Fate Interrupted (26 page)

“The question
is: are you going to tell Evy?” Shaun asked.

Dean stared at
the sticker of Shaun’s smiling mug on his bottle, his heart sinking just
thinking about her. “I wrote her a note explaining everything, but I don’t know
how to get it to her with
Dr. Evil
following my every move.”

Shaun nodded. “I
could swing by Sugars and drop it off tomorrow. I may need to fill out an
application there anyway, seeing as how they’ll probably be getting their
liquor license back and all.”

Dean’s brow
folded as they exchanged heavy glances in the flickering light, crickets
growing louder in the silence settling around them like a cold black wind. Dean
turned to Shaun with bloodshot eyes. “You still have that clown suit?”

***

Dean poked his
head out around a lilac bush in the front yard, peering down the street where
Ryder sat in his car. The man’s darkened outline made Dean’s heart hammer
against his breastplate. His phone vibrated in his hand, scaring the crap out
of him. It was a text from Jon. They were ready. Dean returned a quick text message
and peeked back out around the bush, cobwebs sticking to his sweaty face. After
a few anxious seconds, Jon stumbled from a nearby front yard into the dimly lit
street. His baggy clown costume fluttered with the breeze and Dean cringed as
Jon limped toward Ryder’s car like a zombie, hamming it up a bit too much for
Dean’s liking. When Jon stopped directly in front of the Taurus there was a
moment when Dean was sure Ryder would just run him down where he stood.
Instead, the bald geezer popped his door open with a creak that pierced the
night like a rusty knife. Blood rushed through Dean’s head in waves as Ryder
slowly got out of the car.

Shaun took his
cue and crept out from behind a thick oak tree another house down, sneaking
into position by the car’s rear tire. Ryder said something to Jon that Dean
couldn’t make out and Jon, in keeping with the plan, didn’t respond. He just
stood there staring at Ryder, which, in Dean’s mind, had to be creepy as hell,
even for Ryder. The old timer cocked his head to one side and leaned on the
door, producing another loud groan. His black coat flapped in the wind. Shaun took
advantage of the confusion and silently punctured the back tire with a sturdy
buck knife before scurrying back into the shadows of a quiet two-story house.

Dean walked out
from behind the bush, thankful the Jeep was already unlocked. He climbed inside,
shut his door and glanced in the side mirror to see Ryder jumping back in the
Taurus. Dean turned the ignition and brought the Jeep to life, shifted into
drive and sped away down the block. He took one last look in the mirror and saw
Ryder’s headlights pop on while Jon shuffled out of sight.

Dean fumbled for
his cell phone, keeping one eye on the road and one eye on his contacts. He
took a corner and hit call, glancing in the mirror as the phone began to ring. It
was dark behind him and Dean prayed Ryder wouldn’t kill Jon and Shaun after
realizing he was stuck with a flat. Just the same, they had prepared for that
with stashed baseball bats and a thing of mace Shaun had quietly dug from Carrie’s
purse. Dean cleared his throat when someone finally answered in his ear.

“Yeah, I need a
cab,” Dean said, speeding for home.

Chapter
Fifteen

Dean stared at
the number sixteen on Evy’s apartment door, the folded note in his hand and a
lump in his throat. The hallway was quiet and smelled like laundry. He knelt
down and slid the note under the door, hesitated and pulled it back. Uncertainty
and alcohol fused inside his brain like a twisting DNA strand. With the pop of
a kneecap he stood back up and glanced down the barren hallway. He knew it
wouldn’t take Ryder long to switch out his deflated tire with the spare, which
is why Dean had ordered a cab to meet him at his place. With his car safely parked
at his condo for the night, Ryder would (hopefully) think he had gone home to
sleep one off. Instead, the cab had dropped Dean off two blocks from Evy’s
apartment, buying him some much needed time he might as well spend.

He inhaled through
his nose and knocked lightly before losing his nerve. The silence rang his ears
as he stared at the peephole. He glanced at his watch and winced. It was just past
one in the morning and if she wasn’t pissed before, she would be now. This was
a mistake. Just when he was about to slide the note under the door and leave,
the door cracked open, jarring his insides with a bolt of electricity that made
the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

Evy squinted at
him through sleepy eyes, stealing his breath. A swarm of butterflies launched
in his stomach at the sight of the necklace he had given her. She hadn’t thrown
it away. His gaze ran its needy fingers to the bare legs spilling from a pair
of gym shorts. A fond look softened his eyes. Even waking from a dead sleep she
looked beautiful. Heart racing, he shifted from one foot to the other, feeling
lightheaded with those green eyes upon him once again.

Her face
stiffened. “What are you doing here?” she asked curtly.

“I need to talk
to you.”

An angry snort
burst from her nose. “You had your chance and blew it,” she said, slamming the
door in his face.

His hand jetted
out and caught it just in time. He pushed the door open, bringing a startled
look to her distended face.

“What’re you
doing?” she cried, pushing back with both hands.

He wrestled
against her weight and squeezed through the narrow gap. The door crashed shut
behind him with force, shaking the walls and narrowly taking off his fingers in
the process.

“You asshole!”
she barked, backing away like he was a home intruder. Her arms folded over a teal
camisole to hide the bare breasts beneath. “You think you can just toy with my
feelings like one of your little…
playthings
?
Come and go as you please?” Tears carved out paths down her reddening cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” he
said softly, unable to stop himself from reaching for her, needing to touch her
just one more time.

She slapped his
hands away like a child, retreating into the living room. “Get out!”

“I just…”

“You just what?”
she cried, smacking his hands again as he continued his desperate pursuit.
“Need to get laid because you’re drunk? Well, fuck you! I hate you!”

“No, listen,” he
said, a knot of need tightening in his gut as her sweet scent stormed his
senses. “There’s more to it, I just...”

