Evan looked embarrassed and withdrew his hand. “That’s not what I was trying to do, but okay.”
Jessica felt bad. She reached across the table and grasped his hand. “Evan. You really don’t want to get to know me too well. I think we’re having a nice time as it is.”
“We are. But I want more with you. I don’t want this to be a work fling that is over as soon as it starts. I want to be there with you from now on. That means you need to let me into your life. Let me see the real you.”
“What if I’m not ready for a relationship?” Jessica was starting to feel like she couldn’t breathe. The heights were not helping. Evan was making her panic. Because she wanted it too. But how could she be with a man when he didn’t even know her real name? When he was her mark? Never before had she developed feelings for a mark but she was falling in love with this sexy and kind billionaire.
“Then I’ll wait for you until you are,” Evan replied.
Chapter 9
They left the Stratosphere rather tipsy. Evan loved it when Jessica fell against him and let him guide her into the car. She smiled up at him adoringly as he slid in next to her. He buried his face into her neck, enjoying her heavenly scent, while she wrapped her leg over him and pulled him into her. They started to make out like wild young teens in the backseat of a car. The driver glanced back in the rearview mirror and smirked before returning his full attention to the road.
Back at his place, Jessica didn’t even wait until they were inside the apartment. She was already mauling him, ripping at his clothes with her nails, as the doorman let them in. The doorman tipped his hat and winked at Evan as they entered the apartment. Evan couldn’t wait to get his mother’s call tomorrow, chewing him out for this.
They fell onto the couch. Jessica kicked off her stilettos and they clattered violently onto the tiles of the kitchen floor. Evan enjoyed dominating her, kissing her neck and feeling her arch into him. He slid his hands up around her dress, feeling every inch of her creamy smooth skin. His hands caught on her thong and he slid it down over her thighs, stopping to kiss her legs all the way down to her toes. He lifted her leg and propped on his chest to take her toes in his mouth and she giggled infectiously.
“Take me,” she murmured breathlessly.
“Here?” Evan asked.
She nodded. Then, impatient, she pushed him down on the couch and straddled him, grinding her hips against his. “Do you like this?” she asked him, staring deep into his eyes.
Evan just gaped at her. Never had he been with a girl so amazing, so sexy, and so bold. He pulled the top of her dress down and began to suck on her perky breasts but she pushed his head away to undo his belt. Then she attacked him with a ferocity that he was not prepared for.
He gasped out in pleasure and didn’t bother to keep the volume low as he had the night before. Each stroke of her hips made him feel exhilarated and overcome, as if he were on the edge of a tall building or about to sky dive. His mouth was dry. Sweat ran down his neck. He seized her and lifted her onto the edge of the couch, where he began to thrust into her, making her scream with each stroke.
They were like rabbits all over the apartment before they finally fell apart, panting so hard that it hurt. They were wet with sweat.
“Shall we take a shower?” Evan laughed as he mopped the sweat off of his body with a gym towel.
Jessica nodded. She could not speak and could barely walk into his lavish bathroom.
“I don’t think we should wait until next weekend. Let’s go out there tonight,” Evan decided as Jessica rubbed his body down with a heavy soapy lather in the shower. Her hands were so gentle as she massaged his hard muscles and ran them along his sudsy skin. It appeared that she genuinely loved touching him and feeling his body, which made him feel like a god. Normally he was not too preoccupied with his looks, beyond the typical upkeep, but she made him feel sexy in a way that he never had. Jessica made him feel like the man that his mother would never let him be.
“Oh yeah? Sounds good to me. I have nowhere to be this weekend,” Jessica replied. As she said this, she began to kiss his body, sliding down until she was kneeling before him. Then she took him in her mouth. He leaned his head back and shut his eyes to relish this precious moment with this precious woman.
The drive to Mount Charleston was always Evan’s favorite. It took him back to his childhood, when his family first bought this place and he would travel there each summer and Christmas break. His dad always used to drive in those days, for while they were wealthy, they were not as rich as now. Things were simpler then. He always admired the efficiency with which his father drove up the mountains, unfazed by the steep grades and the semis whizzing by.
