Page 38 of Enough Isn’t Everything (Everything Trilogy #1)

Grabbing my arm and swinging me around, he pushed me back into a corner of the kitchen with his body, out of sight of the window. He placed his palms on either side of me on the wall, again blocking my escape.

Alfie moved closer, slightly parting my knees, and leaned against me, hip to hip, his face bending toward my neck but not touching it. His breathing was ragged, and I could feel his arousal as he rubbed himself against my pubic bone.

Inhaling my hair, Alfie’s mouth then found my neck. “I want you so much.” Swallowing hard he stared into my eyes. His words and the sensation of his touch became too much for me. I was being overpowered, and I could feel myself letting go. Melting into his body, my eyes closed in surrender to him.

Distracting me, as his tongue traced up my neck, his mouth stopped near my ear, “Say it, tell me to take you.” He rested his forehead on mine. I had stopped breathing, frozen.

Alfie pulled his head back and opened his eyes.

We were looking intensely at each other.

I could see the lust there in his hooded eyes, his breathing was ragged.

Burying his face in my neck he groaned again, and his tongue licked up to trace my jawline, while I fought to control the release of the breath I had been holding.

The tight feeling in my chest reminded me of the stunt he’d pulled at college in the rain.

Removing a hand from the wall, he traced it down the front of my body. I inhaled sharply, my body reacting to the heat of his touch. I bit my lip and he licked his. “Oh yeah, sweetheart, you most definitely want me,” he murmured softly.

My defenses were gone, his for the taking. All he had to do was kiss me. His fingers traced my lips with a featherlight touch. He leaned closer, and I closed my eyes expecting his kiss.

I waited… and nothing happened. I opened my eyes and saw Will. I was confused, Alfie was just here, and now he was nowhere in sight. Will was standing looking concerned at me.

“Are you okay? You didn’t come back.” He put out his hand to lead me back and I let him, trembling. “Are you cold?” he asked.

“No, just tired.” I managed a weak smile. I didn’t know how I faced being around everyone after that. We stayed another half hour, then I told everyone I was exhausted and needed to go home.

Will followed me out to my car. I didn’t see Alfie again while we were there. We’d arrived in separate cars, and he walked me to mine when we left. We arranged to meet as usual in the morning, then he hugged me tightly, rubbing my back.

“I’ve had a lot of fun this evening, thanks for understanding, Lily.” I smiled tiredly at him.

“No worries.” My response was muted, but it was the best I could manage. He kissed my nose and sat me in my car.

“Remember, you haven’t seen me this evening.” He winked.

I felt bad because I knew that as soon as I saw Saffy, she was going to ask me about Will. It was a horrible situation, and I was going to have to lie. Why was everything so complicated here?

Shifting my car into gear, I drove off feeling drained about Alfie. As I rounded the corner, he was leaning against his car, flagging me down. I was torn between running him over and stopping.

Stopping, I wound my window down partway. My heart was pounding at him being there again. “Truce?” he asked, tapping his fingernails on the side of my car, smiling sheepishly.

“What is this, Alfie? This has got to stop. I can’t deal with this shit, you’re scaring me.” I swallowed hard. It was true his behavior was freaking me out now.

My voice sounded quiet and shaky when I was speaking, and he looked a little shaken by my statement. “Can we talk? Just talk, no mind games?”

I felt exacerbated. “I’m really tired, Alfie, I just want to go home.” In truth, his stalking had taken the last of my energy.

“Can I drive you home? We could talk like this.” He wagged his finger between us. “I’ll collect you in the morning to come get your car.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want that,” I stated firmly. I really had feelings for Alfie. I was not going to be emotionally bullied because of my physical attraction to him though.

“Can I get in then? Would you drive me home, so that we can talk?” This was the last thing I wanted, but I figured that we needed to clear the air so that he would stop behaving like this toward me.

“Please, Lily. I just want to talk to you.” He gave me a half smile and looked sincere, but I knew that his smile had worked with many other women in the past. Even so, I was intrigued to find out what he had to say for himself.

Aware I was making a pretty stupid decision even before I agreed, I resigned myself to try to conserve some normality around him. And that meant I’d have to discuss it with him.

“Okay, I’ll take you home, but cause me any problems, and you’ll have to walk back to get your car.” He grinned and jumped in the passenger side before I could change my mind, making the leather seat squeak.

Edging away from him, I faced the front, driving a little too carefully, waiting for him to speak.

His hand slipped along the back of my seat.

“Do you mind, I don’t like distractions when I’m driving.

” He chuckled, and I turned to glare at him.

He realized I wasn’t joking with him and took his arm back.

“Why did you stop?” I shook my head incredulously at him.

“Why did I stop the car? You were in front of it,” I huffed.

“No. Us,” he husked, wagging his index finger between us again.

I swallowed hard and stammered, then I tried to speak before my thoughts had fully formed in my head. “I-it just wasn’t for me… the whole ‘fuck buddy’ thing, and there was no ‘us’,” I stated flatly.

He snickered. “I was there, Lily. I still feel you, and you still feel me, so that’s bullshit. And, it was for you, you can’t tell me you didn’t like it,” he bit back at me, his mouth curled in a sneer.