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Monday morning, I’m waiting. As instructed. It irks me that I am, but I need to get this bastard where I can see him.
I’ve been waiting for exactly twelve minutes before my phone rings. I connect the call and a voice growls.
“Platform three.” My eyes sweep the platform opposite me. A man steps forward, right to the edge, and takes off his dark baseball cap. My gaze meets Dan De Luca’s at last. “Check your email and send me the fucking evidence,” he snarls, and a train rolls into the space between us. I run along the platform, trying to keep him in sight, but he’s nowhere. When the train moves again, it only confirms that he’s gone.
Shit!
***
“Morning, Will.” Stefan smiles as I enter the foyer over two hours later, noting it has been painted cream.
“Morning.”
“The usual?”
“Please.” He’s humming as I rest my forearm on the bar. Fucking humming. “Good night, was it?”
“Oh, not really. My morning has been pretty good though.” He nods his head towards the back corner, where Eva is leaning over the table, scribbling something on a huge sheet of paper. Her T-shirt’s riding up a few inches, while her jeans are stretched tight over her bum.
And Stefan isn’t the only one to notice. The guy at the table with her would do well to keep his mind on the job. She stands straight and ends up almost chest to chest with the guy she hands the pen to, before she takes a step around the table.
Huh. She really doesn’t see it at all.
I, however, can see everything crystal clear. That guy was a fraction of a second from touching her. In my hotel. My coffee bar manager will probably be wanking with her in mind tonight.
I can’t tell him she’s mine, because, right now, I’m not sure she is. I need to be calmer when I speak to Eva, so I make my way outside for some air.
It’s not long before I see them again, Eva and pen guy. He’d probably have more luck taking his notes if he’d keep his eyes on the paper and off my girl. I hear him ask if she’s done here for the day.
At 10:30 a.m.? What he’s really asking is if she’s free now, but Eva doesn’t bite. His entire face lights up when she laughs at his antics, and a wave of jealousy surges through my bloodstream. Eva’s face is cautious when she looks at me, like she can feel me watching her. Pen guy looks over too. When he asks who I am, she tells him I’m the owner, not her boyfriend, and irrational rejection floods my senses as they walk towards me.
The owner? The fucking owner, Eva?
I’m half-aware that pen guy is holding out his hand. I didn’t catch his name. “Will Hunter,” I tell him, low and gravelly. The inherent warning in my tone registers and flickers in his eyes.
“I’ll leave you to it. See you, Brendon,” Eva says.
“Eva, wait. I need to talk to you.” Her eyes fly to mine before they watch the other guy leave. I can feel her nerves. I did that to her. Me. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m a fucking idiot.”
“If this is a pity party, you can stop right now,” she spits, pushing me away.
“Pity!” Fucking pity! “Eva, pity is not what I’m feeling right now.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me either!”
“Eva—I want to take care of you.” I catch her wrist as she turns on her heel. No way is she walking away from me again. “What do you want me to say, Eva? I want to kill him! I want to kill him with my bare hands! I want to make damn sure he never touches you again. It’s driving me fucking insane that he hurt you like that!”
“What about you? Does you hurting me not count?” she bites.
Me? I’d never hurt her. Never.
“You have a daughter and no ex at all? You don’t think I deserve to know how the fuck that happened? You have no personal effects in your hotel suite? Why not? Do you live somewhere else? With someone else?”
She... she thinks that she’s a bit on the side?
Fuck-up, my brain sneers.
“I feel like I don’t know anything about you, Will!”
Clearly. And that’s how I like it. Usually. Purposely. But not this time.
“It’s in storage,” I tell her quietly.
“What?” she snaps.
“Our stuff. It’s in storage. Well, my stuff mainly.” Not that I have a lot of ‘stuff.’ I’ve never wanted memories of the past or clues to my identity around my living space. “A lot of Mae’s things are at Mary’s. The rest is in her room. It’s a hotel. Not a home. We live there for now. Not forever.” I’ve never wanted a home before. Not like that. But now...maybe....
“Oh.” I reach for her waist, drawing her to me. Maybe? With Eva, it’d be...different. But if I want different, I have to do real.
“There’s no one else. Just you. I will tell you about Mae’s mother, Eva,” I say softly, brushing the backs of my fingers over her cheek and catching spun gold.
