Page 59 of Finding Elodie
Elodie eagerly met him halfway, bringing a hand up and resting it on the back of his head as he kissed her. The kiss was long and slow, with none of the frenetic urgency of the night before. He tasted like coffee, and for some reason that seemed extremely intimate.
He leaned back, but Elodie didn’t remove her hand from his nape.
“Good morning,” Scott said huskily.
“Morning.”
“And…in case you don’t remember me saying it when I got up this morning…last night was one of the best nights of my life. I think most of the reason I felt so good on my run was because of you. Because you simply make me happy. I know that’s sappy as hell, but so be it.”
Elodie still had some reservations about what they were doing, how fast they were moving, but she was going to hold on to this happiness with both hands for as long as she could.
“I wouldn’t have stayed if I didn’t feel connected to you, Scott. I admit that I don’t really understand it, but at the moment, I don’t care. It was as if the second I saw you on that dock, something clicked inside me. Something I’d been missing since you left the Asaka Express.”
“I feel the same way. It’s as if I’ve known you forever…here.” He put a hand over his heart.
Elodie nodded in agreement.
“Right, so no more talking about moving too fast or whether or not things are weird. We aren’t, and they aren’t. Okay?”
“Okay,” she happily agreed.
Scott leaned back and pretended to inspect her from head to toe. “Love the outfit, babe.”
She laughed. “Well, my pretty dress seemed to have gotten torn last night.”
“It did, huh? That’s too bad.” Scott reached for the top button of the shirt she had on and deftly undid it. Then he popped open the next one, revealing quite a bit of skin. “But I have to say, I like what you’ve got on right now. I like seeing you in my clothes.”
“They’re huge on me. You’re like a Bigfoot or something.”
“I am not, I’m only six feet tall. Midas is the Sasquatch at six-four.”
“Well, since I’m only five-six, you’re all huge to me.”
Scott leaned down and nuzzled the skin of her chest that he’d uncovered. “You showered,” he complained.
“I did. After last night…well…let’s just say I needed to clean up.” It should’ve felt weird talking about something so intimate, but with Scott, it felt natural.
“I wanted to shower with you,” he told her.
Elodie realized for the first time that he must’ve showered as well, because he certainly didn’t smell like he’d been on a two-hour run. “But you already took one,” she said.
“And?” he retorted.
“Right. Forgot, you’re a SEAL. You’re practically a water baby.”
“That, and I’ll pretty much never pass up a chance to see boobs.”
Elodie burst out laughing. Had she ever laughed this much with a man before? She didn’t think so. “Ah, the truth comes out,” she said.
Scott took her face in his hands and kissed her hard and fast. “As long as they’re your boobs, that is. Scoot off, I made you breakfast.”
Elodie continued to sit in his lap, reluctant to move and trying to catch up to the topic change, so he shifted her off his thighs and then seated her in the chair. “Stay there. No moving. How do you like your coffee?”
“Black and strong,” she said.
“Hmmm, I would’ve pegged you for extra-sweet with cream,” he said.
“Nope. Long days and nights in kitchens have taught me to take my caffeine as undiluted as possible,” she told him.
