Page 72 of Crave Me
CHAPTER 17
Evan
The sound of water running echoing from my bathroom stirs me awake. I glance up where trickles of light stream through the partially opened doorway. According to my digital clock teetering at the edge of my nightstand, I’ve only slept a few hours at best. That doesn’t stop the smile that comes from knowing who waits behind that door.
I push up and onto my side, intent on going to her. I don’t make it far. The lights shut off and the door opens. The moonlight streaming in from the window bathes her bare skin with light and tinges her long, fluttering hair a deep blue as she walks forward. She’s beautiful, in heart and form. I can’t tear my eyes from her.
She doesn’t see me, her attention on her phone. I think she’s scanning through the pictures she took of us when we finally made it to my suite. In some we’re merely kissing, in others, we’re doing a great deal more. All are erotic and deeply sensual, and while it’s something I’ve never done, and only allowed to please her, the way she captured the intensity of our love-making is extraordinary, arousing me more.
“You need new screen-savers,” she teased, holding the phone away from her as she took me deep.
The smile she had is noticeably absent, and as she nears, I realize she’s upset. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
Her head jerks up. “Oh, sorry,” she says, bending forward to kiss me. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” Her lips are soft and her affection tender, yet as she places her phone on the nightstand and shoves the digital clock closer to the wall, she seems to withdraw. The defenses she wraps herself in as tangible as the warmth radiating from her skin.
I gather her to me when she sits at the edge of the bed, pressing her back against my chest and kissing her shoulder. “You’re upset,” I tell her, waiting for her to explain why.
“Yeah, you could say that.” She sighs, clearly troubled. “My brothers texted me while we were sleeping. Someone threw a brick though my front window.”
“What the hell?” I say, straightening.
“There’s more.” She pushes her hair away from her face. “The word ‘whore’ was written across it.”
Fury should have me lashing out and demanding more details. But the insult takes me well beyond fury.
“Hey,” Wren says, turning to cup my face when she sees me. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” I snap.
“No, it’s not,” she agrees, her words trailing.
“And you are not a whore,” I add, forcing my tone to soften.
“Thanks,” she says, her fingers brushing along my jaw. “Believe it or not, I needed to hear you say that.”
“Why?” I ask.
She releases a short humorless laugh. “Considering everything we did, just tonight?”
“Is that how I made you feel?”
She bows her head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
I run my hand along her stomach, allowing her soft skin to brush along the thick pads of my fingertips. “You’re beautiful,” I tell her.
“Please don’t give me compliments,” she says. “It’s not what I’m looking for.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” I tell her, the way my tone drops causing her to glance up. “You’re beautiful because you’re bloody real. You don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, you’re simply who you are, a stunning, confident woman who enjoys everything: life, food, laughter.” I kiss her lips. “And pleasure, too.”
“Pleasure?” she questions.
I can’t be certain if guilt is what resides in her voice, but if it is, it’s the last thing I want her to feel. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying sex or surrendering to what feels good when I touch you. Your passion fuels mine which is why I can’t do enough to please you.” I wrestle with whether to admit something I’ve kept from her. Ultimately I do.
“Remember the first time we made love?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Her soft smile lights her face despite the darkness. “It was one of the best nights of my life.”
“I feel the same,” I admit, quieting. “Do you remember how I asked you if you wanted to take a shower?” She nods, appearing confused as to why I’m asking. “It’s something that Saundra, the woman I was with for so long, insisted we do every time we were together.”