Embezzled Love (17 page)

She rolled off the bed, stood, and engaged in a seductive striptease. Lust in his eyes, Evan followed her every move, then rose and shed his remaining attire.

Snaking an arm around her naked waist, he reeled her back onto the bed. This time, he took control…sitting low across her hips and teasing her erect nipples, rolling them between his thumbs and forefingers until she writhed with desire. She yearned for the feel of him inside her…wanted to envelop every inch of him. Something had turned her into an erotic vixen, and she loved it.

Her pleading eyes caught his gaze. "Take me now, Evan, please."

He ceased kneading her breasts and inched his way further down her body until his mouth found her innermost part. Urging her legs apart, he insinuated himself between them and lapped at her very core. He suckled the pulsing knob of her womanhood and loosened a sexual explosion inside her. Her fingers splayed through his hair, she pulled him upward, enticing him to fill her to overflowing and ride her until she reached the utmost pinnacle. Evan flattened against her, and pursuing entrance to a place warm and moist, buried himself in her depths.

Cassie's breath came in rapid gasps as their bodies moved in unison. Faster, faster, faster, until her heart pulsed in her temples and hammered in her chest. At that ultimate moment, her body seized and drained Evan of every bit of sexual juice he offered.

Evan, his chest rising and falling with the force of someone recently involved in heavy exercise, rolled to her side. His eyes were closed but the look on his face showed pure contentment.

Totally spent, but still exhilarated, Cassie reached over and pushed a damp lock from Evan's forehead. "Wow, cowboy, you sure know how to please a woman." Her words came in breathless huffs.

His eyelids fluttered open and he smiled. "Yeah? Well, you aren't a slouch either. I can't remember the last time I felt like this."

Evan turned to his side, propped his elbow on the bed, and supported his head in his palm. "You are one beautiful filly. Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

She stroked his cheek. "I believe you just did…well, maybe not in words, but I got your meaning."

Her stomach rumbled and she clasped her belly. "Seems I'm getting another message. How about we get dressed and head downstairs for a bite to eat? Now that Mom's home, we'll have to be a little more clandestine. Even if she does have her own living space, she wanders sometimes."

Evan scrambled off the bed, grabbed his pants and hurried into the bathroom. He stuck his head around the door. "Last one dressed has to cook."

* * *

Cassie heard a familiar vehicle in the driveway and hurried outside. As promised, Evan's trip lasted only a week.

"Hey," he shouted as she approached. "The windows made the trip home in the rented van with no problem. Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did." She accepted his hug and quick peck on the lips. In truth, she’d stayed so busy she’d barely noticed him gone, except at night in their big, empty bed.

He slid open the van's cargo door and started removing the windows. "Marlene sends her love and hopes to meet you soon. The jobs are done, and I even brought back all my tools."

"That's great. Now you can concentrate on this." She gestured toward the unfinished office. "I'm tired of walking through a war zone to get in the house."

"It'll be done soon. You'll see." He grabbed another vinyl pane and heaved it atop his shoulder. "These are gonna work out fine. I even got a ten percent discount on them."

Cassie lugged his suitcase into the house while he finished unloading the van. A ten percent discount? She shook her head and did a mental calculation. Gasoline, a rented vehicle, expenses along the way. Yeah, boy, that ten percent really mattered.

Going directly to the laundry room with Evan's bag, Cassie sorted through his clothes and loaded the dirty ones into the washer. As she added each piece, she routinely checked pockets. The man had a gum addiction and never threw away an empty wrapper. Laundry loaded, she started the washer at the same time hammering began outside. At the kitchen window, she peeked out and watched Evan putting in the first of his new windows. The sight of him, shirtless, warmed her. His rippling arm muscles, tanned back and chest together with his taut behind created a pleasing vision as he climbed up and down the ladder. God, he looked good. Her heart fluttered in anticipation of the homecoming night she expected to enjoy.

"What's all that racket?" Mom's voice interrupted Cassie's lustful thoughts.

She patted her racing heart. "Evan is working on the office…and you have to stop sneaking up on me like that."

"Sorry." Her mom chuckled. "I'll try to walk heavier so you can hear me coming." She grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry and wandered back toward her room.

Sunday sped by. Cassie finished the laundry, some paperwork, and made her special lasagna for dinner. She set the table for three, having invited Mom to join them. With the last eating utensil in place and the salad tossed, she poked her head through the open door. "Evan, time to eat."

Her gaze noted his accomplishments. "Wow." Without anyone else helping, he had finished the framing and installed all the windows. The office actually looked like a room. She applauded.

Evan smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Milady."

She giggled at his antics. "Dinner is served, Milord." She curtsied. "You deserve a good meal for a job well done."

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Evan drawled. I've decided when I'm done here, I'm gonna build an apartment over the garage."

The levity of the moment dissipated. Cassie supported herself with the unfinished wall, and widened her eyes. "You're going to do what?"

Chapter Twenty-Two

By the end of the workweek, Cassie was more than ready to leave the office bullshit behind. Thinking about the trip to Vegas, she came home with renewed energy. On her way upstairs, she passed her soon-to-be-relocated desk, and noticed another large stack of mail teetering close to the edge. She paused and considered sorting through the pile, but instead, shifted the mass toward the middle and left it. "Nope, not tonight," she called over her shoulder to the beckoning task. "I'm doing something much more entertaining."

Evan was already in the shower. An eerie mist drifted into the dressing area and blurred the mirror in a steamy fog.

"Hi, honey, I'm home," she called. "Have you packed anything yet?"

He poked his head out of the shower. Rivulets dripped down his face and onto the floor. "Nope, just got home myself."

