“Em, you okay?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, rubbing the center of my chest as that damn ache flared up once again.
“Where were you just now, because you sure weren’t in this room.”
“I’m sorry.” Looking into Jake’s concerned face had me chocking on all the emotions I tried so hard to hold back. “I miss him, Jake. I miss him so much it hurts.” He pulled me against his strong chest and hugged me to him tightly. Little did he know that at that moment, he was holding me together, keeping me from shattering into a million pieces.
“I’m sorry, Em. I’m sure this must be difficult for you,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “But we have a job to do here. I need you to pull it together, because those execs,” he gestured to a group of angry-looking men standing with a bewildered-looking Eli. “Are starting to get really annoyed with you.” Releasing me, he bent down to look me in the eye. “Time is money, sweetheart. Now I need you to get your ass in gear and finish this damn shoot.”
Knowing that he was right, I gave him a small smile. “What would I do without you?”
“Get fired,” he said deadpan. Taking me by the shoulders, he spun me around and gently pushed me toward the bed.
Hours later, all the executives were smiling widely as they stood around Jake while he worked his magic at the computer. Jake’s little pep talk had gotten my head back in the game. We ended up kicking ass with this shoot. Eli could not stop singing my praises.
While Jake was packing up his equipment, I checked my phone. Still nothing from Evan.
“Have you heard from him?” Jake asked.
For a brief moment, not wanting Jake to give up an evening with Lucina, I thought about lying, but there was no use. Jake knew me too well. He would see right through it.
“I haven’t heard from him, but you don’t need to stay with me.” Shaking my head as Jake began to protest, I held my hand up to silence him. “Listen, I’m exhausted, and I’ve got the headache from hell developing. You know I’m just going to go home and crash. Go out with Lucina. I’ll grab a taxi, and I’ll see you later when you get home.”
“Em, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll take you home with this stuff before I go out.”
Feeling slightly victorious, I waved goodbye to Jake through the back of the taxi’s window. Somehow, I managed to con Jake into letting me go home in one taxi with all the equipment while he got into a second to go meet up with Lucina. The taxi driver was even kind enough to help me unload all the bags and get them into the elevator once we got to the apartment.
When the elevator announced its arrival on my floor, I loaded up with all the bags and headed down the hall. As I approached our door, a nervous excitement ran through me. Having given Evan a key to our apartment before he left, a small part of me was hoping that I would find him waiting for me inside. Sitting on the couch, curled up in my bed, naked in my shower; any of these scenarios would do. Inhaling deeply, I held my breath as I turned the key. My breath left me in a rush as the weight of disappointment pressed down upon me. The apartment was empty.
After putting away our equipment, I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge. Pouring a generous amount in a glass, I quickly downed it hoping to drown this horrible ache in my chest. After downing my second glass, I started to feel the effects of the alcohol. A warmth radiating out from my belly ran through my body leaving me feeling numb.
Making my way into the bedroom, I stripped out of my clothes and started the shower. Checking my phone one last time, I found all that was staring back at me was my background picture. No texts messages, no missed calls, and no voicemails from Evan. I was too numb to feel the crushing disappointment this time.
The bathroom was full of warm, humid steam from the shower I left running. Opening the glass door, I adjusted the temperature and stepped in. For several minutes I just let the warm water beat down on my back.
Over the last month, every time Evan leaves, it gets harder and harder to deal with. I was starting to think that maybe I wash not cut out for this. Both of our careers were just taking off, making the thought of either one of us quitting our job for the other ridiculous. Both of us have worked so hard to get where we are today. Maybe it would be best if I just broke it off with him. Sure it would kill me, but it would only hurt once. In time, my heart would heal. Right now, a piece of me was dying every time he left.
“Fuck!” I yelled in frustration as it echoed around the bathroom. I was not strong enough to let him go, but I did not think I was strong enough to continue with the constant separations either.
Feeling depressed and defeated, I reached for my shampoo, pausing as I stared at Evan’s bottle sitting next to mine. How I had hoped earlier that I would be sharing this shower with him instead of standing here by myself. Sighing heavily, I grabbed my shampoo and washed my hair.
Tilting my head back, I rinsed the shampoo out and just stood for several minutes letting the water rain down on my head. The heat from the shower seemed to intensify the lavender scent of my shampoo. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the soothing scent deeply. When I opened my eyes, I found Evan standing in the bathroom just a few feet from the shower. My heart lurched into my throat.
Convinced that I was imaging it, I frantically wiped the water from my face, but he was still standing there, staring at me. He looked disheveled and exhausted and as handsome as ever. My heart began to pound in my chest as my breathing sped up. Pressing my hand to the glass of the shower door, I let the strong urge to touch him, to feel his warm skin under my palm, wash over me.
When he did not move, I opened the shower door and beckoned him to come, but he just stood there and stared at me. Fear slithered through me as I began to wonder if this was just an image my brain had conjured up like it had so many other times this week. “Are you really here?” I finally asked.
“It’s really me, Gem,” he rasped.
