Page 67 of Assassin's Game
Eli reached for me then, hesitated, dropped his hand. “No, nothing’s wrong at the mansion. I talked to Remi a few minutes ago.”
“Then what the hell is it?”
He grinned. Rubbing a finger over that crease I’d noticed before, he looked a little like a sheepish boy—a look I had no doubt he leveraged often. “You curse at me a lot,” he said.
“You frustrate me a lot,” I pointed out.
He dropped his hand but not the grin. “I’m good with releasing frustration too.”
“You certainly are.” I didn’t sound happy about it. When Eli laughed outright, my frown was joined by narrowed eyes. “Don’t act so pleased.”
Eli didn’t stop laughing, but he did grab my arm and tug me to him, throwing me off-balance. I landed with anoofagainst the solid wall of his chest. My hand slapped the thin barrier of his T-shirt and immediately curled, seeking a firmer grip, deeper contact.More.I barely held back a groan rising in my throat.
Eli tipped my chin up, and I swore he was about to kiss me, but something made him hesitate. The stroke of his thumb along my jaw held me steady while I waited.
“I need to talk to you,” he said finally, the heavy look he’d worn earlier returning.
“Of course.”
Amusement sparked in his eyes, then died just as quickly. “Things have been…”
The end of that sentence depended on what “things” he was referring to, but one word seemed to fit most of what was going on around us right now. “Intense?”
“To say the least,” he agreed. “I guess I…” Another pause, and then he seemed to brace himself, though he didn’t move away for me. “I need to know that I didn’t…push you, last night.” He cleared his throat. “Here.”
I considered that a moment, trying to make the connections he was implying, but it wasn’t until his grip on my chin tightened the slightest bit that what he meant clicked in my head. “Do you think you forced me last night?”
“I didn’t think so at the time,” he said. “I mean, pressed you a bit, yes. But how I perceived it and how you did aren’t necessarily the same.”
He was worried that he’d forced himself on me. The thought actually blew my mind. “Were you forceful? Yes.” Eli opened his mouth to respond, but my fingers on his lips stopped him. “But you didn’t do anything I didn’t allow or participate in fully, Eli. And if you had, well, I’m not a fragile flower, you know.” One side of my mouth twitched. “You’re not walking funny this morning, which is a good sign that I wasn’t resisting.”
Relief mingled with his amusement. “I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, Beautiful. I just…didn’t want you to have any regrets. I pushed pretty hard, pretty fast.”
I settled myself a little more firmly against him, more accepting now that I knew what had been on his mind. “If I remember correctly, I’m the one who kissed you first.”
He tucked his head down close to mine, his breath washing over my neck. “And that was all it took to rip through any control I’d ever hoped to have with you.”
Goose bumps washed across my skin, and my nipples pressed hard against Eli’s chest. He had to feel it, just like I could feel the sudden firmness against my belly, but he didn’t move to take this any further and I thought I knew why. Eli was dominant in bed, and I was a dominant female. Out of everything we’d done together, that was what had stood out. He’d taken control, and despite my body’s reactions, he needed to know for certain that if it happened again, I would be okay.
Chances were, itwouldhappen again. And chances were I’d enjoy it just as much as I had the first time.
“Look, Eli…”
His nose trailed across my skin, and my knees threatened to buckle. “Yes, Beautiful?”
I’d never thought I’d like being called that, but in Eli’s deep, drugging voice? With that hungry tone? Oh yes, I did.
I forced myself to remember what I’d been going to say. “I…” Shit. I cleared my throat to stop my voice from cracking. “I’ve never really been into being controlled.”
He stilled against me, even holding his breath. His heartbeat kicked against my hard nipples.
I found myself sliding my hands up and down his biceps, soothing him with my touch. “Sex has always just been a function—something I needed, found, over and done. But…”
Come on, Nix, spill it.
“But you gave me something last night that I didn’t know I needed. Desperately. Exactly when I needed it.”
Eli released his held breath, and his head came up, those golden lion’s eyes meeting mine. Our positions from last night were reversed—him against the wall, me pressing him into it—but his hands were on my hips, gripping me tight, and the push of his hard erection was getting more urgent every second.
