Breaking Elle (29 page)

“Thanks for tonight. This is the best time I’ve had since I’ve moved here. How can I top this?” He murmurs, his silky voice sending shivers down my spine.

“Surprise me,” I whisper breathlessly.

“I will
.
”

It was hard enough to stay away from her when I couldn’t have her. Now that there’s nothing to keep us apart, I can’t get enough of her. I don’t think I ever will. The more I get to know her, the more I fall. I never thought that any girl could get to me like this. I know she’s still fragile. I can see it in her eyes. She’s afraid. I only want to make her trust me, to protect her, to make her happy. These are unchartered waters for both of us.

I stare at the ceiling and wonder how I will ever be able to tell her half the crap I’ve been through. There’s so much she doesn’t know about me. Should I tell her before we get in too deep? Should I put that all on her? Pull her down with me? Is that fair to her? I want what we’ve started to work. She’s right; I’m fucking trouble. I know this. That’s why I haven’t found any peace.

My mind tells me I should leave her alone, while my heart tells me I need her. The thought of being without her now makes me sick to my stomach. I hang my head in frustration because my heart always pays for my mistakes, but not this time, not with her.

I pull on my running shorts and lace up my sneakers. I shake off the little bit of sleep I got last night, and head into the kitchen, wishing I had the place to myself for once. Luke is cooking breakfast for his overnight guest who’s sitting on the couch channel surfing. Wearing one of his worn out college baseball jerseys, her long black hair is in a ponytail and her tanned legs curl up underneath her. Like me, Luke has no problem picking up some good-looking girls. It’s seems that Luke has a different lady friend every other night. I feel as though that’s not me anymore, and I don’t think I will miss it at all.

“Morning, sunshine!” He jokes. “You want some pancakes?” He grins through droopy eyes. Looks like the late nights are catching up with my roommate.

“Nah, man. Not unless it’s take out. I don’t trust your cooking.” I scratch my head laughing, watching him move awkwardly around the kitchen.

“Shit, man. I’m a chef.” He turns to flip one of his burning pancakes.

“The last time I checked, you managed to set a pizza on fire in the oven, and it looks like you’re not doing much better this morning.”

“Dude, I was drunk that night. I couldn’t read the box. Honest mistake, man.” He cringes, throws the sooty pancake in the trash, and then pours more batter into the sizzling hot pan.

“We won’t be seeing your ass on Food Network anytime soon, Champ.” I laugh, shooting him a questioning smirk regarding the girl sitting on the couch.

“Damn, where are my manners? Reed, this is my friend Diana. Diana, this is my roommate, Reed.” He waves the spatula, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey there,” I reply. She turns and smiles, then returns to the TV without a word. Luke shrugs his shoulders and frowns, turning to flip his pancake before it burns.

I grab a bottle of water in the fridge, imagining Elle sitting on the couch with one of my t-shirts on. I know I’m jumping the gun on this, but it’s always nice to have something to look forward to. I head out the door to meet her at the track. I can’t wait to see her this morning. I live for this, to see her. She makes my problems disappear.

She’s always early. God, I love watching her. Running with her is the only thing that gets me out of my bed with a smile. I would like nothing more than to wake up with her in my bed. She’s one of those girls that you wait a lifetime to meet. So perfect for me, but also flawed in her own way. That makes her so damn sexy to me. That and the fact that she’s wearing red. Fuck
,
I just died and went to heaven. I wish I could see her tonight, but I’ve got a big card game with Tyler and some high rollers I met at the casino during my last trip with Tommy.

I shield my eyes from the sun so I don’t lose sight of her as she stretches under the tree, her hair falling across her face. I get a vivid image of her under me, touching her, feeling her skin against mine. That alone makes me run across the field in a full sprint. A couple of long strides into my sprint, pain shoots up my leg and brings me to my knees.
Holy shit
. The ache is so fuckin’ unbearable. I fall back on the grass grabbing my knee to my chest. It’s been over a year since my surgery. The same thing happened last week, but it wasn’t this bad. Doc told me that I shouldn’t feel anything like this, that I should be a hundred percent by now.

“Reed!” Even when she’s yelling, her voice is music to my ears, melodic and sweet. She gazes down at me, her face creased with concern. “Are you okay?” She kneels down beside me, touching my knee with her hand. I’m so turned on by her in her running shorts and sports bra that I forget why the hell I am sprawled out on the grass.

