Good Intentions (Welcome to Paradise) (Volume 2) (15 page)

Evan grabs my arm stopping me from getting all the way out then turns back to Officer Mills. “Give me the ticket instead. I know you’ve wanted to for a long time now. This is your chance.”

The officer sets his palms down on the car door. In a lowered voice, he explains, “She was the one not wearing her seatbelt—”

“How do you know that? It was fastened when you showed up.” Evan is losing some of his confidence as he speaks.

“Well, I know because she was on your lap doing what appeared to be breaking a different law that gives me the right to take her down to the station, but I thought I’d be kind and only give her the seatbelt ticket as a warning.”

Oh shit, he saw us having sex.
I fall back into my seat almost in tears. If this gets back to my school… Oh God, how embarrassing!

“Fine, you win!” Evan begrudgingly announces, putting his hands in the front of him in surrender.

“Really?” The officer perks up.

Wait, I’m confused. What the hell are they talking about? No more discussion? He’s only giving me the one ticket?

“Yes. Stop gloating and come by the surf shack tomorrow after three. I’ll make sure she’s there,” Evan goes on making absolutely no sense to me whatsoever as he talks to the cop.

“I’ll be there. You can count on it.” Officer Mills stands back up, smiling and says, “Sorry for scaring you like that, Miss, but it was totally worth it.” He hurries back to his car almost skipping with glee.

“What the heck was that all about?” I say, hitting him in the arm all irritated and confused.

“Heather.”

“Who’s Heather?”

“Heather’s the one that just got
you
out of an indecency ticket.” He peels out on that note forming a dust cloud behind the car as he weaves back onto the main road again. After letting out a large chuckle, he says, “I work with her. She wanted to give her dad a lesson for Father’s Day, but she was broke so I hooked her up with one. She owes me a favor. That favor is now a date with Officer Mills.”

Feeling a huge wave of relief wash over me, I settle back into the soft leather seat and watch the sunset ahead of us. Evan holds my hand and I catch him stealing glances my way. Despite the police drama, I feel great.

Evan also looks satisfied and happy. That might be because we just had sex, but I like to think his heart and mind are mutually content.

Our car adventure, my long day at work, and his day of surfing has worn us out. Evan and I have Chinese food delivered and watch movies on pay-per-view the rest of the evening. It’s nice. It’s a normal couple thing to do, spending time like this, but I can’t seem to remedy the unease in my stomach.

I pull a cigarette and lighter out of my purse and let him know I’ll be out back. I feel his gaze on me as I walk across the room and out of view.

After sparking up, I sit on the small step overlooking the ocean.

Thoughts of his lifestyle come charging back to the forefront of my mind. Am I holding him back from what is surely a bigger life than he could ever have with me? Will his parents cut him off for choosing me? What do I really expect from him? Of us?

“You want some company?” he asks, bringing me back to the present when he sits down next to me, stretching his legs out in front of him. He analyzes my burning cig, his expression turning concerned. “Since you’re not really smoking that, do you wanna share?”

I hand him the cigarette, careful not to drop ashes on either one of us while passing it over. As I lean back against the doorframe, I watch his lips wrap around it and inhale. He appears peaceful as he relaxes. It’s the same relief smoking provides me. He taps it twice then exhales from the side of his mouth while keeping his eyes on me. With a small smile, he asks, “Why are you smoking anyway? I know you only smoke when you’re stressed, so tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”

I gulp, knowing I’ve been busted. I want to tell him all my inner thoughts, but I don’t want to concern him with my worries.

He hands the cigarette back to me and picks up my other hand, turning it over and kissing my palm. It’s such a sweet gesture that I know right then that I should talk to him.

“I’ve been thinking…” he says at the same time as I say, “I think we should…”

We laugh in awkwardness and I stub out the cigarette, tossing it in the sand bucket next to me.

“You go first,” he says.

“No, you go,” I insist, hugging my knees to my chest.

He takes a deep breath, and says, “I don’t know what I was talking about this morning. I want to be with you. I want to be with you fully, not half-assed or only in the moment. I want us to give this our all.” He looks back at the ocean nervously, obviously, not wanting to be rejected.

I sit up, taking his hand from his lap and kiss his palm, allowing myself the pleasure of lingering there momentarily before sitting up and exhaling my relief. “Thank God because I seriously don’t think my heart could handle not knowing if we’re real or not, just messing around or really giving this a go.”

I smile as I stand up then sit down, straddling him, making sure we’re pressed against each other for pleasure. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer and kissing me, and his length grows under me, making me squirm from the sensation.

“I love you, Evan. So much.” My voice is huskier than intended, wanting to be with him so badly.

“I love you, too, baby.”

I smother his words with my mouth as we kiss again, more urgently and needy than before. As my tongue swirls purposefully with his, our bodies began to slowly rock, and he pulls me down onto him harder. I reach for the hem of his shirt, yanking it off over his head and our mouths crash back together.

As soon as I start to grind, he abruptly stands up, and rushes us to his bed. It’s unmade and he trips on the sagging blanket that is half on the floor already, a mess from an earlier nap or restless sleep. The bed breaks my fall and he holds his weight as if suspended by his arms alone to catch himself, not wanting to crush me as he falls down on top. I can see every muscle move under the taut skin of his form. Lowering himself down, he rolls to my side.

I cup his face to take in the moment, to take in all of him, like this, to see him looking at me with desires only I can ease. He’s not holding anything back anymore. His eyes give him away, but I need to hear him confirm what I’m feeling, to know he feels the same. This tightrope is too precarious to linger on for long, so I move forward, risking it all, knowing he could destroy my heart if I’m wrong. “Babe?” I ask when his eyes start to close and he leans in to kiss me.

