CHAPTER FIVE
The aftershock
The air was quiet, but their bodies were not. Breaths were difficult, skin damp with sweat, hearts beating too fast for the silence that lay between them to be natural.
Jayden rolled over onto his back, an arm flung over his face. His chest rose and fell with each difficult breath, but his eyes remained shut, squeezed tightly as if he were struggling to keep something inside—or out.
Ella lay beside him, the warmth of what they'd done still on her skin between her thighs. Her skin crawled, seared where his lips had kissed her. It wasn't the pleasure that stayed with her now—it was the load of his final words.
"We shouldn't have done this."
She rolled onto her side and observed as his jaw clenched.
"Jayden," she breathed. "If you're going to pretend it didn't happen, at least do it when I'm not standing naked next to you."
His eyes fluttered open. Black. Torn. Hungry.
"I'm not pretending," he replied. "I'm trying not to do it again."
Ella arched an eyebrow, then leaned forward and kissed the hollow of his throat. "Who says you can stop?"
Jayden flipped them over in a flash—his body pinning hers down again, but this time it wasn't desperation. It was something darker. More intense.
"Don't tempt me," he growled.
Ella smirked, arching her hips up so he could feel how wet she still was. "You're already tempted."
He kissed her hard—less finesse, more hunger. Their bodies hugged each other once more, skin against skin. His hands traveled, reclaiming ground already lost. His cock rubbed against her thigh, thick and ready once again.
"You're dangerous," he whispered in her mouth. "And I like it way too much."
Ella reached between them, wrapped her fingers around him, and eased him into her again.
They kissed and groaned.
This one wasn't urgent. This one was slow. Deep. Controlled. Jayden's moves were calculated, his eyes on hers. Each stroke was measured, sensual, like he was committing to memory the feel of her.
"Jayden…" she groaned.
He nipped at her neck, her jaw, her lips. "Say my name again."
"Jayden."
"Again. Louder."
"Jayden!"
She wrapped her legs around his hips, tugging him closer. He filled her to the hilt, extracting moans from her throat with each thrust. His hands supported her thighs, pushing them farther apart, holding her in place as he shredded her again and again.
As she reached this time, it was a whispered scream—his name tumbling from her lips like a confession.
And still, he didn't relent.
Jayden rolled her over, pulling her to her knees. He rode his shaft through her wet folds, teasing, before slamming back into her from behind.
Ella gasped, holding on to the sheets.
"Look at you," he snarled, his jaw contorted in a grimace. "So wet. So beautiful. Swallowing all of me."
He took her hair, pulled her back far enough so he could whisper into her ear. "Do you even have a clue what you're doing to me?"
She answered with a moan, incoherent but frantic. He went back on his heels and rubbed her clit with his fingers while he fucked her from behind.
She was lost. Adrift. Shuddering.
Another orgasm swept over her, and this time he came with it, groaning deep as he filled her up once more.
They fell into a hot, knotted mess.
Neither of them stirred for what felt like an extremely long time. The only sound was the gentle hiss of the air conditioner and their drunken breathing.
Jayden was the one who came to mind first, leaning on his knees. His expression was blank.
Ella sat up too, wrapping a sheet around her waist. "Are you going to tell me now?"
He didn't say anything.
"You said I don't know everything," she went on, "and then you said we shouldn't have done this. Twice. So, Jayden… what is it?"
He gazed at her then—really looked. And whatever she read in his eyes made her shiver.
"I have a past, Ella," he said to her. "One that will hurt you if you let yourself get too close."
Her heart skipped a beat. "What sort of past?"
He didn't flinch. "The sort that doesn't remain buried."
She swallowed.
"What are you trying to say?"
He stepped in close, touched her face with his fingers, and spoke softly, "I'm saying… I want you. But you might despise me when you see what I am."
And then he stood up.
Naked, lovely, deadly.
And out of the room.
Leaving Ella shaken. Soaked. Desiring. And frightened.
Because now she had to know everything.