Eve was right there with him, clenching around him as ecstasy took over. The orgasm was so powerful she screamed his name as she came, surprising both of them. She had always been vocal during their lovemaking, but never quite like that.
Adam, his body still tense, his breathing still labored, looked down at her with an arrogant smile. “That was fucking fantastic, baby.” He was definitely going to be late for his meeting, but after what she just gave him, he didn’t give a damn. He was in no hurry at all as he watched her, completely captivated by the fierce look in her eyes.
“Yes, it was,” she replied softly. And, she meant it. It was fantastic. Eve just wished she could stop feeling guilty. It was a dream. She couldn’t control her dreams. It was a fucking lame excuse, but she clung to it as if her sanity depended on it.
After a quick shower, Adam left for the office, and Eve, once again, stayed home. In an attempt to be sure Adam saw that she was content with the decision, she told him she would pass some time by looking for offices for his new firm.
Now, more than an hour after he left, the computer was on, and the browser was open, but Eve couldn’t focus on a damn thing on the screen. Even the muted sounds of Bella and Lexie in the living room couldn’t keep Eve’s attention. The stress was getting to her, and for once in her life, she had no clue how to deal with it.
“Eve?” Lainey touched Eve’s shoulder gently.
“Shit!” Eve’s hand flew to her chest, over her pounding heart. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I called your name a few times.” Lainey sat down next to Eve and searched her face. Something is off. “Is everything okay?”
“Mmhmm.” Eve tapped a few keys on the computer, until Lainey put her hand on hers.
“Eve …”
Eve carefully pulled her hand away to casually pick up her coffee, offering Lainey a small smile. “I have a lot on my mind, obviously. I must have spaced out for a bit.”
Lainey’s brows knitted together. Was she imagining things, or did Eve just pull away from her touch? She tried shrugging it off, determined not to add to the drama in Eve’s life, and focused on the information on the computer screen.
“More real-estate? I thought you bought the place in LA.”
“I did. This is for Adam, actually. I’m looking for office space for his new firm.” Suddenly, Eve felt an irrational bout of anger. With a grunt, she set her coffee down with a distinct thud, and pushed away from the computer. “This is not me! I’m an artist, not a fucking realtor or secretary!”
The outburst surprised Lainey so much, that she was momentarily frozen. Mentally shaking herself, she stood to join Eve, who was currently standing at the sliding glass door, brooding.
“Eve, honey, talk to me.”
“Lainey, I …” Eve stopped herself. She had been very close to telling Lainey about her dream, and her morning with Adam. “I haven’t painted anything since all of this shit started,” she said instead, her eyes never leaving the colorful flowers that surrounded her yard. “I just haven’t felt inspired.”
Lainey knew deep down how awful that was for Eve. Art was something Eve needed, and to have that taken away from her must be horrible. But, Lainey hoped she could make it better somehow. “I would think that’s normal with what you’re going through. I could pose for you again, if that would help.” She had meant it as a joke, but the feral look on Eve’s face almost had her taking a step back.
Eve plastered a smile on her face, willing it to look genuine. Lainey couldn’t know how her suggestion would affect Eve. But, oh boy, did it affect her. Unable to keep her smile, Eve let it fade. “When you came to work for me, you did it because you had lost yourself. I feel like that’s what’s happening to me. I have no idea how you did it for twelve years, Lainey. It’s only been a few days for me and I feel like I’m going fucking insane.”
“You feel like you’re not you?” When Eve nodded, Lainey couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She knew exactly what that was like, but honestly, she couldn’t imagine Eve surviving like that for long. “Maybe it’s because you’re not painting.”
Eve sighed. “Whatever it is, I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore.” And, she wanted to kick herself for feeling that way. This was weak—and stupid—and yet, she couldn’t stop it.
“You’re Adam’s wife, Bella’s mother … my best friend.”
Eve tilted her head sadly. “Everything you just said, Lainey, is who I am to others. Where do I fit in?”
