Everything I Have (The Everything Series Book 2)

by A. K. Evans

  In an effort not to fall, I carefully made my way down the stairs. I heard Zane talking in the kitchen so I walked out there to meet him. As I stepped into his view Zane’s eyes immediately heated and traveled the length of my body. He had the phone held up to his ear, so I decided to tease him a little. I gave him a sexy smile and turned around to show him the back of my dress. I glanced over my shoulder to look back at him.

  My plan worked. He was seriously turned on.

  “Hey man,” he said into the phone. “I need to run. Emme just walked in. We’re heading out of here shortly so we’ll see you at Lou’s.”

  He didn’t even wait for a response; he disconnected the call and slid the phone into his pocket.

  “That’s the dress I bought you?” he asked as he started stalking toward me.

  I nodded, turning toward him. “Do you like it?”

  “Christ, Emme. I don’t really think I want to take you out now. You look fucking hot.”

  I smiled up at him. He was wearing a pair of jeans that fit him incredibly well, a black short sleeved tee that fit snug around his muscled arms and chest, his black leather jacket, and his motorcycle boots. “You’re looking pretty damn fine yourself,” I shared.

  “This is my new favorite dress,” he admitted as he wrapped his hands around mine.

  “I love it, too. It makes me feel pretty. Thank you for buying it for me.”

  “Sweetheart, you always look pretty. That said, you pick out ones that look like this I’ll buy you a new dress every week.”

  “That’s crazy, Zane. Where would I wear a new dress every week?”

  “I’ll find places to take you. And if I don’t, I’m completely content with you putting one on and staying in,” he said, giving me his sexy grin.

  We stared at each other for several moments before Zane broke the silence.

  “Fuck,” he began. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through the night, Emme. You look beautiful.”

  “I feel beautiful and it’s because of you. This is, by far, the best birthday I’ve ever had. I love you, baby.”

  I reached my hand up to wrap around the back of his neck so I could pull him toward me. I pressed my lips to his as one of his hands went to my hip, the other splayed across my back. We kissed for quite some time before I pulled away and said, “We’re going to be late.”

  He brought both of his hands to my ass, pulled my body toward him, and asked, “You feel that?”

  I nodded.

  “That’s what I’ll be dealing with all night. And yet, despite this torture I still consider myself to be the luckiest man alive because you’re officially mine. I still don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  “You loved me,” I said, even though he already knew that was the answer that I’d given him a week ago. Then I brought my hand to the front of his jeans and squeezed him.

  He groaned. “You don’t want to be late, you’ve got to stop.”

  I didn’t stop.

  “Em…” he warned.

  “Maybe we could be a little late,” I said against his lips.

  With that, Zane moved me so that I was positioned in front of the island. He slid the back of my dress up over my ass, pulled my panties down my legs, and gave it to me.

  Twenty-five minutes later he pressed a kiss to my forehead and said, “Alright, Em, let’s get you to your party.”

  I did a little happy dance and shook my hips as I started walking toward the garage. I heard Zane groan as he followed behind me telling me I needed a jacket.

  Zane pulled the Raptor into Lou’s parking lot about fifteen minutes later. He hopped out and rounded the truck after parking and came over to my side to help me out. His hand wrapped around mine as we walked up the steps to the restaurant.

  The moment we walked through the front door Lou greeted us.

  “Emme,” he began as he pulled me into a hug. “Darlin’, I can’t apologize enough for what happened the last time you were here.”

  “It’s ok, Lou. It wasn’t your fault.”

  He pulled back and wrapped his hands around my shoulders. “Happy to see you back here and I’m honored you wanted to celebrate your birthday with us. The rest of your friends are already here. Have a great time tonight. Happy Birthday,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  Lou held his hand out to Zane as he greeted him before we made our way over to the table where our friends were already seated. Two chairs in the middle of the table were left unoccupied for Zane and me.

  The second Zane helped to guide my jacket down off my shoulders, I heard Nikki.

  “Happy birthday, you sexy bitch,” she started as she walked over from where she was sitting between Luke and Stone to pull me into a hug. “Seeing this dress, now I know why you’re late.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh and roll my eyes at her.

  “Oh, ignore her,” Monroe said, as she approached from her spot between Stone and Charley. “If you’re late because your man wanted to love you, that’s quite alright. We can’t all be as lucky as you. Happy birthday, babe.”

  She pulled me into a hug before Charley stepped in next. “You aren’t that late, Em. Wes and I just got here, too. Happy birthday, honey.”

  Nikki chimed in again. “Yeah, you two just got here because I’m sure you were getting the goods, too. And here we thought you were right behind us.”

  Charley shook her head and said, “Fuck, she needs to get laid. Hey Luke, if you don’t have any plans for later tonight, I think Nikki might need a place to stay.”

  Everyone laughed and Luke gave Nikki a look that said he was completely fine with having her spend the night.

  “Wish I had a reason to be late,” Elle said walking up to me, clearly frustrated she made it here on time. I glanced quickly to see Levi’s jaw clenching.

