Chapter 12 – Evelyn
EVELYN
I had a lovely day with Alexander. The ribbon cutting had been hot in the midst of all that concrete and metal, but it had still been valuable for the information I had gathered.
After hearing Nathaniel Drake speak, I understood why his proposal had been chosen for the area.
He was a charismatic speaker, and the city had been wanting to revitalize that district for a while.
His answer about rent-stabilized apartments had been the right one, but I still worried about the people living in that area.
Housing and financial stress could bring out the worst in people, so I would have to get Izzy going on a plan for how to support that area.
Maybe there were some nonprofits we could rope in to help us.
After the ribbon cutting, Alexander had taken me to a trendy little bistro downtown for dinner.
We hadn’t talked about work at all and instead just learned more about each other.
For a brief few hours, I had forgotten about the outside world.
With him, I wasn’t Evelyn Harper, the assistant, or Eve Harper, the leader of the Archers.
I was just Evelyn, a woman on a date with a gorgeous man.
A gorgeous man who had been nothing but a gentleman all evening.
Alexander was always so controlled, his reactions and actions so measured, and that had been on full display during our date.
There were a few times when his eyes flared with heat when I brushed my legs against his under the table or when I bent down to get a napkin, but he had sat there like a perfect gentleman.
His hands never wandered once, and the devilish part of me wanted to see what it would be like when he lost control.
I rolled over again. Alexander lay on his side facing me, his hands extended towards me even in sleep.
When I started tossing and turning, I had shifted away from him, so I wouldn’t wake him.
No need for both of us to be sleepless tonight.
I studied him, taking the opportunity while his guard was down.
His dark hair was tousled against the pillow—so unlike his usual neatly combed appearance.
The soft light that filtered through the curtains made the copper tones stand out against the silver sheets.
His jaw was set even in sleep. His mouth was half-open, as if he might speak.
His chest rose and fell under the soft gray T-shirt, slow and steady.
I focused there for a few moments, thanking the universe that I had managed to keep him, all of them, alive the last few months.
Our lives would always be at risk in this line of work, and with this new threat, I couldn’t relax.
The thought of losing him, losing any of them, created an ache in my chest that made it hard to breathe.
I used to be able to keep a healthy distance between us, and that made the thought of losing them easier, or maybe I was just fooling myself that it would.
But now, they were so deeply integrated into my life and under my skin that I was never getting them out.
I held my breath as Alexander shifted. His arm stretched toward me, fingers almost touching my side.
I lay still and watched. His heat was a warm glow on my skin.
Last week with Sebastian had changed something inside me.
I’d never really thought about sex before.
I masturbated sometimes, but I wouldn’t have gone out looking to sleep with someone.
I didn’t trust people that much. But with these men—first Sebastian, now Alexander—I trusted them enough for my body to respond.
It wasn’t about the physical attraction, although that was there in spades.
It was about knowing I could let my guard down and trust them.
There was nothing sexier than trust. Maybe that was why I was lying here awake.
I had a man I trusted in my bed, and my body was making up for lost time now that it had gotten a taste of the pleasure these men could give me.
I shifted again, lying on my side facing away from him as if that would calm my libido.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Alexander asked, his sleep-drenched voice rough and raspy.
“Sorry I woke you,” I said softly, peeking over my shoulder at him.
His sleepy blue eyes blinked slowly, and he shifted an arm around me, pulling me back to him. I sank into his body heat, my body heating in more ways than one. I couldn’t help rocking against him, and he froze. I froze too, mortified.
Good job, Evelyn. You’re molesting the man in his sleep.
“Is there something you need?” He nuzzled my ear as his hand dipped lower. “Was our date not satisfactory?” His hand skimmed my stomach, and my muscles clenched.
“The date was wonderful,” I breathed as his fingers danced across my hipbones.
“Clearly not if you’ve been tossing and turning all night.”
I winced. I didn’t realize he had felt that. I didn’t mean to wake him. “I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies,” he murmured. “It was my fault for leaving you wanting. I was waiting for you to initiate.”
My cheeks flamed. I struggled with that.
