18. Phoenix
Chapter 18
Phoenix
M y foot is heavy on the gas pedal on our way home.
The silence in the car is deafening, and with each passing moment, my grip on the steering wheel tightens.
Evangeline shifts around, one hand still holding that damn paper bag like her life depends on it, and I’ve never been so offended by a paper bag before. I’m two seconds away from tossing it out the window and reversing over it for good measure.
I glare at her when we stop at a light. “When you agreed to marry me, you agreed not to see other guys. I will not allow you to make a fool of me in public. Was that not clear?”
She doesn’t say anything.
“Eve, I’m talking to you. If I ask you a question, I expect a response.”
My tone is as cold as ice, but I can’t help myself. When it comes to this woman, I feel like someone grabbed me by the arms, pushed me into the vortex of a tornado, and yelled after me, “Good luck finding your way around in there, buddy.” An absolute clusterfuck. And while I usually pride myself on my control, I must admit it’s mostly absent where Evangeline is concerned.
A week ago, I kissed her like she truly belonged to me and held her in my arms a few hours later, worried sick after I found her in the music room amid a sea of broken glass. I watched over her all night, unable to close my eyes because I had to make sure she was okay.
I thought spending time away from her would clear my head and put things back into perspective. Despite the minor setback of obsessively watching her on the camera feeds, it did help some. Then we started texting more, and I got to know another facet of her. The urge to race back to the house grew, so I stayed away longer than planned. Now, we’re at a point where one minute in her presence, one guy looking at her, touching her, tips me over the edge and all bets are off.
No one touches what’s mine.
I want to strangle every guy who even glances in her direction. When Holden sent me pictures of her cozying up with Mason, I cut my workout session short and drove here like the Devil was after me.
And, of course, she acts like it’s not a big deal. That only makes me want to punish her.
Maybe it’s time to teach her a lesson and make use of my threat.
“Evangeline.” My voice comes out low, my anger barely disguised.
She sighs like I’m the one who did something wrong.
No matter how much she fights me, she’s mine, and the sooner she understands that, the better.
“Yes, Phoenix, I got it.” She couldn’t have put more attitude into that sentence had she tried.
“Were you trying to get my attention then today, is that it?” I keep my gaze on the road, but I can still see her in my periphery.
Her head snaps my way, her body turning. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The roads start to wind along the tree lines, and I ease my foot off the gas.
I exhale through my nose, probably sounding like an angry bull. “I can’t tell if you’re playing stupid right now or if you’re just completely oblivious.”
She holds up her index finger. “Number one, don’t talk to me like that.” She adds another finger. “And number two, I genuinely have no clue what the hell you’re talking about.”
I glance at her with narrowed eyes but can’t detect a lie on her face. “I’m talking about how you allow guys to fawn over you in public. I was in the café less than five minutes, and you let two men touch you. Anyone could have walked in there and taken a photo or video of you to post it online. And you’re not even wearing your ring.”
“It’s still new, so I forgot it when I got ready, okay? And no one was fawning over me.”
“Eve, you were snuggled against Mason’s chest. Any closer, and you would have sat on his lap.” The words taste like acid on my tongue, and I take a deep breath. “And don’t get me started on how that barista was drooling after you. He still has the same stars in his eyes when he sees you as he did back then.”
This time, she points her fingers at me. “So you do remember him.”
I shrug.
“You’re such an asshole. Who pretends not to know someone just to fuck with their head? Unbelievable.” She shakes her head and turns away from me.
“Careful, Angel. I’ve given you a warning before. That mouth will get you in trouble. Keep talking to me like that if you want that ass spanking.”
She gasps. “You wouldn’t.”
I slow down as we near the security gate and glance at her. “Do you know me at all?”
She stares at me for a moment before focusing on her lap. “I once thought I did.”
The words are so quiet I almost think I imagined them, but she did say them, hitting me right behind my rib cage.
I stop at the security gate and roll down my window while we wait for the metal gates to swing open.
“Sir.” Mike nods at me and peeks into the car, a huge smile spreading when he sees who’s in the passenger seat. “Miss Caldwell. How are you today? Are you feeling better?”
Evangeline leans across the middle console and lifts a hand in a wave. “Hey, Mike. A lot better, yes, thank you. How are the kids? Better too?”
I press my lips together, trying to understand what’s happening. Mike’s kids? I think he has a son and a daughter, but why is Evangeline asking about their well-being?
Like a smitten puppy, Mike nods at her. “They finally seem over the worst, thank God.”
She gives him a wide smile. A genuine smile. The same smile she used to give me.
“I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Me too,” Mike says. “Does your offer still stand? ”
She nods. “Absolutely. You have my number. Just give me a call.”
He touches the brim of his hat and pulls on it. “Will do, thanks.”
“Of course.”
His gaze moves to me as if he remembered I’m still here too.
Me.
His fucking boss.
He swallows and dips his head. “Sir. You have a lovely fiancée.”
I stare at him before I narrow my gaze at said fiancée. She’s still draped over the middle console. So close. Close enough for me to see the golden flecks in her eyes. Close enough for me to get a whiff of her floral perfume.
“I do, don’t I?”
My cock gives a little twitch, even more so when my gaze goes lower and lands on those lush lips of hers.
Was it only last week when I devoured them?
