Wow. She really did lose all inhibitions and all control around this man. And she loved it. It was the one time in her life where she’d been able to surrender control. It was the first time she’d felt safe enough to do so.
That’s because you’d never met Evan until now, a small voice in the back of her head whispered.
Her inner walls throbbed almost painfully as they squeezed around Evan’s intruding fingers. She never knew that her body was capable of experiencing this many conflicting sensations and impulses at once: hot and cold, tingling and numbness, clenching and relaxing. She was in control of none of them, they were merely flashing through her like a kaleidoscope of pleasure.
Her eyes were heavy-lidded and rolled back in her head, but she did focus long enough to glimpse him rolling a condom on. A wave of heat engulfed her at the realization that, in mere moments, he would be inside her, filling her up, and she’d be powerless to do anything but take him.
And that thought was almost more than she could bear.
He positioned himself between her legs and his gaze met hers, his stare foggy with a look of awe. “You’re so beautiful. So perfect. So amazing.”
Something about the way he said it made her believe it in a way she never had. She thought it was the look in his eyes, but maybe it was the tone in his voice. Maybe it was the combination. They told her that he saw her, really saw her, as more than just a pretty picture in a magazine. More than just a Barbie doll who hit her mark and said her lines.
He saw her soul. And he thought she was beautiful. And perfect. And amazing.
His hand reached between their bodies and positioned himself at her entrance. She had the urge to reach down between them and help him out. Touching him was always her first response, her first impulse.
But when she moved to reach between them, she ran into the resistance placed there by the ties that bound her to the headboard. She drew a hard breath.
This was exactly what she had in mind when she fantasized about being tied up. The constant reminder of her tethered state every time she moved to do something that just came naturally. She knew it wasn’t everybody’s thing, but she was fast finding out that it was hers. She’d never been this turned on in her entire life.
The tip of his impressive length pressed against her opening, pushing in bit by bit. The slow, inexorable movement spread her out, opening her up to being penetrated by his rock-hard erection.
The soft, velvet folds of her inner walls hugged his rod as he moved into her further. Her muscles strained against the bonds that held her arms back and it set both her body and her soul on fire.
He buried himself inside her all the way to the hilt, filling her up, their bodies pressed together so tightly that it was tough to tell where she ended and he began. They were like one hot, slick mass of flesh and arousal.
She hooked her heels underneath her to give herself some extra leverage and angled her hips upward, pressing even harder into the intense pressure of Evan’s hips. Her inner walls squeezed around his erection as hard as she could, making herself as tight as her body would allow.
Evan drew out of her until he was almost completely removed, then plunged into her, abandoning all gentleness or care he had exhibited when he’d entered her the first time. This time he entered her with a fierce thrust that set her head spinning and caused a burst of white stars to explode behind her closed eyelids.
He repeated the motion over and over. Drawing out of her again, then slamming into her, then out, then in. Again and again, building in speed and intensity until the pressure building up inside her belly was almost too much to bear.
It was difficult to control the rhythm of her hips, but she did her best to match her movements to the speed and timing of Evan’s thrusts so that they would move as one.
As much as she tried, she couldn’t quite catch up to him. With every pump, every stroke, there was always something just a little bit off. A little bit clunky. Rather than moving like a well-oiled machine, there were little hitches that stopped the momentum from completely building.
Then, Evan clamped his big, powerful hand around her hip and held it there, supporting her body with the strong fingers that threaded underneath her and easily controlled her rhythm.
She surrendered to him, letting herself go entirely.
She was at his mercy.
There was nowhere else in the world she would’ve rather been.
The moment that she relinquished complete control to Evan, everything changed. He set their pace and guided her hips to follow it. All of a sudden, they were magically moving in sync. There was no more awkwardness, no more glitches. There was only the perfect rhythm of him plunging in and out of her, driving her further up the peak of arousal until she was within inches of cresting it.
“Oh, yes, Evan. It feels so good. Don’t stop,” she moaned, imploring him to continue to give her the pleasure that her body so fiercely desired.
With that plea, she closed her eyes as his body hit just the right spot and it triggered a volcano of pleasure to erupt in her. Everything around them disappeared in an explosion of bliss. Ranging out from her torso and running down every extremity, covering every inch of tingling skin, the orgasm left no cell unaffected.
Her release tore through her with tornado force. It was, by far, the most powerful orgasm she’d ever had. Bright lights burst behind her lids as her entire body was engulfed with a flashflood of ecstasy. It sent her shooting to another dimension, one where only pleasure and euphoria existed.
When she finally drifted back into reality she opened her eyes and saw that Evan was untying her restraints. He freed her and then kissed her wrists before rolling on his back and pulling her on top of him.
She lay, totally spent, every muscle in her body limp and relaxed as he held her close to him and his thumb traced lazily along her lower back.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she kissed his chest and back.
“My pleasure. Any other fantasies you have, I’m your man.” His words rumbled beneath her lips.
She lifted her head, smiled, and pressed her mouth to his. “My Brawny Man.”
