She squirms, her face set in determination. “What?”
“What?” I tilt my head. “Something wrong?”
“No… just wondering why you’re looking at me like that.”
“Just admiring you. That’s all.”
She blushes, and I lean away. I glance at the clock, noting it’s nearing the time Eloise typically rushes home. A wave of disappointment pours over me as I place my guitar back inits case, mentally preparing to say our goodbyes. Instead, I’m surprised to find Eloise sitting frozen with her guitar still in her lap, her brows pinched in a frown. “Is our lesson over already?”
“I'm surprised, Eloise. You're usually ready to rush out of here.”
Apparently, this is the wrong thing to say. “You're right. I'll leave now.” She starts shoving papers into her backpack, and I place my hand on her arm.
She freezes, her breath catching as she looks at me through her lashes. “Riot…”
“I don'twantyou to leave, Eloise.Ever.I was just surprised. That's it.”
“Oh.” She lowers her gaze but doesn’t pull out of my grip. “Guess I kind of overreacted there. I thought…” She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought.”
I place my finger under her chin, pulling her up to meet my gaze. “It matters, Eloise. And if it doesn’t to you, it sure as shit matters to me.” I lean in close enough to see the shards of gray breaking up the clear blue of her iris, but in the next heartbeat, her pupils expand, consuming the beautiful hues of color.
My hand reaches up, cupping the side of her jaw as my thumb works loving circles along the pad of her cheek. “Tell me what happened, Eloise. I want to understand where your mind went.”
Again, she tries to lower her gaze, but I won’t allow it. She takes her lip between her teeth, nervous energy pulsing from her shoulders like the heat from her skin. “I… when you started packing up early, I assumed you were sick of me. That I was a burden you wanted out of your hair as soon as possible because that’s the way it is with everyone else.” She lets out a small puff of air, her lips tipping in an unhappy smile. “You see? It doesn’t matter. It’s silly.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I murmur, continuing to draw circles on her lovely, soft skin. “We don’t get to choose the scars we carry. And sometimes, we react to situations differently than others because of them. But that doesn’t make it silly. It just means you survived your wounds, and you’re doing the best you can to live in spite of them.”
And then, I do something I never,everdo. I bring up Rush.
“You see this?” I reach down, tapping the golden guitar pick still clutched in her fingers. “You remember how weird I acted when you found it?”
She nods gently, gazing down at the pick in question. “I guess so…”
I take a deep breath. “Well, that’s because it belonged to my brother. He lost it nearly two decades ago, and I hadn’t thought of it since then. But the moment I saw it—the second I saw it in your hands—I shut down. For a single moment, it was like I had lost him all over again.” I wrap her hand in mine, keeping the other on her cheek as I stare deep into her eyes. “I’m telling you this because I understand how the past can shape us, and how it leaves wounds too deep to heal. What I’m really saying… what I’m trying to get across is that we all have our moments when we go back to that dark place. And it doesn’t make you any less, Eloise. It doesn’t make you weak, or silly, or any of the other adjectives you’re probably making up right now.”
I lean in close enough that her minty breath fans over my face, and I can count the near-invisible freckles spreading over the bridge of her nose. Electricity flows through my veins, seeping from my pores and crackling in the space between us.
“I think you’re wonderful, Eloise,” I whisper. “I think you’re stunning and brilliant and fucking hilarious. You’re soft, and you’re sweet, witty, and sharp. You’re my lifeline and treacherous for my health. You bring me peace and drive me fucking wild. And you do all that by being beautifully,fantasticallyyou,Eloise.” I press my forehead to her, closing my eyes as I breathe her in. “You’re everything. You’re?—”
I never get to finish.
My eyes spring open, shock turning to utter bliss the moment I realize Eloise’s lips are on mine.Eloise is... Eloise is kissing me.
It takes me a second to respond, but when I do, when I move my mouth against hers the way I’ve been dreaming of for weeks, the damn sky opens up. A bolt of lightning reaches down, striking the center of my heart and filling my body with humming, burning heat.
My hand slides around the back of Eloise’s gentle neck, the other snaking around her waist and hauling her closer to me. Her guitar clatters to the floor in a cacophony, but I hardly notice it, too caught up in the sensation of her mouth on mine.
I slide my tongue over her lower lip, and she opens up beautifully for me. I take the kiss deeper, a groan building in the base of my throat as my cock hardens painfully.
My hand tightens around her neck as a wave of desire threatens to make me lose control. Eloise moans at the sensation, a sound so delicious it makes every muscle in my body shudder. I ache to be inside her, to hear the sounds she makes when I push my cock inside her tight little pussy, to feel her come undone around me.
But I have to be patient.
With what seems to be impossible effort, I pull back from Eloise, panting heavily. “I can’t believe I finally found you,” I whisper, resting my forehead against hers. “I can’t believe you’re really real.”
Eloise blinks slowly, her back tensing ever so slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been so tired… so tired of chasing all these dreams. Tired of trying, of looking for the light when things are so fucking bleak all the time. But when I’m with you… God, whenI’m with you, Eloise, it doesn’t even feel like trying. It feels like I’m weightless, like I’m soaring, like I’ve died and come back to life in stunning and glorious color. The words can’t write themselves fast enough, and I… I startedsingingagain, Eloise. Just yesterday, I caught myself doing it while I was cleaning! Do you understand how remarkable that is? Do you realize how long it’s been since I’ve doneeitherof those things?”