When I wanted to devour so much more than just her soft mouth?
My gaze roams upward, catching Evangeline glancing at my mouth the same way I imagine I just stared at hers.
Then our gazes meet, and whatever spell we were just under is broken.
She clears her throat and says, “Have a lovely day, Mike,” before returning to her seat.
“You too.” Mike steps back.
I let the car roar, and we drive through the gate, up the driveway to the house.
My house .
It’s pretentious and way too big for me, but my grandfather wanted me to have it. And somehow, it feels a lot more like a home now with Holden and Evangeline in it.
“You have my number. Just give me a call.”
My mind circles back over our conversation with my security guard until we drive into the garage. My skin feels too tight.
I kill the engine but keep my focus on the front of the car, not trusting myself to look at Evangeline yet. No one else winds me up the way she does.
My breath escapes out of my nose in an angry swoosh. “Why the fuck does my security guard have your phone number?”
Evangeline lifts her hand toward the door.
Of course, she’d rather run from me than answer a damn question.
I click the lock button on my door console.
“Phoenix.” There’s that bite again in her voice. “Open the door.”
“Not until you answer my question.”
She sighs and settles back in her seat. “I don’t have to answer all of your questions, okay? Yes, I agreed to marry you, but I’m not your property to do whatever you want with.”
But that’s where she’s wrong.
She might not be my property, but she owes me.
Owes me.
I don’t reply; I react.
I push the unlock button, the click loud in the otherwise quiet car, and she immediately grabs the door handle to yank it open .
Then she runs.
A laugh escapes me. “You can run all you want, Angel, but I’ll always find you.”
She races through the mudroom, across the foyer, and up the stairs.
Once she reaches the top landing, I catch up with her, grab her hand, and drag her in the opposite direction of her room.
“What are you doing?” She tries to yank her hand out of mine. “Phoenix. Let me go.”
I ignore her and drag her straight to my office.
Holden sits behind the desk when I burst in and regards us with a confused expression. Once he sees me with my cargo in tow, it quickly turns into amusement.
“Out.” I keep my voice restrained with him, barely.
He walks toward the door with a slight shake to his head.
“Hold, help me.” Evangeline yanks and wiggles behind me, using her other hand to aid her attempted escape.
Holden lifts his hands and inches toward the door. “Sorry, Princess, but this is between you two.”
She huffs at the obvious laughter in his tone before turning her attention back to me once the door clicks shut.
“Phoenix, I swear. If you don’t let me go, I will knee you in the balls.”
I spin her around so her back is to my front.
Which I realize too late is a big mistake because now my cock is pressed against her backside.
“There’s that smart mouth again, Angel. I’ve warned you.”
“Wh-what?” She stiffens in my hold .
I brush all of her hair to one side and run my nose up the delicate curve of her shoulder.
The slight noise she lets out at the contact makes me rock-hard.
“I told you there’d be consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?” All the defiance has left her voice.
I trail my lips up her throat to her ear. “The good kind.”
All week long she’s infiltrated my brain to the point that it was an image of her that appeared in my head when I was stroking my cock in the shower a few days ago. I came harder than I have in years, and I hate it. Now I can’t get myself off without thinking about her and what it would feel like to sink deep into her pussy, to make her take my cock to the hilt and moan my name.
And she has to pay for driving me crazy. For making me think of her. For making me want things from her that aren’t part of my plan.
I take her earlobe between my teeth, and she shivers in my arms. When she moves this time, it’s not to struggle but to get closer.
She whimpers, and the last of my self-control evaporates.
Before she can react, I walk us back to the big armchair by the window. I sink onto the cool leather and pull her with me, flipping her onto her stomach so she lands on my lap.
Her surprised gasp echoes around the room, and she immediately goes back to struggling. I put one arm on her back to keep her in place.
“Let me go.”
But my hold is solid. I brush my other hand down her spine and toward that delectable ass of hers. Kneading one cheek several times over her leggings. Repeating the motion on the other side.
Evangeline is still wiggling underneath my touch, trying to get closer.
“Phoenix?”
My name leaves her mouth as a question. I turn my attention away from her lower half and find her facing me. She’s staring at me with her plush lips slightly parted and a rosy flush in her cheeks.
“Shh. I’ll be gentle this time.” I give her no time to react, grabbing the hem of her leggings and yanking them down. I catch a glimpse of her black thong, but not wanting to waste any time, I bring my hand down on her bare skin with a resounding smack .
My gaze is fixated on her, unwilling to miss a second of her reaction. The breathy gasp, the widening of her eyes before she squeezes them closed, the moment she pulls her lower lip into her mouth.
I smooth my hand over her soft skin. For an instant, I savor the contact, then I lift my hand again and let it connect with the other side.
Smack.
Evangeline moans, shifting on my hard cock to the point of discomfort.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a consequence for her ? Right now, it feels like I drew the shorter straw.
Once more, I rub over the red spot, my heart speeding up because I left a mark on her.
“Three more.” My voice is low and gravelly, and I clear my throat.
Smack .
Smack.
Every gasp turns into a moan.
I caress her cheeks in circles that become bigger and bigger until my fingers graze the edge of her thong, and her reaction is immediate. Evangeline practically bows under my hold in a desperate attempt for more.
“Last one.”