Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(13)

Rather than being a pain in my ass as I’d completely expected, Eli was a perfect student, and I’d been intrigued by the sensible facts he already had stored in his head. Not that I, in any way, thought he was a nice guy, but he wasn’t as bad as I imagined him to be.

Unfortunately, that sexual tension in the air was ever-present, making it uncomfortable at times.

If I wasn’t so damn attracted to him, I could probably enjoy his company.

“It tastes kind of like a cranberry,” he said after he’d swallowed.

I nodded. “Sweet and sour.”

He shot me a grin. “I find that flavor very tempting lately.”

The flesh of the plum almost got caught in my throat, but I forced it down. I knew he was still playing his cat-and-mouse game, and that he was referring to me as the sweet and sour he found appealing. Unfortunately, the visual image his words conjured was automatic and vivid.

What would it be like to be devoured by Eli Stone?

I didn’t want to have imaginary images of that unlikely occurrence flash through my brain, but I couldn’t seem to control my errant thoughts.

I busied myself with cleaning my knife on nearby leaves and then shoved the blade back into its sheath. “We should get going,” I said breathlessly.

“Wait,” Eli said as he caught my upper arm to stop me, then pushed me gently against a nearby tree as he added, “I know you don’t want to admit what we’re both feeling right now, Jade. You don’t want to talk about the fact that we’re attracted to each other. But can’t we just get it out there so you aren’t so suspicious of my motives, Butterfly?”

“I’m not a butterfly,” I said indignantly.

Did he really think I was a fragile, pretty living thing that had nothing better to do than flit from place to place?

“You are a butterfly,” he disagreed. “And I think you’re more than ready to emerge and fly free, but you haven’t found your way out of your safe place yet.”

God, it was almost terrifying that I pretty much felt the same way.

My body reacted immediately to being in such close proximity to his hot, hard, muscular body. My heart tripped as I looked up at him and saw the grim determination on his gorgeous face.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said hesitantly, even though his words had struck a chord.

The last thing I wanted Eli to know was that my lust for him was nearly uncontrollable. So wild that I wanted to burst out of my no one-night stands position inside my cocoon and let him teach me everything I wanted to know about hot, sweaty, orgasmic sex.

He caged me in by putting a strong arm on each side of my body. “That’s bullshit, Jade, and you know it. But if you won’t talk about it, I will. I’m not afraid to admit that I want to fuck you. That there’s not a single dirty thing I don’t want to do with you. And it’s driving me crazy.”

The tension between us was electric, and the strain in his expression mirrored my own frustration.

I pushed against his enormous chest. “I don’t just fuck any attractive man I see. That’s not who I am.”

He didn’t budge, not even as I applied as much force as I was able to.

“Then what do you want, Jade?” he rasped. “The desire is there for both of us. I know damn well that I’m not feeling this all by myself.”

“I want you,” I blurted out as our eyes met and held. “You’re an attractive guy. But I don’t like you.”

A flash of satisfaction moved across his face as he said, “You don’t know me.”

He was right. But liking Eli Stone was not an option for me. If I did, I’d be totally screwed. “I’m here to be your survival instructor. I don’t have to like you.”

He leaned forward and pressed his body against mine, his warm breath wafting across my ear as he said in a low, hungry tone, “You know what I think? I’m pretty sure you want a man who can instruct you for a change. I think you crave a guy who can actually make you submit and focus on nothing but pleasure.”

“I don’t!” I exclaimed, trying not to notice how good it felt when his teeth nipped at my ear and he soothed it with his tongue.

Heat raced between my thighs, and my heart was thundering as Eli moved back enough to look at me. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be satisfied, Jade. You should demand it.”

My mind was racing, trying to figure out how Eli could instinctively know what I wanted.

Maybe I did want to be with a man I didn’t have to worry about intimidating.

And God, I really did want him to overwhelm me just like he was doing right now.

“Admit that you want me. I already know you do, but I want to hear it,” he said in a persuasive tone.

I glared up at him even though my body was pleading for me to let Eli do any damn thing he wanted. “Dream on. I refuse to stroke your ego. I’m not going to give in to some kind of crazy lust I don’t understand. It would never make me happy.”

Okay. It might temporarily assuage my need, but I know I’d regret it if I let Eli get me into his bed for a one-nighter.

He grinned, a wicked, sultry smile that made my body scream for his touch. “I think it would make you extremely happy,” he countered. “And the last thing I want you to stroke is my damn ego. I just want you to admit that you feel the same way I do. I know how to satisfy a woman, Jade. And I’d leave you so satiated that you’d never forget the experience. Give me a chance to show you how ecstatic you could be after you’ve been in my bed.”