Page 26

“We can just go now.”

I nod to her, not missing the attitude in her voice.

We head down to the garage, and I place her bag in the space behind us. She buckles herself in and we begin driving. The silence lingers as we drive through the windy mountains. I keep one hand resting on her thigh as she stares out the window.

“If you wanted me to leave, you could have just said that,” she says softly.

“I didn’t want you to leave.”

“You seemed like you did.”

“I would tell you if I wanted you to leave. Besides, no one else has ever been inside my house besides Lucien.”

She looks shocked.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I don’t know if you knew this, but I’m a private person.”

“You don’t say…” She turns to look out the window again.

“Did you enjoy yourself last night?”

She whips her head back toward me as if I had asked a forbidden question.

“Maybe… Did you?”

I smile widely. She did.

“Fuck, yeah.” She tries to hide the smile creeping its way across her lips. I give her thigh a gentle squeeze.

“I expect to do it again soon.”

She blushes at my honesty. To be honest I would like to do it right fucking now.

“Well.. I’m a busy woman. So, we’ll have to see.” She winks at me and gives me a playful smile. My hand clenches around the wheel at the thought.

Before we know it, we are pulling up to her circular driveway. I step out of the car, rounding the front to escort her out. I carry her bag for her as we stroll to her front door. I give her a single kiss on her cheek. I lean into her ear, letting my lips graze the bottom.

“I’ll be watching you,” I whisper as I nip the bottom of her ear.

She pushes my chest playfully and turns to her door. I descend the stairs, heading back to my car.

“Wait!”

I turn to look back at her. Standing in front of the door where I left her.

“Can we have dinner this week?”

I nod. “Of course, princess.” I flash her a wink, and she beams a smile at me. Fuck. I’m screwed. I get in my car knowing damn well that I’ll be MIA for two weeks, but that hasn’t stopped me before. She will still want me when I return.

12

Evelyn

It’s been a week since I stayed over at Dante’s house. I still struggle to wrap my mind around the overwhelming emotions that ran through me. Intimacy was always something I held close to my heart, under lock and key. Only to offer once I found someone special. I guess my heart decided in that moment that Dante was special to me.

I replayed the events in my head more times than I can admit in the past week. Asking myself all kinds of questions—why did you get in his car, why did you kneel for him like a servant, why did you let him touch you, why did you let your guard down? My answer to all of these questions has been the same. I don’t fucking know. All I know is that my body wanted it. I felt like I was going to explode if I lost the opportunity.