“But… you’ve always been content to just take. You stalked me. You kidnapped me. Why not just take me?”
Eli’s hands curl into fists at his sides. “I tried that approach. You made it clear you want me to respect your boundaries. I haven’t touched you since you said that. I haven’t done anything you didn’t want since you told me I shouldn’t.”
My brow furrows. He’s right. That morning, when I found out what he’d done to me in my sleep… when I asked him not to undress me, not to—
He hasn’t tried anything since. Not until I came to him.
I kissed him first. I took control.
That knowledge—that it’s my choice, that he’s letting me lead—is intoxicating. This man, this huge, intimidating man who doesn’t have a full grasp on reality, respects me enough to hold back. To wait.
For anyone else, that wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s the bare minimum, really.
But Gia would have taken from me. And Eli—given his past, his history—it shocks me.
I step forwards, closing the distance he created between us. Eli goes still, waiting for me.
My hand cups the back of his head, fingers sliding into the hair at his nape.
Then I crush my mouth to his.
His restraint shatters instantly. He kisses me back with a ferocity that steals my breath. His hands roam, caressing me through my clothes before he strips them off, leaving me naked under his stare.
His eyes burn with an intensity that shocks me.
He notices.
“You still don’t see yourself the way I do, do you?”
I gulp, insecurity sinking deep into my bones. He’s right. I don’t understand it. I can’t process his fixation. I’m boring. Plain. My body isn’t the kind men obsess over. None of it makes sense.
Eli spins me so I’m facing the mirror.
I shut my eyes when I catch the sight of my sagging boobsand the stretch marks scattered across them.
He nudges my legs apart with his foot. “Hands on the sink, Em.”
The nickname sends butterflies tumbling in my stomach.
I grip the porcelain like it’s the only thing keeping me upright.
“Now,” he murmurs behind me, “open your eyes.”
Slowly, I do. My gaze finds him in the mirror.
“I’m going to fuck you because I know you want it,” he says. I nod. “But only if you keep your eyes open.”
Anxiety spikes through me.
“I don’t—”
“If you close them, I stop.”
I swallow hard, breath trembling as it leaves me. “Okay.”
Our eyes lock as his hand smoothes down my spine. Every sensation feels heightened as I watch him through the mirror. When his finger trails over my ass, I jolt.
Eli grins. “I’m going to fuck you here one day.”