Closing my eyes, I let the delicious sound of his baritone wash over me, taking great pleasure in the fact that he was really here. When I reopened my eyes, Evan’s lips parted to accommodate his heavier breathing. A feral, hungry look was in his eyes as he ran his hand along the hard ridge of his erection, straining against the zipper of his jeans.
“I missed you so much, doll. I took the train from London to Paris where I was able to catch a flight out to Seattle. I couldn’t stand another minute without you.”
Tears pooled in my eyes as I bit my lip to keep a sob from escaping. “Come here,” I pleaded with him.
“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head at me.
Immediately, anger and frustration bubbled up inside me. “What do you mean you can’t?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“I want you too much, baby. So much that I’m not going to be able to control myself. I won’t be gentle,” he said, sounding pained.
Immediately I was reminded of how desperately he wanted me after we did that photo shoot for Soft Caress in the Fairmont Olympic. Once I stepped into his room, he pushed me up against the door and he was none too gentle about it. But I found it to be even more of a turn on. He was hot and demanding and very alpha male.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I growled, “I don’t want gentle. I just want you any way I can have you.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “Please. I need you, Evan. Please, come to me,” I shamelessly begged.
His eyes popped open seconds before he lunged for me. Still fully dressed, he wrapped his arms around me, pushing me up against the tile wall. My arms snaked around his waist, gripping him tightly.
Cradling the back of my head in his hand, his lips crashed down on mine. Plunging his tongue in my mouth, he kissed me with a brutal desperation that left me breathless.
Running my hands up and down his arms, cradling his face, over the back of his neck, and then finally running my fingers into the silky, wet strands of his hair. I couldn’t stop running my hands over him, trying to relearn the contours of the body I loved
so much, and at the same time I could not hold him tight enough to me.
As his sensual lips devoured mine, his big hands ran down my neck and over my shoulders before traveling down to my chest. Caressing the slick skin of my breasts roughly until my nipples were hardened peaks, he suddenly broke the kiss. Running his tongue down my neck, his teeth nipped into my shoulder before his mouth continued to slide down my body to my chest, taking the same path his hands just had. My back arched as his warm mouth wrapped around my nipple. I gasped when his teeth grazed first one nipple then the other. That small bite of pain shot straight to my core, making me desperate for him.
My hands fumbled with his wet t-shirt as I desperately tried to pull the heavy wet material over his head. Pushing my hands away, he ripped the t-shirt over his head. My hands immediately moved to his pants as I hurried to undo his belt then the button and zipper of his jeans. As he toed off his shoes, I shoved his jeans and boxers to the floor.
Unable to resist, I wrapped my hand around his hard length, causing his head to fall back as a moan rumbled through his chest. The sexy sound only spurred me on further. Running my hand from the base to the tip of his erection, I reveled in the feel of his warm, soft skin, which felt much like satin-covered steel. His perfectly defined chest was heaving with every breath while his head was thrown back as soft moans escaped his parted lips. Mesmerized by how incredibly sexy he looked, I started to pick up the pace.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped to mine, looking like he was ready to devour me. Grabbing my wrists, he pinned me against the shower wall, causing a thrill of desire to race through me.
“You’re driving me crazy, sweetheart.”
Grabbing my waist, he lifted me up with my back to the wall. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and locked my legs around his waist. The wild look in his eyes told me this was going to be hard and fast.
He crushed his lips to mine in a brutal kiss seconds before he slammed into me. The sudden, harsh invasion had me breaking the kiss as my head fell back against the wall and I screamed out his name.
Not hesitating for a moment, he continued to slam into me, pushing me higher up the wall. His thrusts were powerful and relentless as he pounded into me showing no mercy. My nails dug into his back as he buried his head in my neck, sucking on the sensitive skin so hard I knew he was going to leave a mark. I thought I heard him say he was sorry, but I couldn’t be sure over the moans that were spilling from my mouth, his rough, harsh breathing in my ear, and the water pounding down onto the shower floor.
Minutes later, that familiar tingle that only Evan could bring forth started to build within my core, tightening my inner muscles around him. Sensing that I was close, his fingers dug into my hips as he brought his mouth to my ear. “Come for me, baby. Come for me hard,” he said roughly before biting down on my earlobe. The pain of his bite along with his words had me spiraling out of control. With my release exploding through my body, my inner walls spasmed, gripping onto his length hard. Evan stilled as we both tipped over the edge together.
We were both still breathing harshly as we sank together to the shower floor. The warm water pelted down on us, feeling cool against my heated skin. Still connected intimately, we stayed wrapped around each other for several minutes, basking in the glow of our reunion. After several blissful moments, Evan urged me to stand.
Quietly and reverently, we washed each other before exiting the shower. Running the towel over my body and through my hair, he quickly dried himself off before leading me into the bedroom.
Exhausted, we both fell into bed. Wrapping us around each other, I ran my fingers through his damp hair as I breathed the soothing scent of him in deeply.
“Thank you for coming home to me,” I whispered.
“I missed you so much, Ember,” he said, sounding pained.
“I missed you, too.”
Burying his nose in my hair, he breathed in deeply, hugging me tightly to him.