  “No you don’t,” Wes said, his voice a touch lethal.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Happy birthday, Emme.”

  I was then given a round of hugs, kisses, and birthday wishes from Luke, Stone, Wes, Levi, and Cruz. After, we all sat and ordered drinks followed by dinner. From there the conversation flowed well. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so much. It felt so good to be surrounded by such an incredible group of people. These were my people now. Each and every one of them meant something to me and I realized that having them in my life was the best present, second only, of course, to Zane and his gifts.

  When we finished dinner and moved onto dessert, which was a cake the girls got for me earlier that day, Zane leaned into me and said, “Cake is good, but doesn’t come close to touching yours.”

  I turned toward him and smiled. He pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “I’ll bake you my cake anytime you want,” I said.

  Everyone finished dessert and we all made our way up to the saloon. Lou’s staff had pushed together a bunch of tables and reserved them for us right up front.

  “So, who else in this group sings?” Elle asked.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Tonight’s karaoke night. I am not going to be the only one from this group up there. Who else sings?”

  Before I could give any death glares to anyone, Charley answered, “Emme does.”

  I felt Zane’s hand tighten around my waist. “You do?” he asked.

  No way was I going to sing karaoke in front of not only all of our friends, but also everyone else in the saloon. I shrugged my shoulders.

  “I want to hear you sing, Emme,” Zane said.

  I shook my head.

  “Oh, come on just do it,” Nikki added.

  “I can’t. No way. Besides, the real performer in the group is Monroe. She’s got the voice and the moves.”

  “I like your moves,” Zane said.

  I rolled my eyes at him.

  Monroe added fuel to the fire when she said, “You do it, I’ll go up after you.”

  I shook my head again.

  “What if I do it?” Zane asked.

  My head swung to his and I
asked, “You sing?”

  “I will if you will,” he said, nonchalantly.

  Shit. I wanted to hear him sing.

  “Damn. I really want to hear you sing. Ok, if you sing, I’ll go after you.”

  “This is awesome. Maybe I’ll have the night off and all of you will have the guts to go up there and sing something,” Elle chimed in as she looked around the table.

  Sadly, nobody else volunteered.

  “Alright, Zane,” Nikki said. “You’re up.”

  “I can’t believe you are doing this,” I said to him as he pushed his chair back and stood.

  Zane winked at me and walked up on to the stage. He got the microphone in his hand and I sat there with my eyes fixed on him. His voice was absolutely amazing when he spoke; I could only imagine what he sounded like when he sang.

  I was sitting there looking at him when I was thrown into a fit of laughter as the music flowed through the speakers.

  “Oh my God,” I said, under my breath, the smile plastered across my face.

  “Is this why he is saved as Barry in your phone, Em?” Nikki shouted at me.

  I nodded.

  Then, Zane started singing Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe. The entire time he sang his eyes never left mine. I was mesmerized by him and couldn’t believe the ease with which he sang the song. Best of all was his incredible voice. I fucking loved every single second of it. He finished the song and we all cheered for him. When he made his way back to the table I stood, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him good.

  “I love you, baby. That was fantastic,” I said as I pulled my mouth from his.

  He grinned, gave me a wink, and tapped me on the ass before he said, “Your turn. Do me proud.”

  I knew immediately what song I was going to sing. It would definitely be a change from Zane’s more upbeat melody, but it was important to me to sing this song. I wanted Zane to hear it. I walked up on stage, entered my selection, and waited for the music. As the sound of the piano filtered through the speakers, I knew the girls all realized what song I had chosen. Then, I started singing Jessie J’s Flashlight. Much like when he was singing, I didn’t take my eyes from Zane. His elbows were resting on his thighs as he leaned forward to watch me. I was no professional, but I’d always had a good voice. This song meant a lot to me in this moment so I went big with it. I made sure that in the spots where Jessie would be belting it out, I did, too. When I sang the last note, the room erupted in cheers. I looked around to see most of the room standing, clapping for me.

  Holy. Crap.

  I looked at my friends to see that our entire table was standing either cheering or whistling for me. Everyone, that is, except Zane. His elbows were still resting on his thighs, his head had dropped down, and his thumbs were pressed against his forehead. I went to him. The second I was in front of him I was about to kneel down, but he stood, wrapped his arms around my waist, and lifted me up.

  He brought his mouth to my ear and said, “Pure fucking gold, sweetheart. Fuck, I love you.”

  I smiled inwardly.

  Zane pulled his head back to look me in the eyes. I could see his were a bit glassy. He felt that song and I loved that he got it. It was important to me that he knew just how much he changed my life.

  It was then his turn to kiss me good. We didn’t care that we had an audience. When I was with him, nothing else mattered.

  Zane set me back down on my feet and our friends all gave me loads of praise. I didn’t know what to say so I said, “Well, if you think that was good, just wait until Monroe gets done. You won’t know what hit you. Nobody does karaoke like Monroe; she always leaves an impression.”

  “You’re turn, mama,” Nikki shouted. “Get your ass up there!”

