I believe that counts as a date.
“So that was what? A friendly date? Or did we just to help two friends out,” Evan asks, reading my mind.
He starts to remove his jacket and shoes.
I look at him, loving how naturally we fell together tonight.
“I’d like to think of it as a real date,” I admit.
Evan pauses for a long moment, and his eyes meet mine.
He stands and walks to me and takes hold of my arms with his warm hands.
I feel a thrill, and I ache for the touch of his lips.
“If I kiss you now, I feel like we’re going to fall right back into our old patterns, Vic. Is that what you want?” Evan asks me.
“No,” I say.
I turn my head away from his impending kiss.
Lucius’ earlier words, about me being too careful are stuck in my mind.
I step away and look Evan in his gorgeous eyes.
I think of our baby.
Of the child he fathered, even now growing within my womb.
I decide to tell him the truth.
“I want something real with you, Evan,” I say.
30
Evan
January 9, 2018
“You what?” I ask in disbelief.
The serious look on Victoire’s face shows me that she means what she said.
She wants something real!
But, after all the games and drama, I’m not sure I can believe that.
“Victoire, what made you change your mind?” I ask her.
She looks down at the floor, then back up at me.
“I can’t pinpoint it, Evan. I just know it’s hard to picture my life without you,” her voice is soft.
It’s all I want to hear come from her lips; but, suddenly, it feels like she just wants to jump into things.
And now, I don’t feel ready.
“Vic are you sure? You fought me on this for a long time. Are you sure it’s just not all the emotional stuff that comes with pretending we’re engaged?” I ask her seriously.
She doesn’t have an answer for this.
“If that’s what you want, that’s great. But, this whole thing with Noah and my mother has to blow over before we can actually see what this is. What we really are. It’s like we’re playing house,” I suggest.
Immediately I know that was the wrong thing to say, and apparently not what I meant.
“You bastard!” Vic screams at me, running into the bathroom, and slamming the door shut behind her.
“Vic!” I call her name.
I pound on the door, mentally begging her to open it.
All I hear is swearing on the other side of the door.
“Vic, that’s not what I mean!” I yell through the door.
“I mean don’t you want to see if we have a chance outside of all of the situation!” I scream.
The door suddenly comes flying open, and Vic’s eyeliner is smudged with tears.
“This is real life, Evan!” she cries.
“Nothing is ever going to be the same! This is it! Right here, right now!” she yells.
She’s seething, hurt, and upset.
“Do you seriously want for us to wait years, like your father and Tinsley did, before we can figure out what we mean to each other?” she cries to me.
“No! Of course not!” I scream back.
“Then, it must be that you are just as afraid as I am!” Vic yells at me.
“So what!” I bounce back.
“You’re just as afraid as I am, because…” she gulps, the realization hitting her at last.
“Because, you know I love you, as much as you love me!” she confesses, her eyes wide and wet with tears.
Vic’s final words are all it takes.
We cross the room at the same time, and our lips smash together.
My tongue is instantly in her mouth, and all the pent-up tension melting away where Vic’s lips are involved.
Over and over our lips meet fiercely, in hot, confident kisses as Vic’s hands tangle in my hair.
She pulls her mouth harder over mine, and the desire to throw her down on the bed overwhelms me.
I toss Vic back down against the soft sheets and pin her arms over her head.
“What do you want,” I demand.
“You!” she cries.
“You’ll do whatever I want?” I ask her.
“Yes! You know that! You’re my Master,” she says breathlessly.
“And you are mine!” I roar.
She turns her neck to me, and I kiss it up and down.
I strip Vic slowly, removing her chemise, and I slowly ease her thong down her legs as she struggles to keep her breath even.
“This was my room, you know,” I tell her, wickedly.
She sees my smile and grins, just as the velvet handcuffs close over her left wrist.
Then, I move to the other side of the bed and cuff her right wrist.
She tugs on both.
“Good?” I ask.
“Good,” Vic nods.
Then, she bites her lip in that sexy way.
With her arms outstretched, her nipples are erect with desire and she squirms for my touch.
She’s quite a sight for my lusting eyes.
“Evan,” she breathes, as I begin to remove my tie.
I don’t take my time, however, because she says my name.
I’m desperate to be with her.
I rip the tie off and toss it to the floor.
Snapping the buttons on my shirt, I ball it up and throw it into the corner.
My lust is rising, and my thirst must be slaked!
I look at her, craving her.
The look in my eyes seems to both frighten and excite her.
I’ve never been like this in front of her.
Ever.
It’s as if a wild animal has inhabited me.
I growl, throatily.
My pants and boxers hit the floor, and then I am beside her.
“What are you going to do to me?” Vic whispers.
I pull back the beast, forcing it back into its cage.
Calmly, I stroke Vic’s cheek.
“I’m going to make love to you all night,” I say.
My voice is hoarse with emotion in her ear.
