Love or Money (20 page)
Authors: Elizabeth Roderick
A faint smile flitted across his lips. “We are regular people, Riel. Regular people with a past, maybe, but everyone has a past. That’s why they call it a
past
. Because it’s over with.”
Riel interlaced her fingers with Evan’s, pulling him toward her, kissing him again. “I’m sorry I yelled,” she murmured.
“It’s okay. Totally understandable.” He pressed his lips against her neck, his hand finding its way under the tightly-tucked sheets, blankets, and her hospital gown to caress her breasts. “It was hell being away from you, Riel. I was so worried. I can’t believe how much shit they made you go through. Norton told me the whole story, and I wanted to fucking punch him.”
“It’s okay, it’s over now.” She sighed as his hands slid down her belly.
“I missed you so goddamn much. I thought I was going to go crazy.” His lips met hers again, hungrily, and she drew a breath as his gentle fingers found her clit. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he said, rubbing slowly. “That shit is over now forever. Our new life starts right now.”
“I love you, Evan,” she gasped, pressing against his hand.
“I love you too, Riel.”
She sighed in disappointment as he took his fingers away. “Don’t tease me,” she said, giving him a pouty look.
He laughed, then snuck over and closed the door. He pulled the privacy curtain around the bed for good measure, then he crawled up next to her on the narrow cot. Riel scooted over against the sidebars to accommodate him.
She ran her finger lightly over his bandaged shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt you, to be like this?”
“I’m fine. I barely feel it. You? How’s your head? You hurting?”
She smiled. “I feel just fine, now that you’re here.”
He kissed her, his lips and tongue lingering on hers, his hands caressing her body and pulling her against him. Riel ran her hands up his shirt, feeling the muscles of his chest. The warmth of his body and the sweetness of his lips engulfed her, driving out all her pain and worries, making her feel whole. She interlaced her legs with his, wanting every inch of her skin against his.
He pushed up her hospital gown, squeezing her breasts, his lips working their way down her jaw, her neck, to her nipples. Riel closed her eyes, sighing, as he laid kisses down her belly. His lips made their way to her navel, then went lower, his breath warm against her skin. He tugged her panties down over her hips, and she wiggled out of them, tossing them aside. He looked up at her, his eyes lingering on her body.
“You’re so beautiful, even in that nasty hospital gown.” He pushed her thighs apart, leaning down to push his tongue inside her.
Riel bit her lip to keep herself from crying out, pressing her hips up against his mouth. He stroked her clit with two fingers, his tongue slowly exploring.
“Evan, I want you,” she moaned, and he made a muffled noise. “Evan, fuck me, please.” He pressed harder with his fingers, fucking her slow with his tongue, pleasure building up inside her. “Please, Evan.”
Finally, he sat up, pulling his jeans down his hips. Riel grasped his shoulders and flipped him over on his back, lifting up her gown and straddling him.
She sighed and he moaned as she slowly lowered herself down onto his hard cock. She watched as his green eyes glazed over with need, feeling that same need in herself. “Oh, Riel,” he said, breathing heavily.
He grabbed her ass and moved inside her as she rode him, slowly, taking him as deep as she could. He leaned up to take each of her nipples into his hot mouth.
She felt the head of his cock moving deep in her, felt the heat growing. He moved faster, urgently, thrusting up into her. Then he gasped and moaned her name, his hips moving uncontrollably. She cried out as the pleasure took her over, filling every part of her.
Then she sat atop him, catching her breath. He blinked up at her with a sly smile, and she suddenly remembered where they were.
“The doctor is going to kick me out if he finds us like this,” Evan said.
Riel giggled. “I won’t let him. You’re good medicine.” She crawled off him and cuddled against him in the narrow bed, careful not to jostle his bad shoulder. He pulled the blanket over the both of them and they lay there holding each other, their legs entwined.
“I want to be with you forever, Riel,” he said, and she smiled.
“I’d like that a lot.”
Six Months Later…
Evan came in and hung his work hat on the hook beside the door. “Hey, Rielita,” he said, pressing his lips to her neck. “Studying again?”
