Authors: Lori Foster
Evan’s arms tightened around her. “You know I wouldn’t mind demolishing him a little for you.”
She shook her head. Evan was not a bully, and he didn’t pick fights with idiots. She knew he’d said it only as a way to soothe the memory of the insult. “Everyone stared at me. And sure, some of them protested that, saying he was an abusive drunk. But they also…felt sorry for me.”
“Because he’d deliberately embarrassed you, not because anything he said was true.”
In her heart, she knew that. Her associates at work were good people who genuinely liked her. But the humiliation had struck deep.
Standing, Evan took her hands and pulled her from the couch. “Come on.”
“Where?”
“To my bedroom.” He looked her over. “To my bed.”
“Oh.” ’Bout damn time. She’d rather do that than rehash old hurts any day. “Okay.”
As she stepped over Doug, he lifted his head, as always aware of her and what she did.
“Just a second.” She knelt down to the dog. “Stay, okay?” She scratched his neck, rubbed an ear. “I promise I won’t be far away. You can rest now.”
He looked at Evan, his furry expression somehow worried, then reassured. He let out a doggy sigh and went back to sleep. Cinder stroked his neck, gave Cate a pet and stood again. The animals trusted Evan, with everything.
With her.
How could she not do the same?
In the bedroom, Evan closed the door so they wouldn’t get a surprise visit from one of the animals. He said to Cinder, “Now that we’re here, I don’t want any interruptions.”
“Okay.” She remained by the door, her small, bare feet together, her hands clasped behind her, her hair hanging in sexy disarray around her beautiful face. “Your head feels okay?”
She had more injuries than he did. Did she really think he’d complain when she didn’t? Or that he could even feel discomfort when she stood in his bedroom, ready to get intimate with him? He’d waited so long to be with her, loving her for what felt like forever, that not much could have slowed him down now. She wanted him. That was all he needed to know. “I’m fine. Great.”
“Me too.”
Urgency kept his blood thrumming, but he knew he had to do this right. He wanted more than just the here and now. He wanted an eternity. “Understand something, Cinder.” Hungry for the sight of her again, he turned on the bedside lamp, then walked toward the window to close the blinds. “I’m not talking about one night. I’m going to feel the same in the morning, and the morning after that.”
Probably a few times during the night as well. But she needed some rest, and he didn’t want to be too greedy.
She searched his face, nodded. “Okay.”
She kept agreeing to everything—but he wanted more than agreement. He wanted full participation.
“What you’re wearing.” He nodded at her big, loose pajama pants paired with an even bigger T-shirt. “Is that a choice for comfort, or because you want to hide?”
She looked down at her shirt as if confused. “I was getting ready for bed.”
Tonight, she’d sleep in the nude—but he saw no reason to tell her that yet. “Earlier, you wore a sweatshirt two sizes too big.”
“You don’t like my clothes?”
“I like
you
. Everything about you.” With them now sealed off in his room, their privacy assured, Evan approached her again. “Sometimes the stuff you wear is almost a tease, hiding more than it shows. And now that I know what it’s hiding, it’ll be especially provocative.”
Realization dawned in her big, dark eyes. “You want to make sure I’m not being insecure?” She smiled up at him. “That’s so sweet.”
At the moment, with a straining hard-on, he felt far from sweet. “Are you?”
She put a hand to his chest to give him a tentative stroke. It seemed she enjoyed touching him almost as much as he enjoyed touching her.
“After wearing a uniform all day, I like to get comfortable in easy clothes, that’s all. But like most women, I enjoy dressing up every now and then.”
“I’ve never seen you dressed up.”
“Probably because I haven’t dated since…well, you know.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Not since the jerk.”
Damn, but he’d love to see her in a skirt, her shapely legs in heels. He’d make it happen, and soon—after he took the edge off with a few days of endless sex. He’d take her out to dinner, the movies, maybe get her to a club and show her off.
Yeah, he liked that idea—especially knowing what her ex had said to her. The bastard. Evan hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he’d take the guy apart. But he also saw no reason for her to waste even a second more thinking about a guy now in her past—where he’d stay.
