CHAPTER 18
Eve
"M mmmm. Good morning , dearest."
He's kissing my forehead, my cheek, mouth, nose, and neck like he can't stop himself. Not a bad way to wake up.
"Morning, Love."
I jerk my head away in shock.
"Love?" I chuckle with the word.
Adam's brows scrunch together, and he looks away from my face, deep in thought.
"What happened to Wildcat? Not that I'm complaining. I prefer Love. I'm just curious what changed?"
He looks back to my face and his expression is soft and... is that distress ? The shame and anger are instantaneous.
"I don't need or want your pity." My voice is stern and adequately conveys my displeasure.
"You think I pity you? I love you, Eve, but I don't pity you. I'm amazed by you. I don't know what you've been through but, I know it had something to do with making you who you are today, and I can't pity that."
He lifts my face to his, capturing my lips with his mouth in a passionate kiss that quickly leads to much, much more.
.....................................
My hair is still wet from the shower when the first knock sounds on the door.
I look at Adam and he pinches the bridge of his nose.
He appears thoroughly exasperated, letting me know that he already knows who's out there.
Another set of knocks rattle the door before we hear, "Answer the door, siblings.
You have 30 seconds to get decent or turn this knob because I'm coming in. "
Ada. She sounds far too chipper. Adam still doesn't tell her to come in, but true to her word, she walks in 30 seconds later.
"Hey there, sibs." She chirps as she flops to her back on the bed.
"Ace." Adam greets her gruffly.
"Don't worry, Jafar. I came to make plans with Eve and get your phone number," she says as she switches her focus to me.
I toss my phone to her so that she can call herself. She picks it up without a pause and busies herself, dialing the numbers before pitching the phone back to me.
"No password?"
My eyebrows raise in question.
"Your phone. You don't have a password on it."
"Oh. Yeah." I shrug. I just don't have a need for a password. Vaughn is the only person that's ever around and there's nothing I would hide from her.
"So, anyway. We need to coordinate our outfits for the banquet."
"I told you I'm not going to that."
Adam steals both our focus when he asks, "What makes you think that?"
"That I'm not going to the banquet?"
Adam just stares back at me.
"Me not wanting to go makes me know that I'm not going."
"We are going, and I do need you to ride with Ace. I have to go early to deal with the caterers and the band. I don't want to have two cars there, so this will work out best."
I close my eyes dramatically and open them wide in the same fashion. This guy really thinks he is the head say-so around here and that I'm little miss go along with it Ginger. I'm not going to get into this with him right now.
"Did you put your number in my phone?"
Ada's face brightens like the sun.
"You want my number?"
It's impossible to not like her when she smiles at me like that. She's a stunner in every sense of the word.
"Of course, I want your number. I'm a call screener."
Adam chokes on a laugh behind us.
"You love me, and you know it," Ada says with a mischievous wink.
"So, the banquet is a black-and-white event. Not like formal black and white but cocktail black and white. I think I should wear a white dress and black shoes and then you wear the black dress and white shoes."
I look at her questioningly. How does she still think I'm going to that banquet? There's something wrong with this family . They're so pushy.
"Well, I have to go home. I need to put in some face time with Vaughn, and the new episode of Grifters comes out tonight." I shake my fists in front of my chest and do a girly squeal. Grifters is our guilty pleasure.
Adam and Ada look at one another, looking for the answer to my sudden show of excitement.
"We can't go yet. The rest of the team is coming over at 1. I have to talk strategy about a few things with them and then we can go."
Uhh we? Why do I need to wait on him?
"I'm just going to go ahead and go now and then you can come after your meeting."
Adam turns to face me and leans back half seating himself onto the desk. He cocks his head to the side.
"Why do you want to go without me so badly?"
Is that menace leaking from his pores? Or is it danger? I can't tell.
"I have spent every moment with you for over a week now. I miss V. Besides, it's not that I don't want you to come. I just want to go now and you're busy."
"Well that's not true now, is it, Eve. You left me for an entire day quite recently, didn't you."
His tone is menacing, and I wonder how long he'll wield this weapon. It's efficient. I'll give him that, but I have just about had it up to my eyeballs with this: you left me bullshit.
"Okay. Fine. We'll go after the meeting, but this is it. No more punishments and no more guilt trips. After this, I fight back."
The Adonis smirks at me. This man is hotter than any Earth dweller I've encountered. I don't know how I ended up being the woman that he looks at like this.
"We'll see." He says like he already knows the outcome of every disagreement that we will ever have.
"Wait a minute, bro! The banquet. Don't give up until she goes with us to the banquet. I neeeeeeeed her there."
He pushes off the desk and comes over to ruffle Ada's hair.
"She'll be there, Ace." He's smiling down at her like she's a precious treasure.
I see the love and adoration he has for her in that look.
He keeps his emotions so veiled that it's rare to see them at all.
In this moment, I can decipher them plainly and it's clear he has real affection for his little sister.
He comes over to me now and fists one hand in my hair while using the other to squeeze my ass as he speaks into my mouth.
"If you plan to spend time away from me, you'll have to figure out a way to compensate me for that missed time."
"Well, I did have an idea for getting myself out of trouble and I never got to use it because I was busy enduring punishments. I suppose I could use it to pay for my time away."
He pulls his head slightly away from mine and looks at me skeptically.
"What is this idea?"
I move closer to him and whisper into his ear.
"I can't tell you. The surprise is half of the fun. Well, maybe not half. A fourth of the fun."
"So, you guys remember that I'm still here, right?" Ada's tone broadcasts her discomfort.
"No one is making you stay, Ace." Adam shoots back at her.
"So, how about I go see Vaughn now and I can give you payment when you get there this evening?"
"No." He kisses me firmly on the forehead.
"I'm going, Adam. I-"
Ada cuts me off with, "Help me understand this. I mean, I get the soulmate thing. I truly do. I always knew they existed but, c'mon. You two met what, a week ago? I have seen Adam with women, and I just don't see how we got from that to this so quickly."
"Oh really? How many other women?"
"Don't answer that." Adam snaps, giving me a scolding look. "Other women are irrelevant." He walks toward the bedroom door before pausing with his hand on the knob.
"Although, some of those women will be at the banquet."
Ada catches on to his ploy quickly. "Yes, that's right. I wonder if they've even heard that you're off the market yet."
Okaaaaaay so I definitely know what they're doing and my blood boils at the thought of these other women flirting with and fawning over Adam.
Maybe if I take my medicine ahead of time and.
..shit, I don't know...I don't see how this will be possible.
I trust him. It's not like he's going to leave with one of them.
Right? Right. I have that IOU from Cal. I could ask him to keep girls away from Adam.
No. That's a definite no. How pathetic can I really be?
"I need lube. You two are dry humping my last nerve."
Ada cackles in laughter and the corner of Adam's mouth curves up.
As soon as Ada recovers from her fit of giggles, she gets right back on her bullshit.
"I just fail to see the problem. The banquet has great food, plenty of alcohol, and tons of fit guys dressed in tight slacks."
"I can't. I'm sorry but I just can't."
Ada sobers, looking at me with pity. I. Hate. That. Look.
Adam opens the door and walks out without another word.