Now, Evan didn’t drive himself anywhere. The main issue was security. He didn’t have a bodyguard everywhere he went, but he was never really alone. He mostly got used to it and didn’t even notice it. But being with Jessica and being aware of how everyone spied on him for his mother now made him hyper aware. This weekend getaway would be so much better if he could just drive, he thought.
Jessica had gone home for a moment to pack a light bag. She still didn’t want him to know where she lived. So many secrets to that woman. He held her close as the driver navigated the steep road up to the cabin.
The cabin was enormous, built of beautiful hewn honey-stained logs and with a glass front overlooking the sparkling lights of the town. Fortunately, there was a crew that kept it up when the family wasn’t there. In recent years, they barely went once a year. Linda didn’t like to go at all. She had never been much of an outside person. Jessica gasped as the garden lights automatically turned on for them. The driver helped carry their things up for them.
“Are you ready for a nice weekend?” Evan asked her, delighted by the expression on her face as she took the property in.
“Oh, yes. But, babe?” She looked at him with an expression of pure exhaustion. “Tonight let’s just sleep.”
He nodded. “Of course. It’s almost one in the morning.”
They retired to the master bedroom, where a crystal chandelier cast explosions of soft light over the huge bed. They snuggled under the plush brown bear-head blanket and Jessica fell asleep almost immediately. Evan fell in love with the sensation of her head against his chest. She cuddled into him like she needed him for warmth, even though it was perfectly warm inside the cabin with the heater on. Her face looked so peaceful, and so real, without her mask on. This was not Lisa Allen. She had not been Lisa Allen for a long time. She was fully Jessica in that moment. On Thanksgiving, he had fallen asleep and not had a chance to observe her in repose, but now he fell even more in love.
Evan was surprised when he woke up to feel Jessica kissing his neck. He clasped her against him and found that she was naked. He buried his head into her chest and let her kiss him and rub him down. They made love under the light of the chandelier and the moon streaming through the huge windows.
In the morning, Jessica stumbled out of the bedroom, looking sleepy and a bit confused. She perked up when she saw that Evan was making Bavarian cream blueberry pancakes and he had already made some French press coffee. He served her a cup and she perched on the counter to watch him cook.
“How did you learn to cook?” she asked.
“Entirely self-taught. Well, I learned some things from my mom’s cook growing up. She was never a very good cook and she was so thrilled when she could finally afford someone to do it for her. She hired this lady name Mabel, who was the best. She would teach me all of the tricks, like how to heat the pan before you cook or how to separate egg yolks. But the rest of it? Trial and error.”
“Wow,” Jessica laughed. “I can’t cook that well. I never really learned how. Growing up I mostly ate ramen and pancakes made from boxed batter so,” she shrugged, “I was never really exposed to it.”
“Would you like me to teach you?” Evan offered.
“Sure,” she agreed.
“For lunch, I’ll show you how to make somet
hing simple but awesome.”
“Okay. What’s on the agenda for today?” Jessica glanced around the cabin, taking it in.
“Well, I was thinking we could go skiing.”
She laughed again. “I’ve never tried it. I bet I’ll suck.”
“Probably,” Evan teased her. “But it’s okay. I’m not competitive. We’ll get you a good instructor and you can have fun. I’ll stay on the bunny slopes with you.”
“Thanks.” Jessica beamed at him for a moment before jerking her eyes away. Some of that shyness still lingered.
“I was thinking later we could go to the hot springs,” Evan went on.
“Naked?” Jessica joked. “It’s awfully cold.”
“In the hot springs, it’ll be warm. It’s over a hundred degrees so it will take care of your muscles if they’re sore from skiing. And trust me, they’ll be sore if it’s your first time. You will ache in places you didn’t know you had muscles.”
“I heard about that. Man, I’m nervous.”
