“Um, yes,” I said, attempting to catch my breath. “Someone just tried to break into my apartment. It was a couple of men, I think.”
“Okay, ma’am, what’s the address?” she asked, again much too slowly.
“Oh,” I said, my brain still not functioning. My address was lost to me. I couldn’t recall it to save my life. The last three months I hadn’t needed an address, and for twenty-some years before, my parents’ house in Haverford was all I needed to memorize. I ran to the kitchen grabbing a piece of mail from the counter and read off the address to her, feeling like a complete idiot.
“We’ll send someone out as soon as we can,” she said. “You stay calm, okay? Keep your phone with you.”
“Do you know how long it’ll be?”
“We’re looking at probably twenty minutes, ma’am.”
“Twenty minutes?! What if they come back?” My body began to tremor uncontrollably.
“That’s a typical response time for this city, ma’am,” the operator replied. “Lots of break-ins and robberies around Christmastime when people are out of town.”
“Those men will be long gone by then,” I objected. “Can’t you send someone sooner?”
“They’ll be there as quickly as possible,” she said, her voice a feeble attempt to soothe and calm me. “Sit tight, sweetie. Keep the door locked.”
I hung up, annoyed, and double-checked the locks on the door. I paced the apartment and ran my fingers through my hair over and over again swallowing huge gulps of air and trying to calm my racing mind. I’d never been so afraid in my life. This sort of thing didn’t happen much back home, and if it did, the cops would’ve been there in five minutes or less.
I peeked out the living room windows peering down into the parking lot and looking for suspicious vehicles or loitering people. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Collapsing onto the sofa, I checked the time on my phone every other minute. My foot shook, and I chomped on my nails. The sound of someone pounding on the door twenty minutes later was like sweet music to my ears. I sprung up and peeked through the peephole once again, which revealed two fully uniformed police officers. The echoes of their radios filled the hallway behind them as I unlocked the door.
“Hi, ma’am,” a young Hispanic officer said. “I’m Officer Rodriguez, and this is Officer Townsend. We got a call that you had an attempted break-in at this address?”
“Yes, yes, come in.” I ushered them inside as if they were two knights in shining armor sent to finally rescue me from my tower of terror.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Officer Townsend asked. His kind, wrinkly blue eyes took mercy on me, and his salt-and-pepper hair peeked out from underneath his hat.
“I was sleeping, and all of a sudden, I heard weird noises coming from out there,” I said. I wrapped my arms around my body, attempting to suppress my uncontrollable shivers. “I turned on the lights and saw that the doorknob was being jiggled from the other side of the door. I heard something, maybe tools or a crowbar. I don’t know. It was like they were trying to pry the door open.”
“Yeah, there are marks on the door,” Officer Rodriguez said. “There are obvious signs of an attempt at forced entry.”
“Do you have any idea who might have wanted to break in?” he asked. “More than likely it was random, but we need to rule out any potential, known suspects.”
“No,” I said. “Not at all. I don’t know many people here.”
“Holidays,” Officer Townsend said, his hands resting casually on his duty belt. “Lots of people breaking in this time of year. They think people will be gone, or they think they’ll score a bunch of Christmas presents.”
“Never fails,” Rodriguez agreed. “Every year.”
“So, what now? What next?” I asked. “I want those guys caught.”
Rodriguez chuckled at my insistence. “As do we, ma’am.”
“We’ll call forensics, dust for prints, and write up a report,” Townsend said. “I hate to say this, but they probably won’t get caught. They were probably wearing gloves. Probably experienced at this sort of thing… career criminals. Unfortunately, this happens quite a bit.”
I knew I should’ve sprung for the pricier pad in the gated complex.
“So, I’m just supposed to go back to bed and rest easy knowing you guys aren’t doing a damn thing to catch those guys?” I immediately regretted my tone, but we were approaching four in the morning, and irrational exhaustion was taking over my frazzled nerves.
