Focusing back on the frames leaning against the wall, I walked over to them. The first picture was the knee-grasping pose. Reaching out, I gently pulled the frame toward me to reveal the picture behind it. Sure enough, it was the purple gossamer ribbon photo. I stood frozen in front of them.
Several seconds or minutes, hell, maybe it was even hours later, I heard Evan. “Ember?” he called out, walking around his apartment.
“In here,” I murmured, not caring whether he could hear me or not.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him enter the room. I could feel his eyes on me, but he remained quiet.
“I had to have them,” he finally said softly.
“But how? Daniel told me a Mr. Ryan purchased them.” Frowning, I turned to look at him hoping to get some answers. There was a look of trepidation on his face.
Pointing his thumb to himself, he said, “Evan Ryan James. My mother’s maiden name was Ryan. I didn’t want anyone, especially Daniel, to see that a Mr. Evan James purchased them. I wanted some anonymity.”
“Okay,” I mumbled. I could certainly understand that.
“Are you angry?” he asked with raised brows.
“Why would I be angry? I wish you would’ve told me that you had purchased them. All I could think was that they would end up in the hands of some creeper who was going to jerk off to them.” I paused, glancing over at him. “You don’t….you haven’t…you know.” My eyes drifted down to his crotch.
Raising his hands and shaking his head, he said, “Uh, no. No, I haven’t.”
Making his way over to me, he wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t need to jerk off to beautiful photos of a gorgeous woman when I can have the actual woman right here in my arms.” To emphasize his point, he squeezed his arms around me. “As soon as I saw them I knew I had to have them. Besides there was no way I was going to allow Daniel or some other creeper, as you put it, to buy them. Eventually, I will hang them in my bedroom. I only picked them up this week, so I just stashed them in here until then,” he said, casually shrugging his shoulders.
He bought my photos and was going to hang them in his bedroom? I was speechless. If he was going to hang them in his bedroom then there was no way he would be inviting other women to his bed certainly not with my nudes hanging on his wall.
Linking his hand with mine, he pulled me toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go.” Still a little stunned, I stumbled along behind him.
As we walked to the front door, I noticed an overnight bag sitting next to mine. Letting go of my hand, he reached down and grabbed both bags. As his eyes met mine, he gave me a shy smile.
“I’m coming with you,” he said, stubbornly.
Little did he know, I was not about to argue with him. I liked being around Evan, and I did not relish the thought of being without him tonight. I was not about to let him know exactly how much those four little words that he had just spoken thrilled me.
“Okay,” I said, smiling widely as I pulled the front door open.
“Oh, and baby?” I raised my brows at him. “I’m not sleeping on the damn couch tonight.”
I gave him a sad look. “Oh, well, that’s too bad.” I fought to keep a straight face when I saw the disappointment blooming on his. “I had so much fun on your couch that I came up with all these naughty things I was going to do to you on mine. Guess that won’t be happening now.”
He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and groaned. I could not help but laugh at him. “You’re fucking with me?” he asked incredulously.
“Me? Fuck with you?” I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible as I pressed a hand to my chest and batted my eyelashes at him.
“Oh, Ember. You’re so going to pay for that later,” he growled.
“I’m counting on it.” I winked and blew him a kiss.
Back at my apartment, Evan immediately made his way into my bedroom with our bags. Jake’s bedroom door was closed and based on the hushed voices and soft moans that were coming from the other side, I would guess Lucina was over.
Wanting to give them some privacy, I grabbed a bottled water and made my way to my room. Twisting the cap off, I took a swig as I walked in and nearly choked. Evan sat comfortably on top of my duvet with nothing but his laptop, or so I thought, but as I got closer I realized he was still in his black boxer briefs. Those strong, muscular thighs of his riveted me. My mind instantly conjured up images of me sitting astride those very thighs from earlier this evening.
“Sorry, baby. I had some emails that needed my attention,” he said without looking away from his computer. My ogling thankfully went unnoticed this time.
