Fuck.
I’d sold my soul a long fucking time ago.
King was only giving me what I was due.
Chapter Eleven
Evie
I shimmied into the new red dress I’d bought today and smoothed it down into place. Stepping in front of the mirror in my bedroom, I assessed myself. Not bad. I’d spent the day pampering myself with a haircut and colour, and then a pedicure and wax. Kick might not be the kind of man to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but that didn’t stop me from acknowledging it and looking good for him. Tonight, I planned on seducing him into giving me multiple orgasms. Kick was the only guy I’d ever slept with who’d been able to do that for me, and I could hardly wait to get him started. Shit, I’d been thinking about it all day and was more than ready to go, so the first one wouldn’t take him long.
Once I was happy with my dress, I headed into the kitchen. It was nearly seven o’clock. Surely he’d be here soon. I’d actually expected to see him much earlier today but he must have had a lot to take care of because I hadn’t seen or heard from him since he left my bed this morning.
I kept myself busy for another half hour but when I still hadn’t heard from him, I decided to call him instead.
He didn’t answer.
Shit, where was he?
I sat at the kitchen table and thought about it for a few minutes, and then I knew. Well, I had an idea of where he might have gone so I grabbed my car keys and went in search of him.
Fifteen minutes later, I walked into the pub that used to be ‘ours’. It was the place he took me to celebrate my eighteenth birthday which then led to us getting together, so I’d always thought of it as ours.
He was sitting at a table in the far back corner. Alone, and he wore a look that told me he was contemplating stuff. Something bad must have gone down. It was never a good sign when Kick was contemplative.
I walked to where he sat and he looked up as I approached. His eyes were vacant - it was as if he was looking straight through me. And then he blinked and I must have come into focus for him, because his gaze travelled over my body. When his eyes came back to mine, I saw the want in them that had been missing a minute ago.
“Evie,” he murmured, “what are you doing here?”
I sat opposite him, hating that he’d asked me that. “Is it not okay that I came looking for you?”
He reached his hand across the table to take hold of mine. “It’s always okay for you to come looking for me.”
“So why did you just ask me what I was doing here?”
“Guilt,” he said softly and didn’t elaborate.
“What’s wrong, Kick?”
He stared at me for what felt like ages. He seemed to be weighing something up and I expected something bad to come out of his mouth but he surprised me when he finally spoke. “I fucked up Valentine’s Day.”
“Why?”
“I should have picked you up earlier and taken you on a date. I’d planned to . . .”
“I think we both know dates on Valentine’s Day are not your kind of thing, and I’m okay with that.”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “Yeah. But you’re gonna have to make up for that in other ways.”
Heat flared in his eyes. “I think I’m good for that, baby. I don’t think I could fuck that up even if I tried.”
“I think you’re right there. You have mad talents in that department.”
He laughed, and it was so damn good to see him relax a little. “Good to know my talents are appreciated,” he said, letting go of my hand and sitting back in his chair.
My smile faded. “Now, are you gonna tell me what’s really going on, because I am betting it’s got absolutely nothing to do with Valentine’s Day? Is it something to do with my father? Is that why you’re sitting alone in this pub tonight looking like you’re assessing your whole damn life?”