Page 21 of Ogre on Patrol (Monsters, PI #5)
Chapter 21
Ellie
H is words felt like a promise I cupped close to my chest. They hummed through me as I helped my customers—two elderly witches who came to me periodically for the wistparsh they needed for select spells. I loved that I could offer herbs and plants they wouldn’t find unless they drove several hours to Boston. And there, most sold were dried, not fresh like I grew here.
After the witches left, a few young women showed up in separate cars. I was busy for the rest of the day, which was a good distraction. If I’d kept thinking about Thain all the time, I would’ve found a way to drag him to my bed.
We had dinner together, then sat on the sofa side-by-side, holding hands, watching a romcom. I adored how he laughed, so hearty and full of life.
And when the romcom ended, I almost asked him to come to my bed. I wasn’t quite ready, though, but I suspected I soon would be .
I woke at dawn and went to the bathroom, brushing my teeth for some unknown reason before creeping back to bed. I didn’t hear anything from behind Thain’s door, but I wondered if he heard me. If so, he didn’t reach out. That was okay. He hadn’t made any promises.
Snuggled back under my covers, I fell back asleep, and not long after my alarm went off, I heard a subtle knock on my door. It was loud enough I could hear it but not so loud that I couldn’t choose to pretend I hadn’t.
He was telling me he’d take whatever I offered, and I knew he wouldn’t push.
But as I’d said the day before, I craved him.
So I shoved off the covers and stretched in my skimpy nightie, calling out to him in a louder voice than the knock. “Do you need something, Thain?”
The door cracked open.
He stepped inside and growled as his gaze slid across my barely dressed frame. “You're wearing too much, sweet one, but fortunately,” he stalked across the room and stopped with our bodies brushing, “I'm the right male to take care of that error on your part.”
As he tucked his face into my neck and growled some more, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and slid my fingers into his hair, holding tight. He kissed me, his mouth hot and minty and intoxicating. I melted under his touch, my heart betraying every ounce of logic screaming in my mind. His calloused fingers made quick work of removing my nightie. He tossed it aside and it drifted away like my mind was already doing. My underwear followed. Lifting me, he laid me on the bed, following me down only to sit back on his haunches, his thighs cupping mine. He stared at me. “I do prefer you for breakfast, and I have a feeling this is your favorite meal as well.”
All I could do was tremble and reach for him.
He brushed my hands aside and used his own to roam over my skin like I was all he'd ever need, as if he was claiming every inch of me. My breath hitched as his thumbs brushed the hollow of my waist, lingering there as though it was his favorite spot. Butterflies spun in circles inside my belly, the kind I thought I’d locked away when we ended.
“You're trembling,” he said, his deep voice vibrating through me. I couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement, but I didn't have an answer either way. I was trembling. From his nearness. From the sharp edge of longing that had never fully dulled. And from the way he looked at me as if he truly cared.
“I—” My voice dropped away as he leaned forward to brush his lips on the sensitive spot below my jaw. The years apart evaporated, and everything we were and everything we could be again collided within me.
I tilted my head back and slid my fingers through his hair. I dragged my nails along the nape of his neck, earning a low groan from him that pooled heat in that place between legs that ached for his touch. He was intoxicating, just as he'd always been, but now there was a rawness to him, a hunger that hadn't been there before. It thrilled through me.
“Do you still…” The words slipped out before I could st op them, my voice quavering as I trailed off. Do you still love me? Do you still want me as much as I want you? The questions hung between us, but I knew he could feel them.
His answer didn't come in words but in the way his hands slid up my sides, strong and steady, leaving a trail of sparks behind. He pulled back enough to look at me, his dark eyes smoldering but softened by something that rooted deep in my chest.
“More than ever,” he rasped, his forehead dropping to mine. The intensity of his confession silenced the world around us. I closed my eyes, letting his presence surround me, and for the first time in years, it felt like maybe, just maybe, I could let myself fall for this guy again.
His fingers slid lower, and he traced patterns on my skin, igniting shivers that rippled outward like waves. My breaths turned shallow as I gripped his shoulders, holding onto him as though I'd fall if we lost touch. His hand lingered at the curve of my hip, his thumb brushing dangerously close to where my body already burned for him. My heart thundered in my chest, the rhythm wild and uneven, mirroring the storm of emotions building inside me.
