Mastered

by Maya Banks

  all you need to do is call down and let me or the concierge know of your wishes and we’ll take care of it immediately and we will deliver the food to your apartment personally.”

  “Oh,” she said slowly, realizing that in her ignorance she’d evidently committed a faux pas.

  “Do you happen to know what you would like? I know of an excellent restaurant that offers both Chinese and Thai just a few blocks from here. I can arrange to have whatever you like delivered within minutes.”

  She rattled off an extensive order, including several appetizers and side items since she intended to sample all of it. The doorman merely nodded and then explained to Evangeline that she should go back up to the apartment and that he would bring the food up in twenty minutes or less.

  “But wait. I need to know how much it cost,” she protested, as she began pulling the folded twenties from her pocket.

  Again the doorman looked horrified and hastily put his hand out in protest.

  “I can’t take your money, Miss Hawthorn. Mr. Donovan would be most displeased. I’ve been instructed to take care of any and all of your requests. He will take care of it, so please don’t concern yourself.”

  Evangeline sighed. Of course. Why hadn’t she anticipated this very thing? Still, not wanting to further upset the sweet doorman, she smiled and shoved the money back into her pocket.

  “Thank you, sir. And please do call me Evangeline. Miss Hawthorn sounds so formal and, well, as I’m sure you can probably tell, I’m hardly the kind of girl who needs to be addressed as Miss anything.”

  The man smiled, seemingly pleased by Evangeline’s overture.

  “Then you must call me Edward, because sir is certainly not something I’m accustomed to either.”

  “Edward it is then,” she said, broadening her smile.

  “And Evangeline, please do let me know anytime I can be of service. I wouldn’t want Mr. Donovan to ever think I wasn’t doing my job properly, and he was quite clear in that you were to be taken care of and that you were to receive priority service.”

  “I certainly will, Edward. I wouldn’t want Mr. Donovan to think either of us was committing some unpardonable sin,” she said with a teasing grin.

  Edward relaxed, a twinkle in his eyes. “You are a breath of fresh air, Miss Evangeline. I think you and I will get along quite famously.”

  “I would like that very much,” she said sincerely. “No one can ever have too many friends.”

  He looked taken aback and then absurdly pleased at the notion that she would consider them friends. But then he likely catered to the extremely wealthy and was likely unused to any sort of deference or respect. Then she immediately felt guilty for making such a sweeping generalization. As if all wealthy people were rude and snobbish. Drake possessed neither of those qualities, though she did doubt he had gone so far as to learn Edward’s first name, much less consider him a “friend.”

  “Now, go on back up so that I can see to your food,” he said, making a shooing motion with his hands. “I can’t have you going hungry on my watch.”

  So this was the life of a rich and pampered princess, she mused as she rode the elevator back up to the apartment. It was still disconcerting to her just how quickly her entire life had been upended and the extreme to which it had changed in such a short time.

  She supposed other women wouldn’t waste time stressing over it and count their blessings. They would likely revel in such a lifestyle and have no problem at all adjusting. However, Evangeline’s pride and the fact that she didn’t see what Drake obviously saw when he looked at her kept her on cautious reserve. But if she wasn’t careful, she was going to come across as an ungrateful shrew, and that was the last thing she ever wanted Drake to think of her. Or anyone, for that matter. Her mother had taught her better and would be greatly disappointed in her were she to discover that Evangeline had ever acted in such a way.

  As she waited for her delivery to be brought up, her cell phone rang and it was a different ringtone. Frowning, she picked it up, seeing Drake’s name as the incoming caller. He must have set a different ringtone for himself since the last time he’d called her so she’d know who was calling before ever looking to see. She smiled, thinking it endearing that he’d done such a thoughtful and sweet thing.

  “Hello?” she said, with eagerness she couldn’t contain from flowing from her greeting.

  “How is my angel today?” he asked in a gruff voice. “Not overdoing it, are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she said truthfully. “I barely feel it at all.”

  There was a short silence and then, “I’m going to be late again tonight. I’m sorry but it’s unavoidable. I have a late meeting that couldn’t be rescheduled. I had hoped to be home in time to take you out for dinner tonight, but I’d rather you not wait on me since I don’t know what time I’ll be there. If you’d still like to eat out, I’ll have one of my men come pick you up and take you wherever you’d like to go, or if you prefer, you can stay in. It’s your call.”

  There was sincere regret in his tone that told her he had intended their evening to go a lot differently, and it bolstered her spirits to know he was disappointed that he wouldn’t see her as soon as he’d planned.

  “I ordered takeout for lunch so I doubt I’ll feel much like eating later, but if I do, I’ll make something here. I think I’d rather stay in,” she said quietly.

  There was a distinct pause as he seemed to analyze her response.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “No,” she said in a near whisper. “There’s nothing wrong at all, Drake. Please don’t worry about me when you have business matters to attend to. I’ll see you when you get home.”