  Monroe strutted up in her super short, black sequined mini-skirt and four-inch red bottom Christian Louboutins that made her already incredible legs look even more incredible. She had a spaghetti strap, black satin top that showed off the top swells of her breasts. I knew the second I saw her walking up to the stage that she planned to leave her mark. She made her selection, turned around, brought her eyes to Nikki, Charley, and finally me. She gave us a wink and then directed her attention to Stone. Instead of holding the microphone in her hand, she put it in the stand. Yep. This was going to be good.

  As soon as the music started Nikki, who was sitting between Luke and Stone, said, “Oh shit.”

  I watched as Stone glanced at her a minute, his brows drawn, before turning his attention back to Monroe. The first thirty seconds or so were instrumental. A very sexy instrumental. Monroe used those thirty seconds wisely. She then started singing Toni Braxton’s You’re Making Me High. I was grinning from ear to ear. Monroe was no fool. She knew exactly what she was doing and when I chanced another glance at Stone he was transfixed on her. The song was so sexually charged and Monroe did it justice. Her hands roamed her body, sliding up her thighs, hips, and over her breasts as she delivered the sensual lyrics. Stone’s jaw was clenching. If he felt any sort of attraction to her I knew he had to be at least a little turned on. Heck, I was feeling slightly turned on by her performance. Monroe finished the song and got a standing ovation, with many more hoots and hollers than I received.

  We all stood as she walked off the stage. I looked over to Stone and saw that he was no longer in the spot he had been in all night. When I looked back to Monroe I saw she was no longer smiling and her eyes were following Stone who was now walking out of the saloon.

  We heard a drunk guy somewhere behind us yell out, “If he doesn’t want a piece of that, I’ll take you home with me and show you a good time!”

  Zane, Levi, Cruz, Wes, and Luke all turned to look at the guy and he shrunk down in his seat.

  When my eyes came back to Monroe I saw that she now had a single tear falling from one of her eyes. She was humiliated. I immediately ran up to her and wrapped my arms around her.

  “I’m sorry, mama,” I whispered in her ear.

  “I am mortified,” she said as she held on to me. “Am I that awful? What is wrong with me?”

  “Nothing,” Zane said from beside us as he put his hand to her back. “Told you yesterday, don’t settle for less than what you deserve. I meant what I said; someone will be very lucky to have you. It’s just a shame that Stone’s being too much of a jackass right now to see that he could be that person. I’m sorry he walked out like that.”

  I looked to Zane and gave him a warm smile. I mouthed a thank you to him.

  “We need some drinks,” Nikki said.

  “We’ll get them,” Luke and Cruz answered in unison.

  Elle walked up to Monroe and me and said, “I know what just happened kind of sucks, but you both totally kicked ass. I might want to have you join me for a few numbers from now on when I’m performing.”

  “That would totally rock,” Nikki said.

  “I’m never getting on a stage again,” Monroe said.

  “You teach dance for a living, honey. You will. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up,” Charley said as she reached out her hand to Monroe and walked her off to the restroom.

  I turned back to Zane. There was a look of disappointment on his face. I tilted my head to the side and pulled my brows together. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry he ruined your birthday celebration.”

  “He didn’t ruin it, Zane. I hate that Monroe put herself out there like that and got hurt, but I understand where Stone is coming from. I don’t know his reasons, but I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t go after something you might really want. Give it some time; maybe things will change.”

  “This heart,” he said, pressing his fingertip to the middle of my chest. “I love it.”

  “That’s good, seeing how it’s yours forever now.”

  Zane grinned a sexy grin at me and pulled me in for a deep kiss. It was true. This man had my heart in his hands and I never doubted that he’d always protect it with everything he had.
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  About A.K. Evans

  A.K. Evans is a married mother of two boys residing in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. After graduating from Lafayette College in 2004 with two degrees (one in English and one in Economics & Business), she pursued a career in the insurance and financial services industry. Not long after, Evans realized the career was not for her. She went on to manage her husband's performance automotive business and drive the shop race cars for the next thirteen years. While the business afforded her freedoms she wouldn't necessarily have had in a typical 9-5 job, after eleven years she was no longer receiving personal fulfillment from her chosen career path. Following many discussions, lots of thought, and tons of encouragement, Andrea decided to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.

  Between her day job, writing, and homeschooling her two boys, Evans is left with very little free time left. When she finds scraps of spare time, Evans enjoys reading, doing buti yoga, watching NY Rangers hockey, dancing, and vacationing with her family. Andrea, her husband, and her children are currently working on taking road trips to visit all 50 states (though, Alaska and Hawaii might require flights).

  Other Books by A.K. Evans

  The Everything Series

  Everything I Need

  Everything I Have

  Everything I Want

  Everything I Love - Coming Winter 2017/2018

  The Cunningham Security Series

  Obsessed - Coming Winter 2017/2018

  Connect with A.K. Evans

  To stay connected with A.K. Evans and receive all the first looks at upcoming releases, latest news, or to simply follow along on her journey, be sure to add or follow her on social media. You can also get the scoop by signing up for the website newsletter.