“Deal.”
Wylie turned off the lights, and the two laid in bed next to one another. He hadn’t been wrong. He really did take up most of the bed.
“Lie on your side,” he instructed. “I will too. We’ll fit better.”
“Which way should I…face.”
“Whichever way you want.”
“Okay.” That nervous hitch in Eva’s voice had returned. “I’ll, uh, just face the bathroom.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, facing the same way.
It was clear to each of them that neither was going to fall sleep like this, not with the heightened senses generated by their closeness. Six o’clock couldn’t come fast enough for either of them. Not by a long shot.
A loud bang outside startled Eva into a frenzy, launching her nearly off the bed. In one sudden swoop, Wylie’s large arm wrapped around her and swiftly pulled her into him.
With her back perfectly cradled into his front, he held here there, tight, and didn’t let go. “It’s okay, darlin’—just a car backfiring. You’re safe.”
All Eva could do was nod. The events of the past several days were weighing on her, and all it took was a shitty car to send her over the edge and into a tearful moment of defeat.
“Hey,” he murmured, kissing her head, “you’re okay, honey. I promise you’re safe. You’re always safe with me, okay?”
She cried harder, and he could only imagine why. Eva was used to being tough, independent, and strong, but the events of late clearly had her feeling anything but that. She was vulnerable, battered, and needed him despite not wanting to admit it. Wylie was desperate for her to understand that he truly did have her back and would let nothing harm her, even if he couldn’t wrap his own mind around that deep-seated desire.
“Turn around,” he insisted. “Roll over and face me, Eva.”
Without hesitation, she did.
“Do you trust me?” he asked. “Really trust me?”
She nodded in agreement, more tears trailing her face.
He gently brushed them away with the pad of his thumb, mindful of the remaining bruises she still wore. “Look at me, darlin’—I’m not letting anything or anyone ever hurt you again. You hear me, right? Back there at that house, I told you to run without me if I didn’t come back because I’ll die fighting for you before I let anyone harm you.”
Now a sob escaped her, and her body shuddered against his.
“And if that car, with its loud tailpipe, comes back for you and tries to run you over and make another stain on that disgusting”—he exaggerated the dramatics on his last word, and even offered her an eye roll—“bed, I’ll stop that too. Okay?”
She chuckled. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re beautiful,” he admitted before realizing it.
She gasped. “Wylie.”
“I’m not trying to…”
She put a finger over his mouth to silence him. “Shh. It’s okay.”
“I just need you to know that.”
“You don’t like me,” she pointed out. “You go out of your way to avoid me.”
Wylie let out a deep sigh. “No. I want to not like you. I want to avoid you. If I’ve learned anything these past several days, it’s that I do like you, and for some crazy reason, I’ve been running from my own truth.”
Eva smiled. “And all I had to do was disappear.”
“Something like that. I just had a hard time with how we all came together, you know? It felt…”
“Deceitful. I know,” she answered for him. “That was never my intention. I knew who you all were even when Declan was undercover as my father’s right-hand man.”
Wylie sat up on his elbow, shocked by what she’d just divulged. “Are you serious? And you never sold him out. How’d you…know?”
“There was this level of kindness about him. He had this hardened exterior, but when no one was looking, he was…kind. I don’t know how else to say it. So I started stalking him.” She laughed. “I was outside every room, doorway, you name it…listening in, trying to infiltrate anywhere I could. I heard him talking to you guys and noted your names. I tried to figure out who you guys were. I almost gave up when I couldn’t find any of you online. It was the night he helped Lydia escape that I heard him talking, and I got Brother’s Keeper and O’Reilly out of the conversation.”
“But he didn’t know about you. None of us did. He would have recognized you in McKenzie Ridge when you started working for Lydia.” Wylie was thoroughly confused. “I don’t understand.”
“There were so many people in and out of that house, and they had such a large staff that it was actually pretty easy to slip in and out. As long as my father wasn’t there, I could get in undetected.”
“That’s…”
“Crazy?” She laughed when he nodded. “Maybe. But I was desperate to stop my father or at least get my little brother out of there. That’s how it all started for me—Jax. I was going to run with him.”
“That would have been suicide.”
Eva shook her head. “My father would never have suspected me. He didn’t even know I was there or knew Jax. It would have been easier than you think and I was desperate to save him if I couldn’t stop my father. That’s why I followed Declan and Lydia to McKenzie Ridge and befriended everyone. I knew you guys were already working to take my father down by that point, and I could help.”
“That you did.” Wylie brushed her hair behind her ear. “You are…incredible. Scary but incredible.”
“When you grow up around the things we did, it’s not so incredible. I had good teachers. I couldn’t let that man hurt anyone else, especially his youngest son. Lydia is a good person, a wonderful mother, and I’m glad she and Jax got their second chance.”
“I never knew any of that,” Wylie admitted.
“Your brothers know. They know all of it. That’s why they brought me onto the team as an asset.” She laughed.
“I guess I was too mad to sit in on those briefings after we figured out who you really were,” Wylie admitted. “And I regret that now.”
