“Who was that?” Eva asked.
“My commanding officer. I’m heading out first thing in the morning. We’ve been deployed to help with the situation.” I set my phone down beside me, itching to head to my place for my military garb.
“What? That’s insane,” she said. “You can’t go out in that.”
“I have to. It’s what I signed on to do with the National Guard. We go where we’re needed, when we’re needed,” I said. I took the last few sips of my cocoa, and set the mug on her coffee table. “I’ll be fine. I’m happy to help. It’s the sense of duty that I love most.”
“What time do you have to leave?”
“I need to be at the armory, ready to head out, by 7 a.m.”
“That early? How are you even going to get anywhere? You can’t take your car,” she insisted.
I enjoyed her level of concern for me. Maybe more than I should.
“I’ll call my buddy who’s in the Guard too, and see if he can swing by in his beast of a truck to pick me up,” I said.
“Okay.” She took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out.
“I guess I’d better make that call now.” I scooped my phone up, and scrolled through my contacts for Andrew’s number.
Eva took my mug and hers to the kitchen sink. I tapped on Andrew’s name. He picked up on the fourth ring, just when I thought it would go straight to his voicemail.
“Hey, what’s up?” Andrew answered.
“I’m guessing you already got the call?” I asked, my eyes locking on Eva in the kitchen.
“Sure did. Thoughts?”
“Crazy weather, serious challenge. I’m there.” I smiled.
Eva’s back seemed to stiffen at my words. Some people could handle the military lifestyle and others couldn’t. It was a fact. The lights flickered again, and I noticed her wrap her arms around herself tightly while moving to stare out the window above the sink.
“I know,” Andrew said.
“Listen, I’m not even home. I got stuck at a—” I paused, unsure of what Eva and I were. What I was supposed to say to finish this sentence. Only one word described her in my head, so I went with it, deciding if she wanted to correct me when I hung up, then she would and I’d deal with it. “I got stuck at my girlfriend’s house. Think you can swing by and pick me up before you head to the armory? I’ll need you to swing by my place on the way too. I’m not sure my car will be able to handle driving in this kind of weather.”
Eva turned to look at me, probably due to my word choice. Her face was expressionless, leaving me no way of knowing how she had taken the label I’d placed on her.
“You should have kept your truck for times like this. I told you that,” Andrew chided me.
“Yeah, yeah, you know why I sold it.” And he did. Andrew was the one who was there when word finally got to me about my brother.
“I know, man. I’m just razzing you. Sorry,” he said. “Yeah, I can swing by there and get you. No problem.”
“Thanks.” I smiled, knowing I could always count on Andrew.
After rattling off some directions to him, I hung up. Setting my phone on the coffee table, I walked over to where Eva stood by the window. She was still staring at me.
“Girlfriend, huh?” She arched an eyebrow.
My face heated. “Friend didn’t sound like the right word.”
She nodded. “Yeah, friends don’t go on dates, and they damn sure don’t kiss.”
Her lips were pressed against mine before I had time to think about what she’d said. Eva’s hands came up, and her fingers intertwined in my hair. I wrapped one arm around her tiny waist, thinking there was no way friends kissed like this. Slipping my tongue along her bottom lip, I begged for entrance into her warm mouth. The second she parted her lips wider for me, I thrust my tongue inside and caressed it along hers in gentle strokes. Pulling her body closer to mine with a mild tug, I fastened my hands on both of her hips, and continued in my exploration of her mouth.
Her fingers made their way down the sides of my face, brushing against the stubble present there. She secured her hands behind my neck, and attempted to speed up the kiss. Pulling away, I lightly kissed along her jawline and slid my palms up underneath the sheer top and turquoise tank she wore. Her skin was warm and silky soft to the touch, just as I’d imagined it would be. When I reached her collarbone in my trail of kisses, her head hung back and she let out a soft moan. For the first time tonight, I passed semi-wood without caring.
“Come on,” Eva breathed. “Let’s move to my bedroom.”
Pressing my lips to the hollow of her throat, I swallowed hard. Was this happening? Was I really about to get a taste of this woman? The wind howled outside, and the lights flickered again. I guess I had a snowstorm to thank for it.
I followed Eva out of the kitchen, down the narrow hallway, and into a dark room that smelled of coconuts. She flipped on a bedside lamp, and I smiled. I loved a girl who was confident enough in her body to make love with the lights on. Pressing myself against her, I cupped both sides of her face between my hands, and brushed my lips across hers in a featherlight touch. She gripped the front of my shirt as she fell back onto the bed.
Falling forward on her, I shifted myself until both of my arms were resting on either side of her. After laying all the way back against the mattress, she tugged at the edge of my shirts. Gripping them from behind, I peeled them both off in one swift movement and tossed them onto her carpeted floor. Eva stared at me, her eyes roaming over my bare chest. Her fingertips trailed along the scrolling script etched across my chest—the tattoo I’d mentioned to her earlier.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow,” she read aloud. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
Her lips came up and kissed along the smooth skin of my tattoo. I felt her tongue flick out here and there, licking at my skin. I couldn’t even name the sensation that slipped through me from the contact of her action.
