And slowly, so very slowly, she felt the tension in him began to ease. The tight grip of his fingers in her hair loosened, the pressure of his hand on her throat lightened. The savage, brutal kiss gentled, becoming not so much a forced domination as a sensual seduction, his tongue exploring, tasting.
She shivered all over in response, because although she loved the roughness and the hunger, this too was intoxicating.
His hands moved, shifting to cup her face between his palms, exploring her deeper as his thumbs stroked the underside of her jaw and the sides of her neck, up and down in a caressing movement.
Violet spread her fingers out on his chest, pressing herself against him, absorbing all that heat then giving it back to him. She could feel the hard length of his cock against her stomach, so she shifted her hips, teasing him a little.
He growled, his mouth leaving hers to move over her jaw and down her neck, kissing her, nipping her. His tongue on her skin, tasting her.
She let him take whatever he wanted, sliding her hands up to his shoulders and stroking him, caressing the back of his neck, loving the power of the muscles there and the smooth hot skin that covered them. God, she could touch him all day and never get tired of it. Never.
"You need to be naked," he said roughly against her neck. "Now."
He didn't wait for an answer, merely tugged her borrowed sweater up and over her head, getting rid of the rest of her clothes with the same ruthless efficiency. Again, she let him do whatever he wanted, raising her arms so he could get the sweater off easily and lifting her feet so he could get her jeans and panties off too.
And when she finally stood there naked, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her hard up against his body, sliding his palms over the bare skin of her buttocks and squeezing, holding her there, flexing his hips so his cock rubbed up against her clit. Making her shiver and tremble. Making her want to move herself, chasing the friction.
But she didn't, keeping herself still. "What do you want, Eli?" Her voice was all husky and smoky with desire. "Anything at all. I'll give it to you."
He was staring at her, his gaze intense as he flexed his hips again, the ridge of his hard cock grinding over her clit. A soft gasp escaped her, a knife-edge of sharp pleasure sliding through her.
"What do I want?" he echoed harshly. "I want to take you apart."
She met his gaze, shivering as he moved against her, each shift of his hips giving her that tantalizing, teasing friction. There was something so erotic about being naked with him like this, vulnerable and at his mercy while he was fully clothed. Vulnerable and yet powerful too.
"You don't have to do that," she said softly. "I'll do whatever you want me to do. Be whoever you want me to be." She took a ragged breath. "I know there are many things you have to fight, Eli, but I'm not one of them. Not tonight."
He said nothing, his fingers pressing hard into the soft flesh of her buttocks, circling his hips in a slow grind against her clit that had her panting and trembling even harder.
"L-Let me take care of you." She stared into his face, into his eyes. "Let me make you feel good."
Again there was nothing but silence. Silence and those black intense eyes that could be so cold and yet burn so hot. He didn't look away, staring into her, and he didn't stop that insane shift of his hips, holding her tight and close, moving her so that she began to pant harder, her breathing spiraling out of control.
That hard ridge pressing against her, the material rubbing and teasing, sending intense little electric shocks through her entire body. Tearing gasps from her throat. Her nipples were aching, stiff points, and each movement he made shifted her breasts against his chest, sliding the cotton of his T-shirt against her sensitized flesh, heightening everything.
The tension inside her began to gather into a tight, hard knot, and she began to feel desperate because this wasn't supposed to be what happened. She was supposed to give him pleasure, not the other way around. Yet she'd told him he didn't have to fight her, that she'd give him whatever he wanted, and if what he wanted was to drive her insane then so be it.
Instead she clung to his shoulders, digging her fingers in to steady herself. Holding on for dear life as he ground harder against her. And in spite of herself, she couldn't stop from moving her hips against his in response, seeking that friction, wanting more of it, even harder, even faster.
"You're wet," Elijah growled, his voice ragged and gritty. "So fucking wet."
The muscles of his shoulders flexed and released under her fingers, and she dug in harder, the pleasure gathering ever tighter inside her. She shifted restlessly, moving, seeking, becoming increasingly desperate as a sharp intense climax neared. "I d-didn't want … Eli … this w-was supposed to be for you … "
"This is for me." He slid one hand further over the curve of her buttock, reaching down between her thighs, and she groaned as his fingers stroked the exquisitely sensitive flesh at the entrance to her body. "All of this is for me. And now you're going to scream for me because that's what I want too."
And she understood at last. This was a test and he wasn't going to drop his guard until she'd passed it. But then that made sense, didn't it? Especially when he'd spent so long defending himself, keeping himself protected. He wasn't going to be vulnerable for her just because she'd asked. His trust had to be earned.
She blinked as another thing occurred to her. Was there anyone else he trusted since his wife had died? Oh, but she knew the answer to that. No, there was no one.
No one except you.
Violet took a shuddering breath as his fingers moved suddenly, sliding deep into her sex, bowing her spine, her body arching, bringing her clit hard against the agonizing ridge of his cock. And the tight little knot inside her released in a white-hot wave.
She screamed like he'd told her to and when his mouth covered hers, she screamed again, her whole body convulsing as the orgasm ripped through her, making her shake and tremble in his arms.
Elijah's hold tightened as the intensity began to fade, leaving her knees weak and her heartbeat racing out of control. She could barely stand and her ears were ringing.
Jesus, she really should have foreseen he'd take control like this because that's the kind of man he was. After so many years spent looking after no one but himself, he wasn't going to leave himself open to just anyone, still less a woman he'd taken captive and only known a couple of days.
Still, she'd desperately wanted to look after him. Give him something to take the pain away, if only for a little bit. Was it too much to hope for that after he'd let her take care of that gunshot wound, given her the code for the door, and let her call her mom, he'd let her give him pleasure too?
Did you really expect he would?
She had. Kind of.
Elijah's hold on her shifted, the hand between her thighs moving up to rest on her lower back, his arm tight around her. He lifted his other hand, running the pad of his thumb along her lower lip.
She gave another helpless shiver at the touch, the aftershocks of her orgasm sparking like cut electrical wires, and tipped her head back slightly, meeting that enigmatic black gaze.
He was a beast of a man, that's what he was. Dangerous. Merciless. Wholly unpredictable. But she knew why that was now. He was wounded inside, hurting from a blow that had never healed, a loss he'd never come to terms with.
Because he doesn't want to heal it or come to terms with it.
As Violet looked up into his face, she knew the truth. Of course he would never want the wound to heal, because he needed the pain. It fueled his anger, and without his anger he wouldn't have his revenge.
Which means he'll never let you get near. He'll never let you help him.
His physical wounds maybe. But his emotional ones? No.
She swallowed against the lump in her throat, a bleak certainty filling her. And she didn't try this time to ask herself why that thought made her so upset because she knew.
She'd fallen for him and she had fallen hard.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Elijah kept a tight grip on the woman in his arms. She swayed against him, all soft skin and naked heat, her vivid eyes clouded with pleasure. But there was something else in her expression too, and he thought it looked like bitter disappointment.
Of course it's disappointment, you fucking prick. She wanted to give you something and you wouldn't let her.
But what the fuck else could he do? Marie and what had happened to her, how he'd failed her, were out of bounds. He wouldn't ever tell anyone, a secret he would keep until he died. And if that caused Violet some disappointment, then so be it.
He just hadn't expected that it would cause him pain too.
She turned her head away, resting her forehead against his shoulder. He could see the curve of her cheek flushed pink from the orgasm he'd given her, her lashes a small thick fan of gold against her skin.