“You don’t have to.” Yes. I do.
You’ll have to deal with it too. All of it.
“I promise you, I will. Just give me some time. Please. I just need to get it straight in my own head. Do you know what I mean?”
It’s time to face it. Head-on.
“Sure, I know what you mean.” Her eyes turn sad and I know she sees it. The hurt I try to hide. “I’m sorry too. I get a bit jumpy with secrets.”
I pull Eva closer. She doesn’t resist. Her arms envelop me as she rests her head on my shoulder, her breath on my neck, her scent invading my senses.
I nudge her head up, lower my mouth to hers and fall all over again. This is home. Wherever she is, is where I belong.
“I have to go, Will. I have another meeting,” she says, her breathing ragged. Her lips are slightly swollen and redder than usual. Bloody beautiful.
“I’ll come with you.”
“Okay.” I hold out my hand and her fingers lace through mine for the short walk back inside.
––––––––
I don’t get to stay with Eva for long before I have a whole raft of people needing something. A contact for this person, a process for that, a spreadsheet for the other. And I’m irritated, until she invites Mae and me over later. I’m still smiling as I turn to Claude to deal with the next issue.
“The bespoke wallpaper for the lounge has been delayed, Will,” he says.
“Delayed for how long?”
“They couldn’t give me an exact date but probably a couple of weeks.”
“Right. Well, it’s not like you don’t have plenty to do in the meantime.” I smile and clap his shoulder.
“So, you’re happy to wait?”
“Yeah. We’ll wait. I love that wallpaper.”
“I’ll let them know.”
“Cheers, Claude.”
***
“Daddy!” Mae squeals as she launches herself at me from Escape’s front steps.
“Hello, angel. How was your day?” I nod hello to Mary as I sweep up my daughter in a hug.
“Gowd. When can we see Efa and Summer again?”
“Ahh. Well,” I say, straightening up and squeezing her tight, “since you mention it, we’ll see them tonight.”
Mae squeals again as Mary asks, “Oh? Are they coming here?”
“No, we’re going there. We’ll stay over.”
“Will? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
***
Several hours later, I’m panting while trying to catch a full breath, my back against the cool tiles of Eva’s shower cubicle. And I’m absolutely sure staying here tonight was one of the best ideas I’ve ever had, despite Mary’s reservations.
My cock is still twitching. That was the best blow job I’ve ever had. And a daily fantasy fulfilled. Eva on her knees, naked and dripping wet, my cock sliding in and out of her mouth... “Fuck,” I groan as I start to get hard again. I want more. I wonder if this is how it’d be, working with her. If that’s the kind of response I get, I’ll find something for her to do at one of the hotels every day. I grin as I shut off the water and reach for a towel.
Disappointment hits me hard when I enter the bedroom and find it empty. I was hoping she’d be in bed, ready for more. I pull on the pair of faded jeans I left by her bed and go get my girl.
––––––––
Her smile lights up her face as she watches me approach, devouring her with my eyes. Christ, my shirt never looked better than it does on her. “Can you get the matches, please?” she says. I have no clue what she’s talking about. It must show on my face because she laughs and jerks her head towards the fireplace. “Candles?” Candles? They’re just for decoration to me. Or they were... Now, I want to make love to my girl by candlelight.
“Sure. In the kitchen?” I ask her, unbuttoning my jeans to give myself some room.
“Yep. Top cupboard on the left.”
Eva watches my every move as I strike the match and touch it lightly to the wicks. I can feel her eyes on me. As the fourth candle bursts to life, she leans over my shoulder, her hands on my waist, and blows out the match. Christ! Who knew that could be sexy?
I turn and catch her in my arms. I move to kiss her, but she pulls back. “Your tea will get cold,” she says, biting her lip and trying not to smile. I don’t give a fuck about the tea. But she’s got that glint in her eye. She’s playing with me. Okay...
I follow her to the sofa, itching to touch her. I watch her stretch out, the shirt riding up to reveal the curve of her bum as she leans forward and passes me my mug. “Thanks.” What is she up to?
“Do you want to watch something?” she asks, a secret smile tugging on her lips.
“Do you?” I counter.
She wants to watch TV? Not what I had in mind.
“I’m asking the questions, Mr Hunter.” She smiles. She’s so playing with me. Minx.