Her body automatically arches against mine, and my hand goes between her legs, two fingers slip inside her, and my thumb settles on the button of her clit.
Almost automatically.
I watch her writhe with pleasure, as my fingers give her only a fraction of what she needs, and the friction on her clit makes scream.
She tries stifle it, but loud moans and gasps escape anyway, until her body begins to stiffen up, and I can tell a strong orgasm is about to take hold of her.
That’s when I move astride her heaving body, embed my cock deep inside Vic’s wet pussy.
It yawns wide open for me, begging for my hard cock.
After only a few rough thrusts she spasms on my cock, her whole body convulsing slightly.
Her eyes roll back inside her head, and she shakes on my throbbing dick.
“Oh! My God! Evan!” her moan is long and low, and echoes through the high walls of my bedroom.
Then, I hear her angelic voice ask me not to stop.
My hands wrap around her waist as I begin to give her slow, but powerful pump, pistoning into her time and again.
I am a machine, fucking her senseless.
She yells and screams nonsensical noises into my ear, as I mercilessly pound her eager pussy.
I kiss all over her body; her nipples her clavicle, her shoulder blades.
And then, I find her lips again.
Vic whines against the kiss.
“Let me go, I need to touch you,” she whispers.
I resist, but her plaintive pleas become more pronounced, more severe, until tears are streaming from her eyes and she’s bucking against the restraints so hard I think she will break the posts off the bed frame.
I instantly unclasp the handcuffs, and Vic’s hands go into my hair, then down my shoulders where her nails draw deep grooves in my skin.
She claws at me roughly, and I ignore the pain.
Our bodies press together, and I wrap her in my arms, pull her waist hard against me, and find her lips.
We melt together, and her hands are against my skin.
Every inch of my flesh comes alive as my whole body screams her name.
“Evan!” she gasps.
Then, Vic comes undone in my arms, her body shakes, and she clings to me as I find my release, and spill whatever’s left of me inside her.
It just goes on and on, feeling like Eternity.
We cling to each other desperately for a few moments in the twisted sheets, our eyes connected.
Breathless, I try to make clear my feelings for her.
“I don’t want to play games,” I whisper finally.
“I want you for real,” I say, my voice soft and tinged with my love for her.
I can tell Vic wants to argue with me somehow, maybe because that’s what she’s so used to.
She rolls to face me, sweat matting her hair.
“We need rules then,” she says.
I just groan, and fall back into the sheets.
“Again, with the rules!” I mutter.
Vic just shakes her head.
“You can’t sleep with anyone else,” she says.
“You’re mine as far as I’m concerned. You are to treat me just the same as you did when we weren’t together, but you must never forget my birthday!” Vic giggles.
“Your birthday is in nine days; how could I possibly forget?” I remind her.
“So, you do remember,” Vic laughs.
“We’re really together then? This is it? No more games? Except for, well you know, this?” Vic says.
“Yes,” I tell her.
There’s a huge sigh of contentment that escapes her lips.
Then, she asks something I am not ready for.
“Why did you buy this ring?” she asks, her voice sounding small.
She holds up her left hand and shows me the Harry Winston engagement ring.
I kiss her fingers lightly.
“I did it because I could see us getting engaged at some point. Getting married. I didn’t think it would hurt, to be prepared for that possibility. And, believe me, Vic, I never intended to use it the way I did,” I admit.
“You saved me though,” Vic reminds me.
“But, since it isn’t a real engagement, it bothers me,” I tell her.
“One day,” Vic murmurs.
“One day, you can ask me for real,” she whispers to me.
She stares into my eyes, looking to find what she needs there.
She nods, so quickly I think maybe I imagined it.
Then, she plants a kiss on my lips, and we fall back together under the sheets.
I attend the lunch at the Duke’s residence per his request the next day.
We’re seated in a greenhouse on his property.
It’s warm and cozy, the hum of the sprinklers only adds to the atmosphere and the smell of the flowers that surround us.
Nothing overpowers me, and it’s a delightful mingling of scents that makes me feel at ease.
I worry that this is his plan, to set me at ease.
“I don’t think, I had a chance to properly congratulate you on your engagement,” The Duke says.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” I say.
“Please, there’s no one around, call me Geoffrey. I was never one for all that pomp whenever it’s not needed,” Geoffrey requests.
“Of course,” I say.
“Forgive me if I’m forward, but is there a situation that required me today?” I get straight to the point.
“You owe me a favor,” Geoffrey says simply.
“Ah, and you want to cash in already?” I ask.
“No, I just want some more information on your father. And Tinsley,” Geoffrey admits.
“Well, what do you want to know?” I ask.
I am suddenly uneasy.
“Her engagement to the Bradford boy? That ended because she wanted to be with your father? Correct?” he asks.
I just nod stupidly.
“Then, why did she marry him?” The Duke asks.
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” I lie.
