NEEDLESS to say, I wanted to kick myself in the face. After the longest day I've had in the past year, I was almost back at the hotel. I couldn't wait to throw these dumb heels in the trash can.
They were absolutely beautiful, but that was it – nothing more. They hurt my feet within the first hour and I had nothing else to wear, I had to suck it up. I could just feel the blisters coming in.
I had a nice and long shower, and by the time I was done with the night routine and had something small to eat, it was barely eight in the evening. I could've sworn it felt like it was midnight.
It was our first day in London and I wanted to take the evening off to relax and rest some more, and then within the next week to explore the city in my free time.
''Who is it now?'' I grumbled under my breath at the loud knock at the door. I took my sweet, sweet time reaching the door and once I opened, it revealed a freshly showered and neatly dressed Elijah.
''Can I help you?''
His eyes trailed up and down my body twice, before his gaze landed on my face. It was probably because I was in a bathrobe, which was rather short.
''You weren't answering your phone.'' Elijah pushed straight past me and went into my room. My brows rose in surprise but I ignored it and closed the door softly behind me.
''I was just getting ready for bed. If it's work related, it will wait until the morning.''
He sighed, ''There's dinner tonight with the investors. Would you like to come?''
I tilted my head and smiled, ''Is it work related?''
Elijah's response was a shake of his head.
''Then, no. I want to sleep.''
His deep gaze seemed to pierce through my soul. He only nodded his head as he broke eye contact. He was quick to head towards the door. As he opened it, he gave me a look over his shoulder, ''If you change your mind, let me know. I'll text you the address.''
I did not change my mind, however, at around midnight, I received a call from my boss. He was clearly intoxicated and asked me to come and get him. And by asked I meant that he ordered me to come and get him.
So, there I was, in a taxi, at almost one in the morning, in front of the restaurant he had told me about. I thought he saw the obvious distaste and anger plastered on my face as he got into the car without any word.
In my mind, I was setting him on fire, plucking out his eyeballs and knocking out his teeth using my knees. It was such a vivid scene and it took a while to get back to reality, because I'd most likely end up in prison. We didn't want that.
I paid the taxi driver and as we left the car, it seemed as though he had sobered up. Nonetheless, I was determined to get him into his room safely and then ask for a double paycheck since this wasn't in my job description.
''Key.'' I demanded, and Elijah was quick to comply.
He looked unfazed, which annoyed me the most. If we ignored his messy hair, that looked like a hurricane was the stylist, and his bloodshot eyes, he was awfully composed for someone who practically had to beg his secretary to pick him up.
As much as I wanted to laugh, my amusement turned into bitterness in an instant. Once we were in front of his door, I turned the key and opened the door. Of course, this son of a bitch had a presidential suite. Mine wasn't bad either, but it was a storage room compared to this heaven.
''Get inside,'' I stated with an irritated voice, ''You're paying me double for this.''
He walked inside. Casually, as if he hadn't been drinking at all. Once he turned around, my brows creased. Did he fake being drunk so I would get him out of a situation he put himself into? Petty bastard.
''Care to join me for a drink?'' He asked, nonchalantly, ''Since you're here already.''
I shrugged my shoulders, ''Sure, why not.''
I closed the door behind me and walked inside. I was mesmerized once I got to see almost every corner of the gigantic room. He had a living room, big ass kitchen and a balcony with the most beautiful view I had seen.
While I was busy out on the balcony, enjoying the soft breeze that sent chills down my spine, Elijah was pouring both of us a drink. He decided on a glass of some wine and just by the crimson color I knew that it was expensive.
''Thank you.'' I said as he handed me a glass, avoiding eye contact.
For a moment, I managed to forget how our proximity affected me. I didn't dare to look him in the eye and something weird happened in the pit of my stomach.
He angled his body so that half of it would be behind me, and with the hand that held the drink in it, he leaned against the rails. He didn't say a word, he was just looking at me.
Elijah was searching for something on my face but since I learned how to play poker, I knew that whatever he wanted to see, wasn't what he was seeing. Though, he seemed to be patient. He only sat there, in silence, with me, not uttering a word.