  Before allowing him to question her further, and he would have, she ended the phone call and then turned off the ringer, not wanting to get into her conflicted feelings that even she didn’t fully understand, so how could she expect Drake to?

  A few moments later, she received a text from Drake that she wasn’t at all sure what to make of.

  Silas will be by for a few minutes to deliver you a bank card and two credit cards, all of which are in your name. He will also give you a substantial amount of cash in case you have need of it. Activate all cards and I expect you to use them for anything you need. And I mean everything, Angel.

  Now she wondered if the doorman had immediately called Drake to inform him of the fact that she’d tried to pay for her takeout. She winced because she didn’t want or need a bank card and two credit cards, much less the cash Drake had said that Silas would be bringing over. But again, thoughts of her acting like an ungrateful shrew put a halt to any further lamenting. She could accept them with grace, but it didn’t mean she actually had to go crazy and break the bank on an unnecessary shopping trip. She would simply use the cards or the cash when she bought groceries for the nights Drake wanted her to cook.

  She wandered through the apartment, checking out the rooms she hadn’t yet been into. When she walked into what appeared to be Drake’s home office, she froze and immediately retreated, feeling as though she were intruding in an off-limits area.

  There were four bedrooms in all, though the only one she’d even been in or seen until now was Drake’s. Everywhere she went in the spacious apartment that covered the entire top floor of the building, Drake’s presence was imprinted. Even the décor reflected sheer masculinity. There was no froufrou or stylish elegance. Just all male. A strong alpha presence that surrounded her and immersed herself in him even when he wasn’t here.

  It was comforting and it made her feel secure even in his absence. She realized this was her haven, her sanctuary. A barrier between her and the harsh, outside world.

  The buzz of the intercom sounded, and she hurried over to answer.

  “Miss Hawthorn, um, I mean Evangeline,” Edward hastily corrected. “Your food has arrived, but another gentleman is here to see you and has offered to bring the food up with him. Is that all right?”

  “Is it S
ilas?” she questioned.

  “Yes.”

  “Then of course send him up and thank you again, Edward, for your patience and kindness. I appreciate it.”

  “Any time, Evangeline. If there is anything I can ever do for you, let me know at once.”

  She moved away from the intercom and then hastily went into the kitchen, not wanting to appear as though she were eagerly awaiting Silas’s arrival. Had he been assigned this particular duty or had he volunteered? She sighed, because did it really matter?

  A brief longing hit her square in the chest because ever since she’d moved in with Drake, not one morning had she awakened in his arms. Every morning she woke alone, Drake long gone with only the prerequisite gift and a note. She’d give every single gift back just to have one morning when she woke with his arms snugly around her, and when she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was him.

  “Evangeline? It’s Silas,” he called from the foyer.

  “In the kitchen,” she called back.

  He appeared a moment later carrying several takeout bags, an amused look on his face.

  “You planning to feed an army?”

  She grinned, relaxing. “I was hungry and everything sounded good, so I decided to order a little bit of everything and sample it all.”

  He set the bags down and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of bills and three plastic cards.

  “Drake asked me to drop these off for you.”

  “Yeah,” she murmured, avoiding looking at the cash and cards he slid across the island.

  Instead, she ignored them and began opening the bags as the tantalizing aroma rose, making her stomach growl in anticipation.

  “Have you eaten yet?” she asked impulsively.

  He looked perplexed. “No.”

  “Well, as you can see, I have more than enough food for one. Would you like to join me for lunch? Or do you have other pressing matters to tend to?”

  When he remained silent, looking as though he had no idea what to say to her invitation, she mentally groaned because damn it, she was forever blurting out stuff and clearly Silas was a busy man. All Drake’s men were, and she didn’t want Silas to now feel obligated to eat with her for fear of hurting her feelings.

  “It’s okay if you have to run,” she said hastily. “You certainly won’t hurt my feelings. I wouldn’t want you to miss something important because you were appeasing me.”

  “Not at all,” he said in a solemn voice. “I happen to love Asian food, so if you don’t mind sharing, I’d be honored to have lunch with you.”

  She gave him a delighted smile and then took two plates from the cabinets along with utensils and serving spoons from the drawer. They took seats on the stools at the island, and she and Silas unpacked all the containers and the bags that held the appetizers.

  “Ah, a woman after my own heart,” Silas said with an exaggerated sigh. “All my favorites. Teriyaki chicken skewers, crab rangoon, egg rolls and that’s only for starters. I can’t wait to see what entrées you ordered.”

  “Pork lo mein, spicy, General Tso’s chicken with fried rice, Mongolian beef, kung pao beef, orange chicken and double pan-fried noodles, spicy of course. Oh, and pad see ew. As you can see, it’s not strictly Chinese. There’s some Thai dishes mixed in, so we get the best of both worlds.”

