“Thank you.” I turn my attention to the front of the car before asking, “Where are we going?”
“A place I’d like to show you,” Elian responds with a hint of amusement in his tone. “Did you enjoy our game earlier?” His question turns my body hot with a reminder of his words and just how much he turned me on with a mere phone call. I wonder briefly how it would feel if it was real. When I feel his words whisper along my neck, my cheek. “Arabella?”
“Yes, sorry.” I glance at him, noticing how he grins at my shyness. This man does things to me I haven’t ever experienced, and I don’t even know him that well. “It was a new experience for me.”
“You’ve never played over the phone?” The shock in his voice makes me laugh.
I have to be honest with him. “No. Actually, I’ve only ever sent text messages, but nothing like what we did,” I admit openly, wanting him to know this is a first for me, even though it’s most probably not for him. I can’t be jealous. We both have pasts, and I must live with the fact that I’m not going to be his first anything.
“Mm,” he responds before pulling over and killing the engine. This time, he twists to look at me directly, and even in the dim light of the car, I can practically feel his eyes raking over me. “Tell me something,” he starts. “What is it that you think we’re doing here?”
I ponder his question, trying to figure out just what this is. I’m not sure because even though I know I want him, I’m still confused at how it will work. I’m not someone who can easily hide her feelings, that much is clear. And what we did earlier replays in my mind, reminding me that he can turn me inside out with just a few words.
“I don’t know,” I finally answer. “I wish I could tell you that this is normal, and I won’t be one of those annoying girls who wants your attention, but …”
“But you have daddy issues,” he finishes, causing me to snap my gaze toward him. The corner of his mouth tilts playfully, and for a moment, I consider slapping him and kissing him all at the same time. “I’m not judging,” he tells me. “I’m the last person who should judge someone for their wants and needs.”
“What are your wants and needs?” I ask, hoping to change the topic from me to him. I’m not comfortable delving into my psyche with him just yet.
Elian smiles, his eyes casting down toward the stereo instead of pinned on me like they usually are. “I like challenging the woman I’m with. I like pushing her boundaries and testing to see just how far she’d go to enjoy herself.”
“Do I need a safe word for this?” My brows shoot up, my eyes wide as I regard him as he chuckles. The sound of his laugh is deep, and I wonder how it would feel if his chest were against mine.
“No, unless you’d like one.” He lifts his gaze to meet mine. There’s nothing in those blue orbs to scare me, but I can’t help the shiver that takes hold of me. “What I did earlier, on the phone, that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” he informs me. “I like things … dangerous.”
“Like?”
“Let’s go for a walk,” he tells me, pushing open the driver’s door and exiting the vehicle. I follow suit and find him waiting at my side of the car with his proffered hand. I take it, lacing my fingers with his as he tugs me up the hill toward the same spot Ahren brought me to on our date. It seems like a lifetime ago because all I can think about is Elian.
The high trees cocoon us, swallowing us as we venture deeper into the woods surrounding the town and toward the bottom of the mountain.
“I have tracking on my phone,” I joke as we take a left onto a path which snakes away from the ledge where I kissed Ahren.
“Good,” he tells me. “At least you’re being safe while being reckless,” he teases. He doesn’t stop, and our footfalls are the only sound on the detritus underfoot. When we finally come to a stop, Elian gestures with his hand toward a small cave sitting in the rock, which is only lit by the full silver moon above us.
“This is very remote.” My remark is met with a chuckle.
“It is, but I thought we would need more privacy since we’re not actually meant to be together late at night while you’re wearing clothes that make my dick hard,” he tells me nonchalantly, making my cheeks flame with embarrassment.
“You can’t blame me for that,” I sass him as we settle on a smooth rock ledge which is on the other side of where Ahren brought me, overlooking the opposite side of town. I didn’t realize there was more to see, but from here, I can just make out the road that leads to Black Mountain. The heat of his shoulder and thigh warms me as we sit in silence for a long moment. I want to ask him so many questions—about his past, about his job, and his family, but I don’t. Instead, I silently ponder just why I came out here tonight.