“You want me to arrange a different flight?” I offered.
“I want you to take me back to Blaine’s.”
“No.” That wasn’t an option. She was coming home and staying home.
Maybe if she hadn’t told me she loved me, I could have let her stay in California. It would have been a struggle, especially now that I’d been inside her. But once those words had left her pretty mouth, she’d set our fate in stone.
“You can’t make me go with you, Douchebag.”
Jaw clenched, I chose to ignore her new nickname for me. It wasn’t unwarranted, but I wanted to be her Zachary again, damn it.
“Your mom will be upset if she finds out about what your roommate did,” I reasoned. “And you shouldn’t leave her shorthanded. She was depending on you.”
“What my mom doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” She crossed her arms over her chest, side-eyeing me. “I’m sure you’ll agree with me on that.”
“I don’t.”
Her head snapped around, her eyes narrowing on me. “So you want her to know we fucked?”
I grasped her chin. “We didn’t fuck.”
Nostrils flaring, she glared up at me. “Right. Sorry, I forgot. It never happened.”
“Oh, it happened.” Lowering my head, I skimmed my nose up her throat to her ear. “I’ll never forget how good it felt to have your sweet little pussy wrapped around my cock, Elli. But I didn’t fuck you.”
Her breath hitched, but that didn’t stop her from sassing me. “It seems we remember things differently, then.”
Biting back a curse, I opened the door. Placing her on the seat, I slid out and then reached back in to offer her my hand. She stared down at it dispassionately. “Elli,” I warned. “I will carry you.”
“I’ll scream. I’ll make a huge scene. Tell anyone who will listen that you kidnapped me. This isn’t Virginia. No one here is under your reign.”
“But are you sure? Maybe I know people here.” She gave me a withering look, but when I just cocked a brow at her in challenge, she sighed and finally placed her hand in mine. “Good girl.”
A little tremble went up her arm, and I had to fight a groan. She liked being praised. How the fuck was I going to keep my hands off her while I gave her body time to recover from our first time with that knowledge bouncing around in my head?
Once her feet were on the ground, she tried to pull her hand free. Entwining our fingers, I guided her toward the stairs of the jet. While the driver unloaded her luggage and a crew member wheeled it toward the plane, she slowly climbed the steps ahead of me. I stayed back, enjoying the view of her rear in tight yoga pants.
I knew what that perfect ass felt like in my hands. Soon, I was going to find out what it tasted like.
At the top of the stairs, she glanced over her shoulder to see if I was following. When she saw I was still at the bottom, she put her hands on her hips. “Changed your mind?”
“No, baby. I’m just enjoying the view.”
Rolling her eyes, she turned and entered the jet. Fighting a smile, I followed. One of the two flight attendants rushed around to make Ellianna comfortable, while her partner stood waiting for me. “Would you like a drink, Judge Bennet?”
I shook my head. Alcohol was the last thing I needed when it was already a struggle to keep my hands off the beautiful little blonde who was doing everything she could not to look my way. “I’m fine. Just make sure Ellianna is comfortable.”
She inclined her head in acknowledgment. I’d barely noticed either of the attendants on the flight from Virginia. They had both been very professional and only approached periodically to ask if I’d needed anything. Mostly, I’d been trapped in the hell of my own memory and what I was going to do next.
Questioning my moves was something I was unused to, but the few times it did happen in my life were for the same reason. Ellianna. I still wasn’t completely sure how to proceed from this point, but I knew I couldn’t go back to the way things were before I tasted her.
Ellianna had picked a window seat. Her belt was already on, and she glanced around like she’d never been on a private plane before. When she and Lyla were younger, I would take them both on vacation every summer for a week or two. Every time, I chartered a jet. Maybe I should have just bought one, but I didn’t fly often enough to consider it necessary.
I took the seat across from her. “Are you hungry?”
Keeping her attention out the window, she answered with a clipped, “No.”
She hadn’t eaten the night before, and I had no way of knowing if she’d gotten something on the commercial flight she’d taken. Had she eaten before she’d gotten to the apartment and had to deal with her roommate’s bullshit? I didn’t know, and it drove me crazy. She hadn’t been getting enough meals in fuck knew how long.
“Did you eat? I had the delivery person drop the groceries off at Blaine’s apartment after I found out about the roommate incident.” And then I’d canceled the calendar reminder for the weekly order.
That got her attention. Slowly turning her head, she met my gaze. “You had the groceries delivered?” I shrugged. “Was it payment for last night?”
“Elli,” I growled, pissed that she was going there. “Do not start right now, baby.”
“Ellianna,” she corrected.
“Elli.” I leaned forward, daring her to argue. Her eyes flared with anger, but she didn’t respond. I loved seeing the flash of sass even as she obeyed my silent command. “Did you eat?” I repeated.
Huffing, she turned her eyes back to the window. “I had a bagel.”
“Fuck.” Sitting back, I combed my fingers through my hair. A bagel. In twenty-four hours, all she’d eaten was a goddamn bagel. I signaled the flight attendant.
“Judge Bennet?”
“As soon as we’re in the air, bring us food,” I instructed.
“Yes, sir. What would you prefer?”
“Everything.”
Chapter 18
Judge
Bowing her head, the woman went to take her place as the pilot announced we were departing. Ellianna sighed. “Didn’t I just tell you I’m not hungry?”
“You’re going to eat.” Fastening my seat belt, I stretched out my legs. “And then you will sleep.”
She didn’t argue, but I couldn’t relax. Until she was fed and safely tucked in with a blanket wrapped around her while she pillowed her head on my chest, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else. While the pilot did his job of getting us safely in the air, I sat there and took simple pleasure in watching her.
Her shoulders were stiff, but I could see the exhaustion weighing down on her. I doubted she’d slept since she’d left the house the night before. I sure as fuck hadn’t. Not once in the twenty minutes it took before we were given the clear to move around freely did she so much as blink as she kept her focus on the window.
“Elli.” Unsnapping my seat belt, I sat forward. All the seats were in clusters of four, separated by a half wall that hid the galley and the flight attendants’ area at the front of the plane.