“I showed you mine. Now, you have to show me yours,” I teased, pulling at the sheer white shirt she still had on.
A smile twisted her lips as she pulled off both of her tops, revealing a lacy purple bra beneath. Stunning—there was no other word to describe her in this moment. Her brown hair, with its slight highlights, splayed across the green of her sheets as her beautiful eyes stared up at me. Her skin was smooth and unblemished. Her stomach toned tight, and there was a pale yellow piercing in her navel. Good God, could she get any hotter?
Eva’s hands wrapped around my neck, and pulled me down to her. Her lips pressed against mine in a fiery way. There was nothing casual about this kiss; it was all raw and primal. Normally, in a situation where it was the first time, I’d be apt to ask if she was sure this was what she wanted, but nothing about Eva made me question that. She was willing, and one hundred percent ready. It was written all over her face.
Making my way down her neck with a trail of kisses, I nipped and sucked here and there along my journey to that pale yellow belly button ring. Just the sight of it had turned me on like nothing ever before. The desire to finish undressing her, so I could see what other surprises she had for me to find, nearly overwhelmed me, but somehow, I managed to maintain my cool and continue at the slow pace I’d set. When I reached her navel, I twirled my tongue around the outside, and dug my fingertips into her hips. Eva moaned, and I found myself having to pause and take in a deep breath.
The woman didn’t even realize the test of my willpower she was putting me through.
Fumbling with the button on her jeans, I pulled back once I unfastened it so she could wiggle out of them. Her panties matched her bra—all purple lace and sexy as hell. I wondered if she’d done this for me.
Eva’s fingers were at the button of my jeans next, working blindly to undo them so I could be just as naked as her.
Reaching down to help her out, I shucked them off and tossed them to the side while devouring her mouth with mine once more. Unclasping her br
a, I slung it across the room and cupped her right breast. Fingering the nipple gently, until it hardened and pebbled for me, I then dipped down and took it into my mouth. I lightly sucked and tugged at with my teeth, knowing the reaction I would surely get out of her. Eva didn’t disappoint. She bucked against me and panted as her fingers ran through my hair wildly.
“Oh my God, It’s been way too long…” she trailed off, and slipped a hand inside my boxers. “Way too long.”
The feel of her soft hand gliding against me nearly made me combust. I inhaled sharply, and raked my teeth across her hardened nipple. We were both gunning to drive one another wild. Tonight held the promise of being more enjoyable than I’d ever imagined upon waking this morning.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EVA
Sawyer left at the butt crack of dawn the next day. In fact, I wasn’t even sure the sun had come up when he slipped out of bed, and pulled on his clothes. I tugged the sheets up to cover myself as I watched him scurry around by the glow of his cell phone, and smiled. After telling him to be careful, and getting the longest goodbye kiss I’d ever had before, I fell back against my pillow, and listened to him exit my apartment.
I hated that he was gone so soon.
Blinking up at the darkened ceiling of my bedroom, thoughts of last night and our amazing date—plus incredible sex—shifted through my mind. This guy had walked into my life and flipped it upside down with one stare across a park. How the hell did something like this happen?
Wrapped up in the warm sheets that smelled of Sawyer and sex, I couldn’t take the silence echoing through my apartment anymore. Slipping out of bed, I reached for my panties from the floor, and pulled them on. Finding my favorite sweater and a pair of yoga pants, I dressed. My bare feet padded across the carpeted flooring of my apartment toward the kitchen. Flipping on the light, I made myself a cup of coffee while staring out the window at the blanket of white draped over everything.
The snow had finally stopped, but that didn’t mean much. The amount that had accumulated overnight was enough to force schools and area businesses to close. There was no way I was working tonight that was for damn sure, not unless someone came to pick me up in a salt truck and took me.
Gripping my coffee mug, I headed toward the TV to watch the local news station. I wondered if they would do a spotlight on the National Guard members who were on the highways this morning, helping to keep people fed and warm. My cell rang, startling me. Racing to the kitchen, where I’d left it on the counter last night, I checked the screen before answering with the hopes of seeing Sawyer’s name and number.
It was Cameron.
“Hey, what are you doing calling me at—” I glanced at the clock on my microwave. “Six thirty in the morning? You planning to take me to breakfast or something?”
This was how our conversations always were—filled with teasing, fun banter.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to swing that one,” he said. “Just wanted to call and see how you were holding up during the wicked blizzard of twenty fourteen?”
I took a small sip of my coffee, hoping the swallowing motion would hide the anxiety festering inside my chest surrounding his question. “All right, I guess.”
“You have power?” The concern etched into his words was heartwarming.
Cameron understood my fear of not having power, especially at night. He was the only person who knew of that fear, but he was also the only person who understood the reasons behind it.
Cameron knew practically everything about me.
I’d told him before that when I was nine, I stayed in a foster home with a woman who only enjoyed the check from the state every month she received for being a foster parent. She didn’t like kids. In fact, the majority of the time I spent inside her house, I was locked in a closet underneath the stairs in darkness. If I tried, I could still imagine the inside of that closet—the scratched door and stiff light switch, the exposed bulb where light was supposed to come from but didn’t. To say I was scared of the dark because of this traumatic time as a child wasn’t necessarily true. I was scared of not being able to control when I was surrounded in light—not being able to flip a switch and erase the darkness. Every time the power went out, it tossed me back to being nine and crammed in the tight confinements of that damn closet with a switch that didn’t work.
