Page 27 of Laila Manning
So, if she needed to close her eyes for right now, I was going to let her. I slid my fingers through hers, anchoring her to me with just our hands as I looked her over. “You are hands down the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen before,” I said, and her lips quivered as she took a shaky breath, with her eyes still closed. “I know you don’t feel like it, and you don’t believe my words, but hopefully someday I’ll change your mind.” I ran my thumb over the pulse point on her wrist and felt the erratic beat under her skin. “There’s a part of me that wants to protect you from every bit of darkness in this world. That part wants to wrap you up in the most comfortable blanket and keep you safe, tucked away from everything else, and worship you like a divine goddess that I don’t even deserve to be in the presence of.” She licked her lips and leaned into my touch but didn’t press her body against mine like I wanted her to.
“I feel like there’s abutcoming.” She whispered as the noise of the club picked up on the other side of the curtain.
“There is.” I leaned forward so she could hear me and feel my breath on her face. “Because the other part of me wants to use my body to make yours scream in ecstasy.” She gasped and fell forward, gripping the front of my shirt with her icy fingers as her chest pressed against my stomach. “That part of me wants to spread your sexy body out in mybed and feast on you, giving you nothing but pleasure for days straight until you don’t remember any other man’s touch before mine, ever again. That part of me wants to hear you beg me to claim you. That part of me wants to make you so addicted to me that you never want to leave.” I turned my face to speak directly into her ear, making her shiver as goosebumps broke out over her arms. “That part of me needs you to want me as badly as I want you.”
“Zeke.” She moaned.
Moaned.
My Laila moaned my name, and I growled in response, unable to stop it before it escaped, and she shivered again.
“Do it again,” I demanded, closing my own eyes to the darkness trying to overtake me. “Moan my name again, Laila.”
She took a deep breath and gave me what I needed. “Zeke.” She moaned, tightening her hand on my shirt. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“I know.” Savoring her scent, I sighed deeply as I breathed in at her neck, appreciating her delightful fragrance. “I know you don’t. But I didn’t want you to doubt how badly I wanted you anymore. Because I’m nearly cross-eyed with need for you.” I leaned back, sliding my hand over hers, gripping my shirt, relaxing her hold as I massaged her fingers. “I’m leaving the ball in your court. You’re in charge here. If you want me, come to me.”
“I don’t know how—,” She whined, opening her eyes finally and staring up at me. “I don’t know.”
“I know, baby.” Slowly, I raised my hand to cup her cheek. “I’m not asking you to be in control if you don’t want to be.” She swallowed as I continued, “But I need it to be your decision to begin with. I need to know you want it.” Her pupils dilated when I made it clear that I was talking about sex and pleasure. “I need to know you want me.”
I backed up a foot away from her, leaving her swaying on her feet for a second before she got her bearings.
“Come to me when you’re ready, Laila,” I repeated, taking another step backward after picking up my suit jacket. “You know where to find me.”
As I backed out of the VIP booth, hard and aching, I smiled to myself for the first time in days.
She would come to me.
I knew she would.
I just hoped she wouldn’t make me wait forever, though I would.
For her, I would.
Chapter 9 – Laila
Ipaced my apartment floor, wearing holes in the girly carpet Carly picked out for me when I first moved in. I rubbed my hands together back and forth, trying to create warmth between them as the cold of the night seeped in.
A noise down the hallway vibrated through the air, and I froze in place, cocking my head to hear what it was. When the heavy door of the exterior hallway closed, I raced to my door, silently pressing my body against it as I looked through the peephole.
It was Zeke.
He was wearing a black pair of joggers and nothing else but a layer of sweat as he pulled his earbuds from his ears. He stopped at his door, noticing the folded paper in the crack again, and then looked over at my door. A devilish smile pulled his perfect lips back as he pocketed his earbuds and pulled the paper from its spot.
I bit my lip to keep silent as he leaned back against his closed door, crossing one ankle over the other before opening the folded paper.
It was another journal entry.
Another olive branch of communicating with him, the only way I knew how.
I needed him to know me. The dark and messed up parts of me, so he knew what he was getting into before I gave in to my desire to give my body to him.
God, even the thought of sleeping with him made me dizzy.
I took a deep breath and watched his bright blue eyes flick up from the paper to my door like he could sense me on the other side of it before he started reading.
This journal entry was deeper than the other one.
