Page 54 of Last Chorus

Given the ongoing media buzz around her disappearance, I have no doubt a few clear shots will earn the fan a life-changing payday.

I’m glad she understood the implications and left, but I still have to swallow the urge to lecture her. The mere thought of her wandering around for weeks without protection makes me feel sick. There’s a reason women in her position have bodyguards.Between stalkers and obsessive fans, it’s fucking dangerous.

“I’ve been at my parents’ since I got back.” She grimaces, then grumbles, “Three nights was all I could handle.”

I smother a huff of laughter. Matt wouldn’t have held back on telling her exactly how irresponsible it was to play tourist, and it’s not hard to envision Evangeline’s reaction.

“And now?”

“I’m not sure.” She glances at the cars again. “I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

“You’re not bothering me.” Only when she trembles at my low tone do I realize I’m still holding her arm. My fingers loosen, but I can’t bring myself to let go entirely. “Why are you here, Evangeline?”

Her tongue peeks out to curl over an incisor. Despite my balls currently impersonating ice cubes, arousal stirs in my gut. It joins lingering anger and general overwhelm, creating a mess inside me. Half of me wants to rip her pants off and fuck her against the closest tree, while the other half wishes I hadn’t answered the damn door.

Wind tries to steal her next words, but I catch them.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Shock forces air from my lungs in a burst of vapor.

I have no idea why she feels like she can’t go to Lily and Rye, or her grandparents, or one of her aunts or uncles…

But I don’t fucking care.

She came tome.

Mistaking my silence for confusion, she explains hurriedly, “You gave me your address that day at lunch, remember? I should have texted or called, I know, but I…” She trails off with a shake of her head. “Anyway, I’m sorry for dropping in like this.”

“Try again.”

She frowns for a moment, then gets it. Her lips curve. “Oops.”

I grin. “Much better.”

Her gaze flickers between my dimples, then strokes across my mouth. When she swallows thickly, my mind cartwheels into the gutter. That elegant neck under my hand. Feeding my cock past those lips. Feeling her swallow from the inside.

“It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind. I completely understand.”

I blink away the fantasy. “I haven’t changed my mind. You’re always welcome here.”

She sucks in a breath. “Oh.”

The sight of her pursed lips sends another zap of desire down my spine. For my own sanity, I release herarm and take a half-step backward. My teeth immediately start to chatter.

“Do you have a bag? I can grab it for you.”

Relief softens her features. “Yes, but I’ll get it. You’re obviously freezing.” She turns, then pauses to grin at me over her shoulder. “Thank you, Wilder. So, so much. I won’t stay longer than a few weeks.”

She walks quickly toward her car, parked near the end of the drive ahead of Jax’s and Eddie’s. I gape after her, certain I must have misheard her final words. Because if I didn’t, and she’s staying a fewweeks?

I’m seriously fucked.

Evangeline in my house, in my kitchen, on my furniture…

I won’t survive it. More accurately, my dominant hand won’t survive it.

A shiver so violent I almost bite through my tongue sends me hustling toward the house. Halfway up the porch steps, a bolt of fear halts me. I spin around and search the darkness.

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