“Let’s forget him, okay?” He took her mouth, hot and slow and deep. She went on tiptoes to get more, her hands clenching on his shoulders, her lush breasts pressed against his chest.
Filling his hands with her incredible backside, he lifted her more so that her soft belly aligned with his erection. He shifted against her, stroking himself and her both.
When she groaned, he said, “How about we lose the shirt for now?” Going slow, giving her time to protest, he caught the hem and eased it up.
Breathing fast, Cinder raised her arms to help him. He tossed it aside, and then just looked at her. The loose-waisted pajama pants hung down on her hips, leaving her midsection bared. He devoured the sight of her softly rounded belly, the small navel, how her rib cage expanded with each hungry breath.
That incredible rack.
“Damn.” Using both hands, he traced the flare of her hips, the indentation of her waist, up to her heavy breasts. She was a stacked handful and then some. Firm and full. Her pink nipples puckered tight, and he had to bend down to taste her.
Against her flesh, he murmured, “Beautiful.”
She sucked in three deep breaths, and said on a sigh, “I’m so glad you think so.”
Damn it, but he couldn’t let her shortchange herself. He raised his head up again to stare at her. “You realize both Jesse and Brick think you’re hot, too.”
That threw her. “They don’t!”
“So did those cops.”
Her face colored. “No way.”
Evan braced one hand on the wall beside her head and used the other hand to delve down into her pajama pants. Now more than ever he appreciated her preference for loose, comfortable clothing.
She shivered, gasped, then dropped back to the wall.
While he touched her silky skin, he spoke to her. “It’s kind of cute how oblivious you are to this stuff.” He traced the sweet contours of her ass, then around a hipbone to her lower belly. He met her gaze. “I’m not oblivious, though. When you said you’d like to camp out with me, they all shared a look. Know what that look was?”
She shook her head.
“Envy.” He let his hand drift lower, over her pubic curls. “Brick knows I’ve been hot on your tail for a while. He’s heckled me endlessly for not making a move before this.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but he pressed a finger into her and she ended up gasping.
“We all noticed how comfortable you are with Brick and Jesse, but you treat me with more caution.”
“Evan.” Her fingers dug into his shoulders. “Can’t we talk about this later?”
Smiling to himself, he kissed the fragrant skin of her throat, her stubborn jaw, that awful bruise on her cheek. “They told me if I didn’t quit dragging my feet—” he pressed a second finger into her “—some rich doctor would steal you away.”
Knotting her hands in his shirt, she pulled him closer. “I don’t care about any doctors, so hush it and kiss me.”
“Yes ma’am.” He took her mouth hotly, his tongue delving just as his fingers delved—until he felt her hand on the front of his jeans. Even that, a curious brush of her fingers through the thick denim of his jeans, had him on the ragged edge. “Cinder…”
Almost in slow motion, her eyes staring into his, she opened the snap and eased his zipper down. “I want you naked too, you know.”
He locked his knees, drew a deep breath. “Fair enough.” Before she could actually get hold of him—which would probably be the end of him—he put a little space between them and peeled his shirt off over his head.
“I love looking at you.”
The breathless way she said that seduced him as surely as a touch. “I’m glad.” He pushed her pajama pants down, taking her panties with them. “Step out.”
With no show of uncertainty, she bared herself again.
Seeing her naked at the worst of times was one thing. Seeing her naked now, in his bedroom, knowing he’d soon have her, was something altogether different. The impact nearly leveled him.
He reached for her.
She held out a hand and laughed. “Off with the jeans.” She went past him to the bed. “I’ve waited long enough.”
Red-hot lust smoldered, but it was her emotional effect that took him to a fevered pitch. He watched her climb up to the middle of his bed, her smile coy, her eyes bright with desire, and he knew he wanted to see her there, looking at him just like that, for the rest of his life.
But first things first: he shed the jeans with haste.
“Wow.” Cinder stared at him so hotly, his erection flexed in reaction. “Evan?”
“Yeah?”
“Hurry up.”
It was almost enough to make him laugh, but not quite. He got three condoms from his dresser drawer and dropped two on the nightstand. As he tore open the third, he said, “I’d like to promise this will be perfect, but I’m so far gone, I just don’t know.”
