Page 46 of Defying Ella
His gaze shifted over my shoulder, that pained expression morphing into something a little more lost.
“It didn’t fix things, did it?” When he refocused on me with a question in his eyes, I tried again, “Moving to Glasgow and embracing the music, it didn’t solve your problems.”
“No,” Jared whispered.
He smiled, the edges crumbling before they’d fully formed. With his free hand, he pushed my hair back from my face, the calloused pads grazing against my sensitive skin.When did he get so close?
“I added a new fear, instead. At home on the council estate, I had nothing to lose. It didn’t matter what I did, didn’t matter how much people tried to put me down. I didn’t have anything for them to take from me.”
So many pieces of him fell into place for me. I’d only ever known and seen public, confident, untouchable Jared Michaels. I craved the real person beneath the mask.
“And that changed when the band started taking off.”
He nodded but said nothing. Instead, his gaze roamed myface, searching for something. An answering pang of fear maybe?
“It’s hard to protect yourself when the thing you desperately need could be ripped away with very little fanfare.” His fingers continued to caress my face while his eyes begged me to get closer. “So now you know. I’m nothing but a fraud. What are you going to do about it, Sparky?” he whispered, his voice hoarse while his eyelids dipped.
I didn’t give myself room to think. I closed the distance between us and muttered, “You’re not a fraud,” against his lips.
Then I kissed him like we hadn’t seen each other in months and my body was starved for him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Istarted it, but within seconds, he took control, sliding his hands along my jaw and into my hair, gripping the back of my neck and pulling me closer.
The liquid in my mug sloshed, and Jared pulled away. Before I could mourn the loss of his lips, he took the cup and placed it on the ground. Then his hand went straight back into my hair, and he picked up where we left off.
Our hands wandered, teasing and tugging at the thin layers of fabric separating us. Jared nipped my lip before his tongue invaded my mouth and my body flooded with liquid heat. I shivered against him, enjoying the press of his comforting body heat, the bite of cool air from the window at my back and the roaring inferno of the fire at our feet.
My hands gripped his hair and neck, urging him closer, silently begging him to let me feel the press of his body more. Instead, he grabbed my hips and pulled me up and into his lap.
Jared smirked up at me while I shook my head. He had a knowing light in his green eyes while his strong hands smoothed along my hips.
“You think you’re so clever.” I smoothed my hands down his chest, chewing my lip like he’d won.
Jared shrugged. “I have my moments.”
He knew I liked it when he lay on top of me, caging me in with his ripped, tattooed forearms braced against the bed. He knew I loved it when he gave me all of his body weight.
Denying me was a tease.
But two of us could play that game.
I rolled my hips, grinding my pussy against his hardening cock. He groaned, and his fingers clamped down on my hip, urging me to press harder, to move faster. Somehow, I resisted him and the flutter of thought-erasing pleasure that made my eyelids grow heavy.
The last roll nearly took away my need to torture him. I bit my cheek, holding back my moans as I stopped.
Holding myself still, I grinned at him. “Still think you’re clever?”
He groaned and his head fell back against the sofa. “Els, please.”
Chuckling, I shifted, once, twice. His grip tightened again, and I stopped, my shoulders shaking with laughter.
“Alright, putting you in control was a mistake,” he muttered before his hand clamped around my neck and he tugged me forward.
His mouth slammed against mine, coaxing me into softening. I moaned as his free hand coasted over my breast and growled when it flitted away too quickly. Jared smiled against my lips, making my heart soar.
Without warning, he flipped us, finally giving me what I craved.
