Page 52 of Sipping Seduction
“That’s great. We’re lucky to have Andrew raising money for the school.” Then I thought of Evan and how proud he’d been when he told me about Vaughn committing to a big donation. The money was going to a great cause, but he’d be devastated when he found out Andrew had topped him.
Growing up with three brothers and spending time in the military had made him super competitive. Even though I didn’t have feelings for Andrew, it seemed like Evan still considered him a rival. It was silly, but Evan had a hard time believing that I’d fallen head over heels for him in such a short time. The last thing I’d wanted was to ruin our friendship by becoming lovers, but the exact opposite had happened. We were closer than ever right now.
“Hey, you still there?” Charice snapped her fingers, pulling my attention. “You look like you were a million miles away just then.”
“I’m fine. I just hope Evan doesn’t take it too hard that Andrew has raised so much money.”
“It’s all going to a great cause. He’s got to feel good about that, right?” Charice slid her napkin in her lap as the server set down our dip.
“Right,” I agreed. “Now why don’t you tell me about the guy you had dinner with in Bordent last week? I’m not the only one people have been talking about lately.”
Charice grinned as she reached for a pita chip. “Someone must be spreading wicked rumors about me.”
“Spill it, girl. Isn’t that what you said to me?” I scooped up some dip and settled against the back of the booth, ready to get caught up on what had been happening in her life.
Pete the Doggreeted me when I got back. I preferred to think he was excited to see me rather than putting his sensitive nose to use and sniffing out the leftover chicken breast I’d brought home for him.
Evan got up from where he’d been sitting on the couch. “Hey, how was dinner with Charice?”
“Good.” I handed him the doggy bag. “Can you hold this for a second? I don’t think it’s safe to set it down while I take off my jacket.”
“After I get my kiss.” He took the bag in one hand and leaned over to press his lips to mine. We’d passed the point of having to feel each other out with gentle pecks. Evan went right for it, sliding his tongue into my mouth and taking me from happy to see him to desperate to feel him inside me in the space of just a few seconds.
When he’d first revealed his feelings, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to look at him as more than a friend, but now I had no idea how I’d ever been able to see him as less. Taking our relationship a step further had filled me with a kind of love I'd never even imagined, and it was all because of Evan.
My arms were still tangled in the sleeves of the jacket I’d started to remove. As much as I wanted to pull them free and cling to his shoulders, I was helpless. The paper bag crinkled as he set it down on the table by the door. Then his hands cupped my cheeks, and he slid his foot between mine, putting pressure on the sensitive cluster of nerves at the apex of my thighs.
“You make me so hot, Frannie.” His breath raced over my cheek as he pulled back to look deep into my eyes.
“The feeling’s mutual.” I worked the jacket down my arms, finally breaking free. It fell to the floor in a soft heap around my feet.
Evan twined our fingers together and pulled me toward his bedroom. “I bought you a present while you were out tonight.”
“What kind of present?” I had a feeling I was going to like it, especially since it appeared to be located in my favorite room of the house.
“First, a confession.” He steered me toward the bed until the backs of my legs hit the mattress.
I sat down, curious about what he wanted to confess. We already knew almost everything about each other. There were some things I’d never share, like how I’d cried every night for a solid week when he told me he’d enlisted, or how I’d checked the mailbox multiple times a day while he was deployed, desperate to hear from him. Sharing those kinds of secrets wouldn’t do any good. Not now, when he’d come back to me.
“What kind of confession?” I lay back and tried to pull him onto the bed with me.
“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.” Evan opened the drawer of his nightstand and held up a box wrapped in silver wrapping paper.
What kind of secrets had he been keeping? My mind spun with possibilities as he handed me the package. “What is this?”
“Something I owe you. Open it, and I’ll tell you why.” He sat down and the mattress sagged under his weight. I scooted closer to him as I slid my finger under the tape at one end of the package.
“Why do you owe me a present?” I shifted my gaze back and forth from Evan to the box. My hands shook as I revealed the contents. “Patton the Penetrator? Is this a joke?”
Evan reached for my hand. “Magic Mick was my fault, Frannie. I was trying to save your beaver quilt from Pete the Dog getting it all hairy, so I put it on the shelf in the closet and knocked a box of moon pies down.”
My stomach clenched. Evan would never be able to deny himself a moon pie. “And you opened the box, didn’t you?”
He looked down at his lap. “You know I love a good moon pie.”
Heat marched across my cheeks. “Only there weren’t any moon pies in the box, were there?”
“Nope. I was going to put it back, but Pete the Dog got ahold of it. There was no saving it after he chewed it to bits. I even called the Kink Closet to see if they had one in stock so I could replace it, but they said that model had been recalled because it had a tendency to short out.” He glanced up, meeting my gaze for a fraction of a second. “I did some research and Patton the Penetrator is supposed to provide a similar experience.”
