WILD (Naked, Book 3) (2 page)

“Walls are paper thin around here,” Elijah explained, as if apologizing, as he opened the door.

“I don’t care about that,” she said.

He opened the door and switched on the lights. The apartment was surprisingly big and not as shabby as she’d expected it to be. They entered into a rather spacious kitchen with new appliances. Past the kitchen was the living area, with a big flat screen TV against the wall, a long leather couch, loveseat and large speakers. The room was decorated with some modern paintings, and a few beautiful lamps.

“How do you like it?” Elijah asked.

“It’s amazing.”

“Cool. I mean, it’s in a shithole of a building, but it’s actually a nice apartment inside.” He walked into the living room and turned on a lamp.

“It almost seems like you had a decorator,” she said.

He looked up at her as if startled. “You think?”

“Well, it’s kind of got a woman’s touch. I mean that as a compliment.”

He scratched his jaw and looked around. “Yeah, I get it.” Then he started down the hallway. “Want to see the bedroom?”

“Sure,” she said, her heart starting to beat faster once again as she followed Elijah. His back was incredibly broad and his neck was thick and strong. She couldn’t help but marvel at what a sexy person he was on every level.

It was as if God had created the man of her deepest, darkest fantasies and just plopped him down on the highway that night when she’d been at her lowest point. And Elijah had saved her, somehow.

But is he really the man of your dreams, or is he going to just go up in a puff of
smoke when the excitement wears off or things get too difficult?

She remembered one of her father’s favorite sayings: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

That was her fear talking, but as they approached the bedroom, it amplified her anxiety. Elijah swung the door open and gestured inside. “This is where the magic happens,” he joked.

Caelyn swallowed hard at that comment, as a tiny fire ignited in her belly. It was a fire of need, of desire, but also one of fear. What if she couldn’t measure up to the kind of woman he expected? What if Jayson had ruined her with his destructive assault—

ruined any chance at her experiencing sexual intimacy with another man?

She tried to focus instead on the floor beneath her feet, the interiors of the bedroom. It was big enough to fit a large queen sized platform bed with dark coverlet and another flat screen TV that had been mounted to the wall above the closet.

Elijah showed her the dresser. “We can clear out the top few drawers for you,” he said, opening a drawer and already starting to toss some of his stuff onto the floor in a pile.

Caelyn moved to the closet, opening it enough to see that it was packed with Elijah’s extensive wardrobe. “You left all of your clothes behind?” she asked.

Elijah shrugged as he continued to clear out the top drawers. “There wasn’t much point in taking it all. I had no idea where I was going and I believe in travelling light.”

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.” Her heart was still beating hard in her chest as she stared into the closet. She reached out and touched one of his sweatshirts, feeling the texture of it, wanting to smell it. She wanted to inhale his scent, even as she grew more and more afraid that this was all too much to handle.

Suddenly, she felt Elijah’s hands on her hips as he came up behind her. His breath was on her neck, and she could feel his warmth and presence. Somehow, she was both comforted and terrified all at once.

“I like you being here,” he half-whispered, his hands sliding tighter around her waist.

“I like being here too,” she said, almost choking on the words. She could hardly speak.

“So you’ll stay then?”

“Of course.”

She could feel his lips coming close to the bare skin on the back of her neck as he spoke again. “You’ll stay the night in my bed.”

Caelyn spun to face him, her eyes locking on his. “What if I can’t do it, though?”

she said, unable to keep her greatest fear to herself.

His brow creased. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, after what Jayson did to me…what if I can’t ever be with you the way you want me to?”

His brow smoothed out again and his lips twitched into that sly little smile that she loved so much. “Caelyn, I don’t expect anything to happen between us until you’re ready for it.”

Caelyn’s body began to shiver as the suppressed nervousness finally was allowed to come to the surface. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. Maybe I’m just damaged goods.”

