I sighed, releasing a long, defeated breath.
“I feel like you already know what I’m about to say.”
She nodded, her lips pursed. “Yes, but go on.”
I rolled to a stop as the traffic light turned red and shifted to face her. “He spent the night at my house a couple of days ago.”
Lex squealed and shoved my shoulder so hard it made my head whip sideways, nearly hitting the glass.
“Bitch! And you didn’t tell me?”
“Lex, relax. I don’t need a concussion.”
She smoothed back her short black hair and clasped her hands together as excitement lit up her face. “Sorry. I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
“There really isn’t anything to tell.” As the cars in front of me accelerated, my attention was back on the road.
From my peripheral, I saw her scrunch her face in confusion. “Nothing to tell, as in, he sucked in bed—which would be quite the tragedy, by the way—or nothing, as in, there was no naked humping?”
“Option B.”
Lex laughed incredulously. “Okay. I get it. You just met. Gotta make him work for it. But why the sleepover, then? Seems like an unnecessary temptation.”
My cousin listened intently as I relayed the story of how Derek had raced to my house after Yuri’s attack. Alexa’s grin widened at the mention of how he’d carried me to my living room and the shameless swooning that followed. Never one to tone down the theatrics, with a hand over her heart, she feigned fainting at the revelation of Derek’s diabetes research. As the recipient of endless gifts, notes, flowers, and an unbelievable amount of unwanted marriage proposals, strangely enough, Derek taking time to learn about my diagnosis was the sweetest gesture any man had ever done.
“So, you gave him the green light to turn you inside out, and he refused?”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, is he gay?”
“Lex! He’s not. He’s very interested.”
Alexa whistled out a breath. “Eva, you’re fucking smoking hot. You’re telling me you had your tits on show, practically begging this man to fuck you within an inch of your life, and he turned you down? Listen, either he’s playing for the other team, or his little teammate ain’t playing at all—if you know what I mean.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. No matter the circumstance, I could always count on Lex to cheer me up. “Trust me, that’s not the problem.”
“So, thereisa problem?” she asked, brows raised.
“No… I don’t know. He’s just always… thinking. One moment, I swear he’s about to eat me alive.” I turned to her and licked my lips. “God, and I would just open up and let him.” Gripping the steering wheel, I grimaced. “Then other times, he’s so… hesitant. Like he can’t decide what he wants.”
The morning after he’d spent the night, I woke up to an empty house and a note on my kitchen counter. A damn note. He’d slipped out early, wished me a good day, and promised to return my extra key the next time we saw each other. Feelings of shame and regret made my stomach heavy. The sting of his rejection was still fresh, no matter how many times I tried to convince myself he was just being a gentleman.
But I didn’t want a gentleman.
He’d left me so goddamn wet that night. Teasing him with that dildo, a birthday gift from Lex, no less, had only backfired because his resolve was fucking unbreakable, and I was too pissed to take care of the problem myself. The same couldn’t be said for two days that followed. Derek’s name had slithered from my lips more times than I was proud of.
Fuck, I needed to get laid.
Darkness shrouded my cabin as I pulled into the parking garage of Alexa’s condo.
“Hey, look at me and listen carefully,” she demanded, a no-bullshit expression on her face. “That man wants you, okay? Whatever his reasons are for keeping you at a distance right now has nothing to do with you, Eva. You’re a goddamn goddess—mostly because you look like me,” she said with a wink, and I snorted a laugh. “You’re a badass female detective. You check all the boxes, girl. And the way he was looking at you andonlyyou when Pri and I met him—Damn.” Lex shook her head and fanned herself.
Reaching over, I pulled her into a tight hug. “Thanks, sis.”
“Of course. And I’d invite you up, but my boy toy will be here in under two hours, and I have places to wax and get situated before then.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Go get laid, Sasquatch. And thanks for always being my sounding board. Love you,pendeja.”
