by Jo Raven
“Just Ev is fine.” Her smile returns, bright.
I smile back, relieved. She’s been Ev in my head for a long time now. “Ev it is.” Where to start? How to tell her how she saved me? “You like walking in town.”
The words just spill out of my mouth, and she frowns, delicate, honey-colored brows drawing together. God, everything about her is so pretty. “How do you know that?”
Oh shit. “I used to...” ... what, watch you? From afar? Before? Oh yeah. Now she’ll be sure I’m a stalker. “I used to think...”
“Think what?” She pulls back as our coffees and cake arrive, then draws her coffee cup closer and cradles it in her hands, looking at me expectantly.
I pour a package of sugar into mine and stir slowly, to buy myself time. “That people with leg injuries must be the ones who walk the most.” I lift the cup to my lips to hide a wince.
Yeah, real smooth. Christ.
But she laughs softly. “Well, you’re spot on. I used to walk a lot. But then I had this accident, and my parents and brother took it as an excuse to convince me walking in town is a bad idea. That talking to the people on the street is a bad idea. And then...” She stares into her coffee, the light in her eyes dimming. “Never mind.”
My mouth is dry. I lick my lips and try to swallow. “Then what, Ev?”
“Maybe they’re right,” Ev whispers. She shrugs her shoulders a tiny bit. “Maybe it’s dangerous.”
Her last words chill my blood. My hands clench at my sides. “Why? Has anyone hurt you?”
“No. It’s not that.”
I relax a little. “If you ever need anything... anything at all,” I find myself saying, “come to me. Don’t hesitate.”
Her eyes go round, and she blinks rapidly. “You barely know me.”
I know you, I want to say. I know who you really are inside.
But I hesitate. Because she isn’t sure she wants to talk to people from the street anymore, not sure she did the right thing.
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper. Because right now she’s looking at me with fondness. Then her gaze falls on my mouth, and her lashes lower over her darkening eyes. Could she want me as I want her? I can’t forget the way she melted into my kiss, the way she kissed me back.
How will she look at me when she knows? How will she react? Will she run away?
Fuck. I have to tell her. Not telling her would be like lying. I take a fortifying breath and open my mouth to spill it all out.
“Micah? Hey, man,” a male voice calls, and I clench my jaw.
“Fuck,” I mutter as he approaches.
Ev gives me a questioning look.
“Hey, Seth.” What the hell is he doing here? Not his usual spot. Then I notice a girl trailing behind him, tall and willowy with a cloud of white-blond curls.
Ev is staring at Seth like she’s seen a ghost. Seth stares back just as hard, his eyes narrowed. His dark hair is loose and falling into his face.
“Have we met before?” he asks.
She frowns. “I don’t know. You look familiar.”
He squints and lift his hand to push back his hair, flashing the dark tattoos on the back of his hand. “I know you.”
The girl behind Seth grips his arm and tugs, her mouth a flat line. “Come on, Seth. Let’s go.”
“Seth.” Ev licks her lips. “Seth and Shane.”
“That’s my cousin.” Seth shakes the other girl off and leans over the table, focused on Ev. “Yeah, I know you. You brought us food sometimes. Gave us a blanket once when it was so cold I’d stopped feeling my feet. You’re that girl.”
I know Seth and Shane lived on the street when Zane found them and took them in, but never thought they’d met. I didn’t know they’d met Ev. I turn back to her.
Shock flashes through her eyes, and she draws back in her seat. “No,” she whispers and glances around at the cafe. Her hands shake.
Fucking hell. She’s really scared. Why would she be? She said nobody from the people she tried to help hurt her.
Meanwhile, the girl trailing Seth takes a step back, her face twisting. “You lived on the streets?” she asks loud enough for everyone in the cafe to hear. “You never told me this.”
Who is this bitch?
Seth doesn’t seem to even hear her or care. He puffs out a breath, and his gaze flicks at me, unreadable, eyes flat like dark water.
Silence falls over us, a fishermen’s net, holding us still. It’s like a painting or a photo—Ev, leaning back in her chair, golden eyes wary; Seth towering over our table, shoulders tense and mouth tight; his girl with her back turned, drawing her coat closed.
