by Lexi Hart
“Did you see the paper? I’ve been calling you all morning!”
Her voice is so high; I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “Yeah. I just saw it.”
“How do you sound so calm? I’ve had seventeen calls from women this morning asking for your number. One even offered to pay me for it.”
I pull my baseball cap down lower. So much for slipping out of the city incognito. Just when the media storm was starting to die down, Evelyn picked now to print her statement.
“Yeah. It’s bad timing.”
Tessa scoffs down the phone. “It’s perfect timing. Her lawyer called Travis this morning and told him to advise you it was running today. I overheard the entire conversation. Evelyn waited until your sentence was completed before letting it run. She didn’t want to cause you any problems.”
The wheels start to spin in my head. That’s why my phone has been buzzing non-stop. This was not how I planned my day to go. All I had to do was come here, grab my gear from the safety deposit box, then get a bus out of here. I need to keep moving, distance myself from this whole mess, and try to find somewhere I can lay down some roots.
The envelope digs into my stomach as I shift my weight on the uncomfortable bench seat. I don’t have anything to say in reply, I’m technically not even obliged to keep talking to Tessa now I’m no longer on parole, so I just wait for the inevitable lecture.
“Please tell me you are going to say thank you in person?”
“I don’t think—”
She cuts me off. “No, you don’t think. That’s the problem. Men are so quick to accuse women of over analyzing and over thinking everything. Well, here’s a newsflash for you, genius. Evelyn had the perfect opportunity to put this all on you and claim it was a horrible mistake, but she didn’t. And if you can’t see why she didn’t, then I wash my hands of you, I really do.”
I stare at the paper. “Aren’t you supposed to be washing your hands of me anyway?”
Tessa sighs like she’s losing patience. “Officially, you’re off the books, but you need all the friends you can get, Connor.” A child squeals nearby and Tessa’s tone switches. “Where are you?”
I get off the bench and wander away with the paper tucked under arm. “Just out walking.”
“Your first walk as a free man?”
My lips curl into a smile. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
“Maybe you should walk in the direction of the beach?”
“Goodbye, Tessa.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on m—”
I turn my phone off and push it inside my pocket.
EVELYN
I’m on my knees scrubbing the shower, talking to my mom on speakerphone when I hear a knock at the door. “Mom, there’s someone at the door. I need to go.”
My mom’s voice sounds far too excited, which makes me wary she’s sent me another care package. “Okay, Evie. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, mom, but I’m fine. Really, I’d just like a little quiet. It’s kind of been a busy month with the new job and everything.”
“Okay, then. You go. Love you, and I’m proud of you for handling this with such dignity and class, Evie.”
“Love you too, mom. And thanks, I know this hasn’t been easy for you all.”
“Oh, pish. Take care.”
I use my elbow to end the call before I peel my gloves off. I’m out of breath when I yank open the door, expecting to see the UPS guy again.
Connor is leaning against the tree in my front yard; his hands jammed into his pockets. My heart rate increases as he pushes off the tree and ambles towards me. I forget how to breathe while he looks me up and down. “Did I catch you in the middle of something?”
My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I swallow hard. “I was cleaning the shower.”
The corners of his lips twitch. “Huh. Dirty was it?”
Heat starts to fire in my veins. I dig my fingernails into my palms in the hopes the pain will distract me from how good he looks in his jeans and a tight t-shirt. “What are you doing here?’
He kicks at the ground, his eyes still on me. “You want to take a walk?”
My eyebrows raise. “What? No, I’m busy.”
The twitch at his lips grows a little. “Busy cleaning the shower?”
I fold my arms over my chest and glare at him. “Connor, if you have something to say, just say it.”
He cocks his head, his eyes still running the length of me, half making me wish I wasn’t wearing a baggy t-shirt and cut-offs. “If I help you clean your bathroom, will you take a walk with me?”
I’m so surprised that I snort. “You are not helping me clean my—”
He steps closer, forcing me to either step aside or be within touching distance of him, and neither are options I’m happy about. He grins as I step back into my house, and he follows. He doesn’t say a word, just heads into the bathroom like he lives here.
“Make yourself at home,” I mutter as I close the door. If I was shocked to find him waiting outside my house, I’m even more shocked to see him grab the scrubbing brush and get down on his knees. He sends me another cheeky grin before he starts to tackle the soap scum I missed. “Connor, you can’t just walk in here and start cleaning. If this is some kind of apology, it’s not working.”
His eyes find mine, and the faintest of smiles appears. “This isn’t an apology. When I apologize to you, you’ll know it. Go grab a coffee or something; I’ll be a while.”
I frown at him, trying to figure out what game he’s playing with me now. Whatever it is, I don’t want to be in here with him. His presence is temptation enough.
“I have some work to do anyway.”
I back out, still wondering what he’s doing here when he made it so blatantly clear he wasn’t interested, and go back to my laptop. I open an email from Amber and smile at the accompanying photo of her with her new boyfriend. She looks happy, and she sounds pleased that Rick’s trial for his assault on his ex-students is going ahead.
