Page 87 of Someone Like Me
But I shouldn’t be thinking like this. No matter how good it feels.
Evie blinks at me, and I realize she’s waiting. Waiting for me to say something.
“What?” I ask, lost.
She blinks again. Bites her lip.
I press her hand harder against my knee, wanting to erase whatever doubt is pooling in her eyes.
“Evie, what is it?”
She lets out a sigh. “I’m afraid you agree with them.”
“What?”
A frown of frustration crowds her worried expression. “I’m afraid you think I’m too innocent to know what’s good for me.”
Only when it comes to me, I want to blurt, but I don’t. I can tell by the look on her face this would hurt her, and God, I don’t want to hurt her.
Not anymore than I already have.
“Youareinnocent, thank God.” The words, spoken low, leave me without thought or permission. But as soon as I hear them in the air between us, I know they capture just what I feel. “Your innocence — your goodness — isn’t a flaw. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Evie’s eyes lock with mine. The doubt in them is gone. I’ve never seen anyone look so sure. In the next instant, I pull her onto my lap and kiss her with everything I’m worth. With a whole lot more than I’m worth.
But this kiss isn’t like the half-starved attack I made against her in the garage. This is a joining. A pairing. This kiss carries promises I shouldn’t be making, but I make them anyway. Her mouth is sweet, silken, and welcoming. I’ve never felt so welcome.
It shakes me.
I don’t want to leave her mouth, her touch. God, I never want her to leave my sight.
Whatever will I had to stay away from her has dried up and blown away. I’m wrong for her, rich or poor, but I can’t find the strength to stop. I kiss her and kiss her, learning her taste, the petal softness of her lips, the flick and dance of her tongue.
And the kissing does nothing for my other problem. I’m hard as a tire iron. And Evie on my lap doesn’t help matters. She’s light, but not weightless, and the weight of her — the soft and firm of her — is driving me crazy. On my thighs, pressed to my front, she feels amazing.
When I can’t deal anymore, I break the kiss. “I need a shower.” I sound breathless because I am, and judging by how Evie eyes me, I probably look half-mad.
But she just flattens her hand to my cheek and rubs her palm against the grain of my stubble, grinning a sexy-as-hell grin. “I don’t think you need a shower. You smell great.”
Even though the corner of my mouth lifts at this, I shake my head. “Nah, I really need a shower.” Her expression doesn’t change, so I tack on, “Been a long day.”
Evie’s smile firms in a way that I know she’s trying not to laugh at me. I don’t care. I don’twantto leave her to take matters into my own hands. I have to.
Luckily, she slides off my lap without protesting. “Can I borrow a T-shirt?”
I suppress my sigh of relief. “Hell, yes.” I rise and find one for her in the armoire drawer. It’s a plain white tee that I’m sure will look incredible on her. Feel incredible. I already know one shower may not be enough.
“I’ll be right back,” I promise, moving toward the bathroom. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Evie nods, curls bouncing. “I will,” she says. I picture her stretched out on the futon in nothing but the t-shirt, and my balls tighten.
Shower.Now.
In the bathroom, I close the door behind me and turn on the stream. I catch my reflection in the mirror above the sink before the steam clouds it over. I don’t just feel like a wild animal. I look like one.
I strip off my clothes and step under the scalding spray. For a long moment, I just stand there, letting the water wash away the sweat and grime from my hours in the garage. I cup my hands and fill them. But as soon as I wet my face, I smell her, taste her again. It’s as though the water has atomized the scent she’s left on me, and I am again between her legs.
I moan.