In an innocently seductive pose, she rested back on her elbows, her legs shifting restlessly. “I don’t need perfection, Evan. I just need you.” She held her arms open to him, and he was a goner.
Protection in place, he came down over her, gathered her up close to his heart and kissed her the way he’d wanted to for far too long. So many times he’d thought of having her here. He’d always planned to go slow, to overwhelm her with pleasure and passion.
But as he settled into the enticing cradle of her parted thighs, he knew he’d seriously overestimated his control. Her hands were all over him, his all over her. He licked her nipples, sucked, greedier by the second.
Moaning, she hooked one leg over his and arched up.
Evan felt the wetness of her, heard her small sounds of need, breathed in her aroused scent. Reaching between her thighs, he parted her slick lips, opened her and thrust in.
For a heartbeat, they both stilled, suspended on the sharp pleasure as he filled her. He felt their heartbeats sync up. He felt her fingers tighten on his shoulders.
Cinder broke first on a long, vibrating groan. She rolled her hips, taking more of him, urging him to start the rhythm they both needed. He took her mouth while thrusting hard and deep. She anchored herself by locking her ankles at the small of his back.
All too soon he felt her tightening, and it both amazed him and turned him on more. She freed her mouth to cry out, her neck arching, her blond hair spilling out around her head.
There wasn’t a single shy or reserved thing about the way she came, and it pushed him into pleasurable oblivion with her. He stiffened his arms, put his head back and growled out a mind-numbing release.
Seconds, maybe minutes later, little aftershocks of pleasure continued to ripple through Cinder. Evan became aware of her kissing his shoulder, and of the dog scratching at the door.
“Doug’s worried about you,” he murmured, and he nuzzled her throat, relishing the feel of her, all soft and warm around him, under him.
With him.
“He’s not used to hearing me…” The words fell off.
Was she back to being shy? “Come?”
She bit him again, not as softly this time, then sucked at the small sting.
Evan shuddered. “It’s okay, Doug,” he managed to call to the dog. “She’ll be out in a minute.”
Doug barked.
Her tongue moved over his neck one last time. “Okay, okay,” she said so Doug would hear her voice. “I’m on my way.” She tried to move out from under Evan.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Evan came up to his elbows. “Doug can join us in here if you want, but you’ll be sleeping next to me.”
“Sleeping, huh?”
Such a sexy tease. “At least for an hour or so.”
Trailing a hand down his back, she sighed. “I can accept that, I guess.”
He looked into her sated eyes, down to her pale shoulders and her now softened nipples, and whispered, “Then again, might not take a whole hour at all.”
She tried to say, “Good,” but the word tangled with a big yawn.
The evidence of her exhaustion caught Evan, and he could do no more than hug her tightly for a few moments. “You need some sleep.”
“We all do.” She returned his hug just as fiercely. “Doug prefers to sleep on the floor, not the bed, but he’s used to being in the room with me.”
“Not a problem.” Sitting up beside her, he said, “I’ll take him out one more time first. Make use of my bathroom if you like. Do…whatever it is you do before bed. I’ll be right back.”
“Evan, wait.” Looking well tumbled, she sat up. Her gaze went from him to the window and back again. “Be careful, okay?”
After finally making love to Cinder Bratt, it’d be so easy for him to concentrate on the wonderful parts of the day instead of how she’d been frightened, her life threatened.
The bruises she’d sustained.
One look at her face and he knew it was again uppermost in her mind.
“I’ll take my keys and lock the door behind me. Give me five minutes and I’ll be back, okay?”
As if she felt foolish, she ducked her face. “Okay.”
Evan tipped up her chin to kiss her. “No hiding from me, remember? Not your body, not your thoughts.”
“I’m not.” She let out an uneasy breath. “It’s just that, for a little while there, I forgot all about it.”
He was glad. “Five minutes. And, Cinder?”
“Hmmm?”
“Don’t bother getting dressed again.”
Bright security lights illuminated the parking lot and the surrounding grassy area that the tenants’ pets used. The rain had passed, but dark clouds still concealed the moon. Evan held Cate in one arm and Doug’s leash with the other. Since the dog went about his business without a care, Evan knew he didn’t need to worry about the intruder being anywhere near.
