Page 19 of Demon On Deck

Evren looks devastating in his tux.

He takes me in from head to toe and back again, mouth hanging open like a cartoon.

“Kallie.”

The way he says my name, half plea, half feral growl, has my nipples puckering and my clit pulsing. He reaches for me, snagging my waist and tugging me until we’re pressed together and he can claim my lips.

It’s desperate, raw, and hungry.

“Fuck the gala,” he says when he releases my mouth. “Let’s stay here.” He kisses a path from my jaw to my throat, where he nips the side that makes me weak. Sliding his hand to my slit, he glides his hand up, up, up to grab a handful of my ass.

“Mmm, tempting,” I say breathlessly.

“More than tempting,” he says, making his way to the other side of my neck.

With monumental effort, I pull back. “Come on, hot stuff,” I say, grabbing his hand and leading him down the hallway.

“Fine,” he grumbles. “But we’re making out like horny teenagers every chance we get.”

I laugh as we get into the elevator, and true to his word, he pins me against the wall and we makeout like horny teens. It’s like that the entire night. We dance and kiss and laugh and dance some more until the last dance of the night, when the clock begins to strike twelve.

Evren and I are slow dancing as the chimes begin and the song begins to fade. He looks down at me with such tenderness, my nerves nearly break. I’ve been preparing for this moment since I made him leave me to get ready.

“This is where I turn into a pumpkin,” I say softly, cupping his face.

“Kallie,” He whispers, laying his hand on top of mine. There’s a flicker in his eyes, an unspoken emotion that my heart screams in longing. But mine holds to our no-strings agreement.

I shake my head and smile.

“Goodbye, Evren,” I say without the ache in my voice I feel in my chest.

He looks at me with a mixture of emotions dancing across his face. He opens his mouth and closes it before giving me a sweet smile. “Goodbye, Kallie.”

I step out of his arms, our hands trailing until there’s distance enough between us for them to fall away. I turn to go, but turn back quickly and step back into his space.

I grab his lapels and drag him down for one last passionate kiss. When I release him, I turn and weave my way through the remaining guests. I make it to my room before the tears begin to fall.

The next morning, I make it my personal mission not to look for him as I disembark from the ship. I find Mel’s car, quickly load my bags, and climb in.

With one last look at the ship, I turn my focus forward and back to my pre-cruise life. If only my heart would get on board with that plan.

Chapter 8

Of All the Grocery Stores

EVREN

“Mr. Kade?” Jasmine’s voice breaks through the quiet hum of the algorithm running across my screen.

I roll my neck, feeling the stiff pull of muscles that haven’t moved in hours, and drag my eyes from the stream of data in front of me.

“What is it, Jasmine?”

“There’s a representative from Obsidian Capital on line one for you. They have a question regarding a co-investment opportunity.”

Of course they do.

Another firm too afraid to take a risk alone. It’s not that I don’t want to help. I pride myself on having built The Covenant Group from the ground up and on helping other firms with good investments whenever I can. This firm, however…