“Uh, hey,” he said to her, looking her up and down. He held his cell phone up to his ear. “Hey, sorry. I gotta go. No. I’ll talk to you later.” He barely finished what he was saying on the other line before hanging up on them.
“Hey,” he said again. He pulled the phone away from his ear.
The heat from the apartment flooded into the stairwell.
“Hey,” she said. A smile curled the ends of her mouth. Damn.
His bare chest was spattered with freckles and light blond hair. Dark sweatpants hung off his hips. His hair was deliciously tousled, and Catalina wanted to run her hands through it. She opened her mouth at the same time he did.
“You look good,” they said at the same time, talking over each other.
Catalina laughed to herself. Evan tilted his head down and ran his hand through his hair nervously.
“That was weird. Please come in.”
Catalina wrapped her arms around her torso and followed his lead into his small living room. Evan walked over to the couch and started to put on a shirt. For a brief second as he lifted it over his head, his torso stretched out. His muscles rippled gently with his movement. She shook her head. She couldn’t tell him now. Her head was too clouded by how beautiful his body looked.
“So, what’s going on? I didn’t really expect you to show up at my front door,” he said as he slouched onto the couch. He still had a slight hitch, stepping gently on his left leg.
“Uh…yeah. Sorry about that.” Catalina sat down on the opposite side of the couch. A Philadelphia Flyers game was winding down on the television in front of them. Evan pointed the remote control at the screen and turned it off.
She swallowed roughly. There was a lump growing in her throat. She didn’t know what she expected.
“You know, I probably shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry.” She said as she stood up. You’re losing it here. This was a dumb idea.
“Hey, don’t rush off. What’s going on?” He jumped up to block her from moving toward the door. He winced from the pain in his leg. The heat that radiated off of him warmed her to her bones.
“Cat. Hey, talk to me. What’s up?” His voice was like a song in her ears and her name was beautiful when he said it. His blue eyes sparkled, and he smiled softly at her. She traced the curve of his jaw with her eyes.
“You are an asshole,” she said.
“Hey—what?”
“You heard me. You’re an asshole.” Catalina poked at the front of his shirt with her finger.
“You came over to my house unannounced to call me an asshole?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I did.” Catalina was nodding her head. It was all becoming clearer to her. “I came here to tell you that you are an asshole for being such an amazing guy and good with my kid and nice and handsome and hot and then blowing me off at the bank and at Olivia’s school. You let down my kid and that’s not cool at all. I don’t know what’s going on with your weird hang-ups, but you need to get over them because you said that you loved me. And then you think you can take it back?”
She punctuated her words with pokes into his chest.
“And another thing: You need to talk to people when something is bothering you. You don’t just get to run away, because that’s not what friends do when shit gets tough. We’re supposed to be here for each other.”
Evan sputtered. “Yeah, well. Yeah. I guess—”
“And you think just because you’re sexy and nice that I will keep forgiving you for all the weird stunts you pull? No way, José. You don’t get to throw cookies at me and then disappear and go on with your life like nothing happened. Like we didn’t kiss. Like you didn’t admit that you loved me. Like you don’t want to be with me.”
“Cat—” He put his hands on her upper arms, squeezing her gently.
“You say that you don’t want to be together because of Hudson, and I get that. You don’t want to, like, do a disservice to him or something. And your shitty family made you feel like you can’t be happy, but I’m here to tell you that is total bullshit. You are a good person even if you do asshole things sometimes, and you totally deserve to be happy.” She rambled until she ran out of breath.
His blue eyes never left hers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
He had tried his best to move on after he told Cat that he couldn’t see her anymore. He tried to forget Cat, but he couldn’t. He thought that he saw her on the street once, but it was a stranger. Anytime a woman with long, dark hair came into the bakery, his breath hitched in his chest for a moment before he realized it wasn’t her.
And then she was suddenly in his living room. She was standing there like she owned the place, tearing him down and calling him an asshole, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
He wanted so desperately just to kiss her to get her to shut up, but that was likely just going to piss her off even more.
“Are you done?” he asked seriously when she stopped to catch her breath.
“Yes. I think I’m done.” She huffed.
“Good. Because I think you are totally right.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What?”
“You’re right. I’m a bastard and an asshole, and I let my weird emotional crap get in the way of my life.” He turned her around and pointed at the piles of paperwork on the coffee table. “I was shitty for running out on you and especially for letting Olivia down. I shouldn’t have done that. As for the radio silence for the last few weeks, I was planning on calling you, but I wanted to get everything finalized so I could show you.”
He picked up one of his new business cards, still fresh from the box.
“Sweet Treats.” Catalina read the card he handed to her. She ran her fingertips over the embossed lettering. “What’s this?”
“I did it. I got the loan. I went back and groveled to the manager and explained that I got cold feet. But he loved the business plan you made with me.”
“You did it? You’re doing the business?”
“Yeah, I did.” Evan placed his hands on his hips. His face felt hot with embarrassment— or excitement. “I know it might not seem that cool, but I’m pretty proud of it.”
