by Anne Conley
They stayed like that, still joined, gasping ragged breaths as Evan clutched her against his body. She inhaled deeply of his cologne as she tried desperately to find some sense. She bit her tongue against the words dying to spill out of her mouth, but she knew if she told Evan Rocco she loved him, he’d shut her out.
God, she’s fucking beautiful, Evan thought to himself as he watched Paige recover from what they’d just done. He smothered the words wanting to fly out of his mouth: undying love, proposals, caveman shit. But when she spoke first, he was shocked into silence.
“I’m glad we finally got that out of our system.” Her nervous chuckle filled the silence like a thunderclap.
He was suddenly angry, “You think that was just a fuck?” He couldn’t believe it. He’d been fantasizing about her for half a year, and by her own admission, she’d been doing it longer, and now they were done? “I don’t think so, Paige.”
She climbed off his lap, and he handed her the handkerchief out of his coat pocket. “That’s been a long time coming, yes, but it’s not out of my system. Not by a fucking long shot. I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I woke up and you were gone. I’m not even close to finished with you.” He stood and pulled up his pants. “Get dressed.” He turned his back to her in a lame attempt to hide the emotion surely written across his face. He was yelling at her to hide the hurt her words had caused. He wanted to erase it all, make her understand that she was his.
“Why? What’s next then?” Uncertainty marred her features, and it was a rare emotion for her. He knew she didn’t let people see this side of her and a silly sense of pride filled him to know he’d seen it.
Turning to face her, he regained control of his emotions and grabbed her arms. “We go to the press conference in thirty minutes, then we run by my office so I can pick up my laptop, then we go back to your place. And I’m doing that again. In your bed, your shower, your kitchen, wherever I damn well want.”
Her cheeks flushed a delicious shade of pink, and Evan’s gaze raked across her while he buttoned his shirt with trembling fingers. She was fucking gorgeous. Those thigh high stockings, her sweet pussy, those magnificent tits, and her hair. Christ, all that fucking hair, curling around her face where it had come out of its knot at the base of her neck. He stalked to her and laid a possessive kiss on her lips. “I don’t think you’ll ever be out of my system.”
He finished dressing while she pulled on her clothes and straightened herself as best she could. He found it fascinating that she could go from wanton sex kitten to CEO in a matter of minutes. Fascinating and incredibly arousing. He was hard again by the time she had completed her transformation, and as he held the door open for her, he inhaled her scent mixed with their sex and nearly came unglued.
The press conference was like most press conferences. Evan watched from the back as Paige skillfully made her statement, then answered pre-chosen questions from the media in attendance. It was designed to make her look like the compassionate woman she was, and Evan couldn’t deny it was a total turn-on.
Paige in her element was a turn-on—every day in her office, the petite powerhouse leading her company with an ease and joy that was evident. But today, he’d seen a different side of her, one no less inspiring. She was the confident CEO of PSL, a multi-million dollar corporation that cared about its image and wanted to stop the violence against innocents in its name.
As she finished up, Evan’s mind wandered to how he would take her next. Would he be able to wait until they made it up to her bedroom, so he could make love to her like she deserved? Or would he lose all control and fuck her senseless against her front door as soon as they made it inside her house?
When Paige turned from the press and started a hushed conversation with her PA, Evan watched with disbelief as Koen emerged from the crowd and approached Paige.
“Aw, hell no,” he muttered under his breath as he made his way to where she was standing. When Koen got there, he grabbed Paige’s arm and turned her toward him, his face a menacing grimace. By the time Evan got to them, he heard Koen’s gruff whisper.
“I should have known you’d fuck Rocco as soon as you had the chance.”
“What are you doing here? I thought I’d told you—”
“Like I’m going to listen to that shit, Paige. You don’t understand what’s happening.”
