Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets #1) Read online

  “Sarah lives on the island, too. I’m sure when she’s ready to go you could catch a ride with her,” Evelyn rushed to say.

  Sarah nodded her head a little too desperately. Poor girl, Evelyn thought, she wanted this man, bad.

  “Actually, I want to go home now, and since we live two doors down, it would be the easiest solution.”

  Well, shit, this wasn’t good.

  “Well, you see…” She tried to think of a way to come right out and say it without making herself sound like a liar. “I think I’d rather be alone. I—”

  “Sounds great, you ready?” he said, cutting her off.

  His arm tightened around her shoulders. Evelyn was being pulled to the door before she could even open her mouth to politely reject him. Did this guy not understand what in the hell she was trying to tell him? Maybe he did and that’s why he already had her in the parking lot. This man had rejection issues.

  Thinking of something fast to stop him, she remembered what she told him earlier and didn’t care if her half-lie about not feeling good came out. “I hate to be so blunt, but I don’t think you understand. I told you earlier that I had plans for afterward. I’m not going home right now. If I’m lucky, I won’t be home until the sun rises. Get my point. Sorry to reject your friend like that, but something told me to stay away from him.”

  They came to a stop in the middle of the parking lot.

  “Smart girl. You should stay away from him. I see what you’re saying. Let me ask you a question, though. You’re obviously going to meet a man, correct?”

  Evelyn was quiet for a few seconds, not sure what in the hell she was going to do when she left, but finally she decided to enlighten him. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “Would you say that you love this man?”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Of course not.” After she said it, she wished she could have taken it back. He was obviously getting to something, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  “Then why are you going to him? You don’t love him. Do you usually give away your passion so freely?”

  Anger began to thrum inside of her. “It’s none of your business what I do with my passion, as you so nicely put it. Let me give you some insight since you seem to be missing the flashing sign that so clearly says, ‘Not interested.’ I fuck whomever I want, and if I need companionship, then that’s no one’s business but mine.”

  Evelyn regretted the harsh words as soon as they were out. She closed her eyes to block off the tears. He was right. She did freely give away her body, her passion, and, slowly, her soul.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried into your private life. Forgive me.” Brandon‘s voice lowered with what sounded like regret.

  His palm cupped her cheek so softly she wasn’t sure if she was imagining it. Evelyn opened her eyes and couldn’t stop the tear that collided with his thumb. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Let’s go. I’ll drop you off.”

  She stepped away from him and headed in the direction of the car. The lights flashed as she unlocked the door. Evelyn needed to get this guy home. If anything, he might have been right, but he also had convinced her that she needed someone more stable in her life, a damn boy toy.

  “Are you okay? Really, I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

  Without a word, she opened the door, gesturing for him to get in the passenger side. “I’m fine now, completely sober if you must know. Now get in.”

  The engine roared, mainly from her pushing on the accelerator. It seemed that she was in one of those moods again, just like earlier with Bill. “I hope you like to go fast, Brandon, or else you got in the wrong car.”

  Evelyn peeled out of the parking lot and, looking over at him, tried her best not to smile as they slid sideways onto the access road. When you can’t outrun your problems, then outdrive them. Well, maybe that wasn’t the best motto, but shit, it worked for her.

  “How in the hell did you learn to drive like this,” he asked, clutching onto the seat. Laughter burst from her mouth. “You really want to know?”

  He looked over, his face nervous. “Yeah, tell me, I think.”

  Evelyn pushed down the accelerator and jumped the speedometer to over a hundred miles an hour. “My ex-fiancé was a cop. He taught me a lot of cool things to do with a car.”

  She weaved through the traffic so easily, checking all her mirrors. Soon they would be out of the city and it would be deserted again, just how she liked it. Deserted, just like her.

  “So, how did the fiancé become an ex? Or is that too personal,” he asked, dropping his volume.

  Evelyn let his words wash over her. She felt surprised that she suddenly wanted to spill her guts to someone, to anyone who didn’t know her on a personal level. Maybe it was his comment about giving away her passion. Whatever it was, she needed to get it off her chest.

  “Stephen and I were together for a long time. I had visions of the white-picket fence, the whole nine yards. He came to me two weeks before our wedding, while my mother was doing a fitting on my dress, and told me that he couldn’t marry me”—Evelyn paused—“that he had found someone else and was in love with her. I was left to explain everything to everyone.”

  Silence filled the small space, but Evelyn went on. “Her name was Sheila. They met once and the next thing I know he’s professing his undying love. I really hope, though, for his sake, he’s happy. He was a really great guy, before all that.”

  Evelyn slowed down the engine to the seventy-mile-an-hour speed limit. Now that she had gotten that out in the open, out loud, she felt better. Well, that was cheaper than going to a shrink.

  “I’m sorry for what’s happened. The guy was a jerk for putting you through that. Do you want me to beat the shit out of him?”

  Evelyn laughed. “No, that’s okay. Assault on an officer would just put the icing on the cake. Plus, it was over two years ago. I don’t think that’s quite fair.”

  “Are you still going to meet that other guy tonight?” Brandon asked.

