Hoping for Love (20 page)

“What?
Evan!
What did you say?”

“It’s all gone to shit. The company’s bankrupt, and my CD is caught up in it.”

“Oh God.” She pressed her lips gently to his abraded cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

“Just as well.” He reached for her. “Cuz I get stage fright. Did I tell you that?”

“No, you didn’t,” she said, touched to be in on a secret that she suspected he didn’t share with just anyone. Moving closer to him, she rested her head on his chest and her hand on his belly while trying to process everything he’d said.

“Why do you let him call you Gracie?” His fingers combed through her hair rhythmically.

“Who?” Grace asked, trying to keep up with the ever-changing conversation.

“That Irish charmer. He’s trying to take you away from me.”

“I’m not with you. How can he take me away from you?”

The fingers in her hair tightened into a fist. “You are with me. You
have
to be with me. I can’t stop thinking about you, about what we did. Right here. Last night.”

Grace’s entire body flushed with heat at the reminder.

“It was so good, wasn’t it, Grace?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you pick me to cast your spell on?”

“Because you’re so handsome, and I love dimples. You didn’t stand a chance.”

“You did this to me,” he said, his voice starting to fade as sleep beckoned. “You have to stay with me until we can fix it.”

She wondered if he’d remember any of this in the morning.

“Grace? You gotta promise me. You’ll stay with me, won’t you? I need you.”

Her heart contracted, and the breath got caught in her lungs. If only… “Yes, Evan, I’ll stay with you. Tomorrow will be a better day. Don’t worry.”

“Grace,” he said on a sigh the instant before his body slackened into sleep.

Grace was awake for a long time thinking about what he’d said, watching him sleep and listening to the strong beat of his heart.

Pain woke Evan early the next morning. His face was on fire, and an entire drum corps had taken up residence inside his skull. As long as he didn’t move or breathe, he might survive. And then he opened his eyes to blinding sunlight streaming in through the blinds.

He quickly closed his eyes as pain ricocheted through his brain. It was official—he was never drinking again.

Somehow he’d ended up in Grace’s hotel room. He had vague memories of pounding on her door and hugging her, but he didn’t remember much else. And while the idea of moving was unimaginable, his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he needed to pee. Urgently.

Moving as slowly as he could, he sat up and waited for the pain to catch up to the movement. When it did, it took his breath away and left him hanging in the precipice as his stomach reacted with a surge of nausea.

“Christ have mercy,” he muttered as he stood up and headed for the bathroom.

The door was closed, but not all the way, and Grace was talking to someone.

When he nudged the door open, she winced at the sight of him (he must be quite a sight), and gestured for them to switch places, giving him the bathroom.

After he took care of business and washed his mouth out with water and toothpaste, he tuned in to her conversation.

“I’ve applied for a ninety-day temporary license with the state of Rhode Island, so we should be good to go when I get back in two weeks. Since I’m licensed in Connecticut, they said the temporary wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve applied with NABP to take the MPJE, so that’s all set, too.”

What the heck was she talking about?

“I’ve got a reservation on the ferry for two weeks from today. Will that give you enough time to vacate the apartment?” She paused to listen. “That sounds good. So you’ll schedule the closing with Jim for that afternoon?” Another pause. “Perfect. I’ll see you then. In the meantime, you have my number if anything comes up.”

By the time she ended the call, Evan had started to put two and two together, but nothing was adding up. “Something you want to tell me?”

“Good morning. How’re you feeling?”

“I feel like shit. What’s going on, Grace?”

Her face flushed, and just like that, he wanted her. While his first impulse was to get the hell out of there, he’d done that once before. Today, he was going to stay and somehow rid his system of the madness she’d inflicted upon him. Maybe then he could get on with his life without thoughts of her tormenting him morning, noon and night.

“I was going to tell you…”

He realized that whatever she needed to tell him was making her nervous. “Tell me what?”

“I’m buying Gold’s.”

The statement hung in the air between them like a live wire. He had no idea what to say.

“Before you totally freak out or think this is a nefarious plot to trap you in a godforsaken relationship, let me set your mind at ease. This has nothing at all to do with you.”

“I know that.” Was it possible for a head to explode? If so, his was about to.

She went into the bathroom and returned with two painkillers that she dropped into his hand. “I hope so, because this was in the works before I saw you on Saturday. For all I knew, I was going to pay you back the money I owed you and go about my way without ever seeing you again.”

