Page 49 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

“Hey, girl. You got a second?”

“Of course.” I spin in my desk chair. “What’s up?”

She plops on my bed, wringing her hands together. “I’ve been offered a job.”

My face cracks into a smile. “That’s amazin’! I didn’t even know you started applyin’ to places.”

“Yeah.” She cringes and looks down. “It is amazing. They’ve offered me the Junior Assistant Specialist in Ecological Research at the Marine Science Institute.”

I nod my head, my chest swelling with pride. “Look at you, miss thang.”

My grin fades when I see she isn’t jumping for joy like I expected. “What’s up? You should be thrilled and we should be celebratin’.?

??

“I just…” she sighs, rubbing a hand over her face. “The job is in California.”

My chest tightens, my breath whooshing out at the squeeze. “Oh.”

“I know we had plans of getting a place together after graduation, but honestly, Becca, it’s my dream job. I’d be a fool to turn it down.”

“No, no.” I shake my head, wringing the ends of my hair in my fist. “I get it. Of course you have to take it. It’s an amazin’ opportunity.”

I force a small smile, but inside I’m reeling. I can’t afford rent on my own. I’m barely scraping by as it is, and without the campus job I have no clue what I’m planning to do for money. I don’t even know what I want to do with my life.

I’m not brought out of my worry until long after Sabrina leaves and Eli texts, asking where I am. I was planning on surprising him when he got back home, but obviously that’s shot to shit now since I’ve been sitting in my room for who knows how long, lost in my thoughts. But I’m excited he’s back, so I rush to my car and head over, pushing down the dread marinating in my gut.

Walking to his front doorstep feels like coming home, and entering his code on the keypad has my heart banging against my ribs, anxiety pumping into my bloodstream.

Maybe I shouldn’t be gettin’ this comfortable.

I barely make it through the front door when I’m grabbed from behind, and spun into the hallway wall.

Eli’s lips are on me before I can speak, and just like that, my worries disappear. All that matters is how good it feels in his arms. How right it feels.

“Damn, I missed you.” He growls against my lips.

His tongue twists around mine, fingers trailing down my sides, slipping under the waistband of my panties as he slides two fingers deep inside me.

I gasp at the intrusion, my pussy clenching around his hand.

His fingers curl forward, massaging my inner walls until it feels so good it hurts. He presses on my throbbing clit, rolling it under the pad of his thumb. I try to push forward into his palm, but his grip tightens, keeping me in place.

Kisses trail down my neck while he strips off my clothes. He crouches, his touch burning a path for his tongue to follow.

My hands grasp his hair, trying to push his face into me. “Lick it, Eli. Please.”

“So damn pretty when you beg,” he growls.

His tongue swipes out, circling my clit, frissons of electricity sparking through my core and down my thighs. His fingers double their efforts, maintaining a steady rhythm that compliments his mouth. I tighten my grip around the strands of his hair, legs shaking from the effort to stay standing.

My nerves coil tight, making my breath catch in my throat.

Suddenly, he stops.

“Wha–what… why,” I pant. My hands try to push his head back into me, desperate for release.

Leaving his fingers as deep as they’ll go inside me, he slowly stands until his towering form dwarfs me in his shadow. He leans in, his breath hot against my ear.

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