Then time starts again. The girl walks away. Seth snorts and glances after her but makes no move to follow her.
“I should be going,” Ev says, her voice hushed. She glances around as if expecting someone to jump out of a hiding place and grab her. “I’m late.”
“You should hurry along then,” Seth drawls. “Don’t wanna turn into a pumpkin now, do you?”
She swallows and grabs her bag. “Be careful out there, Seth.”
“Don’t worry, princess. I’m off the streets now.” Seth gives me a hard look and for a moment I think he’ll say something more, but he turns away with a huff and leaves the cafe.
“Ev...” I reach for her, but she stands up and slings her bag over her shoulder. “Ev, wait. What happened? What are you so afraid of?”
“Nothing.” Her face is a mask, but her lips are colorless. “I just have to go. Thank you for the coffee.”
I want to smash my fist through the table and send the chairs crashing into the wall. My hands are curled tight at my sides, nails biting into my palms.
“Okay.” I nod. “Fine. But if anyone’s hurting you, if anyone ever hurts you, you come to me. Say you will, Ev.”
She stops in her tracks. I can see her profile so clearly against the dimness of the cafe—her long lashes, her pert nose, her parted lips.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she says, so low I barely hear it. Her whole body seems to be vibrating with tension. “Tell your friend to keep away from me.”
And with that enigmatic line, she’s off, limping quickly out of the cafe.
Why? What does she mean? I stare at her empty seat, trying to figure this new puzzle out, when I see her walking stick. She forgot to take it with her.
I grab it and hurry out of the cafe, but there is no sign of her. Maybe that’s a sign. Not that I believe in fate or any such shit—but she may come to me for it. And then I may get a chance to tell her who I am and find out what the hell has my girl so terrified.
The light flickers. She’s lying naked on my bed, arms flung over her head, gripping the headboard. Her breasts are taut, her nipples hard, copper jewels on her golden skin. Pale tattoos roll over her body like quicksilver snakes.
She sighs, and I can see the air leave her lips in a wavering cloud. Her hair lifts on a current, copper locks rising and falling like waves. Her legs part, and the darkness there draws me. I touch her thigh, trail my hand down, parting her seam. So soft. So warm and wet. My fingers dip into her, and she moans, throwing her head back. Her neck arches.
“Micah,” she whispers. “Make me come. Micah...”
I bow my head as I push deeper into her. It’s not enough, not for her, or for me. I need... I need her like I’ve never needed before.
I need to be inside her. I need to feel her hand around my cock, measuring it. It’s rock hard, pointing up at me, the head wet and dark. My heart beats at the base. It beats everywhere. I shudder as my balls tighten. I have to enter her, push into her—but how can I when she doesn’t know who I am?
“Ev...” I moan her name, still fucking her with my fingers, and her whole body lifts off the bed as she comes with a sob. “Ev...”
“Micah. Wake up,” a deep voice says. “Come on, man, wake up!” A hand shakes me, and I groan as I blink my eyes open.
What in the fucking hell? Where’s Ev?
The
face looking down at me looks masculine. Shaggy dark hair, dark eyes, stubble. Yeah, that’s definitely not Ev. Fuck.
“Seth?” I mumble, throwing an arm over my eyes. “What the hell?”
“You were having another nightmare.” He pauses, and I lift my arm to look at him. He’s frowning. He also looks like crap, eyes red and skin gray. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I don’t have the heart to tell him it wasn’t a nightmare I was having. I twist sideways under my covers. My dick is still granite-hard. My balls ache. “I’m fine.”
Seth gives me one last long look. Then he grunts, rubs the back of his neck and shuffles out of my room. The door closes behind him.
My eyes close as I grip my cock and tug. Fuck, it’s so hard it hurts. Dream snatches still tease me—her moans, her face, her body, the softness inside of her—and my breathing grows ragged. I clench my fingers, thrusting into the tight tunnel, and it feels so damn good I can’t keep quiet. I muffle a moan into my pillow as I rock into my hand faster and faster.
