Chapter 2
Evelyn looked at her watch once again to make sure she was right. Shocked, she brought her gaze back down. Bill was lying there with his eyes closed, his handsome face beaded with sweat. The blond locks were starting to curl beside his ears, and right before she reached to wrap the curl around her finger, he opened his blue eyes and broke the spell. It was enough to snap her back to reality.
After fifteen minutes of her grinding her hips, of fucking him as fast as she could, his loud moans had poured through the room as he convulsed beneath her. Something about that was unnerving, for a man who supposedly hadn’t come in the hours her two friends had worked on him. She had approached this with a mind-set of defeat. His coming was the last thing she had expected.
But nothing ever turned out the way she thought they would. If the truth be told, the things she relied on the most always seemed to backfire on her. But she really didn’t want to think about the details of her life. Dwelling on the facts could lead her mind into places she dare not cross. It was best that she look at the situation with no emotions intact and face that she’d won the bet, and that in one hour, she was due to show a house.
Evelyn stood and walked naked toward the restroom of the small tourist hotel. Movement from behind caught her attention, but she didn’t turn around. Focused on the dark brown carpet her toes were sinking into, she made her way across the small bedroom.
When the coldness of the bathroom’s tile floor connected with her feet, a large arm wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled back against Bill’s muscular frame.
“You didn’t come.” The air from his breath tickled her ear.
With her back molded against his body, Evelyn already had her eyes half closed. Bill’s other arm came around her hip until his fingers gripped her inner thighs and eased them apart.
“I want you to come, Evelyn. I’m not sure what made you knock on my door, but I’m not about to let you leave until I get the chance to taste you.”
A moan from the back of her throat broke through. Inch by inch, his fingers moved closer to her pussy, gripped the flesh, and kneaded it. Just as he neared, he pulled against one side of her folds. The separation was torture. The wetness seeping from her was proof enough of that.
Bill’s arm wrapped around her waist and slid up under her generous breasts. Evelyn’s nipples were desperate with wanting him to touch one, to squeeze one, anything to make the aching go away. The tingling sensation traveling from the core of her breast to the core of her stomach, attached by some woven thread of need, was almost unbearable.
Fingers edged their way between her smooth folds, working magic on her clit with every adjustment to pressure and position.
Before she could catch her breath, Evelyn’s petite body was lifted against Bill’s towering frame while he walked backward toward the bedroom. Numbly, consumed by the intense euphoria of her beckoning orgasm, she almost didn’t feel herself being seated on the small desktop.
Lips encased her nipple at the same moment two of his fingers slid inside of her. A soft cry escaped her throat at the feeling of completion those two actions caused.
Bill’s fingers began to thrust fast, which caused her back to arch. She could feel her nails digging into the wood of the desk as she tried to ground herself against the floating feeling that seemed to consume her.
Evelyn let her head fall back and felt her hair slap against the center of her back from the movement of his thumb rubbing against her clit while he pushed his fingers even faster. Over and over, he hit the perfect spot in her center, just to thrust back into her even harder the next time. Her pussy was starting to clench against him, but he pulled them out right before her orgasm could release.
Evelyn’s eyes, heavy with lust, opened to catch a glimpse of his blond locks easing between her thighs. A sighed escaped her lips while she leaned all the way back against the desk and felt the cool wood against her exposed skin.
“Evelyn, are you ready to let me taste you?”
Thickness resembling sandpaper filled her throat. “Yes.” She moaned at the feel of his tongue brushing against her clit.
Expertly, Bill moved down to trace her folds. At his slow pace, she wanted to scream, to grab those beautiful curls that framed his handsome face and bury him against her.
Desperate for more, Evelyn wiggled her hips. With slow flicks, his tongue brushed against her clit again, and this time, she did grab a fistful of hair. “Enough teasing,” she said, staring into his eyes.
A wicked smile formed on his lips, and her orgasm exploded the moment he latched onto her pussy and sucked her folds into his mouth while sliding his tongue inside of her. It was her undoing, and her hoarse screams echoed off the walls.
Evelyn twitched with spasms while he drank in every last bit of her release. The desk felt as if it were spinning counterclockwise and slowly rocking, as if she were on a boat. The combination of the two separate feelings had her sitting up shaking and lightheaded.
“Will you come back later,” Bill asked, looking up at her from his knees on the brown carpet.
It was a rule Evelyn stuck to, no matter what. She never double dipped. One man, one time, and that was it. After all, it was just a bet. One couldn’t get attached to a bet, especially one who also happened to have been involved with two of her best friends.
“I’m sorry. I can’t.”
In one quick motion, she slid off the desk. Not wanting to look up, she removed her watch and continued to her original destination, the shower. Turning on the water, she listened to it pour out, letting the sound fill her ears and drown her thoughts at the same time. She got in, noticing that Bill had followed her and now stood at the door. The look she gave him caused him to stop in his advance. Maybe it was mean of her to do, but the last thing she wanted was to give him false hope.
The distant look she gave him after such intimacy couldn’t be any more bizarre than a stranger showing up at his door and kissing him into submission. Sure, he had been a little shocked at first, but his passion had quickly taken over, and before he knew it, she had slid a condom on him and fucked him senseless.