“Pretty long grudge you held there, O’Reilly,” she teased.
“I know. And I regret it. I’d been through a bad relationship, and I guess starting to fall for you and finding out you weren’t who you said you were triggered something in me. I’m not proud of it.”
“Who?” she asked. “Who hurt you?”
He hesitated at first, but for some reason, he felt compelled to tell her. “My fiancée. We were high school sweethearts, so she was my first love. I guess you could say my first everything. We had planned an incredible life, one we were both anxious to start, but after school, I was gone a lot, working with my brothers to build the company. I suppose she felt a little neglected and found attention elsewhere?”
“That’s awful. I’m sorry,” she consoled. “How did you find out?”
“Well…” He let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “We were waiting for marriage, if you know what I mean? But after an especially long mission, we decided to…bond. I’d missed her so much, and we were planning to get married, so no big deal.”
“Okay…not sure I follow.”
“That’s because I didn’t deliver the punch line yet.” He laughed again, clearly uncomfortable. “She seemed a little more…experienced than I thought a first-timer should be. So much so that it was a little distracting.”
Eva covered her mouth to hold back a laugh.
“Like she knew how to do…things…really well. And just when I thought maybe girls just knew…she called out another dude’s name.”
Eva gasped. “No she didn’t.”
“She did. My best friend at the time’s name, no less.”
“That makes it even worse, Wylie. Oh, my…”
“No. What made it worse was that she was pregnant. Too pregnant for it to be mine. They’d been getting together behind my back for a really long time.”
“That must’ve been devastating for you. Your fian
cée and best friend. Then I come along and start everything based on a lie.”
“Well,” he interrupted, “yours was a well-intentioned lie.”
“It doesn’t matter. After what you’d been through…It makes so much sense why I struck a chord.”
“It was a long time ago, Eva. Truthfully, I should have let it go a long time ago.”
“We can’t help how we feel, though, Wylie. We’re entitled to our feelings and can’t help where they lead us.” She paused and propped herself up on an elbow to better see his expression in the dim room. “I know this doesn’t change anything, but you should know that although my intentions may have seemed clouded, my feelings for you were not. Everything back then was genuine. I literally prayed that finding out who I really was and why I was there wouldn’t change things between us when the truth came out.”
Wylie laid his hand on her shoulder and traced a trail down her arm with his finger. “Eva, you did what you had to, and I don’t blame you. It was me. I couldn’t see through my own bullshit.”
“I wish we could have met under different circumstances…”
“It’s okay, Eva. Really. What matters is where we go from here.”
She laid her head back down on the bed and just looked at him, and he mirrored her movements.
“Wylie?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you kiss me like that earlier?”
“Because that asshole was looking at you a certain way, and it infuriated me.”
“Why did it infuriate you, Wylie?”
“Because he’s a scumbag, and…” Wylie wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence. He was torn between telling her the truth and telling her what he should to get them to Montana safely with no distractions.
“And?”
“And…” he hesitated only a moment, “because you aren’t his to look at that way.”
She nodded. “And?”
“And because as much as I tried to ignore it, I can’t anymore. I have feelings, Eva…”
“What feelings, Wylie?”
Wylie rolled to his back and raked his hands through his hair before positioning them under his head. She was going to make him say it. “Eva…I’m falling for you. I’ve been falling for you. The day I knew you were gone, my heart sank. I hurt in ways I never thought I could and had so many regrets. I was afraid I’d lost you for good and hated myself for waiting until that moment to realize what you really meant to me.”
“And that’s how I knew you’d come for me,” she admitted before she leaned over and kissed him.
Wylie welcomed her approach and kissed her back. Eva got up on her knees and straddled him, pulling her top over her head as she did.
“Eva…” He put his hands on her waist. “I told you. I never really…”
Wylie was flustered. He’d finally come to terms with his feelings for Eva, and the one thing that stood in the way was a hurdle he didn’t know how to overcome other than…practice.
“I know I talk a big game with my brothers, but I’m not like them. I take…this kind of thing seriously. I haven’t had…”
“Shh. It’s okay. I know you aren’t like them. That’s why I fell for you, Wylie. Your heart, your kindness, your generosity…” She began to move against him and leaned down to kiss him once more, but he stopped her.
“This”—he waved his hands around the bed—“means something to me. After what happened before, I decided this was only for the woman who…would stick around. You know? Jesus, this is embarrassing.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Wylie. I’ve waited, hoped, and prayed for this day for as long as I’ve known you. I was just waiting for you.”
Her words hit him hard and left him speechless, unsure how he could follow something like that. It meant everything and nothing—it could be the heat of the moment or because she’d had more than one brush with death in the past few days. As much as he wanted to believe her, hesitation stood in his way.
He felt ridiculous for thinking as he did, especially with someone like Eva straddling him. As much as he wanted her, it had to be for the right reasons. The thought of his brothers knowing what he was saying, admitting to…it killed him. He felt like such a pussy. Emotions and crap were for females, right? Was this the ultimate role reversal?