“Eve, if I’ve learned anything from my experiences with you and my marriage, it’s that all of those things are what make you, well, you.” Lainey walked to Eve, and touched her lightly on the arm. “But, you’re still there. You’re still the beautiful, sexy, intelligent and strong woman you’ve always been.”
Images of Eve’s dream flashed in her mind then, and she pulled away. “I’m going to the gallery,” she announced abruptly.
Concern lit Lainey’s eyes. Not only because Eve, once again, pulled away from her, but also for the fact that she was possibly putting herself in danger.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I need to get back to my life, Lainey.”
“You have a daughter here. Why can’t this be your life?”
A pang of guilt hit Eve in the heart. “Well, if you meant to make me feel like shit, it worked.”
“Oh Eve, I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. I just wanted you to see that there’s more to you now.” Talk about feeling like shit. The last thing Lainey wanted to do is make Eve feel worse, but it seemed like that’s all she was doing.
Eve stared at Lainey for a moment before shaking her head. “I love my daughter with everything I am, Lainey. It kills me that being with me at the gallery puts her in danger.” She felt the sting of tears, but held them in. “Me staying here, going mad won’t be good for her. And, honestly, it won’t be good for Adam and me.”
Lainey was thrown off balance by Eve’s confession. “What do you mean by that?” she asked quietly.
What had she meant? Eve wasn’t sure she even knew. It was more of a feeling, and it scared her.
“Nothing. Look, I understand if you can’t go to the gallery with me. In fact,” she continued before Lainey could respond. “I think it’s best if you don’t. At least for now.”
“Is this the part where you say nasty things to me to keep me away from you and harm?” Lainey didn’t even try to hold back the bitterness and hurt. Even after all this time, she still felt the pain of the words Eve said to her. Yes, she may have done it for what she thought were good reasons, but that didn’t make Lainey feel any better about it. “I don’t love you. It was sex, it was fun, it was experimental.” God, it had been horrible hearing those words come out of Eve’s mouth.
Eve softened. She remembered that time, too. It was the first time since she could remember that she cried. Shit, she did more than sob at the loss of both Lainey and Adam. Eve had allowed herself to fall apart, smoking, drinking, taking pills. She didn’t want to go through that ever again. And, she certainly didn’t want to put Lainey through that again.
“I’ve learned my lesson on that,” she said softly, and watched Lainey’s tense body relax. “I don’t want you to stay away from me, Lainey. But, I do need a little time to myself.”
Lainey’s face fell. She is pushing me away, Lainey thought with immense sorrow. “I see.”
No, you don’t, Eve thought silently. If you did, you wouldn’t look as though you lost your best friend. “I’m not pushing you away,” she said aloud, and smiled at Lainey’s surprise. “I told you. Open book.”
“Shit.”
Eve genuinely laughed for the first time that day, hugging Lainey lightly. “We’re fine, honey. The time alone isn’t to get away from you. It’s to get back to me.”
Eve just hoped she could get back to her before she started hurting the people she loved most.
Eve had been sitting in her Jag, parked in the garage of
her gallery, for the past ten minutes. It was starting to piss her off that she felt such trepidation about being here. And, it wasn’t even the danger that made her worry, it was upsetting Adam. She hadn’t bothered to call him and tell him she was going to the gallery, figuring the security following her already had instructions to let him know of her whereabouts. Ironically enough, she could feel herself getting pissed about that, as well. Hadn’t she done the same when Tony was threatening Adam and Lainey?
She blew out an exasperated breath, laid her head back on the head rest and beat on the steering wheel with her palms. “Come on! Get out of your fucking car and be Eve Sumptor!”
You’re not Eve Sumptor, anymore. The thought nagged her until she shut it down. She may not be Eve Sumptor anymore, but the hell if she wasn’t still in there.
