Crushed (erotic) (#3, 101 Nights)

Chapter Three: Natalie

Elijah is pissed. I’m not sure if it’s at me for not wanting to talk to him about it or about some stranger crashing one of his private events. I’ll never forget the way he looked at the stranger, though, like an angry animal about to pounce on a challenger trying to steal his dinner. Always calm on the outside, I know how much fire rages inside him.

And I kind of like the way he’s holding me, like he’s concerned, though I should probably be running for the exit if what the stranger said about EJ is true.

He motions for Maya to clean up the table full of drawings and photographs while walking with me out of the conference room. His keeps me tucked against his lean frame. I’m too deep in thought to notice our passage through the hallways and out the back of the building to the limo that awaits us in an alley that barely seems wide enough for it.

I can’t get what the stranger said out of my mind. I didn’t expect the mysterious texter to show up here, in the middle of one Elijah’s carefully planned events. How did he get by security? How did he get close enough to grab me?

“Then this is the last time I’ll try to convince you how bad it’ll end for you, if you stay with him,” he’d said. The veiled threat was gone. This time, he was more direct.

Yet this, and claiming Elijah is cheating, seems like the least concerning of my issues. A few things I hadn’t put together click into place. My disappearing birth control pills. The fact Maya – Elijah’s cousin and assistant – allegedly can’t get me more.

The sudden decision for Elijah wanting to keep me around longer.

The stranger’s claim about Elijah’s father telling him he needs an heir was so absurd, I almost laughed, until I started thinking about it more.

The limo door yawns open. I blink out of my stupor and climb in.

Elijah slides in and sits opposite me. I miss the warmth and strength of his body, but right now, I’ve got to figure out if I should be anywhere near him, if the mysterious texter who’s pegged him so well, is actually right.

“Start talking,” Elijah orders me.

“EJ, why did you pick a year for our deal?” I ask, trying to understand what the hell I just heard. “What’s the significance?”

“You didn’t seem interested in negotiating for indefinite.” He leans forward, his elbows on his knees and his sharp gaze on my features.

His anger scares me a little. I know how calculating and thorough he is when calm. I don’t ever want to find out how cunning he can be when he’s upset. I’m trying to think about what to tell him and how, without revealing my secret about the texts I’ve been receiving.

“What did he say to upset you?” he asks again. He hands me a bottle of water.

Aside from threatening my life? I accept it, the cold bottle helping me focus outside my mind again.

“For one, he’s been following us,” I start. “He knows things he shouldn’t. Like it’s almost like he’s been inside our … your apartment.”

Elijah’s gaze turns from angry to sharp, his attention solely on me.

“He brought up the Axis and Allies game and how we’ve never played it.” I flush. It’s so stupid that a silly game means anything to me. It was a gift from Elijah after the gala, one he seemed to want to play with me, before he inexplicably froze me out the next day.

I was actually looking forward to spending the time with him.

The mystery texter used where the game was located in our bedroom to prove his point about having great enough access to me to make sure I leave Elijah, even if it means by force.