Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (26 page)

“I know. I feel the same way. No matter what happens between us, let’s promise to always work things out, okay?”

She nodded.

“I hope you know you’re stuck with me, now.”

“And what if I decide to get unstuck?” Her tone of voice was clearly teasing.

“Then I’ll just have to tie you up and keep you captive, won’t I?”

“Mmm, that sounds very tempting, but do you actually plan on going through with it?”

“I will if I have to. Already have the rope and duct tape all ready for you.”

“And once you had me all tied up, just what exactly would you plan on doing?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” But as the smile on his face widened, she could tell that it was just the contrary. “I guess I have a couple of ideas.”

“Such as?”

“Dirty, unmentionable things. I have quite an imagination, you know.” He winked at her.

“I don’t doubt that at all.” She pressed her body more firmly against his, and felt the hardness of his cock pressing against her crotch.

“Mmm.” His palms cupped the curve of her buttocks, gently massaging the round flesh.

Pressing her lips against his jawbone, she placed soft kisses all along the edge of it, gradually working her way down until she reached the pulse point of his neck. As she pressed her lips against it, she felt it move more rapidly, and then she began gently sucking on the skin there, hearing him moan in pleasure as she slid her tongue against his neck. She moved her hand along his thigh, allowing it to drift upward until it met with the bulge in his pants. Then she began to gently manipulate it with her fingers.

“Oh, baby, that feels good. I’m going to get hard in a minute if you don’t stop.”

“Yeah, that’s sort of the point.” She gave a little laugh.

“What do you say we take a nap first? Then, when we wake up, we can spend all night making love.” He offered her buttocks a firm squeeze, withdrawing a sound of pleasure from her.

“You want to take a nap
before
having sex? Wow, you must really be tired.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, well, I only got five hours sleep, so I’m pretty exhausted.”

She caressed his cheek with her palm. “Poor thing, you really do need to rest. I guess it’s my fault you’re so exhausted.”

“Hey, it’s okay, no need to blame yourself. It’s all in the past, so don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

He kissed her on the nose then said, “Let’s go take that nap.”

He led her out of the kitchen and down the hallway toward his bedroom. Once they were there, they stripped down to their underwear and then climbed beneath the covers, snuggling up close against each other. A light drizzle had begun to fall outside, creating a pattering noise against the bedroom window. The sound of it enhanced the cozy atmosphere of his bedroom, adding to the contentment that they felt. Burrowing her face in his neck, she tilted her lips upward and tenderly kissed the underside of his chin. A pleasurable noise came from his lips, and he hugged her closer.

It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, and once his breathing grew shallow, Maya took the opportunity to gaze admiringly at her handsome man. Her eyes roved over his face, admiring his clearly defined cheekbones, and his nice, thick lashes. His long, dark hair was spread across the pillow, and his handsome face was a picture of both vulnerability and peace.

She loved watching him like this and often found it difficult to keep her hands off him, even while he slept. And as much as she would enjoy letting her hands wander, she wouldn’t do it now, because she knew that he needed to rest. The more sleep he got, the better he’d be able to perform later.

As she imagined his body on top of her, the space between her legs tingles in anticipation. The mere thought of him inside her was enough to dampen her panties, and she slid her fingers southward, moving them back and forth a few times across the moist fabric.

She didn’t allow her digits to linger for too long, though, as she knew that he’d properly take care of her once he awoke. Resting her face against the pillow, she threaded her fingers through his hair, letting the strands slide across the surface of her fingertips. Then she leaned in to give him a kiss, just barely brushing her lips against the surface of his skin.

She watched his chest rise and fall for a few minutes and then she allowed her eyelids to close, drifting to sleep with the feel of his breath ghosting against her skin.

Chapter 17

The sound of tree branches scraping against the bedroom window brought Maya out of her sleep, and as she sat up in bed, she noticed that the space next to her was empty. Glancing at her cell phone on the table next to her, she saw it was nearly 5:00 p.m. She also noticed there was a small piece of notepaper lying next to her phone, so she picked it up and read the message that was scribbled on it.

Hey gorgeous,

You looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to wake you. I went out to take care of an errand and pick up some groceries, but I’ll be back by six thirty. Keep the bed warm for me.

Xx Evan

Placing the note back on the table, Maya gave a yawn, then threw the covers back and headed for the bathroom. She knew he wouldn’t be back for another hour and a half, but she still wanted to freshen up. After emptying her bladder, Maya stripped out of her underwear and filled the tub with water. Cold gray days like these were perfect for taking long, hot baths, and as she sunk her body into the water, she released a sigh and rested her head against the tile behind her.

While she sat there enjoying her soak, her thoughts turned to Evan, and she wondered what he was doing. She wished he were here to enjoy the bath with her, but she knew he was out taking care of things. He’d said he was running errands, and she did believe him. Yet she couldn’t help wondering what type of errand could possibly motivate him to leave her and a warm bed behind. She didn’t think too much about it, though, as she knew how easy it was for her imagination to go into overdrive. She grabbed a fresh washcloth off the towel rack above her and began to soap up, pleasantly humming a familiar tune.

* * * *

As Evan pulled up to the gated apartment, he began devising a plan in his head. How was he to bypass the security door without alerting Dylan that he was here? The only way to get buzzed in was to call him, so that was definitely out. But what other way was there?

After putting his car into park, Evan got out and locked the door with the remote, then slipped it into his pocket. It hadn’t taken longer than a twenty-minute search on the Internet to find Dylan’s address. The information had been easy to find, and once he’d copied it down, he’d quickly gotten dressed and begun his hour-long journey. He’d hated leaving Maya behind and had longed to remain in the nice warm bed with her, but the pull to get revenge against Dylan had been too great to resist.

