Game of Love (24 page)

Ellie turned to face them, her cheeks burning red. Dex held her in front of his raging hard-on. Josh’s eyes raked over the two of them.

“Josh, Riley.” Dex’s voice was heated, rushed. He knew he should take the time to talk with them. Josh was Savannah’s brother, after all, but he had more pressing things on his mind. Or in his pants.

“Hey,” Riley said. Her smile faded as her eyes passed between the two of them. Then her eyes widened and her smile returned as she grabbed Josh’s hand and hurried along. “Um, we better…”

Josh looked from her to them with a furrowed brow, then blinked quickly, as if startled by the understanding of why Dex and Ellie looked so flustered. “Oh. Right.” Josh and Riley headed for the entrance, and Dex hurried Ellie into the elevator with a soft laugh.

“It’s not funny,” Ellie whispered.

Inside the elevator, Dex hit the button for the top floor and pinned Ellie against the back wall. “It’s kinda funny.” His voice carried heated desire, the humor of the brief run-in with Josh and Riley forgotten.

“Hurry,” she said, pulling at the buttons of his jeans.

He stilled her hands. “Not enough time.” He lifted her shirt, taking her bra along with it, and brought his mouth to her luscious breast. She gasped, and he shoved his hand down her pants, adeptly finding the spot that sent her up on her toes. She breathed heavily, fisting her hands in his hair. When they reached the top floor, he hit the close door button repeatedly, which caused the elevator to stop for two full minutes, a glitch he’d uncovered by accident one afternoon when he’d been in a hurry. He dropped his pants and tore hers down, then lifted her up and pinned her back against the wall as he thrust into her hard and fast. Penetrating her to the hilt.

“Oh God, Dex.”

With his hands gripping her ass, he thrust hard and fast. She clawed at his arms; her thighs tightened around him as her head dropped back and they rode the crest of their love up and over the edge, both gasping for breath. Two minutes later, the elevator rumbled to life and began its slow decent.

“Shit,” Ellie whispered. “Can’t…breathe.”

“You’re so fucking hot.” Dex panted as he lowered her shaky legs to the ground and helped her pull up her jeans before righting his own clothing just in time for the elevator doors to slide open on his floor. He took her hand, already fumbling with the keys. Ellie’s cheeks had an after-sex rosy glow. She nibbled on her lower lip, looking sexier than hell. Dex clutched the keys in his fist, unable to wait. He took her in his arms and kissed her again, stealing the breath from her lungs and feeling her heart pumping against his. She pressed into him again, and when he pulled back and looked into her eyes, his body reacted to her hungry gaze. He unlocked the door and pulled her inside.

“Shit. Ellie. I can’t wait another second. I need to be close to you again. Now.” Dropping his keys to the ground, he shrugged out of his jacket and tore at her clothes, tossing her jacket, sweater, and bra to the floor. He stepped from his jeans and drew his shirt over his head. That first stroke of skin-to-skin contact stole his breath again. He took her in a rough kiss before lifting her up again and staring into her eyes as he lowered her onto his hard length again, burying himself deep. They fit together perfectly. Ellie’s eyes reflected pure, uninhibited desire, untethered by the links of the past that had previously held her captive. As they clung together, riding out their simultaneous release, it felt like a new beginning.

LATER THAT EVENING, they lay in bed listening to the street noises filter in from the slightly open window.

“Tell me about the guy,” Dex said.

Ellie closed her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about him. She wanted to lie there soaking up Dex’s warmth, listen to him breathe, and think about her first day of work. But she’d made a promise and she intended to keep it.

“His name is Bruce.”

“Bruce. I kinda like
asshole
better.” Dex pulled her closer.

Ellie rested her head on his chest as she spoke. “I already told you how I found out about his wife, but, Dex, there’s more.” She felt his body stiffen. “That night when I found out about his wife, he was pretty mad.” She closed her eyes, felt his hand settle on her back. She fisted her hands beneath the covers, hoping Dex wouldn’t go flying from the bed in anger. “He…he grabbed my arm.”

His hand pressed down on her back.

