Hurt the One You Love Read online

  "Sorry," Elliott said upon spying her with her wet blouse held up in front of her almost bare chest. "You were taking so long, I wanted to be sure you weren't sick or something."

  "I'm fine. Just trying to clean my blouse. Why would you think I was sick?"

  "You ate from the buffet," he began, but before he could finish, the door behind him rattled.

  Before she knew it, Simone was again pressed up against him, though this time it was in the first bathroom stall with a soaking shirt between them. When she opened her mouth to protest, he covered it with his hand. His palm pressed her lips against her teeth.

  Her knees went weak.

  Elliott leaned closer, closer, closer, but he didn't kiss her. Instead, he said into her ear, "Don't say a word. I don't want anyone to know I'm in here with you."

  Chapter 4

  Simone's eyes were very blue in the light streaming down from the hideous overhead fixture. They'd gone first wide, then heavy lidded when he pressed his hand over her mouth, but when he spoke, they narrowed. She nodded though, after a second or so, and he took a chance on uncovering her mouth. Her lipstick had smeared a little, and he used a thumb to wipe the smudge.

  She shrugged herself into her shirt, every motion pushing her against him. In the narrow space, he became very aware of her smell. Floral. Something like lilies, but faint and undercut with the fresher scent of soap and water so that maybe she wasn't wearing perfume at all, but simply smelled of her last shower. It would've been a misstatement to say that he wasn't used to his women smelling so . . . clean . . . because certainly none of them were ever unhygienic. But all of them, to a one, scented themselves so thoroughly that it was hard for Elliott to tell them apart in his memories, when he thought of them at all. Which wasn't often.

  He leaned close again to breathe her in, lips and nose brushing the flesh of her neck. She didn't shrink away from him, but instead turned her head to give him complete access to her skin. That simple acquiescence, along with the way she'd so readily given in to the press of his hand over her mouth urging her to silence, sent a rush of sensation straight to his cock.

  "Shhh," Elliott mouthed against her as the sound of voices rose and fell outside the stall. Simon sighed softly but didn't say a word. "Good girl," he breathed.

  At that, she pulled away from him enough to shoot him another narrow-eyed glare. It seemed all he could do tonight was misjudge women, but too late now because the voices outside the stall were louder and closer, and they didn't sound like they planned on leaving anytime soon. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. Judging by the rustle of clothing and murmurs, the people on the other side of the door were going to be there for quite awhile.

  When the doorknob turned, he should've stepped away from Simone and made his apologies, ducking out. Instead, he'd overreacted, pushing her into this bathroom stall, where she was pressed up against him as though she'd been made to fit there. Now, they were trapped. The only way to deal with it was to wait it out, or to open the stall door and reveal themselves in this compromising position--which would be more embarrassing than if he'd simply left when the door opened originally.

  "Oh, honey, that feels real nice," said a low male voice from outside the stall. "Yeah, a little harder. Sure, use your teeth a little."

  Against him, Simone shuddered with laughter, eyes bright. She clapped a hand over her own mouth to keep the noise muffled, and Elliott relaxed. Just a little. She wasn't going to give them away.

  He became uncomfortably aware, however, of how she felt pressed to him. Somehow, his thigh had ended up between hers. With that black skirt she'd magically made shorter in preparation for the party, her thighs were bared to him, and he felt the heat even through the fabric of his trousers. Muscles low in his belly clenched as she rocked herself against him with a motion so slight and small he couldn't be sure if it were on purpose or merely an attempt to get a little more comfortable in the cramped space. Neither of them could move very far without either making a lot of noise or putting a foot in the open toilet.

  Elliott, moving with careful, deliberate silence, reached to lower the toilet lid. This meant he had to push against Simone even more, moving lower over the rounded beauty of her tits and then the firmness of her belly, the curve of her hip, until he could let the lid fall without noise from his fingertips.

  She didn't move, not an inch. Not a breath. Not a blink.

  He wanted to stay this way forever, or at least long enough to slide her skirt up the rest of the way and bury his face in that heat. Was her pussy bare? The women he dated invariably plucked and waxed and shaved themselves to fashion-doll baldness; Elliott had lost his taste for that a long time ago. No, he thought, straightening with that same careful silence, the hair between Simone's legs would be the same glossy black as that on her head. Without thinking, he let one finger stroke the feathery fringes she'd swept forward on her cheek.

  That brought his fingertip dangerously close to her mouth. Unable to stop himself, wondering what the hell had gotten into him tonight, Elliott let his finger drift over her lower lip. Her mouth opened obediently, the wet cave of it beckoning him. He let his finger slip in to test the slickness of her tongue.

  She bit him.

  With a muffled shout, Elliott jerked his finger from her sharp teeth. His elbow jammed the side of the stall. His ass rammed against the door, which opened, and he stopped himself from falling ass-over-teakettle at the last moment only by grabbing on to the door frame.

  She was laughing, not bothering to cover her mouth this time, and pushing past him to get out of the stall.

  "Oops," Simone said to the half-naked couple sprawling on the small bench in the alcove next to the sink. "Carry on!"

  With that, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him behind her, out of the bathroom. Her laughter would've turned heads if anyone had been in the hall outside, but thankfully it was empty. Elliott yanked himself free of her grip, one hand on her wrist. Holding tight. Grinding. He was sure she'd pull away with a yelp and a scowl.

  Simone didn't pull away. She sighed, laughter disappearing, but again her eyes went heavy lidded and that lush mouth parted on a sigh. "Elliott," she breathed.

  He let her go. Stepping backward, smoothing his tie and his wrinkled shirt, Elliott shook off the feeling of her slim wrist in his hand. "I think it's time we leave. Come on. Let's go."

  Blinking, Simone didn't move until he did. Then she stepped quickly after him, catching up to his elbow to snag it and turn him at the end of the hall. "Hey. Wait a minute."

  He didn't want to wait a minute. He hadn't really wanted to come to this party in the first place, hadn't wanted to play Barry's pseudo-political games. He definitely hadn't wanted to end up in a bathroom stall with Simone Kahan. Elliott kept walking.

  "Hey," she said after him, loud enough to draw attention. "Don't walk away from me, that's rude!"

  Her accusation, along with the knowledge that she was right, stopped him. Stiff-backed, Elliott half turned. "Keep your voice down."

  "Why?" Smartly, Simone moved up beside him to look him in the eye. "You afraid someone might stare?"

  "Yes." Elliott frowned, fists clenching until she glanced at them. Then he forced them to loosen. He'd have shoved them in his pockets, but that would ruin the line of his trousers.

  Something softened in her face as she watched him. Incredibly, she moved forward with a hand flat on his chest. The movement made Elliott step back until he hit the wall. "Your heart is beating very fast."

  He put a hand over hers, curling his fingers beneath her palm to break the contact. "I shouldn't have invited you. I knew this wasn't going to work."

  Her lip curled briefly, and she let him go. "What the hell is your problem, really? 'Cuz I can't quite figure you out, you know? A couple minutes ago, you're all up on me like butter on a cob of corn, and now you're acting like I just tracked dirt on your favorite rug."

  Behind them, the bathroom door opened. A smug-looking blonde st