  Bill. Would she go to meet him? With a glance in Brandon’s direction, she felt her body react to his eyes. They seemed to stand out in the darkness of the car. No, no Bill tonight. Brandon was an option, though.

  The idea definitely made her uneasy. But why should it? Where was her take-charge attitude? So, she wanted this guy. He didn’t affect her like his friend had. Her brain wasn’t screaming run, just caution. Would one night of fucking Brandon be as dangerous as she made herself believe? Maybe not if she thought of it as her own personal bet. He probably wasn’t going to be in town more than a few weeks, maybe even days. What could it hurt? Tomorrow, she could just go back to ignoring him, right?

  “Are you offering to take his place?” There, that wasn’t so bad. The shocked look on his face was even better. It made up for the fear she had felt.

  “What exactly are we talking here, whips and chains, any torturing?”

  “Not tonight.” She laughed. “You just have to please me. Do you think you can do that or is that asking too much? It could be a hard job if you’re not sure exactly what you’re doing.”

  Evelyn let her words challenge him, and he knew exactly what she was doing. He wasn’t the least bit fooled. Good. Let the games begin. As long as she thought of this as a game, then she couldn’t get hurt.

  Chapter 6

  Warm fingers settled on her thigh and inched toward the hem of her dress. The need to close her eyes was automatic. Instead, she focused on the headlights breaking through the blackness of the abandoned highway.

  “You don’t intimidate me. As much as I like your straightforwardness, I think this time you might have bitten off more than you can chew. You won’t be disappointed.”

  Evelyn looked over at him, smiling at him challengingly. He may have been full of confidence, but when it came to sex, so was she. Her record in Bets was unbeatable. There were tricks she knew that she’d never used on anyone before. It was time she pulled something out of her h
at and knocked him down a peg or two.

  “If you’re as good as you think you are, surprise me. Tell me something about myself that you couldn’t possibly know.”

  “Like what?” He smiled. “Like how I know you’re not wearing any panties underneath that little black dress.” He moved his fingers up a fraction. “Or maybe you want me to tell you how I know that you bathe with a soap that is combined with both cherry blossoms and almonds. The heat from your body is perfuming the car with the smell. Or the thing that would shock you the most is how I know that right now, at this moment, you’re ovulating.”

  Evelyn slammed on her brakes and came to a complete stop on the shoulder of the road. Her eyes cut into his golden ones. The air felt trapped inside her lungs as uncertainty took over. She knew something wasn’t right about the guy! Somehow her mind kept trying to tell her, but she wouldn’t listen. “How do you know all of that? It’s impossible.”

  The beating of her heart increased, and her breathing, so deep that an ache was starting to fill her chest. Fear seized her mind. The no panties, all right, she might be able to buy that. The soap was questionable, but the ovulating, that was a little too much. He did say that, didn’t he?

  “You did say ovulating, right? I mean, I didn’t just imagine that, did I? Ovulating…”

  His fingers pulled her thighs apart a fraction of an inch. She watched him inhale deeply, closing his eyes. “No, you didn’t imagine it. What I said was right, you’re ovulating. Damn, you smell so good.”

  Brandon opened his eyes, looking back into hers. “So, did I tell you something only you would know? You seem afraid. I can smell the fear pouring off you. I assure you I have no intention of harming you.”

  “What are you?” Evelyn whispered.

  The question didn’t seem the least bit silly. He couldn’t be human. There was no way, was there? The heat from his body, his eyes, his smell, it was too much and was starting to make her question life in general. She’d never been one to believe in anything. Evelyn considered herself a skeptic, through and through, but his serious expression shook her to the very core.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled.

  “Exactly what I asked. There’s no way for you to know what you just said, if you’re human.”

  He laughed. “All right, all right, I’m sorry. It was a bad joke. I only knew the no-panties thing because when you almost fell, I didn’t feel any. As for the cherry blossom soap, well, let’s just say it was a lucky guess. The ovulation part, truthfully, I made that up. Don’t be mad. It was just to take away some of your confidence.”

  Evelyn heard the words, but wasn’t sure if she could believe him. But what else could she believe, that some…thing was in her car? Not likely.

  “That’s some really good guessing you did. I’m still not sure what to think. It’s a little creepy,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Even though her brain accepted his response, something deep inside of her couldn’t dismiss his words.

  “Let’s just forget about the joke. It was bad timing, I guess.”

  The hand that had never left her thigh progressed its way under her dress. Thing or not, at that moment she didn’t care. He could have been the boogieman and she would have ignored the fact. All Evelyn knew was that he was moving closer to her, hovering over the center console, and brushing his finger against her clit. His fingers were cool against the warmth of her pussy.

  The need to rush home made her bring the car back onto the road. All she had to do was make it the next five miles. It beat fucking him in her passenger seat, although it was tempting.

  His finger slid lower and traced her wet folds. Evelyn moaned, shifting. Hunger consumed her. The coolness of his fingers was so different from the warmth she had originally felt from him.

  Brandon’s lips eased down over her rapidly beating pulse on her throat. The hot wetness of his tongue had her fingers going numb from gripping the steering wheel with all of her strength.

