Sinful Longing

“Mine,” he’d say with a snarl, toss her over his shoulder and cart her off to the woods to take her, mark her, and leave his imprint on her.

Of course, the rational, adult portion of his brain knew that was ludicrous. She was hardly his, and even with what they had, he needn’t be jealous of teenage boys. They were boys, and while they might lust after her, they also admired her.

“We’re quoting you, Elle. Rise above,” Tyler said, raising his fist in the air. Yup, it was a mix of feelings they possessed for the hot-as-sin and caring-as-hell director of the center where they spent many days and evenings.

She held up a hand to high-five Tyler then slapped the older brother’s hand, too. “Excellent. You boys do me proud. Are you staying to get a bite to eat? I hear there are turkey sandwiches on the menu tonight.”

“I love turkey!”

“More than my mac and cheese?” Rex asked his brother.

Tyler nodded. “But I still love your mac and cheese.”

“Fine, we’ll stay. We need to work on our angles later.” Rex draped an arm around his brother. “Hey, Elle, did you hear? Colin is trying to turn me into the next venture capitalist.”

“That sounds like an excellent pursuit,” she said.

“I’m gonna earn twenty-five percent and beat his ass.”

“After I tutor you in math, you just might,” Colin said.

The teen turned to Elle. “He twisted my arm. He’s gonna make me learn my two plus twos for community college.”

“That’s not a bad thing, Rex. And I suspect you’ll learn a whole lot more than two plus two.”

“Anyway, it’s too hot out here. We’re going inside. Catch you later, Mr. Cristal,” Rex said with a wink at Colin.

As he walked away, Elle raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Cristal?”

“Long story. But it has a good ending.”

“Maybe tell me tonight?” She tucked her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. “Turns out I have more time than I thought. Alex is at a friend’s house for dinner, then they’re going to see the new dinosaur movie or whatever that thing is that all the boys are watching on the big screen.”

“Are you asking me out, Elle?”

“I was just thinking it would be fun to hang out with you. As friends,” she added, a reminder of how she saw him. Her voice went a touch softer, “As well as…you know.”

Hang out. Friends. Not exactly the words he wanted to hear from her. But he could work with it. “I can do a lot with more time.”

“I had a feeling you might be able to,” she said, tapping her watch. “Give me an hour to finish up?”

“Perfect. I need to stop at my house anyway. I’m taking care of Ryan’s dog since he’s followed Sophie to Germany.”

“He followed her to Germany?” she asked, bouncing on her toes.

“He did indeed. He’s madly in love with her. So I’ve got Johnny Cash for the week, and I need to go take him for a walk.”

“That is so sweet.”

“Me taking care of his dog, or him following her to Germany?”

Elle flashed him the sweetest smile. “Both actually. I’m so happy for her,” she said, practically glowing as she spoke about the two of them. “He looked so in love with her when I saw them at the Venetian event together. And it’s incredibly cool of you to look after his dog.” She gestured in Rex’s direction. “And to help Rex to focus more on his studies. I’ve been trying to get him to work on math for the longest time, and I’ve never seen him connect with anyone else here like he does with you.” She reached out to wrap her hand around his arm. “He’s such a good kid at heart, taking care of his little brother and everything. But he needs to channel all his money-making energy so he’s not taken in by the wrong thing.”

“I hear you loud and clear,” Colin said, enjoying all the things Elle had just told him, but especially her reaction to Ryan’s romance movie-esque pursuit of Sophie. Sure, she was talking about another couple, but something seemed to spark in her at the mention, as if it stirred up a long-dormant longing.

Cool your jets, Colin.

He might be reading too much into it. But Elle had focused so long on other people—on her son, on her ex. She didn’t let romance into her life, and now she was only permitting fun in the bedroom. Perhaps, though, he needed to do more tonight than just send her soaring between the sheets. This thing between them might only be about the physical right now, but he had a chance tonight to show her how good he could be for her. Maybe friendship was the key to unlocking the heart that she kept so protected.

“Meet me on Fremont Street and North Las Vegas Boulevard at six p.m.”

Her eyes widened and her shoulders tensed. A flicker of fear crossed her eyes. “Are you going to make me do the zip line?”

He scoffed. “Make you? Never. Encourage you? Absolutely.”

“Why do you want me to do it?”

“Because it’s fun. Because it’s a natural high. Because it feels good.”

“Lots of things feel good but that doesn’t mean I want to do them.”