Page 52 of Crowned

Elyah glances down at himself and plucks his T-shirt away from his chest. Then he pulls it off. “Do you want pizza? You should not have pizza all the time, but you must be hungry, and pizza is quick.”

I should be immune to the sight of Elyah’s naked torso, but all that warm, tattooed flesh makes my mouth water.

Fuck the pizza. I want you.

He must see the need in my eyes as his expression changes and he steps closer. Moving slowly this time. Carefully. Like he used to do when he was Ivan’s driver edging closer and closer to his boss’s wife.

“You shouldn’t be alone with me,” I murmur, backing away, but not very fast. “What if I plunge a knife into your heart?”

“I would say thank you for the gift of this precious knife,solnyshko. And then I would die happy in your arms.”

With a casual hand, he reaches up and rubs the back of his neck, muscles rippling, and I’m reminded of the day he fixed things so that I would come upon him half naked in the laundry room. He took my hands and pressed them to his chest, stopping just short of kissing me, though all I could think about at the time was him pulling me into his arms and taking whatever he wanted.

“You’re doing it again,” I say, folding my arms and trying to feel annoyed. My pussy has got other ideas and they all involve forgiving Elyah right this second and pulling him down on top of me.

“Doing what?” he asks, with a faux-innocent lift of his eyebrows.

He’s getting closer and closer. My flesh is burning up. “Pulling off your T-shirt and posing.”

He glances down at himself with a smile and then back up at me. “I am not posing. I am just standing here.”

He’s standing there flexing, every muscle of his chest and abdomen defined. “You’re peacocking.”

A smile breaks over his face and he laughs. My heart twists. He looks so handsome when he laughs. “I am what?”

I gesture vaguely at his beautiful body, but it’s a mistake because now I’m staring at him again and heat flushes through my body. “Strutting about to get my attention.”

Still pretending to be casual, he saunters closer, the muscles of his shoulders catching the light. How many times have I pictured my hands right there as he fucks me, my nails digging in to urge him to thrust deeper, harder? To use all that strength he was given to make me shatter.

“I am not strutting,” he murmurs.

“Yes, you are,” I say absentmindedly, my gaze dropping to the hard line of muscle on either side of his narrow hips. There’s a rose tattoo inked on one side, the petals disappearing into his black jeans. Making me think of his cock. I can see his cock through the denim as he gets harder and harder.

Elyah reaches for me. I skitter away from him, shaking my head. “Stop that. I’m not falling for your tricks.”

“Tricks? I do not have any tricks. I am too fucking stupid to trick anyone.”

I’m surprised at the bitterness in his voice. When I gaze into his face, I can see he’s caught between seducing me and berating himself. “You’re not stupid, Elyah.”

“I thought you betrayed me because I am so fucking clever?” he growls. “I put you in a cage and tortured you because I amsmart?”

I swallow, hard. There’s so much pain on his proud features.

“Maybe your mind was clouded by anger and heartbreak, but you are not stupid,” I tell him. “You knew what you were doing to me, and you did it anyway.”

“Yes,” he seethes. “I did it anyway, and keeping you prisoner brought me no pleasure at all. I do not call myself stupid because I think it will excuse what I did. I say it because it is true. I have been stupid all my life. In school I did not know what the fuck any of my teachers were talking about. I cannot even cook a meal. Do you know what I would give for my brain to work like yours or Konstantin’s? I am fucking stupid.” He raps his fist on his skull like he’s knocking on a piece of wood.

I grab his hand and pull it down. “Don’t do that. You’re not stupid. You were the only one who knew that I was up to something at the pageant. You tried to warn Konstantin, but he wouldn’t listen to you.”

He flings his arms out. “So what? Did it help anyone that I felt something and could not explain it? No, I just saw fucking crows in the garden and bad omens. I was no use to anyone.” Elyah’s eyes fill with desire and longing, and his voice is roughened with emotion when he speaks. “I should have known that you would never have done anything to help the people who killed your baby. I will never forgive myself.”

I wrap my arms around myself, feeling hollow. If only I had been at the house after Ivan was killed when Elyah came for me to take me away. Everything would have been so different. “You’re not the only one who is stupid. I shouldn’t have gone anywhere with my father. If I’d put my foot down and waited, you would have found me.”

Elyah carefully reaches out to take my shoulders in his hands, and I let him.

“The day Ivan was killed, the moment I pulled into the street where his office was, I just stopped,” he murmurs.

“That probably saved your life,” I point out.

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