Happily Evan After

by Fleur Smith

  A small smile grew on her lips.

  “Just you. Becca Lewis, you’re the only one I have room for in my heart now. And I know I can’t expect you to leave Drew and take a chance on a cupid. I don’t have anything to offer you except that love, and I don’t—”

  She’d moved closer to him as he’d been talking and pressed her finger lightly against his lips to cut him off. “As of about five minutes ago, I’m not with Drew anymore.”

  The timing of her agony made sense. “Did he leave you? Is that why you were in pain?”

  She smiled sadly and reached for Evan’s hand. It was almost like she was as desperate to touch him as he was to hold her.

  But surely that can’t be the case, he thought, trying to quell the hope that was building in his chest.

  “Neither of us did the leaving really,” she explained. “I think we just both came to the realization that it wasn’t working.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, I think we both discovered the same thing today.”

  Evan’s heart raced and he couldn’t tell which of the emotions swirling inside of him were his and which were Becca’s. “Which is?”

  “That I have feelings for someone else.”

  Evan couldn’t even dare to hope that she meant what he wanted her to mean. His voice was cracked and broken as he asked, “Who?”

  “Ask me again,” she instructed instead of answering, pushing him lightly and trapping him against the counter.

  Evan was confused by her question and overwhelmed by her nearness. The spark of love racing through her body didn't even need his influence to be brighter than any he'd ever felt before. “Ask you what?”

  “What you asked me when we first met.” Her voice was a breathy whisper and he focused on her hooded eyes and parted, pouting lips. “Ask me about my ideal man.”

  She was so close, so intoxicating. He would barely have to move to close the distance between them and claim her in a kiss. “What’s your ideal man?”

  Her lips stretched into a knowing grin as she leaned over him until her breasts were pressed against his chest and her mouth was next to his ear. She shook her head. “Not what. Who.”

  “Who?” He barely even heard the word that he'd uttered.

  She didn't answer. Instead, she did what Evan had been dreaming of only moments earlier, closing the last of the space between them and pressing her lips against his.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A week had passed since their first kiss, a blissful week for Becca where every day was a fresh date. With nothing else to do with his time, Evan seemed to have all day to come up with wonderful experiences for her. She’d find flowers in the most random places, not just roses but primroses, lavender, jonquils and peonies. She found them in her locker at work, on her bedside table when she woke, taped to the bathroom mirror in the morning.

  She probably should have felt guilty about being so indulged, but she didn’t. She just felt adored. And not just for what she looked like on the outside—for the similarities she shared with his first love—but for who she was inside.

  On the first day, he’d home-cooked a menu that would have put a five-star restaurant to shame. Well, in Becca’s mind it could have anyway. There was something extra special about someone with limited cooking ability taking the time to learn and then apply techniques to make a three-course meal that was entirely edible. The cheesecake parfait was her favorite. Based on the way Evan squirmed as he watched her eat, it seemed it was his favorite too.

  After dinner, they’d shared a few lazy kisses and then had gone their separate ways. Becca to her bedroom and Evan to, well to wherever else in the house he wanted to go while she slept. Probably her darkroom.

  On day two, he’d arranged a quiet movie night. He offered Becca the choice between four different devastating chick-flicks that she knew would break her heart and make her cry.

  “Is the idea of us together so torturous that you want to do this to yourself?” she asked, holding up the cover for Atonement.

  “No, I wanted to show you that I’m happy to be with you, whatever and wherever. I don’t know how long we’ll have before I’ll be—” He cut himself off and frowned.

  Becca’s heart ached more at the thought of him leaving than at the thought of watching any of the movies. Even though she’d realized she loved him during her map-cap darkroom session; she was somehow falling for him even more every day and couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving. In fact, the few times she’d imagined it, Evan had doubled over before racing to her side to see that she was okay.

  Despite the certainty with which he’d told her that the answer to his salvation—his prize—was with her, nothing more had happened. He hadn’t been called away, but nothing had changed with him either. They seemed to be stuck in a weird limbo state and neither of them knew whether they’d have years together—or days.

  Evan took the DVD from her. “I just want to prove to you that I’m happy to be at your side, and that I can take whatever life throws at us.”

  Instead of inflicting agony on Evan the way Becca thought the movies might, he’d sat with one arm around her as she’d snuggled against his chest while he radiated joy and love. Whenever she’d stolen glances at him, he looked absolutely at peace.

  “Why didn’t that hurt you?” she asked after it had finished.

  He raised an eyebrow and gave a smile that featured her favorite feature of his. “Did you want me to be in agony?”

  “No, of course not, I just wondered. I mean, how does it work exactly?”

  He smiled. “The last few days, being here with you like this, it’s like living at a Vegas buffet. It’s been a smorgasbord of all the best emotions.”

  “I’m a Vegas buffet?”

  “Mmhmm, a tasty one.” He nuzzled into her hair and kissed her neck.

  She attacked him with kisses that stole both their breaths away. Although she could feel his need pressing firmly against her hip, he made no move to take it further than the tender kisses they shared.

