Page 30 of Worth the Try (Atlanta Granite #1)

Ansel

I ’M SORE AS hell, my muscles already barking from the intense drills and weights we went through today as I walk into the house.

“Daddy!” Rosalie throws herself into my arms even while I clock Elodie’s expression as she rises from the couch. It’s thunderous.

Part of me thrills to see it. There’s my angry girl. But another part of me wants to shrink back and leave, because I’m positive that the dark fury on her face is one hundred percent my doing.

“Hi, sweetie,” I tell Rosalie, giving her my full attention. “How was your day?”

“Good!” She wiggles in my arms. “I finished my puzzle, and we colored, and Elle Belle made me a butterfly grilled cheese sandwich.”

“Sounds delicious,” I say with a smile.

“And we had a lady visit,” she continues, then twists to look at Elodie. “What was her name? Lauren?”

I stiffen, sliding my eyes to Elodie’s.

Elodie raises a brow at me before saying, “Yes. Lauren.”

Rage courses through me, followed immediately by fear. I will tear that woman apart, limb by limb. “And what did this Lauren want?”

Rosie shrugs, then wiggles down. “Dunno. Elle Belle told me to leave.”

Lauren saw her. My thoughts spin, fury beginning to color my vision.

“Rosie bug, do you mind watching the movie by yourself while your dad and I get dinner ready?” Elodie asks, then tips her head to the kitchen.

I follow her. The second we’re out of earshot, I start, “Elodie?—”

She whirls, her finger pointing accusingly at me. “What the fuck was that woman doing here, Ansel?”

I blink, stunned. “I?—”

“And how dare you leave me unprepared,” she hisses. “I haven’t asked about Rosie’s mom because it was obvious you weren’t ready to tell me. A choice that I stupidly respected. And clearly, that was the wrong thing to do, because but what happened today? Unacceptable.”

“I know.” Regret slams into me, shooting ice through my veins. God, I am such an idiot. I should have gone after her last night. I should have told her a month ago. I reach for her. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you ages ago.”

“No shit!” she counters, moving from my touch. “Was she the one behind us being followed?”

I hesitate.

“Oh my God,” she breathes. “This is all tied together. How could you leave me in the dark, Ansel?” Tears spring to her eyes, and she blinks them away.

I step toward her, and she backs up. “No. These are angry tears, not sad ones.”

“I know.” I study her body language as we move across the kitchen, her going backward as I follow, until we come to a stop.

She’s pinned against the counter, caged between my arms, her chest heaving as she glares at me.

I take her in, marveling at those gorgeous hazel irises that are so much like my daughter’s.

Take in the wild mass of brown curls that are so quintessentially Elodie that I can’t imagine her any other way.

Curls that give her the ability to tame Rosie’s hair without a second thought.

She’s furious, but clarity slams into me about why.

Still, I need to confirm it. “You’re not angry at me , are you? ”

She sucks in a breath, her whole body trembling, as she gives a shake of her head.

“You’re angry because my not telling you made you feel like you couldn’t protect Rosie.”

A single tear slides down her cheek as the sweatshirt she wears slips down one shoulder. She lifts her chin and glares at me. “Don’t you ever put me in that position again. Do you understand me?”

Desire, white-hot and unrelenting, surges through my body. I need her. Right now. I don’t bother parsing it. Instead, I grip her hand and yank her to come with me.

“Ansel!” she hisses, still mad.

It only turns me on even more. I grip her hand harder, looking back to press a finger to my lips as we ascend the stairs.

Her eyes flash, but there’s a spark of anticipation in them.

Up the stairs, down the hall, into my room, the door snicking softly into place behind us. The click of the lock. Her legs, freckled and thick and clad in loose lounge shorts. The line of bare stomach with each breath she takes.

“Take off your clothes,” I demand roughly. My need for her is all-consuming, and it’s taking everything in me not to throw her to the bed and have my way with her. To claim her and beg her forgiveness and lay my life in her hands in one fell swoop.

“Not until?—”

“Take. Off. Your. Clothes.”

She blinks. Swallows.

