Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets #1) Read online

  ENGAGING EVELYN

  Blissful Bets Series

  Alaska Angelini

  (previously written under Jennifer Salaiz)

  Engaging Evelyn

  Blissful Bets, book 1

  Alaska Angelini

  (previously written as Jennifer Salaiz)

  Copyright © 2019 by Alaska Angelini

  All Rights Reserved

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and is punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  DEDICATION

  Since deciding to self-publish this story after my contract ended with my publisher, I have received such phenomenal support. Readers…you amaze me. Your excitement over my work amazes me. I’ve come such a far way since Engaging Evelyn, but I hope you enjoy this series. I originally wrote this as a daring new twist on “fun”. If you’ve read my darker books, you understand I don’t like to follow the rules. To incorporate my love of paranormal, BAM, Blissful Bets was born.

  To all the woman with courage enough to fight and go after what they want. Or who they want…

  "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself. And sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

  — Marilyn Monroe

  ENGAGING EVELYN

  Blissful Bets Series

  Alaska Angelini

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter 1

  When one is single and lives in a small town along the gulf coast of Texas, there’s only one thing to look forward to: spring break. Most would think that just the high school or college crowd partakes in the monthlong, party-packed celebration. But truthfully, Evelyn and her friends had enjoyed it for years, and their ages ranged from the mid-twenties to early thirties.

  Of course, they weren’t an average group of women. One could say they were a bit eccentric in a way. Evelyn hadn’t personally ever met another group of women who made bets the way they did. But the pain they had all experienced in their pasts allowed them to enjoy the game they played, without regret. As she looked at her new recruit, she tried to explain.

  “I know, I know, you say bets like you’re not sure what I mean.” Evelyn looked at Natalie’s confused face, trying her best to cheer up her upset friend.

  “Please don’t tell me that you bet on men,” Natalie whispered from across the small table for two. The restaurant was one of the smaller, family-owned businesses on the island. It was one Evelyn frequented, often.

  “Well, of course not!” Evelyn made her face look appalled at the question, but she couldn’t hold out for long before a smile appeared. “All right, that’s a lie. That’s exactly what we do.” A laugh burst from her lips at her friend’s parted mouth. She couldn’t help it. Natalie was downright shocked, and Evelyn loved it.

  “Let me explain,” Evelyn said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “We look for the most gorgeous men we can find, and then the bets are on. One point of the index finger toward a man, and that’s all it takes for us to get our point across to each other. With a wink, the one appointed with the task happily—and trust me, they’re very happy—stalks toward her target to see if she can get him to leave with her. And if by some chance she might not be feeling that particular man, no problems. There’s always another girl ready to take on the challenge.” Evelyn smiled.

  Poor Natalie. Evelyn couldn’t help but think that she had lost her as a possible recruit. The dear girl, not a day over twenty-four and she just didn’t have what it took to put feelings aside. That was all right, though. They really didn’t need anyone else. The idea of adding someone had seemed fun when she had thought of it.

  There were four of them altogether. Their looks ranged from the tall, fair-haired Sarah; to Melissa, whose hair was the darkest red Evelyn had ever seen; to Julie, with hair that was a dark brown with blond highlights; and Evelyn, whose hair was a natural midnight black, which looked exotic against her pale skin.

  They had gone to school in the small tourist town of Port Aransas, Texas, and although each one of them had had a chance to escape at one point or another, they had refused to leave. This place held more to offer than any big city that Evelyn had ever been to. There was the beach, and during tourist season, there was a wide variety of men from all over. One couldn’t ask for more than that.

  The blame for the betting game could only be pointed in one direction: Evelyn’s. With the growing uneasiness in their lives, something needed to change. The restlessness each of them was feeling wasn’t hard to detect. They knew they needed something to kill the time during the winter, until spring break arrived, starting the months of fun that would last during the summer. That’s when everyone would come to vacation on the beach.

  They had been sitting at their favorite little Cajun restaurant eating dinner when a group of men walked in and were seated two tables over. That’s when it had hit Evelyn. They needed to have fun, a new game that was sure to please the entire group, kill time, and one that would sidetrack her from the deep depression she was quickly sinking into.

  Natalie standing brought Evelyn’s focus back to what she had come here for. She grabbed her friend’s hand and looked up into her angelic face.

  “Evelyn, let me think about it. Bradly and I have only been broken up for a month. I need time to process everything, but don’t get me wrong. It sounds like a fun thing to do. Something I would have relished a few months ago. Just let me think it over.”

  Standing, Evelyn hugged Natalie and looked into her gray eyes. “Take all the time you need, but remember you promised not to tell anyone.”

  “I won’t tell a soul. I’ll see you next time you’re in the office.” Watching her walk away, Evelyn sat back down and drifted into her thoughts of the first time this game went into effect.

  “Sarah, I bet you can’t get that man over there to leave with you,” Evelyn had whispered.

  Everyone at the table had turned to view the group of men. The women’s eyes lit up at the wickedness Evelyn’s words carried. Sarah turned to her with her usual competitive face, and not the least bit intimidated, she smiled.

  “Which one?” she had asked in her usual challenging tone.

  Evelyn had looked the men over and settled for the one she had seen before. To her, he was the hottest out of the group. His blond hair rested above his eyebrows but was disheveled from the constant wind along the coast. The width of his shoulders alone had her mouth watering.

  “The blond,” Evelyn had whispered back to her. “And if I get him to leave with me, what do I win?”

  It had taken her a few moments to think about the reward. She hadn’t considered that part. “I’ll buy all of your drinks tonight, but if you lose, you buy mine.”

  Sarah’s lips had twisted slightly, but she had nodded her head, agreeing. “All right, you’re on. But if I have to do this, then so does Julie. Julie, how about you take the brunet with the green eyes. I’d hate to have him wasted.”

  Julie had laughed and raised one of her eyebrows. “Okay, Sarah. It would be a sin to pass up such a good-looking man. I think I can handle the brunet. He was the first one who caught my eye, anyway.”

  They had all started laughing, and that had been it. A
game that started in September had lived on and carried into the beginning of February. It had become so much a part of their lives that they looked forward to the weekends now for a whole new reason.

  There had been a few curves in their game, so to speak, like the one they were in at the moment. Well, the one Evelyn was in. When the bets didn’t turn out the way they expected, they’d spice them up a bit.

  Melissa had bet Sarah that she couldn’t get this man named Bill. Well, Sarah had gotten Bill, but there was one problem. She couldn’t make him come, no matter what she did. So, therefore, she bet Melissa back that she couldn’t make him come. When Melissa failed, they came and bet Evelyn.

  Normally, women won’t sleep with men who their friends have had, but these women didn’t quite consider themselves normal. They were too close to care. As long as they were always safe and no feelings were involved, then they were secure to sleep with whomever they wanted.

  After grabbing the ticket and paying for her lunch, Evelyn looked at her watch. It was time to get this bet over with. She had put it off the entire morning. Bill was hers, and from the picture on Sarah’s phone, she didn’t think she was going to regret it. If she didn’t get him to come, oh well. She’d probably get hers, and that’s the only thing she cared about as she approached her car.

  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 f
rom 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.