Page 13 of Ellie 3

“Sorry,” Ellie whispered when I joined her upstairs. “I just had a flash of her stabbing you in the back like she has so many others.” She let out a long breath and rubbed her face. “I want to believe she finally realizes what she did was wrong and she’s really this person, but she’s so different than what I remember. Then I just keep thinking it’s been—”

“Centuries and how much was your own abuse and being a child versus what was real?” I muttered, hugging her to me.

“Yeah, that,” she whispered before punching in the code and letting us in. “Okay, well, she can figure out laundry and get settled. I can’t believe I’m really seeing her, much less she’s just in your guest room and I’ve dumped this all on you.”

I was still hugging her as we went inside, both of us kind of waddling to make it happen. I chuckled as the door closed behind us, kissing her cheek and trying to lighten the mood. She sighed and leaned against me. “I didn’t get to see your interview.I bet you were sexy and put someone in their place, right? Would I have been turned on?”

“I can’t say that, but the duffer went off script and yeah, I had to set him straight.”

“Always so sexy,” I growled and picked her up. I brought her into the kitchen and made her tell me about it, smiling when she added the deal she got from the network. Of course she turned it around to benefit ASH.

Aurora was right that Ellie was a natural leader.

“I hate that she did what she did to your mum and let you be so abused, but I’m glad you were born too, my sweet kimchi,” I whispered when she finished. “I can’t regret her evil ploy either when it led me to finding you, and I feel gutted that your mum was abused, but the world does need you.”

She sighed. “It’s such a double-edged sword. It would kill me if she said she regretted it because I did love her so much once. I think…” I let out a slow breath. “Have you ever read the theory that helping someone is the best therapy?” She waited until I nodded. “Something is telling me that getting her on the path for her new life is like what I need to move past my past.”

“Unconventional, but so are we.” I gave a half shrug. Not to shrug her off or her plan but more saying I didn’t have the answers for her.

Because I didn’t.

So I said what I was feeling instead. “I support you and I’ll help however I can, but I hope you’ll listen to me if I see it hurting you instead of helping, okay?”

“Deal,” she agreed, rubbing her face against my hand. “Yeah, that’s—thanks, Ha-joon. I think that’s exactly what I needed. A chance to do this but a fallback—no, a warning system or someone to pull the emergency brake.”

“Yeah, exactly that.” I swallowed loudly when sadness filled my nose instead of relief or comfort. It was like she was down on herself that she was planning for her idea to fail.

That was the last thing I wanted. It was simply smart to plan for difficult outcomes when things were crazy.

“So not to be a cad, but can we talk about that promise you made?” I hedged as I leaned in and ran my nose against her cheek.

“What promise?” she asked, snapping out of her thoughts as she moved her hand to my chest.

“That one involving lingerie shopping. How about we get your laptop out and start looking?”

“We could do that,” she chuckled.

“I would have to size you first, right?” I asked as I slid my hand under her pretty, professional sweater. “Really get a feel for how everything should fit and feel against you.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Dr. Clark?” she teased.

“I’m not doing it right if you have to ask,” I grumbled and pulled off her sweater before she realized what was going on. She had a sleeveless shell on underneath that was see-through. I licked my lips and met her gaze. “I definitely need to see more than that. Probably everything.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” she agreed, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She slid off the counter, forcing me to move back and give her room.

I went rock hard as she stripped for me right there in her kitchen and then took the clip out of her hair so it gorgeously fell all around her. “Shit, Ellie, you’re just winding me up.”

“I love when you’re wound up and dying to pounce on me, my Alpha.”

And she wanted to think about anything other than what was bothering her. It was all over her face and my wolf could sense it.

“I’m hungry for my lover’s cunt,” I growled. “Get on the counter and beg me to eat you.”

She moaned and did as I wanted. I feasted on her again and again until she begged me to fuck her already.

“How do you want it?” I asked her, unsure how to behave. Maybe she wanted sweet after being so upset or she wanted to be completely enthralled with lust and… Hell if I knew the mind of a woman even if I loved her.

She pushed up on her elbows and swallowed loudly. “However you think is best. I mean, now that we’re official and done with the contract, right?”

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