Page 42 of The Wrong Man

“Piper made it. She likes to bake,” I told him.

Piper nodded and took a bite of her slice.

Johnny’s eyes rolled back into his head. “S’good. Damn, girl. You should open a shop.”

The four of us ended up playing a board game before Johnny said he needed to get back to the bar and relieve Dixson. He kissed me on the forehead and wished me another happy birthday. Waving goodbye, Piper followed him to the front door. She leaned in to kiss my cheek and whispered, “You two need some alone time.”

After shutting the door on my friends, I found Eli in the kitchen, cleaning up. Leaning against the doorframe, I admired the view, watching him work. His huge muscles flexed underneath his sweater with every movement. He had taken his time dressing up for the night and some glimmer of hope found that things were going to turn around for us found its way inside me.

“Hey, I wanted to wait to give you your present after they left.” Dipping a hand into his pocket, he pulled out a long velvet box. My heart thudded in my chest.

Opening it revealed a pendant necklace of triangles embedded within each other. The center triangle was solid silver on a thin chain. It was just like his tattoo. My eyes welled up with tears. Maybe my wish had come true already.

“Eli… thank you.” I wound my arm around his waist, and he held me against him with his thick, firm embrace.

Resting his chin on the top of my head, he quietly said, “It’s so you realize you’re always part of a family. You’re not alone.”

Lifting my chin to find his coffee-colored eyes, I asked, “How did you get this? Did someone make it?”

With a slight curl to the corners of his lips, he said, “Yeah. I used to have one, but I lost it. I found the jeweler that made mine and had them make another. For you.” Eli’s warm lips pressed against mine gently. It was the sweetest kiss he had given me in a month, and my body savored every moment of it.

“Can you help me?” Holding my blonde hair up into a ponytail, he slid the metal around my neck and worked the clasp. Every breath from his nose hit my skin, causing it to erupt with tingles. “Will you stay?” There was a time I wouldn’t have even had to ask. Now, I expected him to come up with an excuse.

Heavy lids covered his eyes as his mouth went soft. “Yeah, baby girl. I’ll stay.”

My skin hummed with desire, longing, and comfort in having him back.

Eli grabbed me by my butt, lifted me into his arms, and carried me upstairs. As he walked, he grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head as I did the same with his sweater. Once we got to the bedroom, he pressed me up against the wall near the bed.

Reaching down between us, I unzipped his jeans. He pushed my panties aside to shove his hard cock inside in one go. Gasping, I grabbed his back, feeling the muscles tense as he held me on the wall, pumping inside of me. Hot pants of his breath hit my ear as he buried his face in my hair. Remembering his scent, I relaxed into his arms completely.

The staccato and fanatical movements of his hips showed how much his body needed mine, as ifIwas the only one who could fulfill its needs. But it wasn’t like normal. This was animal desire. I was happy to be there for Eli, but it was as if his essence were trapped inside somewhere I couldn’t reach.MyEli always looked into my eyes as he made love to me, anchoring me.

“Come, baby girl. I need you to come for me,” he said desperately, the sound muffled by the skin of my neck.

Forcing myself to focus on the pleasurable sensation of his large cock stretching me, his Eli smell encasing my nose, his sweat making my fingers slick on his back all while closing my eyes, I remembered what he felt like. His tenderness, always watching my face and checking in with me. Pretending my old Eli was here with me, I came.

“That’s a good girl. Such a good girl for daddy.”

Almost as if he were angry with me, Eli hiked my body higher on the wall, pinning me harder to it. He roughly jutted into me until he came while pulling my hair to the side harshly. Once he was done with me, he let my legs slide down the wall.

Without another word, he stripped off the rest of his clothes and got into bed. Patting the covers next to him, he said, “Come here.”

After undressing, I slid in beside him. Large, taut arms wrapped around me as his lips kissed the top of my head. Worried about our relationship, I stayed awake for a while, wondering what I had done or what I could do to fix things between us. Eventually, I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.

The next morning when I opened my eyes, Eli was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his boots.

“You need to work today?” It was a Saturday.

“Uh, gotta meet my parole officer. And get to the gym.”

“Eli, I love you.”

He stood with his back to me. Slowly, he turned to face me with a pained expression. “I love you, too.”

Then, he left, and my heart ached.

If I asked him what was wrong, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. That day was coming, but I couldn’t handle his rejection just now. Maybe there was someone else. Someone prettier and more mature. I would die of a broken heart if there was.

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