The building was mostly silent, with only the sounds of cars passing by on the street to break the peacefulness of the humid night. Consumed in pleasurable thoughts—all of them centered around Cinder—he stood silent until he noticed Jesse and Brick coming out of the building, talking quietly to each other.
They saw him right off, gave him a quick, speculative once-over and grinned while walking toward him.
“Shut up,” Evan said as soon as they got close.
Jesse took Cate from him. “Is she sleeping?”
“Probably not yet.” Given her worry, she wouldn’t let herself fall asleep until he returned.
“But soon.”
Brick nodded at his neck. “I suppose I shouldn’t comment on that love bite.”
Thinking of how she’d kissed him, he touched his neck. So she’d marked him? He kind of liked that. “Best that you don’t.” Cinder was off-limits for a whole lot of things, and Brick understood that. Not that it stopped him.
“Can I just say—”
“No.”
“—that I’m glad.” He squeezed Evan’s shoulder. “That you two hooked up, I mean.”
Evan measured his brother’s lack of jesting, saw he was totally sincere, and nodded. In all things important, Brick backed him up. Cinder was important. The most important person in his life.
“I like her,” Brick added. “A lot.”
Jesse nodded. “Same here. It’s like she’s been part of the family for a while, you know?”
Damn. They were marrying him off when he’d only just gotten her into bed. “You aren’t family,” Evan told Jesse.
“Just like.”
True enough. But he wasn’t going to go into anything that heavy tonight. Cinder didn’t need Jesse or Brick steamrolling her. “Her place is all locked up?”
Brick grinned, nudged Jesse and grinned some more. “Notice how he dodged things there?”
“Jumped topics real quick,” Jesse agreed. “Maybe his brain is sluggish from satisfaction.”
Not even close. His brain, his body, were both still buzzing. “I told her you two thought she was hot.”
The most comical looks came over their faces.
Jesse handed Cate back to him. “How the hell did that come up?”
Now that he had the control again, Evan grinned. He wasn’t about to share Cinder’s private history with anyone else. That’d be up to her if she chose to do so. “Just letting you know where things stand.”
“Why?”
“Because she’ll be staying with me.”
A slow grin came over Jesse’s face. “For how long?”
If he had his way…forever. But he wasn’t there yet. He and Cinder had a whole lot of talking to do before he could spring that on her. “I don’t know. But until her attacker is found, I can use that excuse to keep her close.”
“And after he’s caught?” Brick asked.
“I’ll figure out something.”
Doug finished, kicked around a little dirt, and started leading him back into the apartment. The big dog really did want to turn in.
Evan tossed a doggy pickup bag at Brick. “Do the honors, will you?”
Appalled, Brick looked at the bag, then the ground. “For
Cinder
.” He scowled. “But just this once.”
“I’ll let her know how special she is.” Evan laughed. “Thanks for hanging around, guys. Appreciate it.” He propped Cate on his shoulder, opened the door and reentered the building. Cinder opened his apartment door for him when he reached it. She wore her T-shirt, but nothing else.
When she unleashed Doug, Evan got a few peeks of her behind. Amazingly enough, he felt himself stirring. She needed her sleep, so he ignored the reaction of his body and instead concentrated on getting her back to bed.
Together, they settled the animals and locked up the apartment. Cate chose to sleep by Doug, both of them on the floor at the foot of the bed.
Evan didn’t mention the T-shirt, but Cinder surprised him by stripping it off before crawling under the covers with him.
With the naturalness of a longstanding relationship, she cuddled up close, her arm over his chest, her head on his shoulder.
“Evan?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Hmmm?”
“I’m very glad to be here with you.”
A nice start—and a perfect opening. The room was dark, quiet, intimate. “Will you stay here with me?”
Uncertainty throbbed in the air. “You mean…tonight?”
Forever.
“Until they catch the guy who broke in.”
Her fingers played over his chest. “That could be awhile.”
“It’s not a problem for me.”
She shifted, looking up at him in the darkness. He touched her mouth, grazed his fingertips over her bruised cheek.
