CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Stone
Evie had been wandering like a lost little lamb, her eyes big, dazed, ever since she exited the Financial Aid Office. And I knew why. I’d gone in there and paid her tuition bill, making sure to bring the balance down to zero.
The woman at the counter had resisted that morning.
“And who are you?” she asked suspiciously, eyeing me up and down.
Now I admit, it’s not every day you get an alpha male in the dinky offices of Financial Aid, a dude who literally took up all the space in those tiny confines.
“Stone Phillips,” I said peremptorily. “Here to pay the bill of Evie Jones.”
The woman wasn’t persuaded.
“I can’t just hand out personal financial information,” she said tightly. “It’s confidential.”
And I leaned forward, my manner slightly threatening.
“Let me clarify,” I said, my voice low, rasping. “My name’s Hanson Stone Phillips, and I believe you’re sitting in a building my grandfather built.”
Because I’m a scion of the moneyed Phillips family who made their fortune in packaging. We started off making paper boxes and wrapping paper but soon branched into industrial packaging solutions, doing everything from the crates for Dole Pineapples in Hawaii to the shit that your laptop comes boxed in. So yeah, my family’s at the head of a massive empire, the money rolling in waves, and at this very moment we were sitting in a building which my grandfather had endowed way back in the day.
The woman immediately perked up, sitting up straight.
“Oh yes, of course Mr. Phillips,” she chattered nervously. “I’m sorry, Phillips is such a common name, I didn’t realize a member of the family was here.”
And I sighed, leaning back. Her behavior was exactly why I didn’t use my first name. First, because Hanson is a lame name. Well, not lame but I just don’t want to be called “Han,” “Han Solo,” Hannie” or any number of juvenile nicknames. So I go by my middle name instead, Stone. It works and everyone’s called me Stone since I was a kid.
Second, Hanson Phillips is way too recognizable. It’s the name of my father, my grandfather and countless male relatives. As soon as people hear the name “Hanson Phillips,” they bow and cower, making way for the alpha dogs. And I didn’t want that. Sure, I came from power and money but that didn’t mean that I wanted to lord it over people, make them feel like vassals in my kingdom.
So I took a job as a high school Biology teacher and it suited me well. Of course, my family was devastated. They wanted me to join the Phillips packaging business but I was reluctant, I wanted to explore my own interests and make my own way in life without becoming a part of the hive collective immediately. So I got a teaching degree and started at Spencer Prep as a biology instructor.
But my family never gave up, giving me time to grow and develop professionally on my own, before pressing their case.
“It’s been five years,” my dad rumbled, his brows drawn. “Don’t you think that’s enough teaching? You’ve done a lot for the kids.”
And my grandfather was even more direct.
“I’m getting old,” he croaked. “I’m going to kick the bucket any day now and we need fresh leadership at the company. You and your dad are the only ones, I can’t hand over the reins to Hanford or Hansel,” he said with disgust. I agreed with him there. My cousin Hanford was an addict, in and out of rehab a couple times in the last few years, and my other cousin Hansel was just lazy. I don’t think he’d even graduated junior high, it was that bad.
So I’d left Spencer after that magnificent date with Evie and gone to work for my family. It was abrupt, I admit. The administration wasn’t too happy with the zero notice I gave them, leaving them scrambling to find a sub, and threatened me with bad references, cutting off my paycheck immediately. But it didn’t matter, I didn’t need references and my paycheck? It was a pittance, just a tiny amount of money each month that barely paid the bills.
Besides, I had to do what was right for me and Evie. We’d finally gone on a date, a real date between a man and a woman and I realized how dangerous that was. Not for me, I didn’t give fuckall for what people thought of me. It was for my best girl. If people found out that she was dating her Biology teacher not only would there be scandal but people would question her integrity, and she’d potentially be cited by the Academic Integrity Committee. And then what? There’d be a permanent mark on her transcript and her dreams of going to college would be ruined, blackballed by all the good schools.
So I had to leave. I cut off all contact with the curvy girl, telling my doorman to screen her if she came by, act vague and say that I was out. And I was careful to avoid being seen for a while. I left for work early in the mornings and stayed at my other apartment most nights, so that no one caught me unawares.