“Hey, let me tell you something,” Elijah said, his voice almost stern, but his eyes were still soft. “You’re not damaged goods, kid. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. Don’t you get that? Don’t you have a clue how incredible you are?”

Caelyn looked away, laughing. “I guess I don’t.”

He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face so that her eyes met his again.

“Well you should know,” he told her. “You should know that it’s true. And don’t let anybody tell you differently.”

Her jaw trembled. “Thank you for saying that.”

And then Elijah was leaning in and his lips brushed hers. A blaze of need exploded inside of her as he kissed her, his hard chest pushing against her as his strong arms encircled her and held her tightly.

She wanted more and more. She felt that at that moment she would have even gone all the way with him if he’d tried. That was how attracted she was to him, and him telling her that he would wait made her not want to wait another second.

But then he pulled away, smiling at her. “You seem pretty feisty to me,” he joked.

Caelyn blushed at how obvious her physical attraction to him was. She walked away from him then, unable to let him see her vulnerability. “So, now the only problem is I have absolutely nothing. No clothes, no toothbrush, no anything.”

“Come on,” Elijah said, walking past her with a purpose.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a Walmart that’s open twenty-four hours. It’s not far away.”

“I don’t even have any money,” she told him.

He turned and stared at her with a half-smile. “I got this one, kid.”

“Stop calling me kid.”

“When you have enough money to pay for your own shit, I’ll stop calling you kid.

Deal?” He held out his hand as if to shake on it.

Now it was Caelyn’s turn to brush past him, pretending she was angry. In fact, she couldn’t have been any less angry. She felt elated being with him. Elijah was perfect, he was amazing, and he was with here. No more waiting.

She smiled to herself as they left the apartment and headed for his truck and Walmart. Even going to Walmart was an adventure as long as she was with him. Elijah made everything fun again. The night was crisp and cool and full of possibilities.

Caelyn felt like she’d finally begun to live, maybe for the first time ever. And maybe she wasn’t who anyone thought she was—not even who she had assumed herself to be.

***

A couple of hours had gone by and they were home again.

Caelyn had finally finished putting away the clothes and toiletries she’d gotten at Walmart. It had been expensive—she’d bought about a hundred dollars worth of stuff—

enough to last her a few days. She would have to go and get more stuff from her dorm at some point, but she didn’t want to do it yet.

She wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to face Alicia or Nellie anytime soon.

Of course, she could probably choose to go at a time when they would most likely not be in their room, but there was always a chance one or both of them would be there unexpectedly.

And before getting into her dorm room, she would first need to go back to her parents’ house and take back her purse and everything that was in—school ID, drivers license, keys, cash, credit cards. Right now she had only her phone and nothing else.

But going home was even more frightening than going to her dorm room, so for now, she would just put that off as well. It could wait a few days if necessary.

As she was thinking about those painful future encounters, she heard the bathroom door creaking open. Elijah had taken a shower while she did her unpacking.

Now he came out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Water droplets ran in rivulets down the firm, smooth skin of his chest and flat stomach as he moved gracefully across the room. His hair was still wet, too, and he ran a hand through it, grinning. “Damn, feels good to have a proper shower in my own apartment again,” he said.

“Mind if I take one now?” she asked, averting her eyes from him.

He stood in front of her, his bicep bulging as his arm flexed to grab a shirt from the closet. “Why would I mind?” he said. “It’s your bathroom as much as it is mine.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Not exactly.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Except I don’t pay rent, my name’s not on any lease—“

“I don’t pay rent and my name’s not on any lease either,” he said. He grabbed a pair of jeans.

When he turned around momentarily, she allowed herself to admire the curve of his butt beneath the towel and all that exposed skin he was showing. She imagined herself walking to where he stood, running her hands over his body, then forcing her fingers beneath the towel, and once that dropped to the floor…

Elijah snapped his fingers a couple of times, as Caelyn jumped, startled from her sex fantasy.

“Where were you just now?” he said, his mischievous look making her think that he knew more than he was letting on.