“Ellie,” he said, my name a low growl. My heart twisted at the sound. I'd thought I’d forgotten what it felt like to hear him say my name like that. Thought I’d buried the weight of it somewhere too deep to ever reach my heart again. But here it was, louder than ever.
I opened my eyes to meet his, searching for something I couldn’t name—maybe reassurance. What I found in his gaze sent a fresh wave of heat coursing through me. There was lust, yes, but something far more dangerous threaded through it, something I wasn’t ready to name out loud.
His hands moved again, skimming lower as he slid over to rest his body beside mine, his warmth enveloping me. It was dizzying, overwhelming, and everything I’d forgotten I craved. Every touch, every kiss, every graze of his skin against mine pulled me deeper into the dangerous territory of hope.
If he could ruin me, then he could also heal me. I made a silent promise. I’d open myself to him again. I'd let him inside.
His fingers slid between my legs. I gasped and arched my back. My body had been waiting for this exact moment for longer than I dared to admit. His explored me like he was rediscovering familiar territory that had somehow become foreign during our time apart. When he slid one finger inside me, his thumb stroking the bundle of nerves at the top, my breath hitched again. The sound seemed to stoke the fire in his eyes. Those golden, intent eyes never left mine. He watched my every reaction. I was on fire for him, and he knew it.
“Ellie,” he said again, his voice rougher, bordering on a growl. The sound thudded deep in my chest, scattering whatever remained of my restraint. His hand moved, his fingers pumping in and out of me, coaxing sensations from me that had been dormant for too long. I let myself go, yielding to him in ways I hadn’t since before the heartbreak and the walls I'd built to keep myself safe from him.
It was dangerous, this reunion of ours. This slow unraveling of everything I was sure I’d left behind. But didn’t danger taste sweet when his lips found mine again, stealing the moan that slipped free?
As he skillfully brought me closer to falling apart, he added another finger, stretching me. Everything about this guy was huge, and from the bulge I'd seen in his pants, that matched the rest of him. I couldn’t wait to feel him sinking deep inside me.
I bucked up against his hand, my whimpers echoing in the room.
His scent surrounded me, the minty smell mixed with salt from his skin, and it triggered memories buried deep. I'd never forgotten our moonlit walks, our whispered promises, or the way his arms used to feel like the only safe place in the world.
I didn’t know when the tears started to well, but they started to spill over as his free hand cupped my cheek, guiding my face to look at him. He slowed the pace of his fingers, and his intensity gave way to tenderness as he brushed the edge of my jaw.
“Don’t cry,” he said, his voice gutted.
“I… It feels good.”
“Then take it because it’s all yours. You’re gorgeous like this. Completely mine. Let go for me again?” His fingers started to move, going faster, driving harder all while his thumb stroked and stroked and stroked.
My body responded before my mind could catch up, my hips rocking against his hand as my breathing quickened, each thrust of his hand tearing me apart and putting me back together again. His words echoed in my ears. Completely his. The thought didn't scare me any longer.
“Say it, Ellie.” He brushed his lips against the shell of my ear, his voice dark and velvety. His fingers thrust deeper, curling just right, sending a shattering wave of pleasure racing through me. “Say you’re mine.”
The demand ignited something reckless inside me. “I’m yours,” I cried, my voice trembling and my body beginning to collapse along with it. The truth of it scraped through the remaining guards around my heart. There was no use pretending otherwise. Not when he was unraveling me with every word, every touch, every moment that felt like it could rewrite our past.
He growled, the sound warm against my skin. Rising over me, he moved his hand faster, pumping into me with a fury that made every thought fly from my mind. He kissed along the column of my neck as his hand worked me higher. The ache that had been buried for years turned molten, surging through me with every flick of his thumb. I was ready to crash, to shatter beneath his touch, and when his tusks scraped against my shoulder, that was all it took.
I came apart with a cry, clinging to his shoulders as pleasure splintered through me in sharp, blinding waves. He didn’t stop, his steady rhythm drawing every last tremor from me until I finally slumped on the bed, boneless and dazed.
His hand slid away, and he peppered soft kisses along my cheek and jaw as he brought me back down from the high he’d taken me to.
Sliding back to my side, he wrapped his arms around me, cradling me like I was something precious.
“You’re everything to me, Ellie,” he said, his voice rough with emotion, his forehead pressing against my temple. “You always were. Always will be.”