I clench my fists, and my next words come out with a growl.

“Let me be clear. What you did—what you said down there—you’ve ruined me.

You’ve cut me off at the knees, and I will never recover.

Ever. So I need you naked. Immediately. And if you don’t make it happen in the next two seconds, then I’m going to do it for you. ”

She hesitates for another second, and I start toward her.

It’s enough to convince her. Eyes wide, she launches into action, pulling her clothes off at the same rate as I’m undressing, and then I’m on her.

Skin to skin, mouth to mouth. Teeth and tongues clash as I grip her hips so tight they’ll bruise. She scrapes her nails down my back, and it hurts. It hurts so fucking good.

Ripping my mouth from hers, I push her to the bed and crawl on after her, throwing her legs apart and diving between them. She’s already soaked, and I groan as her taste hits my tongue.

A low moan issues from her, and I nearly come right then. “Ansel,” she groans. “Fuck. Now. I need you now.”

I pull away from her delicious pussy and move to get the condom.

“No,” she demands. “Bare. Fuck me bare.”

I freeze.

She pins me with her eyes. “I’m on the pill. I know we’re both clean. I can’t have kids anyway. Now fuck me, Ansel. Fuck me until?—”

I don’t let her finish. I jerk her into position below me and claim her mouth, pushing my tongue into her mouth as I slide my cock into her pussy.

We both groan, and I pull back and thrust in again. And again. And again. I’m nearly out of my mind with how good she feels. Hot and slick and…fuck. I can’t think. Can’t process anything except her. The smell of her skin, the scrape of her nails, the way she’s writhing beneath me.

“God, yes,” she chants as I thrust. “Right there. Please. Right there. More. Deeper. Fuck,” she whimpers on an inhale. Her eyes are wide, irises blown as I pound into her, giving her what we both need, letting my actions tell her everything I haven’t let myself utter.

I need you. I can’t lose you. You’re perfect. Stay with me. Be mine. Always.

We stare at each other, breathing hard, sweat beading.

I want to cry. I want to roar. I want fucking everything, and it’s all too much.

Her walls tighten around me as she gasps my name, and in seconds, she detonates, her teeth digging into my shoulder and nails into my ass as I go harder, deeper, more, more , until I find my own release.

I barely repress the shout, groaning into her neck as I give one final thrust, feeling my cock jerk inside her still-clenching walls.

“Elodie,” I groan softly. “Elodie, Elodie, Elodie.”

She hums in response, digging her nails into my sweaty scalp before trailing them down my back. “That was…”

“That was,” I agree, kissing her neck and making my way to her mouth. I take it deeply, relishing the kiss as I thrust one last time into her. Finally, I pull out and roll to the side, trying to catch my breath.

A quiet giggle emerges from Elodie. “Did you really just do that?”

I turn my head to smile at her, sated. “Which part?”

Her eyes glitter. “Get turned on because I was mad about Lauren?”

I rise on my elbow, tracing a finger over and around one breast, then the other. Finally, I meet her eyes. “Yes.” I huff a laugh. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but…yeah.”

Gentling her expression, she says, “Good.” Then she leans up to kiss me. “Come on.” She sits up, then pauses, bending to kiss my tattoo. “Love these things,” she murmurs, gripping my thighs as she kisses it.

I watch as she rises from the bed, her ass wiggling deliciously as she walks to the en-suite bathroom and shuts the door.

I take my turn next, and when I emerge, Elodie is already dressed, her hand on the doorknob.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I ask.

“Dinner won’t make itself,” she answers, opening the door as I grab my underwear and shorts from the floor. “But this changes nothing. You owe me a very, very thorough story.”

I nod. “I do. After Rosie goes to bed. And Elle?”

She turns back from where she’d already started to leave.

“What you said back there.” I jerk my head to the bed behind me. “We’re going to talk about that, too.”

She lets out a long exhale. “You first. But, yeah. Deal.”

I love her. It hits me like a damn freight train. I love her.

Fuck me. I love her.

Smiling, I finish dressing and hustle downstairs.