Townsend looked at me with pity in his blue eyes. “I’m sorry. We’ll do everything we can. We promise.”
I wiped a tear that had formed in the corner of my eye.
“You have anyone you can call?” Rodriguez asked. “A friend that can come stay with you?”
I shrugged a single shoulder. I could always call Jude, and I knew he’d come running. But the image of him lying in bed next to Sam was one I couldn’t get past.
“We’ll drive by here and do checks every night for the next couple of weeks,” Townsend said. “And when we’re not on duty, we’ll make sure whoever has this beat does the same.”
“Thank you,” I said, head hung low as Rodriguez closed up his little notebook and Townsend radioed for forensics.
“The guys should be here soon,” Townsend promised. “We’re going to check out the damage to the door.”
They trudged out toward the hall in their heavy black boots inspecting the black marks and dents that mauled the steel of my apartment door.
“I’d say crowbar,” I heard one of them say.
“Mmm hmm,” the other replied. “They got this one pretty good.”
“How do you know they won’t come back tonight?” I called out.
“I’m sure you scared them off by calling us,” Rodriguez said. “And if they’re smart, they’d have driven back past this place by now to see our squad car parked outside.”
I settled back on the sofa waiting for forensics to arrive.
Townsend stepped back inside, giving me a protective look my father would’ve given to me in that situation. “Is there anyone you can call to maybe keep you company? It’s probably pretty scary for you to stay here alone right now.”
It took everything I had not to run and jump straight into Jude’s arms the moment he arrived. The sight of him standing at my door under the flickering hallway lights in his white t-shirt and gray sweats, hair disheveled and eyes half-open was nothing short of being rescued by my prince on a white horse.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, half expecting him to be annoyed. “I’m sorry I woke you this early.”
“Evie, it’s fine,” he said, stumbling inside past the cops finishing up their report in the hall.
When I’d called him a half hour before, he picked up by the third ring, asked no questions, and said he’d be over as soon as possible.
“Okay, so what happened again?” he asked, throwing himself on the sofa like a heavy sack of potatoes.
“I was asleep. I heard a noise, so I went down the hall and saw the door handle jiggling. I heard men’s voices. I yelled at them. I called the police, and they left.” I was tired of rehashing the experience over and over, so he got the condensed version.
He winced. “I bet that was scary.”
I took a seat next to him, grabbed a throw blanket, and threw it over our legs. Instantly comforted by his mere presence, my body relaxed for the first time in hours.
“I’m sorry I called you over here,” I said again.
“Stop apologizing,” he groaned. “I’m here for you. It’s not a problem.”
All the adrenaline that had rushed through my veins earlier had now ensured I was wide awake. I had no intention or desire to go back to bed, and I was perfectly fine watching him sleep while I waited for the sun to come up. I was just thrilled not to be alone.
Jude leaned his head back onto the arm of the sofa, his neck in a crooked position as soft snores began to escape his half-opened lips.
�
��Jude,” I whispered. He was going to have a kink in his neck if he slept like that. “Come lie down in my room.”
His eyelids fluttered as he woke seeming to forget where he was for a brief moment.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. You can sleep in my bed,” I whispered, grabbing his arm and pulling him up as we walked back to my room. I tore back the covers and helped him in before covering him back up and heading to leave.
“Where are you going?” he asked, still half-asleep.
“Out there,” I said.
He pulled the covers open and motioned for me to lay beside him. Under any other circumstances, I’d have balked and refused. My stomach fluttered, and without thinking twice, I willingly obliged. Under the safe cocoon of the covers, wrapped in his strong arms and trapped by the heat of his warm body, I felt safer than I had in a long time. He buried his face in the back of my neck, breathing me in, and I laid wide awake, my mind wandering.
I slowly rolled to face him studying his relaxed face. His dimples were at ease, and his breathing was slow and steady, and I’d have given just about anything to kiss his soft lips. A warm, orange glow lit up the backside of the curtains casting a halo off his flawless complexion.