It’s her I see. She draws me deep inside, calling out my name, her golden eyes half-shut, sweat making her skin gleam.
Oh shit, my balls lift higher and my whole body tenses. “Ev...”
I bite the inside of my cheek as my dick lurches in my hand. A groan escapes me nevertheless. Fuck, fuck. My whole body jerks on the mattress as my spunk spills over my fingers and shoots across my chest in hot streaks.
I’ve never come so fast in my life. I lie there, still holding my softening cock, gasping into the pillow. Holy shit. I can’t make myself move. I feel boneless and wrung out.
And this just after one kiss.
Hell.
Seth pours me a cup of black coffee as I enter the kitchen and slide into a chair at the table. He places it in front of me.
Damn, it’s one of those days. My joints and muscles ache, and generally, I just feel like shit. In fact, I’m still so bleary that it takes me a minute to realize that this—making me coffee, lingering in the kitchen—isn’t normal behavior for Seth. I grab the sugar and pour a generous amount into my steaming coffee, then remember I have to get up to get a spoon to stir it and sigh.
Fuck it. Who cares? I just need to wake up. I down half of it in one gulp, scalding my tongue, and blink at Seth.
“Spill,” I say, putting the mug down. “What’s wrong?”
He pushes a hand through his shaggy hair. “That girl. That’s what’s wrong.”
That girl. “Ev?”
“The girl you had with you at the cafe yesterday.”
I tense. “What about her?”
He sits across from me, folding his big hands on the scratched table top. “Is she the one you’ve been watching across the street?”
“That’s none of your damn business,” I hiss.
“She’s pretty.”
“I said, it’s none of your business.” I stand, shoving the table into him. Ev is my girl. He’d better keep his hands off her.
“Hey, relax.” Seth smirks and leans back, folding his arms across his chest. “Fuck, you have it bad, don’t you?”
I kick at a table leg and place my fists on the top. “You’re not going near her.”
“Why would I? Doesn’t look like she’d want me to. But when she finds out you were on the streets, too? What then, genius?”
Cold trickles down my spine. “I’ll tell her.”
“Micah.” Seth unfolds his arms and scratches his cheek. “This is weird, man.”
“I said I’ll tell her. If she doesn’t like it, then that’s okay.”
Only it isn’t. But what choice is there?
“That’s not what I mean. Sit down, okay?”
I sink back into my chair. “Then what do you mean?”
“Something’s off. She looks spooked.”
I nod. She does. “So what’s your point?”
“My point, man...” His dark brows knit. I don’t remember ever seeing Seth so serious. “This girl shouldn’t be spooked. She shouldn’t be sad.”
I stare at him. The hell?
We don’t talk much with Seth. He’s not brooding and aggressive like his cousin Shane, but he’s not loud and easily excited like Ocean or Jesse, either. He’s a quiet guy. And now he can’t stop talking.
“... so if you know there’s anything she’s afraid of,” Seth is saying, “anything Shane and I can help with... If she needs someone to protect her. We’re here for her. I’ve talked to Shane, and he feels the same way.”
I rub my face. Bleary or not, I’m obviously missing something here. “Why are you so eager to help her?”
“Why not?”
“Dammit, Seth. You think I’m an idiot?” I bang my fist on the table, making the mug jump and coffee slosh. Is he doing it on purpose, trying to make me hit him? “You said she helped you out once,” I bite out the words, “but going out on a fucking limb, I’d say there’s more to it than that, right?”
Seth looks away but not before I see a flash of pain in his expression. I’m good at reading faces. I’m good at connecting images with emotions. I’m a visual artist, after all.
And that flash of pain reins in my anger. I sit, patiently waiting for him to decide if he can trust me with his story or not. Because I’m sure there’s a story there. I can feel it in the shape of this meeting, in his reactions and words.
He finally turns to me but drops his gaze. I swear, if he did anything to hurt Ev in the past, I’m not gonna forgive him, no matter how bad it makes him feel now. I’m gonna punch his face into pulp.
The fact I’ve never been so angry on someone’s behalf before doesn’t escape me, but I can ignore it if I want, dammit. It’s my own fucked-up mind.
