Chapter 2
Evie
If he didn’t stop touching me, I was going to beg him to never let me go, and I’d already embarrassed myself enough. With effort, I put a little distance between us, even as something inside me cried out at the loss of his rough fingers caressing my face.
Being touch-starved for twenty-one years had made me so desperate for human contact that now I was allowing complete strangers to invade my personal space?
Not that it had been an issue before. Up until I’d set eyes on Chance, the only person I’d ever cared about touching was my sister. And I definitely hadn’t thought about touching her the way I’d immediately wanted to touch him.
Since I had been locked away from society for the majority of my life, one of my biggest concerns was imprinting on the first boy I saw.
Like some lovestruck fool who became instantly obsessed at the slightest sign of affection from a guy.
Thankfully, that had not turned into a dilemma.
Many, many guys had flirted with me since my release from the hospital and moving with Evy from Seattle, Washington, to Creswell Springs, California.
None of them had come close to giving me butterflies.
It had been nice to have their attention, but I just hadn’t been interested.
Or maybe I’d still been in shock.
Not dying like I’d anticipated, followed by waking up in the hospital to discover my father was dead, could have frozen something. If so, Chance had successfully thawed me. That butterflies-in-my-belly sensation was going crazy, and my heart raced like I’d been running for hours.
All because a guy had touched my face.
Said guy being the hottest version of the male species probably had a lot to do with it. What little I knew about romance and relationships was primarily from watching K-Dramas on Netflix. Which had not prepared me for real-life attraction.
To be fair, I doubted anything could have prepared me for Chance.
Then again, he was a man, not a boy.
And I was a naive, possibly gullible, young woman who had been sheltered her entire life. Chance probably touched everyone. Flirted. And everything else that followed. Kissing. Touching—lots and lots of touching. And…
Realizing my breathing was quicker, that I was equal parts angry and turned on, I shut down those thoughts fast. Violence was not something I’d been exposed to.
It and the volatile emotions that came with it should not have even lived in my wheelhouse.
Yet I was suddenly feeling very, very violent and full of… hate?
Toward any woman Chance had kissed and touched and all the other ands.
Which was ridiculous. I’d only met the man mere minutes before. Aside from names, we knew nothing about each other, and if he did find out about my past, he wouldn’t want to kiss or touch me, let alone anything more.
You’re nothing, Evelyn.
Tracing a finger over the rim of my coffee mug, I tipped my head back, enjoying the early morning air while squashing down William’s voice. Rain or shine, it didn’t matter. Feeling the breeze on my skin was a luxury I couldn’t take for granted.
Chance groaned and got to his feet. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved flannel over a simple T-shirt, with sturdy boots on his feet, and I assumed he must have a manly-man type of job. He said he and his cousins owned the apartments, but I wasn’t sure if “landlord” was an actual job title.
“I’d much rather stay and enjoy this misty morning with you, peaches, but I gotta get to work.” He smiled down at me. “You’ll be a good girl while I’m gone, yeah?”
“No promises.” I returned his smile, while internally whimpering at the loss of his presence.
As if he were aware of my inner distress, his body stiffened up, his smile fading. For several long moments, he simply stood there, staring down at me. Inhaling raggedly, I watched as his throat worked a few times, his fingers clenching around his large thermal cup.
“Won’t you be late?” I asked, not wanting him to get into trouble.
“Probably.” But he didn’t move, his eyes locked on me.
“Will your boss be upset?”
“Highly likely.” He released a harsh exhale. “I don’t know if I can walk away from you yet. Give me a minute.”
A swarm of butterflies was set free in my belly while a slow heat began to build lower. He didn’t want to leave me. That confession was enough to make me a little dizzy with happiness.
He crouched down in front of me, placing his thermos on the ground at my feet so his hands were free to touch my legs. Feeling his calloused fingertips skim over my bare thighs had me shivering. Goose bumps popped up on my skin, disappearing beneath my panda sleep shorts.
I bit my lip, watching him brush his fingers all the way to the hem and then back to my knees. Physical contact was an addictive sensation, releasing a plethora of chemicals into my brain and rewiring it until all I wanted was more.
More Chance. More touches. More of his voice, his scent, his blue eyes on me. More, more, more.
His jaw clenched, the cords along his neck popping as he flexed his fingers on my inner thighs. “Just a little longer. Then I’ll go.”
“No rush,” I whispered, surprised my voice worked at all. Was it even legal to feel this good? I felt a rush inside me, flooding from my head, down my spine, building up in my core. Building. Rushing. Gushing.
Oh.
Wetness gathered in my center, soaking through my panties. Another shiver rattled through my entire body. His touch was divine. I was already dreading the loss when he left.
Nothing good lasts forever, Evie. Don’t ever forget that.
“Christ, I must be terrifying you,” he groaned.
“I’m not scared of you, Chance.” Myself, yes. Not being enough for him, again yes. Of what he was doing, I doubted that was possible.
Dipping his head closer, he inhaled deeply, his blue eyes sparking like live electrical currents ran within the irises. “Give me your phone.”
“I left it in my apartment.”
Fingers flexing on my thighs again, he growled in displeasure. “You keep your phone with you at all times from now on, peaches.”
“Technology and I aren’t close friends,” I explained with a shrug, causing the soft throw that I was using like a shawl to slip off my shoulders.
It was an easier explanation than admitting that up until a matter of weeks before, I’d never owned or operated a smartphone.
William hadn’t allowed me to have anything besides a desktop computer that was only set up for schoolwork.
One time, I’d tried to set up an email account, thinking maybe I could use it to communicate with my sister throughout the year, but he shut that down before I was even finished creating the log-in.
Pulling his own phone from his pocket, Chance started typing.
“Give me your number. I don’t think I can leave you without knowing I have a way to communicate with you today.
As much as I want to call out of work, I have an inspector coming to sign off on the wiring we finished for our current largest project. ”
I hesitated, not because I didn’t want to give him my number, but because I barely remembered it.
Once I rattled it off, I was already missing the loss of one of his hands on me, my skin feeling unbearably chilled where his palm had been only moments before.
It was going to physically hurt when he left, but if I told him that, he’d think I was a freak.
Worse, a clingy freak. From what little I did know about guys, they weren’t fans of clingy girls.
With effort, he forced himself to stand then offered me his hand. Almost unconsciously, I took it and stood when he gave a firm tug. “I don’t like you being out here alone. And you’re cold. Don’t want you catching a chill.”
He caressed his thumb across my knuckles as he walked me toward the open door of apartment four. “You have plans for tonight?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m hoping we get to celebrate if Evy gets the job she’s interviewing for this afternoon.”
“Let me know, and I can meet up with you at Hannigans’. If not, maybe you might want to grab some dinner at Aggie’s with me.”
OMG. Was he asking me on a date? This felt surreal.
“I would like that,” I murmured, thankful my voice didn’t do something embarrassing like shake or crack.
Stopping outside my door, he leaned down, pressing his lips to my forehead. Every nerve in my body suddenly felt alive. Balling my hands into fists, I kept them at my sides so I wouldn’t grab hold of his flannel and cling to him like a baby koala.
“See you soon, peaches.”