I hardened my intentions, not allowing myself to move a muscle as our lips were mere inches apart. I’d have to kiss him in my dreams. I’d have to close my eyes and pretend, and that would have to be good enough.
“You awake?” Jude asked, startling me a bit.
“Mmm hmm.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“Nope.”
“Me neither.”
“Sorry,” I apologized for the millionth time.
His hazel eyes fluttered open meeting mine and making my stomach quiver as if it were the first time I’d ever seen him.
“I missed you,” he said.
I should’ve relished in that moment. I should’ve let it wash over me like a ray of warmth. Instead, I felt guilty. “Where’s Sam?”
Jude balked, a sure indication that I’d ruined a perfectly sweet moment. He rarely talked about his feelings. “I don’t know. Home?”
“Does she know you’re here?” I asked.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said, rolling over to his back. “I told you that the other night.”
Unconvinced, I said, “But you guys acted so lovey-dovey, and you looked like a couple, and…”
“We’re not,” he said, his voice full of disdain. “Believe me. We’re nothing.”
“Did you break up with her?” I asked.
His chest rose and fell quickly, his nostrils flaring as his jaw clenched. Without warning, he flung the covers off and flew out of my bed. I wrapped the blankets up to my neck, terrified of the monster that paced the room around me.
“Goddammit, Evie,” he said, his fingers ruffling and tugging at his dark hair. He paced the foot of my bed before turning to face me. “I fucking love you.”
He said it. He really said it. I wasn’t dreaming.
37
JUDE
My feelings burned inside me. I’d never felt anything so real. Molten hot lava feelings that lived deep within my heart, in the part of me I failed to acknowledge half the time, were bubbling to the surface. The most tender part of me that had been branded and scarred by years of abuse, wrapped in scar tissue and beating barely enough to keep me going, had been liberated.
I paced her room, terrifying her, terrifying myself. I wanted her. I wanted to be with her. And for the first time in my adult life, I had no idea how to make it happen.
“Fuck,” I groaned. “I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll go sit out there for a bit.”
I left her room slamming the door shut and throwing myself on her sofa. My hands flew to shield my eyes from the Day-Glo sunrise that filled the living room.
“You mean it?” a soft voice asked.
I uncovered my eyes only to see her standing there, hands on her hips, eyes burning into me. I sat up.
“I do,” I said. “I love you.”
I was speaking another language. The words possessed me though foreign and unfamiliar. I moved to her side towering over her and cupping her sweet face in my hands.
“I love you,” I said again, each time easier than the time before, and each time flooding my stiff body with ripples of the kind of warmth I’d never felt before. I’d lived for years in my own prison and loving her freed me.
I caressed her cheek leaning in and pressing my mouth to hers. The heat of her body against mine invited me in, and the taste of her tongue as it danced against mine indicated I was more than welcomed to stay. We stumbled back to her room falling into her bed and the mess of covers that broke our fall. I breathed in her sweet gardenia scent, the only one that ever felt like home and slipped my fingers through her soft hair.
Stippling her neck with kisses, I found myself down by her collarbone. Her skin covered in goosebumps, she grabbed a handful of sheets and bit her lip as I tugged her pink satin shorts off.
I wanted to take my time with her. I wanted to make love to her, not just fuck her like I’d done with every other girl before her. I wanted to look into her eyes, tell her I loved her, and feel how undeniably real everything was.
I climbed off her kicking my sweats and boxers to the floor and tearing off my t-shirt. Evie sat up, peeled off her tank top and unhooked her bra staring into my eyes as she bit her bottom lip. She scooted back against her headboard, and an innocent vulnerability mixed with intense need washed over her expression. Crawling across the bed, I pressed my naked body on top of her soft flesh feeling every inch of her beneath me as she slowly moved under my weight. Our eyes locked. Her fingers reached up and raked through my hair tickling my scalp.
I’d dreamed of making love to Evie in the months that passed. Once wasn’t enough. I needed more of her. I needed all of her, all of the time.
