by Scott, Kylie
His brows draw down into one fierce and pissed line. “I’d rather hit him.”
“Yes, but then you’d break social distancing rules and need to do another fourteen days of isolation to make sure you haven’t caught anything. What do you want more, a piece of me or a piece of him?”
Sean scoffs. The idiot. As if he’d stand a chance against an enraged Evan. And my new boyfriend is beyond furious.
“He’s not worth that. And you come first. Always.” Frown still in place, Evan fishes out the keys to Jake’s apartment from his jeans pocket and unlocks the door. “I’ll be right on the other side organizing our condoms if you need anything. Quarantine or no quarantine.”
Sean rolls his eyes and makes a gagging sound. “Classy.”
“So helpful, honey. Thank you.”
Then he turns to Sean. “You say one thing to upset her in any way and I will destroy you. There will be no discussion. Do we understand one another?”
Sean just blinks again.
“I think he understands,” I say.
Evan disappears inside the apartment and I sigh. “You were brought here under false pretenses by my mother for which I apologize. But hear me now and make no mistake, Sean. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear from you. And I definitely do not need rescuing.”
“Sadie—”
“I was lonely and I thought having you in my life would fix things. That I’d feel more competent and accomplished or some such shit. Like my career and interests and friends weren’t enough. It’s hard to believe in love when it keeps passing you by. I think it was approaching thirty that made me panic. An image I had in my head of where I’d be by now in life. But I’m over that. And the truth is, being with you made me feel more alone than ever. The constant need to restrain myself, to censor myself, so I wouldn’t be too much or too weird or too something for you. So I wouldn’t be me and embarrass you. That’s the truth of it. It was a messed up and shitty cycle to be caught up in and I’m done with it. Now, as for the other matter.” I slip my cell phone out of my purse and dial up my mother.
“Sadie.” She’s smiling. I can hear it in her voice. And meanwhile my blood is basically boiling. Far the fuck out.
“Listen to me carefully and do not interrupt, Mom. I’m happy with him. Evan makes me happy. Do you get how big that is for me?”
“But, honey—”
“No. Listen. Just listen for once, will you, please? It’s not because I’m having to isolate and am stressed and scared of the virus. Even though I am all of those things. It’s because he’s a good person and he’s good for me. He accepts me as I am. All of my insecurities and quirks and everything.” I take a breath and let it out slow. “So you’re going to delete Sean’s number from your cell and you will never pull this sort of thing again. I’m serious. You have hurt and embarrassed me along with humiliating Sean here. Someone that you apparently have more respect for than me. Then you’re going to go and sit down and have a long think about the kind of relationship you want to have with me. I’ll call you in a couple of days when I’ve cooled down. Please don’t call me in the meantime unless it’s an emergency.” Then I hang up. Go me for getting the last word for once. Victory.
Sean’s brows seem to have inched up into his hairline.
“I’ve made my choice and I regret nothing. I do not want you in my life in any way, shape, or form. We’re over.”
“But?”
“Over!” I practically screech.
He stares at me for a long time before closing his eyes. I think he finally might actually believe me. “I take it we understand each other now?”
He nods.
“Excellent. Take the fucking basket and go,” I demand.
Finally, for once in the time we’ve known one another, he listens too. He grabs the basket and walks around to the elevator.
Once he’s gone, a wave of exhaustion encompasses me. A moment later, Evan cracks his front door open and peeks out. “Safe to come out yet?”
“For you? Yes.”
His expression is filled with compassion and I think a little pride. “You kicked ass, baby. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
I smile, but my shoulders slump. “I know you said you were cutting back, but can we just go sit out on our balconies and chill with a drink? Talk about the mysteries of the universe?”
His corresponding smile…so dreamy. “Whatever you want. I’m here for you.”
CHAPTER 14
QUARANTINE: DAY 14
SADIE
IT’S QUARTER TO EIGHT WHEN I knock on his door in a pair of yoga pants and a tight white tee. Evan opens it approximately two seconds later.
