Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

ELLIS POV

I stared at the message delivered twenty minutes ago. I set the phone down, only to pick it up again a second later. Still no response. I kept staring ahead until the walls started to blur together, sitting there in the quiet as the evening light slowly faded from the room.

I paced back and forth between the couch and the window, checking the street every time a car drove by. After some time, I just stood off to the side of the glass, watching the traffic pass, unable to sit still.

Then, my phone buzzed on the table.I grabbed it so fast I nearly dropped it, catching it against my chest. Three dots danced on the screen indicating that he's typing.

<Alex: “On my way”

I set the phone down on the counter. For a second, I just stood there, staring at nothing. I dragged a hand over my face and let out a long sigh.

“He actually said yes.” I glanced back at the screen like the message might magically change if I looked too long. I wasn’t ready for that answer.

“Oh my God… what did I just do?” Looking around the apartment, I noticed a dirty coffee mug on the counter from this morning and my jacket thrown over the back of the couch. Desperate for a distraction, I grabbed the mug, rinsed it thoroughly, and set it in the sink.

Then I just stood there, waiting.Twenty minutes had never felt that long before. When he finally knocked, I was already halfway across the room. I stopped at the door for a single second, took a deep breath, and pulled it open.

Alex was standing in the hallway. His tie hung loose, and his hair was slightly messy, like he had been running his hands through it all day. Large dark circles ringed his eyes. He looked completely exhausted.

"You came," I said.

"Yeah." He gave a tired nod.

We stood there at the entrance, neither of us making a move.“Come in.” I stepped aside, opening the door wider for him.

He entered and I closed the door behind him. He walked straight to the center of the living room, then turned to face me with his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“So, talk."

I suddenly forgot where to start. All the words I had spent the last hour rehearsing vanished the second I looked at him.

“I saw the news and the interview” I said my neck. 

Yeah.” He nodded, looking away toward the floor.

“Is everything okay now? I mean… with your company?”

He dragged a hand down his face, then looked back at me, letting out a low, humorless chuckle. “Okay?” he asked, shaking his head. “You watched all that, and you still invited me over?” He stopped, squeezing his eyes shut.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. He stared at me, but neither of us spoke. The silence between us grew heavy.

Alex walked over to the window, gripping the frame with one hand. His shoulders were pulled tight with tension. "The board sent someone today," he said quietly.

I nodded.

His shoulders slumped slightly, and he let out a heavy breath. “My parents want to buy up shares to help stabilize the stock. They’re trying to save me, and I can't even tell them why everything is falling apart."

“I'm sorry," I said softly.

He turned around to face me fully. “For what?"

"For all of this,the leaked emails… the whole mess."

"You didn't cause this," Alex replied, his eyes locking onto mine. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his face again. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I jumped to conclusions before.”

“I'm just so tired of all of this, Alex,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop myself.

He looked at me, his expression softening, and let out another slow breath. “I am tired too, more than you know.”

Neither of us said anything after that. The room fell completely quiet.“I don’t know how to fix this,” he whispered.

“Me neither.”

He walked over to me slowly, trailing his fingers down my cheek until his lips pressed softly against my neck.“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against my skin, his breath warm.

“No,” I replied hoarsely.

When he kissed me, it felt completely different from before. There was no rushing, no frantic desperation. It was just slow, deep, like he had waited a lifetime for it. His fingers tangled lightly in my hair while I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer until my back hit the wall.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his breathing ragged. “Ellis..…”

“Don’t stop,” I whispered before he could finish, and pulled him back down into a kiss.

I pressed into him,pinning against the wall.His mouth immediately moved down to my neck. I felt the light, sharp edge of his teeth, and my back arched toward him.

My fingers reached for his shirt buttons. One snapped off completely, rolling across the floor, but neither of us cared. He shrugged the shirt off his shoulders while I pulled mine over my head and dropped it blindly onto the floor.

His touch sent a slow shiver straight through me, and I pressed my lips together as a heavy warmth spread through my chest.

“Bedroom," I breathed against his lips.

We made it down the hallway, panting, our hands touching everywhere as we hit the bed, tangled together. His weight settled over me, and his mouth found mine again, much hungrier this time. 

I rolled us over again, pushing myself up so I was looking down at him. His chest was rising and falling fast, his lips swollen and red.

A sharp jolt of heat shot straight down to my cock. I felt a sudden, tightening heat that made it hard to breathe, my pulse quickening as a rush of warmth pooled low in my trousers.

“What?" he asked, looking up at me.

“Nothing." I leaned down and kissed him again, taking my time, savoring it. His hands slid up my back, then down again, his fingers pressing firmly into my skin.

I sat back up on his thighs and reached for his belt.

"Ellis…" he moaned, his head rolling back.The belt buckle clicked open.

I tug it free and dropped it onto the floor beside the bed. His breathing changed instantly, growing faster.I pulled the zipper down. He lifted his hips slightly so I could slide his trousers and briefs down his legs, and I stripped out of mine right after.

I shifted down the bed, crawling between his legs.He didn’t say anything, but his hands came down to rest on my shoulders as I leaned over him.

The second I took him into my mouth, he let out a sharp, ragged breath.

I kept my focus on him, moving in a slow rhythm that had him gripping the sheets. His fingers moved up from my shoulders into my hair, holding on tight as his breathing got faster and louder.

He tensed up completely under my hands, his hips lifting slightly, and then he came, the hot rush of his cum filling my mouth all at once.

I swallowed, keeping my mouth on him until he finally started to quiet down, his fingers slowly loosening their tight grip on my hair.

I pulled off him slowly, dragging my tongue up the underside of his shaft one last time just to taste the salt on his skin.His body shudder at the contact, and his cock twitched against my palm.

“Fuck," he breathed shakily, his head dropping back.

I crawled up his body, sliding my thighs around his hips until I was hovering right over him.Our mouths were inches apart. I could feel the heat radiating off his skin, breathing in the heavy smell of sweat and sex clinging to both of us.

“Good?" I asked roughly, kissing him.

He let out a breathless laugh, put his warm palm against the back of my neck, and pulled me down until our foreheads pressed together.

“Yeah." His eyes were completely dark. "But I'm not done

with you yet.”

Before I could even answer, his hand gripped my hip and he rolled us over, pinning me flat onto my back.