by Zoe Allison
Eva hesitated, then nodded.
Meena led her into the kitchen and within a couple of minutes the inevitable cup of tea was set in front of her
Eva sighed. “I’m not sure what to do.”
Meena appeared unruffled. “Tell him that you’re in love with him.”
Eva raised her eyebrows. “How do you know I’m in love with him?”
Meena smiled. “I’ve always known how you felt about him. I’m your mother. I can tell these things. Why do you think I’ve been trying to interfere?”
Eva rubbed her forehead. “He doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Of course he does. Lily told me.”
Eva snapped her head up. “He told Auntie Lily that?”
Meena shook her head. “No, but she can tell too. It’s the motherly instinct.”
Eva laughed, despite the sadness gripping her heart. “I think he is in love with someone, but it’s not me.”
Just then a car horn sounded from the front of the house.
“There’s the taxi,” Meena said. “Are you sure we shouldn’t cancel? It’s no problem if you need us.”
“No,” Eva said. “You’ve been looking forward to it and you and Dad deserve the time together. I’ll be fine, honestly.”
Matthew went out of the front door to take their luggage to the taxi.
Meena stood and kissed Eva’s cheek. “Just talk to him. Anything is better than the agony of not knowing. You really aren’t protecting yourself from anything.”
Eva couldn’t reply. The lump in her throat was too big. She stood and hugged her mum goodbye, then followed her to the front door and waved her off as she left the house to climb into the taxi. Her dad was speaking to the taxi driver.
Matthew came back to the door after depositing the bags. “Bye, we’ll bring you something back from Paris,” he said, kissing Eva on the cheek.
“Thanks. Have fun,” Eva said
Matthew turned back as he went through the door. “Damon’s a good lad, you know.”
Eva smiled. She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew what was going on. He always quietly read every situation. Ever since reunion night, she’d had a feeling that her dad had deliberately taken his time in getting to the front door that evening, as if he’d known that Damon was outside with her.
He closed the door gently behind him, and Eva went up the stairs. She busied herself about her room, changing her work clothes for some yoga pants and a vest top. She had a notion that she might do an online class after dinner to try to unwind.
As she pulled on the vest, she was aware of footsteps on the stairs and her bedroom door opening.
She turned. “What did you forget, Mum?”
Damon stood in the doorway looking as hot as hell.
Eva sucked in her breath.
He leaned against the door. “Your mum and dad have gone. I arrived as they were getting into the taxi and your dad let me in. I hope you don’t mind.”
Eva shook her head, shocked into silence. He was wearing a smart pair of fitted grey work trousers and a black shirt. He looked gorgeous.
His voice was gentle. “You’ve been dodging my calls.” He moved towards her. “What’s going on?”
Her feet were rooted to the spot. She stared at the floor. “Nothing.”
Why is he still moving closer? Why does he look so good? Good God, why does he smell so good?
Damon stood in front of her. He touched her bare shoulder and gently dragged his fingers along her arm, causing goosebumps to erupt in his wake. He took her hand and her breath caught in her throat.
“Eva, look at me.”
She lifted her gaze from where she’d been studying the carpet and immediately lost herself in his eyes.
“You need to talk to me,” Damon said softly. “What’s going on with you? I had the best night of my life then in the morning you disappeared, and you’ve been ducking my calls since.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “I think I might know why, but I want to hear it from you.”
Eva’s heart went into overdrive. She couldn’t say it. She hadn’t spoken those words since the days she was pleading with Callum to come home and support her, to no avail. What if she was let down again?
She swallowed hard and opened her mouth, but it was so dry that she couldn’t form any words at all.
Damon took hold of her shoulder gently. He gazed into her eyes and she was sure he was reading her soul. “You don’t have to be scared with me. I’m not Callum. He emotionally abused you and that’s not me. There’s no way I would ever hurt you. Just tell me how you feel.”
Eva managed to find her voice. “I can’t.”
“Why not? You can tell me anything,” he said. “I thought we’d got past the wall that you’ve built around yourself.”
She took a deep breath. “I can’t, because you don’t feel the same way I do.”
Damon frowned. “There’s no way you believe that. You can’t possibly think this was just about sex to me?”
Eva stared at him, thrown. “I…I don’t know.”
Damon sighed. “Evie.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Okay, fine. If you can’t say it, then I will.” He held her head gently, keeping her gaze on him as a whooshing noise sounded in her ears. “I am so in love with you. I can’t stop thinking about you and it’s driving me crazy.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I love how caring you are and the way you tune into everyone else’s feelings, especially mine. I love how great you are with Adele and Sam. You’re my best friend and I’ve never been as attracted to someone in my whole life.”
Eva’s heart soared so high at those words that she felt lightheaded. Her pulse raced as she gazed at him, not wanting him to stop speaking.
His trailed his thumb across her lower lip. “You’re the sexist woman alive, and all I want to do is make love to you all day every day—because that’s what we’ve been doing, not just having sex. That fact can’t have escaped you. And you must’ve seen it on my face over the past couple of weeks too, because I haven’t been able to hide it.”