She placed her hand on his sodden head and shoved. "You're getting the rug wet. Get back in there. I'll get the suitcase from the storage closet."

When she returned, Evan, wrapped in a towel, stood in front of the mirror. Lather covered half his face while the other side was clean shaven. "Boy, you're fast. I wasn't gone that long." The trip upstairs with the luggage left her breathless. "What clothes are you taking?"

"That's it? No kiss, no how was your day?" His words were distorted by pushing his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he raked the razor down his face in a smooth stroke.

She mimicked his facial expression. "I guess I'm just excited." Her own voice sounded strange. She walked over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Umm, Mennen, my favorite flavor."

"Sorry. Guess I should have rinsed." He washed the remaining whiteness from his face. "Wanna try again?"

"No, I'll save it for later. We need to get on the road. Lollygagging is defeating the reason I took off early. The longer we wait, the worse the traffic is going to be."

"Then, let's get moving." He patted her behind on his way to the closet and emerged a few minutes later, fully dressed and ready to go."

As predicted, the traffic was bumper-to-bumper. Cassie picked at her fingernails and avoided looking through the windshield. She'd never get used to Evan's driving. If she kept scraping off her polish, at this rate, by the time they got to Vegas, her cuticles would be bleeding. Luckily, the traffic thinned on the other side of Victorville, and Evan's tailgating ceased.

"You're pretty quiet over there," he commented. "Does my driving make you nervous?"

"Oh, no," she lied. "I was thinking about business and the paperwork I left on the desk."

"No dwelling on work this weekend." He patted her knee. "We're going to concentrate on having fun."

"Okay. I'm all for having a new adventure."

"Speaking of new adventures…"

She cocked her head. "What does that mean?"

"I've been giving some thought to getting into a new enterprise."

She stiffened. "You've got to be kidding. What kind of enterprise?"

"An Internet business. Buying, advertising, and selling guitars signed by actual music stars. I even have the name picked out—Star Strung. Whadda ya think?"

Surely, she was living up to the pet name her father gave her before he passed away—bug eyes. "I'm speechless."

"My plan could be a real gold mine for us. Just think about it. Everyone uses the Internet these days, and we could get in on the ground floor before someone else comes up with the idea. The other night…you know when you got mad at me and went to bed? I got on the computer and starting checking out the prices of guitars on the web. We could buy them at bargain prices, combine business and pleasure by attending concerts and personal appearances, get the instruments signed and reap the profit."

Cassie recognized an immediate flaw. "Anyone could sign. How do you prove the signature is the real deal?"

"Easy! You take a picture of the actual entertainer signing. The snapshot authenticates and gives the customer a great piece of memorabilia. Right?"

"You're asking a lot of me. I know even less about guitars than I do landscaping, and I'm already up to my eyeballs in paperwork."

Evan patted her hand. "No worry, baby girl. I know enough for both of us. I can get my good friend, Bud, involved. He's a computer whiz, so he can help us set up a home page. Is that the right name?"

"Yes, you're right." She took a cleansing breath. "Sounds like you've done some homework."

His gaze stayed firmly on the road. "You need to know what you're doing if you want to make money. I intend to make enough so you can quit that lousy job and become a woman of leisure."

The image of mail stacked on her desk ran through her mind. "Hmm, leisure, huh?"

"What'd you say?" He cast a quick glance at her.

"I was just agreeing that leisure would be a welcome change." She hid crossed fingers beneath her right leg.

He might have forbidden her to think about her current job, but for the remainder of the trip, he filled her head with more facts about guitars and sales then she could absorb. The more he talked, the more upbeat and jazzed she became about getting to Vegas. She couldn't find the heart to tell him she wasn't interested.

As the lights on the strip came into view, she pushed all thoughts of any business aside and concentrated on enjoying a relaxing weekend. Maybe these next few days would be the beginning of her new leisurely life. Right!

Evan drove down the strip and turned into the covered driveway in front of their hotel. The valet opened their doors and welcomed them to Nevada, pointing them to the check-in counter while he retrieved their bags. While Evan registered, Cassie walked through the Casino, grimacing at the symphony of sounds from the slot machines. People lined the wall, waiting for entrance to the late show in the lounge, and still others hunched over the gaming tables. She'd never been a gambler, but her palms itched to play.

She turned to a tap on her shoulder. "You ready, baby girl?" Evan held up a room card key. "Let's go make sure our bags got delivered, come back, and win a fortune." His gaze roamed the room like a surveillance monitor.

"What floor are we on?" she asked as they neared the elevator.

"Tenth." His eyes stayed focused on the slots. Leaving the casino, Evan lagged behind, but hurried when he spied her holding the elevator door open. The lift whisked them to their floor, they found their room, and Evan slid the key into the slot, and then opened the door. His extended arm blocked her from entering.

"Well, let me in."

"You know, we could get married first and then I could carry you across the threshold."

Her breath caught in her throat. Surely, he wasn't serious. "Not tonight, I have a fortune to win." She hoped her joke defused the seriousness of the moment.

"I guess that's a no." The look in his eyes told her he'd proposed in earnest.

"Oh, Evan, if and when we get married, I don't want the ceremony to be held in some cheap Vegas chapel. I want my family—"

She recalled the rift. Pain tugged at her heart as she mentally revised her guest list. "My mom would kill me if I got married and she wasn't there."

The bellman delivered the luggage; Evan tipped him, and turned back to Cassie. "Then let's go downstairs and get rich!"

Evan's recovery from her refusal seemed rather swift, but a wave of relief swept over her. She'd escaped that predicament easier than expected. "I'm ready when you are."