Threats needed to be eliminated.
I still don’t really understand how the fuck we ended up here. If people don’t really change, then how could the man who was always the steady presence at my side suddenly shove a blade in my back?
I search his face, but there are no answers there. Eli always did have a damn good poker face, but tonight isn’t about digging into the useless whys of the past.
It’s about Harlow.
I’m not quite sure how we landed in this strange place of agreement, but as I lean in, he relaxes into my touch. I study the look in his hazel eyes. Fierceness and determination and no small amount of lust. It’ll do. I give his neck a squeeze. “You’ve been fucking up.”
“So you keep telling me.”
I use my hold on him to turn his face to Harlow. “Seems to me you have some groveling to do.”
She shakes her head. “Not interested.”
“Not with his words, sweetheart. With his mouth.” I guide him forward until our knees hit the mattress. “What do you say, Eli? Gods know you’ll fuck this up if you talk, so just nod if you want Harlow’s pussy all over your face.”
He shoots me a hard look. “Watch yourself, Abel.”
Fuck, but I like it that his charming facade has cracked. I can’t help but poke at him further. “Nah, I’m good.” I give him a little push, urging him onto the mattress. “Unless you just want to sleep. Seems like a waste with all this potential in bed.”
He snorts. “You mean with you in bed.”
“I said what I said.” I focus on Harlow. “What do you say, sweetheart? You willing to let him do a bit of oral groveling?”
She’s a bit too wide around the eyes, looking as spooked as she did earlier. It’s like now that the worst of her rage has drained away, she’s easily bruised. At least easily bruised by Eli. All I have to do is kindle that angry flame. I give her an arrogant grin. “Though if you’re not in the mood to play, you can just scoot on over, and we’ll have some fun without you.”
“Fun,” Eli grinds out.
“Sure. Fun. What else would you call me fucking your ass?”
He startles and gives me a long look. “Well, when you put it like that, how am I supposed to argue?”
“Easy answer: you’re not.” I wave at his hips. “Lose the pants, Eli.” While he does that, I round the bed to Harlow. She’s blinking up at me as if she’s never seen me before. Earlier, in the bathroom, the gentleness felt right. It won’t work for this situation. I put one knee on the mattress and lean down to wrap my fist around her long hair, tugging her head back and baring her neck. “I meant what I said before. You change your mind, you let us know.”
Her breathing picks up, and she licks her lips. “This isn’t going to change anything.”
“No shit.” I lean down and drag my mouth over the long line of her throat. “But it’ll let loose a little steam. Tomorrow we can go back to being at one another’s throats. What do you say?” I can’t pretend that I’m entirely selfless when it comes to this. Shit with Eli is complicated in the extreme, and I’m not sure what the hell will happen if it’s just the two of us fucking. Blow jobs are one thing. I can maintain some control there. But taking his ass? Having so much of me pressed against so much of him? Even as jaded as I am, I can’t deny that it might shift things. We have too much messy history.
With Harlow in the mix, it gives us both something to focus on that isn’t each other.
Her eyes narrow, some of the shocked look bleeding out of them. She reaches up almost tentatively and presses her hand to the center of my chest. “Do you want me to do this?”
Half a dozen replies spring to mind, every one of them designed to increase the distance between us. I don’t know how she got so close to me, but even if I mean to keep her, vulnerability isn’t on the agenda. I’ve learned what happens when you trust people, and evidence of that is kneeling on the other side of the bed, watching us with a frown on his handsome face. Eli’s betrayal carved my heart out because I cared about him. Because I trusted him. If I give Harlow the same opportunity, will she slice out what’s left?
I’ll never find out.
Still, when I finally answer her, it’s the truth that emerges. “Yes.”
She searches my face and finally nods. “Okay.”
It strikes me that Harlow trusts me to see us through. That thought might stagger me if I think about it too closely, so I shove it aside. I snap my fingers at Eli. “You know what to do.”