by Lucy Score
He wanted to apologize, but the words wouldn’t come. All that existed was her hot little mouth on his cock. She worked him with hand and mouth, dragging him toward the edge faster than any fantasy.
“Shit. Eva, you need to stop.”
But still her lips flowed over him, tasting, sucking. He felt the release build in the tightening of his balls. “Eva!”
“Come for me, Donovan. Let me taste you,” she demanded before taking him to the back of her throat.
He came, shouting her name and pulling that red hair. Every muscle tensed with an orgasm that blazed through his system, lighting him on fire.
“Fuck. Baby, I told you to stop,” he admonished, his breath coming in gasps.
She released him from her mouth, a cocky smile playing on her lips. “Oops. Guess I didn’t hear you over all the prayers and you screaming my name.”
“If that was part of your apology, I can’t wait ’til you fuck up again,” Donovan said.
“How are you still hard after that?” Eva demanded, staring at his half-mast dick.
“Super power,” he said, not bothering to pull his pants back up. He liked the way she was eyeing him. “Now let me show you another of mine.”
He pulled her to her feet and shoved her leggings down with more enthusiasm than finesse. He lifted her from the waist and settled her ass on the dining room table, spreading her thighs wide.
“Oh, shit,” she breathed.
“Lay down,” he ordered her, shoving plates and dishes further down the table. “Lay down and spread yourself open.”
She honest-to-God whimpered as she complied, and he went from half hard to all the way on that breathy noise alone. He knelt on the floor and slid his hands under the sweet curves of her ass. “The things I’m going to do to you,” he murmured just before sliding his tongue through her folds.
Eva hissed. She was rainforest wet, slick and hot and ready for him. And she’d gotten that way by touching him, tasting him. He growled. Using his shoulders, he braced her knees apart so she was spread before him. Donovan lifted her higher so he could feed. He sampled her flesh, teasing and tasting. Using his tongue to make her writhe against him on the table.
He plunged into her, using shallow thrusts of his tongue to make her say his name over and over again. Then, when he felt her coiling around him, he sheathed two fingers into her and brushed his lips and tongue over that tight bundle of nerves.
Every muscle in her body tightened and froze. Her breath stilled as she went stiff as a board, and then those beautiful tremors exploded, closing around the fingers he crooked inside her.
“Yes, Eva. My beautiful girl.” He breathed the words against her, licking at her with measured strokes as she trembled beneath him.
He ached for her. His cock throbbed as if he hadn’t had an axis-shifting orgasm minutes ago. It was never enough. He always wanted more from her, with her.
She was loose and limp in front of him, a secret smile of satisfaction blooming on her beautiful face.
“Do you want more, Eva?” he asked, his voice gravelly with desire.
She opened those hazel eyes slowly, smiled lazily, and nodded.
“Tell me.” He stroked his palms over the smooth skin of her stomach.
“I want to feel you inside me. I want you to ride me here until we use each other up.” Her whispered confession had his head spinning.
He was wild when he stood, rough when he yanked her to him. She stared greedily at his cock splayed across her belly as he lowered himself to take her mouth with his.
“Donovan,” she moaned under his lips.
“I love it when you beg me, Eva. You’re better than every fantasy.” He stroked eager hands over the lush curves of her breasts, pausing to nuzzle at the peaks.
She bucked her hips against him. “I want you so much it hurts,” she confessed.
“Now you know how I’ve felt since I first saw you.”
Waiting was torture, but he wanted—needed—this to last. Fisting his erection he stroked, priming himself.
“Jesus, Cardona. Hurry the hell up,” Eva demanded, her voice ragged.
He couldn’t say no to that. Notching the broad head of his cock against her opening, he hinged forward to grip her chin. He wanted Eva to watch him take her. Watch what being inside her did to him.
With every ounce of control he had left, he eased into her until he was fully sheathed inside her. Their gazes connected, held, and Donovan swore he could see her thoughts. “You’re mine, Eva. You can’t feel this and question it.” It was truth, plain and simple. There would be a ring, and a home, a family, and a lifetime of nights just like this one.
She tightened around him, a velvet vice, as her body reacted to his words. “Donovan! I’m—” Her words cut off, and he felt her shatter around him, her orgasm taking them both by surprise. She bowed up as her body ran with the release. It nearly carried him with it, those tremors milking him as he stroked in and out of her. But he held on, gritting his teeth.
“You’re so beautiful when you come, baby.”
“I need you closer,” she murmured, reaching for him.
Donovan rested a knee on the table and leaned over her. The change in angle brought a gasp to her lips. Eva brought her hands to his face, her soft palms rubbing across the stubble on his jaw.
It was exquisite torture taking his time. She stared into him, her full lips parted as he began to move. Slowly, slowly, he eased out of her before sliding back in to the hilt. It wasn’t a race. They had a lifetime ahead of them. He stared down at her, this spectacular creature naked in the candlelight, her eyes glassy with desire.
She moved her hands to his shoulders and dug in with her fingernails. He liked it, that little bite of pain. It made him impossibly harder, and he knew when he came, he might die.