Oh, the fire in his eyes. And baby, am I ready to burn. First he takes in me, from the fluffy socks on my feet to the messy bun in my hair. Then he notices all of the assorted shit surrounding me. A couple of boxes. My luggage. You know…stuff.
“What’s going on?” he asks. “Thought I heard noises out here.”
“Okay, so if we’re doing this right, here’s how things are going to be. Ready?”
He nods.
“So the rules say that if you’re physically involved with someone…and I trust we’re about to get physically involved?”
Another nod.
“Then we need to be self-isolating together, basically. I think that would be safest and make the most sense. If you agree, of course. Now Gloria is used to this apartment and I didn’t want to upset her because she’s a sweet floofy baby. Then there’s your treadmill and all of your training gear to be considered. Hence my choice of this apartment. You also discussed at length that we’re apparently giving up anything besides eating and sleeping in the pursuit of fucking from now on.”
“It’s a noble pursuit and we need to be focused.”
“True. And being in the same space will make that easier. Though I do need to get some work done now and then. I packed my laptop and a couple of knickknacks off my desk so I can set up a little space at the dining table or wherever suits.” I gesture toward one of the boxes and a bag.
His smile is slow and freaking divine. “You’re moving in with me.”
“I’m moving in with you. If you want.” My stomach flip flops from nerves. I am never this brave. Though Evan makes me feel like I can scale mountains. I certainly want to scale him. But first things first.
“Oh, baby, it’s safe to say I can’t even remember ever wanting something as bad as this,” he says. “I’ve been waiting out on the balcony for you since dawn. Got just about no sleep last night, I was so damn excited. Can I touch you now?”
I hold up a hand. “Just a minute. I’m not quite finished with the speech I prepared earlier. Also, we need to get my stuff inside.”
“Step back and let me get that sorted,” he says, reaching for the luggage and dragging it into Jake’s hall. Next he picks up like all of the boxes, including the heavy ones full of books (as if I’d go anywhere without my books). Damn is he strong. “What else did you want to say?”
“Right. I’ve never lived with anyone before and I’m assuming you haven’t either—”
“That would be right.”
“So we’re both going to make mistakes and step on each other’s toes now and then. The important thing is to be open minded, patient, and keep the communication happening, right?”
“Right.”
“Because neither of us know how long this lockdown could go on for. When you need some time to yourself or if you want me to go back to my apartment so we can take a step back from this for however long, you need to tell me. And I’ll do the same if I need some space. Complete honesty, okay?”
“Agreed.”
“Which brings us to back to the here and now. I had this idea of wearing a slinky dress and heels and looking all fancy for you. But the fact is, moving necessitated these comfortable, boring items of clothing.”
His gaze runs over my body like an actual caress as he grabs the rest of my belongings. I’ve never b
een moved so fast in my life. The man is on a mission. “Understandable. Though nothing you put on that body could be boring, baby.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I wanted to make this a special occasion. The truth is, however, I haven’t even washed my hair yet.”
“We can do it in the shower later and I’ll wash your hair for you after. Was that all?” His hands are shaking and the muscles in his forearms are flexing rhythmically.
“You don’t care that I look like a vagrant?” I ask with my heart in my hand.
“Sadie, baby, rest assured that even if I knew what a vagrant was I still wouldn’t care that you apparently look like one.”
I laugh. “A hobo, vagabond, drifter. You know?”
“Cutest hobo I’ve ever seen. I especially dig your fluffy socks.”
“Thanks.”
“We good now?”
I grin. “Oh. We’re so damn good.”
“Thank fuck for that!” He growls, pulling my body against his much larger one. My toes are barely touching the ground when he sinks his face against the crook of my neck and hugs me.
Not what I expected, but somehow better.
His body is shaking and then I realize it’s me. I’m trembling in his arms.
