Chapter 25 No Going Back
"Come on," Elena said finally, her voice steadier than she felt. "Let's go to the bathroom."
Pierce followed without arguing.
The bathroom felt impossibly small when she closed the door behind them, shutting out the noise of Derek and Leo outside. Elena turned on the light, squinting at the sudden brightness, and pulled out her first aid kit.
"Sit," she said, nodding toward the closed toilet lid.
Pierce sat, watching her with an intensity that made her hands shake as she grabbed supplies. She wet a clean cloth, wrung it out, and stepped between his knees to reach the cut properly.
Elena ignored her racing pulse and pounding heart, and brought the cloth to his face. The cut ran from his temple to his cheekbone, wasn't too deep but deep enough that it was still bleeding.
"Hold still," she murmured, dabbing carefully.
Pierce's jaw tightened but he didn't shake. His hands rested on his thighs, fingers curled into fists like he was actively stopping himself from reaching for her.
Elena cleaned the blood away, hyperaware of every breath, every small movement. Her thumb brushed his cheekbone and she felt him tense.
"It's not too deep," she said, trying to sound clinical. "Won't need stitches."
"That's a relief," he said quietly.
"But it could have been worse." Her hand trembled. "So much worse."
"Elena..."
"You threw yourself in front of a bullet." She pressed the cloth harder than necessary and he winced. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking I wasn't going to watch you die." He said firmly.
The rawness in his voice made her chest tight. She tossed the bloody cloth in the sink, grabbing antiseptic with shaking hands.
"This is going to sting," she warned.
"I can handle it."
Elena dabbed the antiseptic on the cut. Pierce hissed through his teeth but didn't pull away.
"You could have died," she said quietly, focusing on the wound instead of his eyes. "You almost died protecting me and I..."
The words stuck in her throat.
Pierce caught her wrist gently, stilling her hand. "And you what?"
Elena couldn't look at him. Couldn't say what she was thinking, that the thought of losing him felt like losing her parents all over again. That somewhere between hating him and needing him, she'd crossed a line she couldn't uncross.
"I can't lose you too," she whispered.
Something broke ok Pierce's expression. His hand slid from her wrist to her waist, pulling her closer.
"You won't," he said.
"You can't promise that." Her voice cracked slightly.
"I know." His other hand came up to cup her face, thumb brushing her cheekbone. "But I'm here now. I'm right here."
Elena's hands were still holding the antiseptic, trapped between them. She should step back. Should finish treating the cut. Should maintain some kind of professional distance.
Instead, she dropped the cotton pad in the sink and kissed him.
Pierce went completely still for half a heartbeat. Then his hand tightened on her waist and he kissed her back like he'd been waiting his entire life for permission.
The kiss was desperate, consuming. Elena's hands found his shoulders, gripping hard as his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her fully between his knees. She could taste the adrenaline, the fear, the relief that they were both alive.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, Pierce's eyes were almost black.
"Elena." Her name sounded wrecked. "We should..."
She kissed him again, harder this time, cutting off whatever rational thing he was about to say. She didn't want rational. Didn't want to think about consequences or complications or all the reasons this was a terrible idea.
She just wanted to feel alive.
Pierce stood in one fluid motion, hands gripping her waist as he lifted her onto the bathroom counter. Elena gasped against his mouth, her legs wrapping around his waist on instinct.
"God," Pierce breathed against her lips, his hands sliding up her thighs.
Elena pulled him closer, eliminating any space between them. His laugh was dark, breathless, then it died completely as she kissed him like she needed it to survive.
Pierce's hands were everywhere, her waist, her hips, sliding up her sides with a reverence that made her shiver. Elena's fingers tangled in his hair, tugging slightly, and the sound he made against her mouth sent heat straight through her.
This was insane. They were in her bathroom, glass still everywhere outside, Derek and Leo probably wondering where they'd gone. But Elena couldn't bring herself to care.
Pierce's lips left hers, trailing down her jaw to her neck. Elena's head fell back against the mirror, a soft sound escaping that made his grip tighten on her thighs.
"You have no idea," he murmured against her skin, "how long I've wanted this."
Elena pulled him back up, needing his mouth on hers again. The kiss was deeper now, slower, more deliberate. His hands slid under the hem of her sleep shirt, fingertips tracing patterns on her bare skin that made her breath hitch.
She could feel his heartbeat racing against her chest, could feel him trembling slightly. Elena's hands explored the planes of his shoulders, his back, wanting to memorize every detail.
Pierce kissed her like he was trying to say everything he couldn't put into words. Like she was oxygen and he'd been dying. His thumb traced along her ribcage, and she arched into the touch.
Then someone knocked hard on the apartment door.
They broke apart instantly, both freezing. Elena's hand was still on Pierce's shoulder, his still in her hair. They stared at each other, breathing hard, reality crashing back.
"Boss?" Derek's voice came from outside the bathroom door. "Bulletproof glass company is here. Need you to sign off on the installation."
Pierce closed his eyes briefly, jaw tight. "Yeah. Give me a minute."
"Copy that."
Footsteps retreated.
Elena stepped back, and Pierce's hands fell away from her. The space between them felt too big suddenly, too empty.
"I should..." Pierce started, then stopped, like he didn't know how to finish.
"Yeah," Elena said quietly. "You should."
But neither of them moved. They just stood there, staring at each other, both trying to process what had just happened.
Elena's lips still tingled. She could still feel the ghost of his hands on her, the warmth of him. Her heart was racing, not from fear this time, but from something else entirely.
"Your cut," she said finally, voice unsteady. "I still need to bandage it."
Pierce touched his face like he'd forgotten about it. "Right."
Elena grabbed a butterfly bandage with trembling hands. She stepped close again, not between his knees this time, just close enough to reach. Her fingers were gentle as she applied the bandage, hyper-aware of every point where they almost touched.
Pierce watched her the entire time, his expression unreadable.
"There," Elena whispered when she finished.
"Thank you." He said, his voice rough.
They stood there for another moment, too close, both knowing they should go back out but neither wanting to be the first to move.
Finally, Pierce took a breath. "I should go deal with the window."
"Okay." Elena said not knowing what else to say.
He moved toward the door, then paused, looking back at her. His eyes were dark, intense, full of things neither of them could say out loud.
Then he opened the door and walked out, leaving Elena alone in the bathroom.
She braced her hands on the counter, staring at her reflection. Her lips were slightly swollen, her cheeks flushed. She looked like someone who'd just been thoroughly kissed.
She looked terrified.
Because whatever had just happened between them, whatever line they'd just crossed, there was no going back from it.
Elena touched her lips, still feeling the ghost of Pierce's kiss.
She was so screwed.