Evan didn’t listen to any more. He turned Koen toward him and hauled him against a nearby wall. “Look, asshole, you don’t seem to understand.” He held him in place with his forearm against his neck and watched as Koen scrabbled for purchase, his face turning purple. “You leave. Now. If I see you harassing her again, you’re hamburger. Understand now?” His voice was unrecognizable, so full of rage, but the idea that he’d had his hands on Paige blurred his vision, and Koen’s obvious intentions turned everything red. He could kill him now and happily walk away. But Paige’s hands on his shoulders told him that wouldn’t make her happy.
“Evan, let him go. He’s not hurting anybody.”
Evan saw the sweat bead on Koen’s brow and knew his intentions weren’t innocent. Well, fuck him. He released his hold and Koen dropped to his knees, coughing pitifully.
“Did you make her scream? I’ve seen her come so hard she screams. Can you do that?” Koen’s eyes were filled with hatred when he looked up from the floor at Evan.
The pain that shot up from his knuckles to his elbows was Evan’s first clue to the punch he landed on Koen’s nose.
“Sorry, buddy. I realize how expensive that was. But you had that one coming.” Grabbing Paige’s elbow, he led her outside and into his car, trying to ignore Koen’s words.
Evan knew, as a rational being, that he was just trying to get to him. Chances are, he’d never seen Paige have an orgasm. Even if Paige had been lying about having sex with Koen, Evan doubted the man had the skills to make her come undone like he had. He knew that was arrogance speaking, and maybe a little more than wishful thinking on his part, but the idea of Koen’s hands on Paige nauseated him.
Of course, the alternative—that he’d been watching Paige with someone else, or even alone—was creepiness on a whole other level. And made Koen more dangerous than Evan had given him credit for. He put in a call to Ryan, asking him to tail Koen so he could get Paige to safety. In her bed. She’d be real safe in her bed.
The Crimson Lady: Are you alone?
Demon_Eater: Yeah. Are you the real Crimson Lady?
The Crimson Lady: Yeah. You want to do me a favor?
Demon_Eater: Fuck yeah! I’d do just about anything for you. You’re a total badass.
The Crimson Lady: Thank you. I appreciate it. I heard your dad kicked you out of the house. You want a spot in my army?
Demon_Eater: Hells yes! You want me to torch a whore? I can do that!
The Crimson Lady: I do have a job for you, but she’s not working. Do you think you can break into an apartment if I gave you the address?
Demon_Eater: Sure. I got a crowbar.
The Crimson Lady: This one’s a little bit different. Can you get hold of a gun?
Demon_Eater: Will I be on the news?
The Crimson Lady: As long as you tell them who sent you, absolutely.
After the press conference, in the silence of the car, Evan’s thoughts got the best of him. “Do you know what he meant? Has he seen you come?”
Paige shook her head, her eyes wide. “No. He hasn’t. I told you. We haven’t even kissed.”
Evan’s cell phone was to his ear before she even finished speaking. “Quinten, did you ever check out the spot where you can see her bedroom?”
Quinten’s voice was low, and Evan heard the murmur of a crowd in the background, like he was at a bar. “Yeah. I found a spot where someone’s been comfortable. There were chair imprints, if you can believe that shit. One of those fold-up camping kind. Man’s not a big guy, they weren’t deep impressions. But he had something to drink out there, and binoculars. He didn’t really hide himself well.”
Ch
ills crept up Evan’s spine. “Thanks, buddy.” He hung up the phone and turned to Paige as he pulled into the parking lot at Pierce. “Has he talked to you about his surgeries?”
“No, I was going to ask you about that. How did you know he’s had a nose job?”
He scoffed at how much he’d screwed up on this one. Who the hell was Koen? “He’s got little tuck scars. It took me too long to realize what they were, but I figured if he’s going to have his face lifted, he’d probably have his nose done. No telling what all he’s had done. For sure that ass chin.”
Paige laughed. “It’s a dimple. Are you jealous of him?”