The elevator opened, and Eve stepped out, drawing in a deep breath. The smell of art had always been relaxing to her. Most people thought she was weird, saying there wasn’t a smell. But, oh, there was, and it calmed Eve.
“Mrs. Riley!”
If Eve were the squealing type, this would’ve been the time to do it. As it were, she let out a sound of surprise, whirling around to find Mikey walking towards her.
“Mikey. If you ever sneak up on me like that again …” She paused and tried to regulate her breathing and heart rate, holding up her hand to cut off whatever Mikey was about to say. “What are you doing here? The gallery is closed.”
Mikey blushed guiltily. “I …” His shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath. “I couldn’t stay away. I know I shouldn’t be here, but I was getting cabin fever. I’m sorry, Mrs …”
“Mikey, first, I thought we agreed you would call me Eve. Second, I understand how you feel. Believe me.”
Mikey relaxed, and smiled at Eve. “There are always people at the door, checking to see if we’re open yet. You being in the news again doesn’t hurt.” He quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Eve offered him a small smile. She didn’t mind being in the news when it came to her work, but being the center of attention because of yet another murder? Once was enough for Eve. Any more than that, and it just got ridiculous. She was beginning to get tired of her problems herself.
“Well, let’s not keep them waiting. I’m ready to open the gallery.”
“Oh! Did they find the person doing all of this?”
“They’re close.” It wasn’t necessarily a lie. For all she knew, they could have caught everyone involved. Billy hasn’t been returning her incessant calls, and Eve was getting incredibly impatient. “It’s still early. Let’s open up.”
“Eve.”
Eve just stopped herself from flinching at Adam’s angry voice. It certainly wouldn’t do to let Mikey see her any way but in control.
Mikey, however, couldn’t hide his discomfort. “Um … I think I’ll just …” Mikey quickly walked out of the main room of the gallery.
Eve steeled herself, and turned to face an extremely pissed Adam.
“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t come here until we knew it was safe.”
“We did. But, I can’t keep sitting around doing nothing, Adam.”
“Not even with me asking you to do just that?”
Eve sighed, and gestured around her. “I need this, Adam. This is who I am. Stop trying to change me,” she warned.
Surprise flashed across Adam’s face. Did she really think he was trying to change her? “This is only part of who you are, Eve. You need to think about your family, too.”
“I am thinking about you and Bella!” Eve snapped. “Bella isn’t here with me, where I want her to be. You don’t think that hurts me? But, I’m here because I’m trying to prevent being resentful towards you.” Eve paced away. “I’m trying to prevent a lot of things,” she finished quietly.
Adam stared after her, completely speechless by her admission. “You resent me?”
Eve walked back to him. “No. I resent whoever is doing this to me. I resent the fact that my gallery has, once again, been taken away from me. I resent not being able to paint because I don’t feel inspired. I don’t want to resent you.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, Adam. So incredibly much. And, as much as I love doing things for you, I don’t want to be your secretary.”
“I don’t understand. When did I ever ask you to be my secretary?”
“You didn’t, I’m sorry. It’s just how I felt today looking for office space instead of being in my own office. Or, even my studio.”
“You offered to look for space for me, Eve. If I knew it would make you feel …”
“Stop. This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.” Eve lifted onto her toes, and brushed her lips softly against Adam’s. “I need this, baby.”
Damn it. How could he deny her when she says things like that? Adam studied Eve, weighing his options. He realized, looking at her, he had no other options except to give her what she needs. Besides, he made sure James had security on her at all times. He had to believe that was enough.
“Fine. But,” he continued before she could say anything. “I would like you to call me or text me. Often. Can you do that without resenting me?”
Eve’s brow raised. “I can do that,” she answered evenly.
Adam’s lips twitched. Just that one quirk of an eyebrow from her, and he was putty in her hands. He kissed her again, letting this one heat up just enough to leave her breathless when he pulled away.
