Page 28 of Tell Me the Truth

He immediately takes my hand and moves it up to his mouth. Tasting my fingers. Still sucking my finger in his mouth, his hand then moves to replace mine between my legs.

All my untamed sensations are firing and emitting from every inch of me. Feeling his body respond, communicating to me that his pleasure mirrors mine. Hearing the confirmation that that is true in the sounds that escape his lips.

I climb and ascend. Closer and closer. Then. As his touch and our movements send me over the edge and towards its anticipated purpose, I scream, “Ellis!” And my body seizes in pleasure-laden waves while I feel his body follow with its own climax and release. The crests and troughs of my orgasm rewarding him, still inside me. Pulling out anything remaining from his own blissful conclusion.

A few minutes later, I move from underneath him and get up to use the bathroom. After cleaning up, I look in the mirror while washing my hands.

The woman staring back at me is fulfilled and in control of all her faculties.I am still Alexandra Seth. I am still my kick-ass self.And whether these feelings of strength and empowerment are because of some post-sex euphoria, doesn’t matter to me. I know my worth and can still be proud of myself and everything that is important to me.

I step back into my room and find Ellis lying on his back on my bed. Sleeping.

I leave him alone and walk quietly down the stairwell to the kitchen.

On the counter is the glass of Petite Sirah that I had poured just hours before when I received Tracey’s call about the fire. I grab the stem, remove the plastic wrap, and sniff. I savor the smell of fat, red wine.

I take a sip and walk over to my living room and sit in an armchair looking out a window to my backyard.

This is a good time to sit and just think. When the outside world is quiet and not demanding anything from you in return.When was the last time I felt like this?I think about this question but cannot come up with the answer.

While various thoughts about Ellis cross my mind, I try to redirect them to just thoughts about myself. Feeling content and not burdened with anything going on outside my house.

I hear Ellis’s footsteps near as he comes down the stairs and into my view, wearing only boxer briefs. Our eyes meet and he smiles. I smile back, but with returned composure.

There is tension in the room—the tension between us—it is still present. There is a finality that looms over us, like we know what is going to happen so there is no need to rush into conversation. But the strange thing is, I have no idea what is going to happen. The hairs on my body stand at attention when he walks into the living room.

“Do you want to be alone, or do you want company?” He asks. His eyes are on me as I lift my empty wine glass and point to the bottle of wine on the counter. He takes my glass from me and walks over to refill it with wine.

He flashes me a grin on his way back to me, also carrying with him the bottle of wine. He takes a sip from my glass, before handing it back to me. Kneeling on one knee beside my seat.

“I believe you.” I start to say. Feeling like this moment, in the middle of the night, without the weight of the world on my shoulders, is the best time for this talk. “I believe your feelings for me, your reasons for not telling me the truth, that you were trying to stop the buyout, and that you didn’t know about the fire.”

Even though Ellis’s eyes gleam with the acknowledgment that I believe him, I can also see from his look that he is reading my expression and he understands what I have not yet said.

I take a sip of wine and then offer Ellis my glass. He drinks in a long gulp and then pours more wine into the glass before handing it back to me.

“Is it time for me to leave?” He asks while he lifts his hand to stroke my knee. His face is mere inches from mine.

I move my head to his, my nose brushing his cheek. With my eyes closed, I breathe in a long slow breath, taking in the scent of sandalwood and sex. I open my mouth to gently taste his face, lost in wonder as to whether I might taste the carnal scent. When he moves barely a millimeter, I stop him. Whispering with my eyes still shut, “Yes. It’s time for you to go.”

Chapter Eleven

Ellis

Thursday

After the night Alexandra and I spent together, I hated that I had to go home to my own bed. I especially hated the feeling of waking up without her next to me. I’m up before the sun has reared its head out of the clouds and I feel like my bed is as uninviting as a nest of thorns.

The smell of berries from her shampoo still lingers somewhere on me, as I catch random whiffs when I move. I don’t know when I realized it, but I know that I want her. I want Alexandra Seth to be mine.

While I shower, I remember that something has been on my mind since I heard the news about the fire at Alexandra’s lab. I know there is a possibility that someone from my company is the mastermind behind the destruction, but I am also certain that there has to be an inside man or woman. Someone has betrayed her, and it is important to me to find out who.

Selfishly, I want her to know that she can trust herself and the belief she has in me. But, also for retribution on Alexandra’s behalf for all the pain I put her through.

After my shower and getting dressed, I reach for my phone and call a private investigator that my company has used in the past.

“This is Ellis Brent. I need you to look into something for me. Do you have time for a new case?” I speak into my phone.

“Yes. For you. Always.” I hear over the line.

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