Chapter 124: Like It?
** Eli **
Her smile was part inquisitive, part hungry, and part—
Eli melted from the inside as he tried to place the remaining emotions in Harper’s expression. Under a veil of curiosity and desire, there was something soft, gentle and far more delicate. Something he had never expected to see ... bestowed by someone like her to someone like him.
It really must be a dream. Could she truly have such feelings for him? How did it even start, and how much longer would such a precious gift last?
Eli squashed the thought as soon as it crossed his mind. This wasn’t the time for wistful musings, not when she was still looking at him expectantly with that beautiful gaze in her eyes. He could only let himself enjoy the moment while it lasted ... and he’d give her everything he had to make her enjoy it too.
With that goal, he kissed her again, this time at the end of her jawline where it met her neck. Trailing his lips down that sensitive area, he followed it up with a path of feathery pecks, bare brushes of his mouth against her smooth skin.
This was exactly how she had kissed him earlier, and he wanted her to know that he remembered it. Burned it into his memory, in fact. The way she had touched him with so much affection and tenderness made his heart swell, and it made his body throb in places he didn’t know he could feel. He wanted to give it back to her, let her share the wonder of that sensation and the joy beyond words of being so treasured.
She noticed what he was trying to do. "Did it feel this good for you when I did it too?" she sighed the question when he reached a spot on the side of neck that she liked.
Eli chuckled against her skin. "I guarantee you that it felt even better for me," he spoke the truth. "Which is why I need to top it off with something different—"
He changed paths, tracing those kisses back up until he reached her earlobe. There he took it between his lips in a light suckle, and his tongue brushed over that soft tip.
A half gasp, half moan threaded out of her throat. He felt her shudder as her shoulders rolled, and her head tilted back, bringing this part of her closer into him.