The only thing that could be heard was the wind that blew all of my hair behind, landing on my back. Occasionally, I could even hear the rapid heart beating that came from within my chest. I hoped that he didn't have a great hearing.
''You know, Miss Preston,'' He began speaking, and I was still avoiding eye contact, ''From the day you walked into my company, there was something about you that made no sense to me.''
''That's a weird compliment.''
Elijah was quick to reply, ''It's not a compliment.'' Then, he paused for a moment and took a sip of his drink whilst trying to grab my attention. Attention seeking whore, leave me alone.
''But, I wasn't trying to insult you, either,'' He continued at the lack of my response, ''It's just that there is something so weirdly attractive about your personality that I truly didn't like.''
I snorted, ''Is this the alcohol talking? Should I leave?''
''I think you realized by now that I wasn't as drunk as I made it seem,'' He said, ''And you're not leaving in the middle of a conversation.''
I finally turned to look at him, and it was, perhaps, the biggest mistake of the night. His eyes held an awfully familiar look within. It was greed and desire. As the wind blew, the alcohol mixed with his perfume hit my nose and I felt myself shivering at the delicious smell.
''What conversation? You're talking nonsense and I'm only going with it because I don't like confrontation.''
He grinned, ''Well, in that case, shall I continue? I do want to see you irritated.''
I drank the rest of the wine and leaned onto the railing, now seeing him fully, ''I think this is highly inappropriate.''
He chuckled, ''Please, the inappropriate part flew out of the window the moment I saw you at that club.''
How the fuck did I allow myself to get into this situation? The whole club thing wasn't supposed to be brought up quite yet, and frankly, the fact that he was the one to speak of it first made me lack in the answer department.
I took the mature approach, ''We're both adults. Those kinds of clubs are, personally, just to pass time, since a dear friend of mine is the owner. And none of your business where I go and do not go.''
His eyes slightly darkened at the mention of Luka, and I saw that the friendship they had was strictly business. It was probably because Luka's idea of humor was to piss off people and provoke them until they snap.
But, if you were willing to look past that, Luka was a nice guy.
''That might be true, but that night is when you captured my attention.''
I grinned, ''Someone sounds in love.'' I was teasing him, of course, and he burst into a fit of laughter and I followed suit.
Elijah approached me, closed all the distance between us. Even the chilling wind felt hot on my skin. Suddenly, all of my senses were filled with his scent, his devouring gaze and his darkened eyes.
He took a strand of my hair and twirled it between his fingers. It was such a provocative situation, the one I had dreamed of since I saw him that night in the club. He brought his other hand to my cheek and I found myself leaning into his touch.
Elijah wanted to kiss me.
I didn't allow it.
Instead, I took the initiative and placed my lips on his.
He was shocked for a second before he returned the kiss. His glass, which was now empty, fell from the railings and mine slipped from my hand. Shattering glass was barely heard as our hearts were beating like crazy.
Elijah's lips were rough, sweet from the wine and they made my mind go crazy. His approach was different from anything I'd experienced before – as soon as I found myself getting turned on, he would switch from a rough and passionate kiss, to a slow and loving one. I didn't mind it, but he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
''Stop teasing me.'' I whined into the kiss. I could feel his mischievous chuckle on my lips and in an instant, his hands were on my waist, pulling me closer to his body, until I had no room to move or object to the kiss.
I loved every second of it. The slight dominance he showed was just enough for me to know who was in charge.
Elijah broke the kiss and I was already yearning for more. He gave me a look that meant nothing but trouble. His hand trailed from my chest down to my hips in slow motion. It sent nothing but electrical rawness down my body. As if the layers of clothing did not exist.
He tilted his head, and a devilish smile tugged on the corner of his lips, ''Are you sure you want this, Freya? There is no going back from this.''
The mere mention of my name told me what I always knew, deeply inside of me. ''I'm sure.'' I breathed out.
Within a second, Elijah turned me around and the wonderful view of London was in front of me. He was behind me, and he grabbed my chin between his fingers and brought my head lower.
''If I fuck you, I'll fuck you here, out in the open, where everyone will hear your moans and screams. There's no escaping me now, Freya. I'll ask again, are you sure?''
My answer was a moan.
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