Page 19 of Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets)

Evelyn squeezed the red tag tightly in her palm. The metal door loomed before her. She couldn’t decide whether to knock or just go in. Well, shit. She had to make up her mind before someone she knew came driving by. True, she was close to the ferry. As long as no one came this way, she’d be safe, unless of course whoever came driving by was heading for Aransas Pass.

She could always leave the key at the front desk, but that was chickenshit, no way. Comfort was something she needed after finding out the news from Stephen, and Bill could take her mind off things. Why had it come to this? Why was it that she used other men to numb the pain?

The key slid in the lock, and Evelyn eased her way inside and shut the door quietly behind her. The shower was running, a soft splashing of water on porcelain. She dropped her purse on the bedside table and, resting against the headboard, crossed her feet at her ankles. Thoughts of what she’d just learned made her breathing almost stop. No, she wouldn’t think about it!

Here, she would forget and take charge, like her old self. Unlike with Brandon, she would do as she pleased and dominate. She needed to be back in control. Nothing else was an option. Her sanity pleaded for normal, and unfortunately, to her, this was it.

Looking down, she took in her appearance. Today, she wasn’t dressed like she was the previous day. No business clothes, just a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved University of Texas T-shirt. If one was from Texas, it was a rule—you had to have at least one Longhorn shirt in your closet or you were officially not a Texan. Evelyn had about eight.

The water shut off, and it took everything in her to suppress a smile. Damn it, if she wasn’t having fun trying to forget. Breaking and entering was so much more exciting than she would have thought.

Like a golden god, Bill walked out wearing just a towel low around his slim waist. The muscles in his chest rippled with each step. Evelyn traced her lips with her tongue while she watched the tiny beads of water run down his body. Hell, if she didn’t want to go and lick them off.

Bill stopped, two feet out the door when he noticed her. The look of shock lighting his face couldn’t have been more amusing.

“I didn’t really think you would come back,” he said, staring at her in awe.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow but, other than that, kept her emotions off her face. “Are you expecting company? I could just leave.” She cleared her throat, trying her best to sound at least a little seductive.

“No, no company. Please don’t leave,” Bill pleaded.

Well, that was a little panicky. What was the matter with him? He couldn’t be too lonely.

Shit, he’d already fucked all her friends.

“I think you left something in my purse.” Evelyn held up the key by the red tag and let it dangle from her fingertips.

Bill looked at it and then back to her. “You can’t blame a guy for hoping.”

A smile lit her face. It was about to get fun. She was a truthful person—was Bill? “So how was your night? Did you do anything interesting?”

He fidgeted under her penetrating stare. “I went out.”

“That’s all. Did you meet anyone… appealing?”

He smiled. He actually fucking smiled. That only told her one thing. He wasn’t going to lie. Good boy.

“Yeah, I met someone. She was very cute. Fucked real good, but she wasn’t you.”

Evelyn let her lips twist before she could stop them. “I’ll be sure to tell her you thought she fucked real well.”

His smile disappeared instantly. “You mean you know her?”

A wicked smile crossed Evelyn’s face. “Oh, Julie? Yeah, she’s one of my best friends, along with Melissa and Sarah. I think you might remember them, too.”

“What the hell has been going on? You and your friends used me?” Bill asked, shocked.

She could tell that he was hurt. Evelyn hadn’t meant to hurt him. Maybe she was more twisted than she had thought. “For pleasure, of course. You don’t mind, do you? I’m really sorry if I just hurt your feelings. You have to know, I’m not good with emotions.”

He slowly shrugged, lying at the end of the bed, looking at her. “I guess I don’t mind, although it’s kind of weird for best friends to be sharing a man. Don’t you think?”

“Not really, my friends and I don’t mind.” The more she looked at his body, the more she wanted to take off his towel. Yet, she wanted it to be Brandon wearing the towel or maybe Stephen. Oh shit, that thought had to go. She needed to be running away from them, not toward them.

“When are you leaving, Bill?”

His head fell to the bed, blond curls resting on his bicep. Evelyn threw a pillow at him.

He smiled, caught it, folded it in half, and continued staring at her. “I leave tonight, back to Houston.”

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