I loved Cameron for remembering this about me.
“Yeah, it flickered a few times, but never went out,” I said, making my way back to the couch. I tucked my feet beneath me, and took another sip of my coffee.
“We lost ours around ten last night.”
“Ours, huh? Was Paige shacking up with you last night?” I asked.
“You bet. There was no way in hell I was going to let her get trapped in that apartment alone through the brunt of this storm.” I could hear his smile in his words. He loved her so much that it was sickeningly sweet at times.
Heat warmed my cheeks. I was beginning to think I wasn’t too far behind with my feelings for Sawyer. Biting my bottom lip, I nearly drew blood to keep the smile from my face. There was no way I would allow myself to think of him and the damn L word in the same sentence yet. It was too soon. Way, way too soon.
“I would have come and gotten you too, you know,” Cameron said, pulling me from my thoughts. “There just wasn’t enough fucking time. This thing hit fast and hard.”
“I know, but I wasn’t alone either. I had company, so you shouldn’t have worried.” I smiled, knowing this news would send his mind into a tailspin, simply because I had yet to mention Sawyer to him at all.
Yes, he was my best friend, but he was also a guy who had big brother tendencies when it came to me. I didn’t want him to put any fear into Sawyer using those tendencies or to rub him the wrong way until I’d decided if Sawyer was going to be more than a sexual release to me.
Sexual release? Somehow, thinking of Sawyer as nothing more than that seemed wrong on so many levels.
“You had company? Who?” Cam asked, exactly like I knew he would.
“She had company! Oh my God! Give me the phone!” Paige demanded from in the background. There was a muffled sound before she came on the phone. “Hey! So was it Sawyer? Was he your company last night?”
“Sawyer? Who’s Sawyer?” I heard Cameron ask in the background.
“Her new guy,” Paige informed him. “Go ahead, spill. How was your date last night? Did you two have fun? Is he still there now?”
Her last words were a whisper, as though Sawyer would be able to hear her question if he would have been inside my apartment still.
“No, he’s not here anymore,” I said, unbelieving how deflated my words sounded.
“Oh.” It was obvious from Paige’s tone she’d caught on to my disappointment. “Hold on, let me go into the other room.”
“Other room?” Cameron shouted after her. “Why do you have to go to the other room? She was my friend first, you know.”
“I know that. This is girl-talk though,” Paige called back. “And I don’t need you hovering over my every word. I’ll let you talk to her again in a minute.”
I laughed at the two of them. “You guys crack me up.”
“Okay, so what happened?” she asked after I heard the click of a door closing. “You don’t sound too thrilled about him being gone. Was it like a one-night stand or something to him?”
“No, nothing like that,” I said. I took another sip of my coffee, and then set the mug down. Pulling the blanket I’d used last night over my legs, I prepared myself to tell her the whole story. Paige listened, remaining practically mute and only giving me a little “uh-huh” or “wow” every now and then until I finished. “Then he got the call from his commanding officer, or whatever he called him, and found out he was being sent to help with the situation first thing this morning.”
“That’s crazy,” she breathed. “He’s an actual soldier. Are you worried about him at all?”
Even though I’d only gone on three dates w
ith him, each one had been incredible. The length of time I’d known Sawyer had been short, but the level of worry I had for him while he was out in this nasty weather didn’t reflect it in the slightest.
“Yeah, I am. Is that strange?” I asked. “I mean, should I be worried about him as much as I am? We haven’t known each other long.”
Paige had been my closest female friend since she and Cameron had gotten together. In the beginning, I’d wondered if her kindness and unrelenting invites to hang out had simply been because of a desire to know me better so she could choose which category to place me in—friend or enemy. I’d also wondered if it was her way of attempting to figure out what was there between Cameron and me, if it was something more than friends between us like we’d claimed.
It took me a little while to realize her reasons were none of the above. Paige just really wanted to be friends with me because I was a part of Cameron’s life, and she respected that. She wanted to accept everything about him, and that included me as well. I was grateful to her in more ways than one, even though I’d never told her so. Somewhere along the line, she’d become the person I went to when I needed help figuring a guy situation out, or when I needed to know if I was thinking too much on a certain undesirable trait I’d found.
I was hoping Paige would tell me I was falling too fast, because that’s exactly what I felt like I was doing.
“I think you’re as worried as you should be,” she said. “I’ve looked out the windows. I know what’s blasting around out there. I know how horrible the roads must be, and I’ve seen the news. If anything, I’d be more worried about you if you weren’t concerned about his wellbeing.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. A small sense of relief trickled through me at her words. Maybe it was okay to feel for someone so soon. “I guess put me back on with Cameron so I can endure his wrath for being left in the dark.” I smiled, eager to hear what he would say to me first.
“All right.” Paige chuckled. “I’m pretty sure he’s been standing outside the bedroom door. Hold on.”
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