Page 73 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

Evangeline shrugged. “I can handle some passive-aggression,” she said. “And aggressive-aggression if it comes to that.”

I knew I should say no. I should keep Evangeline far away from my father and his ability to get under my skin, but… “I would appreciate having backup.”

“Then, I’ll be there,” Evangeline told me. “Am I gonna need another ballgown or something?”

“No, no. Based on the invitation, this should be fairly casual,” I said, glancing at it. I could practically hear Evangeline’s eyebrows rise. “If it had gold leaf on it, then you’d need something more formal, but with this, you should be fine with cocktail attire.”

Evangeline stared at me. “I’ll ask Lissa.”

That evening, Evangeline knocked on the door of my suite as I was adjusting my tie. She was dressed in an elegant black dress, her hair loose around her shoulders in curls.

“You look wonderful,” I said, stepping aside to let her in. She looked around the room curiously, and I wondered what she thought of the space. Would she find it opulent? Gaudy? Eclectic? Cluttered?

“You look great, too,” Evangeline said. She stepped forward and straightened my tie, her knuckles brushing my neck as she did so. “All… old-fashioned and fancy.”

“My father is of the opinion that menswear went severely downhill after the 1830s,” I explained. “No matter how many points I bring up about the advancements in trouser construction.”

“I can see how that would put some real strain on your relationship,” Evangeline said gravely.

“I thought wearing something from the era he prefers might help us avoid at least one argument,” I said, and Evangeline nodded, smoothing down my lapel.

“If he starts getting to you, I’ll try to distract him,” she said. “We can set up a code word or something. Like spinach… or gargoyle.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “You think I’ll be able to work gargoyle into the conversation naturally?”

“I mean, if anyone could…” Evangeline said with a smile before she stretched up and kissed me lightly.

“Your faith in me is touching,” I said when we parted. It came out a bit more seriously than I would have liked.

“Hey,” Evangeline said, taking my hand. “It’s gonna be fine, all right? We’ll get through dinner, and then we’ll come back here and… unwind.”

I kissed her again, more deeply this time, bringing up my free hand to cup her cheek. She let out a pleased moan, parting her lips for me, and the kiss turned into something lazy and decadent. Our first kiss had been sweet, and the ones after it had been desperate. This was just kissing for kissing’s sake, reveling in each other.

“We do have a bit of time before we have to leave,” I murmured, and I felt Evangeline smile against me.

“If we’re late, you can blame me,” she offered. I grinned, putting my hands around her waist, and picking her up. Evangeline let out a startled laugh and wrapped her legs around my hips.

“Not gonna lie, it’s pretty hot how you can just move me around like it’s nothing,” she said, punctuating her words with biting kisses to my neck. I set her down on the sideboard, and the added height made her slightly taller than me. I had to angle my head up just a bit to kiss her, which I didn’t mind at all.

“We’ll have to make this quick,” I said with a regretful glance at the clock on the mantle.

“That’s fine,” Evangeline said, pulling me closer with her legs. “It’ll be like an amuse bouche, and we can have the full meal later.”

My eyebrows shot up, and she gave me a completely unrepentant look. “Well, when you put it like that,” I said, dropping to my knees.

I pushed Evangeline’s skirt up and bent forward to kiss the freckles on her perfect thighs. She was wearing black silk panties that matched her dress. Goosebumps rose on her skin when I settled my hands on her knees, keeping her legs spread for me.

“You’re breathtaking,” I said, nuzzling the soft skin of her inner thigh. Evangeline let out a little gasp, and I grinned, flicking my tongue out over that same spot. “Absolutely stunning.”

I tugged her panties down and pressed a kiss to the groomed chestnut curls underneath. The sweet floral scent of her was stronger here, mingling with the smell of her arousal, and the unmistakable tang of cunt. I spread her folds with my fingers, revealing the wet pink core of her, and swayed forward to taste her.

“Fuck, Gabe,” Evangeline gasped. Her hands were curled tightly around the edge of the sideboard, knuckles white. I laved my tongue up to her clit and felt the muscles of her thigh shake under my grip.

I lost myself in it, cataloguing every sigh, every spot that made her shake or swear or dig her heels into my back. I loved eating women out—I always had—but Evangeline was so deliciously responsive that it made the whole thing even better. If we’d had time, I would have been delighted to stay there all evening, making her come for me again and again, so I wouldn’t have to go one minute without the taste of her pleasure on my tongue.

But we didn’t have all evening.

I pressed two fingers into her cunt, curling them relentlessly as I licked and sucked at her clit. Evangeline let out a muffled wail and curved forward, clenching around my fingers as she came. I kept lapping at her gently as she rode it out, only stopping when she tangled a hand in my hair and tugged me away.

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