He runs his hands up and down my back while he holds me. Kisses the side of my neck in featherlight presses of lips to skin.
“Relax, baby. Let me hold you.”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and sink further into his embrace. He’s warm and smells of mint, Irish Spring soap, and something unique and manly. I soak in the scent and sigh deeply, feeling his chest against mine, his heart pounding. I expected to be nervous and ever so slightly freaked out in this moment. And I sort of am. But mostly, this feels natural and right. Like I’ve finally found home in human form and it’s Evan.
Life. Altered. Forever.
For what feels like seconds and eternity at the same time, our labored breaths and heartbeats synchronize. His hands rub up and down my back and sides in soothing sweeping caresses that lull me into a dreamy haze that’s filled with nothing but him, this moment. The first time we get to hold one another.
“You are the most perfect creature,” he says. “I feel honored to be holding you close, feeling your breath against my neck. I don’t know how to explain it…”
“Meant to be.” I squeeze him tighter and run my fingers through his hair, allowing the now longer layers to slide through my fingers like water over river rocks in the heat of summer. Good God, this man gets me poetic. Scratch that. He just gets me in general. And that knowledge, that acceptance, moves me like nothing that’s ever come before. My eyes are watery, my throat tight. But I will not cry and make this weird. I won’t. Probably.
He leans back and cups my face. His blue eyes are shining and magically, filled with a rawness I’ve always craved in a man but never had. It’s awe. He’s in awe of this moment. In awe of me. With deft movements, he walks us back into the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind us. This is it.
“Kiss me, Evan.” I swallow down the anticipation and anxiety of such an important moment. We only get one first kiss.
“It feels like I’ve been waiting a lifetime to kiss you.” His thumbs trace the apple of my cheeks and that’s when I realize I’m crying. Big fat wet tears slide down my face. He dips forward and kisses first one tear-stained cheek and then the other before he closes his eyes and presses his nose to mine.
“I’m in love with you, and I haven’t even kissed you,” he murmurs against my mouth. A secret and a revelation.
My entire body quivers, words I’ve never felt before battering at my heart, filling my soul with all that is him. Us. What we are to one another. So much emotion I don’t even know what to do with it all. Tears pour down my cheeks and over his fingers. “I’m in love with you too, and it’s crazy, wild, and better than anything I’ve ever known.”
“Baby.” His lips barely touch mine, but I feel that word race through my body in ribbons of electricity.
“I never even believed in the insta-love stories. This is so completely unexpected,” I whisper.
“But good.”
“Amazingly so. Kiss me.” I nudge his nose with mine, wanting—needing—to have him make the first move.
“My pleasure. My Sadie.” He murmurs against my lips until his fingers sift into my hair and grip the back of my head while he takes my mouth in a searing kiss.
I open immediately, wanting to taste the man I love more than I need to inhale my next breath. Mint pierces my taste buds pleasantly as the combined warmth of our tongues dance. Spiraling around one another in a carnal display of the heat between us.
One of his hands leaves my hair, glides down my body, and goes straight for my ass. His large hand grips and squeezes the globe until I’m pressed higher and more firmly against his body. I can feel his cock hard against my belly and moan in delight knowing I did that to him.
He’s ravenous in his pursuit of my mouth. Nipping and licking deep, sucking my tongue, nibbling on first my top then my bottom lip until my flesh feels deliciously bruised and swollen, but I don’t stop. I can’t. I want him too much. I’m obsessed with his tongue, his lips, his taste.
We kiss for so long, I didn’t even realize we were becoming oxygen starved until he pulls away to take a breath. I’m pressed against the nearest wall gasping for air, dizzy with desire and lust.
“Jesus, I had no idea it could be this good. Fuck, my woman can kiss.” He rests his forehead to mine while breathing deep, his hands sliding up and down my waist, ribs, and then back down to my hips.
I cheese out by his compliment, smiling wide and grinning like a woman in love. Because I am a woman in love.
