Page 43 of Healed By the Grumpy Elf

"That's why I'm here. To start over. To be somewhere I can help people again."

Maeve doesn't speak immediately. Instead, she lifts one hand and places it over my heart. The gesture is small, but it fills me with a heat that comes from deep within me. My heart beats faster under her touch.

"Thank you for telling me," she says simply.

Our eyes gazes lock, and in that moment, something shifts between us. The last barrier falls. She lifts herself on her toes slowly, giving me time to pull away if I want to.

I don't. I lower my head to meet hers and our lips meet. The kiss starts gentle but quickly deepens with all the emotion we've been holding back.

This time, I don't stop. I'm done running. I pull her closer, one hand tangling in her wild red curls, the other at the small of her back.

The kiss intensifies as I drink in the taste of her, allowing myself to fall for the sensation without restraint. My control slips as desire takes over, and I feel her respond with equal passion. Her fingers thread through my hair, dislodging more glitter that falls around us like fairy dust.

We break apart, breathless. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips slightly swollen from our kiss. I've never seen anything more beautiful.

"I've wanted to do that since the moment I saw you," I admit, surprising myself with my honesty.

"Then why do you keep running away?" she asks, her hand still on my chest, feeling my racing heart.

"I'm not running anymore," I answer, then kiss her again.

This kiss is different, deeper, hungrier. Her lips part beneath mine, and I waste no time in claiming her mouth with my tongue. My hand slides down her back, pulling her closer until she's practically in my lap. She makes a small sound against my mouth that sends heat coursing through my veins.

When I free her mouth again, we're both panting. Maeve's eyes are darker now, the pupils dilated. A smudge of glitter decorates her cheek, transferred from my face to hers.

"We're going to be finding glitter in unlikely places for weeks," she says with a breathless laugh.

"I don't care," I reply, surprising myself again. I, who have built my life around order and control, suddenly don't mind the prospect of the persistent, uncontrollable glitter mess. Even pink glitter.

Maeve shifts her position, pressing her full breasts against my hard chest. Her hips push against mine and my erection digs into the soft flesh of her stomach. I have to swallow hard as she moves her hips provocatively against me.

She smiles, a slow, warm smile that lights up her entire face. "Good. Because I'm not letting you run away again, Dr. Lorian Reizenhart."

The implication of her words settles over me like a warm blanket. She's not going anywhere. Despite knowing my past, despite the confessions and the complications, she's choosing to stay.

For the first time in years, I feel something unfamiliar blooming in my chest. Hope.

I pull her close again, capturing her lips with mine, no longer concerned about the glitter we're spreading everywhere. Some messes are worth making.

Chapter 13

Maeve

I'mdrowninginsensations.Lorian's mouth is hot against mine, his hands strong and sure as they pull me closer. His tall frame towers over me as we stand in his pristine living room, and I feel deliciously small in his embrace. I have to tilt my head all the way back to reach his lips, my neck straining with the effort. As if sensing my strain, he cradles the back of my neck in one large hand, supporting me as he bends down to meet me halfway. Each time we shift, more glitter falls around us like some kind of romantic snowglobe scene.

"We're making a mess," I murmur against his lips, not caring in the slightest.

"Yes," he replies, his voice deeper than I've ever heard it. The sound sends shivers down my spine. “And I plan on making a much, much bigger one.”

I pull back just enough to look at him, this beautiful, complicated man who's finally letting me see beneath his perfect facade. His ice-blue eyes are darker now, pupils dilated with arousal. They seem to glow with a light from within, an indication I’m beginning to associate with his heightened emotional state. Pink glitter clings to his silver-blond hair and dusts his sharp cheekbones and long pointed ears, giving him an otherworldly appearance. Like some kind of fairy-tale prince who's wandered into the human world. Which he kind of is, of course.

"You're beautiful," I whisper. My fingers trace the elegant point of his ear, and his sharp intake of breath confirms it's a sensitive spot. Interesting.

"Maeve." He says my name like a prayer, his accent more pronounced than usual. "You have no idea what you do to me."

"Show me," I challenge, my heart pounding so hard I'm certain he can hear it.

For a moment, he just looks at me, something vulnerable flashing in his eyes. Then he lifts me as if I weigh nothing. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist, gasping as he grabs my ass and presses me against his hard cock. My already throbbing clit shoots sensations all the way into my brain and I grab on to him with desperate fingers.