CHAPTER 3
Evan waited impatiently for his turn at the coffee shop in Amesport, having stood in line for almost ten minutes before arriving at the front of the queue. He wasn’t used to standing in line, and his turn was usually immediate. He was wasting time, and that annoyed him. He didn’t squander time that he could be using for work, and he didn’t spend any evenings so distracted that he stopped the dictation he’d been doing on an important financial report to find a diversion.
He’d ended up driving himself to Brew Magic for a nonfat mocha coffee with no whipped cream, a beverage he’d come to tolerate after Jared kept dragging him into the coffee shop to get his fix. If Jared was here, he wouldn’t be sparing the whipped cream or the fat. Evan’s younger brother liked his coffee with every available evil known to man, usually accompanied by several of the calorie-, sugar-, and fat-laden pastries that Evan could now see gracing the shelves of the racks behind the glass.
“Can I help you, sir?” A friendly teenager stepped up to assist him as Evan became the next person to place his order.
He quickly told the smiling girl what he wanted, feeling uncomfortable in the cramped, busy space. People were vying for tables to sit and sip coffee, probably to get out of the frigid temperatures outside. People milled around him as he waited for his coffee to be blended.
What am I doing here?
Unfortunately, Evan knew exactly why he was there. After finding out that even his pen pal had a date, he’d been restless. For some unknown reason, he’d been annoyed that she was actually going out on a date. He hadn’t been teasing when he’d told her he was jealous. He was envious of the man she was out with tonight. Somehow, he’d become addicted to her words on the screen, and he wanted to know what she was doing. Was she having a good time? Was the guy she was seeing a decent sort of man?
Christ! This is ridiculous. I don’t even know her, and I’m worrying about her.
The problem was, she’d become a friend to him, and Evan Sinclair didn’t have very many friends. He had people who catered to him, told him what he wanted to hear. But those people didn’t like him; they liked his money and power. He had acquaintances with the same status he had, but all of them were too busy to actually strike up a real friendship. They were connected by business, and business was a priority for all of them.
I like her. And she likes me as a person. She has no idea who I really am.
Just the fact that his mystery writer liked him as a person without knowing his identity was a novelty, and it made him covet her attention. Okay. Yes. He was greedy and selfish, but it was the first time he’d wanted something just for himself.
I should have told her that I wanted to meet her.
He’d had the chance when he’d admitted he was in Maine, but then he’d have to tell her that he was in the same town she lived in, thus having to reveal his identity. If he didn’t, she’d think he was some kind of crazy stalker. Why would an employee of the Sinclair Fund be in Amesport? It would be way too much of a coincidence that he just happened to have family in this town. She might be alarmed, afraid of him.
Grimacing at the thought of his email friend being fearful of him, he picked up his coffee at the pickup window and carefully made his way through the crowd and out of the shop. He was going to get into his black BMW, which he’d bought to keep at his Amesport house, and he was going to get back to work. He could have called Stokes to drive him into town, but the elderly man had already gotten himself settled into Evan’s guesthouse. He didn’t want to disturb his driver after he’d probably already gone to bed. Stokes might seem invincible and unflappable, but he wasn’t a young man anymore. Evan had found the keys to the vehicle he’d never used before and had driven himself.
Every Sinclair home on the Peninsula had a guest home, but some were bigger than others. Evan’s was relatively small. Maybe Jared had rightly guessed that Evan would never have friends visiting here. That was a depressing thought.
“Dammit!” The curse was followed by a collision with Evan’s back that nearly took him to the ground on the slick sidewalk. He quickly regained his footing, and then swung around to see a guilty-looking Randi Tyler right in front of him.
Evan’s cock hardened instantly, and his entire body tensed, a reaction he had anytime he saw Randi—an automatic, carnal response that completely annoyed him at the moment.
He glared at her as she informed him contritely, “I spilled most of my coffee on the back of your coat. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t speak as he observed her flushed cheeks and her breathless state. Her dark hair was loosely held to the back of her head by a hair clip that Evan was secretly itching to remove. Even though she had apologized, there was no fear in her beautiful hazel eyes as she met his pointed stare directly. She looked sorry, but she wasn’t afraid of him like most people usually were. She never had been.
