perfect body.” I slide my hands up her ribcage, running my knuckles over her nipples. Her eyelids flutter as she whimpers at the touch. “Then I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t just whisper my name when you come, you’ll scream it. I’m going to take my time, Elaina. I’ll make sure you feel exactly how gone I am for you. How you’ve ruined me. And if you let me, I’ll never stop.”

Her eyes widen and her breath quickens with every word I say and just as she’s parting her lips to respond, but then they close again. I love being able to render her speechless.

“You make me feel like a teenager, you know? I’ve never wanted anyone like this.” I’m combing my fingers through her hair gently while she twirls her fingers in mine.

“You make me feel…” she whispers. I wait for the rest of the sentence, but it doesn’t come.

“Make you feel what, Tornerose?” My other hand is drawing circles on her hip, inching higher and higher up her dress.

“That’s it. You make me feel.” She swallows hard, eyes darting away from mine. “I haven’t felt much of anything with anyone in a very long time, and with you…” She hesitates.

“Tell me, baby.”

“With you, I feel everything.” She looks down at her hand on my chest as she speaks. I move my hands to cradle her face, pulling her in.

“Me too, Elaina. Me too.” I kiss her to keep myself from saying the thing I’ve known to be true for a long time. It’s sitting right there, on the tip of my tongue and as I deepen our kiss, there’s a loud knock on our door.

“Yo, Riv. It’s Garrett. Open up, man. And you better not be naked. Elaina, totally cool if you are.”

Elaina shakes her head and chuckles as Garrett disrupts our otherwise perfect moment with his foolishness. She rests her forehead on my chest for a second and I kiss her head before I walk to the door, rearranging my erection to avoid Garrett’s further commentary.

I open the door and he just barges right in, looking around the room, likely trying to see if he can actually catch a glimpse of Elaina in the nude.

“Sup, bro.” He turns just in time to see Elaina come out of the bathroom. “Damn girl, that’s a dress!”

“Lovely to see you again, Garrett.” Elaina shoots him a look that would intimidate anyone who is not Garrett as she puts on a long dress shirt over her dress.

“River, man, your dad just showed up with his new girlfriend and your mom looks like she’s about to lose it. I can’t find Gwen, so that’s why I came to get you. You should get down there.” He looks back over at Elaina. “I can stay and keep your girl company, though.”

“That’s OK. I’ll come with you. Maybe I can help.” Elaina doesn’t miss a beat. “Come on. Let’s go.” She takes my hand, and we walk out together.

Moments later, the three of us are in the hotel lobby, and I notice my mother's face turning bright red as she addresses a woman who appears to be somewhere in her early-twenties. Fuck.

I walk over to them as Garrett and Elaina hang back. My mom immediately turns to me. “River, you need to speak to your father about this.”

“I’m not sure what there is to speak about, mom. Dad, nice to see you. You, uh, missed the wedding.” I nod at the woman next to him who looks terrified of my mother, rightly so. Bethany Holm is not to be trifled with. And yes, she kept my father’s last name even after the divorce.

I look back to see Garrett walking towards the elevator. Gwen has now joined Elaina with the kids and Callum. This isn’t going to be good.

Gwen and Callum make their way over to us and Gwen quickly takes control of the situation, as she always does. “OK, we’re going to take this to our suite and chat privately. Elaina, being the angel that she is, volunteered to take care of the kids while we resolve… whatever the hell is going on here. Let’s go.”

I don’t have time to react. I look at Elaina and she’s smiling, giving me a thumbs up and then blowing me a kiss just before she takes Liam and Emma by the hand and skips off with the two of them. All three of them are laughing. What did I do to deserve this girl?

Gwen ushers all of us towards her suite and I think of ways I’m going to make this up to Lainey.

* * *

Mom and Dad sit as far away from one another as they can in the large living room of Gwen and Callum's suite. Dad seems completely unphased by the fact that his ex-wife and his current girlfriend are in the same room, but something tells me this is about more than my dad dating another young gold digger.

"Well, Karl, what do you have to say for yourself?" My mother asks incredulously.

"Listen, Beth, I know you own part of this business, but I can hire whoever I want. It's never been an issue before." Dad openly runs his hands up and down his girlfriend's leg as he speaks. We don't even know her name yet. "Cassie here is perfectly capable, and I think she'll be great as my new assistant."

"Dad, Mona has been your assistant for twenty years. You can't just replace her with a temp." Gwen rubs at the spot between her eyebrows like this is literally painful for her to endure. I get it.

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