I stand, looking away from him and then back to them. “Thanks for the drink.” I smile at Isadora who offers me a sad smile in return. “Nice seeing you again. I have to get back to my date.”
Jasper’s lip ticks while fighting a smile as I turn to leave. I don’t even bother looking back to Gunner as I walk away. When I reach our area, Buck is sitting and smiles up at me, so I lean down and hug him.
“Whoa! That was a nice hello,” he says, genuinely happy.
This is the type of reaction I need, not a moody piece of shit.
“Umm… Ev,” I hear May say.
“It’s been a long time. How have you been?”
“Ev…” May says again, making me turn around to face her.
As I do, I’m lifted and thrown over a shoulder, and I know who it is straight away as I watch the ground as his strong legs start walking.
“Bye, Ev.” I hear May giggle as I hold on to him as he walks. Thankfully he has hold of my skirt, so my ass isn’t on show for all to see.
“Put me down, Gunner.”
He doesn’t say a word, just keeps on walking with me, but then he starts to slow down. “Leave,” he commands, and someone moves. I hear the scurry of their feet before he walks in and kicks the door shut, then slides me down the front of his body.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“A date?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. You know… that thing that two normal people do,” I say with an eye roll. I look around and see we’re in a bathroom, and his body is blocking the only way out. Great.
“We dated. We were far from normal.”
“We didn’t date. You appeased me until you had me where you wanted me.”
He steps closer. “And where did I want you?” he asks, his breath heavy, his glasses removed, so I can now see his dark stare directed at me.
“Right where you had me… a fool in love.”
He smirks. “Obviously you weren’t, if it was that easy to leave me, Everly.” He says my name slowly and sensually.
I miss the way he touches my body and how good he makes me feel.
“I need to go,” I say, looking over his shoulder at the door.
“No, you don’t. We are here. Now talk.”
I snap my eyes back to him. “Where was the talking when I was dangling from a fucking ceiling, you asshole,” I snap.
He smirks.
My fists close, and before I know it, I’m hitting his chest. He lets me get a few hits in before he grabs hold of both of my wrists and bends down so he’s at eye-level with me.
“I made a mistake. You weren’t ready for my life. I thought you were. I thought I could break you into liking it…” He pauses. “I was wrong.” And before I can stop him, his lips attack mine while he continues to grip my wrists, not letting go. His lips bruise mine and tears stream down my cheeks.
How many times have I dreamed of this?
How long was I love drunk on him, and now I thought I had sobered up.
What a fool I am.
Will I ever be sober?
The answer is probably no.
A love like ours is carved from the depths of hell and made from the purest of angels.
It was bound to go wrong.
So. Fucking. Wrong.
His lips open and he demands entrance to my mouth. I part my lips like the silly girl I am while he still holds my wrists trapped in his hands. I try to pull free while he takes my mouth, but he’s good at that—taking without asking.
It’s where we failed to begin with.
Pulling back, his eyes are closed and it’s pure fucking magic. To see him so vulnerable is magnificent. He drops my wrists and I manage to speak, “Move, Gunner.” He does, no question asked, and steps to the side. I reach for the door and he whispers as I walk out, “You look beautiful, Everly.”
I pause.
There he goes again.
He’s so wrong, but sometimes he can be so right.
I look at him and can’t form one single word, so the best thing for me is to keep on moving. And I do so without looking back.
I walk straight over to where May stands, grab my bag, and I leave.
And no one stops me.
19
Gunner
“I like her, she’s a firecracker,” Jasper says when I make my way back to him.
I don’t bother answering him, just look back to where she was. She’s left now. I knew she would, she likes to be in her head to think and not be surrounded by people.
“Do you have her number?” Isadora asks. I look at her, confused. “I want to meet up with her for coffee. I like her.” She shrugs, sitting back.