My palms twitched. She would pay for her eye rolling later.
My eyes flicked to the door. Maybe if I left, she would never know and get over it. I mentally smacked myself. Of course, she would know. I drove her there. My stomach twisted. Evvie fucked me up. I had been with a lot of women. Used them and left, never to be heard from again. But this was different. I loved her. I actually loved her. And I not only loved her, I wanted to be with her.
When Evvie came back out into the waiting area about ten minutes later, our eyes locked. My tense body relaxed at the sight of her. It was odd in a way, how just looking at her could ease all of the tension that had been resting on my shoulders ever since I was a child.
A large beast of a man stepped in front of her, blocking my view. I bit back a growl, my hands clenching into fists in my lap. Before I charged over and shoved him out of the way, I took a breath and then another.
“Daddy!”
A breath left me on a whoosh.
Evvie hugged the older man, her eyes shining with love for her father. “You’re out?”
He nodded, cupping her cheek. “I am.” He asked her something that only she could hear but when her gaze met mine, I knew they were talking about me.
Her cheeks reddened, her pupils dilating. She shook herself, trying so hard to get rid of those damn feelings I knew she had for me.
“A friend,” she answered.
I took that as my cue and stepped up behind her. A friend. Fucking please. I would show her just how much of a friend I could be and more. I would worship the very ground she walked on. I didn’t grovel for anyone but for her. I would beg at her feet just to hear her tell me how she felt. Something or someone hurt her, and I would get it out of her, one way or another. But until then, I would have fun showing her just how much she belonged to me.
***
Something was wrong. With Evvie. The whole situation. Every single fucking thing. But I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. Once we left the jail, Evvie closed up. There was no fight left in her. No spark, no smile that I had come to crave. Seeing her eyes light up for me, her calling me an asshole, all of it made me fall in love with her. But I wasn’t easy to get along with and I came with baggage. A lot of it.
Evvie asked me to take her home but instead, I was going to take her somewhere I hadn’t been in a long time. It was secluded, quiet, and everything she currently needed.
She sat in silence, staring out the window while I drove. I didn’t know what to do to make her feel better, so I did what I did best. I touched her. Cupping her inner thigh, I gripped it and poured all of my strength into her.
Evvie stiffened, pushing my hand away.
I frowned. Not gonna happen, sweet girl.
“Don’t,” she said softly.
“Evvie.”
“Please, stop…I just…I don’t…” She sighed, scrubbing a hand down her face.
Actually listening to her for once, I went to pull away when she grabbed my hand and held it tight in her lap.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I moved my hand to her thigh, holding her. Touching her. Giving her everything she needed. “Shhh…just let me touch you.”
Evvie sighed, curling her legs under her.
When I glanced over a minute later, her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and even. I smiled to myself, thankful she could trust me enough to let herself fall asleep beside me.
A half hour later, I drove us down a long gravel road, stopping in front of a lake. Shutting the car off, I leaned toward Evvie and cupped her cheek. My dick stirred. I thought of waking her up by sliding my hand beneath her skirt but the better part of me, the part that actually cared about her, didn’t. Not when she had a stressful day already.
“Lover,” I whispered, brushing my thumb over her full bottom lip.
Her mouth pulled into a smile, her eyes fluttering open.
I glanced out at the lake before us.
“Where are we?” Evvie asked, sitting up.
“My sister calls it The Cove but I don’t think it has an official name,” I answered, brushing my finger down her bare arm.
“Every time I leave the jail, I get this empty feeling inside of me. I feel helpless and it pisses me off when I’m told not to worry.”
Linking our fingers, I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand. “It pisses me off when I lose control.”
“You weren’t mad when we got drunk last night and both of us lost control,” she pointed out.
“That’s because I wanted to be there with you.” That was the truth. As much I hated getting drunk, being with Evvie like that helped me realize that she could be the answer I needed all along. “Losing control as one was exhilarating.”
“I can’t compete with the other women in your life,” she mumbled.
“There’s only one other woman in my life and that’s my sister,” I told her, a hot shiver racing down my spine that she kept questioning my motives. I didn’t want anyone else. I only wanted Evvie.
“What about Claire?”
My hand tightened in hers. “Claire was a mistake.”
Evvie scoffed. “I think you should tell her that.”
I scowled. “I don’t want to ruin this moment by talking about that woman.”
“Fine.” Evvie pulled herself from my grip and left the vehicle.
I had no idea what I was going to do to prove that she would be mine. That she was it for me. Claire was nothing. I meant every word when I said that she was a mistake. But she was actually worse than that. She was a disease. A pariah.
I had every intention of just sitting there and talking to Evvie, but when she left the car, other thoughts came to mind.
Leaving the vehicle, I leaned against it and watched her.
When she started unbuttoning her shirt and kicked off her heels, my dick twitched. Looked like I wasn’t the only one who had delicious ideas.
“Have you ever been skinny dipping?” she asked, pulling the tails of her blouse out of her skirt.
“No.” I crossed my arms under my chest, watching and waiting for that perfect moment to strike.
