Firestorm - Ellie Masters Page 0,82
stirring of my dick. Evelyn naked is too much for it to resist which means I’m going to have to be on my best behavior. This is about being present to support Evelyn, not fuck her brains out.
That serves my needs, not hers. Although, I’d like to think she kind of enjoys the fucking too.
“I like the steam,” I say.
“You do?”
“Brody and Cage tease me when I take long showers. They think I’m jerking off, which is mostly true…” I give a soft laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “But sometimes I just need to sit. It helps clear my head.”
She peeks up at me. “I do the same thing, or I did before I started backpacking. The clearing my head part, not the…the other thing.” Her smile brightens my entire world and her little joke tells me she’s going to be fine.
This woman has been through hell and back. I know about the plane crash, but only because Grant mentioned it and I hope she’ll open up and tell me.
I want to be the person she shares the ugly bits, the painful parts, and the happy times of her life with.
“Tell me about backpacking. Is it something you’ve always done?” Getting her to open up will be tricky as I tread the line between interest and overly inquisitive. My goal isn’t to pry.
“Actually, I never did anything outdoorsy growing up, except summer horse camps, but we didn’t exactly rough it. We stayed indoors and had housekeepers and chefs.”
“Horse camps? Housekeepers?”
“Didn’t I tell you I’m a spoiled rotten brat?”
“I don’t know about spoiled,” I tease. “You seem pretty self-reliant.”
“You wouldn’t have said that a year ago. I was pretty self-absorbed.”
“How’s that?”
“All I cared about was superficial crap that doesn’t matter.”
“That’s pretty harsh. Why do you say that?”
“Because I was a rich spoiled brat and didn’t have a clue what that meant until…”
“Until what?”
“Until I realized none of that mattered.” She tucks her chin behind her knees. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I want to tell you everything, but some of it is pretty ugly and some is incredibly sad.”
I lean against her shoulder. What I want is to wrap my arm around her and pull her tight against my body, but I can’t do that. I’m already long, hard, and aching for her.
This is not about sex.
It’s a time to listen and not give in to the base urges which are more than willing to take this shower talk to its most logical next step.
“I’d love to know more. You’re a kick ass woman, who’s not afraid of the outdoors and is incredibly good at surviving both forest fires and house fires.”
“I’m cursed.”
“Why?” It’s killing me, dancing around what I know, but coming at her directly about the plane crash feels all kinds of wrong.
“Not that it’s exactly the best thing to do, considering who you are to me, but can I tell you a little about Justin?”
Who I am to her?
Shit, all I want is to know what she thinks I am to her. Does she consider me her lover? Her boyfriend? Something more? Her forever? Because I’ll take all of it.
My mother says I’ll know, and damn if she isn’t right. I’m head over heels in love with Evelyn. I’m already imaging sharing my life with her and I don’t give one fuck what that says about me.
“Sure.” My response is shorter than I’d like, but sincere. I want to know everything about her, even the painful bits.
“We were engaged.”
“You mentioned that.”
“But I didn’t tell you what happened. Or how I wound up in the middle of that forest fire.”
“I want to know everything about you. All the good stuff, the bad stuff, and the stuff in between. I’m completely and utterly fascinated by you.” I love you.
That’s not something I’m ready to throw out there, but it’s the truth.
“Even if it’s tragic?”
“Especially if it’s tragic.”
“My family is wealthy, more like wealthy elite.” Her body stiffens as if searching for my reaction.
“Go on.” Her hesitation worries me, but I’m not afraid of her wealth. It doesn’t change anything for me.
“Our destination wedding was supposed to be the social event of the season. We leased a private island in the Caribbean and arranged to fly all the guests out for the day. Family and close friends were to stay on the island. As the island had no airstrip, we flew everyone in on seaplanes. Justin, wanted to make our entrance spectacular.” Her voice kind of chokes