Grabbing my favorite flannel shorts and tank top, I made my way to the bathroom. “No, you’re fine. I’ll just read for a bit after I get ready for bed,” I said, rushing into the bathroom. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth eager to get back out to the sight that was a nearly naked Evan.
Grabbing my novel off my bedside table, I lay down on my stomach and started reading. I got so involved that I did not realize Evan had put his computer down and was currently stretched out next to me and reading over my shoulder.
Snatching the book out from under my nose, he sat up on the bed. His eyes were eagerly scanning the sexy passage I was just reading.
“What the hell is this?” he asked with eyes bulging out of his head.
“A romance novel,” I said defensively, but feeling the heat creep into my cheeks.
“Women actually read this?” He lifted the book up and much to my horror started to read the passage in a sexy, husky tone. “Neil impatiently tore the clothes from his body until he stood before me naked as the day he was born. My eyes greedily roamed his perfect muscular physique until they rested on his arousal, jutting out proudly from his hips. I licked my lips at the sight of him, imagining my mouth wrapped around his magnificent cock. As if he could read my thoughts, he pointed to the floor in front of him and said, ‘Get on your knees. I want to fuck that pretty little mouth of yours.’ Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees and wrapped my hand around the base of his…” Evan’s voice drifted off as his eyes continued to scan the page. Seconds later, he looked up at me with big, round eyes, his mouth forming a perfect O. “I have to admit, Ember, this is kind of turning me on.”
Launching myself at him, I caught him by surprise, pushing his back onto the bed. Straddling his hips, I tried to wrestle the book away from him, but with very little success. “Let me have it,” I growled. Evan just chuckled at my obvious frustration. Desperately trying to grab it from him, he kept waving his arms around managing to keep the book just out of my reach.
“Tell me. Does this get you all hot and bothered? Do you think about me when it does? Do you touch…?”
He suddenly froze. Slowly, I glanced down our bodies. My right breast was hovering just above his open mouth while my lower body was tightly pressed against his in my attempt to reach the book. Closing his eyes, he sucked the hardened peak through my shirt into his hot mouth, sending a ripple of desire through my entire body.
Pulling back to once again straddle his hips, a groan escaped him as my core lined up perfectly with the hard ridge of his arousal. My wide eyes met his, chocolate brown to forest green, as I pulled the tank top over my head. Our lips parted simultaneously to accommodate our quickened breaths. The book slid out of his hand and thudded loudly onto the hardwood floor, causing me to jump. The way my body jolted against his elicited a hiss from Evan, springing him into action.
He quickly rolled, tucking me beneath him, pinning my hips to the bed. As if my heart was not already pounding, it now felt like it was about to burst from my chest at the amount of love that was pouring from his eyes. Whatever this was flowing between us was intense. Frantically clutching at his bare back, I was suddenly desperate to know that he felt it too.
He leaned down to press his lips gently against mine once then twice. “Shhh. I know, baby, I know.” My eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of his soft, sensual lips on
mine, reveling in the warmth and weight of his body pressing me further into the soft bedding. “I feel it too,” he said against my lips. My eyes snapped open at his words as my breath caught in my throat. He was not only feeling whatever this was as well, but he also knew I needed him to acknowledge it.
Cupping my face tenderly in his hands, his thumbs ran over my cheeks reverently. I did not even realize I was crying until his thumbs smeared the moisture from my temples across my cheeks. “Let me love you, Ember, nice and slow. I need to savor this, savor you.”
“Please,” I murmured, too stunned by his words to say anything more. Not only did he know what I needed to hear, but he also knew that at this tender moment I needed him to take his time. Without warning, three little words of affection were right there at the tip of my tongue, but before they could be said, I pressed my lips to his and lost myself within his loving embrace.