“It’s one of my favorite coats,” he muttered huskily, not knowing what else to say. It was indeed one of his favorites, but it didn’t matter if it was stained. He had another one just like it in his closet.
Evan saw a flash of irritation in her beautiful eyes, their color so vibrant in the dim light that they reminded him of a rich milk chocolate. Her eyes changed from deep brown to a greenish tint in different lighting, but the ring and flecks within the iris remained exactly the same. No matter what color they appeared to be, they were always frustratingly gorgeous, just like the rest of her. Framed by long, velvety black lashes the same color as her hair, her gaze was nearly mesmerizing him.
“If the stain doesn’t come out, I’ll pay for it,” she told him, sounding annoyed as her chin rose stubbornly.
He highly doubted her teacher’s salary was going to cover one very expensive custom coat. “It’s just coffee.” He shrugged, but he was feeling far from nonchalant. Randi made him edgy and out of sorts. He could be charming when he had to be for fundraising or business, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words to say to a woman like her—maybe because he’d never met anyone quite like her before.
Evan nearly flinched as she licked a smudge of chocolate from her lips and held up a gooey chocolate pastry she was holding with a napkin underneath the bottom. He continued to stare at her intently as he watched her eyes close and her tongue lap up the remaining sweetness from her plump, succulent lips before retreating back into her mouth.
“I’m afraid I smudged chocolate on it, too,” she informed him solemnly, her eyes open again.
“Not a problem,” he told her in a clipped voice, knowing he’d probably let her stain every item of clothing he owned if he could just sit and watch her eat the rest of what looked like a slightly dented éclair.
One thing he’d noticed about Randi in the past was when she ate, she looked like she was having an almost orgasmic experience. She wasn’t shy, and she dug into food like she thoroughly enjoyed every bite. The pleasure she found in food showed on her face and her expressions. Evan found that odd, but fascinating.
“Hold my coffee,” she insisted as she hastily shoved the cup she was holding into his empty hand. “I have napkins.” She dug into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a wad of disposable paper, moving behind him to swipe at the stain on his coat. “What are you doing out here in the common population? I thought you despised anything that took you away from your business.”
“I slum it with the commoners occasionally,” Evan shot back sarcastically, automatically. Her snide comment had triggered his defenses. He glanced down at her coffee, noting that it had a double helping of whipped cream, and it looked anything but nonfat.
Throwing the napkins in a nearby trash can, Randi stood in front of him once more, her eyes shooting daggers at him. Strangely, he preferred her anger to her indifference. He had no idea why.
She took her coffee back and proceeded to take an enormous bite of her éclair as though daring him to say something about her eating junk. “Send me a bill,” she told him, her gaze challenging him.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” he told her in a sedate voice, with a calmness he wasn’t really feeling. “Maybe you could just be more careful in the future.”
“Me?” Her expression turned to one of astonishment. “I wasn’t the one who stopped right outside the door. The place is busy. You could have kept moving when you knew that people were coming in and out.”
Evan looked behind him, realizing he had actually stopped right outside the door. “You could have watched where you were going,” he argued, annoyed that she had a point. They’d moved away from the constant traffic to and from the coffee shop, but his abrupt stop might have caused her to run into him if she’d been in motion. Not that he’d admit he might be partly to blame. People watched the people in front of them where he came from, which was mostly large cities. If they were in traffic, the car in the rear would have the responsibility of stopping before it crashed into the back of the car in front. It should work the same way with people.
Randi finished her sweet treat and wiped her fingers with another napkin before depositing it into the trash, ignoring him. Finally, she replied, “I’m sorry. I’m human. I make mistakes.”
Apologetic words might be coming from her mouth, but Evan knew she was mocking him. “Perfection can be hard to achieve,” he told her mildly, knowing his arrogant statement would rile her.
She turned her back on him and began walking down the sidewalk, calling over her shoulder, “Send me a bill, Mr. Perfect. I’ll take care of my horrible aberration.”
