Club Saturday: Contemporary Menage Romance (Sarasota Sin Series Book 2) (11 page)

“Mousy little Vania Lange is actually dumping me?” he repeated with a bark of laughter.
 

She hated when he called her that, which made it harder to stay calm.
 
Her foot started tapping on the sidewalk. The words ‘cheating bastard’ pushed their way to the tip of Vania’s tongue. “Your arrogance is the third person in our relationship. Close your mouth, it’s true.”

“Enough! We’re going to dinner and work this out.” He tugged her towards his car.
 
“Then you’re coming home and sleeping in my bed where you belong.”
 

“You think you haven’t lost me but you have.” She wrenched back her arm, but he only tightened his grip. “You think you’re worthy of keeping me.
 
You’re not.”

“You won’t find another man like me, Van. Everyone else is a major step down for you.” Though his words were cocky, he appeared shocked. “Do you want to go through life while miserable and poor?”
 

“That’s how little you know me. I don’t care about wealth.
 
And I’m not small on my own.” Vania heard a deep rumbling to her left but kept her eyes on Matt. “I don’t need a man to be happy or successful. I. Don’t. Need. You.”

Matt grabbed her upper arms and shook her. “You’re coming with me right now.” His fingers sank to her bones, making her gasp. “I’ll remind you of how much we love each other.”

“Let go!”

He shook her again, knocking her glasses to the sidewalk. “What’s gotten into you?”

“That would be me,” said a familiar, distinctly enraged voice.

Vania and Matt turned to the left.
 

Evan stepped from his silver
Porche 918 Spyder.
Dressed in a suit, shirt, and tie of monochromatic charcoal, which set off his dark features to wicked perfection, he pulled off his sunglasses and stormed up the sidewalk.
 

“Evan?” She cleared her throat. “I mean, Mr. Easton. Uh, I apologize for the scene —"

“Get your hands off her, Lambert.”

“Listen.” Matt released her arms. “I apologize for causing a scene in front of your workers. Please, don’t hold Vania accountable for my actions.”

“I’m holding you accountable for everything.”

“Fine.” Matt smoothed his face, going expressionless as Evan put his body in front of Vania. “I’m taking my fiancée home to discuss our situation in private.”

Evan’s eyes narrowed. “Try.”

Vania pushed past Evan. “Leave, Matt. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I sit on the hospital board.” Evan’s arm slid across Vania’s shoulders, tucking her in the heat of his body. “So do my stepbrothers, cousins, and aunt.” His thumb made a possessive swipe up the column of Vania’s throat. “We’re the majority.”

“You’re threatening to have me fired over Vania?”

“I didn’t say that.” Evan’s head came down, his mouth descending on her forehead in a slow, strategic kiss. “But I warned Vania to be honest with you from the start. But she didn’t want to hurt you.”

Vania’s stomach dropped. Oh, Evan wouldn’t dare!

“Vania? You’re seeing
him
?”

The way Matt said
him
erased the sinking feeling from her stomach and stiffened her resolve. In his passive aggressive way, he constantly insulted her. Why hadn’t she noticed his ways sooner? “I’m picking up my belongings tomorrow. I’m also keeping Oscar.”

Matt’s nostrils flared. “So you love the cat more than you love me?”

Evan pulled her behind him. “Leave. Now.”

Matt wasn’t stupid. He knew when to back down. “No problem,” he said a little too easily for Vania’s tastes, but it was a relief to see him walk away and get in his car.

“Evan, I’m glad you were here.”

“So am I.” His hand came up and massaged the nape of her neck. “Everything will be okay.”

Vania straightened her shoulders and nodded. “I know.”

He pulled her against his chest, mindful of her sore arms. Then Evan licked his lips while he stared down at her mouth. She felt his heart pounding against her breasts, sensed her nipples pebbling in response. He cupped her face, stroking the corners of her lips with his thumbs. Vania was sure Evan would kiss her, but he closed his eyes briefly before stepping back. “Let’s disappear from these prying eyes.”

Privacy sounded perfect. Vania needed to calm down and regroup. “Before this mess started, I was heading upstairs to check out the loft apartment. Avery’s wife and business partner are letting me stay there for a while.”

“I’ll come with you.”
 

“Are you finished with work?” Inadvertently, she’d caused Evan’s late start this morning. “The sun’s still out.”

“Doesn’t matter.” His face tight with leashed fury, the slight scar on his cheek was more pronounced. She wanted to lick him there. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“That’s why door locks were invented.”

“Matt might be waiting for me to leave, so he can come back and harass you.” Evan shook his head. “If he really wants you, door locks are useless.”
 

“Matt’s angry but he’s not crazy.”

“You’re defending a man who physically and emotionally hurt you. There’s no excuse for his behavior.”
 

“I wasn’t making excuses for him.” She only wanted Evan to calm down, so
she
could calm down.

“We’ll agree to disagree.” He lifted her glasses from the sidewalk and examined them for damage. With care, he placed them on her face. “Let’s head up, I want a closer look at your arms.”

“They’re fine.”

They walked up the sidewalk. “Thank God, Cora mentioned Matt called.”

“I wish she hadn’t told him where I was, but how was she to know?”

“He kept pressuring her for more information.” A muscle jumped in Evan’s jaw.
 
“Cora said his tone was off. Sent up red flags.”

“Cora called that one.” She rubbed her stomach. “I guess everyone knows my business now.”

“We would’ve otherwise said nothing to Cora or security. Unfortunately, Matt’s recent behavior will change how we handle matters.”
 

Where would this humiliation end? “He’s a thick coating of oil, leaving residue everywhere.”

