Page 39 of Theirs to Take

“Yeah, they wore me down. At first, I stubbornly refused to listen to a word that they were saying, but after a while, I looked into going to college and eventually law school and realized that it fit me. I decided to go, not telling either of them about my decision until I had my first two years of school under my belt.”

“You kept it a secret?” she asked. “Boy, you were really stubborn.”

“Still am,” he said. “I guess that’s why I was all right with keeping Nova in the dark. I don’t like being told what to do with my life, you know?”

“I do,” she agreed. “I fought Nova for weeks when she tried to throw us together.”

“Are you happy that you’ve changed your mind?” he asked.

“I am,” she admitted. “I got a pretty good job out of the deal,” she teased.

“Hey,” he grumbled.

“Well, this thing between us is kind of new, so I’m not really sure what to call it or how I feel about it,” Evie admitted. He felt the same way, but he was willing to see where this thing ended up if she was.

“Are you willing to give this thing a chance?” he asked.

“Yeah, but we’re going to need to give it some kind of parameters,” she said.

“You mean rules, right?” he asked.

“Yes, and I’d like to know exactly what I’m getting into with you, Rod. Is this going to be a real relationship or are we still faking things for Nova?”

“It’s real,” he breathed. “My feelings for you are real, Evie.”

“What about work?” she asked. “Will we be able to keep this and work separate?”

“If that’s what you’d like to do,” he agreed. “I’m fine with keeping our relationship a secret.”

“So, it’s a relationship then?” she asked.

“I’d like to call it that, if you’re good with that term,” he said. Rod was beginning to feel as though he was negotiating an arbitration. Next, he’d offer to draw up a contract and he wondered if that’s what it would take to get Evie to trust him.

“I am good with calling it a relationship,” she agreed. “And for now, I’d like to keep it and work separate.”

“Deal,” he agreed. He held out his hand to her and she placed hers into his and shook. Rod pulled her against his body and kissed her, ignoring the fact that they were both holding their half-full coffee mugs still.

“Shoot,” she mumbled. “I spilled coffee all over both of us.”

“Not a problem,” he insisted, looking down at his wet shirt. He pulled it off and tossed it to the floor, loving the way she looked his upper body over. “You might want to get out of that shirt too, honey,” he said.

“I’ve never taken my shirt off in front of a guy before,” she whispered.

“There’s always a first time, honey,” he said. “For everything.”

“Subtle,” she said.

He took her coffee mug from her and set it next to his on the table. “I won’t push you, Evie. We can take this at your pace.” He gently kissed her lips and she nodded and stood, tugging her shirt up over her head revealing her lacy black bra she had hidden underneath.

“You’re sexy as fuck, honey,” Rod breathed.

“Really?” she questioned, looking down her body. Rod reached up and pulled her down on top of his body.

“Really,” he assured.

“Are we still talking?” she asked.

“That depends on you, honey,” he said. “What do you want to do?”

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