Evan laughed. “Not in the least. He’s a douche. I just don’t understand his obsession. He’s been watching you in your house, and I’m going to figure out why just as soon as I find Patton. He’s my priority right now, although I gotta say, Koen as a peeping tom is really starting to piss me off.”
Paige was silent, he assumed processing the information, while he opened her door for her and grabbed her hand, leading her into the quiet offices. They waved to Simon in his office as they went into Evan’s. He looked at his laptop to see the program he’d been running for the last few days had finally stopped. It took some time to crawl around every bit of info on the web, and it would take some time to comb through the results. He slammed it shut and shoved it into a bag, opening a drawer and grabbing some flash drives to throw in there with it. Rummaging around for the end to the power cord, Simon came in silently, startling him and Paige both.
“I saw the press conference. Are you guys close to figuring out who this is?”
Evan stood, wrapping up the power cord. “I know exactly who it is. I’m going to be sending you a full report tonight, but it’s Patton. I’m going to look through the results of the web crawler and see if there are some answers here, otherwise, I’m going to have to flush him out somehow.”
Simon nodded silently, his eyes jumping between Evan and Paige, full of accusation. To his credit, he didn’t say anything, but Evan knew exactly what was running through his mind. He was in deep shit when this was over.
Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he grasped Paige’s elbow. “Let’s go.” Over his shoulder, he saw Simon’s raised eyebrow, and mouthed, “Email, tonight.”
Back in the car, he expelled a deep breath as he started it and drove to Paige’s house.
“Do you think he knows?” Paige finally asked. “Are you in trouble?”
“Yeah, and yeah, and I don’t really care.” Reaching across the console, he entwined her fingers with his, resting them on his lap. “I’ve been thinking about you, Paige.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too,” she answered quietly.
She didn’t understand. He’d been thinking about her since the first night he’d seen her. He’d known then that she wasn’t some casual fuck. And now that he knew her better, he was fascinated. Intellectually, she astounded him. She was focused and driven. She was compassionate. And loving. Incredibly generous. And holy hell, was she hot in bed.
He moved her hand over to his erection straining against his zipper. “I’m not sure you understand just how much I think of you.” Her harsh intake of air coupled with her releasing his hand and cupping his erection did everything to take the remaining breathable oxygen out of his car. He lowered the window to get more while grabbing her wrist to stop her movements.
He suddenly didn’t care if he could breathe or not. He needed Paige more than he needed air.
His foot pressed down on the accelerator, a sudden desire to be at Paige’s house killing all resolve.
A nervous giggle from the passenger seat arrested his attention. “In a hurry?”
He glanced over to see her lips parted and eyes twinkling with excitement. “Yeah,” he grunted out like a caveman. “You’re mine, Paige Lawson. No one else’s. You get that, right?”
“Yeah, I get it,” she breathed at him with wide eyes and a beaming smile, and something swelled inside him to know she was affected the same way he was.
“Nobody else gets to see you come. Ever.” He wasn’t sure she was understanding the subtext of his words, because he meant them. He wanted Paige. Forever. But he wasn’t sure how to put it into words in his current horny state. All he could think about was sinking in between her thighs once again.
At her house, they raced in the door, and once it was shut, locked, and alarmed behind them, Evan scooped Paige up over his shoulder and marched toward the stairs.
He knew where her bedroom was; he’d heard her banging around in it the last time he’d been here, when he’d foolishly decided to not have sex with her until this was all over. His mind had said she’d be safer that way. Every cell in his body was telling him he’d been wrong. Utterly wrong. He needed to be with her. If he wasn’t, he’d only be a withered up husk of himself. That’s what his heart told him, anyway.
“Evan!” she squealed with a giggle, but he ignored her protest.
“Sorry, Paige. Feeling cave-manny,” he gritted out. The need within him was so strong he wasn’t sure he could control it. It was more powerful than the conference room, which he almost regretted. She deserved more than being laid out on a conference room table. Paige deserved more than animalistic rutting, but Evan wasn’t sure he was capable of much more right now. She sparked something inside him he couldn’t control.
