Chapter 10
As he took the stairs to the Beachcomber, Evan realized he was nervous, which was ridiculous.
He’d been on hundreds of dates. No, not hundreds.
A hundred. Maybe . . . Suffice to say, there’d been a lot of dates.
He was what some people might call a serial dater.
That wasn’t to say he was a jerk or anything.
As Big Mac McCarthy’s son, he’d been taught to treat women with the utmost respect.
Other than the unfortunate incident in high school in which he’d allowed a rumor to run wild about Maddie Chester, who was now his sister-in-law, Evan’s track record was fairly clean.
He’d suffered a guilty conscience over the untruths his friends had spread about Maddie, and he’d learned from it.
By the time Mac confronted him on the matter and forced him to denounce the rumors in a letter to the Gansett Gazette, Evan had been relieved to have the chance to right a terrible wrong.
Thinking about ancient history didn’t do much to dispel his nerves.
As much as he enjoyed being around women, the woman he was seeing tonight was different.
For one thing, she seemed far more innocent than the women he normally dated.
He couldn’t put his finger on why he was picking up that vibe, but it was there loud and clear.
However, since she’d been on an overnight date gone bad when he met her, he assumed she wasn’t completely innocent.
“God,” he muttered under his breath. “What if she is completely innocent?”
“Talking to yourself, Cousin?”
Startled out of his musings, Evan looked up to find Laura and Stephanie coming down the stairs to the lobby.
“Hey,” Evan said. “You guys are still here?”
“We had fun hanging out with Grace this afternoon,” Laura said. “She’s all ready.”
“Oh,” Evan said, his stomach twisting. He’d heard of having butterflies in the belly, but all of a sudden his butterflies felt more like seagulls. “Okay.”
“Evan,” Stephanie said, her hand resting on his arm and her expression grave. “Be good to her. She’s a really nice girl.”
“I know that. Why do you think I asked her out?”
“We know you know,” Laura added, “but she’s special. No smooth moves, you got me?”
Evan wanted to be insulted, but sadly he knew exactly what his cousin meant. “I got you.”
Laura straightened the collar on the button-down shirt he’d ironed for the occasion. “You look nice, but she looks better,” Laura said. “Room 320.” She left him with a pat on his freshly shaven cheek and took off with her arm linked through Stephanie’s.
Their laughter filled the Beachcomber’s lobby as they headed for the door.
Although he didn’t appreciate his cousin’s attempt at humor, he was glad to see her and Stephanie laughing, since both women had been through a lot lately and deserved to have some fun—even at his expense.
Climbing the stairs to Grace’s third-floor room, Evan tried to calm his nerves by reminding himself that this was just another date.
No big deal. Except he’d thought of little else since the sizzling kiss on the beach . . .
Outside room 320, Evan took a moment to collect himself. He credited the odd beat of his heart to the trek up three flights of stairs. It certainly wasn’t because he couldn’t wait to see her. That was not at all like him. Raising his hand, he knocked on the door.
She made him wait a long, breathless moment before she opened the door. Taking in the sight of creamy curves and a sexy black dress, his mind went totally blank except for one niggling thought—this was definitely not going to be just another date.
Evan would never know that his reaction to seeing her dressed up for their date was the first time in Grace’s life that she felt truly beautiful.
He stared at her with such blatant desire etched into his handsome face that her legs began to quiver, which was rather dangerous when wearing three-inch heels.
He looked amazing in khaki pants and a blue dress shirt that did amazing things to his eyes.
She couldn’t decide what she wanted to do more—run her fingers through the thick, dark hair he’d combed into submission for the occasion or caress his smooth cheek.
As she breathed in the sexy, musky scent of him, it was all she could do to keep her hands to herself.
“Let me get my purse,” she said, leaving him at the doorway. As she crossed the room to the bed, where she’d left her bag, she was acutely aware of him watching her every move.
When she turned to face him again, she found him standing right in front of her. The door was closed. How had that happened without her hearing it? Grace swallowed hard as she gauged his intense expression.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, his voice huskier than she’d heard it before. His hands landed on her hips to bring her in close to him.
