by Mia Carson
She let out a soft snore, and he smiled, getting to his feet. He wrapped her in the blanket, picked her up, and carried her to bed. He tucked her in so she’d be warm, wondering why her house was so cold. He thought it was just him after hearing her story, but his skin prickled with goosebumps.
Viktor leaned down when she frowned in her sleep and barely let his lips brush her forehead, but it was enough to calm her. She settled against the pillows with a contented sigh. Anger simmered beneath the surface for the asshole who’d hurt Evie, but he would find another day to deal with that—after he figured out why her house had turned into an icebox. He closed her bedroom door softly and walked to the thermostat, tapping it when he saw the temperature.
“Damn, woman,” he growled, “do you think you have to suffer for something?”
The thermostat read sixty degrees, and as he watched, it dropped another notch. He knew a few guys in the business but would have to wait until morning to call them. A new furnace was in order for her tiny house, too. Hell, he should’ve just given the entire place a face-lift so he wouldn’t have to worry about her.
Why would you worry to begin with? This is going to work, and she’ll be living with you, he told himself as he meandered back to the living room and took over the chair again. He turned on the TV, the volume low, and flipped aimlessly through channels.
He couldn’t focus on anything at all besides the sweetness of Evie’s lips until he found the hives on her torso. Now that he knew what happened, everything about her fell into place, but he didn’t want to run away like he could tell she feared he would do. He wanted to get closer until he could obliterate those horrible memories from her childhood—the way she was eating away at his pain left behind by Mary. How she was doing it, Viktor didn’t know, but he wouldn’t let her disappear from his life.
And as he glared across the room at the contract neither of them had signed, new ideas ran through his mind. Crazy ideas. Scenarios he never thought he’d want to try again in his life.
***
A knock sounded at the door the next morning, jerking Viktor awake. He had slept in the chair with the TV on. The house was definitely colder, and he cursed his stiff muscles as he pushed himself up. Another knock echoed through the house, and he heard the toilet flush down the hall. Evelyn was awake, so he thought of waiting for her to get the door, but the knocking kept going.
“Alright, alright,” he grumbled and stood, stretching his broad frame and scratching his beard as he walked to the door. Looking a bit rumpled and not really caring after the night he’d had, he swung open the front door. A man stood on the doorstep, his face contorted in confusion as he looked Viktor up and down. “Can I help you?” Viktor asked, eyeing the man closely.
His clothes were ragged, his jeans patched, and his hair was messy. Smudges of dirt covered his face, and for a second, Viktor almost slammed the door in the man’s face.
“I could ask you the same thing, bub,” the man said, glancing past Viktor. “Where’s Evelyn?”
“Who’s asking?” he snapped.
“Her brother.”
Viktor frowned and gripped the door tighter. “She doesn’t have any siblings.”
The man rolled his eyes. “Sorry, her foster brother—hey, man, what the hell!”
Viktor dragged him into the house by his shirt front and slammed him up against the wall. “You bastard! Why the hell are you here, huh? Why?” His fist drew back, and he decked the guy once, popping him hard in the nose, but the man slipped away and lunged for his middle, taking them both down.
“Why are you in my sister’s house?!” the man yelled as they rolled on the floor.
“What the hell are you doing? Ajay, get off him!” Evelyn yelled as she ran down the hall. She tugged on Ajay’s arm, but he yanked it back until she grabbed his earlobe. “I said get off! What are you doing?”
“He started it!” Ajay yelled, trying to kick Viktor again.
“Viktor? Why would he hit you?” Evelyn asked, glaring at him as he got to his feet, his chest heaving and body heated with rage.
“I don’t know! Ask him, and who the hell is he?” He pressed the back of his hand to his nose and pulled it away. “Shit, I’m bleeding. Thanks a lot, jackass.”
Evelyn turned to Viktor, frowning. “Why did you hit him?”
“He said he was your foster brother,” he snapped. “And last night you told me… told me about what… uh, what happened…” He trailed off, rubbing his neck as he watched her face fall. She wrapped her arms around her chest.
Ajay stared from one to the other before he leaned in closer to Evelyn. “You told him?”
She scrunched her face, shaking her head, but her eyes widened and she stared at Viktor, horrified. “Oh, God. I did. Jesus, I didn’t mean to, must’ve slipped out.”
“I tried to stop you, but you were pretty intent on telling me about the hives,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry, Evie.” He waited for her to yell at him to get out, that the deal was off and he’d lost his chance.
“Someone want to tell the bleeding guy why there’s a strange man in your house?”
Evelyn’s eyes widened even more, and just as Viktor opened his mouth, she rushed forward and wrapped an arm around his waist. “No,” she whispered, so quiet he could barely hear. “He can’t know the truth. He’ll freak out and call our parents!”
He glanced at Ajay holding his bleeding nose and slowly backed them away further so they could speak privately. “So what are we then?” he asked. “And he’s your foster brother, too?”
She nodded. “A different one, a good one. He’s my best friend, really,” she muttered and smirked up at him, her arm tightening around his waist, sending waves of heat through his body. “Thanks, by the way, for trying to avenge me… I guess,” she added with a light laugh.