She remembered that funny look in his eye. “What about Sarah?”
He frowned. “What’s she got to do with anything?”
Eva hesitated. Had she got it all wrong? “I thought you were still in love with her. You were so lovely and supportive when her dad was ill. I thought it’d stirred old feelings and that she’d want you back too.”
Damon shook his head. “I haven’t loved Sarah that way in a very long time—and she feels exactly the same. We care about each other because we have kids together but that’s it.”
“She didn’t want you to go to dinner to ask you to get back together?” Eva said.
Damon frowned. “Of course not.”
Eva rubbed her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I misread everything.”
He took her hands in his. “To be honest, I’m not surprised. After everything with Callum, I think it has left you traumatized. You couldn’t open up to anyone because you were scared of being hurt again. I do understand.” He paused. “But I need to reiterate that I’m not him. I love you, I’m here for you and you can trust me. I will never, ever let you down.”
He leaned in to kiss her, and she melted into him. He murmured against her lips. “Tell me, Evie. I need to hear you say it.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, studying him intently as her love for him overwhelmed her. His words had given her the courage to speak from the heart. “I love you so much, more than I’ve ever loved anyone.” She stroked her fingers along his cheek. “To be honest, I think I always have.”
He sighed and smiled, resting his forehead against hers, then he kissed her again. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to hear you say that,” he said. “I suspected you felt the same when you said you’d never slept with someone you weren’t in love with, but I have to admit I panicked when you bolted.”
Eva screwed her face up at the thought of him being hurt by her actions. “I’m sorry for being such an idiot.”
He rubbed his nose against hers. “I’m pretty sure I could forgive you anything.”
She brought her head up to meet his and kissed him. It didn’t take long for heat to start building within her and she backed them towards the bed.
Damon drew away. “Hold on. I need to say something before we go any further.”
Eva’s heart sank. “What is it?”
He met her gaze. “This is it now, no more holding back—no more secrets and no more walls. I want you to tell me everything and trust that I’ll be there to support you.” He placed his hand over her heart. “I want it all, Evie. I want all of you.”
Eva nodded, a delicious warmth seeping through her body. “I promise.”
He leaned in to kiss her again but she stopped him, planting her hand on his chest. “On that note, I have one more thing to say.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
Eva spoke quickly before she could change her mind. “I had a massive crush on you at school. I used to daydream about you and stare at you in class, wishing you’d ask me out.”
Damon’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“Yeah…” Eva said. It was more embarrassing than she’d thought. She took a deep breath, aware that her face was flushing. “I used to lie in this bed at night and imagine that you might be my first.”
He frowned. “I thought you hated me at school?”
“No way,” Eva said. “Why would you think that?”
Damon shook his head. “You didn’t even want to talk to me. If I spoke to you, you’d tell me to get lost and flounce off.”
“I did that because I fancied you,” Eva said. “I ran away because I was embarrassed, and I didn’t know what to say. Plus, I thought you were out of my league.”
“Out of your league?” Damon said. “I thought you were out of mine. You were so clever I thought you’d figured you were above me.”
Eva shook her head so hard that it hurt her neck. “I would never think that.”
Damon laughed. “Bloody hell. We really should’ve talked more.” He paused. “But what about before you got together with Brian, when I saw you out in town and I came over to congratulate you on your exam results?”
Eva frowned. “What about it?”
“I was making a move on you, Eva.”
“What?” She raised her eyebrows. That couldn’t be true. “I thought you were just being nice.”
“I was being nice”—Damon grinned—”in order to make a move.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe I missed that. I would’ve been so up for it, too.”
Damon looked at her, still smiling. “There was another time as well.”
Eva’s mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope,” he said. “After you split with Brian and before you got together with Callum, you were home from university for the weekend, and I offered to buy you a twenty-first birthday drink at the Swan.”
Eva remembered it. “I thought you were consoling me after Brian and I broke up, and someone else was already getting me a drink, so I said no thanks and gave you a hug.”
Damon grinned. “Again, I was trying to console you…but also making a move.”
Eva shook her head “You would’ve been better off clubbing me over the head. I’m so dense.”
Damon laughed. “Don’t worry. I still love you.”
Eva smiled. She loved hearing him say that. “I’m sorry you struck out. Come here and let me make it up to you.” She grasped his shirt to pull him into a kiss, then started unbuttoning the shirt.
“Now that you mention it,” he said against her mouth. “My feelings were rather hurt…”
He backed her onto the bed then lay over her and looked into her eyes, stealing kisses from her lips as he spoke. “I may have missed out on being your first,” he whispered. “But I have to tell you I fully intend to be your last.”
Then he slowly and tenderly made love to her, on the bed where she’d spent so many hours dreaming of him.
Epilogue
Damon opened the door of the beach house and put his sunglasses on as sunlight reflected off the white sand and dazzled his eyes. He walked out from the air-conditioned room onto the veranda, the heat blasting his skin, and surveyed the private stretch of beach that was theirs for their honeymoon.
