Page 97 of Whiskey Kisses

My stomach churns, and suddenly I’m frantic to get away from him. “I have to go.” Opening the door, I let myself out of his truck and walk quickly toward the glass doors leading back inside the building.

“Evie,” Cole calls.

Pausing, I look back at him.

“Don’t forget now, we have a deal,” he says. “If I sense even ahintof shady bullshit from you or that fucker, you will regret it more than I can express.”

I nod, shaking so badly I can’t speak. He yanks his truck away from the curb and speeds down the street, disappearing around the corner. I take a deep breath, and then another before my mouth fills with saliva and I vomit onto the asphalt.

It’s done.

26.Tristan

The day I’m supposed to call Danny Deschamps, I wake up and pull Evie’s warm, sleeping body to mine. I breathe in the honeyed, floral scent of her hair as I curve myself around her, letting myself feel how essential moments like this are. How grounded they make me feel.

These past few days have been one long blur of meetings with our men as we ironed out the details of our next move. How we proceed with the Deschamps could be the difference between life and death, so hunkering down to figure it out was very necessary. That meant barely seeing Evie, except in passing. Thank God Mom’s been here. Otherwise, my girl would’ve been on her own at a time when she needed me the most. I know she understands, though, and even if she didn’t, I would’ve played it the exact same way. Time is of the essence. I gotta figure this shit out, because I can’t love on Evie if I’m dead.

Right now, though? I just want to get as close to her as possible.

She moans sleepily as I roll her toward me, assaulting her throat with kisses. “Morning,” she says with a husky chuckle, hooking her leg over my hip.

“Good morning, Evie Knievel,” I whisper, running my hand over the smooth curve of her naked hip as her t-shirt rides up. “You’re so soft.”

“Mm,” she hums, tightening her leg so that she brings our bodies even closer. “You’re so hard.”

As always, she’s naked from the waist down, tempting me to spread my hand over her ass cheek and give it a good squeeze. I roll on top of her, pushing her shirt up more, wishing I could see but it’s too early, and still dark, and I’m too impatient to turn on the light. I can feel her, though, the soft plane of her stomach and the dip of her belly button. The velvety skin that leads to the slick warmth between her legs.

I pull my pants off while bracing myself above her, tossing them into oblivion. “I miss you.”

“Me too,” she says with a sigh, her hands finding my face in the dark. “You’ve felt so far away.”

“I know.” I run my hands up over her hips, and she lifts her arms so I can peel off her t-shirt. “I need you.”

“You have me.”

I slide down her body, giving one of her nipples a long, luscious suck before switching to the other. I love this almost as much as she does, her reactions to my mouth getting me so hard I’m practically fucking the mattress. I take turns with her tits, licking and nibbling until she’s panting and begging beneath me.

“Tristan,” she whines when I drift to her throat, but she shuts up once my hand is between her legs. She’s already wet from all that nipple play, and soon she’s soaked, her hoarse, quiet cries filling the room as I play with her pussy.

I bring my mouth back to her nipple, sucking it as I finger her until she’s shaking and bucking against my hand, her voice muffled like she’s screaming into a pillow. Which she probably is—she’s paranoid my parents are going to hear us from their room down the hall. We kiss for a minute as I nudge at her hot, slippery pussy, and then, unable to hold back, I thrust into her. Her grip on my shoulders tightens, and she gasps into my mouth.

Burying my face in her neck, I pull out nearly all the way before filling her again, slow and deep like we have all the time in the world. “I love you,” I whisper, and I mean it. I’ve never said it before. Not to her, not to any girl. Because while I’ve loved other girls, it was never like this, satisfying and complete. “What have you done to me, Evie?”

“I love you, too,” she whispers, her lip trembling against mine. “I have always loved you.”

Her openness sends a shudder down my spine. When I consider the course of events that brought us to this place, it’s scary how close I was to missing out on a woman who loved me like this. I reach over to click on my lamp and then, gazing into her eyes, I slide back into her. I bring my mouth to hers again, filling her over and over as she clings to me, the taste of her tears salting our kisses. “No expiration date. Stay with me, okay? Just stay with me.”

My phone vibrates then starts dancing across the nightstand—someone’s calling, but I ignore it and pick up the pace.

She strokes her hands down my back, pulling me deeper as she starts pulsing around me. “I will,” she says, her voice hitching.

Her bliss triggers my own, jet fuel to what’s been a slow build of pleasure. “Promise me.”

“I promise,” Evie cries, coming apart again.

My orgasm roars through my body, pushing me faster and harder until I’m spilling into her with everything I’ve got. It feels like it goes on forever, and when I finally come down, I’m so spent I could happily go back to sleep right here, inside of her. “That was … that was intense.” Panting, I roll to her side so that I don’t crush her with my weight, but she comes with me.

“I love you,” she says, tears running freely down her cheeks now. “I don’t want you to go anywhere today. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

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