The following morning, I woke to a cold and empty bed. Stumbling into the bathroom, I examined myself in the mirror. My big eyes were bright and shiny and my cheeks were flushed. I not only looked different after being with Evan last night, but I felt different. Somehow I knew, in the deepest recesses of my soul, that what I felt for this man has left me forever changed.
After stumbling out of the bathroom, I set out to find Evan. Based on the mouth-watering smells that were wafting down the hall, I headed right for the kitchen. And there he was, dressed in nothing but his tight, black, boxer briefs, standing in front of the oven, flipping pancakes. The muscles in his back under that gorgeous tattoo of his, flexed beautifully with each movement. My eyes roamed down over his firm and perfectly shaped ass, continuing down his thick legs with those perfectly cut muscles, and finally resting on his sexy bare feet. My mouth watered, and not from the smells of the food. No. Now my mouth watered at the delicious sight that was Evan.
“I can feel your eyes on me, Gem,” he said in that sexy, husky tone of his, causing every nerve ending within my body to tingle.
“I missed you this morning,” I said, making my way over to him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I placed a soft, tender kiss over the pink bird taking flight in his tattoo.
He spun around, easily breaking my hold on him. Grabbing me by the waist, he lifted me up to set me down on the counter next to where he was cooking. Peering down into the bowl next to the stove, I saw chocolate chip pancake mix. Quickly dipping my finger into the mixture, I sucked the sweet batter off.
“Mmm. That’s really good,” I said, trying to hide my surprise.
“It was my mother’s recipe, and I guarantee you they would’ve tasted a hell of a lot better if you had allowed me to serve them to you in bed.” Leaning in, he gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Well, we can always act like I never came out here.”
“And miss having you ogle me while standing at the stove?”
“Mmm, you do know how much I love to ogle you,” I said, winking at him.
“You do know how much I love having your eyes on me.”
Smirking at him, I dipped my index finger back into the batter and then held it up in front of his mouth. His eyes focused on mine as the batter started to run slowly down my finger. Dropping the spatula onto the counter, he grasped my hand in both of his. Focusing his heated gaze on mine, he slowly sucked my finger into the hot recesses of his mouth, swirling his tongue around to catch all the batter. I squeezed my eyes shut as the muscles deep in my core tightened, remembering what that mouth felt like on me last night.
My finger popped free from his mouth seconds before he urgently pressed his lips to mine. Wrapping his hands low around my hips, he pulled me to the edge of the counter, pressing his growing erection into the now damp juncture of my thighs. Immediately, my legs wrapped around his waist, hooking my ankles together against his lower back. Moaning at the intimate contact, my hands dove into his hair, gripping tightly as I held him in place as we devoured each other.
“Jesus. Would you two get a damn room?”
Evan broke our kiss at the sound of Jake’s voice. Resting his forehead against mine, we both smiled like idiots as we tried to calm our now raging hormones.
“Dude, the pancakes are burning,” Jake grumbled. Evan quickly broke free from my grasp. Yanking the pan from the stove, he dropped it into the sink. Jake looked over his shoulder, staring down into the blackened pan morosely. “She almost burned the bacon, and now you with pancakes. You know, if you’re going to be spending the night, we might want to plan on going out for breakfast the following morning.” Jake gave Evan a serious look, but his tone was full of humor.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Evan said, chuckling. “We still have a decent amount.” He pulled a covered plate from the stove and set it down on a trivet on the breakfast bar.
Hopping off the counter, I grabbed the leftover fruit salad Evan made the other day from the fridge. Together, we had plenty of food.
“Was Lucina here last night?” I asked Jake as we started eating.
“Yeah, she left about two hours ago. She had to go to work.” The smile that spread across his face as he talked about her did not go unnoticed by me. “Evan, man. These pancakes are killer.”
“Thanks, Jake. It was a special family recipe.”