“Say the words, Eva.” He gritted out his demand.
“I love you, Donovan! I love you!” She chanted it over and over again. Every thrust. He couldn’t keep it slow, not with his orgasm building. He was getting rougher, and Eva liked it.
“I need you to come again, baby.”
“I don’t know if I—”
He shifted, slamming his cock into her. Her eyes glazed over.
“Oh, shit.”
Donovan braced himself on one hand and used his thumb to work her toward the edge as his balls tightened. “Come now.”
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, eyes wide. He couldn’t hold back anymore. His release erupted out of him. Grunting, he pushed into her and felt that wet vice close around him. She screamed, her nails tearing at his skin. He was grunting, thrusting, completely lost in the pleasure that burst like an inferno between them.
They used each other, riding out their orgasms until there was nothing but weak tremors left. Donovan’s knees buckled, but he didn’t want to leave her. So he dragged her to the floor with him. They lay on the rug, half under the table in a tangle of limbs and not-quite discarded clothing. Her hair spilled over his shoulder. His hand splayed between her breasts.
“Put that in your book,” he challenged, miming a mic drop.
She laughed. “I have a feeling I left an ass print on your table.”
“God, I hope so.” He traced a finger over the curve of her breast.
“Am I forgiven?” she asked, lacing her fingers with his.
“You’re probably the best apologizer I’ve ever seen in action. You could have stolen my truck and driven through half of the businesses on the square in town, and I’d still have forgiven you.”
Eva lolled her head to the side to look at him. “You know, if this is how you accept apologies, I can’t wait to have something new to apologize for.”
CHAPTER FORTY
To: Beautification Committee
From: Bruce Oakleigh
Subject: Current business
Hello, fellow B.C. members,
Bruce Oakleigh here, your faithful president. We’v
e got a few housekeeping details to take care of before our next meeting.
Everyone can stop sending me instigation scenarios for the Eden-Davis match, hereafter known as Operation Inebriated Chinchilla. We’ve had a doozy of a suggestion from yours truly that I can’t wait to share with you. It’s guaranteed to spark friendly feelings between our matchees. Does anyone have any experience with stink bombs?
Our next regularly scheduled meeting falls on Halloween, and I know we’d all like to attend the Halloween Carnival. I am fine with rescheduling for the following evening as long as everyone is willing to picket She Who Shall Not Be Named’s wedding as planned. To be respectful, we won’t chant during the vows, but we will be waving our signs and frowning fiercely.
Amethyst and I are looking forward to seeing everyone’s costumes!
Yours in matching success,
Bruce Oakleigh
--------
Donovan scrolled through the electronic record of one Agnes Merill—or Agnes Miller, depending on the alias and the woman’s mood. She’d been picked up for shoplifting in Buffalo and had two DUIs, one in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and another one in New Haven, Connecticut. She hadn’t shown in court for either of those.
Then there was the string of bad checks scattered across four states, two counts of breaking and entering in New Jersey, and three counts of possession, two with intent to sell.
She’d skipped out on every warrant, bailed on every court date. Donovan was well aware of how overtaxed the court system was, but it was still frustrating that criminals like Agnes Merill walked the streets, wreaking havoc until they got busted for something they couldn’t post bail for.
And if he didn’t find her fast, that’s exactly what would happen here. He felt helpless sitting here waiting. But it was only a matter of time before she was picked up.
Minnie poked her head into his office. “Quite the rap sheet isn’t it?”
Donovan rubbed the back of his neck. “Now, Minnie. I don’t need to tell you this is all confidential, do I?”
She rolled her eyes at him like a teenager, meaning she’d already told the entire town. “Everyone’s worried about Eva. We don’t like when someone comes in here and messes with one of our own. We’re all watching out for her,” she sniffed.
Donovan sighed. All of Eva’s secrets had gone from vault to public in a matter of days. And as glad as he was that she wasn’t keeping them to herself anymore, he didn’t want her to feel the scrutiny of the public’s opinion.
“When we find her, just please keep it under your hat until I’ve had the chance to talk to Eva, okay?”
“Sure, Sheriff. Hope you catch the bitch,” Minnie said with uncharacteristic venom.
He would, and when he was done with her, Agnes would regret ever coming to Blue Moon.
--------
Charisma Champion took the chair across from Eva in a bizarre yet pleasing cloud of patchouli and homemade bread.
Eva bit back a sigh and tugged the headphones off her ears. She’d borrowed an old laptop from the black-eyed Beckett and set up shop at Overly Caffeinated to pour herself into writing. No thieving mother or public shame was going to derail this book. Certainly not while she tried to transcribe everything Donovan said to her last night while working her body into one human-sized orgasm. With inspiration like that, nothing was going to keep her away from her online backups.
“Eva,” Charisma breathed as if she was fogging up a crystal ball. “So lovely to finally meet you. I’m Charisma.” She held out a hand decorated with moonstone and amethyst rings.
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Eva commented, shaking the offered hand. “What brings you out in the middle of a school day?”
“Oh, I have the meditation class right now. It’s basically naptime for eighth graders. I usually sneak out. And when I saw you here, I felt like it was fate.”
