Chapter 94: In control
By the time they reached the penthouse, Ella’s heels had been discarded somewhere between the elevator and the hallway, and Nicholas had his hand on her lower back, possessive and guiding, like he couldn’t trust her to walk straight—or maybe he didn’t trust himself not to shove her against the nearest wall.
He barely managed to get the door shut before he was crowding her inside, their bodies flush, her back pressed to it as his lips descended onto hers—hungry, claiming, filled with the kind of desperation that had been simmering between them for far too long.
The slam of the door echoed through the space, but Nicholas didn’t care. He didn’t care about the sound, or the view from the windows, or the fact that his jacket was somewhere on the floor and her lipstick was smeared across both their mouths.
All he cared about was her.
His Ella.
His problem. His obsession. His undoing.
Their mouths moved frantically, tugging, sucking, nipping. Ella’s hands were already working his shirt out of his pants, fingers trembling as she button his shirt and peel it off his shoulders. Nicholas groaned low in his throat when her palms dragged over his abs, fingers skimming the hem of his singlet, and she tugged his singlet up, her breath shallow, pulse thrumming beneath her skin like a second heartbeat. Nicholas lifted his arms and let her peel it off him, and the moment the fabric hit the floor, his mouth was back on hers—harder this time, needier, like he couldn’t bear even a second of space between them.
His hands gripped her waist, then slid up her back, all warm palms and gentle command, until they found the zipper of her dress. The moment it came down, his lips slowed. Still hungry, but now reverent. He kissed her with more patience than she’d ever known, as though unwrapping her wasn’t just part of the ritual—it was the ritual.
The straps slid down her shoulders, the dress falling away like it had never belonged on her skin to begin with. He barely let it hit the floor before he stepped back, just far enough to look at her.