She wrapped her legs tighter about him, rising to meet each thrust. The water sloshed around them, but every time she’d start to notice it, Elliot would send some new sensation coursing through her body that shattered her concentration. His mouth moved over her breasts, his lips teasing her nipples, sucking and tugging, while he thrust in and out of her. His rhythm increased, bringing her closer and closer until she cried out, the pleasure exploding inside her until all she could do was hang on to him and tremble.
He came a moment later, his arms crushing her to him while he pulsed inside her. Lena leaned into him, her body limp and boneless, floating in the water. Elliot kept his arms around her, cuddling her.
“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” he asked.
Lena laughed. “No. That wasn’t bad at all.”
Truthfully, she still wasn’t very comfortable floating in the water. But snuggled against Elliot’s chest, his body anchoring her, it wasn’t quite as terrifying as it had been a few minutes ago. And she did enjoy the heat of the water soaking into her body, the silky feel of Elliot’s body behind her.
“See, you’ll be ready for a full-blown swimming pool in no time.”
Lena shook her head, rubbing her cheek across his chest. “That might be a little optimistic. This, though,” she said, letting her fingers trail up his skin, “this I might be able to handle again.”
“Hmm.” He tilted her face up so he could give her a long, lingering kiss. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can do.”
Lena smiled against his lips. “Deal.”
Chapter Thirteen
Elliot sat across from his parents at the huge table in one of the hotel’s conference rooms. He’d just delivered his presentation. Handed them a brief but detailed business plan in professional-looking folders. Gone through his entire idea from top to bottom. He’d done well. For the first time in his life, he cared about doing well. It was a good idea, and it deserved a shot. The fact that his parents actually seemed to be discussing it, instead of shooting him down at the get-go, stoked the little flame of hope in his chest. He really, truly believed they might say yes.
He should have known better.
He knew what his father was going to say the moment he stood up, before he even said a word.
“Look, Son, I’m happy to see you focusing on something…worthwhile for a change.”
“But?” Elliot said, knowing there was a “but” coming.
“However…”
Elliot’s excitement evaporated on a wave of disappointment so strong he thought he’d choke on it. He should have known. He had known. He’d just been too stupid. He concentrated on controlling his breathing, slowing the surge of anger that was fast overtaking his disillusionment. Losing his temper wouldn’t help anything.
His father glowered at him. “However, we do not feel this is the direction the charity should go at this time. With the funds we raise, we help several charities—”
“Yes, but the problem is, we don’t ever use the money for the same charities,” Elliot cut in. “The charities we donate to can’t count on us for funds every year. I’m not saying that the ones we choose aren’t worthy of the money. But it’s like we sprinkle little bits here and there on whatever happens to be popular each year. If we concentrate on one specific area, we’d be able to make a huge difference.”
His mother chimed in. “The charities we donate to appreciate the money. Even if we wanted to take it in another direction, I’m not sure that I approve of the one you’ve chosen. There are those less fortunate and more in need of the help—”
“Are you saying foster kids don’t need help?”
His father’s scowl deepened. “Of course we aren’t saying that. However, they do have funds for their care provided from the state. There are others who would benefit more.”
“It’s not nearly enough. Those kids—”
His father held up his hand. “For now, we’d prefer you to keep the focus on the way things are currently run. Everything is already in place and runs smoothly. All you need to do is keep persuading the donations out of our donors.”
Elliot clasped his hands in front of him, his jaw clenching with the aching desire to respond. Sure. His family was happy to have him on board. As long as he kept his mouth shut and did what they told him to do. No rocking the boat, no new ideas. Just sit behind the desk and flip the switch like the trained monkey he was. His family didn’t really want him to be involved. There was just nowhere else to stick him.
But that wasn’t enough for him anymore. Maybe it never had been; he’d just been too lazy to do anything about it. Until he’d met Lena. She’d made him come alive. Made his desire to do something worthwhile with his life increase to the point that he’d never be able to go back to how he’d lived before. She’d changed him. For the better. And he liked the new him. If his parents didn’t… Well, maybe he didn’t need them in his life.
He couldn’t say a word of that to them, though. At least not at that moment. His sister was getting married the next day. He wouldn’t spoil her day with his nonsense.
His mother stood and he followed suit, his manners automatically kicking in. A lady stood, therefore so would he. Good monkey, treat for you.
She walked by and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You have a good heart, Elliot. You just need to make sure it doesn’t get…misdirected.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
She laughed a little. “Oh, come now. You’ve been running the charity for several years. You’ve never shown any sign of wanting to change things. Suddenly, you spend a few nights with that…girl… And you’re full of ideas about foster children? It isn’t difficult to see where that came from. I realize with her background, funding foster children might seem appealing, but that doesn’t mean we need to let her disrupt something that has run perfectly well for years.”
“First of all, I’m not sure why you think Lena’s background would make her predisposed to helping foster children. Other than the fact that they are children who could use some help and she has a child. Oz and Lena never spent time in the foster care system. Their parents died when they were both adults. Not that it would matter to me if they had. Second, this is something I’ve wanted to do for several years. I was never organized enough to make a real go of it. Lena isn’t disrupting anything. She’s improving everything.”
The disdainful disbelief on his parents’ faces was almost more than Elliot could take.
“I find the timing of this a bit…odd,” his mother said. “Up until now, your ideas had to do with making more money for the charity, taking what we’ve already established and making it better. Something we’d support if you came up with something substantial and executable. But now, that girl spends the night in your hotel room, and you suddenly want to revamp our charity into something unrecognizable. Benefitting one group of children instead of the many we currently help.”
Elliot shook his head. “The charity doesn’t help nearly as many as it could. The resources are spread too thin. Nothing is ever guaranteed. No one can really count on us. This plan,” he said, jabbing a finger at the folder in front of him, “gives us a true purpose. Yes, it focuses on one group of children, but it’s a group who can really benefit.”
His parents’ expressions didn’t change at all. Nothing he said was making a dent. He shoved the folder away from him, exhaling in disgust. “You never had any intention of letting me do anything useful, did you?”
“Excuse me?” his mother said.
“You’ve wanted me more involved for years. I’m doing exactly what you wanted. I came up with a good, solid idea, and it’s not just some whim I pulled out of thin air. It’s researched and thought out and planned down to the last detail. There’s no reason for you not to get behind this.”