Inn Love

I’m acting crazy. There’s no way that he’s on the same level as me, not when we’ve only known each other for a few hours. And yet he’s looking at me like he’s known me for a lifetime. Like he understands exactly what I’m going through and what I’ve already been through.

We’ve both had hardships in our lives. We’ve both suffered enough for one lifetime. And now, we have found one another. We’ve found someone to listen, to understand us. That kind of commitment is rare, I know that much. Someone else might make me feel like I’m asking too much of them, burdening them with my hardships, but not Elijah. He’s listened with open ears and has since spent his efforts trying to convince me that I’m worthy of happiness.

I can’t fathom why he would care what happens to me.

I don’t understand why a man as incredible as him would choose to spend his evening with me. But whatever attracted him to me, I can’t complain. He’s here now, and I never want to let him slip away from me.

“You know, since my brother died, I don’t think I’ve been able to talk to anyone at all,” Elijah confesses. “I never want to bother my parents with the way I’m feeling. Not when they’re going through the same heartache, if not more. I know that they’re suffering, and I don’t want to add to that. But you’ve been so open with me, and you’ve listened to me…I think that’s a very attractive quality in a woman.”

I feel like I can barely breathe. Is he telling me, out loud, that he finds me attractive? It doesn’t seem possible. Not many men have ever taken an interest in me. I guess they just see my curvy exterior, and they decide it’s not for them. But this handsome hunk of a man looks at me like I’m a goddess.

His eyes roam over me like he can’t bear to tear his gaze away. Guys like him usually want some pretty, skinny thing that will hang on to his every word. I never imagined that a woman like me could attract anyone decent. Not given my history with my stalker, the one man who has made it his mission to follow me to the ends of the earth….

Until now, I get the feeling that Elijah would follow me anywhere and that he wants me enough to try and chase me down. I see it in the hungry gaze he gives me because it mirrors my own feelings for him.

I yearn to have him touching me. When our hands touched before, I felt electricity between us like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It showed me feelings I never thought I’d get to experience. And now, everything has changed. Everything has come alive.

“I think our paths crossed at the perfect time, don’t you?” Elijah questions, reaching out and touching my leg beneath the table.

My breath hitches as his hand moves a little higher up my leg. Can he sense the tension in me? Does he know how good it feels for me when he touches me?

“Neither of us was even meant to be here…and yet here we are. What are the chances? Two strangers…with such a magnetic pull between us,” he comments.

“You…you feel it too?” I whisper. His eyes catch mine, gleaming in the dim light.

“How can I not? From the moment I met you, I felt it. I knew you were different, Olivia. There’s something so special about you. It’s like you’ve come to fill this hole left in my heart. It’s like this was meant to happen.”

He looks deeply into my eyes, into my soul. “I want you, Olivia. I want everything you have to offer me. I don’t care about the consequences. I don’t care what other people think. I want your mind, your body, your soul. I want to explore every damn inch of you. I don’t think I can handle it if you walk away from me now. I need you.” He leans closer to me, his hand sliding up and up my thigh.

“Give in to me. Give me everything,” he growls.

My lips are parted, and my breathing has quickened. I can’t help myself. He knows just what to say to entice me. I stare back at him, feeling a rush of heat to my core.

“Yes,” I whisper simply.

He growls. He doesn’t need any further encouragement.

He leans across the table and kisses me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Elijah

My lips lock onto hers, and it’s like everything falls into place. This is everything I’ve been waiting for. So many years on my own. Finally, I’ve found the woman who can change everything. How can this be happening? Things don’t move this fast, do they?

My hand finds hers, and I pull her up from her seat and across the table to me. I grab her hips and pull her onto my lap, wanting her close to me. She gasps at my intensity, but she doesn’t try to stop me as I kiss her again, hard.