Tossing her on the bed, he watched as she bounced, arms and legs akimbo, her elegant skirt rising up her legs. Evan took a step back and breathed deeply, desperately seeking control. Silently, he walked to the windows, shutting the curtains while he tried desperately to regain sanity. As his hands worked at the buttons on his own suit, he wolfishly grinned at Paige, who was working on removing her own clothes. He shed layers while she exposed her body to his hungry eyes.
Paige’s eyes never left his as he shucked his clothing. When they were both naked, Evan lowered himself onto her body, feeling her warm, smooth skin as he blanketed her.
He made love to her with his mouth and tongue, forcing himself to go slow, kissing every inch of her skin, listening to her moans, feeling her undulations. He wrung a climax from her before he sank himself into her slick heat, and hanging onto frail tendrils of control, he sat against the headboard of her bed as she straddled him and set the pace of their encounter. Evan suckled her breasts and kneaded her ass, stroking her until she climaxed around him, gripping him from the inside like a vise he was happy to surrender to.
Yanking her head to his, Evan kissed Paige as he emptied his own seed inside her, swallowing her pleasure in a kiss promising forever.
Because that’s what he wanted with her. He knew it was too soon to say the words, but Evan knew in his heart that he loved her. He’d loved her for months, since he’d first met her and couldn’t get her out of his mind.
“Evan?” He’d hugged her against his body and was refusing to let her go. She felt too good. She was right where she belonged as he felt himself wilt inside her.
“Hmm?” Evan hummed into the top of her head.
“Is it always like this with you?” Her voice was tinged with something foreign to Evan, something he couldn’t name, but it was familiar in that he felt it, too.
“Nope. It’s never been like this with anyone else. Just you.” He kissed her temple because her face was buried in his neck, and he inhaled her scent as he did so. She smelled so damn good. No perfumes, just Paige. Sweet Paige.
“Yeah,” she mumbled contentedly. Evan felt her body continue to relax on his, running his fingers through her hair. He knew something major had happened between them today. It wasn’t just about them finally giving in to their carnal desires with each other. They had broached a turning point in whatever relationship they were going to have. It was scary—not something he’d ever done with a woman—but it felt absolutely right.
When Paige’s breathing evened out, and he knew she slept, he tucked her into his arms and rolled over, placing her on her side next to him without waking her. Then h
e gently eased himself out of bed and went to the bathroom.
Paige’s bathroom was clearly a well-loved room. It had been remodeled recently, made obvious by the modern fixtures in comparison to the rest of the house. It had a shower and a deep, claw-foot tub, and the entire room was decorated in a comfortable, intimate manner. He could see beauty products lining the shower, and in the bathtub area, there was a shelf full of different scented bath oils and bubble mixes. When his eyes fell on the picture over the shelf, he froze, astounded.
It was one of those collage photo frames, with several different sizes and orientations of photos, like he’d seen all over her house. But this was filled with photos of him.
Evan had a surreal moment, looking at himself in Paige’s bathroom, knowing in his heart these photos had been there a while. They were from his ill-fated TEKNIX Magazine exclusive, the one he’d thought would push his research on Artificial Intelligence to the forefront of popular thinking, but had instead turned into a not-so-subtle tongue-in-cheek article making fun of the pretty boy who thought he could change the world. It had been humiliating to Evan, and his publicist had acted like it was no big deal. Evan had promptly found the nearest rock and hidden under it for years. Until he’d met Quinten in a bar and gotten the job at Pierce Securities.
But Paige had always believed in him. That much was clear. But the pictures in this intimate setting—over her bathtub, where she could lay there, her naked body covered in mounds of bubbles, and look at him, posing nearly nude—added another layer to her.
Another layer to them.
It was almost like hero-worship. Like his teen-beat poster hung in her bedroom. That was when it dawned on him. She was just as big of a geek as he was. They were made for each other. And he needed to do whatever he could to protect her. To keep her.