“Sure.” I smile back. Her eyebrows rise into high arches and I congratulate myself on a play well made. That’s not what she expected.
Yes, baby, I can play the game too. Just as well as you can.
“What do you want to watch?”
“You. Getting naked.” Her breath catches and her pupils expand to saucers, so I continue, “I want to watch your back arch when I’m thrusting inside you.” Her eyes skitter to my mouth, her chest visibly rising and falling. “I want to watch your body tremble as you try to hold on, and your face relax into that siren’s smile when you let go and come for me.” Her eyes slowly climb back to mine, her lips parted as she struggles to breathe normally. “What do you want to watch?” I ask as nonchalantly as possible, shifting to accommodate my aching balls, and take a mouthful of tea.
“Netflix?”
Fucking Netflix! The tea I’m trying to swallow sprays across the coffee table in hot spurts, and Eva falls against the sofa cushions laughing until she’s crying, tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutches her sides. The cheeky little mare! I can’t believe she just did that to me!
Right, fuck Netflix! I move fast, kneeling in front of her and nudging her legs wide. She’s still laughing. I grip her hips and yank her forward. Her laughing slows to giggling. I take two fistfuls of her shirt and rip it apart, buttons flying in every direction.
She’s not giggling now. She’s watching me intently, her chest and belly moving in and out rapidly. I push her legs wider, her thighs flat against the edge of the sofa, and lower my head between them.
Good God, she tastes sweeter every time. I don’t waste a second in driving her wild and plunge my tongue inside her. Her groans are the cock-hardening kind. The kind every man who’s ever met her has fantasised about.
I drag my tongue, flat and slow, up her centre and circle her clit again and again until she cries out, falling back against the cushions.
That’s it, baby. Give it to me.
I lift her legs over my shoulders and slip a hand under her bum to angle her hips. I suck hard on that little bundle of nerves as I slide two fingers inside her and circle slowly. Stretching her. Filling her, until she’s writhing under me. She cries out, her hands gripping my forearms. I nip gently and suck hard, my fingertips stroking her G-spot. “No! Will!”
Oh yes. Yes, baby.
I feel it when she starts to come. Her clit pulses wildly and her internal muscles contract, drawing my fingers higher. The tip of my tongue pushes her over the edge. “Oh Goooodddddd,” she groans, and my smile is a mile wide as I watch. Exactly as I wanted to. I watch every juddering jerk of her body, her nipples stiff peaks begging to be sucked.
I lower her legs from my shoulders, pulling my jeans down enough to free my impatient cock, and set her down onto it, rolling one pink bud between my lips. My breath hisses through my teeth as her body swallows mine. Warm and tight. Twitching and pulsing.
“Christ!” I bark as I buck into her. “Baby...” Fuck, I won’t last long.
Eva clings to me, her face buried in my neck, her breath hitting me in short, sharp pants along my throat as we move. She whimpers, her nails digging into my back as she grinds down on me. “Baby, are you close?” She nods frantically, her mouth hanging open, her eyes unfocused. And I lock my abs, trying to locate some self-control.
My hands curl around her hips and grind her, harder. Twice more. Fuck me, I can’t hold on any longer. I’m reaching for her clit when I feel her tighten, and her thighs clamp around my waist like a vice. I let go too, welcoming the sweet release only found inside her, my girl, as she trembles in my arms.
My fingertips trail down her spine, through the fine mist of sweat covering her skin, and she shivers against me, snuggling closer. “Still want to watch TV?” I ask, kissing her neck, and lift her to free myself. I swivel her around, pulling her tight against my chest and she smiles—a sleepy, satisfied smile I wouldn’t mind seeing again sometime soon.
I move her hair over her shoulder and brush a soft kiss on her lips, as I hook my arm under her legs and stand to blow out the candles and carry her to bed. “You’re a cheeky mare,” I grumble playfully, and her smile gets bigger as I kick the bedroom door shut and lay her in bed.
I lie there for hours, watching her sleep. So beautiful. So peaceful. “I love you, Eva,” I whisper, my lips feathering over her collarbone before I mould my body to hers and hold her, breathing her in as my heavy eyelids close. I know I have to tell her. Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I’m going to tell her that I’ve fallen for her. Tell her that I want her to be mine. Her and Summer. And that means I’m going to have to tell her...everything.