“Yeah, well, now I feel like an asshole for hitting him.”
“Don’t. I’m sure at some point, he’ll do something to deserve it,” she said. “Alright, so just like with your family, we have to pretend with mine. He can’t know the truth, or I’ll be in deep shit. Deal?”
He nodded firmly. “Should probably hide the contract on the table,” he whispered as he leaned down and, like any doting boyfriend would do, kissed her cheek.
She stilled for a moment before leaning into him. “God, I wish last night had gone differently.” She pulled away, and he watched her walk to the table, unable to do anything but stand there as surprise and desire flooded through his body.
Viktor cleared his throat and held out his hand to Ajay. “Sorry about that,” he said gruffly. “I found out about what happened last night and you said 'foster brother.' Triggered something.”
Ajay studied his face and took his hand with his, fortunately not covered in blood from his nose. “Yeah, no, I totally understand. The feeling’s mutual. If I ever find the guy, I’ll let you know so we can kick his ass together.”
“Pretty sure he’s in jail somewhere,” Evelyn called from the kitchen.
“Not good enough,” Viktor muttered and Ajay laughed.
“I like this guy. So who are you?”
“Viktor Hartmann, your sister’s boyfriend,” Viktor told him, shooting Evelyn a smile.
Ajay followed the look. “That’s why you looked funny the other night.”
Evelyn slammed a drawer shut, and Viktor assumed it was where she tucked the contract away. “I did not look funny. Do you want something for your nose so you stop bleeding all over my floor? And don’t even think about sitting on the couch,” she added as she stomped off down the hall.
Ajay turned around and took in the furniture. “Very nice. Where did all this come from?”
“I may have had something to do with that,” Viktor said. “Her place was completely empty. Just trying to help out. She needs a new furnace, too.”
“Oh, I know it. Damn stubborn is what she is,” Ajay said. He leaned back to glance down the hall before motioning Viktor closer. “She’s been through hell, a
nd I know she told you the worst of it, but just keep that in mind, alright? You’re the first guy she’s ever let into her life, and if you hurt her, I don’t care if your family owns half the town. You’ll walk with a limp for the rest of your life.”
Viktor raised a brow. He was at least a head taller than Ajay and easily had more muscles, but he nodded in understanding. “You really are her older brother.”
“Just wish I’d been in her life sooner,” he muttered darkly. “Could’ve saved her a whole lot of trouble.”
“Wish she’d found me a bit sooner,” he said quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It would’ve done us both some good.”
Ajay glanced sideways at him, but Evelyn walked down the hall towards them, muttering about men and blood, and threw a clean washcloth at Ajay’s face. “There, clean yourself up, and you—can you not deck every person that comes to my front door?” she said, pointing her finger at Viktor.
He shrugged and watched her move around the small kitchen, getting a pot of coffee ready for the morning. Ajay and he made their way to the counter, the first mopping his nose.
“How did you two meet?” Ajay asked, the washcloth pressed against his nose.
Evelyn fumbled with the coffee mug in her hand. “We… uh, we met just last week. At the diner,” she said quickly, throwing Viktor a pleading look. He grinned and leaned on the counter, eager to hear this story. “He spilled his coffee on me,” she added with a smirk and tilt of her head.
“It was an accident,” he grumbled, his jaw tightening as she laughed.
“Well, I guess it was a happy accident, at least,” Ajay said, but the tone of his voice said he didn’t believe her. Viktor waited for her brother to ask more questions, but he didn’t. “Just fix me a cup to go, then, Evelyn. I was going to check on your furnace today. Looks like your new boyfriend has it covered.”
“You working at the docks today?” she asked, grabbing a travel mug from another cabinet.
“Yeah. It'll be a bit brutal, but what can you do?”
Viktor straightened and turned to Ajay. “You know, if you’re tired of working at the shipyard, I could always use good men in the lumber industry. You won’t reek of fish all the time,” he added with a grin.
Ajay frowned and broke out in laughter. “Yeah, guess I do smell. It’s the damn coveralls… It never washes out. You know, I might take you up on that.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Evelyn’s face paled, worry evident in her eyes, but Viktor shrugged it off.
“Yeah, I think it will be. Here, take one of my cards,” he said, pulling out his wallet. “Give me a call Monday, and I’ll see if I can’t get you set up to come in and at least try your hand at it for a day or so.”
Ajay tucked it away with a nod of thanks and took the travel mug from Evelyn, who muttered under her breath. Ajay kissed her cheek, said he’d see them later, and ducked out the door. Once it closed, Evelyn hung her head in her hands.
“Could this weekend get any worse?”
“It hasn’t been all bad,” he said and reached across the counter to tilt her chin up gently. “Evie, look at me. I know you didn’t want to tell me the way you did last night… about what happened to you,” he told her firmly, “but it doesn’t change anything. Not for me.”
She chewed her lip and tugged on the messy braid draped over her shoulder. “Really? It doesn’t bother you that I break out in hives at the drop of a kiss?”
He smiled. “No, it’s just something we’ll have to work on.” He stepped around the counter, and unable to resist, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. The line was miles behind him now—the line they weren’t supposed to cross—and he was leaping onward without a care in the world. “I’m going to get cleaned up.”