And it worked. I’ve spent a year without Evie now, without her hungry pussy wrapped around my cock, without feeling those heavy breasts in my palms, the nipples hard, the flesh soft and creamy. And even more, I haven’t heard her laugh, seen those pink pouty lips stretch in a smile, those brown eyes gaze into mine with love and lust.
And fuck, but I hoped it wasn’t too late. A woman’s love is nothing to sneeze at and I’d been a fucker, leaving her with no warning, dropping off the edge of the Earth. So I had to take this opportunity to explain myself, confront her and make her see that what I’d done was actually best for her, for us as a couple.
“Evie,” I ground out harshly, my mouth watering at the sight of the beautiful female. What the fuck was she wearing? It was some kind of blue thing, totally transparent, sleeveless, stopping just above her puss, showing her swimsuit underneath. How could she walk around campus half-naked like this? My hackles raised and my cock punched out. God, it was an automatic reaction for me around her, I was immediately aroused, turned on to the fucking max whenever in her vicinity.
And the brunette spun slowly, her eyes widening, taking me in.
“Mr. Phillips?” she breathed. Then a little louder, “Stone?”
I growled, drawing her into my arms. We were just outside the pool complex with students streaming by, but I didn’t care.
“Hey little girl,” I murmured into her hair, savoring the sweet scent of those brown curls. “I’ve missed you.”
But despite the big boobs pressed against my chest, the quick, indrawn breaths, Evie stiffened, her back going ramrod straight.
“What are you doing here?” she said in a loud whisper. “What the fuck? Where have you been?”
I was expecting this and my arms tightened around her, becoming steel bands.
“I get it,” I murmured into her hair, “I took off but it was for the better. I’m back now and we’ll work it out,” I said soothingly.
But the little girl was a spitfire and wasn’t having it. She struggled, big boobs bouncing, pushing against my massive chest, eyes shooting sparks.
“You get it?” she hissed, her face going slightly red. “Stone, you don’t get it at all. No matter where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing, I don’t care! You don’t just get to come back and say it’s okay. The world doesn’t work like that.”
I was struggling to hold her, the miles of bouncing flesh so arousing, so tempting, but Evie was fighting hard. I wanted to close all distance between us, haul her up against my big form before tossing her in my car but stopped. Being arrested for abduction was not in the cards. So I let her go, both of us stepping back, eyeing each other warily, panting.
“Evie,” I rumbled, holding a hand out to her. “Listen to me, let’s go somewhere we can talk and I’ll explain.”
“Bullshit!” she hissed, looking at my outstretched hand like it was poison. “You’re not explaining anything! I have shit to do and you can’t just come waltzing in and disrupt everything!”
I looked at her, my brows lowered in frustration.
“What, what do you have to do? What’s more important than this, than us?” I gestured, frowning.
And her breath hitched at the word ‘us.’
“For your information, there’s no ‘us,’” she said haughtily. “And if you haven’t noticed, I have my swimsuit on and have a workout planned,” she said frozenly. “The sports facility is right here.”
I eyed her up and down, my eyes tracing those creamy curves. I almost lost it then, I could hardly stand the fact that there was so much gorgeous, curvy flesh out in the open, barely shielded by that cover-up, dudes walking by blatantly checking my girl out, eating her up with their eyes.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growled, suddenly possessive. “You walk around campus naked like this all the time? Here,” I said, grabbing her towel out of her hands and draping it around her shoulders, “cover yourself, this outfit is fucking indecent.”
And the girl gasped, fighting me, struggling under my hands, trying to brush the material off her shoulders, boobs jiggling, butt jouncing. But it was totally futile. I was intent on covering her up because no way, no how other guys were going to look at that delectable body. It belonged to me, that pussy, those tits, those thighs, they were mine.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Stone?” she gasped, eyes flaring, as she struggled and twisted, trying to throw me off. “You don’t get to come here and tell me what to do, what to wear, how to behave! You disappeared!” she hissed. “Disappeared without a trace and now you think you can come back and be the boss? Get a clue!” she spat.