  The rest of the week continued in the same vein—with Evan coming up with ever more elaborate dates in her own home. Anything from blissful massages to another romantic candle-lit dinner. And although work had been a little awkward having to cope with the fallout of the breakup with Drew, knowing that Evan would be at home when she got there, and finding his little gifts at random intervals, made it much easier to cope with it all. She wished she could do something to ease Drew’s mind, but knew the best help she could give him was not to look too happy—something she worried she failed at constantly.

  Besides the uncertainty they were living with, the only thing that was starting to wear her down was the lack of progression between them. Each night, she wanted nothing more than for Evan to sweep her off her feet, carry her into the bedroom and have his way with her. Only, it never happened.

  She could see, and feel, that he wanted her, but something seemed to be stopping him from taking it further. She’d even had to resort to a B.O.B. as her frustration over the need he inspired within her reached a boiling point. She tried to remind herself that for all his modern bluster, he was a little more old-fashioned at heart. But that didn’t stop her from craving his touch everywhere.

  When, on the seventh day after their first kiss, he presented her with a huge canvas print of the photo she’d been developing the first time he’d seen her—the photo that had been ruined when she’d crashed into him—it ignited her desire for him to a level at which nothing else would be able to satisfy it. It was in that instant she decided it was time to take matters into her own hands, and not with a vibrator.

  With a confidence that Evan hadn’t expected, Becca grabbed his hand and led him toward her bedroom. Throughout all of the dates that he’d organized, he’d been so desperate to show her that he genuinely loved her—that it wasn’t just a desire to bed her that drove him to please her—that he hadn’t wanted to initiate anything physical. Almost every kiss had been her idea, and now t
his too had to be her choice. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy every blissful second of it though—or that he hadn’t been hoping and longing for it with every fiber of his being. Especially those fibers that she’d inadvertently reawakened the first time he’d ever seen her dreams.

  He swallowed heavily when she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his in a fierce kiss. He returned the kiss with all the vigor he could, hoping that it felt as good for her as it did for him.

  Truthfully, there was another reason he hadn’t tried to seduce her into the bedroom. He was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to compare with Drew.

  Part of him was certain that the first time he took Becca to bed would be the last, that she’d run screaming in the opposite direction. Worse, that she’d run back to Drew’s arms because he was the only one who could satisfy her needs in the bedroom.

  Evan’s entire experience when it came to women boiled down to the number one. Not just one woman, but only once with that one woman. He was bound to be terrible at it. He didn’t know all the acrobatic tricks that some other men—Drew—seemed to.

  “What’s wrong?” Becca asked, running one hand through his hair.

  He shook his head, unwilling to admit that on the cusp of their first time, he was thinking about Drew. “It’s just . . . been a while.”

  “It’s like driving a car,” she said.

  He frowned, unsure where her analogy came from.

  “No matter how long it’s been, you never really forget. If you take your time to warm up the engine and then take it slow enough to ensure no one gets hurt, it’s easier than it looks. And it’ll be much more enjoyable than you expected.”

  He laughed, realizing she was talking specifically about the first time she let him drive Millie, not just driving cars in general.

  “That’s the Evan I know and . . .” she paused and Evan’s heart stopped. She hadn’t said the “L” word yet. The closest she’d come was when she told him with her lips that he was her ideal man. That had been enough for him.

  Now, he was desperate to hear the word that was on the tip of her tongue. He hadn’t really realized how desperate he was until the pause she’d given, but he silently urged her to say it. He knew she loved him, could feel it with the certainty that only his unique view into her emotions being a cupid could bring. But knowing and hearing were two different things. He wanted her to be willing to admit it out loud, to him, but also to herself.

  It was her turn to swallow. She seemed to realize the importance of the moment between them just as Evan did.

  She caressed his jaw. “I—I love you, Evan.”

  He smiled so wide and basked in the sensations that those few words brought to him that he completely forgot to say it in reply. It was only when her disappointment seeped through her love that he realized his error. Her fingers left his skin and fell to her side.

  Reaching to take her hands in his, he stood a step closer to her until their bodies were completely flush.

  “Becca, I love you.” He basked in the sensation of her enjoyment of that word. “But more than that, I am completely, absolutely, head over heels in love with you.”

  “You had to outdo me didn’t you?” she teased.

  With a chuckle, he drew her arms around his back. When she linked her fingers together, holding him against her body, he threaded his fingers into her hair. He rested his forehead against hers and took a moment to share her air before slowly pressing his lips to hers.

  Her mouth opened to allow his tongue entrance and he willingly took it, stroking his tongue over hers in slow, languid strokes. It was the sort of kiss they’d shared often enough over the last week, but it was loaded with a weight of expectation that made it eclipse any other. Evan could feel it from Becca as much as from himself. Both of their bodies trembled slightly with need.

