Page 12

Chapter twelve

Rhett

I definitely was not meant to hear what I just heard. But I did, and I know I won’t be able to stop thinking about it.

Evie’s never had an orgasm other than by herself.

Part of me is in denial. There’s no goddamn way that’s true. Another — more dangerous — part of me is seriously turned on by the idea of being the one man to make her orgasm. The one man to show her what true pleasure a good lover can bring.

God-fucking-damn.

There’ll be no sleep tonight. Not for me.

I’ll have to act natural tomorrow, pretend I never opened my bedroom door, planning on quickly going to the kitchen to grab a snack. Thank fuck I stopped in the doorway as soon as I heard my name. My mama didn’t raise a fool, and I know Evie would be horrified if she knew I overheard their conversation.

Not that it stopped me from listening very intently.

When they move on to talking about other things, I slowly shut my door and tiptoe over to the edge of my bed. I sit, then let my body fall back and cover my face with my arms, exhaling under my breath.

“Fuck. ”

I stay in my bedroom even after her friends leave. I can hear her putter around the apartment, cleaning up, I guess. Then she takes Ruthie out, and when they come back, I hear her door quietly close.

Silence falls over the apartment. So quiet, I feel as if I can hear my own heart beating. After a while, a soft noise starts up, but I can't quite figure out what it is. Until I hear something else over that strange hum. Something that sounds almost like a whimper. But it’s not coming from the dog. I don’t think…

It happens again. And this time, I can tell it’s not a whimper, it’s a moan . Then a quiet bark that must be Ruthie. The humming sound stops, and I can just barely hear Evie's voice hushing the dog. Then the hum starts up again, and feeling like a complete knucklehead, I finally realize what it is.

Evie’s playing with herself.

My mind immediately pictures her lying in bed, her long black hair spread out underneath her. I bet her eyes are closed as she arches back under the touch of the toy. Does she have her hands on her pussy? Is she wet? I bet she fucking is. Christ, what I wouldn't do to feel it for myself. To see her for myself.

I don’t know how the fuck I’m gonna survive this. How the hell I’ll just lay here and listen to her do this right down the hall from me. I hear another muffled moan. I stay quiet, feeling a little bit guilty for listening but not enough to stop. A couple more minutes go by of muffled moans and buzzing from what I now can presume is a vibrator. And then, I hear the sweetest sound of all.

“Rhett.”

The sound stops, and everything falls silent again .

Even so, I stay in my room, not wanting to move a muscle.

If I move, I don't know if I trust myself to not go and do something stupid, like burst into Evie's room and make her say my name again.

But eventually, I realize I can’t stay here any longer without losing my fucking mind. I get up as silently as I can and go into my bathroom. There’s nothing I can do about the sound of the shower, but I gotta do it. I need to cool the inferno burning inside of me.

I step into the freezing cold stream of water and fight back a curse. But even standing under the icy spray doesn't calm down my thundering heartbeat and pulsing cock.

There’s no choice but to give in to temptation.

Wrapping my hand around my cock, I squeeze tightly. But nothing is going to stop this from happening. No amount of denial, or torture, or punishment can stop the orgasm that is hurtling through me.

My mind goes back to the mental image of Evie naked, spread out in bed, only this time, I’m there with her. She’s underneath me, and I’m the one bringing her to climax, not a damn sex toy.

I know I’m walking a dangerous line. Hell, I have been for days, weeks, even. Every time I entertain the slightest thought of Evie, I get closer to stepping over that line.

I know I shouldn’t think of her like this. But I also can't stop myself, at least not right now. In no time at all, I'm painting the walls of my shower with my cum.

I stand there for a few minutes, panting as my heart rate slows down. Then I step out and dry off. Pulling my shorts back on, I stagger into my bedroom and fall into bed .

As I lie there, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince my dick that’s already trying to get hard again to stand down, I start to consider all of the what-ifs.

What if I did go to Evie and she did welcome me into her bed? What if we did step over that line?

I'm so caught up in these dangerous thoughts that I don't realize Evie's door has opened until I hear a quiet yip from Ruthie coming from the hallway.

“Shhh.” I hear Evie say, and then the click of puppy nails on the floor tells me they’re on the move. But they pause outside my door.

Did she hear me in the shower earlier? Is she about to make the decision for us and come into my room? But then her soft footfalls carry on and I hear the front door open and close.

Guess not.

Which means it's up to me to decide how I handle this tomorrow when we come face-to-face.

The problem is, my head is telling me one thing and my dick is telling me something else. And what should be a clear decision is muddier than my truck used to get off-roading in the backwoods of Tennessee.

I want Evie. And she apparently wants me.

By the morning, courtesy of less than two hours of sleep, my mind is made up. It might be stupid and risky as all hell. But Evie needs a man who can teach her how she should be treated in bed. Who can teach her exactly how to get what she wants, what she deserves, and who can bring her the pleasure any woman is entitled to.

And I’ll be damned if that’s gonna be some random asshole who might not appreciate how fucking lucky he is.

It’s gonna be me.

I head out to the kitchen just as the front door opens and Evie and Ruthie come inside from a morning walk.

“Oh. You’re up.” Evie comes to an abrupt halt just inside the door, but the little lady at her feet starts pulling on the end of her leash and whining.

“Mornin’.” I’m actually kinda proud at how calm and normal I manage to say that as I walk over, crouch down, and unclip Ruthie’s leash. She immediately jumps up on my chest, her little claws scratching me even through my shirt.

“Easy there, little one, that hurts,” I scold gently, standing up and going back to the kitchen.

Evie follows me and takes care of feeding the puppy while I pour our coffees. But instead of handing it to her in the kitchen, I take both mugs over to the couch and sit down right in the middle, setting them on the table in front of me. She's got no choice but to sit next to me.

