“Oh no…you didn’t have a condom.” I bent down to the floor to franticly thread my foot back into the open leg of my knickers and yoga pants, now feeling panic about what Neil would think, or say.
I pulled them on and my sports top back down to where I was decent and thought about running out the door. I really did.
Neil must have made an accurate assessment of my emotional state because he grabbed me by the upper arms and held me firmly to him. “It’s okay, beautiful girl. Everything is okay.”
“But—but we didn’t use—but you came insi—”
Neil kissed me on the lips, probably to shut me up more than anything, but it did help a little. “It doesn’t matter,” he shook his head slowly back and forth, “because I don’t care about condoms anymore with you.”
I started to cry, all the emotion was just too much and I needed some privacy. “I—I need to get myself cleaned up and d-dressed to go home.”
“Shh, don’t be scared. It’s okay, Cherry. I’ll help you.” He kept running his hand over my hair as he soothed me with words.
“Neil?”
“I know a place. Come with me.” He held my hand and wouldn’t let go. Not one time did he release my hand as we took the lift back up to the forty-fourth floor, or later when he snuck us through a back entryway, that led to a locked door, which opened into a private suite behind his office. “This is mine and nobody else has access but me.”
“I can take a shower?” I asked, now very unsure about everything and everyone. Even myself.
“Of course.” He still had my hand in his and brought both up to his lips and pressed them in a soft kiss to the back of mine.
“What happens now, Ne—”
He kissed me firmly on the mouth, a demanding kiss of entitlement, his tongue pressing forward to find mine, moving in deep swirls. He finished in his own time, the intent to take charge of the situation very clear in his method.
“I’m keeping you here.”
“What?” I asked him, my arms now clasped around his neck, holding on to keep my legs from buckling and sending me to the floor.
He smiled at me and found my lips again for another kiss, this one sweet and gentle and slow. My legs didn’t feel any stronger.
“You’re staying with me. Tonight…in this suite.”
22
I knocked. “Elaina? Is everything all right?”
Nothing but the sound of the shower running.
Her silence worried me a little. The explosive nature of our reunion only verified how much of a struggle she was having with our training-room shag, and all of the emotions attached to it. Hell, I was dealing with more emotions than I cared to, myself. But more importantly, I didn’t want her thinking too much.
Over thinking things was often the path to doom. We were both guilty of that one.
No, I wanted my Cherry Girl alone and private just as we were, dependent upon me to show her the way back…to the idea of us.
My plan was still intact.
I knew what she needed, and I would make sure she got every little bit of it.
I tried the doorknob after a minute and surprisingly, it opened. I stepped into the steamy air of the bathroom. There she was just sitting in the shower, her back up against the wall and her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked lost, biting down on her bottom lip by pulling the whole thing under her teeth. I wanted to suck and nibble on that bottom lip until she was breathless and not thinking about things that scared her anymore.
My beautiful girl needed me right now. She was also gloriously wet and naked.
I didn’t say anything, just stripped down to my skin.
Naked was the way to play this. There would be no boundaries between us then. And keeping her naked would keep her in the room with me. She couldn’t run away if she didn’t have anything to wear. I had some intelligence after all.
Her eyes flipped up to watch me as I undressed. And then, they widened when my shirt came off. That was the moment I knew. I knew that she saw it.