My lips lowered, pressed against hers as I breathed her in—delicate flowers, soft musk, and clean laundry. My hardness grew as we touched, unsheathed, below. I pressed my eyes shut trying to feel every sensation, every emotion.
“I love you, Evie,” I breathed between kisses.
“I love you, too,” she said, tugging my face closer to her.
I leaned up, the cool air consuming the space between our parted bodies and lowered myself down leaving a trail of kisses from her mouth to just below her soft stomach. My head between her thighs, I pressed her legs apart and tasted her arousal. Sweet and musky, wet and wanting—that was how Evie tasted. With each lick, Evie’s back arched and faint sighs escaped her mouth. The way she frantically grasped handfuls of sheets told me to keep going.
I reached up cupping her full breasts and gently tugging her pert nipples. She grabbed my hand lifting it to her mouth and sucking my finger as I continued lapping her arousal.
Evie moaned and slapped the mattress as she tried to fight it, but eventually caved in letting herself go. I steadied her hips as she bucked and wriggled with each wave of ecstasy that forced her to lose all control.
Her hand flew up to her face, and she shielded her eyes suddenly overcome with unnecessary embarrassment.
“I’ve never come like that before,” she sighed, breathless. “Oh my God.”
She reached down gripping my arms and pulling me over her as she nibbled her lip. Her blue eyes locked on mine, and she nodded rendering words useless. I knew what she wanted. I wanted it, too.
“I’m on the pill,” she whispered, running her hands from my arm down my sides and resting them on my lower back as she pressed me into her. “Please. I want this. I want you.”
I cupped a hand beneath her ass positioning her as I grabbed my throbbing hardness, placing it at her entrance. One gentle push, and I was inside her. Evie threw her head back as she breathed a sigh releasing all her tension in one breathy gasp.
She brought her head up, and as I pressed myself into her further, I lowered my mouth to hers, claiming her. She was mine. Warm and tight, w
e fit together perfectly. Evie’s pretty face scrunched, and her brows furrowed in concentration. She pressed her face into the side of the pillow as she licked her lips as if another wave of ecstasy was building, and she couldn’t fight it any longer.
My lips dipped to her neck tasting her skin as her thighs squeezed tight around my hips. My hand slipped behind her lower back providing resistance as I thrust deep inside her.
Evie’s lips parted into an ‘O’ shape, and her brows knitted further. Her breasts bounced as I picked up the intensity. I didn’t give two shits about getting my rocks off. I wanted to give her all the pleasure I could.
Sighs escaped her lips once again, and her head flailed back and forth. The second her back arched, it was all over. Her hips bucked wildly beneath me still pinned by my weight, and her hands flew up to her face the second she was finished.
A slow smile crept upon her face as I exploded inside her, my hardness writhing and wriggling uncontrollably as she gently bucked back, still in her post-coital bliss. The moment it was finished, I lowered myself on top of her, breathing in our sex and feeling the drumbeat of her heart against mine.
“Jude,” she breathed. “Oh, my God.”
I rolled off her keeping my hand above the dip of her hip. I had to touch her always. I never wanted to let go.
“Give me more of that,” she laughed breathlessly. “Not now, though. I need a break.”
She inched her way closer to me nuzzling up under my arm and draping my other arm tighter around her like I was her safe place.
“I’ve never had sunrise sex before,” she mused, her voice muffled by my chest.
“Neither have I,” I said, brushing my fingers through her mussed-up hair. If I could close my eyes, I could feel her love, warm and soft like a blanket, as vital as the air I breathed, and as real as anything I could possibly touch.
38
EVIE
I slipped the key into the lock of Jude’s condo door. He’d given me a key, and lately, I’d been spending most of my days with him. Two weeks we’d been back together, and two weeks we’d done nothing but make up for lost time, our days and nights blurring together.
The End of Everything - Garner-Willoughby Brothers Duet Book Two Page 19
