Page 19 of Room 710 (The Scarlet Hotel #15)

Ziggy

Sunlight, warm and golden behind my eyelids, woke me gently.

The bed was like a cocoon, soft and warm, and I stretched my whole body, arms over my head and feet arched so hard it almost made my toes cramp.

I couldn’t remember the last time I slept so well, and when I opened my eyes and saw Eli in bed beside me, I realized why.

He made me feel safe, as if nothing could ever hurt me, even when we were sleeping.

I sighed blissfully, taking in every detail of him.

I’d only ever seen the man impeccably put together, in pressed suits, clean-shaven, hair styled, and his entire body alert and focused on me, like a tiger.

This was a whole new look for him, and I was here for it.

He was sprawled across the mattress, one arm extended as if he’d been reaching for me in his sleep.

He was dressed in nothing but a bathrobe, the edges of the white terrycloth having separated to leave most of his chest exposed, though unfortunately, still retaining his modesty.

He had thick dark chest hair, just like I’d imagined, but if he rolled just a bit, I might get a flash of nipple.

I was tempted to reach over and move the fabric myself, but I was reminded of that expression: Let sleeping dogs lie .

Ohhh, and the whiskers! I loved the facial hair on him, roughing up his perfect image, and I indulged in a few fantasies, wondering what they would feel like against my skin—my neck, chest, sensitive inner thighs… my ass cheeks as he delved between them.

Shit, and now I was hard. Just as Eli began to stir.

I quickly arranged the blankets to cover my boner as his eyes fluttered open.

It took him a moment for his eyes to focus, but when they did, they locked firmly on mine. “Hi,” he whispered, his voice raspy and dry.

“Hi.” I smiled shyly at him.

After a pause, he winced. “Look, about last night…”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving him off, but he refused to be ignored.

He plowed forward with his apology, determined to say his piece. “No, seriously. Ziggy. I shouldn’t have said any of those things. I was drunk, but that’s no excuse for making you uncomfortable.”

I frowned. “I wasn’t uncomfortable.”

“You weren’t?”

“No, I was just worried about you. You were pretty sick.” He seemed fine this morning, though. I wish I could shrug off a hangover like he did. “Those things you said… were they true?” I asked curiously.

He sighed, rolling to look up at the ceiling, unable to hold eye contact. “Yes.”

“Then don’t apologize,” I said simply, heart soaring. Would he act on those words in the light of day? I hoped he would turn back to look at me, but he remained stiff and silent, awkward tension unfurling between us. I liked it better when he was drunk and said exactly what was on his mind.

When the silence had dragged on too long, I rolled off the bed and headed for where I’d left my shoes. “All right, I can take a hint. I’ll see you later, I guess.” He clearly needed me gone, though I had no clue what excuse I could possibly give for sneaking out of the director’s room at 7am.

“What? I didn’t mean— You don’t have to—” He scrambled after me as I headed for the door.

His hand closed around my biceps, halting my retreat, but then he yanked his hand back as though burned, clenching it into a fist. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have—” he said, eyes closed tight.

He huffed a short breath through his nose.

“Why do you make me so flustered? I can’t seem to do this right. ”

“What can’t you do right?” I asked, getting frustrated by his mixed signals.

“This?” Suddenly emboldened, I tipped up onto my toes and pressed my lips to his.

His lips were surprisingly soft, and I wanted nothing more than to linger and explore, but his sharp inhale was like a bucket of ice water, bringing me back to my senses.

Eli’s eyes snapped open, their color like steel, as I dropped back on my heels. “You… you kissed me.”

“You caught that, did you?” I teased awkwardly, wondering if it had been a mistake.

But then whatever doubt I’d seen from Eli vanished like magic, his jaw clenching with determination, and he stepped into my space, his hands coming up to cage me in against the door.

I wasn’t a big guy, but I’d never felt particularly small until this moment, overshadowed by his size.

I gasped as he cupped my jaw in one large hand, my eyes fluttering closed as I waited for him to kiss me back.

When no kiss came, though, I peeked up at him. He was frowning in anguish. “But what about Devon?” he asked.

My eyebrows hiked up in surprise. “What about him? You mean because of the date? The date that was entirely staged by you?” He nodded, and I shook my head in reply.

“There’s nothing going on with Devon. He thought going into his room would be good for ratings, but that’s it.

We just watched a movie and ate overpriced room service. ”

“Really?” His fingers tightened on me, and I got the impression he was just barely hanging on by a thread.

I smirked up at him, reaching for his robe’s belt and giving it a tug. “You of all people should know you can’t believe everything you see on TV.”

Groaning, he fell into me at last, his hand sliding around to the back of my neck to hold me in place while his lips crashed down on mine.

He took control of the kiss this time, and I handed over the reins gladly.

When he dragged his tongue along the seam of my lips, I opened for him, and he licked through my mouth expertly, guiding without overpowering.

He pressed me back into the door, pinning me with ease, his knee wedged between my legs.

My skin flushed with heat, slick dampening the back of my briefs.

He swallowed down every moan and whimper, seemingly in total control of himself, while I rode his muscular thigh, searching for friction.

This was, hands down, the best kiss I’d ever had.

And even though it felt like we were moving at lightning speed, it also felt like nowhere near fast enough.

We hadn’t gone on a single date—couldn’t, even, as long as I was still a contestant on the show—but my brain was already painting a future for me with him in it.

So even as I knew I should be putting on the brakes, my body said go, go, go!

Carding my fingers into his hair, I tugged firmly. “Eli, I need more.” I sounded needy as hell, which… I was.

His grin turned devious. “You need more? Oh, I can give you more.” He bent down and gripped the backs of my thighs, lifting me with ease.