“Mmm,” he responds, his voice low, lips gently sucking on the skin at the nape of my neck.

My original thought escapes me under the intense heat of his lips on me and body caresses. I finally manage to mumble, “Foundation.”

He licks and nips my neck, all things gloriously sensual. “Foundation?” Hearing him repeat the word reminds me of what I was thinking. I pull away, an inch or so, and wait. He lazily opens his eyes, and asks, “What?”

“Us?” I softly breathe. “Do you think we have a strong enough foundation for us to last when we’re apart?”

His hands are under my shirt messing with the clasp of my bra, but he stops. When he lifts his head up, he looks straight at me and sighs then slowly climbs up the bed causing our legs to tangle with the sheet and blanket. Stroking my hair away from my face, his hand graces my cheek. “Yes, I do. Whole-heartedly.”

“This morning you thought we should—”

“I was giving you an out, Mallory. I thought after all that happened, you might want to slow it down, but the ‘I love you’s’ and this… I just can’t stay away. I won’t.” His eyes glance away as he takes a deep breath, the weight of the conversation showing in the heaviness of his sigh. When he looks back, determination is written all over his face. “I checked out Colorado—”

Emotions bubble to the surface and tears fill my eyes. I prop myself up on my elbows surprised to hear this. “You did?”

“I missed the deadline. I’d been thinking about going back to school, but couldn’t seem to reason myself into it until early last week.” He gulps, and a tear crawls down my cheek causing me to blink which makes another one fall. “Don’t cry, baby.” He wipes under my eyes gently with his thumbs.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you, but it seems to be the only thing I’m good at these days.”

“That’s not true. You’re everything to me, and definitely not disappointing.”

That brings a smile to his face. “Well, I wanted to know what I was doing before I talked to you, to have a game-plan in place. I was also hoping the school would make an exception because of my transcript. I tried. You’ve got to believe that I tried. I made a bunch of phone calls to admissions and to the professors in the Psych department, but they’re firm on their deadline.”

Sliding onto my side, I press my cheek to his chest right above his heart, which is racing. Squeezing him to me, I say, “I can’t believe you’d move for me.”

His fingertips dance across my back. “You were right before. You’re settled there and graduate soon. I’m floundering out here, escaping, but I don’t have to anymore. I’ve found,” he starts, his voice not even loud enough to be called a whisper, “a purpose.”

I roll onto my back, pulling him on top of me and kiss him with everything I’ve got. His hips automatically start to move against mine, but our legs are still tangled in the blanket. Surprising me, he jumps to his feet and I feel a rush of cold air blow across my body. Pulling me by the ankles to the end of the bed, he commands, “You—Get naked!”

Without hesitation, I get up and start removing my clothes as he gathers the bunched sheet and blanket and throws them to the floor. I toss my shirt and drop my skirt. Apparently I’m too slow because he snaps the thin fabric of my panties at my hips before I even have time to remark, then my bra is gone from my shoulders, flinging through the air and landing on the couch.

He pulls his own shorts down, displaying his eager erection then takes my hand and pulls me into the bathroom. I stand against the closed door as he switches the shower on waiting for it to heat. His eyes are on me, eyeing me up and down, making me feel vulnerable, exposed as he drinks me in. “Come here, baby.”

I go to him knowing when our bodies are pressed together nothing else matters. All that troubles me fades away, leaving me with the perfection of the moment.

Trailing light kisses across the side of my face, his sweet words of desire flame between us. “You’re so beautiful.” The words fall from his lips and I weaken under them.

“I need you, Evan,” I say, embracing the spell he’s put me under.

“How do you need me? I want to give you everything you need.”

“I crave the feeling of you inside of me, making me feel whole again.”

My confession doesn’t scare him away, but brings him closer. He kisses me while maneuvering me into the shower under the warm flowing water. Soap in hand, he lathers it up, and runs his hands tenderly down my body. Gliding over my breasts, his thumbs run across my nipples, making them stand for his attention. His hand slides down my stomach and between my legs, causing my breath to catch. Leaning closer, he whispers, “Breathe because I can’t when you’re not.”

“It’s all so surreal and perfect. I struggle to breathe when we’re like this.”

“Take all of mine along with my heart then.”

That’s the moment I realize I don’t need anything else from him. I’ve already been given more than I ever thought possible—all of his love and devotion.

But even with all the swooning I’m doing over his sweet words, I’m still hot for the man and he’s in front of me wet and naked and seriously hard to resist, so I don’t. I reach my hand down to touch him in very naughty ways, but he takes my wrist and tsks me. “Eh, eh, eh! I have something else in mind.”

“You’ve got my undivided attention, Mr. Ashford,” I say while enjoying the warm water hitting my back.

He reaches around and slams the water nozzle off then opens the door. Cold air clashes against my heated skin and I instantly wrap my arms around my body. With his sexy smirk in full force, he says, “Go to the counter and show me how much you want me, baby.”

Although I’m wet, from head to toe, and cold, I’m hot on the inside and my breath is becoming harsher, making it more obvious that I’m turned on. I’m highly aware that Evan Ashford is the one who put me in this state. But I kind of love it when he gets all bossy on me. I walk toward the bathroom mirror and turn around then slide up on top of the counter, backing myself up against the mirror. His erection is sturdy, but it’s his expression I lust after the most. He’s beyond turned on. He’s ravenous for me.