Part of it was inexperience with exactly that—I’d never been the initiator—and the other part of it was the words felt like they got stuck in my throat sometimes.
Not only with Alexander but with all of them.
Sebastian’s body spoke to mine when we were together.
It was as if he knew what I needed and wanted before I did.
But the one thing I valued most about the other night was how he explained everything—what he wanted and what he needed from me.
That was what calmed me enough to really let go.
So many times before, I’d let my head get too involved, and now Alexander needed my words in ways I didn’t know how to share.
His thumb ran over my side. “If you want something, you need to ask for it. I won’t do anything without your consent.”
I wiggled back against him. I wanted him to touch me, but asking for it was still hard. I let out a frustrated sigh. “I want you to touch me.”
“I am touching you.” His tone was amused, and when I peeked over my shoulder, a smile played on his lips.
“You know what I mean.”
“Maybe, but I’m not going to decide for you, Evelyn. You have to tell me exactly what you want me to do. Where do you want me to touch you?”
I reached for his hand, moved to my back and guided him between my legs, separating my thighs just enough for him to access where I needed him.
“Words, Evelyn.”
“Here.”
“Not enough.”
“I want you to touch me here. Make me come, Alexander.”
He leaned forward, and his breath feathered across my neck. My hips shifted upward, desperate for his touch.
“How about I give you some options, and you tell me what you want? Multiple choice?”
I nodded, and he nipped the back of my neck.
“Words.”
“Yes. Multiple choice.”
He bit my ear, and I let out a whimper that sounded foreign to me.
“Do you want to come with my fingers or my tongue?”
I closed my eyes. “Your fingers. First.”
“Baby girl, you have to look at me. Now tell me again.”
I felt his hand move from where it rested on my belly to my chin, and he turned me toward him. I opened my eyes and was struck by the depths of blue that sparkled back at me. My always-serious, never-relaxed man had a sense of mischief hidden just below the surface.
“Make me come with your fingers.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Very well.”
His large hand traveled down my body, over my hip, and to my inner thigh.
He was still lying on his side, and he shifted my leg over his before moving back to my center.
His hard cock pressed into my hip, and the pressure was already building inside of me.
What this man could do to my body and mind should be terrifying, but the trust that extended between us helped me push away any questioning thoughts.
His fingers slid past my waistband, over my slit, and then deep inside me. “You’re wet for me already.”
A blush burned through my body. “I can’t help it.”
“I love it. There is nothing more enticing than knowing you are soaked for me, and I’ve barely even touched you.”
His fingers slipped from my core and back to my clit. I closed my eyes and arched my back as he circled slowly, almost teasingly, at first. I reached for his arm, trying to hold him in place.
“Words, baby girl. Talk to me.”
“More, please. Just like that. I need…I need to come.” I forced the words past my lips, even as pleasure threatened to steal them away.
“Greedy little one, aren’t you? You’re in luck. I will let you come now. Quick, hard, and fast,” he said as he increased his speed, and I lifted my hips to his touch. “But then I will make you come again and again as I thrust my cock into this sweet pussy of yours.”
I couldn’t hold on any longer. The entire night before had been like a one-sided game of edging that Alexander hadn’t even known we were playing.
Then, lying here, tossing and turning while my mind raced, didn’t help.
I needed this. I needed him, and for the first time ever, I didn’t even give a fuck how it might make me look.
I looked up into his eyes, and my mouth opened slightly as the repetitive motion of his fingers set me off.
The tingle deep in my belly rose to my skin, and I cried out, my body tensing more than I could stand.
My thighs slammed shut, but Alexander didn’t stop.
His insistent touch pushed me harder and harder until I didn’t think I could take anymore, and my body gave out.
I felt the bed move, then he stripped away my clothes. I didn’t have a care in the world until I felt his mouth on me.
“Wait. I…”
“Is that a no, baby girl? I will stop if you are asking me to.”
“No, I mean…” Fuck. I didn’t know what I meant. My mind was an unglued mess. “I don’t think I can.” The pleasure was overwhelming. It felt like it was sweeping me away, like I was losing myself, and that terrified me as much as it excited me.
“I do.”