Evelyn’s cheek rested on my bare chest, and she was running her fingers through the hair on my chest. Her hair was stuck to the side of my face, but I didn’t mind. She smelled like flowers.

She’d fetched the blanket and pillow under the window and brought it over to the sofa and set up a little bed for us. Both items also smelled like her. The blanket was pulled up to her waist, and she’d changed into a silky nightgown that had me thinking all kinds of thoughts about her. Her pussy had been so fucking tight and slippery wet that all I wanted to do was be back inside her. But she was tired, and truth be told, so was I. It had been one hell of a night.

Evelyn let out a soft sigh and snuggled in tighter to my side. It was a miracle we both fit on the sofa somehow. Evelyn was small, and she had tucked herself between me and the back of the sofa. Most of her weight was on me, but I didn’t mind. I liked having her this close.

“So the pillow and blanket were convenient,” I said after we’d been lying in silence for a good ten minutes.

I felt her cheek move against my chest and knew she was smiling. “Yeah. I’m sort of between homes right now. Penny is letting me crash here while I get my shit in order.”

That was news to me. I figured they were roommates. “What’s to get in order?”

Evelyn sighed. “Everything.”

I chuckled and rubbed her shoulder. “So dramatic.”

She looked up at me, and her hand on my chest fell still as she rested her chin on her knuckles. “Not dramatic. Realistic. I jumped ship on a career path that would have given me the financial freedom to be a homeowner and to start my life. To really start it. Now, I’m back at square one. It sucks.”

“What was the job?”

“Lawyer.”

I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from creeping up my forehead. “You? A lawyer?”

“Prosecuting.”

“I figured.”

Evelyn shrugged. “My parents made all the decisions for me. They thought I was throwing my life away. At the time, I thought it was my only option. I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, and I wanted to find something that would fulfill me. I think I just wanted to believe law school was the right choice. It would have been so much easier if I liked it. And I tried. For two years. I tried.”

“I can’t see you doing that. The stuffy suits and the uptight courtrooms? Not to mention there’s no fun in it. So serious. You’re a free spirit.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“How did your parents react when you dropped out?”

Evelyn looked down at my chest and started playing with my hair again. She bit her bottom lip, and it was easy to see that this question bothered her. I waited to see if she would answer. When she did, her voice was quiet. “They kicked me out of the house and told me not to come back unless I was going back to school.”

Assholes. That’s not what parents were supposed to do. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. It’s water under the bridge now. I’m lucky to have Penny. She took me in right away and helped me find a job. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

“I’m sure you’d have figured it out. You’re a tough girl. You tried to kill a man with a fire extinguisher tonight.”

Her bubbly laughter surprised me. She met my eyes with a warm smile and nodded. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Hell, yeah, you did. It was something else.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely. I’m not going to lie. It was kind of a turn-on.”

“Stop.” She laughed, burying her face in my chest. She looked up at me when I tucked a strand of hair between her ear. “Derek?”

“Mm?”

“Are you really just a Treasurer of your club?”

This question gave me pause. It was not like me to come clean with a woman and bare my soul to her. Keeping everything locked away was usually my strategy. People could hurt you with knowledge, and I’d never been good at laying down boundaries with women.

“You don't have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Evelyn said hurriedly.

“No,” I said. “I can tell you.”

She watched me expectantly as I considered how much I wanted to tell her. Even a little bit would be more than I’d told anyone in … ever.

I put one hand behind my head to prop myself up to better look down at her. Evelyn’s green eyes were sparkling in the moonlight coming in through the window behind me. She was stunning. Too good for me. Being honest might make her realize that. It would be for her own good. “I am the Treasurer. But it’s only because of my history dealing with accounts and finances. I used to… move money for some pretty bad guys.”

“Move money?”

“I’m not going to tell you any more than that. Details make shit complicated. But yeah. I moved money for people. Sometimes, people didn’t want their money moved. So I would take it by force.”

Evelyn blinked. “Oh.”

“I’ve hurt people, Evelyn. You should know that about me. A lot of people. It’s not who I am anymore, but it’s who I was. I was really fucking good at it. And sometimes,” I paused, unsure if I should say what was on the tip of my tongue.

