Page 15 of Evidence of Us

“Alright. Alright,” Dawson says humorously. “In person at the station until you have more free time.”

“See? He wants to share you, too,” Zeke says with a grin.

“I mean… we could call it immersive therapy,” I say with a grin.

“Okay,” Dawson says. “You’re a teasing little brat.”

“You can’t say that to me!” I laugh.

“Girl, we are on my personal cell. I can say whatever I want,” he says. “Plus, you like it, so…”

“Anyway!” I laugh. “So dive headfirst? Is that what’s happening? How do we find out if it’s Mark?”

“I can have Caleb put my DNA in the system. It will hit as a sibling match,” Zeke says. “We will need to tell Kevin so that no one can say anything about it.”

“Keep me updated on that. Mariska, I’ll come up and see you tomorrow so we can talk for a bit. Zeke, I’m not going to bill you for this. I don’t even bill her insurance anymore either.”

“You don’t?” I ask.

“No. Figured after feeling my dick, it might be wrong of me to charge you. Feels a bit immoral,” he laughs.

Fuck… He does care about me…

“Well, tomorrow might be a bit busy, but I’ll try,” I say simply, my entire demeanor flipping.

“Mariska,” Dawson says softly.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I tell Zeke. I get up and walk away, ignoring him and the realization that not only have I been wrong about him, but also about myself.

When I get to my bathroom, I strip off my clothes as I let the water heat up. Once it’s blazing hot, I get in and boil the thoughts from my mind.

Several minutes pass by, and I hear the shower door behind me open. He doesn’t make me speak; he just wraps his arms around me and pulls me back against his chest. I hear him breathing weirdly, so I turn to face him, laughing when he has his face scrunched up.

“This water is really fucking hot,” he cringes, making me laugh. “How are you standing in here?”

“It’s getting a little cold now,” I tease, and he shakes his head. I make the water a bit more tolerable for him before turning back and hugging him.

“What’s wrong?” he asks me.

“I was always under the assumption that Dawson only cared because I paid him to. I didn’t know he wasn’t charging me…”

“I’m going to be honest, babe. I think that man loves you,” Zeke says. I pull back to look at him, and he smiles. “And I know you love him, or else you wouldn’t have run.”

“Zeke, I…”

“Do I look concerned to you?” Zeke asks.

“No,” I admit.

“He was there for you when I couldn’t be, and that’s okay. You can love us both, and we both can share you. You don’t have to choose between us, Riss.”

“I don’t even know if he… What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not,” he says, gently lifting my chin. “So here’s what’s going to happen.”

“I’m listening,” I say with a smile when I see lust in his eyes.

“I’m going to wash your beautiful body, and then fuck you to make up for all the years I lost you,” he says, gently pressing his lips to mine. “And tomorrow, when he comes by to see you at the station, you will go sit in the non-recorded interview room and let that man fuck you. You’ll accept that people care about you and love you. And we will go forward together. Okay?”