When she walks over and sees the setup, Evie frowns slightly, but I manage to keep my smirk to myself. “You don't want your coffee?” I lean back against the couch, sipping my own brew.

After a few seconds, she picks up her cup and sits down, tucking her feet underneath her at the end of the couch. I stay quiet, and for a few minutes, neither one of us says anything. We just sip the delicious nectar of the gods and wake up.

But the anticipation filling me can’t be held back forever .

“So, did y’all have a good time last night?”

I’m not prepared for her reaction. Evie visibly startles, her mug swaying in her hands, in danger of spilling hot liquid all over her. I swiftly lean over and take it from her, setting it back on the table.

When I move back to Evie, I realize two things at the same damn time.

One, my hand is somehow gripping her upper thigh. Like, her upper upper thigh.

And two, if I turn my head just a little bit more, I’ll be close enough to kiss her.

Judging by the sharp intake of her breath, Evie realizes it, too.

“Rhett?” she whispers. And those big brown eyes look up at me with so many unspoken thoughts and feelings simmering in them.

I lift my other hand up slowly, her gaze darting down to it, then back up to meet mine. My callused hand meets her soft cheek, and my thumb strokes gently.

“I heard what you said to your friend about me.” My throat constricts. This isn’t exactly what I planned on saying, but I realize now it’s what I need to say. Before anything else. “Well, about athletes. And I just wanted to say thank you.” My heart starts to race. Do I tell her about my dyslexia? About why the statement she made means so damn much?

Before I can work up the nerve to do just that, Evie’s throat moves up and down as she swallows.

And then…

Her lips are soft landing on mine, her kiss tentative. I stay perfectly still, even though I’m desperate to take it deeper. My mind flashes back to a time four years ago when she kissed me. Back then, I couldn’t let anything happen. She was so young and living on the opposite end of the country.

But now, we’re both adults and she’s here. Right here.

Stealing a kiss.

It only lasts a second before she pulls back. “Sorry,” she whispers, and that’s all it takes for me to lean forward and crush my lips to hers.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” I rumble against her mouth. Her hand fists in my shirt and I start to recount baseball stats to try and temper my reaction to feeling her touch me like this.

Then I remember what I really wanted to talk to her about. It would seem she might be even more open to the idea than I initially thought.

I break our kiss and lean against the back of the couch, letting my fingers lightly caress the bare skin at the base of her neck. Her eyes are a little glazed, and I’d imagine mine are, too. That was one hell of a kiss.

“Is the other thing true? What your friend said about you and…you know.”

Her brow furrows slightly, but only for a second before she gasps and leans back, letting go of my shirt.

“Hold on, how long were you listening to us?”

Shit. Guilt swarms me, but Evie looks curious, and maybe a little nervous, but not angry.

Taking a breath, I come clean. “Long enough to hear you say you’ve never had a man give you an orgasm.”

Evie folds her arms over her chest, but I still detect the slightest of trembles. “You weren’t meant to hear that. But don’t worry, I don’t expect you to do anything about it.”

That’s not the reaction I was hoping for. “Why not?”

Evie scoffs, but her hands drop to her lap. “I tried to kiss you once before, Rhett, or have you forgotten? You pushed me away. Why would anything be different now?”

I knew we’d have to talk this out eventually, but goddamn, it’s hard to focus with her so close. Her delicate scent invades my senses, making me want to bury my nose in her hair as I bury my dick in her pussy. But she needs to know I’m not messing around. Leaning forward slightly, I wait until her gaze is on me, and I hope she can see and hear my sincerity.

“Evie, when I turned you down, it was because you were twenty, still living at home, and I was on the other side of the country playing ball with your brother. It had nothing to do with me not being attracted to you. Or not wanting you. If anything, that was the problem. I did want you. I still fucking do, or did that kiss just now tell you nothing?”

“You…want me.” She blinks slowly, her cute little mouth forming an O.

“And you want me, too. Because I heard more than just your confession last night.” My voice is gravely, deep, and I wonder if she can hear the lust eating me up from the inside out. “Later. I heard you say my name.”

“Later…” she says, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. “You mean after. When I —”

“When you pulled out a toy and imagined it was me makin’ you come? Yeah. I heard you. And it got me so fuckin’ hot, I went into my shower and painted the walls as I pictured you ridin’ me. ”

Evie lets out a small whine, her eyes fluttering closed. I don’t think she realizes she’s doing it, but she leans back in toward me before her eyes fly back open and her hand lands on my chest.

“What are we doing? What…what is going on?”

I take the chance and raise my hand again to tuck some hair behind her ear. “Well, I’d say we’re admitting we’ve both got some feelings that might be worth exploring. Some mutual desires, you might say.” I grin and wink at her, trailing my hand down to take hold of hers, bringing it up to my mouth so I can press a kiss to her knuckles.

As I lower her hand, I lift my gaze to hers. A perfect pink blush colours her cheeks. I lean in, moving slowly. But my intention is clear.

I’m gonna kiss her again, and this time, we might not stop at kissing.

But just as our lips are about to meet, the distinct sound of a key in my front lock penetrates the room and we spring apart.

“Shit. It’s your brother.” I forgot Yami was coming over this morning so we could go over some game footage. He wanted my help analyzing our upcoming opponents.

“Oh my God.” Evie stands up, running her hand through her hair before her gaze drops down to my crotch. “Rhett!” she hisses.

I look down and curse again before leaping up and hustling toward my bedroom, leaving Evie to answer the door.

Her brother walking in and seeing my dick tenting my pants would be a fuck-ton worse than me abandoning her to deal with him herself.

And for the second time in less than twelve hours, I find myself standing under a freezing cold shower.