“Yeah, a hired goon who looks like he just got out of Rikers,” Steph said, anger still seething in her voice.
Evangeline’s earlier look of shame and defeat evaporated and her spine went rigid. She stared back at Steph, her gaze unflinching as her face flushed. But not in embarrassment. No, his angel was pissed.
He fought to hide his reaction—his surprise—and forced himself to remain a bystander and allow Evangeline to fight her own battle unless it became apparent she was backing down. She further surprised him by walking up to Steph and getting right in her face so there was no possibility of misunderstanding. She pointed her finger directly into Steph’s chest, eliciting a look of complete shock on her friend’s face as if Evangeline had never stood up to her—or any of her so-called friends.
“You willnottalk about Maddox that way,” Evangeline snapped. “He has been nothing but kind and patient with me. He intervened at Impulse when Eddie would have likely put me in the hospital. He was kind, respectful and gentle. He took me home, made certain the apartment was safe and told me he would be there the next night at seven because Drake wanted to see me. But I had to work and so Maddox waited for me at the pub until I got off and drove me to Impulse to meet Drake, where we agreed on a personal matter that willremainpersonal. You have no right to judge Maddox or Drake or Thane, for that matter, who went out of his way to let you know I was okay, when you know nothing about them. And furthermore, you are clearly questioning my judgment. My wants and my needs, which I remind you, are my concern. Not yours. I don’t tell you how to run your life, Steph, and I expect that same respect in return.”
Her hand swept toward Thane, who was wearing a look of shock mixed with approval. Pride even. Thane lifted his gaze to Drake as if to say,You picked a good one. Drake merely nodded his agreement.
“And Steph. You showed up at Impulse after being told I was fine and what my plans were for the night and threatened Thane unless he brought you to wherever Drake and I were. Has he hurt you? Has he threatened you in any way? Because the way I see it, he has treated you with far more respect than you’ve afforded him. I expected more from you, Steph. I expected your faith and trust in me to make my own decisions. I don’t need your, Lana’s or Nikki’s approval or permission to do anything. I don’t interfere in your personal lives, and yet you interfere with mine at every turn. And just to remind you, I never wanted to go to Impulse. It was the last place I wanted to go, but the three of you railroaded me into going, and the result was a night of humiliation I’ll never be able to forget.”
She shuddered and clasped her hands over her upper arms as if she were suddenly cold. Drake could contain himself no longer. He stepped forward and wrapped her securely in his arm, replacing her hand on the arm facing away from his body and rubbed up and down both for warmth and comfort. And to let her know he had her back.
Thane looked completely bewildered and discomfited by Evangeline’s defense of him and Maddox. There was a different look to his eyes when he gazed at Evangeline now. One that held a glimmer of respect, and Thane didn’t respect many people.
Drake’s admiration grew even more because he’d been right, or rather his gut instinct about his angel had been dead-on. Her sweet, soft, delicate feminine appearance, in fact, disguised a woman with an iron will and determination that wouldn’t allow anyone, even himself, to run over her. No matter that she thought the opposite. She clearly thought she was timid and weak and hated conflict, and she likely did. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own and stand up for what she thought was right. His arm tightened around her, giving her a gentlesqueeze of approval as pride settled over him. As did peace. He’d chosen well. He hadn’t been wrong about her at all.
Steph looked taken aback, her mouth falling open at Evangeline’s outburst. She glanced between Thane and Drake like she was sizing up two serial killers. Then her gaze drifted back to Evangeline, clear disbelief reflected on her face. Before she had time to respond to Evangeline’s blunt, impassioned statement, Evangeline pressed while she had the advantage.
“I’m fine, Steph. You were told I wouldn’t be home tonight or today or whatever it is. There was no reason for you to come here and cause a scene. I’ll call you, Lana and Nikki in the next day or two and explain everything. Until then, I would appreciate privacy and no more embarrassing scenes at this hour of the morning.”
Steph pinned Evangeline with a ferocious stare, one Drake imagined worked to intimidate Evangeline most of the time. Only this time, his angel didn’t seem in the least fazed.
“You better do just that,” Steph snapped. “Because if I don’t hear from you personally in the nexttwenty-fourhours, I’m coming back with the police.”
Then she shifted her furious stare at Drake, who merely looked at her as though she were a nuisance.
“There isn’t a place in this damn city you can hide from me, and so help me God, if you hurt Evangeline in any way, I’ll cut off your balls and make you eat them.”
“Since that’s not ever going to happen, your threat is completely hollow,” Drake said in a dismissive tone. One that said it was time for her to leave. Now.
He lifted his gaze to Thane and sent him a silent look of apology. Thane mouthed his words but Drake could clearly see what he’d said and only barely managed to hold back his laughter.
Thane had saidFuck me.
“Thane will see you home now,” Drake said in a formal voice,remaining cold and aloof toward the woman who’d nearly ruined the entire evening. For that matter, she might well have for all he knew, because he had no idea what was going on in Evangeline’s mind.
Not waiting for any more drama or theatrics, Drake drew Evangeline to his side and guided her back to the elevator. Her eyes were closed the entire way up, her features still frozen with mortification.
He gently escorted her into his apartment, this time giving her no time to ponder the size and elegance of it. He ushered her into the bedroom and she immediately began to tremble against him.
Something went soft inside his heart. It was an alien, uncomfortable feeling. One he was not used to at all.
But she looked exhausted, lost and so confused that all he could do was pull her into his arms as he’d wanted to do before they were interrupted by her roommate. At first she was tense against him, but as he did nothing more than hold her against him and stroke a hand through her hair in a soothing motion, her own arms crept around his waist and she relaxed.
She laid her cheek against his chest and he felt her soft sigh all the way to his bones. It was a sound that would make a man do anything to make this woman happy.
“Get ready for bed, Angel,” he said gruffly. “You’re tired, your feet hurt and you’ve had a very long couple of days. The thing you need most right now is sleep. However, you sleep with me, in my bed. Every night. No exception.”
Slowly she nodded, her cheek rubbing up and down his chest.
“Don’t get me wrong, Angel,” he murmured. “There’s nothing I’d love more than to make love to you all night so that when you wake up you’ll know exactly who you belong to. But you’re dead on your feet, and for now, just having you in my bed, in my arms, is more than I could have dreamed of.”
When Evangeline awoke, two things immediately registered. One, Drake was no longer in bed with her and two, it was well into the morning. Likely approaching noon and yet exhaustion still weighed her down and all she wanted to do was snuggle deeper into the covers and go back to sleep.
As she shifted to a more comfortable spot, turning to where Drake had slept, her hand instinctively reaching for any lingering warmth or evidence that it hadn’t been a dream, her gaze lit on a folded piece of paper with her name scrawled across it.
Forcing herself to a sitting position, she crossed her legs and reached for the note, hesitantly opening it, unsure of what it would say. Then her brow furrowed as she took in the contents.
