“Elena, please,” Nik said from the other side of the door.
No freaking way. She was not going to make this easy. She had missed him terribly and she wanted nothing more than to rip open that door, but he wasn’t going to get to rip open her heart again.
She teleported to the living room and leaned against the arm of the sofa to watch him through the open bedroom door.
He ran his hands through his hair. What would she not give to be able to do the same? “We need to talk. Things got all twisted around.”
Yeah, no kidding. Like the truth, maybe?
He placed his hands against the bathroom door. “Just give me five minutes.”
It probably wasn’t a good idea to watch him like this. Obviously, from the heat rushing through her, her body forgave much more easily than her mind…or her heart. Her heart might never recover.
He bumped his forehead against the door and sighed. “I screwed up. I treated you terribly.” He thumped his forehead against the door again “I need you, Elena. I’m sorry.” He had said it too low to be heard through the door, but she heard it from where she sat. Even though the words weren’t intended for her ears, he meant them. The fissure in her heart closed just a bit.
I’m sorry, too. She cleared her throat, and he turned and then smiled.
His eyes met hers, and the relief on his face sent a thrill up her spine. Then, a look far more predatory that made her toes curl crossed his features. “Clever girl.”
“You’ve no idea.”
He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Big, sexy man. “Indeed, I do. You underestimate my estimation of you.”
She fought back a grin. “How Dr. Seuss.”
“I have no idea who that is, but playing doctor works for me.”
Her heart slammed into hyperdrive. Sexuality at warp speed. Whoa. Put the brakes on, her mind said. Captain, you’ve got the con, her body shouted, dumping adrenaline and sending pulses to all the right places. All those places he’d touched and filled so completely that now felt empty and screamed for attention.
He simply stood there and grinned, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling. And his grin was beautiful. Mmm. That mouth.
No! She shook her head to clear it. It had to be the blood mojo that was making her horny enough to rip her clothes off there and then.
“Stop it,” she said in an embarrassingly husky voice.
“Stop what?”
She gestured to him with one hand. “It.”
“I’m not doing anything. I’m just standing here. Do you want me to do something?”
Yes. “No.” Yes.
He walked toward her, and she held her breath. So hot. He was just so painfully hot and everything in her felt alive when he was near.
Stefan’s words ran through her head. You are separated from something you can’t live without. Maybe he’d been right. And perhaps he was right about setting the rules too.
“I’m not a possession,” she said as he stopped only inches away. “Or a subordinate you can order around.”
Saying nothing, he stared at her with those gold eyes as if he were seeing into her very soul.
She squirmed under his scrutiny.
Light as a feather’s touch, he ran his knuckles down her cheek. “You are so beautiful. Your skin, your new musculature, and especially your eyes.” He placed his hand on her neck. “I didn’t think it was possible you could be more appealing than you were when I met you, but you are.”
His words threw her. She had to get back to the topic and not be sidetracked by his flattery and her body’s impressive attempt to hijack her rule-setting agenda. “I don’t like it when you order me around. You don’t own me.”
“No, I don’t. But you own me, Elena Arcos. Whether you want me or not, I completely belong to you. Do with me as you will, but just give me another chance. We belong together and you know it. You feel it, too.”
Her jaw dropped, and she just stared. Talk about a one-eighty.
He put his mouth to her ear. “But you do like it when I order you around.”
She shook her head, trying to catch her breath.
“You like it when I tell you to open for me, or when I tell you to come. You love it.” He ran his tongue over her ear, and she shuddered. “You crave it. Need it. Just like I need you. Our souls are fated to be together, and we are bound by my blood.”
Hands on thighs, she was glad to be leaning against the arm of the sofa. If she weren’t, there was no way she’d be upright. She’d have melted into a boneless puddle. She closed her eyes, trying to remember why she was supposed to resist him and came up blank.
He moved to her other ear. “You’re wet, aren’t you? So ready. As ready as I am.” He took her hand and placed it over the bulge in his jeans. “We are meant to be together. Even our bodies know it, don’t they?”
She nodded.