The small island in the Maldives was beautiful, and in a couple of days when they jetted off, they wouldn’t be returning home to Oakcastle but to meet Sarah, her partner Stewart and Adele and Sam for a family holiday in Sri Lanka. Then once they were eventually home, it wouldn’t be long before they’d be travelling to Edinburgh for a long weekend with Mel and Andrew.
Back when Eva had first called Mel from Yorkshire to have a heart to heart, it was gratefully received. They’d talked frequently on the phone over the proceeding weeks and months, and Mel and Andrew had been pleased to accept Eva and Damon’s wedding invitation when the time came. At the wedding, the Scottish couple had privately disclosed the fantastic news that they were expecting another baby, this time naturally. It was a miracle that they’d never dreamed of in the aftermath of their loss. The look of utter joy on Eva’s face when she’d heard the news was by far the best wedding present Damon could ever have gotten.
Damon scanned the water’s edge. Where was his lovely wife? His heart beat faster when he laid eyes on her. She never failed to quicken his pulse. He admired her tanned body as she stood with her back to him in her black bikini. He drifted his eyes up her shapely legs, along the curve of her bottom and hips and over the swell of her breasts in her bikini top as she angled her torso sideways, her hand on her forehead shielding her eyes as she looked out over the sea. He stood silently, watching her. She turned farther towards him, finally spotting his presence.
She smiled and started walking over the sand in his direction. She’s so beautiful. His heart pounded. It was the end of their second week in the Maldives and they’d been having sex at least three times a day, yet he still couldn’t get enough of her. There wasn’t an inch of her body that he hadn’t yet explored, but the sight of her still drove him crazy. Lust stirred deep inside him as she approached. They’d already made love that morning, but he was more than ready for her again.
She reached the wooden stairs of the veranda and climbed into his arms. He lifted his sunglasses onto the top of his head as she took hers off.
Eva put her arms around his neck and he savoured her beautiful body pressing against his. She smiled and kissed him. “Afternoon, sleepyhead. I thought you were never going to wake up. I’ve been waiting for you.”
She ran her hand down his bare chest onto the front of his swim shorts. His breathing picked up. He smiled as he gazed into her gorgeous green eyes.
“I was just recharging myself for you,” he said.
Eva smiled and slipped her hand inside the shorts. He drew in breath against her mouth as she kissed him slowly. They came up for air and he rested his forehead against hers. She removed her hand and gestured towards the beach house. Damon gave her smile, then scooped her into his arms to carry her through the patio doors and onto the emperor-sized bed.
He studied her for a moment, propped on her elbows, her tanned skin and dark bikini contrasting against the white sheets.
“Now that is one view I will never, ever tire of,” he said.
Damon crawled over her slowly, before stripping off the small amount of material they were both wearing and making love to her for the second, but unlikely the last, time that day.
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Revealed
Zoe Allison
Excerpt
A loud crack pierced the moonlit darkness of the trees. Amber peered out from the large fir she was crouching behind. She couldn’t see Victoria through the cover of darkness, but she could sense exactly where she was. Amber lifted her hand and gestured toward the noise, indicating for Victoria to proceed with the plan.
Amber closed
her eyes. She felt Victoria’s presence move away, closer to the target. Louder and louder noises emanated through the wilderness from that same direction. The target was clearly distracted by his human prey and unaware that they were closing in on him. Amber took the opportunity to stealthily rise and creep closer herself. She could sense that he would soon be in her line of vision.
Then there he was, in a small clearing among the firs. He crouched over the limp form of his victim, snarling as he took his fill of blood. Amber darted her gaze over the clearing to where Victoria was hiding in the darkness. Their eyes met, and Amber nodded almost imperceptibly.
Victoria leaped toward the man. As she flew through the air she snarled, revealing her extended razor-sharp canine teeth. He snapped up his head from his distraction, blood smearing his face and dripping from his own pointed eyeteeth. However, his reaction had come too late. Victoria slammed into him, knocking him off the body and rolling him farther into the clearing. She pinned him to the ground and slammed her fist so hard into his face that the impact drove his head into the earth below. He was strong from his feed, however, and his sharp reflexes kicked in. He flung the bottom half of his body upward in a forceful jab, sending Victoria over the top of his head, where she tumbled over the forest floor and landed lightly on her feet. She circled him as he rose to standing and the two of them faced off a few yards apart.
Victoria smiled, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She lifted her hand, turned her palm upward and brought her fingers toward herself in an invitation to the fight. Her insolent gesture had the desired effect. He growled, and in a blind rage ran in her direction. She had already pulled back her arm and, as he reached her, she smashed her fist into his face, sending him hurtling away toward the tree line, where he crashed into a thick trunk, cracking it in the process. Within a split second Victoria was upon him, pinning him in place. She glanced over at Amber, who was still hidden a few feet away, and nodded.
Amber was by Victoria’s side quickly, even though, unlike her partner, she wasn’t capable of vampire speed. The man’s black, dead-looking eyes met hers, and registered her human form. A sneer appeared on his face as he started to thrash in an attempt to escape Victoria’s grip and get at Amber. Before he could gain any purchase, Amber closed in, grabbing hold of the man’s head. He screamed in agony, and Victoria stepped away while Amber did her work.