Page 25 of Hunted Temptation
“Goldie,” I warn, “we gotta get on the road.”
She rolls her eyes to the ceiling, throws the blankets off her body, and slides her legs over the side of the bed before she stands up, letting out a sigh as she does. Elodie seems tired, and I can’t blame her. I feel the same way. This is an exhausting trip. I have no doubt that all the shit that happened over the past few days is stressful.
“Did you get a vanilla latte with almond milk?” she asks
Laughing, I shake my head a couple of times as I look down at my shoes. Slowly, I lift my head and my eyes, focusing on her. “Yeah, Goldie. Same order as yesterday. You lactose?”
“Dairy-free, but not necessarily lactose intolerant. It’s the same order as always. The only thing I like there,” she mutters, wrinkling her nose before she shrugs a shoulder.
“Sensitivity,” I murmur. “Then that’s what you’ll get.”
She smiles, and I swear to fuck it pierces my heart. The sight of her is almost too much. She’s justsobeautiful. And I know I shouldn’t desire her the way I do. It’s wrong. She’s been through hell, and she deserves to be able to choose whomever she wants, and it shouldn’t be someone fourteen years older than her.
It shouldn’t be someone as damaged as me.
It should be someone who is healthy, who hasn’t seen and done the things I have. Who hasn’t lived the life I’ve lived. No matter how many times I tell myself that, I continue to think about her, to ache for her.
As I pack up the few things we brought into the room, I can’t help but think about the future, aboutherfuture. I want Elodie to find her happiness.
She deserves it.
The water begins running behind the bathroom door and turns off less than five minutes later. A few moments after that, she walks out of the steamy room, and her eyes find mine.
She’s dressed much as she has been the past two days. Tight running shorts and a tight sports bra tank-top thing. She reaches for an oversized long-sleeved shirt, covering up all that gorgeousness before she slips into a pair of sandals.
“You ready?” I ask.
She’s barefaced, which is honestly the way I prefer her. Her hair is thrown up in a messy bun, too… Stunning. She could be wearing the most expensive outfit out there, thousand-dollar shoes, and a full face of makeup with an expensive hairstyle, and she wouldn’t be any prettier than she is right fucking now.
I can’t take my eyes off her, watching as she looks around the room, taking a mental note of everything that is in the space, or rather, not in the space. Once she’s surveyed the room, her gaze flicks to mine.
“I’m ready,” she murmurs.
A few moments later, we’re in the car and heading toward the coffee shop. We’re in a new car, this time an SUV, and I have to admit it’s nice not being so low to the ground. I enjoy sedans, but feeling like you own the road has its own special place.
I pull up to the window and give them my name, then watch as they bring me a drink carrier with an iced coffee and a hotblack, along with a baggie of pastries, passing it through their window and mine.
I hand Elodie the bag of pastries, and she opens it, then quickly closes it before she lifts her head. I don’t look at her, but I can imagine her eyes are wide and her lips are parted in awe, just based on the way she says her next sentence.
“Muffins, coffee cake, and cake pops?” she breathes.
Chuckling, I reach for the black coffee that is now nestled in the car’s cup holder beside me. Lifting it to my lips, I take a sip and almost moan at the strong black roast that meets my lips.
“One of those muffins is for me,” I say, holding out my hand.
She doesn’t place the muffin in my hand. Instead, I feel the sweet bread touch my lips. When I open my mouth, she slips it inside. I chew a few times, almost moaning when a blueberry pops inside my mouth.
Shifting my gaze to her, I snort before I look out the windshield again, trying to focus on the road ahead. Though it’s difficult because all I want to do is pull over and take this woman for myself.
Until the pastries are gone, Elodie feeds me bite by bite, then does the same to herself, and she also forces me to try one of the cake pops, both of which I bought for her.
Then she turns on an Imagine Dragonsplaylist, and we listen to that, even though I’m not sure I can take another one, although with as much as she loves it, I think I could probably listen to them on repeat until my dying breath.
Elodie does that to me.
I end up agreeing to shit like music and cake pops that I would never even consider otherwise.
And I like it.