I do know some of it. But, it’s clear to me that Tinsley was not committed to Connor during her marriage, for some reason.
“She carried on with your father throughout her marriage? Didn’t she?” The Duke suggests.
“Well,” I start.
I can’t lie to him, not after what he’s done for us.
“Sir, they’ve been desperate to be together for many years. I don’t exactly know why she married Connor Bradford, but I’m sure that whatever happened, was because her and my father, sir, they’re meant to be together,” I tell him certainly.
“I’m not offended,” Geoffrey says lightly.
“Affairs happen, it’s common, I mean, they are expecting a child together. I assume the child is your father’s, and not her late husband’s?” Geoffrey asks.
“Yes,” I say.
“They’ll make a happy little family then,” Geoffrey comments.
“I think so sir, she’ll be a wonderful mother,” I tell him.
“And a wonderful Duchess,” Geoffrey adds.
“Sir?” I’m confused.
“She’s the closest familial connection I have, my son died a few years ago as I’m sure you know, you were close with him, weren’t you?” Geoffrey asks.
A distraction.
“We went skiing on a few occasions,” is all I offer.
“Your Uncle Jude, however, seems to think that she is not a proper choice, because of your father,” says Geoffrey.
“Uncle Jude?” A gasp escapes.
“Well, Evan, you do realize your father did wander from that responsibility once! Would he even consider this kind of honor seriously?” he asks, gazing at me intensely.
Geoffrey’s dismissive tone implies that the answer to this is no.
“Sir, I can’t speak for my father, but as you know, he was restricted by his search for my sister at the time. Therefore, with all due respect, I feel he could not have focused on such duties. Wouldn’t you agree?” I ask.
The Duke makes another dismissive motion with his hand.
“Oh, I understand that, but what’s to say that his focus on your mother isn’t about to tempt him from duty again?” The Duke asks.
“My mother has already truly done her worst,” I reply.
I try to hide the fact that my hands have begun to shake.
“Perhaps, my boy. Perhaps,” The Duke says, cryptically.
He looks around and stares into the distance for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts.
Then, he peers at me, his sharp eyes gleeful.
“Well, your mother will need to be taken care of, before that happens, in either case,” Geoffrey says with conviction.
“Are you asking me to kill my own mother?” I gasp.
I stare at the Duke stupidly, who only smiles at me.
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, now would it?” he replies.
“Evan, look all that woman has done to you. And her sister, what’s her name? Lauren? So much damage they’ve caused,” he says, wistfully.
“And now, they’re both getting in my way; thorns in my side, my boy,” he says.
“They’re a thorn in all our sides,” I remind him.
“Then, we are in agreement that they must indeed be dealt with, correct?” Geoffrey says.
To him, it’s a foregone conclusion.
“Yes, Geoffrey. It appears that we’re in agreement,” I say.
“That’s fine, boy, very fine!” he laughs.
Geoffrey’s voice is full of snark.
“I would’ve never thought a Stone and I would see eye to eye,” he keeps his voice steady.
Then, he winks.
I am not sure what to say, so I wink back.
We both laugh, and then I am at ease again.
He wants no more than the same thing I do - my mother, Lauren, and Olivia out of the picture.
They’ve caused enough trouble.
Now it’s time for them to pay the piper.
I sit on the edge of the pool at the manor.
It’s gorgeous, and the water is pristine.
I swam some laps, to get my mind clear.
While I was swimming, my father decided to join me.
“Duke Whittaker wants Elizabeth dead,” I tell my father.
Noah’s just resurfaced from under the water, in our indoor pool.
He breaststrokes over to where I sit.
He grabs the wall of the pool, steadying himself.
“You’re sure?” he asks, seeming confused.
“Positive,” I say.
“Well, that’s new information. Never thought I’d be able to say that again,” my father quips.
He hoists himself up on the edge of the pool beside me.
Our legs sit in the water, as the skylight sends streams of light into the pool room.
My father renovated the whole family home since Ava was here last, but the pool room is virtually the same, just some new tile and restoration.
The row of lion’s heads that spit out water at the far end is the same, just in better shape.
“I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t want that woman dead,” my dad comments.
“Did I tell you she kissed Aidan?” I ask.
“Maybe. I heard it somewhere. I couldn’t stop laughing. That poor man, he’s spent half his life chasing her down and not only did she evade him, again, but she kissed him to rub salt in the wound. There really must be something wrong with her,” he laughs.
What else can he do?
The torture she’s put us through only seems to compound over time.
“Dad, he wants Tinsley to be his heir,” I finally spit out the words.
“I know,” is all my dad says.
“You knew?” I yell at him.
“Did you really think I had no idea?” he chuckles.
“Have you told Tinsley?” I ask.
“I think that may be best coming from Duke Whittaker; it’s his information to share. Besides, we’re already so lucky to be together. I don’t think Tinsley would believe me if I told her,” he says.
Heat_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel Page 22