“I love you,” I whispered without hesitation.
He froze and then pulled away from me. Ice ran through my veins as fear spiked through me. Had I said something wrong? And here, after all this time, I thought he would have been happy to hear me finally say it.
Before I could say anything, he turned on the small light on the bedside table. When he turned back to me, his eyes were wide not with fear but with uncertainty. Cupping my face in his hands, he leaned in closely to me.
“What did you just say?” he said softly as his lips hovered over mine. His warm breath caressed my face.
“I love you?” It came out sounding more like a question than a statement.
“You love me?” he asked, frowning.
Trying to pull away, he only tightened his grip on my face. “Why do you question it?” I asked, unable to hide the hurt in my voice.
“No, baby. I’m not questioning it.” He squeezed his eyes shut, and then gently, but briefly, he pressed his lips to mine. “I know how much those three little words have been weighing heavily on you lately. I also know that you don’t say them lightly, and I also know how desperately I’ve needed to hear them from you.” He paused for a moment. “Say it again.”
I smiled against his lips. “I love you. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
“Don’t apologize, love.” Pulling away, he reached over to turn the light off. Rolling back towards me, he tucked me beneath him as he settled in between my legs. The feel of his naked body pressed up against mine had woken every nerve ending within me until I was vibrating with need once again.
Pressing his lips against mine, he slipped his tongue in my mouth and kissed me with such sweet passion that it stole my breath. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I weaved my hands into his hair and held him to me as we continued to kiss each other deeply. The love I felt flowing between us made every doubt I felt earlier and every thought I ever had of leaving him vanish.
With his sinful lips moving with mine and his big, warm hands caressing my face tenderly, he took me slowly, bringing me to the brink of euphoria once again, tipping us both over the edge together.
Waking to the sound of Evan’s soft snores in my ear and his hot breaths on my neck had me instinctively wrapping my arms around him. Desperate to feel his warm, hard body pressed against mine, I prayed this was not just another dream. Weeks had past since he came back from London, surprising me while in the shower, and since then we have been separated more than we have been together. The separations were not getting any easier to handle either.
Slowly opening my eyes, I released the breath I was holding as I stared at his beautiful face in slumber. He looked so calm and peaceful with his long, dark lashes fanned across his tanned cheeks. With my bladder screaming in protest, I reluctantly wiggled out from under his heavy body and tiptoed my way to the bathroom.
Walking back into the bedroom, I stopped at the foot of the bed and just stared. He had rolled over and was hugging his pillow. Those beautiful biceps of his were bulging around the soft pillow as he clung onto it tightly. With the sheet pushed down around his waist, the taut muscles of his tattooed back were on full display. The man was utter perfection. I could spend all my waking hours just watching him sleep.
My stomach suddenly growled in protest. Smiling at the thought of surprising him with breakfast in bed, I grabbed his dress shirt from the back of the bathroom door and made my way out to the kitchen.
Heading to the fridge first, I grabbed the grapes, oranges, strawberries, and sliced melon that we got yesterday fresh from the market, figuring that some fresh fruit would be perfect with the croissants we also got.
Opening the cabinet to reach for a bowl, I jumped and yelped when I felt the light touch of a finger trailing up the back of my bare leg. Spinning around, I found Evan in nothing but his boxer briefs standing behind me with a devilish look on his handsome face.
“What are you up to, beautiful?” he asked, placing his hands on the counter behind me, caging me in. His voice was a little rough and ras
py from sleep, which was sexy as hell.
Wrapping my fingers around the edge of the counter behind me, I leaned back as he leaned in closer. His close proximity bathed my body in the heat radiating off him. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and just breathed in his unique scent, feeling that fire deep within me begin to build.
Suddenly, his warm lips kissed the skin at the base of my neck before running his tongue up to the corner of my mouth where he placed a gentle kiss. My whole body came alive at his touch. Gripping the counter a little tighter, I squeezed my thighs together, feeling the growing dampness between my legs.
“Are you hungry, doll? Do you want me to feed you?” he whispered with that raspy voice next to my ear.
“Yes,” I breathed.
“Keep those eyes closed,” he demanded.
Excited by this little game, my breathing came quicker as my heart started to pound harder. Pressing his hard body into mine, I could feel him reach behind me. Seconds later the cool, smooth skin of a grape ran along the seam of my lips.
“Open that pretty little mouth for me, baby.”
In response to his command, my lips parted. Slipping the grape into my mouth, I wrapped my lips around his finger before he could remove it, sucking hard. Groaning, he slowly pulled his finger out of my mouth until he freed it with a soft popping sound. Chewing the grape, I felt him reach around me once more.
This time it was his parted lips that met mine. Another grape was being held gently between his teeth for me. Snaking my tongue out and into his mouth, I removed the grape. He roughly pressed his lips to mine as I chewed before kissing and nipping his way down my throat, leaving a scorching trail of wet kisses behind.
Gasping when I felt his hands move to the buttons of my shirt, I fought to keep my eyes closed, wanting nothing more then to see that fire that I knew was burning in his emerald eyes.
Picture Perfect Page 18