Page 22 of EverGreene
Katy one hundred percent would, but I really didn’t want to diminish my inconvenience. “I’ll see.”
“Problem solved, then.” Loche held up his arms before dropping them by his side. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and I couldn’t help but notice the five o’clock shadow that hugged his cheekbones and jawline. “If you can’t find someone, I’m sure someone here would be happy to help out.”
“Did you really mean what you said in there, or did you just want to stick it to your uncle in front of an audience?”
Loche moved toward me, eyes as golden brown as honey, boring into mine. I instinctively took a couple of steps back until my body was flush with the door.
“A little from column A, a little from column B.”
I nodded. “You were all bluster. I guess I should have known.”
“Ever, you know as well as I do that in law as well as in life, two things can be true at the same time. I could have wanted to make my uncle look like the jackass he is while also meaning every word I said about your performance.” My pulse quickened as he moved in closer until he was hovering less than a foot in front of me. “You are one of the most capable, dedicated, qualified people I know. I shouldn’t have had to remind him of that, but I did. And I will every day because we all know who should be sitting in my chair.”
I gasped, noticing for the first time that oneof his hands was resting on the wall next to my head. My eyes trailed from his hand up an arm that was as big around as one of my thighs. He was close enough to me now that I could hear every breath that passed through his full lips and smell the soap he’d used to wash his defined, muscular body before coming into work this morning.
No, Ever. Do not think about Loche in the shower with soap running down his abs, wishing it were your tongue, instead.
“I have a boyfriend,” I blurted out in a whisper, my gaze jumping back up to his.
He pursed his lips, his expression betraying just a hint of surprise before recovering again. “That’s great, Ever. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to need you to quit blocking the door so I can take a piss.”
“Right—the door.” Flushed, I stepped aside to let Loche open the door and walk out of the office. When the door closed behind him, I exhaled a breath while my pulse slowed back down to its normal rhythm.
Was I in the upside-down? Was right now left and cold now hot? Or had I died and gone to Hell, where I was destined to be mind-fucked for eternity? Loche Greene had not only stood up for me today, but he also doubled-downed on it when he could have taken the easy way out. Not only that, he admitted I should have gotten the head paralegal position over him. Even more concerning, he’d been standing so close to me I could practically taste him, and I liked it. In fact, it was safe to say the memory of today was going to be locked away in my mental filing cabinet, to be pulled out later on some lonely night when B.O.B., my battery-operated boyfriend, paid me a visit.
Because it would most likely be B.O.B. paying me a visit since I didn’t, in fact, have a boyfriend like my filthy lying mouth would have Loche believe. Unless I was counting V,which would be proof of me having lost even more of my mind.
I pulled into my driveway,spotting the package on my porch before I could even put my 4Runner into park. When I stepped out into the driveway, I looked around to see if there was any sign of the masked man, who may or may not be a secret billionaire or vigilante superhero who clearly had nothing better to spend his money on.
The package was small and light, though with a tad more weight than the feather.
Please don’t let this be something expensiveor creepy.
I set the small, brown box down on my dining room table, grabbing the pair of shears from my kitchen after tossing some pellets into the aquarium for Vinny. Scissors in hand, I stole a glance out the picture window, looking for signs of anyone standing outside in the rapidly approaching darkness that was getting earlier and earlier this time of year. Was he watching me, waiting with anticipation for me to open it? Maybe I would make him wait it out, kick off my shoes, perhaps take off my bra while I microwaved a TV dinner.
He’s been watching you long enough to know that you lack that kind of self-control.
Fuck. He’s right. With one last glance out the window, I slid the blade down the strip of tape that secured the seam of the box closed and opened it.
What in the holy hell is this? A mouthguard? No, it can’t just be a mouthguard. It looks like it turns on. Jesus, does it vibrate? Do I want it to vibrate? Is it some kind of sex harmonica? Was that even a thing?
A piece of paper was folded in the box. I took it out andunfolded it, finding a handwritten note. On the table was the notepad V had used, featuring the same scribbled handwriting:
Ever,
You wanted me to speak to you. Well, your wish is my command.
-V
Chapter 8
Loche
The sight of Ever gently biting her lower lip as I stared down at her face earlier today in our office would be etched in my brain for the foreseeable future. How I’d wanted to claim those lips with mine right then and there. And if I wasn’t mistaken, it seemed like she wouldn’t have stopped me.
‘I have a boyfriend,’ she’d said, either trying to diffuse the tension between us or providing me with a warning as though that would have mattered to me.
Had she been serious or just fucking with me to keep me from doing what every cell in my body was pleading with me to do right then and there in our office? If she was serious, who was this boyfriend? V? Does she think she’s dating V?