  “I’ll take some of everything,” Silas said.

  Evangeline laughed. “So will I. It’s the reason I ordered a bit of everything. When in doubt, go for it all.”

  “I wholeheartedly agree.”

  They filled their plates to the point of overflowing and then dug in with relish. Silas appeared to enjoy his every bit as much as Evangeline enjoyed hers. It was absolute heaven. It had been months since she’d splurged on her favorite takeout, and she felt decadently indulged where just weeks before she would have felt enormously guilty over such an extravagance.

  “These are the best egg rolls,” Evangeline said, nearly moaning with delight. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a better one. I need to have this restaurant on speed dial. I have a feeling I’ll be ordering takeout at least once a week.”

  “You act as though this is a luxury,” Silas observed, watching her intently.

  She ducked her head and flushed, embarrassment tightening her cheeks.

  “My apologies,” Silas said in a quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  She shook her head. “I’m being ridiculously sensitive. But you’re right. It is—or rather was—a luxury. One that I couldn’t often afford. I work, or rather worked, long hours to make as much money as possible so I could send it home to my parents, who desperately need all the financial support they can get. I kept back only what was absolutely necessary to pay rent, utilities and groceries. Eating out, even takeout, was an extravagance I simply couldn’t afford. I just couldn’t justify it when my parents’ need is so great. So I bought off-brand groceries and cooked for the most part because not eating out meant more money I could send to my parents each week. So yes. You could say this is next to heaven and I plan to stuff myself so full that I’ll likely be sick afterward, but at the moment I just don’t care.”

  Silas’s expression was thunderous and his jaw bulged as he clamped it shut. He looked as though he were exerting great effort not to let loose a torrent of obscenities, surprising since he was so well spoken and not as rough around the edges as some of Drake’s other men.

  After a moment, when he’d visibly regained control of his composure, the tension eased.

  “If you’re game, then I vote we have a weekly lunch date. I’ll bring takeout, whatever you have a taste for that week, and we’ll have lunch together. Sound good?”

  She sent him a dazzling smile, unknowing of the effect it had on the closed-off, hardened man and the fact that something inside him softened when he thought himself incapable of experiencing such feelings. He’d been dead-on when he’d told Evangeline that she was special. In fact, she was one of a kind, and the fact that she had no clue made her all the more genuine. What might his childhood have been like if he’d had someone like Evangeline to shine light into the darkness of his unending despair?

  “I’d love that,” she said, her excitement not at all concealed.

  “Deal, then,” he said. “Just let me know a day when you’re free and Drake doesn’t have plans for you and you intend to stay in for the day, and I’ll come over and bring the food.”

  She frowned. “But you can’t just drop everything on a whim and come have lunch at the drop of the hat.”

  “Can’t I?” he asked, his tone serious. “I set my schedule and unless Drake has an urgent matter for me to attend to, everything else can be put on hold.”

  Whoa. The more she became acclimated to Drake’s world, the more she realized that his “men,” though claiming to work for Drake, seemed more like partners—brothers in a sense—than subordinates who took orders from the “boss.” Clearly they set their own schedules and came and went as they pleased unless, as Silas had mentioned, Drake had an urgent matter that needed immediate attention. And she didn’t want to know what constituted an “urgent matter.”

  “Okay, deal.” Then she frowned. “Do I have your cell number in my phone? I barely know how to work the damn thing.”

  He reached across the island to pick up her phone. After fiddling with it mere seconds, he leaned over so she could see the screen where her contacts were displayed.

  “Here’s Drake’s number,” he said, pointing to Drake’s name and the number below it.

  “What are all those other numbers?” she asked, astounded by how many numbers were in her contacts.

  “After Drake is Maddox.” He frowned a moment and punched a series of buttons, taking it from her sight for a brief period, and then extended it out so she could view it once more. “I took the liberty of moving my number directly beneath Drake’s. If for any reason you run into trouble, I want you to call me if you can’t reach Drake.”

  She lifted an e
yebrow but didn’t say anything, not wanting to inadvertently offend him. And well, it was sweet that he seemed to have taken over the role of her secondary protector.

  “After me, there’s Maddox, Justice, Thane, Jax, Hartley, Hatcher, Zander and Jonas. I notice your parents aren’t in your contacts and neither are your girlfriends, so you should probably enter those. I can do it for you if you give me names and numbers.”

  Evangeline wrinkled her brow. “Who is Jonas? I don’t think I’ve met him.”

  Silas smiled. “You will. No doubt there. Drake will make sure that you’re well acquainted with all the men assigned to your protection.”

  “Does Zander really have to be in my contacts?” she asked, not even trying to keep the irritation from her voice.

