Elena holds out her fork for me, feeding me a bite of her fish. “Soon enough we’ll be besties too,” she says, winking at me.
I laugh, and I suddenly realize that I want nothing more than that. “I’d like that, Buttercup,” I say, my voice soft.
Elena feeds me a few more bites and I shuffle my seat closer to hers, so our legs are touching.
“Tell me three good things that happened to you today?” she says, placing her fork down.
I smile at the question. “I should have recognized you the second you asked that question, back at Inferno. It’s what you always used to ask me when you were younger. It took me a while to remember why that question sounded so familiar.”
Her cheeks redden, and she smiles at me.
“Three things, huh? You made me an amazing dinner, the world now knows that you’re mine, and I’m going to fuck you really hard later.”
She bursts out laughing. “Alec,” she says, her voice teasing. “One of them didn’t even happen today, and one is yet to happen.”
She shakes her head and takes another bite of her food. “Hey, what do you like best about me?” she asks.
I pause to take her in for a moment. “Your beauty. You’re truly beautiful inside and out. I’ve never known someone who’d sacrifice themselves for their parent on the off chance that it might make a difference. I’m proud to call you my wife. You’re good to my mother. I know you hang out with her whenever I’m working late, and she’s been happier than I’ve seen her in years.” She blushes and looks away. “What about you?” I ask, half fearing her answer. I haven’t given her much to like.
Elena puts her elbow on the table and rests her head against her fist, her face turned toward me. “I like your heart. You didn’t hesitate to pull me out of a bad situation, despite us having grown apart. You saved me, in every sense of the word. I like that you’re always trying to do the right thing. I like your mind. Seeing you working is such a huge turn on. You’re so incredibly driven and smart, it’s inspiring to watch you do your thing, even when at times I wish you’d just come to bed instead of working late. I look at you while you work and I cannot believe you’re my husband. I’m so proud of you.”
I look away, my heart beating quickly.
“I also quite like your face, and your perfect body doesn’t hurt either,” she says, making me smile.
I lean in to kiss her, and she moans against my lips, her hands finding the lapels of my suit jacket.
“What do you like better? My hands or my tongue?” I whisper against her lips.
Her beautiful face turns crimson and I nip at her lips, a smile on my face. That blush of hers… I can’t get enough of it. “Tongue,” she murmurs.
If my lips weren’t on hers, I wouldn’t have heard her, she spoke that softly. “Mm. You do taste delicious. I may need another taste soon.”
She bites down on my lips and then leans back to look at me. “I want to taste you too,” she says, looking at me through her eyelashes.
I groan and put her hand on my pants, letting her feel my erection. She licks her lips and looks at me. “I’ve been hard since we sat down. Don’t tempt me, woman.”
I meant to scare her away, but instead she starts stroking me. I feel her fumble with my zipper and my eyes widen when she slips her hand into my boxers to palm my cock.
“Elena.” I meant to sound stern, but her name sounds like a moan on my lips. She pulls me close with her free hand and kisses me, her tongue driving me insane. “Buttercup,” I whisper.
Elena grabs my knees and spreads my legs before sinking to her knees in front of me.
She looks up at me and grabs my cock, slowly lowering her lips, driving me fucking insane. She kisses the tip before sinking her lips down on me, her mouth wet and hot.
I groan and bury my hand in her hair. She drives me insane. That mouth of hers… unreal.
She looks up at me, my cock in her mouth, and that image… fuck . “Baby,” I groan. “If you look at me like that, I won’t last.”
She sucks down on me even harder, taking me in even deeper. She moans, and it’s like the sound reverberates against my dick, making everything feel even more intense.
“Why the fuck are you so perfect?”
I watch her, my pleasure climbing higher and higher. I grab her hair and pull her away a split second before I come, and Elena gasps.
She looks down at her ruined dress and smiles before looking back up at me, a sultry expression on her face.
“I would’ve swallowed, you know.”
I stare at her open-mouthed. “You’ll drive me crazy, Elena. Completely crazy.”
She smiles at me. “That’s fine,” she says. “So long as you’re crazy about me .”
Fuck me. I think I am.
Chapter 44
E lena
Alec and I wake up to incessant knocking, and before we realize someone’s at the door, Lucian and Sofia walk in. Alec sits up, startled, the sheets falling to his waist. He nudges me gently and wraps me in the blankets as I sit up, covering as much of myself as I can.
“I’m sorry, my darlings,” Sofia says. “We wouldn’t have walked in, but we had no other choice. Neither one of you picked up the phone, and you were so fast asleep the knocking didn’t wake you either.”
“What is it, Mother?” Alec asks, his arm wrapped around me.
“Elena… it’s your mother,” she says carefully. My heart drops and Alec tightens his grip on me, both of us bracing for the worst.
“I—the doctor asked us to come to the hospital. He was unclear about what’s wrong. He didn’t say. We need to go.”
I nod and move to get out of bed mindlessly, but Alec grabs me and wraps me in his arms, sheets and all.
“Clothes, Buttercup?”
I nod and glance at Lucian, panic rendering me useless. He walks into our wardrobe and returns a minute later with outfits for both Alec and me. Then he presses a kiss on top of my head and turns to leave. “I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he says, and I nod.
Alec and I get ready in record time and by the time we’re down, everyone is ready to go.
We’re all tense as we make our way to the facility my mother is in.
I walk toward her room with dread, my heart beating out of my chest. Alec holds my hand and Lucian is right behind me, but not even their presence sets me at ease. I’m scared of what I’ll find when I walk through my mother’s door.
Dr. Taylor jumps up anxiously when I enter. “Elena,” he says, sounding breathless.
He points to my mother’s bed, and to my surprise, my mother is staring back at me, her lips turned up at the corners in a small smile. I rush up to her and grab her hand, surprised to find her finger moving slightly against mine. I stare at her in disbelief, feeling lightheaded from the shock.
“E… E…”
“She’s been saying that since she woke up. I didn’t want to give you false hope in case she fell back into a coma by the time you got here, but she’s been awake for about forty-five minutes now.”
He inhales deeply and looks at me with a grave expression. “I put her through weeks’ worth of tests, but it was worth it. There were trace amounts of propofol in her blood. We’d been keeping her on the medication her last hospital provided—and they mislabeled the propofol they sent us. I’ve had all drugs tested. There’s no doubt… there was foul play here.”