“Stay with me, Cinder. Please.”
Two heartbeats passed before she snuggled back into his side. With emotion thick in her voice, she said, “Thank you. I’d love that.”
Now that they had that settled, she yawned.
Evan said, “Go to sleep, honey. I’ll be right here.”
And just like that, she did.
Cinder came in from an early shift to find Jesse, Brick and Evan all in the apartment. They were in the kitchen talking, laughing. It wasn’t uncommon for them to be around, usually on the weekends, but occasionally during the week, too.
She’d been with Evan for three weeks now and still they hadn’t caught the guy who’d come after her. It was a scary thought, but she was almost resigned to the fact that they might never find him.
And if they didn’t, then what? She couldn’t just stay with Evan indefinitely. Not that he seemed in a hurry for her to leave. But it felt like a torturous type of limbo, to be unsure of when her situation might change.
Doug, the only one to hear her come in, greeted her with barking enthusiasm.
He
certainly loved staying with Evan and Cate. In no time at all, he’d acclimated, and now Cinder was just using her apartment as a big closet for her clothes and furniture. They rarely went there—and yet, she hadn’t mentioned giving it up.
Setting aside her purse and keys, Cinder sat on the foyer floor so Doug could drape himself across her lap. Cate crawled up to her shoulder, her face in Cinder’s hair. “Such a warm greeting,” she teased the animals, while giving them each the attention they wanted.
All three men emerged from the kitchen, already smiling toward her, their expressions accepting, indulgent.
Such great guys.
Given they were here now, she assumed they’d have a night in, and she was glad. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed the “dates” Evan had insisted on. Mostly she preferred the long walks in the park with the animals, or just hanging at the apartment with friends. But dancing at the club on occasion was nice too, especially with the way Evan looked at her when she wore heels and a skirt. He was always so complimentary, he left her blushing.
But then, he looked at her the same when she wore jeans. Or pajamas.
Or nothing at all.
She thought he probably wanted to prove he wasn’t like her ex. Not that he needed to. She loved him—she knew the difference.
“Everything okay?” Jesse asked her.
Realizing that she’d been lost in thought, Cinder grinned. “Oh, yeah. I’m great.” And she was. Tired, but oh so happy. She stretched. “It was a long day, that’s all.” But how could any day go wrong when it ended with her at Evan’s apartment? With Evan. She gave a sappy sigh.
Watching her in that concentrating way of his, Evan walked over and offered her a hand up. She let him haul her back to her feet—and into his arms for a proper greeting.
“I’m glad you’re home,” he said against her mouth, and kissed her again.
Home. His home, not really hers.
Maybe she should just come right out and ask him if the arrangements were permanent.
Brick rubbed his hands together. “Now that you two have the smooching out of the way, I hope you’re hungry. I brought over steaks.”
Yeah…she’d talk to him about their living arrangements—after they were alone. “I’m starving. We were so busy today, I didn’t get much time for lunch.”
“The grill’s already hot,” Brick told her. “You’ve probably got fifteen minutes before we eat.”
Doug barked at the door, whined.
“Perfect timing.” She took his leash off the wall. “I’ll take him out, then change clothes before we join you.”
But as she opened the door, Doug lunged forward, almost yanking her off her feet. Cinder held him tighter, confused—and suddenly Evan was there. In one smooth move he handed her Cate and relieved her of the leash. Brick stood with him. Both men looked like thunderclouds.
Cate sank her claws into Cinder’s arm, hissing in upset at the way Doug behaved.
Jesse took her elbow. “Come back inside, hon.”
“But what…?” Doug continued with an awful racket, barking and snarling—and suddenly it hit her. The intruder. “Oh my God.”
While holding her with one hand, Jesse used his other to make a call on his cell.
Evan’s gaze met hers. “Wait with Jesse.”
“
No.”
As if they had it all planned out, each with an assigned role, the men moved in an orchestrated manner. Jesse nudged her back into the doorway, Brick tried to block her. And Evan… Evan allowed Doug to lead him down the hallway toward the front door.
Oh, no, no, no. She watched in horror as Doug yanked at the leash, doing his utmost to get free.
