A Prior Engagement (35 page)

“He can’t touch us, my love.”

“He said he’d keep you from graduating and he’d ruin your reputation in New York so you can’t find a job. I had to stay with him. You’ve worked too hard to have me destroy it. I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt you in any way.”

“You were willing to marry a psycho to help me?” He cupped her face. “Evie, beautiful Evie, you can’t ruin my future. You only make my future brighter. You should have never even considered ruining yours over some false sense of saving me.”

“It wasn’t false—”

His hands slid down her neck and stopped on her shoulders where he grasped her gently. “Evie! Listen to me. I’ve already graduated. My degree was signed two weeks ago by Professor Lang. I’m done with school. And I have a job lined up already. So stop worrying about me and let’s figure out how to get off this roof.” They walked to the edge and looked over the short barrier wall down to the sidewalk. They could see people rushing back and forth below and they turned and smiled at each other.

But then they heard
him
and that wiped the grins right off their face.

“Everleigh? Everleigh!”

Tom.

She moved away from the edge, afraid he might see her. Her hands started to shake, and William could see the fear start to overwhelm her.

With one last glance down, he saw Tom searching frantically for Evie. William backed away and faced her straight on, grabbing her arms, and making her look at him. “He can’t hurt me and I won’t let him hurt you. I promise. We’re going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.”

Echoes of Tom’s calls for her return filled the air and they embraced. Exhaling, she closed her eyes before looking back up into William’s, her voice just a whisper. “I love you. He can’t hurt us. He can’t hurt us.” It was as if Evie was reminding herself instead of repeating the last part for William.

“I love you, and no, he can’t hurt us.” William watched her, waiting for his words to sink in.

Her expression softened in relief and she took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “Never again.”

William smiled. “Never again.”

She nodded as he pulled her to his chest again.

It became eerily quiet, the standard city noises replacing the calls for Evie and it alarmed William for a second, knowing Tom and his gang would start searching the hotel. “I think we should go now. We’ll take the elevator because I’m thinking they’ll try the stairwell this time.”

Evie stopped him right before he walked into the stairwell that would lead them to the bank of elevators on the top floor. “Are you sure I’m worth the trouble?”

William squeezed her hand and flashed his most charming, irresistible smile. “All this trouble and more, baby. C’mon, let’s go home.”

Evie loved the sound of the word “home” when William said it. It conjured up thoughts of safety and love, happiness, and passion. Hope.

Chapter 29

Evie entered William’s apartment unsure of how she would feel. He shut the door, but remained near it watching her, letting her take her time.

She smiled, feeling calm which was a feeling she had come to appreciate since she hadn’t felt it since the last time she was here. “I missed this place,” she said, glancing at him behind her. As she got more comfortable by stealing one of his T-shirts out of the small dresser, he let out a long pent-up breath, finally relaxing.

The plan had worked. His plan to win her back, the love of his existence, worked and she was here with him.

Kicking off her shoes, she then went into the bathroom. Her stuff, the stuff she bought from a drugstore the last time she had escaped, was still here—almost like it was waiting for her. She brushed her teeth and went back into the main room holding her evening dress in her hand while wearing just his T-shirt. She took a hanger from the closet and hung it up by hooking it onto the door frame. It would never fit inside of his tiny closet. “My stuff is still here. You kept it just how I left it.”

He sat at the desk and she joined him, feeling at home on his lap, and running her fingers through his hair.

“I hoped you’d be back,” he said with sincerity, wrapping his arms around her hips and resting his head on her shoulder.

She kissed the top of his head, catching sight of the cup of highlighters, which made her laugh. “I really did miss this place.” He stood, letting his body slide up the front of hers as she added, “I missed you most of all.”

They kissed, both knowing it would be more than kissing this time.

William pulled back, his breathing heavy, wanting Evie so much, but he knew he had to stop. “I need a shower. I worked eleven hours today.”

She wrapped her arms around his middle and held him. “I like your smell. You smell so . . . manly.” He wasn’t doused in expensive colognes, and she wasn’t going to hide her feelings anymore and with him, she didn’t have to. They had made their decision to be with each other and nothing would change her mind now. “I think you smell,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “sexy.”

He smiled because he knew she was probably blushing. He didn’t want to embarrass her though, but also didn’t want to be with her when he was this dirty. “I smell sweaty and gross. Make yourself at home. I’ll only be a few minutes.” He walked into the bathroom leaving her there, leaving her smiling like the girl in love that she was.

When he returned to the living room, freshly showered and wearing only a pair of boxers, the television was on and Evie was curled up on the bed. She sat up, patted the space next to her, and smiled. “I could sleep forever. It’s so comfortable. It may sound weird, but I missed this bed.”

William laughed because she kept naming everything she missed about his place and him, but it also made him feel good inside.

She had clicked the television off, and he had left the tiny lamp in the corner on for a soft glow.

She was now sprawled across his bed, owning it, relishing the feel of it. “You came for me tonight. You fought for me.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Yes, anything for you.”

He didn’t bother with a shirt and they both slid under the covers, resting their heads on the pillow together. Their smiles morphed into a more intense connection.

