Cheaters Anonymous

chapter 46 | save me

I saw him before he saw me.

His dark hair was freshly wet from the shower, dark blue eyes flicking around as if he was looking for someone. From here, I could make out the remnants of tattoos tracing down his sculpted forearms. He had shaved, and so the dark scruff from a few days ago was no longer there.

When his eyes landed on me, his jaw muscle pulsated and his gaze immediately softened. "Dakota."

My heart squeezed at the sound of my name on his tongue. Gruff and deep, and yet perfect all at once. "Hey."

Before I could say anything, Ellis's arms were around me, pulling me into his hard chest. The scent of his cologne engulfed me, and for the first time in a while, I felt safe.

I tilted my head to say something but before I could, he leaned down, leaving a long lingering kiss on my forehead, his fingers still laced through my hair. "Shit, Reeves. Sutton told me everything. Are you okay?"

I blinked, lashes feathering across my face confused. There was no way he would've known about Aiden - it was too soon.

"You were right," Ellis said breathlessly. "About Sutton. About everything. I didn't want to believe it was true, but I'm just glad you're okay. I didn't know where you were or where Aiden was and if he did anything to you, I swear would-"

"I'm okay," I said, reaching out to softly touch his face. Still in disbelief that I could even do that. "Did he tell you about Aiden?" I asked finally.

He shook his head. "That fucking asshole. I knew there was something off with him. He deserves to be in jail for what he did to Catalina."

I didn't say anything. Ellis didn't know about what happened at the dock. No one did. I hugged him again, taking refuge in his firm arms once more.

"I'm sorry," I said. "That I didn't come to you earlier. About everything. And I know we're not exactly together right now but this whole time, all I could think about was losing you-" Before I could finish my sentence, Ellis placed a finger under my chin, lifting up my face so that I was looking at him. It was all in those few seconds - the way he held my gaze with his own darkened one, with the most fiery need. He slowly guided me back against the wall, his eyes not leaving mine once.

"Reeves," He said hoarsely. And then he was kissing me, the type of dizzying kiss that left me breathless and yearning for more. Immediately, I closed my eyes, and I felt my heartbeat quicken against my ribcage as his hand softly tangled through my hair. The moment his body pressed against mine, the heat took away all of my worries, all of the thoughts - in that moment, it was just us.

"We should- I have to tell you something," I breathed, pulling away for just a second. A smile spread on my face when I saw his hair just as messy as mine, his eyes barely able to hide the fervent desire.

"Tell me," He said, leaning in again to leave a trail of kisses down my collar bone.

"I can't concentrate if you do that," I said. He shot me a lazy half-smile that made self-control even harder. "What happened, Dakota?"

"It's about Aiden."

Ellis's smile disappeared. His dark eyebrows furrowed, questioning written in his eyes, and then a dark look flashed across his face as he realized. "Did you see him? Did he do something?"

When I didn't say anything, he lowered his voice. "I swear, Reeves. I'll kill him."

My eyes brimmed with tears. All of the emotions I had held back spilling out, as if the bridge had broken. And this time, it was for Catalina, for Addie, for all of the trauma I hadn't gotten a chance to speak about.