“Nothing.” Evan says quickly.Tooquickly. “Thanks for that.”
Parker’s eyes narrow. “Not a problem.” His gaze lands on me. “But I suggest you figure this out – whatever this is.” He motions between us. “Before Harrison finds out.”
“It’s nothing.” Evan grits out, voice tight.
My heart plummets.
If someone stabbed me, it would hurt less.
“Right…” Parker drawls. “Well, I’ll leave you to yournothingthen.” And with that, he turns on his heel and walks out the way he came.
Evan sighs heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. Emotion tightens my throat, intuition warning me, that whatever he’s about to say next, I won’t like.
“We can’t do this anymore.” I flinch at the ice in his voice.
This is emotionless Evan. The one I need a chisel and auger to break through.
“Evan. No.” I rush out, stepping in front of him and cupping his cheeks.
His jaw clenches, eyes boring into mine. He opens his mouth, but I don’t let him speak. Pushing up on my tiptoes, I press my lips to his, cutting off words I know will destroy me. He groans, his hands gripping my hips and pulling me close.
I want to stay this way forever. My mouth fused to his, moving in sync. The world falling away until it’s just us. It’s everything. And I know with everything inside me, we were made for each other.
His tongue slips inside my mouth, tangling with mine as he devours me. This kiss feels different. Hard, punishing, desperate. But still, I crave it. Need it. Want it. I want every part of the man I have loved my whole life. I want to crawl inside of him, make myself a home. I want to be his everything. The air he breathes. The beat of his heart. His every thought.
In one quick move, he lifts me effortlessly and pins me against the wall. I gasp when his erection presses into me, my skin burning with desire. I want, noneed,him so bad, and I know it’s probably unhealthy. But there are worse things I could be addicted to.
If Evan Maxwell is my only vice, I don’t want a cure.
“Evan,” I moan, rolling my hips against him.
And just like that, he snaps out of whatever trance he was in and freezes. My eyes snap open. He stares at me, his eyes wild, chest heaving. Then he pulls away, gently lowering me to my feet. Stepping back, he slides his hands into his pockets, a look of acceptance crossing his features.
My heart pounds in my chest and I swallow, trying to wet my dry throat.
“Why’d you stop?” I whisper, though I really don’t want the answer.
He pins me to the spot with his glare. My heart thrashes against my rib cage, beating erratically. One heartbeat. Two. Three. Then I swear, it stops altogether. He throws me one last look, and I know, I just know this is it, but still, my delusion refuses to see it.
His expression turns blank, erasing any emotion.
And then he turns…
And walks away.
Taking my shattered heart with him.
Chapter 41
Evan
Somewhere along the way, I fucked up.
I miscalculated everything, especially the effect she’d have on me. I thought I was immune to feelings, that I could keep it all detached. But now I’m in so fucking deep, with a woman I had no business messing around with in the first place. Crawling out of this mess feels unfeasible, and this coming from a man who’s capable of doing anything.
Who would have thought Anais Lauder, of all people, would sink her claws into me? Make me feel things I never wanted to feel. Guess the joke’s on me, because I certainly didn’t think it was possible. The brat pulled off something I believed was impossible, and now I have to figure out how to get out of this…predicament, I willingly walked myself into.
Jesus fucking Christ. How did I allow things to get so complicated? The moment I stuck my dick in her virgin pussy, my rational mind short circuited. All I could think about was doing it again and again… and fucking again.
