Page 62 of Suddenly Desired
“Ellie can look into a person’s eyes and read their soul, and if she has looked into your eyes, and if she has read your soul and understood what kind of man you are, then I trust her completely. If she tells me you are kind and you are decent, then I believe it. I can almost see it myself. Here, in my house, nothing matters but happiness. So forget about it all while you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Blake said. “I can’t tell you what that means to me. I hope I live up to what she sees, what you both see. Thereare things I’ve done that I feel ashamed of. I’m not perfect. I’m a long way from that.”
Ellie wasn’t sure if that last part was true, but his words made her pause. She had known Blake for less than two days — who knew what kind of secrets lay behind that smile?
Isla let go of him, and he scrubbed at his face with his free hand. He looked at Ellie, and she could see the war waging inside his thoughts. He wanted to do the right thing, she knew. And for him, the right thing was leaving her so that she wouldn’t be associated with his alleged crimes. But he felt something for her, she was sure of it, something powerful and something right.
“Thank you,” he said again. “But now I’ve got you here safely, maybe I should go. I can—”
“I want you to stay,” Ellie said. “I want to escape, and I want you to escape with me. It’s just a weekend. Whatever happens on Monday, I just want the next two days to be about us. I want us to be free.”
Blake nodded, but the sadness was still there. Ellie looked at her mum, and her mum sighed.
“It’s late,” Isla said, standing up. “Why don’t you two go to bed. I made you up separate rooms in the main house.” She smiled at Ellie, the twinkle in her eye growing brighter. “But they’re right next door to each other.”
“Mum!” Ellie said, and they both laughed.
Blake relaxed a little. “That’s really kind of you,” he said. “But I’m going to have to ask you for one huge favour.”
He sounded deadly serious, but then he smiled and reached for the plate of brownies. “I’m going to have to insist that you let me take these up with me.”
Chapter 31
ELLIE
Ellie lay in the same bed she’d slept in when she was fifteen, staring at the faded pop band posters on the wall. She was back in a world that felt impossibly familiar and yet distant, a place she hadn’t thought about enough lately. The room smelled faintly of sweets and old books, a comforting blend that wrapped around her like a warm hug. She felt more at peace than she had in years and she vowed to come back more often. It wasn’t that far away, really, even if she didn’t travel by private jet.
Blake had been given the guest room next door. It had been her parents’ room at one point, before her mum had moved down to the annex at the back of the house so she could be nearer the livestock. They’d exchanged goodnights at the top of the stairs, standing awkwardly close in the dim hallway. Neither of them had made a move to leave, lingering in the charged silence that said everything they didn’t. When she’d finally stepped into her room, she’d glanced back to find him watching her, something unreadable and magnetic in his expression. It was as if neither of them had wanted to break the moment, but neither had dared to cross the invisible line.
Now, stretched out on the slightly-too-small bed, Ellie couldn’t stop replaying it all. Her body felt too awake, too aware, every nerve charged as though he were still nearby. She shifted against the sheets, but it didn’t help. The ache he stirred in her refused to be ignored.
The muffled sound of water running from the bathroom across the hall only made it worse. Her mind betrayed her, painting vivid pictures she had no right to imagine: the steam curling around his sharp jawline, droplets trailing over the hard lines of his chest, his hands pushing back his damp hair. Andthen there was the way he’d felt in her hands — hard, thick, so hot it burned her skin. She could still see the hunger in his eyes and the tension in his jaw as he’d sworn through gritted teeth. Heat flowed urgently through her, making her press her thighs together as if that would somehow contain the longing that was surging there.
She’d felt desire before — at least, she thought she had. But Blake had rewritten that definition. This was on another level entirely. Her skin seemed to hum at the memory of his hands on her, the way his tongue had circled as his fingers had explored her. Every inch of her ached to feel him closer again.
Ellie sat up abruptly, her pulse thrumming in her ears. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t the type to lose herself like this, to let her thoughts spiral out of control. She’d always been cautious, measured, even in her past relationships. But Blake had torn through those defences with a single look, with the way he made her feel like she was the only person in the room, the only person who mattered.
She pressed her hands to her face, the coolness grounding her for a moment. Was she really falling for him? The thought sent a wave of panic rushing through her, but it was followed by something even more unsettling: a flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t as crazy as it seemed. Maybe it could work.
Ellie lifted her pillow and scrunched it over her face, yelling her frustrations into the duck feathers. It did little to satisfy her longing, but her chest felt less constricted. Her glasses ached on her face so she took them off, placing them on the bedside table. She was wearing a pair of floral pyjamas that her mum had kept for her. They were a little tight now, and smelled almost pleasantly musty, but they were still comfortable.
Something bleeped from inside her bag and she walked across the room to fish out her phone. Reception up here was sketchy at best and a voicemail from Josh had just comethrough, even though the time stamp told her it had been left nearly two hours ago. Her face wrinkled in disgust. What did he want? It would be a desperate plea to win her back, probably by insulting her in some way. That’s what he had always done, tried to make her feel so insecure that she’d fall back into his arms.
But what if he’d messaged to tell her their flat had burned down or something like that? It was just a message, it wasn’t like she had to speak to him. She dialled her voicemail, straining through the static to hear Josh’s whiny voice. The signal kept coming and going, so she could only make out a handful of words.
“. . . think you could just leave me . . . not fair . . . you’ll wish you hadn’t . . .”
Typical. He sounded so pathetic. Once upon a time she’d thought he was a strong guy, but he was a weakling in body and soul. He was a child. His words faded out and Ellie paced the room, opening the door to try to find a better signal.
“. . . didn’t think I knew but now you’ll see,”Josh went on as she walked out into the corridor.“. . . make something of myself, so you come crawling back . . .”
He faded out again and she checked the phone as she walked, tapping the screen.
“You stupid—” she started, then she collided with something big and the phone spilled from her hands. “Oh!” she said. “I’m so . . .”
Blake stood in front of her, completely naked apart from the incredibly small towel around his waist.
“Oh!” Ellie said again, feeling her eyes wander without permission.
