Page 105 of Over the Edge

“You’re such a good fucking boy. Maybe you’re allowed to send me stupid texts if you apologize like this,” she groans out.

I like that. God. My cock stiffens pressing harder against the fabric of my pants. I want to earn that from her again and again.

One of her hands leaves my shoulder to tangle in my hair. She moans as she pulls on the strands and a pleasant shock of pain zips through me.

I sink another finger into her then curl, pressing against her walls. Her hips buck forward, and my free hand grips her ass, fingers creating divots in her soft skin.

She begins to quake. “Like that, exactly. Oh. Like that.”

I want her to give me everything. I want to give and give, so when she gets what she wants, I’ll know I was the one responsible.

Eve sits on my lap to get as close as possible. I like her this way. I’ve been pulled to the face painting station to act as another test subject for Evelyn’s attempts at honing her skills before the festival. After our time in the closet, I was called back on stage to run through the songs I skipped out on. I should have known that Alina would have insisted. It was worth it.

Around us, most of the vendors are breaking down their stations since there’s barely any food left. With the musical acts wrapped up, ’90s rock hits crackle through the ancient sound system.

“What are you painting?” I ask as Evelyn nibbles on the end of her cheap paint brush.

Using her thumb and forefinger she moves my head from side to side for inspection. “Hearts for now, but I’m thinking about putting my name all over you.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Because it’s a bit more subtle than yelling that you’re mine from the rooftops.”

“I appreciate your self-restraint. But if you wanted to, you could. It wouldn’t be too much,” I tell her. “You’re never too much.”

“There’s the other fact that I’d have to stop touching you to go up to said rooftops.”

“Smart choice. I like you where you are.” I pull her closer which causes her to drop her hand. When I have her where I want her, I run my nose along her neck until I reach the collar of the sweater and I plant a kiss there. Delighted laughter bubbles out of her.

“I thought so. Now hold still,” she commands then leans back.

She dots the brush into the paint then grabs my face again. The brush is cool as it swirls across my skin. It’s an effort not to kiss her again right on those lips that are parted in concentration. After a few more brush strokes she gets more paint and deposits more hearts on my face. Once she’s done she leans back and nearly tips off my lap. My hand steadies her.

“Almost,” she says as her eyes narrow. A spark lights her eyes and she smiles. In a swift motion her body dips down then she presses her finger into the paint then swipes it messily on her lips. She leans in, planting her lips firmly on my forehead then moves to either side like she’s working a stamp. She does it again and again. A smile tears across my face, growing wider with each kiss.

When she’s done, red is smeared all over her soft lips. Using my thumb, I swipe some of it away. I paint the remnants on my own lips and return the favor. The marks are faint where I’ve pressed them to the apples of her cheeks.

“How do I look?” I ask.

“Like mine.”

38

Evelyn

“Ican’t believe you drove to Manhattan and grabbed a chess board,” I tease as I lose again. I don’t care, losing to him is winning in my book if it means we can spend time together.

It’s been two days since he went to the city. The last two mornings he’s had to spend taking phone calls with clients. A benefit of his recent vacation is that many of them have been working with other associates and partners at his firm so the transition will be less painful.

During this time, I’ve headed off with Quinn and Oliver. This morning, we left Hartsfall on a mission to visit where they filmedDirty Dancing, only to realize part way through the drive that it was actually filmed in North Carolina and Virginia. Still, we ended up going on a gondola ride at one of the expensive resorts in the area.

“I had to change outfits since I was going to meet with my boss. Well, ex-boss. I grabbed it so we could play here,” he explains and starts to reset the board. The pieces are metal,bronze and silver instead of white and black, and the board is painted to look like marble. My heart keens knowing that even when he was in the middle of changing his life, he was always intending on coming back and sharing this with me.

“What’s next? After you have everything with your clients ironed out.”

“I still technically have an agent to help with the occasional deal for our music in movies and my likeness being used for things. I’ll probably reach out to her. I still don’t know what I want this to look like. The first time around I was part of something, one of four people making the decisions. I was never alone in it.” He puts the final piece into place. “You go first.”

I take my first move and advance a pawn. Garrett quickly follows by moving his own pawn.

---