He watched her navigate her way through the snowy walkway, wondering where in the hell she was going. Where was her vehicle? “Wait!” he called impulsively as she started to disappear in the dark. He followed her as she hesitated but didn’t turn around. He caught up to her at the curb. “Where did you park? It’s dark.”
“This is Amesport, not New York City. I’m fine,” she told him as she started walking again, navigating normally even in the dim light. “Why are you out here, anyway? The weather sucks, and it’s going to get worse. It’s brutally cold, and I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
Evan fell into step beside her. “I didn’t feel like working,” he admitted reluctantly. “Why are you still out in town?” He knew she was a teacher and got off work in the late afternoon.
“I was working at the Center and I wanted a coffee before I went home,” she said, her tone defensive. “And I was craving that éclair that I smashed on your coat.”
“I noticed you still ate it,” he observed.
She snorted. “It was your coat. I don’t imagine it was anything other than squeaky clean.”
She was poking fun at his attire.
Don’t let her get to you. Ignore it.
“Is your car at the Center?”
“Yes. And I’m perfectly safe. You don’t need to follow me.”
Evan felt his level of irritation rise, pushed to the limit. “Isn’t it rather ignorant to believe that bad things only happen in big cities?”
“In my experience, they usually do,” she answered quietly. “We have all kinds of visitors here, but other than the incidents with your brothers at the Center, nothing much has ever happened here in Amesport.”
“That doesn’t mean that it couldn’t,” Evan argued, the thought of anything bad happening to Randi strangely unsettling. Hell, Grady and Dante had both been injured here in Amesport by some pretty nasty men. It happened. Amesport was a tourist town. There could be all kinds of temporary crazies running around the town.
She turned to him suddenly and stopped, looking up at him in the muted illumination of the streetlights. “Look, I don’t feel like fighting with you right now. Catch me tomorrow, or any other day, and I’ll spar with you. But I’m tired. I’ve had a long day. Can you just go back to your car now and leave me alone?”
Evan looked down at her. Even without much light, he could see the dark circles under her eyes, and weariness in her expression.
They were right across the street from the Center where her car was parked.
“I won’t say a word if you don’t,” he told her uncharacteristically. For some reason, he didn’t want to see her look defeated. If they couldn’t speak without zinging each other, he’d stay silent to see her to her vehicle.
She turned without uttering a sound, crossing the street and shooting him a doubtful look as he followed.
True to his word, Evan didn’t say anything as he fell into step beside her. He wanted to ask her why she was weary, but he assumed she’d done a full day at work, and then had come to tutor as a volunteer at the Center. Obviously, if she was out this late, her workday had been long. However, he sensed there were other factors, but they were none of his business, and he didn’t want to start another verbal sparring match with her.
I feel like it’s either fight with her or pin her against the wall and fuck her until she’s out of my system.
It didn’t matter that they were out in the frigid open air. His cock was at attention, begging him to pick the second option.
Unfortunately, she hated him, and Evan didn’t think fucking her senseless was going to be an option.
He wrapped his fingers unconsciously around the crystal in his pocket, wishing he could find a way to communicate with Randi. What was bothering her? Why did she look so tired? He wanted to strike up a reasonable conversation, but he was afraid of putting his foot in his mouth . . . again. The moment she put him on the defensive, he struck out verbally. It was always this way with her.
“We’re here. This is me,” Randi said breathlessly, pointing toward a vehicle covered in snow, one of the few cars still in the parking lot.
She dropped the remainder of her cold coffee into a trash receptacle close to her vehicle, and Evan did the same. He’d never really wanted the beverage anyway.
“Give me the keys,” he demanded.
Surprisingly, she reached in her pocket to hand them over. She pulled them out, causing something else to drop to the ground. Without thinking, Evan bent and picked up the object. He held the item in his hand for a moment, stunned. “You have one of these, too?” he asked hoarsely.
“The Apache tear. Yeah. I got it from Beatrice. She thinks I’m going to meet my soul mate.” Randi reached for the stone and hurriedly shoved it back in her pocket. “I like her. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.”