“No, this is great. I didn’t think you would. You said that you weren’t going to because of your mother.”
“Yeah, well, I talked a lot about that in therapy. Talked about how much you helped me and how I knew I would never be able to get away from that place if I kept showing up for work. After the accident, I realized that they were going to have to be on their own. If I don’t look out for myself, nobody else will.”
“Wow.”
Evan’s breath hitched in his throat, and he paced around in a small circle.
“It’s nothing, really. But I already have a few clients. There’s a new coffee shop by the university that has a standing order, and I got a small rental space downtown. It’s not much, but it’s something.”
She cleared her throat and rubbed the business card between her two fingers.
“I also wanted to say”—she looked up and met his eyes—”that I love you, Evan, and I want to be with you, regardless of whatever makes you think that we can’t.”
The breath sucked out of his body. Catalina’s green eyes were deep and soft, but he couldn’t read them. She leaned gently away from him.
He put his hands on his head. The space between them felt impossibly large. His leg ached from the movement but the words sunk into his chest.
She opened her mouth again, but the words wouldn’t come. Tears pooled in her eyes. He knelt in front of her. His eyes searched hers. He wrapped his large hands over hers. His heart was beating out of his chest. He imagined that his ribs would be sore the next day, but he couldn’t hold his breath any longer.
Hudson’s ghost was still lingering in Evan’s mind. He would always be there. Evan could be loyal to his dead best friend and be miserable for the rest of his life, or he could let himself love her completely and maybe make her happy.
“Do you mean that? Cat,
are you serious?”
“Yes.” His face was so close to hers.
“Can I kiss you?” His eyes searched hers.
She nodded.
He leaned in quickly and captured her lips with his. His mouth slanted against hers and she clutched at the front of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her lips were warm and enveloped him. He wanted more. He wasn’t going to ever let her go again if he could help it. Her body was flushed and hot. She pulled him closer to her, tracing her tongue along his fat bottom lip. She wrapped her legs around his middle and climbed into his lap. His pajama pants were thin and his growing erection pressed between her thighs. She opened her mouth in a low moan.
That’s the most wonderful sound I’ve ever heard.
His eyes shot open at the noise and he growled at her from deep in his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and Catalina moved her lips to his neck, tasting his skin there. He moaned deeply. His skin was hot and tasted salty.
She lapped her tongue against his pulse. She sucked and bit lightly at his neck as his hands roamed over her back and up to her shoulders. He wrapped his hands into her hair, pulled it loose from her shoulders, rubbed at her scalp. It was electric and lit him up from head to toe. She ground against his lap, and between her legs was warm and wet.
She kept grinding at the stiffness of him through his pants. She sucked at his neck and made him groan. She splayed her palms against his stomach under his shirt. He reached and pulled his shirt off his back. He yanked at her sweater and pulled it off of her shirt. He started at the buttons of her shirt while nipping at her bottom lip. She threw her shirt onto the floor and his hands were all over her, tracing the curve of her breast that peeked out of her bra.
He needed to see all of her. His hands searched across her back, tugging at the clasp of her bra.
She pulled her mouth away from his.
“Bedroom,” she whispered. “Please.” She said again, urgency in her voice. He didn’t need to hear any more than that.
He gripped under her ass and pulled her closer to his body. He lifted her and she gasped against his mouth.
His stumbled to his bedroom, kicking open the door and falling on top of Catalina as her body flopped onto his bed. She broke their kiss and giggled. Her lips were already swollen and hot. He chuckled.
“Sorry about that.” he murmured as his mouth trailed along the curve of her neck. His tongue drew lazy circles around her pulse and he kissed her skin sloppily. Her skin tasted like she smelled, and he wanted to taste all of her.
“Don’t worry.” Catalina managed to say and then say moaned that she needed more. She arched her back and tried to meet her hips with his.
He laughed and pulled away his lower body.
“Hey there, tiger. I want to savor this.” He reached behind her back and unlatched her bra. He pulled the straps from her shoulders and she looked away as the cups fell away from her. All of her scars were exposed. She went to cover herself up.
He gasped quietly. “God, you’re amazing.” He wrapped his lips around her nipple. His large hand cupped the other one and rubbed at her in big circles. Her nipples tightened under his lips. He groaned and thrust up against her.
Catalina’s body slackened and Evan felt her let go of the insecurities she had moments earlier. The air was cold on their skin but with the heat between them, they were sweating.
She moaned and pushed her chest into him. She started to unbutton her pants and pull them off her legs while Evan continued to suck on her nipples, switching between them. He bit gently at their peaks and flicked at them with his tongue. Her panting breath egged him on.
“Wait, wait.” Her breath was steaming on his shoulder. “What about condoms?”
“Thinking way ahead, Cat? You haven’t even bought me dinner yet.” He smiled at her.
Catalina rolled her eyes and arched an eyebrow at him. He reached over to the nightstand and pulled out a condom. He wiggled it in front of her face.
“Does this satisfy you?”
“No, but it will help get me there.” Laughter bubbled from her throat.