Evan had always been certain that revenge was nothing more than a terrible waste of energy, but since this was a matter that involved Maya, he was more than willing to go out of his comfort zone and see that things were put right once again. Dylan hadn’t just broken her heart and taken advantage of her, he’d also stolen her money, and Evan wasn’t going to let him get away with that. Maya was his woman, and he’d be damned if he allowed a lowlife loser like Dylan to keep what was rightfully hers.

So here he was, sauntering up to a fancy complex of luxurious condos, and externally, it probably appeared as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but internally, he was wondering how in the hell he was going to get to get past the security barriers. While he was formulating a plan in his head, he caught the eye of a tall blonde who was standing next to the front gate. She had a Maltese puppy on a leash and turned her head to give him a curious stare as he approached. Her lips curled into a flirtatious smile, and she slid her designer sunglasses up over her forehead. The expression on her face was of pleasant surprise, and as Evan came closer she continued to glimpse longingly at him. Stopping a few feet shy of the gate, he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and pretended to dial a number. There was the sound of a buzz as the leggy blonde pushed the gate open and walked in, holding the door open as her Maltese puppy trotted behind.

“Excuse me, are you here visiting someone?” Her pink lips pulled back to reveal white teeth.

“Yes, a friend of mine lives here.”

“Well, you can come through if you like. You don’t have to worry about calling him.” She held the gate open for him, and he walked on through, offering her a grateful smile.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. He invited me over for dinner, but I don’t see his name on the list of residents here.”

“Did he just move in?”

“Yeah, he just arrived last week.”

“That’s probably why. It’s ridiculous how slow the apartment manager is about updating the list of new residents.”

As they strolled past a large water fountain, Evan asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know which direction apartment one-twenty-six is in, would you?”

“Oh yeah, sure. You’ll just keep going straight, and then make a left, and it’s the third apartment down.”

“Hey thanks.” Evan gave her a charming smile.

“No problem. So if you’re ever around again, maybe I’ll see you.” Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she jutted her chest out, proudly showing off her natural cleavage.

“Yeah, maybe I will.”

“I live in apartment two-twenty-two, just for future reference.” She gave him a wink.

“Thanks, I’ll remember that. But I really should be going now. My friend is probably wondering where I am.”

“Right, well, see you around. My name’s Samantha, by the way.”

“I’m Evan. Nice to meet you Samantha.”

“Likewise. Bye, handsome.”

He walked a few feet before he got the urge to look back, not because he was trying to flirt, but because the intensity of her gaze was just that strong. So giving in to his curiosity, he glanced back over his shoulder and saw that the blonde was indeed still staring at him. He began to feel as if he were some sort of rare bird in a zoo because the woman’s blue eyes were intensely trained on him, not wavering from his retreating form for even one second. He gave her a little wave, which she returned with one of her own, and then he swiftly rounded the corner, heading toward Dylan’s apartment.

As he arrived in front of door one-twenty-six, Evan gave a sharp knock, physically readying himself for the moment when Dylan would open it. He heard the TV volume being lowered, and then there was the sound of feet approaching the door. Then the lock unlatched, and the door came ajar.

“About fucking time you got—” Dylan’s voice was abruptly cut off as he caught sight of Evan’s face.

Pressing his palm against the door, Dylan tried to close it, but Evan barged inside, slamming the door behind him and then locking it. Dylan backed away from him and quickly made his way over to his cell phone, which was sitting on a table next to the TV.

“Get out of my house, or I’m calling the cops.” Keeping his eyes focused on his adversary, Dylan continued to back away, nearly tripping over a stack of magazines in the process.

“No, you won’t. Not unless you want to get busted for having that stash of pot in your house.”

Evan glanced toward a coffee table, where there was a bag of marijuana sitting next to a can of beer.

A curse fled from Dylan’s lips. “Look, I didn’t do anything with Maya, okay? Nothing happened between us.”

“I know that.” Evan continued walking slowly toward Dylan, enjoying the look of primal fear on his face.

“You do? Then why are you here?”

“I’m here because you took something from her, and I expect for you to give it back.”

“What? I didn’t take anything. And if she says I did, then she’s lying.”

“So now you’re calling my girl a liar?” Evan quickly advanced on him, rapidly closing the distance between them. Seizing Dylan by the collar of his T-shirt Evan glared down at the shorter man, his eyebrows furrowing together.

“Get your hands off me.” Dylan pushed his palms against Evan’s chest, trying to wrestle out of his grasp.

“Say you took her money. Admit it.” His jaw visibly tightened.

Dylan wasn’t exactly a runt, and his well-developed pecs and solid body suggested he kept up a regular workout routine, but Evan had at least five inches of height on him, and overall, had a nicely toned, intimidating form.

Dylan gave a dry swallow. “Okay, I took the money. But I didn’t plan on keeping it, and I was going to pay her back.”

“Yeah, right.” Releasing the collar of Dylan’s shirt, Evan sneered in disgust. “You’re a pathetic excuse for a man, you know that? What kind of a guy steals money from a girl, and his ex-girlfriend at that?”

“Dude, calm down. I said I’ll return the money. Just give me a few days, and she’ll get it.”

“Uh-uh, she isn’t waiting a few days. She needs it back
today
.” Evan glowered at him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, each staring the other one down, until finally Dylan averted his gaze and headed toward the hallway.

“Fine. The money’s in my room, so I’ll go get it. Just sit tight, and I’ll be back in a few.”