Page 53 of Elevating Eve

Not evenseeming to notice him, Eve slammed a hammer down against one of the recently laid floor tiles. Dust billowed up from the floor as sharp pieces of tile flew everywhere. Eve gathered up the fragments in her bare hands, flinging them aside. Broken, ruined tiles surrounded her in every direction, making the room look like a bomb went off.

“Evie, what’s going on?” Shock made his voice so low, she might not have even heard him.

A sob burst out of her as she picked up a crowbar with trembling hands. Wedging it between the tile’s backer board and the subfloor, she pried the underside of the tile off in one large piece. As soon as it popped loose, she grabbed it without any care, slicing the palm of her hand open on a sharp edge. Ignoring the gash, she peered at the bottom of the backer board, running her fingers over the remains of the mortar, then doing the same to the now-exposed subfloor.

“Goddamnit!” she shouted, tears making muddy tracks in the dust clinging to her face. Dropping the crowbar with a loudclang, she reached for the hammer again, not even seeming to notice the blood now dripping down her wrist.

It was the blood that finally snapped him out of his stupor. Tile bits crunched under his shoes as he hurried to the center of the destroyed room, grabbing Eve’s wrist before she could slam the hammer down.

She shrieked and toppled away from him, landing in a graveyard of jagged shards. Another scream barreled out of her as the sharp points dug into her skin.

“Evie!” He shouted this time, needing her to hear him. “It’s me, it’s okay.” Scooping her up off the floor, he tried to pull her into a tight embrace, wanting to calm and soothe her as quickly as possible.

Wriggling out of his grip before he got a proper hold on her, she dropped back to her knees. Her frantic eyes searched the floor until she found the hammer.

Before she could snatch up the bloody tool, Jonathan grabbed her again. This time, he made sure to do so in a way that she wouldn’t be able to get away from him.

“No!” She struggled and kicked as he hauled her out of the bathroom. “Let go! Let me go back!” When she started fighting even harder,he had no choice but to twist her around and fling her over his shoulder.

“Jonathan!” She shouted his name over and over as she banged her fists against his back, legs still kicking furiously.

He ignored her protests and attacks, easily keeping his hold on her as he carried her downstairs and outside. His hope was that the fresh air and soft, evening light would snap her out of it, but no luck. As she continued to thrash and scream like a trapped wildcat, a new idea popped into his head.

Striding through the garden, he opened the gate at the far end with his free hand, hurrying through it. And then he dumped her unceremoniously into the pool.

Jonathan watched her with unblinking eyes, ready to jump in the moment it looked like she needed his help. But she burst to the surface after only a few seconds, spluttering and wiping water from her eyes.

“What the fuck, Jonathan?” she demanded, half indignant, half bewildered.

Squatting down, he waited until she kicked her way over to the side. Grabbing both her wrists, he easily hauled her up onto the pool deck. “Better?” he asked, pushing her dripping hair back from her face.

“Fuck off.” Determination in every line of her face, she started back toward the gate.

Jonathan hurried after her, easily catching up with his much longer legs. “You’re not going back in there until you talk to me.”

“Watch me,” she threw over her shoulder.

Grabbing her around the waist, he hauled her to the nearest pool chaise. Sitting on the edge of the cushion, he forced Eve down over his lap.

“Let go of me!” she shouted, but he ignored her.

Trapping her kicking legs between his, he started to spank. He knew her wet jeans would dull away most of the pain, but he didn’t care. This wasn’t about punishment. He just needed to do something—anything—to help her calm down and start thinking rationally again.

A long stream of insults and expletives flowed out of her, but he ignored them. Holding her in place with the vise of his legs and a handpressed firmly against the small of her back, he kept spanking in a perfect rhythm, never letting up for even a second.

It took far longer than he expected for the fight to seep out of her. His hand hurt like a motherfucker by the time she finally drooped over his thigh, spent and boneless.

“Okay, you can let me up now,” she said, sounding utterly defeated. “Please.”

Releasing her trapped legs, he helped her into position on his lap, holding her close to his chest. Still dripping wet, she shivered in the late spring air. “Tell me what happened,” he said, soft and encouraging.

Without a word, Eve held up her right hand. The heavy gold ring still sat on her middle finger, a gaping hole where the large, square cut emerald used to be.

He stared at it, uncomprehending, for a few seconds. Then the whole messy situation made sense in an instant.

“You tiled that bathroom this morning,” he said.

“Yes. I have no idea when it fell out. Or evenhowit fell out.” She made a miserable little noise, almost sounding like a wounded animal. “I don’t know what to do.”

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