“If you’re going to cook breakfast like this, then you have my permission to move in.” Every muscle in my body tensed at Jake’s words. I knew he was just teasing, but there was something about his tone that made me think Jake was seriously giving Evan his blessing. Evan, almost sounding nervous, chuckled lightly at Jake’s comment. “But you’ve got to keep this one away from you so nothing else gets burned.” Jake jerked his thumb in my direction.
Following breakfast, Evan headed to my bathroom to shower while I cleaned up breakfast. He was in the process of getting dressed when I entered my room to shower myself. We were a little pressed for time, so there was no opportunity to fool around, but, much to my excitement, promises of such for later were made.
Evan had a car pick us up at my apartment for the photo shoot. During the entire ride, all I could think about was how to approach Evan about acting professionally while we were together for this shoot. I did not want to hurt his feelings or have him take things the wrong way, but this was a big deal for Jake and me, and I needed to be sure that we acted like the professionals we professed to be. So, while Jake went to the front desk to let them know we arrived, I pulled Evan aside.
“Evan, this job is really important to Jake and me.” His eyes focused on mine warily as he slowly nodded at me. “Well, it’s also important for your career.” I took a deep breath. “There’s going to be some representatives from Soft Caress there, and I, um, I just think we need to keep it professional,” I said, finishing in a whisper.
Evan stood still as a statue for several seconds. His eyes grew cold and hard, boring into mine with an intensity I never felt before, leaving me feel naked and vulnerable before him. My stomach started to churn with fear and panic. He could not possibly think he embarrassed me. Could he? When he finally reached up to cup my face in his hands, I released the breath I was holding. His eyes softened as a small smile played at the edge of his lips.. “I agree, baby. I might not like it, but I know you’re right. I understand that you’re just trying to do the right thing for the sake of our careers.”
“Thank you.” My eyes bounced between Evan’s glittering, emerald eyes and his sensual lips. Bringing my hands up, I clung to his wrists as he continued to hold my face. “You have to know that there isn’t anything I want more than to be able to walk into that room and show everybody that I’m yours.” Dropping my eyes from his face, I focused on his chest. “If for no other reason than to show all those skinny model bitches waiting for you that you belong to me.”
Evan chuckled. Pulling my face towards him, his warm lips pressed softly onto my forehead. Tilting my face up to his, he forced me to look him in the eye. That intensity was back, but it was different this time. It was heated with a sexual tension that had my body
responding with a hunger I knew could not immediately be sated. “You’re mine,” he said, possessively. I wanted nothing more than to crush my lips to his in response to his comment, and by the way he was staring at me, I knew he was thinking the same thing.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Jake said as he approached us, thankfully reminding me that I was standing in the middle of the lobby of the Fairmont Olympic. Lord knows, I was ready to tackle Evan to the ground, and that would have gotten us both arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior. Based on the current smirk on Jake’s face, he knew it too. “Soft Caress execs have reserved the Garden Room for us. Follow me.”
As I walked behind Jake with Evan at my side, I reached out and wound my fingers with his, taking him by surprise. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his steps falter, causing my body to shake with silent laughter. Evan quietly growled at me.
Now that I was not entirely focused on Evan, I started to take in the beautiful lobby for the first time since walking through the door. Plush chairs sat in groups that looked inviting, a grand, sweeping staircase was on one end of the large two-story room, rich fabrics were draped over the windows, beautifully carved wood accents; all the opulence one would expect from such a grand hotel.
As we approached the door to the Garden Room, I squeezed Evan’s hand before releasing it. He smiled down at me, completely understanding that I was silently conveying to him how hard it was to let go of his hand.
Jake held the door for me with Evan right on my heels. My first glimpse around the room had me stopping in my tracks, causing Evan to run right into the back of me. Quickly wrapping his arms around my waist, Evan saved me from what would have been an embarrassing, if not painful, face-plant.
Pulling my back into his front, he brought his mouth to my ear. “Be careful. As much as I’d love to push you down to the floor right now, I don’t think it would be a good idea, bab-”
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