Page 55 of Beautiful Desire

CHAPTER17

DOM

The lookof shock mixed with confusion and arousal lines Elle face. I can’t blame her. I blurted that out of nowhere from the deep recess of my brain, shocking myself in the process. I blame the lack of sleep, everything going on with Nero, and the panic attack I just had in the alley for bringing my walls down and making me vulnerable.

Elle is the only one who has ever brought out this side of me. We may have only slept together twice, and I may have been gone for the last year, but moments we’ve shared when we’re together…there’s just something about her that draws me in. Like an invisible string that keeps pulling me in her direction. She makes me feel things no one else has. She relaxes me and makes me feel comfortable. So when I said I only needed her right now, I meant it.

Both times we slept together – actually slept next to one another – it was the most peaceful night’s sleep I’ve had since I was a kid. Those were the only two times I haven’t had nightmares. The car backfiring really shook me up, and I haven’t been able to shake this feeling. Every time I close my eyes, I’m transported back tothat day. A day I’ve tried so badly to forget over the last twenty years.

I thought the fresh air on my walk back to the office would have helped, but it ended up having the opposite effect. Every little noise has set me on edge. I felt like I was trapped in a small room where the walls were closing in on me, even though I was outside on the sidewalk.

I walked – or more like jogged – back here, and as soon as I stepped off that elevator, I darted to my office, trying to catch my breath. But all that did was make things worse. I’m locked in my head with my own demons, and this time, there’s no way out.

Needing something to snap me out of this, I reached for the nearest object, which happened to be a glass on my desk, and threw it. I’m sure that’s what Elle heard and caused her to come in here, sitting wide-eyed across from me right now.

I don’t want to spook her or cross the line and have her call HR on me. My heart beats hard in my chest as I look directly into her eyes – mine haunted, hers filled with worry.

“I just need a minute, and I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts right now. Can you just sit with me?”

Adjusting herself in the chair, she swallows, drawing my eyes down to the column of her throat, which only makes me want to lick along her neck to taste her sweet skin on my tongue. As if she can hear my inner thoughts, her tongue slips out between her teeth and slides across her bottom lip.

Clearing her throat, she speaks on a ragged breath. “I can do that.”

Relief floods me as I nod my thanks before I lower my head back into my hands and close my eyes, trying to think of anything but that night, and I fail. It’s like every time I close my eyes, my brain is stuck on that one memory. Images flood my brain, and I can’t breathe. My breathing turns fast and shallow, my panic starting to take hold once again. I feel my chest rising and falling with every inhale and exhale I take.

Ripping at my hair, I gently start rocking in my seat as the notes of Elle’s heavenly floral scent hit my nose. She must have moved to sit next to me, because before I know it, her dainty hand lands on my back and begins rubbing up and down and in a comforting gesture, trying to soothe me.

Her touch instantly calms me. Between her scent, our close proximity, and her touch, I’m finally able to slow my breathing and take my first deep breath in what seems like hours.

She continues to rub my back until my breathing has leveled out, but when she stops, her hand remains on my back. I don’t know if it’s because she feels like she has to or if she doesn’t want to let go of me, but I revel in her touch. I know it will be gone all too soon once this moment is gone.

I’m still hunched over with my head in my hands, and the place on my back where her hand still lies feels like it’s burning a hole in my shirt. How can one simple touch from her elicit such heat, causing my body to be on fire and sending a bolt of electricity right to my dick, turning me on and making me hard.

Letting go of my hair, I slowly lift my head, sitting up slightly – but not too much because I don’t want her to remove her hand from me. Looking up at her face, I can see the desire in her eyes as she stares down at me. The air is hot and filled with sexual tension.

Like two magnets, we gravitate toward one another until we’re a hair’s breadth away from each other. Elle’s mouth pops open ever so slightly, and I can feel her breath on my face. Just before I move the last couple of inches and kiss her, my office phone rings, jolting us out of the bubble we were in. We both jump apart, and her hand falls from my back, along with the warmth it exuded.

As I clear my throat, Elle rises quickly from her seat and moves to leave.

Stopping her in her tracks, I say, “Thank you for your help.”

My voice is full of sincerity, because I do mean it. She helped me more than she knows, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Stopping, she looks over her shoulder at me.

“No problem. I should get back to work,” she says while hitching her thumb over her shoulder, pointing in the direction of her desk.

“And I should get this,” I tell her, holding my arm out in the direction of the ringing phone on my desk.

She nods before continuing on her way and leaving my office, her intoxicating floral scent the only thing lingering in her wake.

Making my way over to my desk, I take a seat and reach for the phone as it stops ringing. Before I can breathe a sigh of relief, my cellphone rings. Fishing it out of my pants pocket, I flip it over and instantly freeze when I see the name of the person flashing across the screen.

Not wanting to talk, I set it on my desk, sending the call to voicemail. The screen instantly lights up again, and I know if I don’t take it, he’s just going to keep calling until I do. Steeling myself, I slide the answer bar and place the phone to my ear. He’s the last person I want to speak to right now. Before I can say anything, his heavy Italian accent fills my ears.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite cousin. You’re not ignoring me now, are you,Dom?” he says in a sarcastic tone.

The brief moment of peace I had when Elle was here is long gone and replaced with irritation. Gritting my teeth so I don’t chew his head off, I take a deep breath before answering him.

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