Thirty-Six

                                    

                                          
Elijah
                          
The walk back to Asher and Noelle's room is silent, our hands brushing against each other as we stroll back through the hallways. When we reach the door, Noelle clears her throat and says, "I think we should talk to Asher about this, don't you?" 
                          
"Yes. Do you want me to—"
                          
"No. I think I should. But I want you there." 
                          
"All right," I say, and she pushes their door open. 
                          
Asher is sitting in front of the fireplace, his shirt unbuttoned and pants unfastened, the waistband of his boxers peeking out. His eyebrows raise when he sees me enter the room. "Eli. Is everything all right? What are you doing in here?" 
                          
I sit in the chair opposite him as Noelle perches on the coffee table in front of both of us. "Everything is fine, Ash. I wanted to talk to you about something," she says, pushing her hair out of her face. 
                          
He quirks his lips to the side. "I'm assuming this has something to do with Elijah." 
                          
"Yeah. Asher, you know as well as anyone that Elijah is my mate, and..." She looks away from me and fiddles with a loose string on the hem of her skirt. "And we aren't solidifying the bond. But he...understands that I must have my needs met, and I—I want him to be a part of it." She bites her lip as she searches his face before saying, "When anything happens with you—or Killian or Remi—I want Elijah to be there." 
                          
Asher lifts his gaze to me and slowly says to Noelle, "Whose idea was this?" 
                          
She purses her lips and says, "Mine. But if I had my way, I'd be having sex with Elijah. And him alone." 
                          
I rub my chin and lips to hide my smile. Despite our limitations, there is something about her telling him that she wants me and no one else that sets my heart racing. It is common knowledge that he—nor anyone else—will never hold her heart and soul the way I do.
                          
His gaze darts between us before settling on me. "This is what you want—to watch me take your mate?"
                          
The muscle in my jaw ticks. "No. I want to take her myself. But you know I can't. And this is what she says will help her fulfill the needs that you and I both know she must tend to. So I want to watch you please my mate."
                          
Noelle's gaze is bouncing between us like she's watching a tennis match.
                          
"I'd be lying if I said I don't want to please her. But are you sure about this?" 
                          
"Are you sure?" I ask Noelle, giving her one more chance to back out if she wants to take it.
                          
She leans toward me and spreads her knees, propping her elbows on them, her hair falling across her eyes. "Are you?" 
                          
I lean forward, matching her posture. "Show me what you're wearing under that skirt, princess."
                          
She doesn't even spare Asher a glance as she spreads her knees further, sliding her palms up her thighs and lifting the hem of the short skirt. "There's nothing to show," she murmurs. 
                          
Every part of me stiffens at the soft, bare skin between her legs, but I want to see it all. "Show me how pink and wet you are."
                          
Asher moves from his chair and straddles the coffee table behind her. He kisses her neck and cups her breasts over her tank top. Noelle leans into his chest and spreads her legs wider. Her slender fingers are elegant as she swipes one through the center of her sex. 
                          
"Fuck," I mutter, pulling at the zipper of my pants, wanting so badly to feel those fingers on me.
                          
Asher slides one hand down her stomach and under her skirt, his fingers joining hers. "Goddamn, she is so soft...so wet," he groans, his tongue running down one of the cords in her neck.