Page 21 of Elevating Eve

“Dinner won’t be ready for another hour at least.” Gabriel, theManor’s head chef, didn’t even look up from the pot he stirred. His sous chef was equally indifferent—Sienna only glanced up for a second before turning her attention back to her stand mixer.

The third chef straightened so dramatically she looked like a soldier coming to attention. Kendra had recently moved to dinner from the earlier shift, and even after five years at Fairford Manor, she got nervous when the partners entered the kitchen.

He ignored all three of them. Crossing the room without a word, he went through the back door, hurrying across the deserted patio to the garden beyond.

The new building stood along the left edge of the garden, situated midway between the main house and the pool. Lainey’s crew had finished the outside façade in the last month, taking the building from an eyesore to something truly magnificent. The flawless white marble shone in the early evening sunlight.

Jonathan could see two people through one of the high, arched windows, but he was too far away to tell if it was Eve and Camden. Frustration had his hands fisting at his sides as he picked his way along the stone pathways, winding between the low hedges.

He nearly made it to the building when he heard voices he recognized coming out of one of the garden’s many little alcoves.

“Are you sure?” Eve said.

“Trust me,” Camden answered, and Jonathan had no trouble picturing the man’s ridiculously handsome, dimpled face. Why did women always go nuts for the stupid fucking dimple? Of course Eve wouldn’t be any different. “By the time I’m done working my magic, you’ll never doubt me again.”

Her laugh drifted out of the alcove, high and clear. No sign of the nerves she sometimes showed around him. “You’re awfully cocky.”

“Oh, baby, you have no idea,” Camden said, oozing so much charm Jonathan knew Eve would never be able to resist. “If you don’t have at least three orgasms by the time the night is up, I’ll take a vow of chastity.”

Every single muscle in his body tensed as Eve’s laughter filled hisears again.

He’d never wanted to beat the ever-loving shit out of one of his friends before.

But there was a first time for everything.

With cold fury flowing through him like literal ice in his veins, he stormed into the alcove.

CHAPTER 8

Eve

“If you want that hand to stay attached to your body, I suggest you remove it from her thigh.”

Eve shrieked in surprise, nearly falling off the white wrought iron bench when she whipped around. Jonathan was here. The plan had been in place for all of twenty seconds and he was already fuckinghere.

As for Camden, he hardly reacted at all, catching her with ease before leaning oh-so-casually against the bench’s back, legs spread wide. “Jonathan,” he said, his hand once again resting on her upper thigh. He grinned despite the threat of imminent bodily harm. “What a lovely surprise.”

“I’m not fucking around, Camden,” Jonathan practically growled, glaring at his longtime business partner and friend like a mortal enemy. “Get. Your hand. Off.”

Eve’s heart fluttered in her chest, even if this version of Jonathan scared her the tiniest bit. Thank God that fiery anger wasn’t directed at her.

Camden only grinned wider. “I believe the lady can say for herself who can and cannot touch her.” The bold son of a bitch even gave her leg a little squeeze.

The two men stared at each other for several tense seconds, the onlysound the pounding of her heartbeat in her own ears. She could hardly fucking breathe.

Eve screamed again when Jonathan lurched forward, grabbing two fistfuls of Camden’s tight black T-shirt. Though the men were of a similar height, Camden easily had fifty pounds on Jonathan, all of it muscle. It wouldn’t be a contest if it came down to a fistfight.

The disparity didn’t even seem to cross Jonathan’s mind. He hauled the larger man off the bench as if he weighed nothing, dragging him several feet away. The sound of fabric tearing filled the air as Camden’s shirt ripped at the shoulder seams.

Oh fuck, oh fuck.Eve had no idea what to do. Camden told her to let whatever happened play out—that he could handle himself. But Jonathan looked ready to quite literally rip the man’s head off.

Enough. She had to stop this before things got out of hand. She opened her mouth to tell Jonathan the truth, but never got the chance.

“Eve ismine.” Jonathan was right up in Camden’s face, their noses nearly touching. “If you ever lay your hand on what’s mine again, I’ll fucking kill you. Do you understand me?”

Her heart beat so fast, she feared she might have a goddamn heart attack.

Mine.

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