Had she been staring that obviously?

Her cheeks were burning. “Just thinking about how I have to go back to my parents’ house and get my purse,” she lied.

Elijah nodded, still standing there half-naked, totally unashamed, daring her to look. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. You think they’ll give it back to you?” he asked.

“I hope so.”

“Huh.” He threw his shirt, pants and boxers onto the bed and then turned slightly again.

For a moment Caelyn didn’t know what he was doing, and then it hit her, just as he started to take off his towel.

“Hey, ah—what are you doing?” she cried out, half shielding her eyes with one hand as he tossed his towel to the floor.

She couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of Elijah’s bare, muscular butt as the towel dropped.

“What do you mean, what am I doing?” he laughed. “I’m getting dressed.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” she sputtered. She took her hand away from her face enough to watch his back muscles contracting as he pulled on his boxers and then turned to look at her.

“Am I making you nervous?” he said.

She dropped her hand. Now he was somewhat clothed, she didn’t feel quite as anxious. “You’re not making me nervous, but it’s not really…I don’t know…aren’t you supposed to change in the other room?”

Elijah shrugged, grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. “I don’t know. I will if you want me to, Caelyn.”

“I don’t care,” she said. “Do what you want to do.”

He put on his jeans, sliding them up over his hips. Now that he was fully clothed again, she wished he wasn’t. What was her problem? Was she just totally losing it?

“I want to make you comfortable,” he said, staring directly into her eyes. “So if I’m bothering you, just tell me. I’ll dress like a goddamn Eskimo if that’s what it takes.”

Caelyn laughed. “Don’t make fun, Elijah.”

“I’m not making fun,” he said. “So are you going to shower now or what?”

“Yes,” she said, her heart speeding up. Something so intimate was happening as they looked at one another. Here they were, alone in this apartment, nobody to tell them what they could or couldn’t do together. They were the ones making up the rules.

She almost wanted to tell him to come in the shower with her. The thought of saying such a thing out loud made her almost dizzy with excitement, fear and need. Her heart was pounding.

There was so much sexual tension between them that she almost could see it.

“Well,” Elijah said, turning away finally and running a hand through his hair,

“enjoy it. There’s good water pressure.”

“Okay,” she laughed, shaking her head at just how weird things had gotten. Now they were discussing water pressure of all things. As if this was the most normal circumstance in the world. Nothing to see here, just two young people living together in an apartment, doing normal things like showering, changing, going shopping.

Except it was anything but normal, and that’s what made her head spin. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact.

Caelyn picked out some clothes and a plastic bag containing the toiletries she’d bought at Walmart earlier, and went into the bathroom.

She took a nice hot shower, enjoying the feel of the water on her skin, knowing that Elijah had stood in that same spot not long ago, and he’d been naked too.

Maybe someday soon they really would be in the shower together, watching the water spill down one another’s bodies, kissing, touching, unafraid of the consequences or the possibilities.

She was getting turned on.

It was both pleasurable and unsettling to realize the kind of effect he had on her.

After getting out of the shower, she changed, brushed her teeth, and put her still wet hair back in a ponytail. When Caelyn came out of the bathroom, the bedroom was dark and Elijah was lying in bed watching TV.

From the set came the sound of a car crashing and then gunfire.

Elijah looked up at her, his face bathed in the glow from the screen. “Is this too loud?” he asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “What are you watching?”

“The Sopranos. I love this show.”

“I never really watched it,” she said. “I’m more of a Vampire Diaries girl.”

“Never seen it,” Elijah said, “but I’m willing to give it a try if you like it that much.”

“It’s okay,” she said, standing awkwardly in the middle of the bedroom. “You don’t need to like the same shows as me.”

He glanced from the TV to her and back again. “You coming to bed?”

She felt gooseflesh break out on her arms.

What’s the big deal, Caelyn? You’ve slept in the same bed as Elijah before.