“I’ll just be here,” she told him, and as he walked away, he swore he heard her whisper, “trying to figure out what mess we just walked into.”
Chapter 12
Evelyn thought it would be awkward after what happened the night before with Viktor, but instead, with it flurrying outside, they decided a day spent inside, curled up on her new living room furniture, would be perfect. He sat in the over-sized chair, reading a book, while she watched the football game, screaming at the TV when New York scored against Green Bay again.
Viktor chuckled from behind his book. “You hate New York that much?”
“You don’t?”
“Never really watched football,” he said with a shrug.
“Ajay and I did, every Sunday, with the other kids and our foster dad,” she told him. “It was our way of bonding, I guess, and venting some pent up anger at our lives. Therapeutic.” She sipped on her beer, hating to admit how comfortable she was on the couch he’d picked out.
“I can see that,” he said, setting his book aside. “Hungry? I'm thinking about making some burgers for dinner.”
Evelyn sipped her beer, turning to see the clock. “It’s already after six? Wow, this day off went by fast.”
“Not over yet,” he said, getting to his feet.
“You want some help in there?” she asked, muting the TV.
“I don’t know. You said you don’t cook. Might not be safe,” he teased with a wink that twisted her insides pleasurably. He dug through her freezer, and she got to her feet, still wearing her yoga pants and hoodie from the night before. “Mind telling me what you lived off of before I moved in? Your fridge was empty.”
She gripped her beer tighter as she wandered into the kitchen. “I had just moved in. Didn’t exactly have time for a huge shopping trip yet,” she said, not meeting his look of disbelief. “What?”
“Usually, food is the first thing you get.”
She mocked him, repeating his words in a deep baritone voice until he burst out laughing. She pulled her cell from her pocket and asked if he minded some music. He told her to go ahead, and she turned on her rock station, setting her cell on the counter as music blasted from its small speakers. He nodded his head in approval.
“You listen to Five Finger Death Punch?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’ve always had a thing for rock, though every house I grew up in was either country or rap. Ajay introduced me to a few bands, and I explored from there,” she told him, hopping up on the counter as she had last night.
He turned on the burner, and she watched as he seasoned the burgers. “I’m glad you had someone you could trust after what happened.”
She stiffened. “Yeah, well, it took a while. I was a bit of a loner after that. Still am, really. Only have one good friend.”
“Two,” he corrected without missing a beat. “You have two good friends, Evie.”
Her heart fluttered, and she smiled. “Two, you’re right.” As she agreed with him she realized the truth she’d been trying to hide since the moment she found herself in his arms. She didn’t want to have just another friend. She wanted him as a man, wanted him to hold her and kiss her as he had last night, but she knew it was out of the question and not because of the contract. The damn hives.
They both fell silent, Viktor with his back to her as he cooked and her debating how screwed she was by agreeing to spend so much time with him. She thought she could handle herself and that it would be like living with Ajay, but she didn’t want to keep her distance. A hunger to be touched filled her, and she worried it would never go away.
It didn’t take long for their dinner to cook, but just as he pulled it off the burner, the music changed and a slow rock song came on. Viktor turned and offered his hand to her as Staind sang behind her, a song Evelyn felt she’d never be able to relate to.
“What’s this?” she asked, glancing at his hand, words to the song rushing over her.
“I’m asking if you’d like to dance,” he said quietly, completely serious.
A very quiet voice told her not to do it. It would end the same way it had last night, but her hand slipped into his and he helped her down from the counter, moving to the small open area between the couch and the kitch
en table. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she slid her hands up to his shoulders, grinning as they swayed to the music of ‘Tangled Up in You,’ letting the music fill the silence between them.
When that song ended, she expected him to let her go, but another slow one came on and he drew her in closer until her cheek pressed against his chest. Being in his arms was perfect, and she was surrounded by his masculine smell of deep woods and pine. She snuggled closer and tilted her head back when his feet stopped.
His steely silver gaze captured hers, and when he lowered his mouth to hers, Evelyn immediately rose up to meet him. Their lips met in a kiss that started gentle, testing the waters again, but then heat rose within her and she reached her arms around his neck to bring him even closer. Want consumed her, and she pressed herself into his body until he bent and picked her up in his arms, not letting his lips leave hers as his tongue explored the depths of her mouth, groaning when she returned the favor just as passionately. He set her gently on the kitchen table and stood between her legs.
Her fingers moved to the buttons on his flannel, something in her dying to see the hard planes of the chest she’d felt so many times already. They came undone easily as he ran his fingers over her braid and carefully undid it, letting her hair fall loose over her shoulders.
“Evie, are you sure about this?” he asked, his words rough as he captured her mouth again with his.
She parted his shirt and shoved it over his shoulders until it got stuck. She laughed with him as he quickly shrugged out of it, and she pulled his t-shirt up over his head. Her breath caught as she stared at the light dusting of hair across his pecs and his pert nipples sticking out from it. Holding her breath, she reached out and ran her hands along his chest and near perfect abs, waiting for panic to set in or the familiar tingling of hives cropping up.