  Silas surprised her by covering her hand with his and giving it a light squeeze. “Zander isn’t the asshole he can appear to be. Granted, you two didn’t get off on the right foot, but he’s a good man, and he’d go to the wall for any of us and now you. There is no way he would ever allow anyone to harm you under his watch. He’s rough around the edges and has the manners of a boar, but you won’t find many men more loyal than him. He’s not quite sure what to make of you yet, so you have him nervous, and that is not a feeling he likes or is well acquainted with.”

  “I make him nervous?” she asked incredulously. “He could squash me like a bug with his pinkie finger!”

  Mirth shone in Silas’s eyes, momentarily shocking her, because he was always so quiet and solemn. Serious. As though he rarely had reason to laugh or be amused by anything.

  “None of Drake’s men know quite what to make of you yet. You’re nothing like they’ve ever encountered before, so they haven’t been able to figure you out yet, which doesn’t make them happy because they feel at a disadvantage. I think they are intimidated by you.”

  She shook her head in disbelief and then laughed at the idea of all those badass, not-to-be-fucked-with men being intimidated by her. It was absolutely hysterical and she couldn’t stop laughing. She was wheezing by the time she gained control over her outburst.

  “You think I’m pulling one over on you,” Silas said, his expression serious. “But I’m telling you the absolute truth. For that matter, we’re all convinced that Drake hasn’t quite figured you out either, and that is pretty damn funny because he can read people as easily as reading a book. But ever since you walked into his club, he’s not been himself at all.”

  Evangeline frowned at that. “I’m not sure how to take that. As in I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

  Silas smiled as they continued eating, the cell phone resting on the island for the moment.

  “I’ve known Drake a long time, Evangeline, and trust me. It’s very good. You are good for him. The best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

  She froze, taking in the huge impact that statement had on her. Her heart fluttered and her pulse beat erratically as happiness seeped all the way into the deepest recesses of her soul.

  They ate in silence a few more moments before Silas returned his attention to her phone.

  “If anything, and I mean anything should ever happen, if you run into a situation that makes you remotely uncomfortable or you are hurt, threatened or injured in any way, you are to immediately call Drake first. If you can’t reach him, then you call me. I have my phone on me twenty-four-seven, so it’s doubtful you won’t be able to reach me. But, in the unlikely event that you don’t get me, then you go down the line in order and call every single one of Drake’s men until you get one of them. You do not want to have to answer to Drake if shit goes down and you didn’t call anyone, so I want your promise, Evangeline. No matter what, no matter how small or unimportant you think it is, you are to pick up the phone and start calling, yeah?”

  Her eyes widened, but she swallowed her mouthful of food and then replied, “Yes. I got it. And yes, I promise.”

  “Good. Now, do you need help putting in your other contacts?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “At the risk of sounding like a ditzy stereotypical blonde, I’m completely tech illiterate, so yes please, if you don’t mind, would you enter my parents’ number and then my girlfriends’? There are only five numbers to enter, so it won’t take much of your time.”

  “I don’t have anywhere to be, Evangeline, so stop apologizing with your expression and worrying that you’re taking up too much of my time.”

  “Thanks,” she said warmly. “I really like you, Silas. You’ve been nothing but sweet and kind to me. You have no idea how much it meant both times you came to my ‘rescue.’”

  He looked as though she’d just accused him of being an ax murderer, judging by the look on his face. He nearly choked as he stared at her in stupefaction.

  “For God’s sake,” he muttered. “I am neither sweet or kind, and no one has ever said or thought so. I’m not a good man, Evangeline. I won’t lie to you. You seem to have a misguided opinion of me. You are far too trusting. It’s a good way to get yourself hurt or killed.” He shook his head. “No, I’m not a good man at all, but you have nothing to fear from me. I swear it on my life. Even if you weren’t Drake’s woman, you would have my unconditional protection, which is why I want me to be the second person you call if you can’t reach Drake and you’re in trouble or need help.”

  “And you’re wrong, Silas,” she said stubbornly. “I don’t know what kind of bullshit you’ve been subjected to or who made you feel like you were somehow less, but whoever it was is a worthless piece of shit and if I ever find out who made you feel this way about yourself I’ll kick their ass and then I’ll have Zander finish the job since he’d probably enjoy that kind of thing.”

  Silas looked shocked and bewildered, a host of what could only be called “what the fuck” expressions, but then to her surprise he threw back his head and laughed. A full-throated, genuine laugh of amusement, something she hadn’t imagined him capable of. She stared in wonder at how his laughter, such a beautiful sound, completely transformed him from a quiet, polished, restrained, well-mannered man with more shadows in his eyes than true color to someone who looked years younger. The lines and grooves on his face and forehead simply disappeared and his eyes sparkled with genuine laughter. All she could do was stare in fascination, unable to look away from the breathtaking transformation occurring right in front of her.