He chuckled and slapped her rear lightly. The sting caused a burst of arousal to explode in her core. She might have one more fantasy she’d like to act out.
Tonight.
Chapter 20
‡
Evan grinned as he reached past Gary, the craft service guy, to grab a bagel. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. And he felt lighter and happier than he could ever remember feeling, and on a day that he’d originally dreaded.
Today, Noelle was bringing her niece Jazzy to the set and Noelle’s fiancé was coming along with her. Evan was finally going to meet the infamous Dr. Tate York. He was shocked that now he was actually fine with it. His mom had been singing the man’s praises for over a year and Noelle, a person that he would always love, was happy. That was the most important thing. He was truly happy for both of them.
As much as he’d like to believe that he was just that good of a person, he wasn’t kidding himself. It didn’t hurt that his life was in a much different place than it was the day that he’d met Noelle in the coffee shop.
Yesterday, he’d gotten the all-clear from the doctor that he could return to active duty with no restrictions. This morning, as he left his last physical therapy session, the information that he’d been waiting on had arrived and it was stuck in his back pocket. And the biggest difference of all was that he was head over heels, madly in love with a woman that in a very short period of time had become the single most important thing in his life.
“Beautiful day today,” the short, stocky craft service vendor observed casually as he lifted his head and let the sun hit his face from beneath his Dodger’s baseball cap. “You catch the game last night?”
“Nope.” Baseball had been the last thing on his mind these past three weeks.
Gary hissed through his teeth before delivering the news it was obvious he was all too h
appy to share. “Your boys didn’t look so hot.”
“That right?” Evan could care less.
This was the first year that he hadn’t watched, attended, or played in every single Waves game since he was five years old. Now he was obsessed with something else.
Shayne Fox.
Since their night at Mountain Ridge three weeks ago, his days and nights had been spent concentrated on only her. She occupied his thoughts during the day and his bed during the night.
So far, they’d managed to keep what was going on fairly private. The only people that knew that the two of them were spending so much time together were Ruby and Nolan. Deanna and his mom obviously knew something was happening, but they had no specifics.
These past few weeks had flown by. They felt like a dream, one he never wanted to wake up from. When Kyle had approached him about consulting on the film, six weeks had seemed like an eternity. Now he couldn’t believe that there were only three days left before they wrapped. It was almost over.
He and Shayne hadn’t talked about what the future held for the two of them when she went back to LA, but for once in his life, he wasn’t worried about it. He knew that they’d make it work somehow. He loved her and he was pretty sure that she felt the same about him.
Neither of them had said it, though. He was waiting until the movie was over. She was flying back to Southern California early Sunday morning. As a surprise, he’d booked “their cabin” at Mountain Ridge for her last night here. After the wrap party on Saturday, he planned on taking her there and telling her that he loved her and that he’d do whatever it took so that the two of them could be together. If that meant moving to Los Angeles after his obligation to his hotshot crew was fulfilled, so be it.
He’d move heaven and earth to be with Shayne.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was a message from Noelle. They were here.
He grinned and set out to go find them. He’d told them to park in crew parking at base camp.
Last night, when he told Shayne that Noelle was visiting today, it had opened up an in-depth conversation about that relationship. Shayne was so easy to talk to. He’d told her things he’d never shared with anyone, including Noelle.
He’d told Shayne that he’d truly loved Noelle but had failed his ex, again and again. He’d told her how many times they’d tried to make it work. He’d talked about the miscarriage and her wanting to get married but him being scared. He’d even admitted what a shock it had been for him to hear that she was engaged and starting a family with someone else.
All of his life, people had told him that he shouldn’t hold things inside. They’d insisted that he needed to talk about his feelings. And he’d seen what keeping things to himself had done to his mom, so he was going to make opening up to his loved ones more of a priority. But with Shayne, it wasn’t something he had to intentionally do, it came as naturally as breathing.
“Evan! Evan!”
He heard a high-pitched voice scream his name and he looked up and saw Jazzy jumping up and down and waving her hands. She was beaming with excitement as she ran and leapt into his arms. He wrapped her in a hug as his eyes met Noelle’s and a bittersweet grin spread on her lips.
Before they lost their own baby, the two of them had always joked that Jasmine was their practice baby. Now, Noelle was starting her own family and one day, he might also. But Jazzy would always have a special place in his heart.
The man standing beside Noelle stepped forward and held out his hand. Evan sat Jazzy back down on the ground and extended his own.
“Hi, I’m Tate.”
“Evan.” The man had a firm handshake and looked directly into Evan’s eyes. He would get Grandpa Doug’s stamp of approval. And he liked that he didn’t wait for Noelle to introduce them, he took the initiative. “Nice to finally meet you. I think my mom is the president of your fan club.”
Tate grinned as he tilted his head slightly to the left. “Connie is amazing but I think she might exaggerate my skills a little bit.”
Evan could see that the compliment made him slightly uncomfortable. He liked that. It meant that he didn’t have an overinflated ego.
“Wait. Are you saying you can’t walk on water?” Evan joked.