“It’ll be great. We used to come up here a lot, so I learned how to ski really well.” Evan shrugged. “I’m not world class or anything, but I can show you a thing or two.”
“Your family doesn’t come up here much anymore?”
“Not really. I wish we did but it’s been a hectic few years. And my mother never really liked this place. She’s not much of the outdoors type.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “My mom was. She loved it outside. Too bad we were stuck in the city. I think she always wanted to be out in the country.”
Evan took in the sadness that seemed to emanate from her whole being whenever she spoke of Gail Collins. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Are you ready to eat?” He fed her a bit of pancake loaded with cream on the end of a fork and she moaned in pleasure.
“So good,” she told him. “My sexy chef.”
After he fed her breakfast, he laid her down on the counter to eat his own breakfast. Jessica giggled and writhed as he tickled her labia with the day-old growth on his upper lip. Then she relaxed and began to moan as he kissed her lips as if they were the lips on her face. Slowly he teased her open and slid his tongue into her. She shook in her belly and felt pleasure rising up throughout her entire body as he flexed his tongue in and out, occasionally flicking her clit.
“You taste delicious,” he told her after she’d cum, soaking his face in her juices.
She beamed at him between her breasts. His face look radiant as he rested it between her thighs. “I love you,” she said, clearly without meaning to. The words simply left her lips without her permission. She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
Evan just smiled adoringly. “I love you, too.”
“I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay. We can take it slow. I just wanted you to know how I felt. Good to know you feel the same.”
“No…” she protested and squirmed with discomfort.
Evan could tell she was terrified of love. She had been badly hurt. She had a low opinion of men, and no wonder. So he simply kissed her and told her not to worry about it. “Let’s get ready for a great day,” he told her, patting her leg. At least he had made her orgasm. He felt accomplished, like he had already done his duties for the day. But he planned to give her one or two more orgasms before Monday rolled around…
Chapter 10
Jessica’s cheeks still burned with humiliation about what she had said as they took a driving tour of the spectacular Spring Mountains National Recreational Area. First, Evan had the driver stop at a little café and gift shop. “Black?” he asked Jessica.
Jessica nodded.
He ran in and came out a second later with two steaming cups of black coffee and a mocha cappuccino for the driver. “Hit it, Lenny,” he told the driver jokingly.
The mountains were stunning. Crested with snow, they shimmered against the pure blue sky. There was not a cloud in sight. Jessica rolled down her window and let the breeze play with her hair. It was crisp, but not cold. The Aspens were a gorgeous gold and Evan told her that they reminded him of something.
“What?” Jessica asked. She had trouble making eye contact with him.
“These.” He produced a jewelry box.
Jessica gasped, then hesitated. “Should I open it?” she asked, her voice tight. No man had ever bought her actual jewelry before. Well, Gary had given her hordes of stolen jewelry last Christmas, but no man had bought her something personal like this. No man had gone into a jewelry store and picked out something that he thought she would like. The thought meant so much. She didn’t even care if the jewelry was going to be ugly because it charmed her so much that he had done this for her.
“Of course,” he said, tenderly touching her cheek. “I saw them at that store when we stopped for coffee.”
Jessica gingerly opened the box. There a pair of beautiful gold earrings lay on the silk cushion, glowing in the light of the sun streaming through the windows, checkered by the Aspens lining the highway. “Evan,” she gasped. “These…they are beautiful.”
“Here, let me help you.” He took her hair in his hand and gathered it over her shoulder. His fingers lingered for a moment as he delighted in the silkiness of her brunette locks. Then he unclasped the earrings and guided them into her lobes. “Beautiful,” he said when he’d gotten them in.
Jessica picked up her phone and used the black screen as a mirror. They did indeed look beautiful. They complemented her beauty extravagantly. She watched in the reflection as Evan leaned over to kiss her cheek. Chills went up and down her spine as she realized how good they looked together. They seemed to match, as if they were already a couple. The scarf that Evan wore around his neck made him look like a homebody, some yuppie ski enthusiast on vacation, not a trimmed and poised CEO of a big Fortune 500 company.