Evan took the keys she was dangling in front of him and opened the door of the vehicle. It was hard to tell exactly what kind of car it was when it was covered in snow, but it appeared to be a small SUV. He started it quickly and grabbed the snow brush in the backseat to clear the slush and ice off the body and windows of the car.
“I can do that,” Randi insisted, trying to take the brush from his hand.
“I’m sure you’re perfectly capable, but let me,” Evan requested evenly. “There’s no reason for you to do it since I’m here.” He made short work of removing the snow and scraping the ice as he watched Randi eye him curiously.
She crossed her arms and observed his movements as he worked. “You’re a gentleman underneath all of your bluster.” The statement was almost accusing.
“I’m not chauvinistic,” Evan said carefully. “I employ plenty of smart women, some of them smarter than my male employees.” He put the snow brush back in the car, closed the door so the windows would finish defrosting, and turned to face her. “But I’ll admit that I have a hard time watching a woman do physical work when a stronger body is around.”
She frowned as her eyes drifted over his tall, muscular form. “I have a hard time arguing with the fact that you’re bigger and probably stronger. But it doesn’t mean that you have to always do the physical work.”
Evan looked at her petite figure. Logically, she couldn’t argue their difference in size. At a little over six feet tall, he towered over her. She might be the athletic type, but he worked out every day, and he was a hell of a lot stronger. “I have very little opportunity to do anything physical except in a gym. I have employees who do most things for me. I don’t mind, and cleaning your car is hardly strenuous.” He hesitated before he inquired in what he hoped was a casual voice, “Can I ask you a question?”
She lifted a brow before asking, “What?”
“Does Beatrice give out these stones to everyone?” He pulled the crystal from his pocket and held it out to her.
Hesitantly, Randi reached out and took the rock into her own hand. She turned it over and over a few times before handing it back with a perplexed look on her face. “Hardly ever,” she admitted. “You got one, too?”
“She mailed it to me with a letter a few months ago, telling me I was going to be married within six months,” he answered reluctantly, slipping the Apache tear back into his coat pocket. “I think she might be demented.”
Randi laughed, and a bolt of pleasure raced through Evan’s body at the husky, sultry sound.
“She’s not crazy. She’s just a little eccentric. Sometimes her predictions actually do come true.”
Evan shook his head. “She’s destined for disappointment with me.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Randi admitted, reaching for the door of her rapidly defrosting vehicle. It was a deep-purple SUV that somehow suited her bold personality. Evan could finally see the make and model clearly.
“Randi?” he questioned huskily.
“Yes?” She turned and looked at him, her expression no longer hostile.
“Don’t worry about my coat. I have another one.” It wasn’t what he really wanted to say, but he couldn’t exactly tell her what he was thinking. She was likely to apply a knee to his balls, and he rather liked them intact.
“I told you to send me a bill if the stain doesn’t come out. You might try the dry cleaners here. They’ve done miracles with some of my clothes. Stains are a job hazard for teachers,” she told him amiably.
It was her smile that made Evan snap. Her eyes were warm and happy, her lips curving into a beautiful expression of joy when she talked about her profession. But the grin was aimed at him, and Evan couldn’t possibly resist seizing the moment. He’d never made an impulsive move in his entire life, but he couldn’t seem to control his mind or body when she smiled at him this way.
He stepped forward without debating his options first, pinned her body against her vehicle, and without a cautionary thought in his head, he kissed her.
Evan groaned as his lips crashed down on hers, knowing that he’d just made a mistake that would probably cost him his sanity. Her body stiffened as he wrapped his arms around her, one hand threading through her hair to protect her head and keep it exactly in a position that allowed him complete access to her mouth. An unfamiliar sense of male satisfaction moved deep in his gut as the clip holding her hair fell to the ground and the dark strands tumbled around her shoulders.
