Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,25
one drink. That’s it.”
“You know better.”
“T, it’s Halal Guys. Not a fucking picnic at the Common.” Christian frowned, his gaze dipping to the golden band he still wore. “You know I’d never let anything happen to her.”
Evie had charmed the fuck out of him.
Unacceptable.
I shoved my keys into his chest. “Park my car and meet back here.”
My shoulder bumped the handle-less glass door, swinging it into a gutted store. The walls had been stripped, and a tarp lay on the floor. A chemical stench stung my nostrils as I stepped over power tools, hanging plastic billowing with the stream of outdoor air as I headed into a workshop.
Big windows poured light into the square room. I couldn’t name half the things in the vast space. Several wooden benches ran along the wall, filled with instruments, pots, and other devices I’d never seen before.
A ventilation hood hummed over Evie, who sat at a bench, bending over a concrete slab. A leather apron wrapped her body. She fiddled with something, peering at a small object through safety goggles.
What was she doing?
She replaced a tool on the shelf and picked up another, a dentist-like instrument connected to a hose. She held it to the tweezers. A blue flame passed through it.
The brightness pierced my eyes.
I threw up an arm, shielding my eyes.
Evie raised her welder’s mask and whirled around. Her brown curls were windblown, tucked into a messy braid. Her bowed lips fell open.
The memory of her champagne-and-cum-soaked tits grabbed my cock. So fucking hot. Hardly any of it had made it down her throat, but it’d been worth it just to mark her curves. She must’ve made men at the clubhouse insane. Part of the reason I didn’t want her within five miles of that place.
So many filthy things I could do to her. God, it’d taken everything inside me not to fuck her full of cum. The virgin-with-the-body-built-for-sin fantasy was at the top of my list.
It’d been weeks since I’d touched her.
She removed her helmet, frowning. “What are you doing here?”
“You first.”
“I’m working.”
“On what, bankrupting me?” I stalked to her side, fingering the crockpot on the bench. “What is that?”
She took my wrist. “Don’t touch. It’s a pickling solution.”
Heat from her gentle grip traveled up my arm.
“Pickling?”
“An acid bath for removing oxidation and residue left after soldering.” She moved my arm away from the bench and clapped me on the back. “You know, for my plastic beads.”
My lips tugged into a smirk at the memory of my careless words at the wedding. Evie was clearly on a different level than lanyards and beaded bracelets, but her asshole father had hinted otherwise.
Which was why I’d poked at her.
“Why didn’t you set me straight?”
“Newsflash. You’re an unfeeling monster.” Evie stowed her tools and pushed my abdomen to move me out of the way, rippling warmth to my groin. “None of this would be a surprise if you’d bothered to get to know me.”
“What exactly are you?”
“A goldsmith,” she murmured. “I appraise gems, refurbish watches, and cast rings and necklaces.”
I stared. “Show me.”
Evie turned her head, sweeping her hair aside.
I closed the distance between us and brushed the stray strands. Softly, my breath fanned her face. I traced her ear, and she inhaled slightly. My heart pounded as I fingered her earring.
Three pearlescent spikes stuck out from a golden loop. I twisted it in all directions, the stones shifting from cream to green and blue. It was a playful design. Simple but pretty.
“What’s it made of?”
“Fourteen karat gold with three opals.”
A faint glow of pride warmed my chest. “Where did you learn this?”
Evie gazed at me as though judging whether my interest was genuine. “Mom taught me, and her mother taught her. She started when I was little, setting stones and things like that.”
I dropped her earring and thumbed her neck.
“Tell me more.”
Her heartbeat throbbed against my finger. “I design rings, cast metal into molds, and I buy old stuff to fix up. I began with jewelry people donated. I melted them down. Then I’d add alloy and make them into belt buckles, rings, whatever.”
Fucking cool.
I was silent for a while, processing.
Impressive as hell.
No wonder Christian fawned over her.
“Go ahead. Get it over with.” Evie threw back her head, her nostrils flaring. “Tell me it’s stupid and a waste of time. Insult me like you’re dying to do.”
I grasped her chin, and her startled gaze crashed into mine. “I kind of love that you’re secretly a badass who works with fire. Show me more.”