She tugged at the band of his pants, struggling to push them off his hips. He pushed them off quickly. She adjusted back on the bed and looked at him standing before her. He wanted to cover himself under her gaze, but the way she panted made his muscles flex involuntarily. Her eyes traced the trail of light hair down his abdomen and she licked her lips when she saw his manhood. She leaned over quickly and wrapped her mouth around him.
His head fell back. Her mouth on him made lights explode behind his eyelids. He tangled a hand through her hand and cupped the back of her head. She took him into her mouth slowly, drawing her tongue down his shaft and circling the tip of him. He moaned loudly and rolled his head back.
“Jesus, Cat. You’re going to kill me,” he groaned.
She ran her tongue up and down his length and then leaned back onto the bed.
“I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see how you tasted,” she said.
“Oh, Cat. Now it’s my turn.” He smiled widely at her. He leaned between her legs, pushing them apart gently with his hands.
Her thigh muscles were tight and twitching. She pulled them together at her knees.
He kneaded her muscles. “Relax.”
Evan started by kissing the inside of her thighs softly. Her skin was smooth and warm. Her eyes fluttered shut and she focused on the feel of his mouth on her skin. When his tongue traced along her slit, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She was like a coiled spring, waiting to be released.
“Oh god, Evan. Please. Please.” She thrust her hips up to meet his mouth and snaked her hand through his hair. She tugged gently on his blond curls. He moaned against her.
He started to softly suck on her there and she shuddered against him. Her juices coated his throat and down his chin. He grinned against her. If I wake up and this is all a dream, I’m going to be so pissed.
Her muscles twitched and she yelled his name to the walls around her. As she started to come down from the high of her orgasm, Evan gently kissed at her thighs, a ghost of a smile on his face.
Her breathing started to slow down and she licked her lips.
“You might kill me, Evan,” she said.
He laughed at her. “I’m already in heaven.”
Evan lifted himself from between her legs and came up to her face. He kissed her lips softly, taking her lower lip between his and sucking on it softly. He trailed his tongue on her bottom lip.
She reached between them and took him into her hand, tugging on him slightly. He hissed between his teeth.
“I want to feel you, Evan. I want you,” she said between kissing him.
“I’ve dreamed about you saying that for so long,” he said with a shy smile.
He quickly put the condom on with shaking hands.
She reached down and guided him to her center. He adjusted above her and slid into her easily. They both groaned as he filled her. He moved out of her slowly and back into her. She moved her hips up to meet him and his soul was full.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The morning light sifted through Evan’s curtains lightly. Catalina blinked her eyes slowly. Her eyelids stuck together for a moment. When she reached up to rub them, she studied the ceiling above her. Evan’s apartment was nice, his sheets were clean and warm. His arm was thrown over her chest and they were naked under the sheets. Catalina had fallen asleep after she had lost count of the number of orgasms she had.
She listened to him breathing, the steady rise and fall of his chest next to her. It was her first time spending the night with a man since…Hudson. Suddenly, a weird guilt overcame her. She still tasted the sweetness of Evan’s mouth on her lips. Her body ached from the ministrations of his body on hers. She squeezed her thighs together but she couldn’t think of Hudson while she was laying in Evan’s bed. Hudson wasn’t here. Wasn’t that what she had told Evan?
Evan was alive and lying next to her and
he cared about her and she cared about him. That’s all that she needed. Feeling her tense up, he seemingly tightened his hold around her chest, curling his fingers into her side and pulling her closer to him.
“If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up.” Evan murmured. Catalina could hear the smile curl on his lips as they brushed against her neck. Her hair was wild and loose on the pillow, but she didn’t move to put it up. His breath tickled on her scars. Laughter bubbled out of her.
“Not dreaming, but I might have to hit you if you keep giving me lines like that one.” She playfully smacked his forearm that was wrapped around her body.
His hand ghosted over the curve of her breast. Her nipples started to perk up from the touch of his rough palms. She leaned into the touch. A soft moan came escaped from her throat.
“I’m ready to live in this dream world a little longer.” He nuzzled against the crook between her neck and shoulder. His chest was warm and strong against Catalina’s back.
Catalina tensed up for a moment. This was awfully dreamy. Too perfect, too amazing. The smell of sex in the air, the delicious ache between her legs that was warming up to a fire as he continued to touch her, Evan’s morning gravelly voice in her ear. There was a calm in her belly but her head started to swim. Maybe it was too good to be true.
“It does seem like a dream, doesn’t it?” She said as she opened her eyes and looked around the room.
Evan adjusted and lined his body up with hers more fully. She could feel his hard-on as it grazed her naked backside.
“Mmm,” he said in response.
She pulled away from him and sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover her breasts.
“Evan, I’m not sure what is going on here.” He looked up at her with his eyebrows pulled together. His blue eyes were pale in the dim light, but they looked at Catalina softly.
“I thought it was pretty clear what was happening here.” Evan gestured a hand between them. The sheet was pulled low around his hips. The cut of his muscles accentuated by the white sheet. Catalina had the urge to lick her lips.
Recovery Road Page 16