Appreciating that she took care of him without even seeming to think about it, he popped the pills into his mouth and washed them down with the glass of water she gave him. “And was that what you wanted?” He stepped closer to her, drawn to her like a magnet to steel. He couldn’t be in the room with her and
not
touch her. The discovery, like so many others in the last few days, was unsettling and worrisome. “To never see me again?”

“We want different things, Evan. You’re still sowing your wild oats, and I’m looking for someone who wants to be with just me.”

“I want to be with just you.” The words were out of his mouth before he had fully considered the implications. As long as he was on a roll, he might as well go all the way. “And I don’t want you with anyone else.”

“Evan, you don’t know what you’re saying—”

“I know exactly what I’m saying.” The thought of her with another guy did him in. With his hands on her hips, he tugged her in tight against him and took her mouth in a kiss that should’ve been sweet and innocent, like her. But the instant her lips met his, he lost his mind after the long day of dreaming about her. The kiss became fierce and demanding. He fisted her hair to keep her right where he wanted her as he set out to weaken her defenses with passionate kisses.

When he finally came up for air, they were both breathing hard. Her brown eyes were focused on his mouth, and when she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, he nearly came in his pants. He tugged on the belt holding her robe together and about swallowed his tongue when he realized she was naked under there.

“Wait, Evan…” She grabbed hold of his hands before they could venture inside the robe. “We need to talk.”

“We will.” He pressed his lips to the spot on her neck that he already knew rendered her helpless and pushed the robe off her shoulders.

“
Evan
…” She tilted her neck to give him a better angle.

Sliding his hands from her hips over her ribs, he cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs over the pebbled tips. The aching drumbeat in his head was nothing compared to the throbbing need that surged straight to his groin when her soft hands ventured under his T-shirt to pull it up and over his head.

Returning his hands to her breasts, he backed her up to the bed and came down on top of her, lowering his head to taste one of the pink-tipped crests. He took his time, determined to savor every inch of her before he sated his own overwhelming desire. While his free hand pinched and rolled her other nipple, he sucked hard on the one in his mouth.

Her hips launched off the bed, seeking him.

Evan pushed his erection into the V of her legs, simulating what he wanted more than his next breath. While everything in him was urging him to hurry, he didn’t. He licked and sucked and squeezed, reveling in every sigh and moan he drew from her.

“Evan.
Please
…”

“What do you want, love?” The word rolled off his tongue, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to use such an endearment.

Her eyes flew open and connected with his, leaving no doubt that she’d heard him.

It occurred to Evan that he could still put a stop to this whole thing. He could stand up, utter his apologies and get the hell out of there before she succeeded in totally changing his life. Or he could stay. He could try his best to be the guy she wanted and deserved. The choice was his, and the time was now. The one thing he knew for sure was that if he made love to her again, there’d be no going back and no running away. Not this time.

Watching him study her, Grace furrowed her brows in confusion. “Is something wrong?”

Say it. Tell her there’s something very wrong. Tell her you can’t do this. It’s not your thing. She deserves better. Say what she needs to hear so she’ll know it’s you, not her
.

She ran her fingers through his hair and then gently over the wound on his face. “Are you in pain? Evan? What is it?”

“I…I don’t want you to see anyone else but me.” Now where in the hell had that come from? That wasn’t what he’d planned to say! Oh, who was he trying to fool? If he walked away from her, she’d haunt him for the rest of his life. She’d be with him everywhere he went, and he would never escape the yearning for more of her.

Her face slackened with shock at his declaration. “What’re you saying?”

He kissed her again, a tongue-tangling kiss that went on for what felt like forever. “I’m saying,” he said, kissing her face, the end of her nose, each eyelid and then her lips again, “that I don’t want you to do this with anyone but me.”

Kissing his way down the front of her, he paid homage to each breast before continuing to her belly. He could tell by her gasp that he shocked her again when he delved his tongue into her belly button. Looking up at her, he said, “Is that going to be a problem?”

She made him wait a long, breathless moment before she said, “No.”

With that single word, she sealed her fate—and his. Using his shoulders to push her legs apart, he settled between them, teasing her with his fingers as he left openmouthed kisses on her hips and then her core.

“
Evan!
Oh my God.” Her voice hitched on what sounded like a sob as he teased her with his tongue for a long time before he sucked hard on her clitoris and sank two fingers deep into her. The abrasions on his face hurt like a son of a bitch, but he wasn’t about to let that stop him from bringing her the ultimate pleasure. She came apart under him, thrashing and crying out.