“Neither have I,” she said, letting the shirt slide off her arms. She threw the fabric on the ground and unzipped her skirt.
My heart jumped, her pale skin unmarked. No matter how rough I was with her last night, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth deeper into her flesh.
Bending over, Evvie pulled the fabric down her legs.
I swallowed a groan, my dick jumping and twitching in my pants. God, she was beautiful. Innocent and a lady when needed, but a vixen and dirty as fuck whenever I craved it.
Closing the distance between us, I leaned down to her ear. “What are you doing, lover?”
She jumped, her skin puckering with tiny goose bumps.
“I’m breaking the rules,” she breathed. “I want to do something I’ve never done before.”
Running my hands down her arms, I brushed my lips over the shell of her ear. “It seems to me like you’ve been doing a lot that you haven’t done before.”
“My brother has been in and out of jail since I was a kid. I’ve always played by the rules. I didn’t want to be like him. He’s a good guy but just makes the wrong choices. Just once, I want to do something that I’m not supposed to do.” She stepped out of my grasp and unclasped the back of her bra.
“Like what?” I asked, walking in front of her.
She let the bra fall beside her and looked up at me. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breath, her nipples pebbling in the cool air.
Brushing my thumbs over the sharp peaks, I watched her teeth graze over her bottom lip. “I love the way your nipples harden under my touch.”
“I love the feel of your hands on my body.”
I smirked, lowering my head to kiss her when she stepped away from me. That movement made my dick leak. I was going to come in my pants if I didn’t get inside her and soon, but her playing hard to get was turning me on even more.
Evvie pulled off her panties, standing naked before me, and headed to the edge of the water.
“I hope you can swim fast, lover.”
She glanced my way over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Why’s that?” she asked, wading into the water.
Ripping my shirt down the middle, the buttons flew around me as I closed the distance between us.
Her eyes widened, a flush of pink hitting her cheeks.
“Because once I catch you and take you how I want you, I’m never letting you go.”
Her squeal of laughter only made me pick up the pace. She dove beneath the water, thinking she could get away from me.
Just as she came up for air, I slid beneath the surface and swam toward her. I couldn’t see beneath the murky water, but I could feel her. We could be in complete darkness and I would always find her.
As soon as she was about to swim away, I caught her and wrapped my body around hers.
She gasped, fighting against me.
I chuckled, swimming us to shore. “Trying to escape, are we?”
“Now why would I do that?” she asked, prying my fingers off of her.
Once we left the water, I lifted her off her feet and pushed her face first onto the grass. “You enjoy it when I chase you.”
She panted, attempting to crawl away from me.
I grabbed her ankles, pulling them out from under her and pinned her beneath me.
“Brett?”
Running my nose up the side of her neck, I fisted her hair and spread her legs with my knees. “Yes, lover?”
“I need you to fuck me,” she pleaded, arching beneath me.
“Do you now?” I bit her shoulder, a groan escaping the back of my throat as she ran her delicious ass over my swollen cock.
“Yes.” She gripped the grass between her fingers. “Right now.”
Hooking a hand beneath her knee, I pushed it up to her chest. “I am so hard for you.”
“Please,” she begged.
“Tell me,” I demanded, needing to hear the words from her lips.
“I need you to make me feel good.”
Thrusting into her in a smooth move, I paused, waiting for her body to get used to my size.
She gasped. “Oh God.”
“I’m going to fuck you rough and you’re going to think of just me.”
She moaned. “Faster.”
“Patience, my little vixen.” I kissed her neck, my hips picking up speed. “Spread your legs wide for me.”
She did as she was told.
My balls ached, needing to come inside her, but I wanted this to last. I wanted to show her that she was in fact mine and that I would do anything to make her happy, to see that I wasn’t going anywhere. “Your body was made for fucking,” I groaned, pushing deeper inside her.
Evvie cried out, her pussy sucking me further into her.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
“Harder,” she pleaded, arching her hips.
“You like being fucked by my thick cock?” I asked, nipping the skin below her ear.
“Yes,” she whispered, tilting her hips to meet my thrusts.
“Come.” I kissed her shoulder. “I need to feel you let go.”
Evvie moaned.
My thrusts turned frantic, deep and hard. I couldn’t get enough of her. The control slipped from my very fingertips as I fucked her on the ground. She deserved to be savored and ravished in a bed, but this need for her won out. It always won out.
“Come for me, Evvie.”
She shook, her body trembling beneath me. “Brett,” she cried out.
Wrapping my fingers around her throat, I gripped her hip with my free hand, and powered into her with so much force, she came a second time for me.
I knew right then that I was stamping my ownership on her. With each hard thrust, my body claimed hers and demanded her submission.
She cried out, her pussy milking the orgasm right out of me.
Her name left my lips on a roar, my cum slipping out between our joined bodies. This woman was my undoing. I would crawl through hell just to get a taste of her and, now that I had her completely, I would never let her go.
