Page 28 of Beautiful Desire

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, I rest my elbows on my knees and hold my head in my hands. I need answers, and with my phone being dead, I’m going to go crazy until I get them. Reaching for my bag on the floor, I unzip it and quickly locate my charger and adapter. Plugging the adapter into the wall, I attach my charger to my phone and rest it on the rich mahogany nightstand.

With nothing left to do and wanting to be alone right now, I decide to take a shower and wash the day of travel off me. I make my way to the bathroom, stripping along the way, and blast the water on the hottest setting. Standing underneath the burning stream, I hang my head and relish the soothing water.

Instantly, I relax and take my time washing my body and hair. The warm water feels great on my aching muscles after sitting on a plane – albeit a private jet – for eight hours. I stay in the shower until the water runs cold, and tiredness starts to take hold.

Stepping out, I locate a towel, quickly drying my hair and body before fastening it around my waist. It’s been a long day and I can’t fight the jet leg anymore. As I walk back into the bedroom, an audible gasp disturbs my sleepy trance.

Looking up, I see a surprised Elle standing in my bedroom.

“Oh, my God! I am so sorry. I—” Her voice trails off as her eyes roam over my abs and chest.

“Can I help you?” I ask, unable to take my eyes off her, watching while she takes me in.

I notice her biting down on her bottom lip, and I almost reach out, desperate to taste her lips on mine.

“I-I-I just…” Her head frantically shakes back and forth as she stops herself from saying anything more.

The air between us swirls with sexual tension, both of us fighting what we both truly want.

Without any warning, she breaks the moment, turning on her heel, practically running out of my room, and slamming the door shut behind her. I stand in a trance, staring at the door, too tired to form any real thoughts about what just happened. Exhaustion from my nerves being in overdrive wins as I fall face-first down on the bed.

Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I pray my dreams will be filled with a certain angel with blonde hair and my demons will stay at bay.

CHAPTER9

ELLE

I feelawful that I still haven’t told Gia thatDis Dom. It was one night – granted, the best night of my life – but I think it’s best to leave it at just that. I don’t want her playing matchmaker. Since we saw each other at Fabi and Gia’s house, I’ve kept control of myself around himmost of the time. Although that night at Diavolo, as much as he pissed me off, I wanted nothing more than to throw myself at him.

Thankfully, though, I managed to resist and not embarrass myself in front of the entire nightclub. Although he did drag me away like a child in front of everyone. But what he did to me in that storage closet was definitely not childish. He left me extremely horny, and I’ve been kicking myself for letting things go that far.

Of course, I had to explain what happened to Gia when I came back out. I told her the truth...ish. I just said that he saw me push Paul away on his way out and wanted to make sure I was okay, and he didn’t hurt me. Which is true. He did. I just left out the part where he kissed me and finger-banged me, but withheld my orgasm until I come to my senses and beg for his dick. Which is getting harder to resist by the day.

Dom hasn’t exactly been holding back on his attraction toward me when we’ve both been at their house or anywhere together. From the constant searing burn of his gaze to the subtle brush of his hand on my skin as he pushes past me and the sound of his low, gravelly voice as he whispers a quiet “Goodbye, Elle” in my ear while giving me a goodbye peck on the cheek before he leaves.

All of these subtle things on top of what happened at Gia’s bachelorette party have been making me second-guess my one-night rule. The rule I made after catching my ex-boyfriend cheating on me to ensure I would never feel that type of heartache again. Dom, however, wouldn’t just break my heart. He would break me completely.

But I can’t think about that right now. The big day is finally here, and over the past couple of months, I’ve been helping Gia plan everything. Although they are already married, Fabi and Gia wanted to celebrate their love for one another by doing it properly, with their nearest and dearest friends.

I, for one, couldn’t be happier for them. After Dom has avoided spending any time with the rest of the group since we landed three days ago, apart from dinner each night, I have to admit I’m a little nervous about seeing him and having to spend the entire day in the same vicinity as him. Thankfully, with Marco as best man, I’ll be walking back down the aisle and sharing a dance with him.

“Here, take this. It’ll calm your nerves.” I hand Gia a glass of champagne, and she takes a long sip.

“Uh, I think you could do with one yourself. What’s going on with you?”

Her question catches me by surprise. “Huh? Me? There’s nothing wrong with me. Why?”

She hits me with herdon’t bullshit meface, and I know she’s going to try to wrangle it out of me. She walks over to the small table behind me, picks up the champagne bottle, pours a glass, and hands it to me.

“Nothing’s wrong, G. I’m just excited for you, that’s all. I know this is it for you.” Tears prick my eyes as my body deflates a little, hoping Gia won’t notice.

The thought that this most likely isn’t going to happen for me sends a pang of sadness to my chest.

Get it together, Elle.

“I’m not buying it, but I’m not going to push you. Just promise me when you’re ready to talk, you’ll come to me.”

I pull her in for a hug. There’s no one else in the world I would rather have as my best friend.

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