My heartbeat sped up, seeming to trip over itself as it did.
“I love you, Ev. You don’t have to say anything right now, but I need you to know that. And nothing your family does will ever change that.”
My vision tunneled as my breaths came faster. He’d sent us careening over a cliff there was no coming back from. And even though I felt the words, I couldn’t give them voice. Instead, I gave him me.
My mouth crashed down on Hayes’ with a ferocity I barely recognized. His response was immediate, taking as good as he gave, meeting my tongue stroke for stroke. He lifted me in one smooth movement.
“Hayes, your arm.”
“Don’t give a fuck about my arm right now.” His head came down, taking my mouth again. I was too lost in the kiss to argue. We fumbled down the hall, bumping into walls until we finally made it to my bedroom.
My hands were already tugging his shirt over his head, as his went to the button on his jeans. I moved to my shorts and tee, not waiting for his fingers to be free. But he caught me before I moved to my bra. “Wait.” His thumbs circled my nipples through the sheer lace. “I love this on you. Just give me a minute to cement this in my memory.”
“How about I give you something else to remember?” I gripped his shaft, gliding my hand, teasing and stroking.
His breath hitched as he slipped a hand under my hair to tip my head back. Hayes nipped and licked his way down the column of my throat, down my chest until he locked on to my nipple through the thin lace and sucked hard.
My body moved of its own volition, arching into him as I let out a moan.
“Like that?”
“I don’t hate it.”
He chuckled against my breast, and the vibrations twisted everything inside me tighter. As if there were a rope made out of my nerve endings, and he was the master weaving it all together.
Hayes unhooked my bra and let it fall to the floor. His fingers moved to the lace straps at my hips, tugging them slowly down my legs. The cord inside me turned again.
“So damn beautiful. Covered in lace or my tee, it doesn’t matter. You take my breath away.”
I wanted to give him those three little words. Each one clawed at my throat to get out. Yet I couldn’t set them free. Instead, I gave him something else. “I’m on the pill.”
His eyes met mine. “I’ve been checked. You sure?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I trust you.”
He understood in that moment what I was giving him. When so many people had let me down, I was trusting that he would never lie to or hurt me.
Hayes laid me back on the bed, his movements almost reverent. He worshiped my body with his fingers, his lips, his tongue. And when he slipped inside me, it was with a whispered, “I love you.”
He moved with a rhythm that said he was in no hurry. Yet it made me burn for him even more as I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts. Hayes didn’t need those three words to tell me what was in his heart. He showed me with every action. And as I came apart with him, I said the words silently, knowing they would always be true. Even if I never had the courage to say them out loud.
39
Hayes
“How’s the arm feeling?” Calder asked before he took a sip of his coffee.
“It’s fine.” It was a little sore after last night’s festivities, but a little pain was more than worth it. Being with Ev last night had been different. Almost reverent, somehow. Even if she hadn’t said the words I so desperately wanted to hear from her, I’d felt them.
“No leads yet?”
“I haven’t gotten the full brief yet, but my last report from Young was that there was no sign of him.”
Cammie walked up to the table and winked at Calder. “You boys ready to order? The special this morning is Huevos Rancheros.”
I was more than a little relieved to see the mischievous glint back in Cam’s eyes. “I’ll take the special.”
Calder handed her his menu. “I’ll do the oatmeal, and two scrambled eggs on the side.”