Page 63 of From Us, Forever

“Wear it anyway.” I shrugged, grabbing a towel as I left. A loud “asshole” reached my ears behind me. I didn’t care that I was one. Something animalistic in me loved the marks I left on her skin, especially the ones under her towel.

Within minutes, we were downstairs, and Evy went straight to Strawberry to give her cuddles while I made some coffee for her.

We were going to have someone come in and take care of Strawberry. I knew Evy was already missing her and was second-guessing the decision, but she accepted that we couldn’t take her everywhere with us.

Thirty minutes later, I pressed start on the engine and turned to my passenger princess, who looked giddy as fuck. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She clapped her hands.

I grinned, shaking my head as I sped out of the driveway. “Remind me again why we couldn’t have taken the jet to Texas?”

“Because a road trip is so much fun.”

“Of course it is. You’re not the one driving for thirty freaking hours,” I muttered under my breath.

“Which is why!” Her excited eyes met mine. “I packed you a goody bag.” And with that, she lifted off the seat and spun around to dig something from the back.

“Fucking hell, Evelyn.” I almost swerved off the road when her ass landed on my face, her dress riding up, revealing her red cherry lace panties bunching on her creamy ass. I maneuvered my right hand over her skirt and tugged the skirtdown in case unsuspecting bystanders got a view of what’s mine, then I’d have to get out of the car and dig their eyes out.

“Got it.” She grinned, plopping back into her seat with a small black duffel, and I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Don’t do that again. Do you know how dangerous that was?” My lips thinned.

“Sorry.” She pouted, giving me her doe eyes, and I couldn’t help but fall for it. I tried my hardest to appear mad, but one look at her and a smile paved its way up my lips.

“Fine. Just…” I cleared my throat, adjusting my Ray-Bans. “Don’t do it again.”

“Okay.” She nodded with a little too much enthusiasm. That little minx knew she had me wrapped around her pretty little finger.

“Look, I packed everything for you.” She dug into the bag on her lap. “I have five of your favorite high-grade Swiss water so you are always hydrated, a thermos full of your favorite tea, apple slices with honey just how you like it, a container full of chocolate chip cookies, oh, and lots and lots of candies. I also got a fun interactive map where you can tick off all the places on the way, and I made a bunch of playlists and guess games we could play.” She presented each item, her eyes glittering from the sun and a silly smile dancing on her lips.

She was so fucking adorable in her pink dress, swallowed by my stolen leather jacket and white sneakers.

Somewhere in this past month, the darkness surrounding her eyes and the sadness in her smile disappeared. She radiated with happiness. There was a glow in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in six long years. It was almost as if she had shed off all herpast wounds and grown into this new version of herself, realizing how much she deserved love and how worthy and beautiful she was.

It made me go all sappy inside when she saved those vulnerable moments just for me, moments when her inner child surfaced. She trusted me enough to know that I would be gentle with that side of her. Even back then, Evelyn wasn’t very vocal or expressive with everyone, just me and her aunt Marie, because she knew we would never judge or hurt her. It killed me to think she didn’t have us for a while, but it was in the past. I was glad we were never going back down that road now that I got my girl back.

I stole one of her hands and brought it to my lips. “I love you,” I said, brushing a soft kiss on it, and I didn’t let go, holding it in my lap.

“I love you too.” Heat bloomed in her cheeks like it was the first time she heard me say it. “So what do you want to do first?” She raised a brow.

“Anything you want.”

We didn’t do shit. Because only ten minutes later, a soft snore echoed through the car. The little menace fell asleep, and I knew she wasn’t waking up anytime soon.

I threw the bag into the back seat, removed my jacket, and draped it over her lap. She only sighed, cuddling closer as she sank into a deep slumber.

I lowered the volume of the speakers and let my thoughts drift away.

The whole thing with Dorian and Cece was still brimming in the back of my mind. It was the confusion surrounding it that made me fear—only because it involved my girl, and thistime, I didn’t want to be blinded by whatever they were going to hit me with. With no word from Silas, it only made it worse. I knew it was only a matter of time before the rug was going to be pulled from under my feet, but I hoped this time I was prepared.

It was close to midnight when we reached Salt Lake City to halt for the night, and it was only when I parked next to the car that Tyler was tailing us in did Evelyn wake from her slumber.

She scrubbed her eyes and wiped the drool off her lips. “Are we already here?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Yep,” I said, holding out a hand as I helped her outside. I waited till Tyler gave me the cue to enter, and drawing my hoodie lower, we entered a hallway through the back that was emptied and secured for us.

“Are we at the hotel?” Evelyn’s nose scrunched. “Why are we walking through this dingy corridor?”

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