A WEEK AFTER I brought Evvie to see her father at the jail, we were sitting on the couch in her living room. With her feet in my lap, it took everything in me not to pull her against me, but after the rough way I used her earlier that morning, I decided to be nice and give her a break.
“Have you talked to your brother or father?” I asked her, pushing my thumb into the arch of her foot.
She sighed, laying back on the couch. “Yeah. Ethan should be out of jail soon.” She laughed. “My mom would kick their asses if she were still alive.”
“You miss her,” I said gently, rubbing my hands over her feet.
“I do but I think my dad misses her even more.” She cleared her throat. “Has Mathis left you alone?”
I smiled softly at the change in subject. “He has.” Which was surprising.
“Why don’t you want to work with him?” Evvie asked, sitting up.
“Because I like being in control.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her onto my lap. “I refuse to let someone else be my boss. And everything he wants, comes with ulterior motives.”
“Maybe those motives are for the better.” She shrugged. “You never know.”
Him getting rid of Claire for me would be better. “It still doesn’t mean I want to work for him.”
She cupped my jaw. “It’s okay to submit sometimes.”
I raised an eyebrow and pushed her back onto the couch. “I don’t give a fuck who it is.” I sunk my teeth into her jaw. “I won’t submit to anyone.”
She arched beneath me. “Okay.”
“Besides…” I kissed the side of her neck. “You do enough submitting for the both of us.”
She laughed, punching me in the shoulder, and shoving me back. “Not like I had a choice in the matter.”
“You always have a choice.” I kissed her softly on the mouth and pulled her against my side. “Always, Evvie.”
“What if I told you that I didn’t want to submit to you?” She looked up at me when I didn’t respond. “Would you be okay with that?”
I rubbed the scruff on my jaw. I never thought of that before. Would I be okay with it? “I don’t think I would, but I want you happy. As long as you didn’t try and control me, I could work with it.”
She frowned. “Did something happen?”
Clearing my throat, I held her tighter. “Let’s change the subject,” I suggested. “What was your dad in jail for?”
She swallowed hard. “Everything Mathis said was right. My dad was a cop, a shady one at that, but that only started after my mom died. He had four kids to raise.” A shuddered breath left her. “I don’t know the exact details, but I do know that he helped with getting drugs over the border into different countries.”
“He’s a bad ass.” I kissed her head, rubbing my hands up and down her arms.
“No.” She looked up at me then. “He’s a father and he was desperate.”
“How long has he been in jail for?”
“Three years, four months, two weeks and five days.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Not that I was counting or anything.”
I gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek. “At least he’s out now.”
“Yeah.” At that point, Evvie’s phone rang. “Hello? ...Hey, Daddy.” She sat up. “You’re what?” she asked, her voice cracking.
My back stiffened.
“Why not?” She pinched the bridge of her nose, blowing out a slow breath. “I don’t get why you guys are so damn determined to protect me. I’m fine. I’m an adult…yeah…some other time…sure.” She hung up, throwing the phone on the counter. “I’ve never hung up on my father before,” she muttered.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I brushed my thumb up and down the side of her neck. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t want me to come over because he needed more time. Jail
messes him up and with Ethan being there, it doesn’t help any. He feels like a failure as a father. Even though he’s not. God, I love that man but hate him just the same sometimes.” She scoffed. “Bothering me,” she repeated. “Fucking please. I’m sick of these men in my life trying to control every single thing I do. It doesn’t get us anywhere.”
“Evvie,” I said gently, wanting to tell her that I loved her and that I was there for her, but the words never left my mouth. I said it once but for whatever reason, I was terrified to say it again.
***
A few days later, I was working away in my office when the door opened. I glanced up, my back stiffening at who stood in the doorway.
“What the hell do you want, Claire?” I snapped, rising to my feet.
“Aww, now, Brett.” She closed the door behind her. “That’s a loaded question.”
“You need to leave.” I didn’t want Evvie to see her, let alone have this woman breathe the same air as her.
“You don’t have to be rude. I just want to talk.”
“Right.” I pressed the security button beneath the top of the desk. No sooner than a minute later and Kane was barging into the room.
“What the fuck?” Claire cried, her eyes moving back and forth between us. “I only wanted to talk. I want to know why the hell you have Mathis on my ass.”
“That’s all on him.” I sat back in the chair. “Goodbye, Claire.”
“You can’t get rid of me, Brett,” Claire yelled as Kane pulled her from the room. “I will be back.”
I shook my head. She was a damn disease. An addiction I thought I had wanted until I met Evvie. Claire didn’t even begin to scratch the surface on the itch I had.
“Boss?”
I glanced up.
“You need to put a restraining order on that woman,” Kane said, rubbing a dark red mark on his cheek.
“Did she scratch you?”
“Yeah. She’s a strong little thing.”
“Get tested.” I stood and came around the desk, pulling my wallet out of my pants pocket. Retrieving a couple hundred-dollar bills, I handed them to him. “You don’t know where she’s been.” Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t talk badly about someone who clearly had some mental health issues but when she wouldn’t leave me alone, I no longer gave a shit.