In love with Evan Sparks.
Holy shit.
The thought ravages my soul and shoots me into action. With deft fingers I lift my tee up and over my head. Evan follows suit. A game of Simon Says without words is being instructed and he’s an apt student. Curling my fingers around the waistband of my yoga pants I shimmy them off. He drops his gym shorts and we’re both left in our underwear. His being a pair of black boxer briefs with an impressive hard-on straining the front. Nice.
Without further ado, I wrap my arms around his neck, shift my weight, and hop into the air. He catches me easily at the ass as I wrap my legs around his waist and take his mouth.
He gets the hint and moves us to the bedroom. Which is basically a series of movements pressing me harder against random walls, his erection firm against my center. I’m moaning and groaning and disoriented with a hunger so intense I start to rock my hips against his length. Luckily, one of us is thinking of the practicalities. He closes the bedroom door so sweet Gloria can’t decide to pay us a visit mid-sex. Right now, I want to be the only pussy in Evan’s life.
“Christ!” He pulls his mouth off mine once I feel him stumble against the bed. He lowers me down and I open my legs. Ready and willing. He falls between them and cups my head. “Everything is so much more with you.” He shakes his head as if he can’t believe it.
I smile and gaze into his lust-filled eyes. They’re so dark blue they’re the sky at midnight. Magical, life-altering, earth-shattering.
“Evan…I…I…” I honestly don’t know what to say to him. To solidify what this means to me. How he makes me feel. How very much I’m gone for him. Lost to this man I barely know and yet I know almost better than I know myself. More than anything, however, I feel safe.
He lifts his body up, and shifts down the mattress, his gaze stretching all over my body and then back up to my face.
Evan smiles and it lights up my fucking world. The way he sees me. How beautiful I feel lying under him. He makes me feel special, priceless.
He presses a finger to my mouth. “I know. I feel it too.”
I swallow and nod, my heart ripped open and bleeding for this man.
Evan purses his lips, his features changing from soft and adoring to cute and te
asing. “Sadie, my love, this is the best moment of my fucking life.” I chuckle and he bites into his bottom lip. “I think it’s only fair that we start this very special act with one thing and one thing only.”
I narrow my eyes and grin, kicking my feet under him where he’s straddling my thighs.
“Oh, and what pray tell is that very special act?”
He waggles his brows and runs his hand down the front of his impressively tented boxer briefs. “It’s time you finally show me your tits, princess. I want those beauties offered up to me.”
Aw, thank God, teasing Evan is back. One moment we’re so intertwined and intense I can hardly breathe, the next easygoing and comfortable. I can definitely handle a lifetime of this.
* * *
EVAN
Finally having her in my hands is sending my brain straight into overload. I can’t think beyond her and me and now. The building could be burning down and I wouldn’t even notice. With a shimmy and a grin, Sadie drags up the sports bra, baring her chest to me. Best breasts ever.
“Hello, new best friends,” I say solemnly, placing a gentle kiss on each pink nipple. They’re already hard little peaks, making my mouth water.
Sadie’s laughter turns into moaning as I give in to temptation and suck on one. Licking and gently biting at the sweet tip. Her hips churn, rubbing her thong-covered pussy against me. And Christ, I can smell her. Her arousal. It scents the room and makes my already rock-hard dick weep with need.
I may as well just tattoo the girl’s name on my forehead now and be done with it. Because I haven’t gotten inside her yet and she already owns me. The fact that I told a woman I loved her for the first time stays in the back of my mind, just waiting for a what-the-fuck with a dash of fear. Every single male instinct in me is on high alert. Like belonging with someone, having them in my face day in and day out is some shitty fate I should be running from as fast I can. Only it isn’t happening. I meant what I said and I’m exactly where I want to be. As Sadie said, we’re meant to be.
“Evan,” she says, concern in her voice. Which is not what I want to hear at all. A little line is embedded between her brows. “What if we don’t have chemistry?”