“And…and he slammed me against a wall.” She clenched her eyes shut, listening to Dex’s heart beat faster against her cheek. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t move. And the silence scared the shit out of her. She turned to face him, and his eyes were closed, his jaw clenched tight. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when you first asked, but I couldn’t. I hate being a victim, or seeming like one, and I thought he’d go away and I’d never have to think about him again, but I made you a promise last night, and I’m keeping that promise.”

He opened his eyes and pulled her up so they were eye to eye. “Now can I kill him?” His voice was dead serious. He stroked her hair and cupped the back of her head, drawing her cheek to his. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He kissed her cheek and held her there.

“Are you mad at me for not telling you?” She didn’t want to hear the answer, but she needed to ask.

“I’m mad at him for doing it. I wish you would have told me sooner, but I’m not mad at you for not telling me. We’re past that.” He kissed her cheek again. “I’m trusting that you’ll tell me things when you’re ready. That’s all I can really do.”

“Thank you.”

“I think we should go to the police. He knows you’re here. He saw you when you were in the Village. Ellie, that’s stalker behavior.”

“Can’t we just see if it stops? Please? When he saw me in the Village, he didn’t follow me. He travels all the time, or at least that’s what he told me, so maybe he’s not following me.”

“Ellie.”

She recognized the you’re-doing-the-wrong-thing-but-I-won’t-fight-with-you tone. “I’m starting a new job tomorrow. You’re releasing your game next week. Can’t we just have a little time without any craziness? Please? If he shows up anywhere, we’ll go to the police.”

“I’m really not comfortable with this, Ellie. How do you know he won’t try to hurt you again? He’s a scorned man who probably has a pissed-off wife.”

“I was in Maryland for almost three weeks before moving here. If he wanted to take revenge, don’t you think he would have done it then?” He’d called and texted relentlessly when she was in Maryland, but he’d never pursued seeing her. She had to believe that his being in New York was a coincidence.
Otherwise, wouldn’t he have approached me when he saw me at the thrift shop?

“Damn it, Ellie. I’m not going to argue with you, but I don’t like it one bit. Promise me that if he contacts you again, text, in person, anything, that we’ll file a report.”

“Fine.”

He leaned over her. “You mean it?”

“Yes. Fine.” She popped her head off the mattress and kissed him. “Promise, and you have to admit, I’m getting better at this whole honesty thing. Like telling you that you are incredibly handsome and I’d like to make love to you again.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re the most frustrating woman I’ve ever known.” He lowered his lips to hers.

ELLIE LEANED OVER her desk as her students worked on a writing assignment. It was Friday afternoon, and although it was only her first week of teaching at Maple Elementary, she felt as if she were meant to work there. The staff was completely in tune with the students and their needs, they were excited about the potential software proposal, and since the first morning when they’d gathered in the teachers’ lounge for coffee, she’d felt as though she fit in perfectly. Her colleagues were, in fact, her peers. She wasn’t the only teacher who had something other than a middle-class childhood.

During her first few days of teaching, Ellie observed and listened. She met with each of the students and got to know them. She knew, for example, that Selma liked reading about horses and anything that had to do with animals, and that she once had a cat that her neighbor ran over with his car. Michael enjoyed only comic books and thought any other literature was boring. His mother, however, could not read at all. Kenny had a hard time with math but could read on a third-grade level, and he often prepared the grocery list for his family. Tabby could barely make her way through a sentence. During that initial get-to-know-you conversation, she’d also learned that Joseph lived with his aunt and her five children, and they had moved three times since first grade. The classroom was ripe with need, and Ellie was chomping at the bit to take them under her wing.

She watched the kids, some intent on the task at hand, others staring out the window, unable to stay focused for more than a few minutes at a time. And then there was Joseph. Joseph was a wanderer. Smart as a whip, socially awkward, and undiagnosed as anything other than a problem child, Joseph worked best when his legs were moving. She understood the need to not feel confined, and that was part of what drove her to ease up on typical “in your seat” guidelines and allow Joseph the freedom to move.

“Okay, girls and boys, it’s time to put our work away for the afternoon.” She walked down the rows of the high-ceilinged classroom as they put their work away. Sunlight filtered through the windows. Plywood blocked the holes where windows had been broken and not yet repaired, and as she glanced at them, she wondered what had caused them to break. Did it happen during school hours, or were they broken by rowdy teenagers over a weekend? The desks were standard student fare, small, metal, scuffed, and some covered with graffiti. Overall, the classroom was functional, and with a few colorful decorations, it would soon come to life.