Reluctant to leave her, even for a minute, Evan reached for the condoms that were still on the bedside table from the other night and rolled one on. Returning to her, he said, “Hey, are you still with me?”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with unabashed affection that touched him deep inside, in a place no one else had ever reached. “Barely.”

Did she have any idea how cute and sexy and sweet she was when she looked at him with amusement and affection in her eyes?

“I need to be inside you.” With his elbows propped on either side of her head, he used both hands to brush the hair back from her face. “Are you sore from the other night?”

“Not anymore.”

He pressed the head of his cock against tender flesh that was slick and ready for him. “So you were? Yesterday?”

She raised her hips, seeking him as she caressed his back in gentle strokes that somehow managed to calm him when he was feeling anything but calm. “A little.”

“I’m sorry about that. I should’ve been here to make sure you were okay.” Capturing her bottom lip between his teeth, he ran his tongue back and forth over it. “It was wrong of me to leave the way I did yesterday morning. Do you forgive me?”

“No,” she said, breathlessly, grasping his ass with both hands to encourage him to take her.

“Grace. . . Come on! I’m being serious. Tell me you forgive me.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“No,” he said, kissing her again because he couldn’t help himself. “You really shouldn’t, but you will, won’t you?”

“This one time.” She looked up at him, as if to ensure he understood what she was saying. “Not a second time.”

“I’ve learned my lesson. Don’t worry.” Relieved, he flexed his hips and entered her slowly, carefully, holding his breath until he was deep inside her. “Grace…
Ah
, you feel so good.” Letting his forehead drop to her chest, he tried to summon the control he needed to make this good for her.

The light stroke of her fingers on the back of his neck was nearly his undoing. Every time she touched him, it was like the first time all over again.

“Wrap your legs around my hips,” he said.

Watching him with a mixture of awe and trepidation, she did as he asked.

The new position allowed him to go deeper, which made her gasp in surprise and then moan with what sounded like pleasure.

“Good?”

She nodded and dragged his head down for another of those kisses that made him so crazy—sweet and hot at the same time.

He hooked his arms around her legs, opening her even further. “Touch yourself,” he said, his voice harsh from the effort it took to hold back and wait for her.

Her face turned bright red, which he found utterly charming. “I…I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can.” Reaching for her hand, he placed it between them and used his fingers on top of hers to stimulate her most sensitive place. The combined action of their two hands made her entire body flush with heat, turning her rosy nipples a darker shade. Her lips parted, and her back arched into him.

He picked up the pace, pumping into her with abandon. When he felt her legs start to quiver, he bent his head and sucked hard on her nipple.

As her internal muscles clamped down on his cock, she cried out, and the combination sent him with her into the single most exquisite release of his entire life. His body was racked with shudders as he came for what felt like forever.

Breathing hard, he rested on top of her, mindful of not crushing her with his weight. At least he knew now that what’d happened the other night wasn’t a one-time thing. A bead of sweat rolled into his eye, forcing it to close against the burn.

He started to move off her, but her arms tightened around him. “Not yet,” she said.

Settling into her loving embrace and breathing in her enticing scent, Evan acknowledged that his goose was good and truly cooked.

For Grace, that morning was something out of a dream. They made love again, slowly this time, and she couldn’t help but notice something had changed. She wasn’t sure what, but the first time they were together, he’d been lighthearted and amusing. Now he was serious, almost reverent, as if what they were doing together was the most important thing he’d ever done.

Grace wasn’t complaining. This new Evan was someone she could see herself spending a lot of time with—if he was here to stay. And wasn’t that the big question? If they spent another night together, which Evan would she wake up to tomorrow morning? The one who ran for his life at the first sign of something that smacked of commitment? Or the one who was so tender and attentive?

“I’m starving,” he said, his voice muffled by her breast.

“I’ll order some breakfast.”

He kissed the side of her breast and left a trail of kisses to her lips. “I’ll do it. What do you feel like?”

“An English muffin and some fruit would be good.”

Turning up his nose, he said, “That’s not enough for a bird.”

She needed to tell him why she ate so little, but not now. “It’s more than enough for me.”

“If you say so.” He got up to prowl around the room in the nude.

With her head propped on her hand, Grace watched his every move as he called room service and ordered enough food for ten people.

“Who’s going to eat all that?” she asked when he crawled back into bed and pulled her close to him.

“I am.” He nibbled on her neck, sending shivers down to her toes. “I need to keep up my strength so I can keep up with you.”