“You’ll move on from this, I promise.” Keeping one hand on Vania’s back, Evan lifted a buzzing cellphone to his ear. “She’s fine, Drake. Though I’m not sure what would’ve happened if I hadn’t got here. Settle down. I said she’s fine.” He urged Vania ahead of him, sending her up the staircase leading to the loft.
 

As she ascended, Vania noticed the volunteers were wrapping up for the day. How would she face them again tomorrow or the next day? Even though Matt didn’t work in the burn unit, some might’ve recognized him from other hospital functions. The whole damn thing was beyond humiliating.

Evan continued with Drake. “From here forward, Matt Lambert is trespassed from our properties.
 
He gets no information regarding Vania, either.”
 

He paused, listening to whatever Drake was saying, while Vania tried to open the door.

“It’s stuck.” She wiggled the knob. Evan reached around her waist, pressing the heat of his chest against her back, and lifted the doorknob a fraction. The door popped open and a waft of lemon cleanser and a fair amount of dust welcomed her.

“Sure, Drake, I’ll take care of that in the morning.” Evan closed the door, and even though the loft was spacious, he took up a lot of room with his brooding.
 

“Tell Julian to conference call Singapore for me. I’m staying with her for a while.” He walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and snagged two bottles of water. “Yeah, word’s getting out on that land deal and prices are about to jump.”

Vania watched Evan put away his phone. “When I finally buy a house, will your PR send out rumors that Eastons are scouting the area so my property values skyrocket?” She accepted the water with a nod of thanks.
 

“Thinking of house flipping?”

“In my spare time.”
 

Evan lowered his chin and stared beneath his brows. “I can show better ways of spending your spare time.”

Chapter 13

“I’m sure you can.” Vania’s heart kicked in her chest. She’d gone from fantasizing about Easton men on lonely nights while Matt was supposedly at work, to having not one Easton but two showing marked interest in her. “Avery told me you were a heart-crusher, and I promised him I wouldn’t play in your sandbox.”

“Sounds like Avery and I are overdue for a chat.” He studied her arms. “Come here. You’re bruising.”

“I’m fine.” She backed away, swallowed some water, and fought not to hold the icy bottle against her tender arms. But Vania didn’t dare look down and draw attention to them. By the way Evan had glared at Matt, one of them would end up maimed or in the hospital if another encounter occurred. And it didn’t take three guess to figure out who would walk away unscathed.

“You’re not fine.”

“Please, don’t crowd me right now.”

“Don’t refuse me, Vania. I care about you.”

“You, Drake, and Avery gave me a head-start last night and today, one that I’m grateful for, but I’m not incapable.”

Evan took a step closer. “So stubborn, I should spank some sense into you.”

They stared at each other.
 

Dark chocolate eyes smoldered at her. She could lose herself in them; just take a tiny step and fall into their depths.
 

“Vania?”

“What?”

Black stubble dusted his jaw — a man’s jaw formed from entirely too much testosterone. She wanted to lick and nibble Evan, to finish what he started this morning. What would his whiskers feel like against Vania’s inner thighs?

“
Vania
, what are you thinking?”
 

She blinked a few times, taking a quick moment to redirect her thoughts. “That you shouldn’t talk to Avery about him warning me. He meant well.” Though he was across the room, she needed this distance from Evan to keep a clear head. Decisions needed to be made and the workday was ending. “There’s enough tension in my life right now as it is. I don’t need my boss pissed off at me.”

“I won’t add to your tension, Vania, but I
will
have a word with Avery after he returns from his honeymoon.”

“I wish I could stop you.”

Evan said nothing and walked to a slider that faced the front of the firehouse. He watched cars go back and forth on the main road.

Restless, Vania roamed the great room, finding the soft colors and hardwoods warm and cozy. She was at home here already. But she needed to collect her belongings from Matt’s house. Her keepsakes and handwritten cookbooks that her grandmother passed down to her were important.

Vania also needed the rest of her clothes. Since she’d been in a hurry last night to leave before Matt got home, she barely packed enough for three days.
 

“Evan, those volunteers downstairs saw your altercation with Matt. What’s going to happen now?”

“They know who Sarasota’s major benefactors are.” He finished his water. “They’re not my concern. You are.”

“But what if they post garbage on the internet?” She couldn’t imagine living the way Evan did, always looking over his shoulder in case someone was watching or taking pictures; it sucked the life from life and was plain creepy. “Some of them must’ve snapped shots, like those at Club Saturday that night.”

He caught the tip of his tongue in his front teeth, his eyes going unfocused. Vania wondered if he was reliving the night when he’d led her through the club. What exactly was his look about? What was Evan thinking?

Vania’s mind wandered. What if she’d been single at the time she’d entered that sex elevator?
 
And instead of Matt strumming her body to climax, Evan had done so instead.
 

“If they’re smart.” Evan broke the deafening silence and walked to her. “Paparazzi and amateurs alike will wait for the money shot and sell to the highest bidder.”

“The money shot?”

Evan nodded sagely. “My lips on yours.”

“Explain that.”

“In any of my paparazzi shots, have you ever seen me kiss a woman besides Aunt Gilda?”

“I don’t follow those websites or search for the Eastons online.” Vania couldn’t keep her hands off her upper arms and finally started rubbing them. If Matt ever put his hands on her again, she would not only press charges but also file for a restraining order. “I get enough of you men at the office.”

His lips curved. “I don’t believe you.”

She shook her head. “Why haven’t they caught you kissing other women?” Her curiosity grew. “Kissing is a normal, everyday occurrence for most people — not a big deal.”

“If I kiss a woman publicly, it’s the same as a claim.”

Vania sat on the sofa. “Like marking your territory?”

“As crass as it sounds, yes. A pic such as that would change a woman’s life.” He carefully watched her reaction. “She would need to be committed to me, to this fishbowl life I lead, for the long haul.”