Evie looked down, running her hand languidly across his bare chest and her lips parted allowing her to take a deeper breath. William took the opportunity and moved closer wanting more contact, wanting to feel her body fully against his. They kissed, reacquainting themselves in a gentle way. After a while, he leaned over, moving more on top of her. His hand dragged her shirt up and his fingertips traced over her stomach. He wanted to take things slow and appreciate her entire body, but he also wanted her so much that he struggled to find a balance between respectful and pleasing for them both. He slid his finger down the outside of one thigh before sliding up the inside of her other, touching her smooth skin. Her breath caught as she succumbed to her own feelings and to pleasure for the first time in years.

“William,” she said more breathy than she liked, slightly embarrassed, but releasing that feeling because it felt so good.
His hands on her felt so good.

They continued kissing, deepening it even more as his hips shifted, pressing harder against her leg and showing her how she made him feel, how she worked him up.

William’s mind was focused. Nothing in the world existed except Evie right then. His mind was filled with her, his ears tuned into her small, alluring moans, his body loving her touch against his, and the smell of her skin with a hint of wildflowers enveloping him. There was a hint of mint and champagne on her breath as he breathed her in, and when he opened his eyes to make sure she was really there, he lost himself even more into the bliss of Evie beneath him.

“Evie.” He moaned into her mouth as they both shifted. Pulling back enough to see her face, he looked into her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

“Mm-hmm. I want to be with you. So much.”

She had said she wanted to be with him, but he still wanted to be careful. He knew the monster never had been.

She sat up and took her shirt off then reached for her panties, slowly pulling them down. Evie’s heart raced, hoping he liked her body, her shape,
all of
her
.

William’s breath shortened as he watched her remove her clothes for him, showing him how much she also wanted this.

He showed her by taking off his boxer shorts and climbing back into bed. As she looked him over, her hand slid down from his shoulder to his chest, lower to his stomach, and then stopped. Her eyes were on his erection and then her fingertips. She was being so careful he barely felt her touch as she dragged the tips down and around him making him twitch.

William sat up. “Lay down.” She did, but wrapped her hand around his hardness and began to move slowly.

“God, that feels good.”

Evie wanted to please him. His pleasure meant everything to her. She leaned closer to his ear as he lay next to her with his eyes closed, and said, “Tell me if I’m doing it wrong.”

William’s eyes popped open and he shook his head in disbelief. “Wrong? Baby, it feels so right.” She smiled and tightened her grip, moving a little faster. “But you’ve got to slow down or this will be over too fast and I want to make you feel good, too.” It was a half plea on his part.

She looked at him, her eyes meeting his. They didn’t need any more words. They moved where their bodies wanted until William was positioned between her legs.

With his arms straight, he was above her, admiring every line and curve of her body. She was more stunning than his mind had imagined before. And as his eyes made their way from hers down to her breasts and lower, he saw she had stopped breathing. He whispered, “It’s all right. We’re not in a hurry. I’ll go slow.”

She nodded and then a small smile played on her lips because she was about to make love to the man of her dreams. But she sensed a hesitancy just as his body touched her down there.

He pushed back up. “I need to get a condom. They’re in the bathroom.”

Evie felt like she had to say something to justify her hesitation. “I don’t want you to, but…” She closed her eyes feeling ashamed. Tom made her feel that way. Being with Tom made her ashamed she ever allowed him to touch her in the first place. “We should . . .” She couldn’t finish, the words lumped in her throat. She turned her head not able to face him, wanting to hide her dishonorable tears from him.

William refused to let her feel guilty. She had nothing to be ashamed of, and it ripped his heart out to see her feeling like she betrayed him in some way. Resting his body on hers, he touched her cheeks with his hands. “Evie, look at me.” He waited for her to look before he continued. “I love you. We’re together now. The past doesn’t matter. No one else matters. No apologies are needed. No shame is allowed. The past is in the past. Right here, right now is all that matters. Okay?”

She nodded. The tears that had already fallen were the only ones that would be shed between them.

William kissed her then went to the bathroom to retrieve the condoms.

Evie steeled herself in the short time he was gone.
He was right, damn it!
She did nothing wrong and the past was in the past.

When he returned, he climbed back under the covers and they kissed. She kept kissing him while she got on top of him, positioning him right where she wanted to feel him. They both moaned into each other’s mouth and his hands held onto her waist keeping her where she was as she started rocking.

He was solid beneath her mini gyrations and she pulled back from his mouth, taking the condom in her hands. William watched with rapt attention as she rolled it down his length. “I want you on top,” she whispered, looking down at him.

They rolled together, his fingers making their way up the inside of her thigh. He paused to press his forehead to hers before proceeding. Feeling her chest heavy against his, he took a deliberate and necessary breath, but she still gasped when he touched her so intimately.

William was surprised to feel how ready she was for him. He debated if any more foreplay was even wanted on either part.

“William?” She said his name as a question, but it was clear they both had already decided.

He positioned himself once again between her legs and pushed gently, not going any further . . . yet. Evie’s hands found his shoulders and she wiggled, causing him to enter her. Taking her cue, he pushed forward, her warmth enveloping him. William dropped his head to the pillow beneath hers, and he moaned in pleasure. “Mmmm, Baby.”