Chapter 13
Chance
Half-asleep Evie was hard to resist. Her sweet kisses.
Those little sighs and whines she made when I circled her clit with my thumb.
How wet she got when she came on my hand again.
I kept her distracted with orgasms until she fell back asleep so she would stop trying to undo my jeans.
If she got her hands on my cock, it was going to be game over.
I’d destroy her, and she wasn’t ready for that.
Half-awake Evie was a grump, which was so damn adorable. Her glowers, the way she kept pouting out that bottom lip until I kissed her slow and deep.
She sat up, my shirt slipping off one shoulder, her hair a tangled mess of white-blond, her eyes so soft and sweet even when she was ticked off. “What time is it?”
“Afternoon, I think,” I guessed, looking out the window at the shadows of the sun. “Everly came in a few hours ago and got ready for work. I fell back to sleep when she left.”
“Evy came home?” Her nose scrunched up, her gaze going around the apartment like she expected her sister to be hiding somewhere. When she looked at the door, she tensed, her face blanching. “D-did she shut the door?”
“Don’t worry, she locked it,” I assured her, stretching the kinks out of my neck.
“No. I meant… Never mind. It’s fine. It’s…” She stood and walked into the kitchen without finishing her thought.
Jerking open a cabinet, she pulled down a container of coffee. I stayed where I was, enjoying the view. I could get used to this. Evie walking around our space in my clothes, looking freshly fucked, grumpy over being awake. All that was missing was my come dripping out of her.
My cock was already hard.
Soon.
First, coffee, a shower, and then I was going to stretch her a little more. Maybe by the end of the weekend, I’d be able to fit half my cock in her.
Evie grumbled something under her breath, but whatever she said was lost on me when her phone started going off. Text after text bombarded the device, so fast the alert couldn’t keep up. Startled, she jumped and squeaked, nearly dropping the coffeepot.
I grabbed her phone off the table right as it started ringing. “It’s Abi.”
“Coffee first, conversations later.” She started grinding beans. “Lots of coffee first.”
Hitting decline, I tossed her phone on the couch beside me, eating up the sight of her bare thighs, remembering that she didn’t have panties on beneath my shirt. “You making enough for two, or is this your subtle way of kicking me out?”
Pausing her grinding, she looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes shuttering. “Sorry, I’m not familiar with the morning-after customs. Maybe you should instruct me on how this is supposed to go. Do I make you coffee? Cook you breakfast? Maybe offer to wash your back in the shower?”
That adorable grumpiness was gone, replaced by a sharp tone that sliced through me.
Evie turned, leaning a hip against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. Her messy hair was pulled over one shoulder, my shirt hanging off the other.
She was upset, a kaleidoscope of emotions filtering through her eyes, across her face, moving with precision to stab me dead center in the heart.
“Peaches,” I started off cautiously, but she cut me off.
“No, please. Tell me about your normal morning routine when you wake up at your hookup’s place. It happens so often, you’re an expert, right?” She narrowed her eyes on me, the unique colors stark in her angry face. “I mean, you were with someone else only a few nights ago. How did that go?”
Feeling like she’d punched me in the stomach, I opened my mouth, to say what—fuck, I had no idea. But again, she wasn’t interested in anything that I said, too worked up to listen even if I did have the ability to speak.
“But we didn’t actually hook up, so none of the social norms apply to this situation.
You not getting your dick wet releases me from any obligations to fulfill any of your other needs the morning after.
” She tapped her fingers on her chin and gave a firm nod.
“Yeah, I think that’s a perfectly acceptable rule.
Maybe next time, I’ll feel the urge to offer you a few extra amenities.
Oh no, wait. You don’t fuck the same woman twice.
Sorry, I totally forgot about that. Although, since we didn’t actually fuck, you might be up for a second night. ”
“What the fuck, Evie.” I shot to my feet, agitatedly raking my fingers through my hair.
Her anger came out of nowhere, molten-hot, charring my brain.
My first reaction was to defend myself, but I shut that down before I said something stupid.
Something that I would regret, that would hurt her more than she was already hurting.
That much, I did know. Her anger came from a vulnerable place that was scared and hurt and jealous.
Fuck. She knew I’d had a hookup earlier in the week.
It shouldn’t have surprised me. Hannigans’ had been crawling with women I’d fucked and discarded.
On any given night, there were always a few of them prancing around the place.
I didn’t doubt that someone had filled Evie’s head with exploits of my past.
But the past was where they would stay. From the moment I’d met my peaches, everything changed. Just thinking of touching any other woman made my skin crawl, nausea roiling in my stomach hard enough to make me have to fight the gag.
“We aren’t a hookup—now or in the future.
” I was half yelling, frustrated with myself, with the situation.
It was my own fault. I’d fucked around, not thinking about a future with a woman I would want for more than sex.
A woman who would one day own my heart. My past was littered with disrespect for the only woman who mattered.
Evie flinched. “Okay, thanks for clarifying that.”
“We’re more than just a fucking hookup, Evie!” I snarled, stalking toward her. “Yesterday, when I saw you sitting on those steps, you changed everything. My goddamn world shifted, peaches.”
She tried to step back as I reached her, but she was already against the counter.
I bent so I was in her face, breathing her air, breathing in her.
“This, you and me, is bigger than hooking up. I want to take things slow, so I don’t scare you.
There’s no rush, babe. We have the rest of our lives together. Because that’s what we are. Together.”
Fire sparked in those pretty eyes, her nose scrunching up almost in warning. “There’s a keyword there that you seem to be unaware of, Chance. We. That refers to you and me. I get a say in whether this is a we situation.”
“Let’s be real with each other, baby. Neither one of us got a say in any of this. From the moment we laid eyes on each other, it was set in stone. You’re mine, and I sure as fuck am yours.”
She bit her lip, pleasure mixing with indecision. Grabbing her ass in both hands, I lifted her onto the edge of the counter. “We’re together. Say it.”
“You aren’t the boss of me,” she hissed, poking me in the chest.
“Say it,” I repeated, then whispered, “Please, say it.”
“I—”
Her phone started going crazy again at the same time there was a loud knock on the door. “Evie? Evie, open up. It’s River.”
My head snapped up at the sound of River’s voice, hearing a note of urgency. Evie pushed me away, scrambling across the room, grabbing her phone off the couch on her way to the door. “What’s up?” she greeted, throwing the door open.
River’s green gaze skated from Evie to me as I came up behind her. Narrowing her eyes, she shifted them back to my girl. “We’ve all been trying to reach you. Your sister had a medical emergency. I came straight here as soon as Mila called me. Everly is being rushed to the emergency room.”
Evie made a choked noise, stumbling forward. “What? Oh my God! Is she okay?” She started trembling. “No, of course she’s not okay. She’s in the freaking hospital. I have to go. She needs me.”
I grabbed her around the waist when she would have pushed past River. “Baby, go get dressed. I’ll drive you.”
With a yelp, she looked down at herself, realizing for the first time what she was wearing—and what she wasn’t. Pink flooded her face, and she ducked under my arm before running into the bedroom.
River stepped back, her eyes still narrowed to slits on me. “You got this?”
“I have her,” I confirmed. “Everly going to be okay?”
“Sammy didn’t give me many details. All I know is that she was helping Abi, Jos, and Mila get her to the hospital.” Her jaw went tight, and she blew out a breath. “There may have been something mentioned about your mother being involved.”
“Meaning?” I gritted out, already knowing I wasn’t going to like what she said.
“Meaning Rory’s name was mentioned. That’s all. I’ve got my suspicions, but that’s it.” She took another step back. “My only suggestion is for you to hurry and get over there.”
“Fuck.”