“We’ve all been there.” I watch her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. I can tell she’s nervous. What I can’t tell is if it’s because of this meeting or if she’s remembering how our bodies were perfectly molded together all through last night.
“So about this job…I’ve almost got everything transferred over to the new electronic system. You will be able to track all your inventory and parts that go through this garage. I’ve also inputted all your contacts into the system so they can easily be accessible. If you are looking for a rare part, it will be a lot easier to put feelers out that way. I’ve also…” She stops when I hold up my hand.
“I already know you can do this job, Eve. You’ve been amazing this week. Before you go any further, I need to say something .”
“Okay,” she warily looks at me. I take a deep breath to try and gather my thoughts. She needs to know what her working here means to me.
“This business was initially my dream, but as soon as I met you, it became more than just mine. It became something that I wanted you to be proud of, something that we could pass down to our kids if they wanted it.” I run my hand through my hair asthe painful memories try to take hold of me. “But when you left…this business became my lifeline. It was the only place I could go to breathe. It became the only reason I would get out of bed in the morning. I could forget about you when I was here. It was my…safe space.”
“I get it.” Sadness fills those blues as she looks away from me. “You don’t want me in your safe space. The trust isn’t there yet,” she says softly.
“I know we still have some things to work through, and I have some shit to get past, but as soon as you came back into my life, my end game has never changed. Everything we talked about wanting together suddenly became possible again.” She looks back up at me, and I see a sliver of hope in her eyes. The same sliver that I’m taking a chance on and holding onto for dear life. “I’m not going to hire you as my office manager,” I say quietly.
Hurt flashes across her face, and she looks away. I immediately step closer and bring our bodies flush against one another. Lifting her chin with my finger, I need her to see what I’m feeling. “I’m not going to hire you as my office manager because this place is as much yours as it is mine. If you want to help out here, you can. If you want to stay at home with our daughter and not work at all, you can. Either way, this business, our family business, was always meant to happen with you by my side.”
I watch a tear fall and brush it away with my thumb. The contact with her skin takes me off guard as she leans into my touch. Both of us feel this pull that we’ve never been able to resist. “It’s still our future, just like we always talked about if you still want it.” My heart beats fast against my chest. If she’s still the Eve I love, this should be an easy decision for her.
“I’ve always loved watching you work on cars. Jimmy’s was a place I could go and forget about the life I hated at home,” she says quietly. “It saved me more than you know…your love savedme. I want to be a part of this place. I never stopped wanting that future, not for one second.
“Then it’s yours. It’s only ever been yours.” I watch the emotions swimming in her eyes as I study her reaction. When her lips part and I hear a small intake of her breath, I don’t think there is a single thing in this universe that could have stopped me from going after what I want in this moment. I lean closer and feel her breath on my lips. My eyes match the heat in hers as I watch them turn a darker shade of blue.
“Ryder..” The plea on her lips is all it takes to have me franticly diving in with my tongue. She moans at the invasion like she’s been craving this as much as I have. Lifting her up, I sit her on the desk and settle between her legs where I belong.
A growl escapes me as her legs wrap around me, molding me to her. I suck her bottom lip between my teeth as my hands grab the side of her face wanting to dive further into her and lose myself in the feel of her.
She grips my shirt tightly as my hands find her bare thighs, roughly pushing her skirt up further as I press harder into her. All my senses are on fire as her presence consumes me. The unhinged part of me is still battling a war inside as I try to reign in the urge to fuck her so thoroughly against this desk that she won’t think twice about who she belongs to.
A knock on the door has me slammed back into reality. “Fuck,” I say under my breath and immediately step away. “Just a minute,” I call out. Sighing, I run my hand furiously through my hair and try to compose myself. Any longer, and I would have been tearing those lace panties that I got a glimpse at when her skirt rode up.
She’s breathing hard on the desk, and my dick throbs painfully at the sight of her swollen lips and disheveled hair. My jaw clenches as I force myself to keep it together. She slides offthe desk and fixes her skirt before running a hand through her hair.
Thankfully, I don’t see anyone in the lobby as I glance up at the windows lining my office wall. I’m always professional and in control at work, but with her, I lose every damn bit of self-control.
“It’s probably Bobby. I told him to swing by for the meeting.” I have a hard time keeping the irritation out of my voice from being interrupted.
I walk over to the door and crack it open to Bobby standing there. “Give me a minute. I’ll come find you when we are done here.”
“No problem,” he grins at me. I have a feeling I’ll be hearing all about this from the boys later. Closing the door, I turn to face her.
Her ocean blues are still brimming with desire, and I realize I don’t want to wait another minute to settle this between us. I want her in my bed tonight, but first, I need to get her somewhere where we can be alone. There are a few things I need to say to her, and she’s not going to like some of it. There are also a few things I want to do to her, and if I know my Eve, she’s not going to be quiet about it.
“How long does Travis have Ryland today?”
“They took her and Max to the waterpark for the day. Why?”
“Perfect. Let’s go.” I grab her hand and my keys off the desk and pull her toward the office door.
“Where are we going?” She turns and barely gets her purse off the hook in my office as I haul her away.
“We are going home,” I say, backing her up against the door. “It’s about time we lay all our cards on the table. I want everything out in the open. We both have guilt, and I know we are both damn angry that we were cheated out of those three years.” I run my fingers down her neck and brush my thumbacross her nipple. I watch it harden through her blouse and grin. “It’s time to face our demons, Eve. We’ve been in hell, and it’s about time we claw our way out of it.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EVE
Iswallow hard and see his gaze, watching my throat move. Why is this so hot? My body is on fire right now, and I can feel how damp my panties are. He’s looking at me like he wants to devour me, but there’s something else there that I’ve never seen before. I search his eyes until I see it brimming just beneath the surface. Anger. We’ve never once brought anger into our lives, let alone our bedroom. We had no reason to. Our life was perfect together up until I left.
It’s here now, though, weaving its way through the air. He’s finally going to give me what I want—his anger—and I can finally be free of my guilt.
