Chapter 25 I KISSED ELIAS
NOVA'S POV
We talked for another thirty minutes before I finally checked the time and realized I needed to get back to the office.
"Thank you for today," I said as we stood up. "I really enjoyed it."
"So did I." He walked me to the door, his hand on the small of my back. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Nova. And this time, I promise to keep my hands to myself. Mostly."
I laughed despite myself. "I'll hold you to that."
He leaned down and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to my lips. Nothing like the scorching kisses in the hallway, but it still made my toes curl.
"Sweet dreams, beautiful. I know I'll be dreaming about you tonight."
Then he was gone, walking away with that confident stride, leaving me standing there with my heart racing and my mind spinning.
I made it back to Blackthorn Industries in a daze. My lips are still tingling, my body still humming with residual heat.
The elevator ride up felt too short. When the doors opened on the thirty-second floor, I saw Elias leaning against the wall outside my office.
Just Elias. No Callum.
"Hey," he said, pushing off the wall. "How was it?"
"Callum's not here?"
"Emergency meeting with the Singapore office. Conference call's going to run for another hour at least." He studied my face. "You look flushed. Good date?"
I unlocked my office and walked in, very aware that he was right behind me. "It was good. Really good."
"Did he kiss you?"
I turned to face him. "Yes."
Something dangerous flashed in Elias's hazel eyes. "And?"
"And I'm going to see him again. Tomorrow night for dinner." I set my bag down on my desk. "I'm dating him now, Elias. He's a good man."
"A good man," Elias repeated flatly. "You've known him for what, a week? And you're already calling him a good man?"
"I like him. He makes me feel good. That's all that matters, isn't it?"
"No, Nova. That's not all that matters." He moved closer, his jaw tight. "What about us? What about what we feel?"
"You said you'd give me space to figure things out. That's what I'm doing."
"By running to the first guy who shows you attention?" He was right in front of me now, close enough that I could smell his cologne. "By letting him put his hands on you, his mouth on you, when you know how we feel about you?"
"You don't own me, Elias. Neither of you do."
"Don't we?" His hand came up to cup my jaw, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Your body knows who it belongs to, even if your mind hasn't figured it out yet."
"Elias—"
He kissed me.
Not the gentle, coaxing kiss Matthias had started with. Not the sweet peck he'd ended with.
This was possession. Claiming. A reminder of everything I was trying to forget.
His mouth crashed against mine with bruising intensity. His tongue swept past my lips, tasting me, dominating me in a way that made my knees weak.
I should have pushed him away. Should have reminded him that I'd just kissed another man. Should have done anything except melt into him.
But my body had other ideas.
My hands fisted in his shirt and I kissed him back just as hard. Let him devour me. Let him remind me why I'd been so terrified to choose six years ago.
His hands slid down to my ass and he lifted me effortlessly, setting me on the edge of my desk. Papers scattered to the floor but neither of us cared.
He stepped between my legs, pressing himself against me, and I could feel how much he wanted this. How much he wanted me.
"This is what you should be feeling," he growled against my mouth. "Not whatever that bastard made you feel. This. Us."
His hands roamed over my body, relearning every curve. One hand slid up my thigh, pushing my skirt higher, while the other tangled in my hair.
He kissed me like he was drowning and I was air. Like he'd die if he stopped. Like nothing else in the world mattered except this moment, this connection, us.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. My lips were swollen, my hair was a mess, and I could feel my lipstick smeared across both our mouths.
"I'm not letting another man take you from me," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "I don't care if you date him. I don't care if you kiss him. Because at the end of the day, you're going to come back here. Back to us. Back to where you belong."
He cupped my face in both hands and kissed me again, softer this time but no less intense. His lips moved against mine with devastating tenderness.
When he pulled back, he used his thumbs to gently wipe away my smudged lipstick. The gesture was intimate, caring, almost loving.
"See you at home, Nova," he said quietly. Then he walked out, leaving me sitting on my desk, my heart pounding, my mind completely wrecked.
I sat there for a long time, trying to process everything that had just happened.
I'd kissed Matthias today. Let him touch me, press me against a wall, make me feel things I hadn't felt in a long time.
And then I'd come back here and let Elias kiss me exactly the same way.
What was I doing? What kind of person did that make me?
I slid off the desk and tried to straighten myself up. Fixed my hair, reapplied my lipstick, smoothed down my skirt.
When I finally looked presentable again, I packed up my things and headed home.
To the estate where both brothers would be waiting.
To the home I shared with two men who wanted me.
While planning my next date with a third man who didn't know any of this existed.
I was playing with fire.
And I had a feeling I was about to get burned.