“Eva, I’m not sure I’m good at…this. I mean, I’m not a virgin, but…” He let out a deep sigh. “I want you. So fucking bad. But I also want to be with you after this. And for all the days that come later. I’m not saying white picket fences, but it needs to be more than a fling. I don’t do those. And it can’t be just me who feels that way.”
“Wylie. I’ll say it again. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been waiting for this very moment.” She looked around the space. “I pictured it a little different, but this isn’t a fling. Not by a long shot. It’s been you all along for me.”
“I-I don’t want to disappoint you. Not at this.”
“Then let me teach you,” Eva murmured and began to ride against him as she pulled his shirt up and over his head. “If you don’t want to believe me, I’ll show you how I feel, Wylie.”
And she did. Eva took control, and he liked it. Given his career and the things he did in his life, it was odd to turn over that kind of control, but perfect at the same time. He had a dominant personality with primal alpha-like tendencies, but right now…she was alpha.
Eva removed her clothes, then his before sliding down his body where she took her time pleasuring him. He gripped her hair, holding it tight as she worked him over, nearly to his ending, just to slow him down and start again. It pained him and pleasured him. When it was nearly too much, and he couldn’t stand not touching her body, he grabbed her and pulled her up his body as he sat up and cradled her in his lap.
With her legs around his waist, she began to grind against his hardened length, still slick from her mouth. He tipped her back slightly so he could have his way with her breasts. With one in his mouth, the other in his hand perfectly filled his grip. She moaned as he toyed with her, which pushed him to give her more. That sound she made was everything. He loved it and loathed it because he knew he’d crave it now.
When she lifted herself over him, it was nearly his undoing. Feeling her slide down his length, little by little, adjusting to him so she could take all of him, he felt pure bliss. More than he could have imagined. When she reached his base, she tossed her head back and let out another one of those sultry sounds that drove him nearly mad. And then she began to move. Slow at first, then faster, and when he matched her pace, she stopped him.
“No. Let me show you,” she moaned as she quickened her pace, eyes locked in his stare.
She didn’t want him to move, but he couldn’t help himself because he couldn’t get enough. With his hands gripping her ass, he helped lift her, just to push her back down over him. The faster they went, the harder she breathed, the harder he drove her, and the louder she cried. He could feel her tighten around him, which a sensation all its own—one he couldn’t explain or describe other than it was Eva and the affect she had on him at that moment was more than he could take.
Feeling her nearly peak was beautiful. She was beautiful. Not being allowed to ride her back in the way that felt so natural it was like they were made for one another had him at the brink. She. Was. Made. For. Him.
Reaching between them, he stroked her bundle of nerves like their lives depended on it because, at this very moment, it felt like they did. She was ready, and he wanted to push her over the edge and did just that with a simple touch. When he felt her ecstasy roll through her body, he let himself go too so they could ride the waves of euphoria together, completely intoxicated by each other.
Though there were only a few more hours until their car was to be done, and they should be resting…Eva took her time teaching him. Over and over again.
17
“I can’t believe they tracked me by my necklace. That means someone switched it, but when?” Eva questioned as they sat in t
he shadows in a new vehicle, watching the car they left the motel in from across the street.
“Who knows, but the odds of anyone finding us there were slim to none. It wasn’t a safe house or a place we’ve ever used, so they had to be following something. I’m glad they showed up when they did, though, or they would have followed us all the way to Montana,” he cautioned.
After the new tire had been installed, they saw an SUV pull in and talk to Terry, who’d pointed at Wylie and Eva as they hit the main road. Neither recognized the men from their vantage point as they were just far enough off to decide if they were from another crime family or just randoms hired by those who were trying to flush all the O’Reillys out. Wylie had driven as fast as safety allowed until they came upon a town that had a car rental agency.
“I can’t believe that guy ran his own credit card for you?” Eva said about the rental.
“Well, I paid him for the rental and gave him a nice cash bonus for helping me out since I lost my wallet and credit cards while traveling.”
“It’s so risky, though. What if you don’t return it? He’s on the hook for the rental.”
“Only the payment was in his name. The car is rented under an alias. Besides, we’ll return the car to another location as promised, and no one will have reason to question it. He’ll be fine.”
“Well, that’s something…” Eva laughed. “What if something happens, and he gets fired?”
“He won’t. I’m going to keep tabs. If there’s any fallout, I’ll take care of the guy.” Wylie sat up straighter and pointed at a dark SUV in the distance. “Look. Is that them? The guys from the gas station?”
“Oh my God, Wylie. It is.”
They sat and watched as four men exited the SUV, and two approached the car Eva and Wylie abandoned while the others inspected the nearby area.
“Holy shit,” Wylie blurted. “Right to the car. The necklace is down that alley right there, and the guy with the phone in his hand is headed right for it.”
“Wylie. Who’s that?” Eva pointed beyond the SUV they were watching. “You see that other car that just pulled over a block down from them? Something about those blacked-out windows has my attention.”
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 126