“It’s called the
truth, Dean!”

His fingertips
grazed her arm and sent a charge shooting through his bloodstream. “It’s
complicated.”

Evy backed into
a wall, her eyes glittering with rage. “I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it.”
Her body tensed when his hands found her waist. She pushed against his wrists. “I
don’t want to see you ever again!” Her fists turned to hammers, beating on his
chest. “I don’t want to…”

“Shut up,” he
said, pulling her to him and kissing her hard.

Her eyes widened
with his boldness. She hesitated before squirming free and slapping him across
the face.
“You asshole!”

Dean wrapped an
arm around her waist and yanked her against him with a high-pitched noise escaping
her. Heat flushed across his front side as he pressed against body. She tensed,
surprised and unnerved, staring up at him with her mouth hanging open in a stunned
silence. Their eyes locked, the heat of their bodies mingling in the dim glow
from the light above the stove. The tension was palpable. His lips lowered to
hers. Evy snapped from her daze and writhed for freedom, calling him every name
in the book. He held her against him, refusing to let her go no matter how
nasty she got. She called him a bastard and he forced his lips to hers again, shutting
her up and sucking her into his heart and soul in a single blow.

She pushed
against him and tore her mouth away. “No,” she whispered between frantic gulps
of air, her eyes betraying her.

He clenched his
teeth and pinned her wrists to the wall. Before she could protest further, he slipped
his tongue into her warm mouth. She struggled against him but he wouldn’t budge,
kissing her long and hard. Her lips were soft and sweet and he never wanted to
let them go. He released one of her arms to seize her breast. She moaned and
pulled at his hair. He pinched her nipple and she kissed him back, sucking his
bottom lip into her mouth with hunger.

Her hands wrapped
around his neck and pulled him close, his heart fluttering against her. They
kissed with passion, their noses softly rubbing as their heads tilted back and
forth. He broke their kiss when her hand found the bulge in his slacks. He
chased his breath and looked her in the eye.

“I love you.”

She massaged his
groin, watering the erection inside. “I hate you,” she whispered back.

He picked her up
and spun her around. Her legs coiled around him as he carried her to the couch,
swimming in those green pools along the way. A startled breath slipped from
somewhere deep down inside when he dropped her onto the cushions. He hovered
over her, his famished eyes ravaging her from her tousled hair to her red toes.
His chest rose and fell with anticipation as his coat slipped to the floor with
nary a move. She reached up and grabbed his tie, pulling him on top of her. Their
mouths exchanged another heated kiss. He pressed his erection into her stomach
and pulled on her hair, forcing her head back so he could attack her neck like
a creature of the night.

She groaned as his
lips molested the vulnerable spot below her ear. His warm breath washed over her
with a want that
would not be denied
. His teeth bit into
her neck, nearly breaking the skin. She curled fistfuls of his hair into her
hands and pulled, her eyes burning with desire.

“Fuck me,” she
wheezed, pushing him to his knees and pulling his shirt open like he was Superman.
Buttons popped across the room, landing God knows where. He slipped out of the
ruined shirt while her hands frantically unbuckled his belt and jerked his
pants down to his knees, taking the underwear with them. His throbbing cock
broke free and she seized it with both hands, stroking him with a fervent
yearning that nearly made him explode. His breath came as fast as her stokes.
She looked up and met his smoldering gaze, needing to melt with him just one
more time. She cupped his balls and took him into her mouth.

He arched his
back and squeezed his eyes shut. Stars exploded across the back of his eyelids
as her luscious lips slid up and down his rigid shaft with a tenderness he had
yet to encounter. He moaned her name out loud, massaging her head with his hands.
It had never been this good.
Ever.
He opened his eyes
and watched her take him all in, inhaling him like much needed air.

He tightened his
buttocks and clenched his teeth. “Stop,” he begged.

She withdrew and
looked up at him with a sparkle in her eyes. He rid himself of everything but
his necktie, their ragged breath the only sound in the room.

Her eyes scoured
every inch of his sculpted body, from his broad shoulders and carved out abs to
his toned thighs and calves. Her tongue swept across her lips, wanting
everything he had to offer and more. He yanked her shorts down and tore off her
panties. She gasped as the material ripped, tried to sit up but he forced her
back down and pushed her top up over her breasts.

Blood rushed
through his arteries so fast he thought he might pass out. He studied her body,
memorizing every breathtaking curve. With a wry grin, she spread her legs,
giving him an unimpeded shot of her creamy center below. His hand ran along the
inside of her smooth leg, loving the way she trembled beneath his touch. His fingers
found her soft spot and gently traced her clitoris, rubbing circles into her wet
flesh.

“Dean,” she
panted, closing her eyes.

The look on her
face nearly made him cum. He picked her up and twirled her on top of him. She
straddled him, looking down into his animalistic eyes as he slipped inside of
her.

He sat up and cupped
her face, studying her like a magnificent work of art. A steamy breath shot from
her lips. Her voice quivered when she spoke. “I love you, Dean.”

Dean stared into
her eyes, his heart swelling. “I love you more than anything in the world.”

Evy watched him
as they melted together, not knowing where one began and the other ended. She smiled
and took him in deeper, meeting his greedy thrusts. Fireworks exploded inside
her head. She increased her tempo, their skin slapping against each other in
perfect rhythm, snatching stubborn gulps of air around them. Evy stopped
penny-pinching and seized every inch he had to offer. A lamp shook on the end
table.

“Oh shit!” he groaned.

She threw her
head back and cried out.

He took her face
in his hand and directed her eyes to meet his. “Look at me when you cum.”

Her breath was
warm and ragged. She set her jaw and dug her nails into his shoulders, staring
into his demanding gaze.