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I glanced at him, half expecting him to appear exasperated at my running commentary. He was smiling, his shoulders relaxed and his head high.
Jesus, he was handsome.
“I swear I’m not usually this dumb.” I cut my gaze back to the hallway before he caught me staring. “My brain is just confused by all the shiny stuff and my mouth is going along for the ride.”
“You’re fine.” Evan patted my arm. “It’s a lot to take in the first time.”
Quiet music and the hum of voices filtered out of an open doorway about fifty feet in front of us.
“Is that where we’re going?” I asked, tightening my grip on his arm.
“It is.” Evan rubbed my hand affectionately.
A shiver of desire shot up my spine as a memory came of Evan holding my wrists and gently pinning them to the bed as he lay over me.
His strong body over mine, the heady scent of his cologne mixed with the musk of his arousal. The soft, almost reverent way he’d kissed me.
How he’d looked at me while he pushed inside me.
“… about a thing.”
“Huh?” I blinked to clear my head, only then realizing Evan had been talking. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a second.”
He grinned knowingly. “And what, pray tell, were you thinking about?”
“How many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.”
Evan let out a bark of laugher as Vlado issued an almost-laugh that was more of a snort.
“Tootsie Pop?” Vlado lightly punched Evan’s shoulder. “Is that what you call yours?”
“It has lots of names.” Evan shot Vlado a look. “Tootsie Pop is just one of its many layers.”
“Layers? It’s a dick, not a cake.”
“Hearing you say Tootsie Pop in that serious voice while wearing a tux is officially the highlight of my week,” I said with a snicker.
The entrance to the room where the benefit was being held loomed ahead of us. Nerves fluttered around in my belly as Evan led me inside.
The sprawling ballroom was as opulent and gilded as the rest of the hotel. People milled around in tuxes and gowns, and waiters moved about holding trays of drinks in fancy gold flutes, and platters of tiny food. A string quartet played soft music on a stage above a dance floor where several guests were dancing.
“Oh. My. God!” a female voice shrieked.
I jumped.
“Evan!”
We turned toward the source of the voice. A woman about Evan’s age stood a few feet away in a blue gown with a sheer bodice and a mermaid-style skirt that hugged her curves in all the right ways.
“Hello, Maryse.” Evan stepped away from me as the woman rushed up and threw her arms around his neck.
A surge of jealousy hit out of nowhere at the familiar embrace.
“Relax, killer.” Vlado put his hand on my shoulder and leaned close to speak in my ear. “He’s not into her, or any women.”
“Not my business who he’s interested in,” I said, going for neutral but failing epically. “Or who he ends up in.”
“Breathe, Nicky.” He grasped my shoulder as Evan untangled himself from the hussy in blue.
