“Flattery?”
“Truth.” And then he closed the distance between them, cupped her face between his palms and kissed her.
Evelyn didn’t think about fighting him. She’d known from the second she’d gone back to his apartment last night that this would happen. And, Lord help her, she didn’t want to fight him.
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing her body into his, trying to feel every inch of him. He angled his head to kiss her deeper, his tongue teasing hers, and she was suddenly overcome. She’d waited too long for this. No more waiting.
Her fingers twisted in his shirt and pulled it up, breaking the kiss so she could pull it over his head, revealing his toned chest and abs. Abs that she could touch now. No pretenses. No one about to walk in and interrupt.
She skimmed the planes and ridges with the tips of her fingers, and her breath caught in her throat. Luke tilted her chin up and gave her another devastating kiss as he pulled at her shirt, reaching beneath it to spread his hands on the bare skin of her back. She gasped into his mouth at the sudden contact.
And he caught her gasp with his mouth before he moved to kiss along her jaw and down the sensitive cords of her neck, nipping her softly at the base before soothing the sting with his tongue.
Her moan seemed to set him off as he pulled her shirt off in one quick motion. He moved forward, pushing her back until her thighs hit the back of the couch, and he lifted her to sit at the edge. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he cupped her breasts, clad only in her black lace bra.
He pushed her breasts together, kissing the top of one, and then the other, before moving the cups down so the taut peaks were exposed. As though she had no control over herself, Evelyn arched her back, wordlessly telling him exactly what she wanted him to do.
And he obliged, taking one nipple in his mouth as his fingers caressed the other one with just the tips of his fingers.
Abruptly, he pulled away. He gripped her ass tightly as he pulled her up against his hard erection and carried her out of the living room. He kicked a door open with his foot and the rest of the room was a blur as he crossed to the bed and set her down.
Without waiting for him, Evelyn undid the button on her jeans and pushed them along with her panties over her hips. Luke was there to meet her, but he took his time pulling off the hard denim. He slowly pulled the material lower, kissing along the exposed thigh as he moved down, pausing to lick the delicate skin right along the side of her knee.
He pulled off her shoes and then the jeans, and she was completely bared to his gaze. But it was impossible to feel self-conscious when a man like Luke looked at her the way he was. As if she were the first woman he’d ever seen. As if she were made of gold or some other priceless artifact.
Then his hands were on her knees and spread her for his view. Her breath caught in her throat as he sat up on his knees, kissing the inside of her legs again, except this time, he was going up. As he trailed the kisses higher, sometimes nipping, sometimes kissing, he hooked her leg over his shoulder as he spread her wet folds.
She had to bite her lip to keep from moaning as he slipped his fingers into her tender flesh, as his tongue stroked over her sensitive clit. Her hips bucked, but his free hand held her down as he kept on with the sensual torture, alternating between driving her higher with his fingers and mouth.
She reached down to run her fingers through his hair, not sure whether she was pulling him closer or pushing him away. It was so hard to think straight when it felt as though her entire body was burning.
And then she was on fire. The orgasm crashed into her, deep waves of pleasure washing over her. Her head fell back and she allowed herself to savor the moment.
When she opened her eyes a few seconds later, Luke was standing and pulling off his jeans. She held her breath as his erection sprung free. Her body craved him inside her. Filling her.
She bit her lip to keep from begging him to come back to bed as he kicked off his jeans and bent to pull out a condom from the back pocket. As he rolled it over his hard cock, she was half convinced he was taking his time just to tease her.
Finally, she gave up on being proud. “Luke,” she breathed. “Please. I need this.”
He smiled as he looked down at her. “You need me?”
“I need you,” she admitted, her hand held out to him.
He climbed up her body, pushing her farther onto the bed as his blazing hot skin touched hers all over. “I need you too, baby,” he said as his mouth crashed down on hers. As his tongue plundered her mouth, he settled between her thighs, his erection pressing against her core as her feet stroked the back of his legs, encouraging him to move.
But before he gave her what she wanted so badly, he pulled away, pushing her hair out of her eyes, and stared down at her.
“What are you waiting for?” she snapped as the desire reached a record high.
“Well, someone told me that you liked to talk dirty in bed, and I have yet to hear anything dirty come out of that sexy mouth of yours.”
She was going to kill him. Fuck him first, but there was definitely going to be killing too. “Are you kidding?”
“Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.” He pressed the head of his cock against her clit as a form of erotic bribery.
“I’m not doing this now,” she warned.
He smiled down at her. “I can’t think of a better time to talk dirty.”
Evelyn pushed herself up just enough to brush her lips against his. “Please, Luke. Fuck me. I need you inside me so bad. Please fill my—”
He thrust inside in one long, sure stroke. She groaned at the sudden sensation. He was big and it had been too long since she’d been with a man. He remained still for a few moments, allowing her to adjust. Then he pulled almost all the way out and thrust again. Evelyn’s fingers bit into Luke’s back as he started to move. All sign of playfulness in him was gone. He seemed wholly transfixed by her as he kissed her forehead and then started to move in fast, powerful strokes.
