Page 55 of Fighting Conviction
“As much as I get off watching you learn the way your body moves,” his eyes drifted down her body before he licked his lips, like he’d just drank in every drop of the arousal pooling in her panties. “I want to see what your body does when I’m against it.”
“For the love of GAWD, and all that is motherfuckin’ holy, if you don’t fuck him, I will.”
Ellie’s back hit something solid as Sasha yelled at her, and she realized she’d bumped into the mirror. She was trapped. Her pulse beat all the way down to her core while her confused mind played catch-up.
Half of her wanted to run out of BlackStone and never come back, afraid of what Dev would do to her. The other half couldn’t wait to find out.
He was feet away from her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the forest green orbs mesmerizing her in their hold.
“You remember, angel? Fighting is the last resort. What’s before that?”
“H-hide.” She darted her glance around the room, automatically trying to find safety.
“That’s right. But you have to be smarter than your attacker.” He tapped his head as he closed the space between them. “And if I were your attacker, you’d do well to remember that I would turn over every—” His fingers grazed down her throat, but she couldn’t stop watching his eyes. “—inch… of this facility looking for you.” Dev trailed his fingers back up her neck and his thumb pulled her lip from between her teeth as he leaned in. “So, Ellie… if you can’t hide. And you can’t possibly beat me in a fight…” His breathy chuckle puffed against her hair and his lips lingered over her ear. His words rang in her mind like a challenge, so she closed her eyes to try to block out the heat consuming her from his touch. “What… should… you… do?”
There was no way out and as much as she wanted to be beneath him, something inside her desperately wanted to escape. So she did what she had to do. She thrust her knee up into Dev’s crotch and ran like hell.
Dev growled out a yelp and reached for her, but she was able to scoot around him thanks to his agility training and new injury. She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t fully understand why she was running, but every instinct told her she needed to make him chase her. That shewantedhim to chase her.
The gym wasn’t that big and the door was only a few strides away. She turned around to see if Dev was following and—huge mistake. The six-foot-four monster of a man was recovering way too quickly and already almost right behind her. And she’d just given him the advantage.
Ellie faced the door again and dug her feet into the ground to pick up speed. She rounded a power squat machine and lifted her legs to hop a bench… only to be captured mid-flight.
Muscular arms wrapped around her in a bear hug and turned her around. A strong hand circled her throat. She began to hyperventilate and her stomach flipped, whether from the adrenaline or the desire pooling in her core, she wasn’t sure. He turned them around and there in the mirror she was captivated by seeing Dev holding her against his hard body.
Watching the Dev and Ellie in front of her was surreal. The man’s hungry gaze down on the woman made Ellie squeeze her legs to ease the ache throbbing between. He looked at her with a mixture of awe and desire, like he’d been starving his entire life, and he’d finally found the sustenance he craved right there in his arms. Like heneededher.
His lips hovered over the shell of her ear. “Come on, angel. Push past the fear. Breathe for me.”
Had she quit breathing? The edges of the world were turning black and panic shocked down her spine. She hadn’t noticed before, but the gentle command accompanied by the soft stroke down the column of her throat reminded her to suck in a breath. The air invaded her lungs, too much at once.
“Ellie, come on. You’ve worked so fucking hard at the physical fighting, you’ve got this.” Her breathing came in fast gulps but the world came back into focus. “The rest is all in your head, baby. You have to remain calm, logical, and be the proactive person in this situation. Whatever your next step is, you have control. You hear me?Youare in control.”
You are in control.
Ellie hesitated, unable to quit staring at the image of them together. His grip adjusted and his whole hand encompassed her throat, still tender against the skin.
“Come on, Ellie. What would you do? Fight the fear.”
I have control.
A tinge of defeat tainted Dev’s words. “We have to work on this, baby. I’ll work on it with you, but in the real world… fuck, I’ve been holding you for half a minute. A lot can happen in half a minute.”
“I-I’d…” Ellie inhaled a calming breath against Dev’s forearm, but only got cinnamon. She leaned on his chest and squeezed the corded muscle with her hands.
“Ellie?” The surprise in his tone made it obvious he didn’t know what she was doing. When he released his grip on her throat, she embedded her nails into his arm.
“No,” her whisper carried a command, and feeling Dev follow it by tensing his fingertips against her made her heartbeat thrum with power. “Stay…” Ellie watched the Dev in the mirror lift his gaze to meet hers. “Please…” she begged.
They shared several breaths in tandem before she felt him swallow against the crown of her head. “Okay, then, baby… I-it’s just us. Just you and me. You still have the control here, angel. If you trust me then whatever we do, whateverIdo, know you have the power to stop me.”
Dev tightened his biceps and forearms around her chest encasing her in a feeling of comfort and safety she wasn’t sure she’d ever had. His grip was firm against her throat… Butshehad control in this situation. If she said no—not that she wanted to—or even if she didn’t say yes, he would respect her. She could give in to this man, trust him completely, and know she was in good hands.
Ellie felt his length hardening behind her. The empowering beat in her chest pulsed in her clit as she pressed her butt farther into him. Dev closed his eyes on a stuttering exhale, giving Ellie the satisfaction of knowing she had an effect on him.
“Ellie… I can’t play games with you…” Dev’s voice was impossibly lower and made her core ache.
“Who’s playing a game?” Ellie whispered. “I want this.”
