Page 16 of Now You See Me
“Elise.”My name comes out on a growl. He grips me tight, pulling me down, spreading me open, filling me to the hilt. “So fucking good.”
Unable to speak, I bite my lip and nod. I grab his pecs and brace myself. The rustle of plastic and our ragged breathing fills the room as I ride him, hard and fast, loving the hungry groans rumbling beneath my palms. He’s mine, and I’m his.
Heat rips through me, and I grind against his pelvis, panting as the pressure builds in my clit and beneath his touch.“Roan…”is all I get out before sensation steals my ability to do anything other than writhe and grind on him as I come completely undone.
Roan’s deep grunts join my breathy moans. He thrusts into me once more, then his body jerks and shudders as his cock pulses deep inside me. “Fuck…”
I pancake onto his heaving chest, digging my chin into his sternum as I look up to the face I can’t see, but I know without a doubt has a smile to match mine. “Aren’t you glad we opted for the options?”
His body shakes with silent laughter, dislodging me from my new favorite option. “Very glad.”
“Put your arm above your head,” I say, arranging the plastic sheet so I can snuggle against his side. “I’mglad nobody else you’ve met thought of the options before me.”
“There hasn’t been anyone else. Only you.”
I sigh as he strokes my hair. “That feels nice.”
“You have beautiful hair. I bet it’s as soft as silk.”
I want to tell him to take his glove off and touch it, but the words dissolve into a contented purr before they make it off my tongue. I mumble something unintelligible instead, and his big, warm chest rumbles beneath my ear. Weight tugs my eyelids closed, and try as I might, I can’t fight the relaxation that washes over me.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” he says softly. Then, “I love you,” right before the sandman steals me away.
ChapterSix
ROAN
She’s gone when I wake up. Since she had to walk past me to get to the front door, she either has a much better stealth mode than mine, or she was just highly motivated to get away without talking to me.
She hasn’t texted and didn’t leave a note, so it has to the second option. Morning-after regret? I fucking hope not. Maybe she’s upset that she woke up alone. I didn’t have another option. She was so beautiful and vulnerable when she fell asleep at my side. The sound of her breathing, the smell of her hair, the soft noises she makes in her sleep…
I didn’t want to leave her. But if I’d stayed in bed, I would’ve drifted off, too. I would’ve ended up wrapped around her, skin to skin. Not a chance I can take with her. There are no safe options for sleeping together in the literal sense.
I need to explain that. Tell her I spent the night on the couch because I love her, and for no other reason. I’m due at work in an hour, but talking to Elise is top priority, and not something I want to do over the phone. It has to be face to face. Crazy how much my outlook—hell, every aspect of my life—has changed.
After a quick text to Melinda to arrange opening coverage for Lucky Beans, I hop in the car and head for The Sunnyside Motel. Elise’s car is parked in front of a row of numbered rooms, but I don’t know which is hers. Shit. I’ve known Leroy Shortt since high school. We both played football, and even though we were on the same team, there was always rivalry between us. Competing for the cutest girls in school will do that.
We’re not competing for Elise—she came to Screaming Woods to be with me. Just because I know it doesn’t mean Leroy does, or that he’ll accept it. Hell, I probably wouldn’t in his position. Elise is a woman worth fighting for.
The motel’s office door is propped open, allowing me to enter undetected. I’ve built my life around being ethical with my transparency, but I don’t call out a hello when I reach the desk. I’ll take every bit of upper hand I can get with Leroy. And if I scare him a little… that won’t hurt, either.
I’ve been in this building before, so I skirt the desk and head down the short hall to Leroy’s office, stopping dead in my tracks when I reach the open door. Leroy and Elise are in front of a desk, standing too fucking close together and looking too damn friendly to be discussing a room rental rate.
“I don’t think Roan will be as agreeable about this as you want, but what’s mine is yours,” Leroy says, taking her hand. Her bare hand. “Whenever you’re ready, Elise, I’ll provide what you need.”
“Thank you.”
His long, forked tongue darts out when she places a kiss on his scaly cheek. Then he pulls her into a hug, staring through me with his big, unblinking eyes. The bastard knows I’m here. The snake can smell me.
“Roan?” Elise extricates herself from Leroy’s arms and turns toward me.Shecan’t scent me. She can’t see me, either. It’s physically impossible, yet I swear she’s lookingatme, not through me. She doesn’t have any monsterly abilities, but she knows I’m here. “I was just about to call you and ask when you could stop by.”
“And now you don’t have to call.”
Her beautiful face is beaming as she looks toward Leroy. “Can we do it now? Are you ready?”
Did I dream everything from last night? Or was fucking the invisible man just some kink to unlock, and now she’s moving on to Leroy?
“Ready when you are,” Leroy says, then, “I’ll give you a minute alone to tell him.”
