She sighed, feeling her chest squeeze as she read over her father’s written words.
The last line of the inheritance contract always made her cry and right then was no different.
It read:And lastly, I give you my love, so that it will be with you always.
Eve closed her eyes, wiping her cheek, before carefully folding and tucking the paper away. It was, perhaps, one of the most precious things to her. Her father had never written anything down in handwriting. Handwriting was almost as dated and old as the antiques he’d surrounded himself with. But, it was as if he’d known how comforting it would be to her to have her inheritance contract written so.
Handwriting was special. It was as different and unique as a fingerprint and she had three pages worth of her father’s.
Eve left the study, carefully closing the door behind her. Sometimes it felt like she lived in a museum of her father’s things, but she’d allowed that to happen. When she was still surrounded by his things, sometimes she could pretend that he was still with her.
It was entirely possible that he was still alive. His cargo ship had never been found, thought to be destroyed by meteors. And for a long time, Eve had held onto that hope. But every passing year tamped some of that hope down, farther and farther into her chest.
He’d never been declared dead, only missing.
But Eve knew.
Deep down inside, she knew that he was gone. She couldfeelit. And for some reason, that night, that knowledge hit her harder than it had before. And maybe it was because she’d just had a fight with her only friend, but the loneliness that night was debilitating. It was crushing.
40 more hours, she thought sometime later, after she’d eaten and had her cup of tea by the fire and once she was dried up of her tears.
Only 40 more hours until she could seehim.
And maybe then, she might not feel so alone in the universe anymore.
Chapter Ten
Eve wore another of her silk dresses that night. It was a deep indigo blue that she thought complimented her skin tone and instead of capped sleeves, the dress was held up by thin straps that bared her shoulders. It was slightly more low cut than her others, dipping into a deep ‘V’ and her hands shook as she adjusted the fit, remembering the feel of Khiva’s warm tongue on her breasts.
She left her hair down and even added a little rouge to her lips. When she looked in the mirror that night, she didn’t see a great Everton beauty, but she thought she looked pretty. Her eyes gleamed with nerves but her chest rose in excitement.
The driverless car was waiting outside for her at six and when Eve arrived to Madame Allegria’s, twilight was just breaking over Everton.
Valerie greeted her once again, but instead of stopping her, she simply led her over to the elevator and said, “He is waiting for you.”
Eve shivered in the elevator on her way up to the third floor, goosebumps breaking over her skin.
And right then, she allowed herself to finally acknowledge what was going to happen that night.
Eve would finally lose her virginity. She would experience sex for the first time, to an alien male who she hardly knew, but who she was madly attracted to.
The hallway seemed to stretch for ages as Eve’s heart thundered in her chest, but shortly, she arrived at the wood door, with its gold geometric lines.
When Eve entered the room, it was just as before. It was dark, with that addicting incense burning, mixing with Khiva’s own natural scent. The fire was flickering in the hearth, warming the small room.
Unlike last time, however, Khiva was standing near the window, not sitting in the armchair. He turned when he heard her open the door and her attraction to him hit her like a punch in the gut.
Immediately, he crossed the distance between them, that trilling sound working its way up his throat. Eve’s stomach fluttered when he caught her around the waist, pressing her back into the closed door. His large palm cupped the nape of her neck and he molded the front of his body against her.
It felt very…dominant. Very possessive. But shelikedit.
“H-hi,” she whispered, her throat tight with desire.
“Evelyn,” he rasped.
Eva-leen.
His pupils were wide and dark and Eve swallowed, hesitantly running her hand over his forearm, feeling the gliding sheen of a light oil. For the first time, she wondered if this was his room, where he slept and spent his time. Did he put that oil on by the fire before she arrived? Or perhaps in the washroom, which she hadn’t seen yet.