Evelyn was a take-charge kind of girl. Most guys didn’t like that, but she had yet to find one who didn’t submit to her dominant ways. She never used to be like this. Hell, years ago she would have laughed if someone would have told her how she turned out. But bitterness and hurt took the stage the moment her world crumbled.
Bill took her away from her thoughts as he handed her a towel from the doorway. She wrapped it around her and headed in the direction of her clothes, scooping the watch off the desk on her way.
“Are you sure you can’t come back tonight?” Bill whispered from behind her.
Evelyn tensed. This was the part she disliked the most. More than anyone, she knew the need for companionship. Since her sudden breakup with her ex-fiancé, Stephen, two years ago, a part of her longed to have the convenience of a partner that she could depend on for company and friendship. But a bigger part of Evelyn was scared to get her heart broken again. That was the whole reason for the love-them-and-leave-them attitude.
“I’m sorry, Bill. I can’t.”
Evelyn slid on her black lace panties and bra and refused to look at him while she buckled the black stockings into the garters. She slid her black slacks to her waist, and she buttoned them while trying to ignore the way her fingers were shaking.
Frantically, she scanned the room, looking for her red silk blouse. For the life of her, she couldn’t find it. Evelyn’s heart started pumping hard against her chest. Panic was setting in the longer she stayed in the room. The need to escape Bill almost felt like claustrophobia. She was suffocating from his nearness.
This was starting to happen more and more often. From what started out as a nightmare at first eased over time, but with every day that went by, oh God how her heart ached.
“Stay, please.”
The red silk blouse hung down his fingers. Evelyn must have missed it when she refused to look his way. Damn it! Sarah and Melissa were going to owe her. They may only be buying drinks, but after today, she felt sure she would be drinking double. Her nerves were shot. If she hadn’t known people in this town, then she might have been tempted to leave shirtless, she was so panicked.
Focusing on staying calm, Evelyn pulled the shirt out of his fingers, refusing to make eye contact. “I said I can’t. Now I have to go.”
Knots twisted in her chest, bringing more pain. Her throat felt like it was ready to close around a lump that threatened to choke the life out of her. She wasn’t good about this part. It was so much easier to slip out while they were asleep or in the shower. Evelyn was never brave about facing them.
As quickly as she could, she tucked in her shirt and grabbed the black leather purse. Without looking back, she walked out of the room. When she slammed the door and the number fell, room number nine turned to six. Well, nine was her lucky number. It was almost like an omen slapping her in the face.
Nine, he could have been yours. Now it’s six. You blew it, girl.
Pushing the button on her keypad, she unlocked her Mustang. The car itself was just a reminder of her past troubles. Evelyn wouldn’t even have this new car if it weren’t for Stephen.
The police officer she had loved from the moment she met him had broken off their engagement two weeks shy of their wedding date to run off with some woman.
Everything had been perfect before the shock of his betrayal. Since he didn’t have a vehicle besides his patrol car, they had traded in her car for a SUV. So much for starting a family. It was the biggest mistake she had ever made. When Evelyn had gotten the new car in his name, she never imagined that he would keep it after their breakup, only to give it to Sheila. Now that had been a slap in the face.
Angry from the memories, she sat down in her car and slammed the door. She shook her head, trying to clear the haunting thoughts of her past. It seemed that she would never get over the upset of her first love. The worst part was that she had no warning of what happened.
How can you run off with someone you met only once?
It didn’t make any sense to her.
Sadly, Evelyn gazed at the now number six hotel room. Bill had opened the blinds and was looking toward her car. She didn’t hesitate to start it. The tires squealed, mocking her anger as she hauled ass out of the parking lot, trying to escape the demons that were determined to chase her down.
“Don’t look back, Evelyn.” She whispered the words until she was out of viewing range.
With shaking hands, she grabbed the phone and dialed Melissa’s number. The echoing rings filled her hollow spirit. They sounded as empty as she felt. This might have been her game, but she wasn’t so sure how much longer she would last if she continued to play with fire. Eventually, everyone gets burned. She prayed that her turn wouldn’t come too soon.
Chapter 3
Showing the house to her clients had gone very well. It was perfect for them. Most of the time, Evelyn tried to stay away from the younger couples, for her own sanity, but they had been referred to her by a previous client, so there was no way for her to refuse.
They were so happy looking at the two-story starter home that it intensified the ache in Evelyn’s chest, making it twist even tighter. This wasn’t working. She wasn’t working. Something was seriously wrong with her. She had been avoiding the truth for far too long now, prolonging the inevitable. Even now, as she admitted it to herself, she desperately tried to push the thought away.
She didn’t need anyone besides her friends. At least Evelyn knew she could trust them. If she repeated this enough, maybe she’d start to believe it.
“Margaritaville” broke throughout the thick silence in her car and pulled her from the depressing thoughts. Thank God, Melissa was calling her back. She could bring Evelyn back to reality any day. The redhead was tougher than anyone she knew.
“Melissa, you owe me so big it’s not even funny.”
The victory in Melissa’s laugh made Evelyn smile. “I told you that you wouldn’t be able to do it.” Melissa’s cheerfulness was contagious.