I’m thinking of a reply when Connor strolls in and stands directly behind me. The hairs at the back of my neck stand to attention as he places his hands on the back of my chair and leans closer. His lips brush my ear, and a shiver runs down my spine. “You want to take that walk now?”
I shift so he’s not so close, hating that my body is still reacting to him, and shake my head. “Connor, whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve it’s too late.”
He takes his hands off the back of the chair and lets them hang loose by his sides. “Why did you write that about me?”
I should have known that’s why he’s here. I practically invited him. “I wrote it because it’s the truth.”
He doesn’t even flinch. “Even the bit about it being the most erotic and fulfilling sexual experience of your entire life?”
I flush and curse under my breath. “What do you want me to say? Yes, it was, but it’s over, and I’m trying to put this all behind me.”
He frowns. “By publishing it now when everything is settling down?”
I growl in exasperation. “I had to wait until—”
“Until I was free and clear?”
I shake my head. “Just go, Connor, please.”
Annoyance flickers over his face, his shoulders tense. “If it’s what you want, I’ll walk right out that door, hit the road, and you won’t ever have to see me again, but I need to take a talk a walk on the beach before I can do that.” He walks past me and stalks to the door to the deck. “Are you coming? Because I’m trying to make a gesture here.”
I purse my lips as I think of the other gesture he made. A gesture I’m still not sure what to do with, but my curiosity is getting the better of me. “Okay. I’ll take a walk, but I should warn you, some of my neighbors are home now, they’re getting ready for summer.”
Connor shrugs and slides open the door so the cool sea air rushes inside. I fall into step beside him, strands of hair blow around my face, loose from wher
e I pulled it back. He starts walking towards the rocks where I stumbled across him eight weeks ago.
Out past the breakers, boats are anchored in the cove. The waves crash lazily onto the beach as we walk just out of reach. It’s a perfect day, and if we were two different people who met under different circumstances, it would have been a pleasant stroll, but Connor’s eyes are on the rocks, not on me, and he walks with such purpose, not saying a word, that I start to worry I made a mistake by agreeing to come with him.
When we reach the outcropping of rocks, Connor finally decides to speak to me. The sea is so calm he doesn’t even have to raise his voice. “You remember when you found me here?”
My brow knots together. “Of course I do.”
He nods distractedly. “You remember what I told you?”
I sigh. This isn’t helping either of us. “I remember what you said, but you were lying to me.”
He nods and finally looks at me. “I lied because I didn’t know if I could trust you.” His eyes shift back to the rocks, and he raises a hand. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I open my mouth to tell him where to shove it when he starts to run. I mutter to myself, looking like a madwoman as I watch him leap up on to the rocks. He crouches down and spends a few minutes peering at them before I see him shove something in his pocket.
When he reaches me again, his posture seems lighter somehow. “Okay. We should probably go back to your place for the rest of this.” I scrunch up my face, ready to ask him what on earth he’s talking about when he gestures behind me. “We have an audience.”
A groan slips out of mouth as I see one of my elderly neighbors looking our way. I wave, and she quickly disappears inside her house. “Oh, perfect. Fine. Just hurry up. They’re annoyed enough with me.”
He jams his hands back in his pockets as we head back to the house. This time, he does decide to talk to me, but it’s not about anything resembling an apology. “Why’d you start working at the newspaper?”
I keep my eyes on the beach ahead of me. “I got an email from the editor asking for an interview, and she was funny and honest. She didn’t try to harass me; she just offered me five thousand for the exclusive rights.”
Connor shoots me a wary glance. “You got five grand for that?”
I shake my head, not sure why I’m even bothering to explain myself. “In the end, I asked her for a job instead of getting paid. I figured liking my boss and working in a fun environment was more important than what I was getting paid.”
We’re at my door when he speaks. “You didn’t get paid at all?”
I step inside, with Connor right behind me. “No,” I say as I close the door.
His eyebrow cocks. “Then how’d you pay your attorney’s fees?” I’m not about to tell him what I sold. It’s none of his business anyway. His hands slide out of his pockets. “Did you sell your engagement ring from Scott?”
I suck in a breath, so shocked he figured it out that I want to slap him, but I lose momentum at the tender look on his face. I freeze as he takes my hand and gently twists it so my palm is facing up. “How did you know that?
Shivers start to creep over my skin as he pulls me closer so I can see the tease in his eyes. “Call it an educated guess.”
I pull a face as he places something vaguely damp and jagged like a rock in my hand. “Okay. Now I’m apologizing to you.”
I swallow as his hand slides around so it’s sitting on my hip. My breathing is starting to speed up so I push him away. “I’m not hearing anything close to an apology.”
His eyes drop to my clenched fist. I frown at him then unfurl my fingers so I can see what he thinks is so valuable that he had to hide it. I stare at my hand, not comprehending what I’m looking at. “What is this? A crystal?”
He peers at the rock in my hand. “It’s an uncut diamond.” His grinning at me, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
I stretch out my hand and try to give it back to him. “Did you steal this?”
He snorts a laugh. “Yeah, I stole it. That’s not the point. The point is that I’m giving it to you.”
I stare at him, then at the rock, and shove it back into his chest. “I don’t want this. You stole it; it isn’t yours to give me.”