And she had just told this guy that she loved him without even meaning to. It had just burbled out of her. How could she have said that? Was it how she felt? Because she knew what love meant. Love meant pain. Love meant abandonment and loss. Love meant grieving when the person finally died or ran off. And Jessica knew that even the finest men could not be trusted because everyone was selfish at the core. No one was capable of love. True love was a thing of the movies.
Suddenly, she needed out of the car. “Pull over, please,” she muttered.
“What?” Evan leaned in closer, making her heart pound harder.
“Pull over!”
The driver screeched over to the side of the road. Jessica dashed out and leaned over her knees, panting. She had to wait for her heart to return to normal. Evan tried to catch up with her and she violently shoved him away. “Stay away!”
“Are you sick? What’s wrong, love?” he demanded.
That word made her even sicker. She dry heaved a few times. Then she was calm enough to let Evan lead her to a trunk to sit down.
“What was that?” he kept asking.
“I just…felt freaked out.” Remember the money, she told herself, as she rubbed the sweat off of her clammy palms.
“These mountains tend to make me a bit car sick, too,” Evan assured her. “It’s okay.”
“How many women have you dated?” Jessica demanded suddenly. She imagined droves of women that Evan had seduced and then dumped over the years. Surely he would give her the typical story about how he had been cheated on and had his heart broken. The minute he began such a story, Jessica knew that she could safely disengage her heart and stop loving him.
“Um, two,” Evan answered, clearly caught off-guard by the question.
“Only two?” Jessica was shocked.
“I dated a girl in high school and we drifted apart. And then I had one more serious relationship in my last year of college. Her name was Mona and I planned to marry her. Then my mother got involved.” He sighed. “I don’t really have time to date nor do I want to. That is, until I met you.” He gave her an affectionate smile. “I won’t let Mother come between us, because she will try. You’re speci
al and I won’t let her drive you away.”
“She doesn’t like me, does she?” Jessica let out a shaky laugh. Her panic attack was finally receding completely. Evan’s voice soothed her nerves, though he seemed uncertain how to answer.
“You can be honest. I won’t get mad,” Jessica assured him.
“Well, she doesn’t like any pretty women. She’s pretty jealous of you. She thinks you’re here to steal me away from her.”
“Wow. I mean, you are twenty-nine, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” He let out an embarrassed chuckle. “It’s pretty sad. So how many men have you dated?”
Jessica blew out her breath. She had no idea how to tell him that she had been mostly single, save for a date here or there and a boyfriend in high school. “I haven’t really ever been in a serious relationship,” she decided to confide in him. “I had one in high school but after my mom died, he didn’t want much to do with me. I guess I wasn’t fun anymore.”
“That’s not true. If he had been a good guy, he would have stayed by your side. I would have.”
Jessica felt overcome with warmth for Evan at that moment. Then she reminded herself that he was just a slick one, who always knew just what to say. He was a good one. He was almost as good as Gary. But this time, she was wise and she would not fall for it. Nevertheless, part of her wanted to trust him, to believe what he told her about his exes and his feelings.
“So you consider us a couple?” Jessica added. Maybe if she entertained this, but was careful to keep her heart out of it, then she could scam him even more. She could crush him. The image of his face after she ran off with his millions flashed before her mind’s eye, and her heart clenched. She hated the idea of his beautiful smile crumbling into a frown. The idea of his gorgeous gray eyes becoming shocked with even more pain….
“Well, shall we continue?” She indicated the car.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
He helped her up and led her back into the backseat.
They stopped farther up the road to begin a hike. Lenny joined them as he snacked on a deli sandwich that he had brought from Vegas. He seemed like a disinterested bodyguard, always lurking behind them but not paying attention to their conversations. The secrets he must know, Jessica thought. He even gave them some privacy to make love on a huge boulder that they’d come across.
Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance Page 6