“Wait!” She pulled away from Jesse. When Evan glanced back at her, he wore such an unyielding scowl that she didn’t bother trying to deter him with reason. Instead, she cuddled Cate closer and squared her shoulders. “I won’t have my dog hurt.”
“He won’t be,” Brick told her. “Look at the lot. It’s daylight still. People are out and about. But someone is lurking, and Doug knows it. Let him do his thing, Cinder.”
She said, “Doug,” in pleading tones, but he paid her no attention. He wanted to be free to attack.
Brick stepped in front of her, and with some male-inspired meaning, said, “Let Evan do his thing, too. Okay?”
What in the world was
his thing?
“The cops are on the way,” Jesse announced.
That did little to ease her reservations. “What if he still has a gun?” What if, this time, he used that gun?
“We can’t let him get away,” Evan told her. The force of his determination showed in every rigid line of his body. “Not this time.”
“Oh God.” What to do, Cinder wondered. Jesse continued to hold her arm, but she wasn’t dumb. If they were hell-bent on a showdown, she wasn’t going to race out and get in the way. However, she did turn in a rush and race to the patio doors to look out.
Jesse secured the front door and joined her. Together, their ears touching near the glass, they watched as Evan and Brick strode out. The men refrained from talking, almost as if they didn’t know each other. Evan pulled a resistant Doug to the grassy area, but Doug had no intention of doing his business. Not right now.
Brick circled around to his truck and got behind the wheel.
“What are they doing?” Cinder asked.
“Thanks to Doug, they know right where he’s at, but they don’t want him to know they’re onto him yet.”
She looked at her dog, at how he strained toward an old white station wagon parked farther down the lot. “Oh.”
“Don’t worry, honey. They won’t let Doug get hurt—but they also won’t let the guy get away.”
“Okay.” Now it sort of made sense…a little.
In amazement, Cinder watched as Brick pulled his big truck around—and stopped in front of the car with his passenger side nearly touching the hood, blocking it in. He turned off the truck and got out, but stayed behind the cab.
Evan and Doug joined him, and now that he had gotten his way, Doug showed more manners. He stopped the awful racket, but kept the leash taut. Evan said something to him, patted his flank, and Doug sat beside him.
Huh. When had he taught Doug that trick?
“Smart dog,” Jesse told her. “Now all they have to do is wait. Cops should be here any minute.”
Pride filled her. She stroked a fractious Cate. “Hear that, baby? Doug is a hero.” Cate nestled closer to her neck, and Cinder sympathized. She knew just how the cat felt.
Police sirens sounded, and a second later, two cruisers pulled into the lot.
Suddenly the driver of the car caught on. A little panicked, knowing he couldn’t drive away, he opened his door and tried to run. Even from the distance, she saw that remarkable snake tattoo on his neck.
Cinder almost panicked herself—until she saw the officers giving chase, not Doug. Evan continued to hold the dog back.
Protecting him—which she should have realized was his intent. Evan loved Doug.
Did he love her, too?
Another police car showed up on the other side of the fleeing intruder.
Cornered, he reached into his pocket, possibly for a gun—and got hit with a Taser that wrung a guttural scream from his throat, bowed his back and then dropped him flat.
Wide-eyed, Cinder stared in horror at the big man now on the ground. “Wow.”
With her attacker now subdued, Jesse asked, “Want to go check it out?”
Not really, but she could tell that
he
did. “I guess.” With grave uncertainty, she put Cate on the couch, tucked between some pillows so she’d feel secure. She followed Jesse, who grinned ear to ear as he strode out to the lot. Men.
Doug had his ears up in an alert, fascinated way, watching as the man was handcuffed and lifted back to his feet. Everyone could see the tattoo, which for Cinder was proof enough. But the attentive officer also fished a wallet from his pocket. “It’s him.”
“The same guy from the hospital?” Evan asked.
“According to his ID, yeah.”
The dog suddenly turned, saw Cinder standing there, and loped over to greet her. Evan followed.
Her stomach was still in knots, and a crazy shakiness had invaded her limbs.
Evan pulled her in close. “It’s over.”
Yes…she feared it was. All of it.