and hit the remote and I realized we’d made it home. We waited in silence as the garage door lifted. More silence as he pulled his fancy car in and shut it down. He said nothing when he got out. So I once again followed his lead and followed him into the house wordlessly.
But that didn’t mean my mind wasn’t spinning.
Delilah Watts, work, Gabe, a dead man, all swirled together but not in that order.
Self-preservation had not kicked in. My life was in danger and all I seemed to be concerned about was Gabe. Me and Gabe. Gabe and I. Gabe and his cars, his big house, his money, his sadness, his need to overcompensate.
And for some unholy reason, I wanted to show him how right Zane had been—money and things were meaningless. But Gabe had made himself clear. We were a dead-end road.
Chapter 17
I owed Evette an explanation. The problem with that was I didn’t have one. I couldn’t very well tell her I’d never shared my personal business with the women I’d taken to bed. Or any other woman besides. Not without sounding like an asshole. And I couldn’t explain that I’d never entertained the idea of sharing my life with someone because I was a selfish prick who viewed women and children as baggage and added responsibility I didn’t want. For obvious reasons that made me look like a monumental dick. And I was. I knew it; that was yet another reason I always kept my distance.
Then there was Evette—the woman who had in days changed my way of thinking. Yet I still couldn’t commit to the idea. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how much I wanted her to stay in my life.
And fucking Zane and his stupid intervention. I should’ve seen his play. Instead, I walked right into it and showed my hand.
I was skating a thin line and every second I was with Evette that line blurred.
Those were my thoughts as I pulled Evette into her room.
No explanation.
No words.
No apology.
Yet she hadn’t protested.
She gave me the quiet I needed.
And that terrified the fuck out of me.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation. Yeah, that sent equal amounts of pleasure and fear slicing through me.
“Why?”
Evette tilted her head, kept her eyes glued onto mine, and she looked like she was locked in her head trying to solve the world’s greatest mystery.
“It’s not a trick question, honey.”
“Maybe not but it seems like an important one. Which means it deserves some thought.”
What the hell was I doing? Why did it matter why she trusted me?
“Come here, Evette.”
Again there was no hesitation when she closed the distance between us. She didn’t object when my arm curled around her lower back and she collided with my chest. She simply tucked her head under my chin, pressed her lips against my throat, and her arms went around me.
Holding on.
Kissing me. Sweet-like. Feather-soft.
And that was all it took for the last vestiges of my sanity to melt away. I was hooked. Maybe for life. Even if she went back to California and left me I knew she’d take a piece of me. The one thing I never thought I’d give.
I heard the front door open and welcomed the interruption. I’d pulled Evette into the bedroom like a Neanderthal with the intention of making good on my earlier promises. Then I’d gotten sidetracked. Now I needed to regroup before I was the one on my knees before her begging her not to leave my dumb ass.
“Coop’s home,” I told her. “I’m gonna check in with him.”
“Are you coming back?”
My brain screamed no.
My cock vetoed my brain’s wise thoughts.
But in the end, it was not my cock or brain that was in charge. I couldn’t even say my heart was in control because that didn’t touch the surface of what I was feeling. It was some deep, unknown emotion inside of me that would have me coming back—over and over until I used her up and she tossed me aside.
“Yeah, honey. Why don’t you get ready for bed? I’ll be right back.”
Evette pulled her face out of my neck, tipped her head back, and I dropped my gaze to capture hers.
“Just so you know,” she started. “I trust you because you’ve never given me a reason not to. But also because there’s just something about you that makes it impossible not to.”
With that, she went up on her toes and kissed me.
Again feather-light.
Sweet-like.
Just a brush. But no matter that her lips had barely touched