“Morning, doll.” I smile through the pain. “So, how did I look? Was I as graceful as a ballerina?” I laugh trying to deflect what just happened, but she continues to look at me. She’s not buying it.

“Does this happen a lot?” She asks directly, glancing at my knee and then back up at me.

I sit up, stretching my leg out in front of me. “No, just a couple of times in the past week.
It’s nothin’. I just need to ice it and I’ll be fine.” I finish with a hesitant smile. She straightens up, gazing down, as the sun beams behind her and frames her face. I ache to run my fingers though the brown hair cascading around her, and to stare into those hazel eyes all damn day.

“You should probably cut back on the runs.” She turns, glancing over at the track, giving me the best view of her stunning body. She doesn’t know how much she complicates things and that only makes her more enticing.

“No, nope. Reed Austin is not a quitter.” I get up and grab her hand. “Let’s go run.”

I shouldn’t have run those laps. I try to be a hard ass and here I am, crying like a damn baby. It was three too many and now my knee is really busted. This shit hurts. This is one of the many secrets that I was trying to get away from, and it returns like a fucking bad headache. If I didn’t push myself to begin with, I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, but Doc said that running and working out will help with the injury and make my knee stronger. Maybe I’ll cut back a little bit. I have to get home, call the doc, and see what he says now.

“Hey.”

I look up to find the most gorgeous jogger I’ve ever seen. Her shorts are clinging to her thighs and her cheeks are flushed pink. All I can think is wow. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, baby.” I smile, rubbing my knee as I rise from the bleachers.

“Thank you. And nice try at the deflection.” She smiles, watching me stretch my knee. “Speaking of sore, how’s your knee?”

“I guess you were right; I should’ve taken it easy. But it’s nothing a little ice can’t fix,” I answer as I gingerly walk around the grass.
It’s going to take more than some damn frozen water to fix this shit. “
On second thought, I’d rather have you nurse me back to health.” I smirk, watching her pink cheeks burn red.

“So, you never told me you were a shitty comedian.” She laughs, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Do you have any more surprises for me?”

Wow, she just hit the nail right on the head with that one.
A wounded expression passes over her face, and I know right then and there that I can’t keep things from her for too long. She’s been hurt and I can’t drag her through anything more. It’s so hard right now since it seems that my problems are coming to a head. My shit that I don’t want her mixed up in. Am I being selfish? Should I tell her and let her decide?

“What are you thinking about?” She reaches over and taps my arm with her finger, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I shake my head and hungrily take all of her. “What are you doing after work tonight?” The words come out before I have a chance to think, but I’m glad they did. I don’t care if I have this huge card game tonight. I want her at my place. That’s what she fucking does to me; she blows my mind. It’s weird to be on the other end, to want someone so bad that you’ll do anything for her. Never thought I’d see the day.

“I don’t have anything set in stone,” she replies with her sexy mouth. I just want to take her right now on the grass and slowly peel off the little bit of clothes she has on her body. I get anxious thinking about it and have to walk off the damn ache that surges through me. It feels like being tackled by a three hundred pound linebacker. “Are you okay?” She asks with a slight smirk. “Is the heat getting to you?”

Not the kinda heat you’re talking about.

“Just waiting for your answer? You comin’?”
Please come.

“Sure,” she replies coyly, watching me with those mesmerizing e
yes.

“Hey doll,” I call out when I enter the office, but I don’t see her. Then she walks out of the supply room and I lose it. I saw her this morning in her running shorts and I was all bothered by that. But right now, she’s wearing the sexiest little outfit. A tight low-cut white blouse shows just enough of her full breasts, a black skirt that hugs her curvy hips and ass, and her long brown hair up in a bun. I have this fantasy about a librarian all the time, and right now, I’m close to it becoming a reality if she wants to play along. I just want to lock the door and have my way with her.

“Hi,” she says, coming around the desk to stand in front of me. She looks tired but gorgeous as hell.

“Rough day?” I ask, kissing her on the forehead.

“Yes,” she sighs. “I had to meet with the board of trustees today about the center. I presented some reports that I worked on.”

“I’m sure you knocked it out of the park,” I say, pushing back a piece of hair that’s fallen from her bun. “You look beautiful, too.”

“Thank you.” She smiles, as the prettiest shade of red spreads to her cheeks.
Damn, she gets more irresistible by the second
. “I can’t wait for this day to be over.” She breaks off, glancing up at me with those sexy eyes. All I can think about is touching her, but I keep my hands to myself like a good boy. “What are you doing here? You miss me?” She says coyly.