  While Evan dragged his hands across her skin, teasing the hair at the nape of her neck, and just generally enjoyed the sensation of finally living the visions he’d had for so long of being with Becca, her hands were busy. When they broke apart to catch their breath, Evan realized that all of the buttons on his shirt were undone.

  Becca’s fingers trailed a path along his pecs and down across his stomach. The soft ministrations of her fingertips caused his muscles to twitch and flicker as his nerves frayed in the very best way. Her gaze was focused on the places her hand stroked and her lips parted with desire. Her captivation was one of the sexiest things Evan could ever remember seeing. It made him as hard as stone.

  Drawing in a deep breath, Becca placed both hands on his chest and pushed his shirt off his arms. He reached for the hem of her sundress and pulled it over her head in one swift movement before reclaiming her lips.

  She pulled at his shoulders, forcing him closer to her and he wrapped one arm around her waist, lifting her bra-encased chest against his naked one. He used his hold to guide her backward until they stood just to the side of her bed.

  “Are you sure—” He couldn’t get out the question because his voice was cut off by a new kiss as Becca reached for the button on his pants.

  Taking her actions as a definite “yes,” he reached for the clasp of her bra, using both hands to pull and poke at it to get it undone. When his attention left the kiss to focus on trying to undo the demon-designed fastener that refused to release, Becca chuckled. In a deft movement, she twisted one arm behind her back and flicked the hooks and eyes apart in an instant. The material over her arms and chest loosened instantly.

  A shaky breath flowed from Evan as he dragged the straps along her arms, the action causing the cups to fall forward and reveal a little more of her skin with each inch.

  As soon as her breasts were free, he moaned. He could still remember the sight of them from the time she’d stripped naked for her bath in front of him, but now he was free to touch. He could feel; he could taste.

  With shaking fingers, he caressed one of her breasts, rolling his fingers over the nipple. Becca’s needful moan was like music to his ears and spurred him to dip his head and draw the puckered skin between his lips. His tongue wrapped around the little bud and Becca’s hands fisted into his hair.

  “Oh god,” she exclaimed as his other hand copied the action with her other breast.

  He laughed and pulled away. “Evan will do.”

  Panting with need, she smiled wickedly. “Okay, Evan, let’s do this then.”

  She grabbed his shoulders, twisted and pushed, sending him crashing onto his back on the mattress. Her hands were tugging at his pants instantly, pulling them down over his ass, thighs and then off completely. She stood and pulled off her panties before reaching for his boxers, yanking them down to free his desperate erection.

  “I thought you said cupids don’t have the required equipment,” she said as she leaned over him and placed an open-mouthed kiss on his thigh.

  “Uh, they generally don’t.” His voice was strained and desperate. “I’m . . . oh god!”

  He was going to say he was special, but Becca had taken him into her mouth as he was trying to talk.

  She lifted away, but not before dragging her tongue along his length on her way up. She chuckled as his body shivered and his cock twitched in response. “Becca will do.”

  He smiled, but it soon dropped away as his gaze trailed over her naked body.

  “Come here,” he said, with a rough voice dripping with need. He held his arms out for her. She climbed over the bed until her head was level with his and then she placed soft kisses over his mouth and jaw.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he tipped his head back to absorb all of her touches.

  Her fingers played lightly on his stomach and he let his fingertips trail along her hip. As Becca’s soft little kisses transitioned into deep, desperate ones, he was overcome with a need to be inside her. He waited though. He wanted Becca, so badly, but he didn’t want to rush anything. If he did, it would be over before it began.

  He pulled her closer to h
im and twisted so that he was hovering over her. With tender strokes, he brushed the hair off her face and stared into her eyes. He was being driven mad by need but wanted to make sure he satisfied her completely first. He kissed her mouth and as he broke away, he pulled himself into a kneeling position.

  Starting with one hand, he trailed light kisses down her arm. She giggled as the light attention tickled her skin. When he reached her shoulder, his kisses lingered longer over her body. He lavished attention on her breasts once more, taking the time to draw each nipple into his mouth in turn. He experimented with a combination of gentle scrapes with his teeth and soft strokes of his tongue.

  Each time Becca issued a soft moan, or a needful sigh, he repeated the action that had caused it.

  “Evan,” she cried, reaching for his chin to guide his eyes back up to hers. “Evan, please, I . . . I need . . .” A shuddering sigh ran through her body as she squirmed beneath his touch.

  He glanced up at her face and realized that his touches had become torturous for her. The desperation on her face made him feel powerful and spurred him on. He ran kisses down across her stomach, smiling as her skin flinched with each touch of his lips.

  When he reached her hips, he pressed a kiss on either side. Before he had a chance to satisfy some of her need, she stilled him before sitting to kiss him. “There’s time for that later,” she murmured. “Right now, I need you inside me.”

  Evan was shocked by her direct approach, but it made him harder—the thought of acting on her words made him ache.

  “I need that too,” he murmured.

  She placed her hand on his chest and guided him back onto the mattress. She disappeared for a second and when she returned, there was a ripping sound and then her hand was on him, rolling a condom down his length.