She wrinkled her nose at the books spread out on the dining table. “Yeah. I just realized I have a test on Monday, and I’m not ready at all. I don’t know why I have to take all this math. It’s killing me.”
He laughed, gently ruffling her hair. “You got an A on the last test, so don’t complain, you nerd.”
She grinned. “How was work?”
“Busy. I did about twenty estimates today.”
“That’s awesome. Business must be really good.”
“It is. What’s cooking? It smells awesome.”
“I’ve got a chicken in the oven. Lizette is coming over with her new boyfriend.”
Evan went into the kitchen and opened the oven door, gazing into it avidly, and Riel smiled to herself. He was always so excited about her home-cooked meals, even if she wasn’t that good of a cook, and it felt good to feed him.
“Ah, we finally get to meet this famous boyfriend of hers, huh?” Evan said, staring at the baking chicken and rubbing his tummy absentmindedly.
“He’d better be nice, or I’ll run him out of here. Close the oven, Evan, you’re going to let all the heat out. Isn’t our electrical bill high enough?”
He blew a raspberry and shut the oven, coming over to put his arms around her waist and nibble her ear. “Mishmash pays most of it, anyway.”
“But still.” An unwilling smile came to her face as he laid nibbling kisses along the curve of her neck, his hands wandering along her curves.
“Did you hear about Laina and Robert?” he muttered, kissing her breastbone.
“No, what?”
“They opened an Italian restaurant up in Portland. They’re getting married in September.”
Riel grinned wide, and turned in her chair to take him in her arms. “That’s awesome.”
“Mmmph,” Evan said, sliding his fingers into the cup of her bra to pull her breast free. He sucked her nipple gently, and Riel’s eyes fluttered closed as a wave of heat washed through her.
Evan took her hands and pulled her out of her chair, gently drawing her towards the bedroom. He gave her a hesitant glance.
“You know, we should get married.”
Riel’s steps faltered, and she blinked at him. “Really?”
He smiled uncertainly. “I mean, if you, you know, want to.”
She broke into a wide grin, her heart beating fast. She stood on her tiptoes, stretching up to kiss him. “Yes, I want to.”
He wrapped his arms tight around her, his lips hot and passionate against hers.
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my parents; my husband, Eric; my daughter, Juniper; and the rest of my friends and family, especially my loyal cheering squad and counselors, Faith, Aleena, Mari, and Pastor Ivelisse. I know I’m a piece of work sometimes…all the time…but you guys have been there and have put up with it all.
I’d like to thank all my lovely critique groups and beta readers. You’re all helping me to become a better writer, which is an intense and beautiful process.
I’d like to thank the great, hard-working people at Limitless Publishing for all their help, and for taking a chance on a writer like me.
I would also like to thank my Invisible Friend Jesus, who has on his Hollywood shades now and a brand new suit, quite proper for the savior of someone who would write a book like this.
And, of course, I’d like to thank Phoenix. I told you, curled up on your bathroom floor, that if you believed in something hard enough, it would come true. Well, they haven’t bought any cinnamon rolls yet, but at least I’m in business.
About the Author
Elizabeth Roderick grew up as a barefoot ruffian on a fruit orchard near Yakima, in the eastern part of Washington State. After weathering the grunge revolution and devolution in Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, she recently moved to the (very, very) small town of Shandon, California: a small cluster of houses amidst the vineyards of the Central Coast.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and worked for many years as a paralegal and translator. She went on to study chemistry, physics, and higher mathematics, with the goal of becoming a research chemist, but was eventually forced to concede that graduate school would require too much time away from her husband and daughter, and that–despite her good-enough grades –she was perhaps the wrong kind of nerd for such pursuits, being more the type that likes to dress in cloaks and hauberks rather than lab coats and goggles.
She is a musician and songwriter, and has played in many bands. She’s rocked pretty much every instrument, including some she doesn’t even know the real names for, but mostly guitar, bass and keyboards. She has two albums of her own, which you can listen to at pimentointhehole.com. She writes fiction novels for young adults and adults, as well as short stories
,
and keeps an active blog at:
https://elizabethroderick.wordpress.com/
.
