Page 42 of Wrecked
She does not find me funny.
“I know you saw me,” she huffs, placing her books on my desk, “and I know you laughed.” She raises an eyebrow, waiting for me to deny it.
I don’t.
She throws a pillow at me.
I dodge it and I run after her, tackling her as we fall onto my bed. She giggles and pushes at my chest demanding I let her go.
I don’t.
Instead, I start tickling her, all the spots I know drive her insane. She loses it, laughing hysterically while she tries to push me off of her.
“Stoooop,” she both laughs and yells at the same time, “I–I can’t breathe…” Her fits of giggles are spurring me on.
I lift her shirt to get better access and immediately freeze. Her beautiful skin is decorated with a fist-size bruise, a shade that indicates it materialized recently. She releases a small gasp when she realizes what I’m looking at.
“It’s not…It’s not what you think,” she starts to fumble through her explanation. “It’s never happened before. He was just really, really drunk. I was in his way?—”
“Stop.”
“—it was just a little shove. The corner of the table was there and?—”
“STOP!” I don’t mean to yell. I would never intentionally scare her, but I can’t listen to her defend him. Not after the things I heard two weeks ago. She jumps anyway, her expression both shocked and wounded. “Pip, baby, I’m sorry. Fuck. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I sigh, regaining control of my emotions. “Just…don’t make excuses for him, please. He hurt you, baby, and that is not okay.”
“I…I know.” Unshed tears glisten in her eyes, and she looks down, almost ashamed. “He’s really never hurt me before, though,” she whispers, like she’s afraid of my response.
“I can’t protect you… I can’t be here for you…if you’re not honest with me, Ellie.”
“I know,” she hiccups, trying to keep her tears at bay, “I just didn’t want to add more to your plate. Your life?—”
“YOUare my life, Pip. I trusted you with all of the skeletons in my closet. I need the same from you, baby. I need you to let me be there for you, take care of you, love you like you deserve.”
She gasps. “You…you love me?” Tears fill her eyes again, but this time she lets them fall.
Shit. Fuck. Dammit. I didn’t mean to tell her I love her this way. I had something a lot more romantic in mind, but I’m certainly not going to take it back. “Yes, Ellie. I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. So much that it’s really hard for me to stay here,” I admit, “every part of me wants to leave you here, drive to your house, and break both of his hands.”
She stares at me, tears free-falling, complete adoration reflected in her eyes. “But you won’t,” she declares, confidence flooding her next words, “because you’re not him. You’re better than him…so much better.” She walks over to me and slides her arms around my waist from behind. She turns her head, resting her cheek against my back. “I love you too,” she whispers as her tears soak through my T-shirt. “I love you so much that sometimes it feels like it hurts. But, like…in the best way.”
I cradle her arms in mine, sliding them up my chest until my lips can reach her fingers. I kiss them all and take a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
She loves me.
I unclasp her hands and walk over to my desk. I grab my phone and swipe across the screen until I find the little pink star. I see her eyeing me curiously as I open the app and type in the search bar. A familiar melody drifts from my speakers and fills the space between us.
I walk back over to her and take her hand, pulling her to the middle of my room. She laughs as I twirl her around before bringing her close, my arms wrapping around her waist, hers around my neck. We sway to the soft rhythm, drunk on the emotions inspired by our declaration of love. I lean forward, quietly singing the lyrics close to her ear the way my grandfather used to.
“Wise men say…”
CHAPTER 21
ELLIE (PRESENT)
My head shakes back and forth, burying my long, auburn hair deeper into the crystal white sand. Nate nuzzles the apex between my thighs, running his nose up and down the length of me. He breathes me in like my feminine musk is his favorite scent. My legs shake with the anticipation of his mouth on me, licking and sucking until I come on his tongue.
Exhaling deeply, he burns me alive with the heat of his mouth. The mouth that is now aligned directly above my soaking wet center.
“Oh God, Nate,” I cry out, unable to control the sounds coming from my mouth. I feel his mouth form a smile against the juncture between my legs. Slowly,so fucking slowly, he widens his lips, covering the span of my mound. I shiver at the wetness of his tongue as it lightly glides over my aching core. He presses it firmly against me, in search of my clit, as he tastes my arousal.