“You didn’t know us back then,” Seth says quietly. His body is slightly hunched over, and he spreads his hands on the table. “It was before Zane took us in.”
They’ve only known Zane for a few months, whereas I’ve known him for years. I was his apprentice back when I lived with my last foster family. Those were the good times, before I was sent back to the residential facility and ended up running away as often as I could.
Christ, I don’t want to remember that place.
Seth is silent for a while. Looks like he doesn’t want to remember, either.
“Being on the streets sucks,” he eventually says. “Having no home sucks. Having no options fucking sucks.”
Understatement of the year, if I ever heard one. I nod nevertheless, to encourage him to continue.
“We’d been on the street, on and off, for two years. It’s vicious, man. You can’t get out of that loop easily. Shane wasn’t well.” He taps his temple. “I mean here. He was in a bad place. It’s his character, but he’s also lost more than me, so...” Seth wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “You know how people pass you by and don’t even see you? As if you’re part of the ground you’re sitting on. Trash to be swept out in the morning. Or they get pissed at you for ruining their day by reminding them their stupid little problems aren’t important.”
I wait, trying not to tense up again. I do my best to unclench my hands. All I want is to forget, and his story brings back all sorts of nightmares. Damn, not sure I wanna sleep tonight.
“So, there I was, trying to keep Shane from going off the edge,” Seth muttered. “Wasn’t holding up so well myself, either. It was raining, and the cars would splash us passing by. Shane hadn’t eaten in days. He even refused water. I think he’d given up. And then she appears.” Seth looks up at me, a half-smile on his face. “She really saw us, man. Looked right at us and came to squat in the puddles to ask how we were doing. You should have seen Shane’s face. It was like he woke up for the first time in days. She went and bought us warm food and a blanket, and then she passed at least every other day to check on us until Zane took us in.”
Their story matches my own in many ways. Okay, so that’s why this is important to Seth. We sit in silence for a while.
Then he says, “I’ll just keep an eye ou
t for her. See if anyone has been bothering her.”
“She saved my life,” I blurt, not even really knowing why I’m telling him this. “But she doesn’t remember me.”
His brows shoot up. “For real?”
“What do you think?” I shake my head. “But it’s more than that.”
“You want her.”
“Damn right I do.”
“She’s hot,” he agrees, and my hands curl into fists again.
“Hands off her, Seth, do you hear me? Shane, too.”
“I heard you the first time.” He rolls his eyes at me and gets up. “She’s yours. I get it.”
“She’s not mine,” I whisper. Not yet, anyway.
And seeing how the truth may turn her off, maybe not ever.
Chapter Six
Evangeline
Leaving the cafe, I hurry to the bus stop as fast as I can. The rain has stopped, but evening’s falling, and I keep seeing Blake in every shadow and dark place. I make it home and barricade myself in my room, then lie on my bed and try to sort out my thoughts. My heart races a thousand miles an hour.
Blake wouldn’t know Seth. Would he? He wouldn’t hurt him. Jesus, I really hope not. Maybe it’s time to go to the police. Denounce him.
Yeah, and for what? Saying he will harm random homeless people if I talk to them? He hasn’t done anything—not yet.
Warn Seth? But what can Seth do? He’s only in danger if I’m seen talking to him. As is any person I’ve helped in the past.
Crap. Micah... I left him at the cafe without any real explanation. Is he pissed with me, I wonder... And I left my walking stick. No way can I go back in there now, not if Seth is still there, not if Blake is watching...
This is crazy. Blake managed to scare me for real. This is stupid. He won’t hurt anyone. He’d go to jail, and his family would never live it down.
But what if he does hurt them? There had been something wild in his eyes.
I could ask for a restraining order. But not coming near me doesn’t mean he can’t go near anyone I talk to afterward and beat the shit out of them.
It’s as if a rat is gnawing at my stomach. I never knew fear could feel so tangible. As I stand at my bedroom window, looking out, I wonder if lying low would be enough for Blake to forget about me and give up. They say that about bullies—that when you stop struggling, they lose interest.