Her purse fell to the floor with a thunk, and her hands landed on his muscular chest. She knew she should acknowledge the compliment, but her tongue was tied in knots.
“I keep thinking about that kiss on the beach,” he said, his lips a mere fraction of an inch from hers. “I want to kiss you again, but you’re too pretty and perfect. I don’t want to mess you up.”
Who cared about lipstick at a moment like this?
She reached up to pull him down to her. When she thought of all the years she’d spent lusting after Trey, she almost laughed.
That wasn’t lust. This was lust. Despite her vows to Stephanie and Laura, the minute his mouth claimed hers, Grace began to wonder if she would lose the bet.
He was gentle but insistent as he seduced his way past her lips and into her mouth to flirt with her tongue.
Grace’s arms encircled his neck to keep him exactly where she wanted him.
He tightened his hold on her and brought her into intimate contact with his erection.
She rubbed against him wantonly, drawing a deep groan from him that thrilled her. Encouraged by his response, she sucked on his tongue, which earned her another groan.
He cupped her ass and pushed hard against her.
Consumed by curiosity and feeling rather reckless, she ran her hand over his muscular chest to his belly and below.
The instant her hand met his steely length, he broke the kiss and drew in a sharp, deep breath.
She stroked him from root to tip, stunned by the length and width of him.
Trey had nothing on Evan, and even though she desperately wanted to see and feel him without his pants in the way, she experienced a moment of fear as she tried to imagine that fitting inside of her.
“Feels good,” he said in a strained tone.
She ventured a look up at him and found his head thrown back, his jaw clenched and his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
Pressing her lips against his neck, she continued to move her fingers over his throbbing length.
She’d gone a little wild with the razor earlier, and the feel of her silky panties on bare, sensitive skin ratcheted up her desire to combustible levels.
“Grace, God, you make me crazy.” He framed her face with his hands and took her mouth again, devouring her in a series of kisses, each more heated and intense than the last.
By the time he finally drew back from her, Grace was stunned and confused and dying for more.
“I promised myself I’d go slow with you, but you’re so damned sexy.”
To a woman who’d spent most of her life feeling anything but sexy, Evan’s words went straight to her already over-committed heart.
“I can’t resist you,” he said as he turned his attention to her neck, sending shivers of desire straight to her core. “I made reservations for dinner. We should go.”
“Or,” she said, tipping her head to give him better access to her neck, “we could get room service and stay in.”
He raised his head and met her gaze, his eyes heated with desire. “You got all dressed up. I want to take you out and show you off.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Are you sure, Grace? I need you to know I’m not looking for anything serious—”
She rested her fingers on his lips. “I get it. Don’t worry.” Although her heart sank at the thought of never seeing him again, he’d been clear from the outset that he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy.
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and studied her for a long moment.
It was all Grace could do to get air to her lungs as she waited to see what he would do. If he didn’t do something—anything—soon, she was going to die on the spot.
And then he tipped his head and touched his lips lightly to hers, starting all over again with kisses that stripped her defenses. Since he was giving off the “slow things down” signal, she reluctantly shifted her hand from his erection and wound her arms around his neck.
She almost stopped breathing altogether when she felt the tug of her zipper and the singe of his fingers skimming over her back on the way down.
Her heart beat wildly, and she hoped she could remain standing on increasingly unsteady legs.
His lips were relentless on her neck, sending sensation coursing down her spine.
Her nipples strained against the tight confines of her bra, and the throb between her legs demanded her full attention.
He pulled back and rested his hands on her shoulders, edging the dress off in tiny increments that made her heart beat fast.
A million thoughts cycled through her mind: Would she measure up to other women he’d been with? Would he wonder about the scar on her abdomen? Would he be able to tell she was a virgin? Should she tell him?
“Why are you suddenly all tense?” he asked.
“Am I?”
He nodded and stopped her dress from falling the rest of the way off her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
Grace knew she’d hate herself in the morning. “I don’t think I’m ready for this after all.”
To his credit, he didn’t exhibit an ounce of disappointment. “That’s okay.” He arranged her dress so it was back where it belonged. “We’re not in any rush.”