Page 95 of Run

“There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence,” he said.

For a second, David thought he might still be asleep and having the weirdest dream he’d ever had. Then Elle bounced on top of him, making the tassels fly in different directions.

She puffed out a breath toward her forehead, moving her hair out of her eyes. “I spent half an hour trying to make them go in circles but couldn’t get it to work. I suspect you have to use the same movement you use with a hula hoop, and I could never get the hang of that.”

Her expression was expectant, as though waiting for him to say something.

When nothing came to mind, he said, “I can’t hula hoop either.”

“This isn’t working,” she said, her shoulders slumping.

“If you tell me what you’re trying to do, maybe I can help you figure out where it went wrong.” Although, he already suspected that the moment it’d all started to go south was when she’d involved Megan. Wisely, he kept that observation to himself.

“I was trying to initiate sex.” She looked woeful. “You’ve hardly touched me in weeks, and I’m worried you’ve gone off me.”

David didn’t know whether to laugh about her thinking pasties and handcuffs were the way to go or cry with relief that the problem was something he could easily fix. “Ellie Blue,” he said as gently as he was able. “You’ve spent the past month in mourning and recovering from being beaten. Getting physical seemed like a dick move when you were obviously coping with a helluva lot of trauma and loss. I wanted to give you time to heal and to take care of you while you did it.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get over what happened to Marcus…and Ryan,” she said with her usual guileless honesty. “But I feel…stronger, more like myself, every day.”

“I can see that.” He wished he could hold her, comfort her, but the damn cuffs were getting in his way. Sure, he could snap them, but she’d gone to so much trouble to seduce him with them that he wanted to see what she had in mind.

“So, you still want to be with me?” she asked, looking so damn vulnerable.

David rocked his hips up into her, letting her feel just how much he wanted to be with her. “Does that answer your question?”

“No, that tells me you get hard when a naked woman bounces around on top of you.”

She was so damned adorable. “Elle, I’m crazy about you. I love you so much I can barely think straight. I want you every minute of every day. Doesthatanswer your question?”

She melted against him, pressing those crazy pasties to his chest. “I love you,” she whispered, her heart in her eyes.

“I know.”

A wide smile lit up her face. “My man, quotingStar Warsat me. Could you get any more perfect?”

“Uncuff me and we’ll see,” he teased. “For future reference, you don’t need props to seduce me. Being near me is enough. But if you want toinitiate sex, just say, ‘David, I want to have sex.’”

She leaned in to press a kiss to his jaw. “David, I want to have sex.”

“Your wish is my command. Although, how about we save the cuffs for another time?” When she had a better idea of what to do with him while he was in them. “Maybe lose the pasties too, unless you’re really attached to them.”

“That’s the problem,” she said mournfully. “I reallyamattached to them. You had to glue them on, and I’m scared it will hurt to take them off.”

“Blue,” he said, trying not to laugh. “Don’t worry about the pasties. I’ll get them off you, and you won’t feel any pain at all.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

With a happy sigh, Elle reached above him to unlatch the cuffs, brushing his face with the curtain cords. Although he didn’t make a sound, he couldn’t keep his body from shaking.

“You’re laughing at my boobs, aren’t you?”

There was no containing it after that. The laughter just burst out of him.

With his hands freed, he tumbled his woman onto her back beside him. “Never change, Ellie Blue,” he said before kissing her thoroughly.

By the time he was finished, she was rubbing up against him and mewling with need.