She tasted like chocolate and coffee, and Evan savored the delectable softness of her lips beneath his. Out of control, he demanded access instead of asking. Finally, she became pliant beneath him, letting him in, and he inwardly released a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around him and met his marauding tongue stroke for stroke. Evan felt himself drowning in sensation, and it definitely wasn’t the cold of the surrounding environment. Every instinct he had was to claim the woman in his arms, make sure she remembered the heat that raged between them as they kissed each other like they were ravenous for each other. His cock strained for release as Evan explored Randi’s mouth demandingly, his body overheating from the way she returned his embrace enthusiastically.
She was panting by the time he finally lifted his head, both of them desperate for air. It took Evan a few minutes before he could manage to release her. He continued to hold her in his arms, saying nothing, their heavy, ragged breathing the only sound he could identify, the cloudy spirals of their every breath visible in the frigid air around them the only thing he could see. Slowly, reluctantly, his hand untangled from her silky hair and he finally stepped back.
“We can pretend that never happened,” Randi squeaked in a panicked voice.
The hell they could! Evan knew he’d probably have wet dreams about what else could have happened if they weren’t in the middle of the brutal cold in a damn parking lot. “I’m not certain I can,” he confided gruffly.
“We can,” Randi chattered optimistically. “We can’t stand each other. It’s just some crazy physical thing.”
It was definitely physical, but it wasn’t crazy or random. He’d wanted to bury his cock so deeply inside Randi Tyler with an unidentifiable primitive instinct he couldn’t explain since the moment they’d met, and he had a feeling that impulse wasn’t going to go away. Not after he’d tasted her, felt her willing response. She wanted him, and knowing that changed the entire game they’d been playing since the first time he saw her.
She might not like me, but she feels the same chemistry that I do.
“Do you have an escort for Hope’s party?” He ignored her suggestion that they pretend he’d never touched her. He had kissed her . . . and they had both enjoyed it.
“No.”
“You’ll go with me,” he decided, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and handing it to her. “Call your phone so you have my number. Call me when you get home safely.” He didn’t like the way the wind was starting to kick up and the snow was coming down more steadily now.
She looked dazed as she dialed her own phone number, letting it ring in her purse so his number would show up before handing it back to him. “Evan, I don’t think—”
He put a finger over her lips. “Don’t think about it. Just go with me.”
She nodded slowly as though she was still in a pleasure-induced trance. Evan decided he liked that look on her. He was determined now to see what she looked like as she came, screaming his name, his cock deep inside her, her body shuddering in climax.
She would look exquisite, and Evan was more than eager to share that experience with her. Maybe it would resolve the knot of longing that seemed to be pulling tighter and tighter in his gut right now.
Turning and walking away from her took almost superhuman strength, but he did it anyway. He wasn’t giving her a chance to think, a chance to change her mind. He paused to pick up the clip from her hair before he moved away from her and stuck it in his coat pocket.
He ambled slowly toward his car, satisfied when he saw her vehicle plow through the snowy parking lot and exit the Center.
What in the hell just happened?
Evan picked up his pace after he saw the taillights of Randi’s car disappear into the night, still more than a little shocked at his own behavior. He didn’t give in to urges or impulses, but tonight . . . he had.
He didn’t regret it. Sexual tension like he’d never experienced before had been smoldering between him and Randi Tyler since the moment they’d met. Now that he knew that she was just as attracted to him as he was to her, he understood the real truth.
She was wrong. They didn’t hate each other. What they were both feeling was desire in its most carnal form. He’d tried to ignore it because any loss of control scared the shit out of him. Maybe it unsettled her, too.
What would be the harm in spending some time together? Maybe they could fuck each other until the attraction was out of both of their systems. It was bound to happen if they acted on their fantasies. Evan had never been with a woman more than once before he got bored and was ready to go back to work. He didn’t do relationships. He sought out women who wanted the same thing he did . . . sex for one night to scratch an itch. Most of them were successful women who were busy with their own careers or businesses. Those arrangements had always suited him just fine.
Evan released a masculine sigh as he finally reached his vehicle, admitting to himself that exorcising the lust he had for Randi could take more than just one night.
In fact, it could take a very, very long time.
Strangely, he was good with that.