“Yes?” Evelyn encouraged.

I sighed. “Sometimes, I miss it.”

Evelyn propped herself up. There was a frown on her full lips, and her brow was creased. “What part of it do you miss?”

I shrugged and wished she wasn’t looking at me. “I don’t know. All of it. The adrenaline rush. The moment right before the fight. Winning.”

“Everything you’re saying should make me want to run,” she whispered.

“Then, why aren’t you?”

Evelyn searched my eyes. She licked her lips and rested her cheek in one hand. “I don’t know. I just feel safe with you, I guess. I feel like I’m just me, and I feel like that’s enough.”

I pulled her up to me and kissed her. She smiled into the kiss and, when we parted, she nuzzled her face under my chin. This feeling right here was the kind of shit that always got me into trouble.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

I blinked my eyes open and squinted under the blinding sunlight coming in through the window behind me. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes and looked up to where a blond-haired young woman was standing behind the sofa, staring down at me like I was a dog who’d just rolled in rotten fish and slept on her sofa.

Evelyn was pushing herself upright with her hands on my chest. Her hair was a wild mess with curls plastered to one cheek and strands sticking up all over the place. Her lips were swollen, and her eyes were heavy with fatigue. She looked cute as hell. If Penny hadn’t been standing over me like a pissed off lioness, I would have told her so.

“Penny,” Evelyn said thickly, using her whole arm to push her thick mane of hair back. “What time is it? I’m sorry. I planned on waking up earlier and—”

“And sneaking him out before I noticed?” Penny snapped.

“No. Well, yes, I guess so. But—”

“Nice, Evie. Really nice.” Penny narrowed her eyes at me.

I tried to sit up, but Evelyn was still resting against my chest. I took her by the wrists and pushed her back so I could sit up. I had never been so thankful to be wearing boxers in my life.

Evelyn got to her feet, and I rolled off the couch to collect my clothes from the floor. I could feel Penny’s eyes burning holes in my back as I stepped into my pants and pulled my shirt over my head.

Then, she growled. The girl literally growled. “Is that blood on his shirt?”

“Erm,” Evelyn started.

“It is, isn’t it? For fuck sakes, Evie, are you out of your mind? You brought a criminal home and fucked him on my couch!”

“I did not,” Evelyn said defensively.

I turned around, and Penny shot me an ominous look. “Is she telling the truth?”

I held my hands up and started backing away. “This conversation is over my head, I think, so I’m just going to duck out if that’s all right with you.”

“Tell me,” Penny said.

“I’m a criminal, remember? Even if I told you, why would you believe me?”

Penny rolled her eyes at me. Evelyn giggled. Praise her.

I backed away to the front door, and Evelyn followed me out as Penny paced angrily behind the sofa. I knew she was going to lay into Evelyn after I left. Evelyn unlocked the front door for me, and I stepped out into the hall. She joined me and closed the door behind her. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. Her hair was still a disaster, and I wanted to run my fingers through it and kiss her.

“I can’t say she’s wrong. She’s just looking out for you.”

“I can take care of myself, remember? I tried to kill a guy with a fire extinguisher.”

We both shared a laugh after that one, and I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah. Well, I’d better get out of here anyway. I have shit to do after that fiasco last night. People will be looking for me.”

“Your friends?”

“Lost Breed members. Yeah.”

Evelyn nodded and rubbed her arm nervously. “Well. Thanks for coming to help me last night. I’m sorry you got your ass handed to you.”

“I did not get my ass handed to me.”

Evelyn grinned. “A matter of perspective, I guess. Regardless, I’m thankful, and I’m glad you spent the night last night. Really glad.” She reached out and touched my wrist. Then, she stretched up to the balls of her feet and kissed me.

I wanted to stay with her. Oh god, did I want to stay. She was soft and lovely and everything my life was not right now. Her warmth had reminded me of all I was missing, and I wanted to claim her as my own and declare it to the world.

Not yet.

There were barriers I had to knock down first. Then, when the battle was behind me, she would be mine.

If I could wait that long.