Relief burst inside, and I hugged him. Oh, crap. Did I really just do that? I stepped back, head ducked. “Sorry.”
Looking up, I saw a faint smile ghost across his face. “It’s okay,” he said. “But Fallyn?”
If I spoke, would I lose this concession?
“Don’t break Elliot. And don’t let him break you. I’ll step in if I have to, and no one wants that.”
I had no idea what that meant, but I wasn’t interested in finding out. “Okay.”
Link left, and I stayed in the room a little longer, collecting myself. Would I need to take breaks all day long to psych myself out, for dealing with crowds? I hoped not.
I headed into the convention, and as the number of people around me built, then surged, I was okay. This was what I expected, and the energy in the place was so high, the excitement from everyone wanting to be here, that I couldn’t help but feed off it.
I was here. I was part of one of the biggest industry events in existence.Holy shit. Right before the doors opened, and the show officially kicked off, I found myself a spot with a great viewof the line of people about to come swarming in, and started a livestream.
The instant my camera kicked on, that moment I waslive, a switch flipped in my head like it always did. My smile brightened, and my anxiety faded behind my mask. “Hey, all. Fallyn here, streaming live from…” I swung the camera around, arm held above my head, to give a shot of everything. “I’m about to spend the next few days getting sneak peeks and first looks at all the hottest upcoming games and tech, so if you want the inside scoop, and maybe a little more, make sure you have your alerts turned on. I don’t want to miss anything this weekend, and neither do you.”
Clip over. That would be enough to keep people hanging on. Not that I left them there long. The next several hours were a run-together blend of me not knowing where to look first, recording anything I was allowed, and going live every time I saw something I had to shareright now.
On top of that, people recognized me. They wanted to tell me they liked me. They wanted pictures with me, and hugs, and signatures.
People wanted me to sign things. With my name.
It was all incredible, but by the time the day was half over, I was looking for some quiet. That same room Link had shown me to earlier was empty. The sign on the door saidStaff Only, but no one stopped me from walking in, and the quiet was blessed.
I stood in the mostly dark, collecting myself again and just breathing. This was so much fun, but it was also way more than I was used to.
“I like the outfit.” Elliot’s words hit my back, startling me. Before I could whirl, his hands were on my hips. “It shows off some of your best assets.”
How was I supposed to react? Nearly anyone else, and I’d jerk away and be looking for the easiest, least confrontationalexit. Yet, after two days of him pointedly avoiding me in his own house, all I could think about when he touched me was the last time he’d done the same. That night I arrived. How it felt to be pinned under him in his room. To be controlled by him.
I wanted to yield, but I didn’t want to cave. “Are we still on?”
For the bet.
“Damn straight. Rules of sex still the same?”
The ones we’d established the other night. Before everything fell apart. Why would those still be on the table?
Because I still wanted him. “Yes.”
“Good.” Elliot nipped the edge of my ear with his teeth.
Fuck, that was delicious. It also told me exactly how I needed to act. I would swallow the part of me that wanted this entire clash to vanish, and I would prove to him that I was right—I was better off being bold and brash, and he wasn’t as in control of his heart as he pretended.
Fortunately, if my goal was to make him fall in love, I still got to be meek and submissive to a point. As long as I remembered that wasn’t my final destination. “So, you see me wearing fewer clothes than normal, and that means I’m here for you to use?”
“No.” His answer came without hesitation. “You could be fully clothed or wearing nothing, and I’d feel the same. I think because you want me to help you live your fantasies of being fucked in public, that you’re here for me to use.”
“Mmm…. You say the most arrogant things.” I ground into him. “Tell me more about what an asshole you are.”
Elliot pressed a hand to my throat and his chest to my back. My terror returned—the pulse-pounding fear I felt the other night—and it was blended with just as potent a desire.
“No, I don’t think I will.” Elliot teased a hand up my bare stomach. When he brushed the bottom of my breast, my heart flipped in an entirely new way, and when he slid under thefur bikini top, to lightly brush my nipple, my core clenched in response.
I didn’t have the words to argue.Stop, that was all I had to say. But I didn’t want to. The way he was teasing felt so good. Was that wrong?
“Here’s the thing.” Elliot’s breath was hot on my neck. “I don’t think any less of you because you’re letting me do this.”