All she could do was hold on as a new wave of pleasure crashed over her. He braced himself on one arm while his free hand slid under her ass to hold her in place for his pistoning hips.
The friction of his skin moving against hers added to her arousal, and when she lifted one knee higher, opening herself as wide as possible to him, that was the last straw. A second orgasm hit her, and this time, she screamed.
Luke pumped into her faster and harder until his own orgasm erupted. He buried his face into her neck as he came, holding her close as he shuddered his release.
Evelyn came back to reality slowly, trying to catch her breath as she ran her hands over Luke’s muscular back, taking a moment to savor the feel of him in her arms.
Luke let out a little laugh against her skin and she feathered her fingers through his hair. “What’s so funny?” she breathed.
“Just thinking...”
“Oh no. Luke Devereaux thinking. That’s never a good sign.”
He gave her hip a playful swat.
She gave a mock surprised sound. “Fine, fine! Sorry. What were you thinking about?”
He pushed himself up to look down at her. “I was thinking that this was the best house tour I’ve ever given.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Luke rolled over and reached for Evelyn, like he had done plenty of times in the night, but this time her warm, naked body wasn’t there. He felt around on the empty sheets, but all he felt was cold emptiness.
He opened his eyes and confirmed that he was alone in the bedroom. Damn it. He knew the night would have to end at some point, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.
Groaning, he rubbed a hand over his eyes. The sun was shining brightly through the window, but he didn’t feel as if he’d slept in. Granted, he’d been in bed for over twelve hours, but he’d been awake for most of it.
Awake and fulfilling all the fantasies that had relentlessly played in his head for t
he past few weeks. Even thinking about the things he and Evelyn had done the night before had his cock hard and eager again. Greedy bastard.
After last night, he should be out of commission for a week at least. Not already wanting more. If he’d thought that once he had a taste of Evelyn that would be enough, he’d apparently been wrong. Very, very wrong.
But they were here for the weekend at least. Maybe he could even stretch it out for a whole week. Her boss, Hotchins, had seemed well and intimidated by Luke during their brief conversation in Evelyn’s apartment. Luke had enough connections that were well over Hotchins’s head that he had reason to be worried. He could work to keep Evelyn as his own personal protection for as long as he could.
But after that? After this was all done? She wanted to go back to Texas. She’d been very vocal about that. And it wasn’t as if he wanted anything long term, so he should be happy. A week of great, no-strings-attached sex. That was his dream.
So why was he so pissed at the idea?
“Hey sleepyhead.” Evelyn poked her head in the doorway. “Get your lazy ass up. I made pancakes.”
“You cook? I’m shocked, Agent Price.”
“And for that remark, you can eat the ones I burned. Come on.”
He sat up, pulling the sheet off and rubbing his eyes one last time. “I’m coming.”
“That’s what he said,” she called as she disappeared from the doorway.
“Fuck,” he muttered as he stared at the spot she just vacated. He might be in serious trouble.
He pulled on a pair of jeans, but decided to go shirtless. He knew how much Evelyn liked him without, and at this moment, making Evelyn happy was his priority.
He padded out into the kitchen. The setup was old-fashioned, with white cabinets and appliances in a galley that led to a small eat-in section with a wooden table and four chairs. A large window next to the table overlooked the ocean. There were also tables and chairs on the wraparound porch, but it was too cold to eat outside. Maybe in the afternoon when the sun was high in the sky, he and Evelyn could take a walk along the beach.
Sure, it was corny, but he’d love to see Evelyn against the backdrop of the crashing waves with the wind blowing through her dark curls. Actually, they probably wouldn’t even make it off the property line before he was dragging her back to the bedroom.
He smiled at the thought as he took a seat at the table. A plate of pancakes waited for him. She must’ve been up for a while. She’d found some mismatched plates for the two of them to use. Some butter and syrup was also on the table. She picked up his glass and carried it to the kitchen. “We have water or milk. Any preference?”
“Milk.” He leaned back. “I could get used to you waiting on me.”
“Don’t,” she warned. “This is only fair after you made breakfast yesterday.” She poured him his milk and brought it back to the table, but her normal sultry walk was stunted, replaced with a limp.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Was I too rough last night?” He never even considered her injury. She never mentioned it or complained in all the time he’d known her. But of course her leg would be sensitive. Damn it. He should’ve paid more attention.
“No,” she assured him. “This isn’t you. It’s a low pressure system moving in. Didn’t you know? Getting shot makes you a weatherman.” She set his glass down and took her seat across from him.
He picked up the syrup and doused his pancakes. “I always thought that was an exaggeration.”
“So did I, to be honest. But when it’s about to rain, it tends to hurt a little more than normal.”
“You walk so well on it normally. It’s like it never happened.”
She let out a sad laugh. “I wish. I try really hard to make sure no one can tell. It’s a weakness, and where I come from, weaknesses are exploited.”
“From Texas?”
“From the border.”
He took his first bite of pancakes and moaned. “Damn, these are good.”
