Evie didn’t care. Because…
I missed you, too, Cole. So much.
***
Cole grabbed the sink top in Evie’s bathroom. His knuckles whitened as he held on, too tightly.
Just as I held her too tightly.
His control had been gone. He should have been careful. Instead…
He’d fucked her without care. Fucked her hard and deep. Fucked her wildly.
Had he hurt her? When he’d first thrust into her tight, hot core, she’d stiffened. She’d tensed, and he’d been afraid.
Can’t hurt Evie. Not ever.
But…had he?
His head lifted. He forced himself to peer at his reflection in the mirror. Why the hell hadn’t Evie run from him at her first opportunity?
He didn’t look like a prize, surely not like those other fancy jerks in the ballroom. His gaze seemed feral with sexual hunger—because I want to fuck her again already. Already? Try endlessly.
His hair was tousled, and his face almost savage with need.
Tattoos covered his body. His chest. His arms.
He swallowed. Had she seen? The overhead light in her bedroom had been bright. He’d been able to see her perfectly.
Did she see all of me?
Had Evie seen?
Had she noticed that, right over his heart, her name marked him?
The tattoos. She’d ask about them, sooner or later. Ask why he had so many. Then he’d have to tell her the truth, and he didn’t want to see pity in Evie’s eyes.
Not that. Not ever.
He shoved back his hair. Sawed a hand over his jaw and the stubble there.
I killed a man tonight.
Not the first time. Evie didn’t know that, though. Evie didn’t know about his life. She didn’t know what the tattoos hid. She didn’t know who he was, deep inside.
He’d tried to warn her.
But the warnings were all too late now.
She’d let him have her again. Taste her. Touch her. Fuck her.
There was no way that he’d give her up again. No way that he could ever let her slip through his fingers a second time.
So…
He would have to convince her to stay. Have to get Evie…
To fall in love with a monster.
He ran some water over a wash cloth. Got it nice and warm, then went back to Evie. She was in the middle of the bed, and she’d hauled the covers up to her chin. Her eyes darted toward him.
He stopped. Smiled. “My, what big eyes you have.”
She eased her grip on the covers. “Am I the big, bad wolf?”
Slowly, he made his way to the bed. “I think that’s me.” He lifted the cloth. “In case you’re sore, I warmed this up for you.”
“Oh, yes.” Soft color bloomed on her cheeks. “That would be helpful.” She held out her hand.
He lifted the covers up and slid the cloth between her legs.
“Cole.”
“I made you sore, so it’s my job to make you better.” Carefully, tenderly, he caressed her. “Been a while?” Cole asked the question ever so casually when casual was the last thing he felt.
She stiffened.
He looked up at her.
“Do you really want to go there?” Evie responded with a low question of her own.
“No. I would prefer not to ever think about any lucky bastard who had the extreme good fortune of touching your body.” He kept up his gentle ministrations. “Because when I think of the bastard, I want to rip his head off.” He moved the cloth. Pulled the covers back over her. “Better?”
“Uh, yes.”
He nodded, curtly, and strode back to the bathroom to get rid of the cloth.
Shouldn’t have asked. Shouldn’t have brought up that shit. Now jealousy gnawed at him. He’d been the one to walk away, so he knew that he didn’t have any right to feel the way he did. He didn’t have the right to want to drive his fist into the faces of all the men who’d been with Evie.
He sucked in a deep breath, and, once more, returned to the bedroom. He turned off the bright, overhead light, then immediately turned on the lamp near her bed. The soft glow made a faint circle near the bed.
“I’ll tell you about my lovers, but only if you tell me about yours.”
She wanted to know about who he’d been with since her? “That’s easy.”
She’d grabbed a T-shirt while he’d been in the bathroom. It covered her chest, unfortunately. He had to admire the fact that she’d moved so quickly, though.
Even as he hated the shirt. It can go.
“It’s easy.” Her head cocked as she considered his reply. “Because you count all of your lovers? Because you have an instant tabulation in your head?”
He slid into bed