Page 31 of Elas

The need to comfort him, to chase away whatever haunts his mind, is so strong that I don’t stop myself fromclosing the distance. My knee lands on the bed again, inching closer.

“Elas, I don’t know how to help you, but I’m right here.”

“I’m fine,” he whispers, but he’s still shaking.

“You don’t have to pretend with me.” I keep my voice low as I tentatively grip his forearm. He stills at my touch, like every trembling muscle in his body is calmed as my fingers flex against him. “You don’t need to convince me nothing’s wrong, alright? You don’t owe me any explanations.”

He forces a rough swallow that clicks in his throat, and he nods. It’s barely there, a single dip of his head, but it eases the heaviness on my chest by a fraction. “What do you need from me? Do you want me to give you some privacy?”

“No,” he says in a rush, his voice frantic again as his panicked eyes find mine. Heavy arms wrap around my torso and tug me against him, and I immediately hug him back. The rest of that anxiety vanishes as the hard angles of his body meet the softer edges of mine. His woody, natural smell is heightened by sweat, an undertone of leather still on his skin, and I breathe him in as I tuck my face into his neck. “Don’t go,” he whispers. “Please?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper back, like someone might hear if we speak too loudly. Like this is forbidden, somehow, despite how natural it is to comfort him. My hand moves of its own accord, cradling the back of his head. He nuzzles into the touch, his erratic breaths beginning to calm. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

The minutes tick by and we remain like this, huddled together and kneeling. He never releases me as I pet his hair, and eventually his pulse slows to normal as his breathing becomes steady.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, embarrassment reducing his words to barely-there mutters as he pulls away.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“I… I didn’t mean to wake you. I have… nightmares sometimes. Flashbacks,” he corrects, his gaze distant, and I can’t help it as my eyes trail over the patchwork of scars on his skin. Elas is nearly seven feet tall, his chest is broad, and his shoulders are impossibly wide. Some of the gnarled injuries cross the entire expanse of his torso, pale and raised in their jagged stripes.

I’ve always noticed the one on his lip. It’s impossible not to see with the way his tusk pushes the skin out, highlighting the lighter blue scar that cuts down his chin. But the ones on his body are different.

More severe.

Morepainful.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The offer is gentle, and I expect him to shut me down. I’ve spent enough time around injured tough guys to understand that life has conditioned them to be hard. They conquer their demons in silence and alone, and don’t discuss what bothers them. Elas is solid power and pride, and while the rejection feels inevitable, I need him to hear my sincerity.

“Oh, uh,” he clears his throat before he swallows again, the sound infinitely more put together than it was just moments ago. “I’m naked.”

“Trust me, I’m aware,” I deadpan, and he snorts a quiet laugh that releases some of the bound tension in the room. My eyes drop downward of their own accord, and my heart leaps straight into my throat at the size of his cock hanging between his legs. My limited relationship history means I’m no expert, but this one isparticularlyintimidating. It flexes under my watch, and Elas clears his throat again.

“Sorry,” I rush to say as my neck burns, my eyes snapping back up to his. “I didn’t mean to… stare.”

“Let me just, uh, take care of that.” There’s a playfulness in his expression as he bites at his lip.

“Yeah, okay,” I squeak, my voice a full octave higher than normal as his grin widens. He climbs from the bed and I catch a glimpse of an enormous set of balls hanging underneath his half-hard cock. My skin is already flaming as he turns his back to me, leaving me to stare at his toned ass. His body is a masterpiece, thick muscles and corded tendons under battle hardened skin. When he bends over to grab a pair of shorts, that heavy sac hangs between his thighs, and I curse under my breath at my body’s reaction.

It’s the last place my mind should be, given the circumstances that brought me in here. He’s half awake, the grips of the nightmare still obvious in his tight posture, and I have no business ogling him like a piece of meat. The reminder allows me to shake myself from this insistent attraction that’s bubbling in my gut, and by the time Elas returns to bed, I’m calm again.

“Do you want me to—”

“Do you thinkyou could—”

Our words crash together before stopping dead, our mouths snapping shut at the same moment. Elas huffs another quiet laugh. “Go ahead,” I offer with a soft smile.

His gaze drifts away, focusing on the glow from the bathroom, and the light bounces off those endlessly black eyes. I reach out and wrap my fingers around his forearm, and his muscles bunch and kick under my fingertips. He meets my eyes for a brief moment before his gaze drops to where we touch.

“Would you stay with me tonight?” The words are barely even a whisper, but they trigger a rush of deep affection.

“Of course I will,” I say with no hesitation, and he nods, still staring at my hand on his arm. “Bed’s far more comfortable than the couch, anyway. Don’t act like it’s a chore.” When he meets my eyes this time, they’re lighter and crinkled with his half-hearted grin. I don’t mention the light in the bathroom, just nod my head towards the pillows.

Wordlessly, we settle under the sheets, with Elas on his back while I lie on my side facing him. Neither of us speaks as I close my eyes and attempt to sleep. The pace of his breathing tells me he’s wide awake, too—in need of comfort that he won’t ask for.

My hand snakes underneath the covers and finds his, my fingers wrapping around his palm. He startles at the touch, then squeezes my hand as his tense body relaxes.

We lie like that a while longer, his thumb occasionally drifting over my knuckles. But eventually, our breathing evens out, and soon enough, sleep claims us both.

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