“Thank you. I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”
“Mmhmm.” Holy hell, the man could kiss. Eve walked him to the elevator, mostly in hopes that she would get another kiss. “The warehouse,” she said suddenly.
“Sorry?”
“My warehouse. It would be perfect for your firm.” She noted his skeptical look, and smiled. “Hear me out. I know it’s a little rough around the edges, but it has amazing potential. The light from the wall of windows is impeccable, and with your skills, I’m sure you can make it perfect.”
“My skills, huh?” Adam’s cocky grin made Eve laugh. “It sounds interesting. I’ll go there and take a look around.” He checked his watch. “However, since my attendance has been questionable today, it’ll have to be tomorrow.”
“Remind me to give you the keys tonight.”
“Hmm.” Adam stroked Eve’s cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Be careful, please?”
“I’ll be here all day, amant. Besides, the security detail you had James put on me will be around.”
“He told you about that?”
“They aren’t exactly discreet.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you. You didn’t just think of me and Bella, but you thought of Lainey, too.”
“Lainey is important to you, babe, and that makes her important to me. I’m actually surprised she’s not here with you.”
“I asked her not to come. I needed some time to myself,” she answered Adam’s curious look with a small shrug.
“Federal Bureau of Investigations, how may I direct your call?”
“Eve Riley for Agent William Donovan.”
Eve waited on hold, tapping a pen on her desk. She was annoying the hell out of herself, but interestingly enough, it kept her from snapping at the operator when she came back on the line.
“I’m sorry, Agent Donovan is not available. May I take a message?”
“No, I’ve left enough messages. Thank you.” Eve resisted the urge to pick up her phone and throw it across the room. This shit was disrupting her life, and she’d be damned if she let it go on any longer than it had to. She took out her cell and scrolled down to Billy’s personal number.
Avoiding me is only pissing me off. Call me, or you will not like the consequences.
She pressed send, and sat back in her chair. Fortunately, Eve didn’t have to wait long for a response this time, smiling sardonically when her phone rang.
“It’s about time, Billy.”
“You shouldn’t threaten a federal agent, Eve,” Billy chided.
“It wasn’t a threat since you don’t know what the consequences are.” Eve rolled her shoulders, trying to release the tension she felt. “I asked you to work with Charlie and James, and you’re shutting them out. By doing that, you’re shutting me out. I don’t appreciate that.”
“I’m not shutting anyone out, Eve, I’m doing my job.”
“I don’t mind that you’re doing your job, Billy. But, I need you to keep everyone else in the loop. If you can’t do that, I don’t want you on my case anymore.”
Billy snickered, which only infuriated Eve more. “No matter how influential you are, you don’t have the authority to take me off the case, Eve.”
Eve took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she counted to ten. “I can complain to your superiors about the job you’re doing. Or, I can just tell you that if you don’t do what I ask, you lose my friendship.”
“Are you serious? You’re threatening me with your friendship?”
“Yes. I will do anything to stop this threat against my family. I brought you in against the advice of others, Billy. But, make no mistake, your friendship is not worth the lives of my family.”
Billy sucked in a breath. This is not how he envisioned this conversation going. He wanted to give Eve some good news. He wanted to let her know he had leads. But, he didn’t, and she was pissed. Damn it.
“Eduardo Martinez,” he told her.
“Excuse me?”
“The name of the alleged shooter is Eduardo Martinez. He didn’t give us anything, and we didn’t have enough to detain him …”
“You let him go?”
“We had no choice, Eve. We couldn’t prove he was the shooter.”
“If you had let James question him …”
“If James would have questioned him, nothing he would’ve gotten from him would’ve been admissible in court.”
“I don’t give a fuck about court! What I fucking care about is finding the damn person doing this to me! This is why I wanted James involved!” Eve pinched the bridge of her nose. Goddamnit why couldn’t he have just listened to her? “You let the only person that could give us any information go!”
Flawed Perfection (An Eve Sumptor Novel) Page 11