AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“See you soon,” I murmur with one last touch of my hand to his face. “Love you, Ev.”
I quickly walk out the closet door, steeling my resolve, only to have a strong hand grab my upper arm and pull me back into the closet. Everett pushes me up against the wall, kicks the door closed, and presses his mouth to mine. First one long, force of a kiss followed by slower, but equally passionate sweeps of his full lips.
My hands drift to his waist where I grab his sweatshirt in my fists, pulling him to me. He breaks the kiss, only to come back for more, but this time interjecting each kiss with a whisper.
“Do you know,” soft kiss to my temple, “how long,” a kiss to my throat, making me feel I’ve left reality and entered a fantasy, “I have waited and wanted to hear,” another kiss up my neck, “that exact sequence of words,” a kiss just to the right of my mouth.
I find the curve of his ear with my lips as I tangle my fingers in his hair and whisper. “Love you, Ev. I love you.”
He claims my mouth as his again and I am eager for more. More of this, every day, this and only this. To say I love you constantly, to kiss with wild abandon, to feel my heart burst and my head spin, to do every hot thing that’s running through my mind right now with Everett and Everett only.
I run my hands over the soft velvet of his short hair at the base of his head and around his smooth jaw to hold his face, not letting him back away from this kiss. Let Ainsley wait, let her walk in on us, I don’t care, I want this forever. It’s solidifying that, all this time, Everett has not only been a friend but a soulmate. He is my other half, my love.
Everett draws back, taking a ragged breath that ends in a little laugh.
“What?” I whisper.
“I don’t believe this is happening,” he whispers back, his forehead against mine. “You’re here and you love me and you’re kissing me.”
I smile and nod against him. As much as I want to stay in this moment forever, I know the clock is ticking on our mission. Now I just want it done and out of the way so I can hurry back to exploring this, this new dream come true.
I press my face into the crook of his neck and take a breath of air that smells blessedly like Everett. I am now intimately acquainted with the scent of his skin - clean, warm, and with a hint of his cologne - and it’s intoxicating.
“Officially obsessed with you,” I tell him, pressing a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw.
He hums in agreement, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and hugging me to his chest. “I love you, Laina.” He sneaks in another kiss.
“Hey, stop making out with your hot bodyguard and get out here,” Ainsley shouts through the closet doors, so close I jump. Everett laughs in triumph, a sexy, low rumble, and I can’t keep a grin off my face.
I come out into the hallway first, shoving the baseball cap on my head and hoping it hides how many times Everett pushed his fingers through my hair. Everett’s a few paces behind me, completely unabashed that his lips are red and swollen.
I did that.
“Ainsley,” he says, his voice rough. “You guard her with your life. You don’t let anyone lay a hand on her. Watch your back and always make the safest choice possible.”
“Don’t worry, I got you,” she says with a nod, slipping a gun into a shoulder holster and grabbing the keys.
“See you soon, Ev,” I say, winking at him as he smolders at me and gives me a farewell salute.
“Gross,” Ainsley sighs as we head to the back door. “Way to kill my crush.”
CHAPTER 17
We drive out of our underground garage, Ainsley at the wheel, me checking out a little taser that Ainsley found in Everett’s closet. The night air is freezing, even in the car, and there’s a glistening of snow melting as soon as it hits the road. Ainsley starts to list out instructions.
“When we get there, if you hear a drone, that’s probably my tech guy back at Black Swan who’s going to provide overwatch for us. We can’t validate the security of the message that got sent, and although you’re the only who knows the code phrase, we’re expecting bad company at the drop. Obviously, the Vidovic Group would love to nab this, but there are other groups that would benefit from using it as leverage. Everyone’s going to be sending their top mercenaries out.”
Ainsley fishes around in the pocket of her coat and puts a little earpiece in her ear. I watch her in awe. I tuck the taser in my pocket and pop the collar of my wool coat to add to the aesthetic, but I’ll never be as cool as Ainsley.
“You’re like a super badass security girl,” I tell her, “but you’re also a really good assistant.”
Ainsley smiles. “I probably have to work twice as hard as someone who’s actually trained for that kind of stuff, but I’m glad you never had any issues. And truth be told, Boss kind of overreacted about Everett’s obsession with you. If anything, Everett’s extra protective of you.”
Right, Ainsley was just there to cover for Everett. But what if he’s not there anymore?
“Are you going to stay on now that Everett’s leaving?”
Ainsley hesitates, waiting until she completes a left-hand turn to answer.