  The lights of the resort were coming into view. It wouldn’t be long now. Could she make it without pulling the car over first? It was tough to say. The teasing of his fingertip rubbing along the edge of her opening was probably going to be her undoing.

  “You don’t seem so tough now. Do you usually like to be in control, Evelyn?”

  She opened her mouth to say yes, but it came out as a scream when he plunged his finger deep inside of her. Evelyn’s hips bucked forward to meet his quick thrusts. The car was slowing down, due to her having taken her foot off the accelerator. She couldn’t think past the sensations that were rushing through her.

  “I like to be in control too, Evelyn. How about we let me take control tonight? Do you think you could do that?”

  Evelyn, submit? It made her pause. She wasn’t sure she liked that. But if she said no, would he stop pleasuring her? The last thing she wanted was to be told what to do, but she wasn’t stupid enough to stop those magical fingers.

  “Yes,” she said huskily.

  The finger slid out just as they were pulling into the dimly lit parking lot. Emptiness settled over her, leaving her feeling incomplete.

  The engine died with the turn of the key, and Brandon was already opening her door. The cool wind traced the length of her legs, but she didn’t feel anything due to the shock of how fast Brandon had made it all the way around to her.

  He held out his hand, and she took it in awe. The light in the parking lot cast a glow over his face that made him look almost angelic. Evelyn’s whole body was enflamed with a heat so intense that she felt like she had a fever. Her legs were shaking horribly as she stood.

  “Your room or mine,” Brandon asked, wrapping his arm around her waist. The heat that had warmed her before was gone. The only warmth she had was coming from her pussy at how his large arm flexed around her. Where was his warmth?

  The question he asked infiltrated her mind. It couldn’t be her apartment. That was her sanctuary, one that she didn’t want clouded with memories of any man. Memories were plentiful enough in her head—no need to bring them to life.

  “Yours would probably be better.”

  He practically carried her up the stairs, he was moving so fast. Evelyn kept her head angled toward his large chest, blocking her face from anyone who might be up late. She never had done anything like this where she resided. It was always motels farthest away from where she lived.

  The smell of his cologne had her snuggling closer. She wanted to bury her face deep against his skin, to bottle his scent and take it with her wherever she went. Evelyn shook her head, trying to clear the obsessive thoughts. They hadn’t even done anything yet, and here she was, already starting to get involved.

  Brandon’s door swung open. He hadn’t even bothered locking it. Of course, he was wearing the exact thing she had seen him in before she left. He hadn’t even changed out of his red shirt and a pair of jeans. It wasn’t exactly club wear, but the way the shirt hugged his body, it didn’t matter. He could have left with any girl there, in a heartbeat.

  The softness of Brandon’s lips pressing against hers coaxed them open. He tasted like peppermint, too. Had he not drunk anything at the Martini Bar? He tasted so good, just like Paul had. Wanting to take in more of his flavor, she rubbed her tongue against his. The door clicked behind them.

  Darkness was heavy against her closed lids. She opened them just in time for him to pull off her jacket, pick her up, and carry her toward the back of the apartment where the bedroom was.

  Evelyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest. The microfiber dress was a thin veil between them. With no bra on, she thought it was almost as good as being topless. Her nipples tightened painfully against him.

  Brandon made his way through the thick darkness as if he could see where he was going. She couldn’t see inches in front of her face, yet he made his way around a corner and into what she assumed was the bedroom with ease.

  Light washed over the room, blinding her long enough to
miss seeing where she was being laid. Evelyn knew it was a bed, but she would have liked to have seen it. There was no time to glimpse anything besides the ceiling before his weight settled over her.

  All thoughts vanished the moment his lips touched hers, and she could feel the bulge through his jeans press against her pussy. Wanting him closer, she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  When Evelyn broke their kiss, golden eyes stared into hers. Thoughts exploded into Evelyn’s mind. What was she doing? Hadn’t she repeatedly rejected this guy? Her head swirled. Was it still the alcohol? She had felt fine in the car. The memories flooded back. Bet, right, that’s what she was doing. Fingers brushed across her face and drew her eyes to him.

  “Evelyn, stop thinking so much and kiss me.”

  Pushing away the doubts, she ran her tongue against his lips and felt him shudder. The ragged breath coming from above caressed her face, filled her lungs with his sweetness.

  “You’re very good at seducing men, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but I’m usually not so good with taking orders. But for you, tonight I’ll make an exception.”

  He pulled off his clothes, revealing a perfect, sculptured body. All Evelyn could do was stare at every inch of him, from his muscular chest, to his perfect abs, to his thick cock, which was hard and ready for her. Her pussy tightened just thinking about him entering her. She took off her dress as fast as she could, ripping it in the process.

  Brandon didn’t waste any time. At his weight lying against her, she noticed that his body seemed even cooler than before. Maybe she was just really hot. Was she getting sick?

  “So, you’ll do anything I tell you to?” he asked.

  Brandon kissed her deeply, nearly bruising her lips. Evelyn nodded her head yes, not wanting to break away from him. He tasted so good. With the tip of her teeth, she bit the bottom of his lip and sucked it into her mouth. A groan shook her chest that vibrated all the way to the core of her stomach, making her clit pulse.