“Hmm, fate. Okay.”
“This trouble with your mother,” Charisma began.
In her head, Eva heard the sound of the figurative shoe dropping. She’d purposely chosen to show her face in town today. Dealing with the public fallout of her choices was one reason. The other possibly more prevalent one was the fact that she just wasn’t ready to return to her house yet.
“Is this typical behavior for her?” Charisma asked.
Eva tilted her head. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I’m concerned that this planetary event that we’re experiencing may be affecting more than just Blue Moon. I understand you’ve been estranged from your mother, but I wasn’t certain that she has shown a history of criminal behavior. If this is bigger than Blue Moon, we could be looking at a multi-state disaster next week.”
Next week. Halloween and Ellery’s wedding.
Charisma pressed on in true small-town gossip fashion. “Now, I’ve heard from a few sources that your mother has a long history with, shall we say disagreeable behavior. Then there’s the story that she left your family to join a convent, and that’s where she’s been for all these years and just suddenly decided to renounce her vows, reconnect with you, and break into your home. Which could indicate that the radius of this planetary crossing is increasing. Which would mean that my calculations were incorrect, and that’s never happened before.”
Charisma’s voice got higher and shriller with every sentence. She was a woman who took her calculations seriously.
“I think your calculations are intact,” Eva said, taking pity on the woman’s crisis of self-confidence. “My mother hasn’t been a pillar of society for a very long time.”
“Thank goodness! You had me worried there for a moment. Whew!” Charisma wiped her brow in relief.
“I’m glad to alleviate your fears,” Eva said dryly.
“Yerba mate with a side of wheat grass,” the eyebrow-ringed barista called from the counter.
“Oh, that’s me! I’d better be getting back to my class. So glad your mother’s a criminal!”
“Uh, me too?” Eva watched Charisma grab her drink and head for the door.
“I’ll see you tonight, Eva!” Charisma called cheerily as she exited.
“Tonight?” Eva asked no one in particular.
The barista shrugged and went back to his graphic novel.
Eva shook her head and put her headphones back on.
She dug back into her backlog of social media and email correspondence first. She didn’t like going too long without talking to her fans. The days of sending handwritten fan letters to a publisher who may or may not forward your sentiments on to your favorite author were long gone. Now, she could speak directly with her readers and get instant feedback on titles, covers, and plots.
And torture them with sneak peeks at her work in progress.
She replied to comments and emails, trying not to let her head get too big when one reader compared her to the Nora Roberts.
She felt her table jostle and looked up to find Rainbow and Gordon Berkowicz crowding a third chair around it. They settled and stared at her expectantly until she removed her headphones.
“Hello, Berkowiczs,” she said. Gordon was in his usual uniform of dirty, decades-old cargo pants and a t-shirt that fit him a bit better when he graduated high school. Rainbow was in her traditional bank attire in a neat-as-a-pin pantsuit.
“We’re here on official you-know-what business,” Gordon said in a hushed whisper. In the perusal of her pink heart binder, Eva had noted that discussing the Beautification Committee and its business was strictly forbidden in public.
“Shouldn’t we be discussing this in private?” Eva asked, glancing around them at the quiet café.
“Subsection 2C allows for public discussion in the event of an emergency.” Rainbow rattled off what Eva could only assume was B.C. procedural code.
“What’s the emergency?” Her curiosity was piqued.
They shared a glance and Rainbow nodded at Gordon. “We heard about your mother,” he told her.
“Yes, my mother broke into my home after blackmailing me for years. No, she did not escape a convent. And I don’t think it’s related to the planetary crossing. Anything else?”
“Well, how are you feeling, dear?” Gordon asked, patting her hand.
“We can only imagine the upheaval this has been for you. And if you feel at any time that you think it’s negatively affecting your abandonment issues, we’re prepared to drop all current projects and focus on you,” Rainbow jumped in.
“All current projects, including picketing Ellery’s wedding?” Eva asked.
“Of course. But only if you feel that this unfortunate run-in with your mother is going to have a detrimental effect on your relationship with Sheriff Cardona,” Rainbow said.
“Yes,” Gordon said. “We were surprised to find you two were getting so serious despite the B.C’s request that you work on yourself first. But that’s young love for you.”
Eva rubbed her eyes and debated just exactly how much she cared for Ellery. Hell. Her little goth pal, a woman who had been nothing but absolutely lovely to her, was getting married. And here was Eva’s chance to ensure her perfect day.
“You know, now that you mention it, I’ve been feeling a little…” she glanced at the two of them. “Unhinged?”
Rainbow slapped Gordon on the shoulder. “We had a feeling,” she said knowingly. “We’ll work out a treatment plan immediately.”
Eva cleared her throat. “And will this treatment be confidential?” she asked, wondering what further damage Beautification Committee interference would do to her already dingy reputation.
“Of course. Everything we do is confidential,” Rainbow reminded her.
That word did not mean to Blue Moon what it meant to the rest of the world.
They rose and Rainbow patted Eva awkwardly on the shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. We’ll take care of everything. I’ll contact Donovan directly about his role.”