“Joseph, good job getting your homework done last night,” she said as the little dark-haired boy put his work into his backpack.

“Thank you, Miss Parker.”

Blythe appeared in the doorway and waved her over.

“Three minutes until the bell rings. Be sure to take your jackets home with you. Check your cubbies for anything else you might need.” She held up one finger to Blythe and continued speaking to the students. “I enjoyed our first week together, and I think we’re going to have a great year.”

“Me too.” Missing her two front teeth, Selma flashed a toothless grin.

“Thank you, Miss Parker,” Joseph yelled.

“It was a fun week except the reading,” Michael said.

She met Blythe in the doorway.

“Great news. The grant program doesn’t close until December twelfth, so we can still apply.” Blythe’s eyes widened as she smiled. “I’m so excited about this, and talk about fate! With Dex and his friends’ help on the technical side of things, and our educational staff, I think we really have a shot at this.”

“That’s fantastic news. I can’t wait to tell Dex. We’ve already begun the outline of the proposal. Why don’t I bring it in next week and we can flesh it all out and get some opinions on anything that’s missing?”

After the kids had left for the afternoon, Ellie gathered her papers and texted Dex.

We got the okay to apply for the grant! Wanna have a drink 2 celebrate?

A minute later, her cell phone vibrated with Dex’s answer.

NightCaps? 45 minutes? I’ll wait out front.

K. See u soon. Xox.

Over the past week, Ellie had found a new side to herself. She no longer weighed her answers with Dex. She gave herself over to trust, and when he asked about Bruce, she answered fully and honestly. Luckily, she hadn’t heard from Bruce all week. When Dex told her he loved her, she couldn’t say she loved him fast enough. As much as she had lived in hopes of her mantra,
Everything will be okay
, she had never fully believed it. She was starting to believe that maybe everything really would be okay.

“WE’RE READY TO rock and roll,” Mitch said as he came into Dex’s office. He plopped his rumpled self into a chair with a wide grin on his lips. “Reviews are awesome; people are begging for the game. You know how many kids are going to miss school Monday because they downloaded the game Saturday at midnight and they’ve gotten so far it would kill them to have to stop?”

Regina was right behind him. “Way to ruin Dex’s high, Mitch. He hates that kids skip school to play. Jesus, don’t you ever learn?”

Dex shook his head. “What matters is that we’re going out on time and we’ve got a great product. I don’t want to talk about the kids skipping school. I wanna pretend they all have a father like mine.” He lowered his voice and pinched his eyebrows together.
“Over my dead body will you stay home to play games. You’re a man. Men don’t play; they work. They provide.”

“That’s actually pretty sexy,” Regina teased. She carried a handful of Twizzlers and offered one to Mitch and one to Dex. Both of whom declined. “Suit yourself.” She sat in the chair opposite Mitch and hiked her jeans-clad legs over the arm of the chair. She wore her black hoodie unzipped with a black ribbed tank top beneath.

“My dad is anything but sexy.” Dex rose to his feet and came around to the opposite side of the desk. He leaned against it and crossed his legs. “I hate to jinx us, but I think we’ve got this release nailed.”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” Mitch said, then scratched his stomach.

Dex’s phone vibrated with a text from Sage.
I’ve got a free night. Wanna grab a brew?
He knew Ellie wouldn’t mind if Sage joined them, and he was excited to share their relationship with him. He texted back.
NightCaps half hr. Meet us?

“Hey, how’s Ellie’s new job? I kinda got used to seeing her.” Regina stuck a Twizzler in her mouth.

“She loves it. The work, the kids.” He shrugged. “It’s a good match. I’m on my way to meet her. Wanna come?” His phone vibrated, and he read a text from Sage.
Sure. C U there. Looking forward 2 getting 2 no Ellie better
. Then he texted Ellie, so she wouldn’t be taken by surprise.
Mind if Sage joins us?

“I don’t know. The last time we crashed your date, you guys fought,” Regina pointed out.

Dex’s phone vibrated, and he read the text from Ellie.
Sounds good!