“No, that she got right.” Tate quipped back.
They chuckled and he turned to Noelle, “Hey.”
She reached up and hugged him and whispered, “Thank you.”
He squeezed his arms around her before stepping back and asking, “Who wants to meet Mindy Reader?”
“I do! I do! I do!” Jazzy jumped up and down.
“Let’s go,” Evan gestured for them to follow him.
As they walked toward the set, Noelle held Tate’s hand and said, “Tate actually met her in Sacramento. He was doing a morning show and she was a guest.”
“It was very brief and I’m sure she won’t remember,” Tate explained, “but she was very sweet and gave me quite a bit of swag.”
“She gave me this!” Jazzy tugged at the bottom of her Mindy Reader sweatshirt.
“Wow.” Evan made sure to look appropriately impressed. “That’s so cool.”
The closer they got to set, the quieter their voices got. Evan whispered to Jazzy, “Okay, we have to be very quiet while we watch. But as soon as there’s a break, Shayne will come say hi.”
The little girl nodded her head emphatically as she agreed.
He led the group to video village and when they stepped inside. L.J., the sound tech, handed out headphones so they could hear what was going on as they watched the monitors. Shayne’s face filled the screen and Jazzy’s face lit up as she watched her, barely able to contain her excitement.
Evan could relate. He felt the same way. Every time he saw Shayne, a feeling that he couldn’t quite describe, and never wanted to go away, filled him.
They did several takes of the scene before Kyle yelled cut and an AD announced that they were moving on to a new deal, which Evan now knew meant that they’d be shooting the same scene with a different camera setup. That could take up to an hour, so he figured that now would be a good time for introductions.
He escorted the group out of the tent and waited as Kyle stood talking to Shayne for several minutes.
Beside him, Noelle and Jazzy watched in wonder as the crew hustled around them. It hit him then that this all seemed normal to him now. A few weeks ago, this environment had been more than just a different world, it had felt like a different planet. Now it was just another Wednesday.
As soon as Kyle and Shayne finished talking, her eyes found Evan’s and a large smile spread across her face as she joined them. “Hi!”
“Shayne, I’d like you to meet Jasmine.” Evan began the introductions.
Just like he’d seen her do at the community center, Shayne crouched down so that she was eye-level with her young fan. “It’s so nice to meet you, Jasmine.”
“My friends call me Jazzy.” Jasmine looked at Shayne like she couldn’t believe she was real.
“I love your sweatshirt, Jazzy.”
“You gave it to me!” The little girl beamed.
“Indirectly,” Noelle corrected as she ran her hand through Jazzy’s hair.
Evan figured this was a good time to finish the introductions. “Shayne, this is Noelle.”
“Hi,” Shayne stood and smiled brightly. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Evan motioned beside her. “And her fiancé—”
“Tate.” Shayne pointed at him as recognition dawned on her face. “Dr. York, right? We met at Good Morning Sacramento.”
“That’s right.” He smiled, looking a little surprised.
“Then that means you are my biggest fan!” she turned her attention back to Jazzy.
“I am!” Jasmine bounced on her heels.
Evan watched as Shayne talked to Jazzy about school, her pet iguana, and her love of coloring. Jazzy told Shayne all about her best friend, Holly, and that she was the reigning champion at C
andy Crush.
He loved watching people interact with Shayne. It seemed it wasn’t just him who found her easy to talk to. Whoever she was talking to always felt like the most important person in the world. He’d watched time and time again as people left their conversations like the sun had just shone solely on them.
She had that kind of power.
“Shayne,” a PA approached her. “Chester is waiting for you in your trailer.”
Evan watched as a flash of dread crossed Shayne’s face.
“Do you want me to tell him you’ll be a few minutes?” the PA asked.
“No. I’m coming.”
Shayne said her goodbyes to them and promised to send Jazzy some more swag and then headed toward her trailer.
He watched as she walked away and she glanced over her shoulder, scrunching her nose a tiny bit at him. It was something that she’d started doing as a private signal to him when they were on set or when people were around. It sent a warmth spreading through him. A peace. A balance.
“I met Mindy Reader,” Jazzy spoke in reverent wonder as her idol walked away.
“Do you guys want a tour of the set?” Evan asked.
“Yes!” Jasmine hopped up and down.
As he showed them around and introduced them to the crew, he noticed that Noelle kept staring at him with an odd expression. When they got to Bruce, the stunt coordinator, both Tate and Jazzy were enthralled as he told them about his time working on the Harry Potter movies.
With their attention occupied, Evan turned to Noelle. “What?”
She stared up at him. “Are you and Shayne…?”
Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish her question. He knew what she was asking. He didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to lie, not to Noelle, but he and Shayne had agreed to keep whatever was going on private.
“You are,” she breathed as her eyes grew wider. “Is it serious?”
Once again, he didn’t know how to answer that. On his end, it was as serious as it got, but—
“It is,” her green eyes grew even wider. “Do you love her?”
Fire and Temptation Page 19
