Without a word, Jack pulled her close to him, one strong hand behind her head, wound into her hair, and the other gripping her waist. He stared into her eyes for a second and then closed his, sighing deeply and then pressing his mouth to hers.
Evie crumpled in his arms. She’d always been powerless when it came to Jack’s physical hold over her. In his arms, she was an instrument for him to play. She opened her mouth to his insistent kiss, and desire for him overtook her as his tongue plunged against her own.
Time accelerated as Jack’s mouth claimed Evie, tracing lines and circles down her throat as his hands cupped her breasts and pulled her body more firmly into his own. He pulled her skirt high around her waist as he lifted her and seated her on the edge of his desk. Evie’s hands found his belt and unfastened it, one hand reaching inside to stroke the firm thickness she found there.
Jack had been silent as he’d answered Evie with actions, but he groaned as she stroked him, and the sound caused moisture to pool between Evie’s legs as Jack pressed himself against her, her hand still holding him. She pushed his pants down around him, and pulled her step-in aside, guiding him toward her, needing to feel him again.
As he entered her, Evie rested her head on Jack’s shoulder, savoring the sensation of completion that she felt when she was connected to him this way. Jack was the only man Evie had been with, and she could not imagine another man touching her like this, making her feel like this. Not Roger. Not Louis. Only Jack.
As they pulsed their release together they both cried out, and then their frenzied motion stilled, and Jack’s arms tightened around her. His breath was hot on her neck and he began to speak, his voice a hoarse whisper. ‘You,’ he said. ‘You are the only woman I want. The only woman I have ever loved. You have given me everything that I never believed I would have. A chance to change. A chance to be more, to be better. A chance to have a fresh start.’ He pulled his head up and looked into her eyes. ‘I love you, Evie. And I don’t want you to leave me again.’
She shook her head slightly. ‘I won’t.’
‘Ever again.’ The edge in his voice sent a shiver through her.
‘I love you, too.’
They stayed like that, perched against the edge of the desk, utterly connected, until they had both recovered. They moved slowly apart and reassembled their clothes.
‘Now what?’ Evie asked.
‘Now, Miss McKenzie,’ Jack said, his voice cool and smooth. ‘I’d be honored if you would agree to be my wife.’
Evie stared at him.
‘After you dispense with your current arrangement, of course,’ Jack said, a tiny smile playing on his lips.
Evie had almost forgotten that she had already told Roger that she couldn’t marry him and returned his ring. ‘I did!’ she said, throwing her arms around Jack again. ‘Will you come home with me? Meet my parents properly? And maybe …’
‘Ask your father’s permission?’
Evie nodded, embarrassed that she still felt compelled to follow such ridiculous traditions.
‘I’d have it no other way.’
‘Call me tonight? We’ll do it this weekend,’ she said.
Jack walked her to the door of the classroom, and Evie felt as if she floated all the way home.
*****
At dinner that night, Evie could barely keep track of the idle conversation her parents made around the table. Finally she noticed them both staring at her, silent.
‘Evie, dear,’ her father said. ‘We’ve been keeping a secret.’
Evie raised her eyebrows. She had thought she was the only one keeping secrets in the family. ‘You have?’
‘And we’re so sorry,’ her mother added. ‘For keeping it from you, and for what I know you will feel when we tell you.’
Her father was nodding sympathetically, and Evie began to feel a spark of worry. What could they be hiding? ‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘It’s Roger,’ her mother said. Her eyes were wet and she looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
‘Oh, God,’ Evie said. Roger must be hurt, or perhaps he hadn’t escaped prison after all. ‘What is it? Is he all right?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing like that,’ her father jumped in, scolding his wife. ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Betsy! Roger’s fine.’
They were both silent then, and Evie wondered if she might actually explode with frustration. ‘What is it, then?’
‘There’s no easy way to say this,’ her mother said. ‘Roger is engaged.’