He seems genuinely baffled as he slides the rock back in his pocket. “What if I told you I had fifty grand in my pocket that I earned, would that be good enough for you?
I shake my head, incredulous he’s trying to buy me off. “Good enough for what? And how could you possibly have earned that much money? You’re an ex-convict. You can’t make any decent amount of money. Who would hire you?”
All the amusement disappears, and a dangerous look replaces his mirth. “You want to know the truth, Evelyn? The real truth? The only people who hire ex-cons and pay them well are assholes like the guy who asked me to shoot his wife, and when I refused, he shot me instead.” He pulls down his shirt so I can see the healing scar on his chest.
My jaw slackens. “He wanted you to murder her? I thought he hired you to seduce her?”
“I was working for his wife on the sly. I owed her uncle, so I agreed to work them both so I’d get double the payoff.”
I shake my head at how glib he sounds. Murder. Seducing women. Mixing with criminals. How can this be okay with him? “Is this so easy for you, lying to get what you want? Double crossing people? How can you do that?”
His eyes narrow, his cheeks flush, and he looks so angry I take a step back. “How? How can I steal from people who sneeze more money than most people see in a lifetime?”
He takes a step closer, his fists curling at his sides. “I’m not like you. I don’t have some fucking trust fund, or a bank account that mom and dad started when I was a kid.
The only chance I had at making some fast money was by doing a job for O’Reily. And I owed him. I wouldn’t have made it through the first six months without his help.”
My hand goes to my mouth as tears spring to my eyes. I have no right to judge him. I have no idea what he’s had to do to survive. I try to speak, to take back what I said, but his face is like thunder when he pulls a wad of cash from his back pocket and lays it on the side table.
“Go get your precious Scott’s diamond ring back. I guess mine’s a little too unrefined for you.”
His hand is on the door handle when I hurl myself across the room and grab his arm. “I don’t care about diamonds. Yours or the one he gave me.”
He spins around and grabs me by the waist. “You don’t care? Bull shit. No woman wants a man without money in the bank.”
That’s what this is about? Is this why he didn’t come home with me a month ago? His stupid ego? I’m so angry with him, I bash my fists against his chest. “I wanted you because I liked having you here. Is that so hard to understand?”
He grabs my fists and wrenches me towards him. “What can I possibly give you?”
Tears are running down my face. “What can you give me? You gave me my life back, you stupid jerk.”
He stares at me, wild-eyed like he doesn’t believe me, his hands fall from my waist, and he readies himself to walk away. I can’t let him leave. I won’t.
I press my lips to his, infusing all the desperation I have into my kiss, half sobbing into his mouth as I cling to him. He kisses me harder, tongue caressing mine as he pushes me against the wall so my back smashes into the plaster.
I’m nearly hysterical with lust and fear he’ll leave as I breathe the words. “Please don’t go. I can’t watch you walk away from me again.” His eyes widen, then his breathing starts to grow ragged as my voice comes out husky. “Don’t leave. Take me to bed.”
With a growl, he complies with my demand by picking me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist. “With pleasure,” he growls low.
My breath is coming in frantic spurts as he stumbles down the hallway, knocking pictures off the wall as my back collides with them. With a dangerous level of sexy, he throws me down on the bed, eyes me
intently and tugs his t-shirt over his head, and slowly undoes his jeans as I pull my sweatshirt off and toss it across the room.
I’m already wet in anticipation as I wriggle out of my cut-offs as he shrugs out of his jeans. I start to undo my bra, but he shakes his head.
“No fucking way. Leave the bra and panties on. I have plans.”
With a groan of frustration he’s not touching me, I grab his hips and pull him closer so I can suckle him. He grips the back of head as I slide my mouth over his hard cock, tasting him, relishing how much I want him, how masculine he is, how much he wants me too.
We’re both moaning when he shoves me back on the bed so he can climb on top of me. With a wicked grin, he peels back my bra and starts to flick his tongue over my left nipple, making me pant. He switches to my right, his stubble rough against my skin as starts to slowly kiss lower and lower until he’s tugging my panties down and spreading my legs so he can thrust his tongue in me.
His fingers stay on my hard nipples as he licks skilfully until I can’t catch my breath and I’m coming, shaking and screaming that his tongue, his cock, his body are incredible. Despite my ragged protests, Connor doesn’t stop until I’m screaming for the third time and I’m begging him to get inside me. He climbs on top, and I’m so ready I almost miss the way his expression is serious.
He braces himself so he can look me in the eye. “Evelyn. I need to apologize.”
My voice comes out almost garbled. “What? Now?”
“I think it’s time you knew.”
My heart races as he stares at me. “What? Oh, what now? Connor whatever it is, I don’t care, I love you, I want you, please can we just talk later?”
His lip curls. “I just wanted you to know that the weekend we spent together was the most fulfilling sexual experience of my entire life too. Also, easily the most erotic.”
I gape down at him as presses kisses to my collarbone. “Be serious.”
His eyebrows rise. “I am serious. You gave me cookies, we watched Predator, and we had dirty sex. It’s the perfect erotic weekend.”