But before I could retort, campus security pulled up.
“Ma’am,” said the officer, frowning, “This man bothering you?”
I looked at the intruder and almost laughed. The guy was scrawny, maybe five five, riding a Segue like a mall cop policing a bunch of teens. Really? Get serious, I wasn’t threatened at all. He probably had pepper spray, not even a gun.
But in the interest of keeping calm and not making a scene, I pulled the brunette close, plastering her to my side before dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“Officer, thanks for your interest but we’re fine,” I stated with a fake smile, giving Evie a little shake as she began to squirm again. “My girlfriend and I were just about to go for a swim at my house,” I rumbled, binding the brunette to me with an arm of steel.
And as she struggled against me, curvy form wiggling, I reached down and pinched her ass, out of sight, clutching that hot, heavy flesh between two fingers, the twinging pressure making her gasp, her cheeks coloring.
“Right Evie?” I said smoothly, smirking slightly. “We were just going for a swim.”
And now my hand was stroking her ass, massaging the place I’d just pinched with warm fingers, soothing her, tracing hot circles.
“That-that’s right,” Evie stammered, thrown for a loop and shooting a weak smile at the police officer. “My boy-boyfriend and I were just going for a swim.”
And the sense of ownership that flooded me was immense, my chest puffed out, feeling like I was on top of the world. Hearing Evie say the word “boyfriend,” having that fat ass back in my grasp, only cemented my belief even further – that we were right together, that this little girl belonged to me and only me.
So throwing another fake smile at the officer, I pulled Evie close to my big form and nuzzled her ear.
“Ready to go, honey?” I rumbled, looking deep into her eyes. “Ready for some skinny-dipping at home?”
And the girl gasped, her body pressed fully against me now, her nipples hard against my chest. You couldn’t have shone a flashlight between us, there wasn’t an inch of space, nary a crack. And was it my imagination or had her cunt just gushed, a slight spill of warmth hot against my leg. It had to be and I smirked again, pulling her tight against me.
“Let’s go, baby girl,” I rumbled. “The pool’s heated and the sauna,” I said winking, “is even better.”
By now our petite security officer was disgusted, maneuvering his Segue around, looking for other damsels in distress to help.
“Keep it down,” he commanded imperiously from his perch. “Or else I’ll have to cite you next time.”
And as he rolled off, Evie finally struggled out of my grasp, breathless, cheeks flushed, panting slightly.
“You are really something,” she heaved, glaring at me. “You know that? You are really one ballsy motherfucker.”
I smirked.
“I aim to please,” I said smoothly. “And as for fucking? The only woman I’ll be fucking is you.”
That made the brunette’s cheeks color, her tits heave up and down with shallow, gaspy breaths.
“What the hell is going on?” she managed, still panting slightly. “Seriously Stone, what is going on?”
And suddenly I was somber too.
“Evie, I want to explain,” I said, hand out. “But I can’t do it here, in front of the Aquaplex with a million people walking by. Come to my house, we’ll talk about it there,” I said persuasively. “And I wasn’t lying, I do have a pool out back.”
The girl stared at me suspiciously then. State was in the center of town in a ritzy area, and it wasn’t often that people could afford a house, much less a house with a pool. But then again, Evie didn’t know who I really was, my entire backstory.
“Listen,” I said. “I promise that if you hear me out and hate everything about me, I’ll never bother you again.” I stepped back, both hands up as if waving a white flag. “Just give me this chance,” I added, fixing my gaze on her, already drowning in those warm caramel depths. “Just one chance.”
And the girl scrutinized me, taking in my supplication, before nodding slowly.
“Okay, but I have class in an hour, so I’ve gotta be back before then,” she said carefully. I could tell she was just being cautious, that she didn’t want to give in entirely. But it was enough for me, the opening was more than sufficient, and I smiled at the girl genuinely.
“You won’t regret it,” I rumbled, turning to escort her to my car. “I promise, you won’t.”
And I had every intention of making good on my word. Because I loved Evie, she was mine and I was hers … I just had to make her see it.