‘No, Mother. I forgot to tell you,’ Evie answered automatically. ‘Before I left, I spoke with him, returned the ring …’
‘No, dear. Not to you. To someone else,’ her mother interrupted. ‘To Hazel Glenn, that little hussy. She heard you had left town, and … well, who knows what she did exactly. But it’s wildly inappropriate. He never even spoke with you about it, just asked that, that, flapper …’ She spit the word ‘flapper’ out as if it tasted like rotted fish.
‘It’s fine, Mother.’
‘But he …’ Her mother looked up through tearful eyes. ‘What?’
‘It’s fine. I called it off before I left.’
‘But, why?’
‘I’m in love with someone else. I can’t marry Roger.’
Her mother stared open-mouthed, and her father continued eating as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Evie continued, ‘I love Jack Taylor.’
‘Who is Jack Taylor?’ Her father put down his fork as her mother continued to stare.
‘I’d like you to meet him. He’ll come to dinner this weekend if you’ll have him.’
‘Of course we’ll have him,’ Mr McKenzie boomed. ‘That’s wonderful news, isn’t it, Betsy?’
Evie’s mother looked confused and somewhat frightened. ‘Well, I’m not sure,’ she began. ‘Do we know his parents? Are they a good family?’
‘I don’t know, Mother. I don’t care. I just want Jack, and he wants me, too.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Her mother looked pale.
‘Try to accept it, Mother. The world is moving forward. You can come with us, or get left behind. People don’t always do things the old-fashioned way anymore.’ Evie stood. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go invite Jack for Friday evening. You’ll love him, you’ll see.’ Evie left the table, and wondered if her mother would survive this particular breach of etiquette.
Mrs McKenzie did survive, and Jack arrived for dinner as planned. He was perfectly composed and refined, and even Evie’s mother was not immune to his cultured charm, as he complimented everything from her hair to her choice in table settings.
The men retired to the parlor ahead of the women after dinner, to give Jack and Mr McKenzie a chance to talk. Evie could hardly sit still, since she knew that Jack intended to ask her father’s permission to marry her.
‘He is handsome, isn’t he?’ Her mother was practically giddy.
‘Yes,’ Evie agreed.
‘And so well-spoken.’
‘He is an English professor, Mother.’
‘Oh, I know. Very impressive.’ Through the course of the meal, Mrs McKenzie had tried to get to the bottom of the apparent mystery surrounding Jack’s family, but he was politely evasive.
‘I was left to my own devices at a young age, Mrs McKenzie,’ he told her. ‘But I met some wonderful people who were willing to mentor me and assist me in completing my education.’
Evie loved hearing Jack speak, and it was a novelty to have him in her dining room. But the mystery that surrounded him just seemed to grow as she got to know him better. He mentioned South Dakota again, but said nothing more about his past. She didn’t care where he was from, though. She only cared where he was going. With her.
After a short time, Mr McKenzie opened the parlor doors. ‘Will you ladies join us for a drink?’
Evelyn and Mrs McKenzie entered the parlor and each accepted a glass of champagne.
‘Champagne?’ Mrs McKenzie raised her eyebrows.
>
‘I know it’s a bit late, but we are celebrating.’ Mr McKenzie raised his glass. ‘To our daughter and her fiancé, Jack Taylor.’
‘Oh!’ Evie’s mother nearly dropped her glass, but recovered herself quickly. ‘How sudden,’ she said, and then quickly added, ‘and how wonderful.’
Jack and Evie raised their glasses to one another, and Evie met Jack’s deep clear eyes. In them she saw his love for her, along with boundless mysteries yet to be solved about the man who would never cease to intrigue her. She saw her past, and most of all she saw her future. ‘I love you, Jack Taylor.’
‘I love you, too,’ Jack said.
The crystal glasses made a satisfying tinkling sound as they met in the toast, and Evie drank, feeling as if she could hardly wait for the future to begin.
THE END
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The Glittering Life of Evie Mckenzie Page 20