“They should taste good. They’re soaked in butter. It’s my secret weapon.”
“Good choice in weapon.” He shoved more into his mouth. After he was done chewing, he washed it down with more milk. “So how did you end up in border work?”
“I wanted to make a difference. To make the bad people pay. I have Hispanic heritage and speak Spanish, so it was easy enough to get my original transfer in.”
“Isn’t Puerto Rican Spanish different from Mexican Spanish?”
“It’s like someone from New York trying to speak to someone in Ireland. The words are mostly the same, but very different dialects.”
He took a breath and finally asked the question he’d been holding back since he’d first had his government contact run a background check on her. “So how did it happen?”
“I thought you knew.”
“More information redacted. You should see the amount of black highlighter in your file.”
“If I tell you, will you show me that file? I’d be interested to see what Uncle Sam thinks about me.”
“They think you’re amazing. But deal.”
She bit her lip and looked down. “I was transporting a witness from the police station to a safe house. Somehow they found out and attacked the car. I was t-boned while crossing an intersection. They hit the passenger side, which was probably the one thing that saved me. Once the car was incapacitated, they started shooting. The witness was in the backseat, so that’s where most of the fire was aimed. It was a stray bullet that went into my leg. And, for the record, when people call a bullet wound a flesh wound in the movies and then get up and kick ass for the next twenty minutes, that’s not realistic. This flesh wound did some serious damage to the muscle. Took months of physical therapy for me to walk normally again. I’m still limited the amount of running I can do. It’s why there are so many weights in my apartment. I need to keep my muscles strong and working well. At least, if I want to get back.”
“And the witness?”
She shrugged, but he could tell from her somber expression that the whole thing had affected her deeply. “He didn’t make it. I was able to fire off a few rounds. Hit a few of them too, but they were gone just as quick as they came. I think from start to finish, it was over in two minutes. Hard to tell.”
“You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Lucky,” she scoffed. “I hate luck.”
“Sorry. I guess it was bad luck that got you into the whole mess to begin with.”
“No. Luck implies that you’re not in control. Pinned down in the front seat. Unable to move with only twelve rounds of ammo to protect myself with. I don’t like luck.”
“How did they know you were transporting the witness then and there?” he asked, even though he had a feeling he knew the answer.
“Same reason Longineu knew where I was staying. Knew who I was. One of my own people told him.”
“Did you find out who it was?”
Evelyn met his eyes. “Not officially.”
“Unofficially?”
“I had a few of my old coworkers pay him a visit for me.”
“Old coworkers like Jace?”
“Now there’s some luck.” She smiled.
“How so?”
“If I had been well enough to pay the bastard a visit myself, he would’ve gotten a lot worse than one convenient car crash into that tree. But at least I can walk again.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Evelyn’s face fell. “Damn. I forgot that you’re normal. Did I just freak you out?”
Luke stood and walked around the table to kneel in front of her. He set his hands on her knees, like he’d done back in his apartment, but this time he raised them higher and ran his palms along the outside of her thighs until one of his hands rested over the now healed bullet wound. “Evelyn,” he breathed. “If anyone tries to hurt you again...FBI, Longineu, cartels, anyone...I’ll kill them myself.”
She set her hand over his. “Th
at’s the scariest and sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” The corner of her mouth twisted up.
“Well, that’s what happens when girls make me pancakes. I become their slave for life.”
“Slave, like normal stuff? Or slave like sex stuff?”
“When it comes to you, I prefer the sex stuff.” He winked.
She stroked a finger down his cheek. “Oh, the things I could do with you.”
“We have time. Make a list and I’ll let you do whatever you want to my body.”
Her eyes darkened with desire and his cock was rock hard. “Evelyn?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“Those pancakes will microwave okay, right?”
“They microwave fantastically.”
He gathered her in his arms and she held on with her arms around his shoulders and legs around his waist.
“Good,” he whispered. “Because I’m suddenly not hungry for food anymore.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“What did you see in Gail’s bank statements?” asked Evelyn, feeling half guilty for even asking the question.
“It was like you thought. There was a ten thousand dollar wire transfer into her account on Friday morning. We’re still trying to track down the source, but that was enough to get a warrant for a wire on her cell phone,” said Hotchins over the phone.
“Shit,” said Evelyn under her breath. She’d suspected but really hoped she’d been wrong. “Does she know you’re suspicious?”
“Not that I can tell, but recently turned agents tend to think everyone suspects them. I’m trying really hard not to spook her until we have something concrete.”
Evelyn thought back to Gail’s apartment. The tiny space where she’d raised three boys. The pictures on the walls of the loving family, all smiling for the camera. What would they do if their mother was arrested? “Why now? Do you think she’s been taking bribes for longer?”
“We don’t know anything for sure. But her youngest just went off to college. Those bills aren’t cheap these days.”
“Have you ever had this happen before?” Evelyn didn’t remember hearing any reports of dirty agents in the New York white-collar division, but it wasn’t something the agency liked to brag about.
Testing The Boss (Billionaires In The City, #5) Page 10