“It’s more like twenty-three,” I whisper, grinning as he leans in and slides his palm over my cheek.
“Yes, then we should start now,” he murmurs. Elias presses his lips to mine, and I melt into him. The heat of his mouth, the feel of his arm as it wraps around my waist, pulling me closer. I part my lips and his tongue touches mine, a soft sound escapes my throat.
My mind spins, and I knot my fingers in Elias’s hair. He growls out his approval, but then he pulls back and glances behind me. Before I can look to see if anyone is there, he takes my hand and pulls me down the hall, backing me into a small alcove between rooms and kissing me again, harder, more passionately. My entire body has caught fire, and I’m not even thinking when I slip my hand under his shirt to feel his skin. Elias curses, and then we’re moving again, farther into the recesses of the hotel. The hall has gotten darker, but every few feet we end up kissing, breathing heavily like we can’t get enough of each other.
“We should go to your room,” I say into our kiss. Elias shakes his head and then trails his mouth along my jaw; his tongue tickles my neck.
“They’ll find us there,” he murmurs.
“My room, then,” I say. My thoughts are swirling, nearly lost in my desire. I want him; want to remember what it’s like to feel.
Elias pulls back, his face close to mine. His cheeks are flush, and I think then that he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, wild and sexy. He clenches his jaw, setting it at sharp angles, looking me over like he wants to devour me. I want to be devoured.
“Elias,” I plead, grabbing his shirt to draw him to me once again. He kisses me but then stops and buries his face in my hair instead. “I can’t go to your room,” he says miserably. His body crushes me against the wall, but I like it. I like everything about him.
“Christ, Audrey,” he says painfully. “You’re making me crazy.”
“Me?” I laugh, running my fingers over the back of his neck. His heart is pounding against mine, and it takes a moment for me to realize we’re still in the hallway. Although it’s darker, it’s certainly not private. I furrow my brow, stunned that I would lose myself so completely. In fact, now that I think about it . . .
I put my hands on Elias’s shoulders, gently pushing him back. My rose is gone, a causality of the hottest kiss ever. Elias seems to realize just how out of control we were and runs his hand through his hair, flashing me a sheepish smile. I take a second to make sure my clothes are still on after basically attacking him. Or did he attack me?
“This is seriously going to affect my day,” he says, and then laughs. “Maybe even my week.”
“Yeah,” I agree, rubbing my lips together. They feel swollen, sore in a way that makes me want to kiss him all over again. I’m invigorated. Alive. “Those twenty-three hours just got a whole lot shorter,” I say.
Elias’s smile fades, a touch of sadness seeping in. I hate the mood shift, and I step forward to drape my arms over his shoulders. I get on my tiptoes and kiss him quickly on the lips.
“Let’s go to the café,” I say, and kiss him again. “Do something respectable with our afternoon.”
“Why?” He tries to deepen the kiss, but I laugh and back out of his arms. I’m charmed when he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it, before sliding his fingers between mine. “Fine,” he says with a dramatic sigh. “We’ll go, but I’m going to be thinking about that kiss the entire time.”
“I’m glad I made an impression.”
He hums out an agreement, and we start down the hallway, back to civilization. I expect Elias to drop my hand before anyone notices, but he doesn’t. He only squeezes it tighter.
We’re all hormones as we sit at a small table on the back patio, gazing stupidly at each other. Elias keeps hold of my hand, sliding his fingers along mine, teasing me with the sensuality of how he’s touching me.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he says, smiling sadly. He reaches for his white porcelain cup and sips his coffee. “But I know you don’t belong here.”
“Oh?” I ask, part flattered and part lonely at the thought of not belonging. “Maybe you don’t belong here,” I suggest, looking down at our intertwined hands. “I hear my grandmother’s attic is nice.”
Elias laughs and lifts my hand to kiss my fingers once more before letting them go. I wrap my hands around my glass, missing Elias’s warmth. I told him about how much I’m dreading going to my grandmother’s. How I won’t know anyone but Daniel.
“I’d take you away from that house,” Elias says quietly, staring into his cup. “I’d take you anywhere you wanted to go, Audrey.” He lifts his head, sympathy darkening his expression. “I’d be your family.”
There’s a puncture in my heart as Elias zeroes in on everything I’ve wanted to hear for the last three months.