I hooked my ankles behind his back and let him carry me back to the bed, where he laid me down more gently than I would’ve liked.

“These clothes will have to go, though.”

I nodded fervently and grabbed the hem of my button-up and tried to peel it up and off, but it got stuck around my chin.

While I was caught in the fabric, I felt Eli’s fingers working at my belt, working on my bottom half as I struggled with the top.

Damn, I wish I’d thought to wear my lace last night.

At last, I was naked, my cock lying hard and heavy on my stomach.

Eli stood above me, his pupils blown as he took me in.

I wondered what he saw in me. I wasn’t particularly toned or curvy or seductive in any way, but he looked like a man starved, ready to devour me whole.

“You are so perfect,” he whispered, the need in his voice sending goosebumps scattering.

I was tempted to argue his words, but it was hard to refute when his own erection had escaped from between the edges of his robe, the crown deep red and dripping precum. Still half hidden, I could only guess how big he was, but I was dying to find out.

He placed his hands on my thighs and caressed them, running a firm touch all the way up to the crease of my hips.

“Please say I can have a taste,” he murmured, leaning down to trace his nose along my length, inhaling deeply.

“I have been dreaming about lavishing you with attention, showing you everything you deserve.”

“Y-yes, do that,” I stuttered. Shit, he’d barely touched me, and already I felt like I was going to blow.

And then, he wrapped a hand around the base of my cock and tilted it up to his lips.

“Fuuuuuck,” I groaned as he engulfed me in his warm, wet mouth.

He moved slowly, with the softest suction, as if he knew just how close I was, all the way until I felt the head nudging at the back of his throat—and then he swallowed .

I might’ve blacked out for a second, because suddenly I woke up to find my hips bucking off the mattress, fucking into his mouth.

Using hands and feet, I grappled at his robe. “Off, get this off,” I demanded.

He reluctantly stopped long enough to toss it aside with a growl, then went right back to his feast without giving me a chance to admire his thick build.

He brought his hand down to my ass, teasing a fingertip at the tight pucker there.

“I can’t wait to get into this tight, greedy hole of yours. So perfect…”

I couldn’t wait for him to claim me wholly, to stretch me and fill me with his… Oh, shit.

“Eli,” I whined. “You have to stop.” I had just realized we had a very serious problem.

To his credit, he stopped immediately, blinking up at me, looking sex-drunk and half delirious. “Are you okay? Was I too rough?”

I groaned. “You were awesome, but um, you have a condom, right?” He was a hot, virile alpha, so he probably carried one around in his wallet for emergency sex purposes, right?

His hands stilled where they were kneading into my hips. He rose up to look at me. “No. Don’t you?”

“Believe it or not, but I wasn’t exactly planning on having sex with anyone while being filmed for TV.

” Was that na?ve of me? Maybe. I was on suppressants, a shot every three months, but pregnancy was only one concern.

I gnawed on my lower lip, fully regretting what I was about to say.

“I can’t… We can’t have…” I began, my nerves sizzling as I waited to see what kind of reaction he would give.

He wouldn’t be the first alpha to lose his temper when he heard the word no.

Eli crawled up the bed and lay down beside me, struggling to control his breathing. “No, we can’t. Not today.”

Most alphas I’d met would have tried to convince me to have sex anyway, promising their tests were negative and that they would pull out in time, but having been raised by a single mom, I wasn’t looking to get pregnant until I was certain it was forever, and no birth control was 100% effective. “You’re not mad?” I asked warily.

“Of course not, I could never! I’m proud of you for taking care of yourself.

You’re such a good boy for not taking the risk,” he said, pulling me close.

I shivered from the unexpected words of praise.

He resumed kissing down my neck and nipping at my collarbone, before his tongue dipped into the hollow at the base of my throat.

“I’m fine if you want to stop, but I’m game if you still want to do other things. ”

“Yes, please,” I panted. “I want all the things.”

Eli laved over my nipple, licking and biting, then sucked up marks across my chest, where they would be easily covered by clothes. No one watching on TV would have a clue how I’d been claimed. But I would know…

Never in my life had I felt so adored, like I was the center of his universe and his own pleasure came second to mine. “I want to take care of you, Ziggy, in every way,” he said, his breath tickling my skin.

“Only if you’ll let me take care of you too.” I wrapped my hand around his shaft, dragging my thumb over the slit to smear through his precum.

He smirked. “I’m sure we can come up with something…

” He rolled to his back, taking me with him and guiding my legs so I was straddling him, then collected slick across his palm and wrapped his hand around both our cocks, pressed tightly together.

“I want you to fuck me, Ziggy. Take everything you need from me.”

“Oh gods.” I moaned. I rolled my hips, our shafts sliding against each other. He kept a tight grip on me, coaxing me to move with a hand on my hip. The slick acted as lube, creating a smooth glide.

And when he leaned up and captured my lips with his, I was utterly lost. He fucked my mouth with his tongue like I wished he could do with his cock in my ass.

I rutted against him, hard and fast, and when he speared my hole with one of those deliciously thick fingers, I cried out, my rhythm stuttering.

“Come for me, baby,” he growled against my lips, desperately holding on.

Heat and pressure collided, my balls clenching as I came hard over his hand and stomach.

Eli watched, transfixed. “Oh shit, Ziggy, you’re so beautiful when you come,” he panted.

He thrust against me one last time with a guttural grunt, his own seed joining the mess.

We both collapsed, totally wrecked. He carefully released his hold on my cock and brought his hand up to his mouth for a taste. “Mm, we taste good together.”

I laughed. Maybe it was just the sex-induced oxytocin, but in this moment, it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. And when he offered me a taste, I decided he was right.