Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (11 page)

Evan scooped scrambled eggs onto his toast and wrapped them in the bread. The toast crunched as he took a generous bite. “Yeah, what about her?”

“What’s the deal between you two? Are you dating her?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Well, did anything ever happen between you two?” She poured some milk into her cereal and pushed a spoonful into her mouth.

“Not really.”

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“We hung out a few times, but that was it. Nothing ever came from it.”

She began to feel frustrated. Getting a straight answer out of him was like pulling teeth,

“All right Evan, I’m just gonna come out and say it. Have you slept with her?” She had stopped eating and was giving him a serious look.

“Nope. We went out for lunch a few times, but nothing serious ever came from it.”

She took a bite of her eggs. “So you don’t talk to her anymore?”

“Nope.”

“Well, what happened, and why did you stop seeing her?” Her insistent questions came out before she even had a chance to stop them, and she suddenly found herself wishing she hadn’t asked so many of them at once. This was making her seem pathetic. She thought she noticed a hint of a smile at Evan’s lips, but just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

“We both decided it would be better if we just kept things in friends territory.”

Maya pressed her spoon against the cornflakes in her bowl, immersing them fully in the milk. “She doesn’t seem like the kind of girl you’d just want to be friends with.”

“Guys and girls can’t be friends?”

“Not when the girl looks like that.” Pressing the back of her spoon against the cereal, she let the concave part of it fill up with liquid.

“The truth of it is, we were seeing each other for a while, but it wasn’t serious at all. Last time I spoke to her, she told me she was getting back with her ex-boyfriend, so there’s nothing for you to be worried about.”

“Who’s worried? I was just curious, that’s all.”

Evan grinned at her. “You were jealous.”

Maya scoffed, “Please! I couldn’t care less. We weren’t even talking up until a day ago, so what would it matter to me?”

“Come on, I know you’re jealous, so you can stop pretending.”

“You really have quite the ego, don’t you?” Her right eyebrow lifted.

“Call it what you will, but the fact still remains that you’re jealous.” A pleased smile crossed his lips.

“Seriously, Evan, I was not even all that concerned about it.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” His tone was laced with sarcasm.

“I wasn’t.”

“Okay, sure. Have it your way, Maya.”

Standing up from the table, she grabbed her empty plate and headed for the kitchen sink. “Okay, I’m done playing this little game with you.”

She hurried away from him, but before she could make it all the way past, he grabbed her forcefully by the hips, causing her to fall back onto his lap.

“Aw, come on, Maya, I was just messing around with you.”

She tried to release herself from his grasp, but he held her tightly against him, refusing to let go. Realizing he wasn’t going to release her, she stopped squirming and turned her head to face him. Unable to resist, she allowed a smile to spread across her face. Evan’s lips tugged upward in response.

“There’s that beautiful smile I love.” He placed a kiss on the dimple of her left cheek.

“I think you made that story up just to get me upset,” she said.

“Ah, so you finally admit it, then. You
are
jealous.” His face lit up, and the grin on his face seemed to grow even wider.

She gave him a quick peck on the lips and then said, “I admit nothing.”

Lifting herself from his lap, she grabbed his plate from off the table and stacked it onto hers. Then she placed them in the dishwasher. Evan helped her clear the rest of the table off, and then they went back into the bedroom.

After stripping down naked, they got into the shower and soaped each other up. They didn’t mean to stay in for any longer than five minutes, as they both needed to get on with their day, but the lure of their bare, soapy bodies proved to be too much of a distraction. By the time the water grew lukewarm, they knew it was a sign they’d spent too much time fondling each other, so they turned the water off and got out of the tub. Once they dried off, they went back into the room to get dressed. Evan didn’t have a pair of clean boxers to wear, so he had no choice but to go commando until he could return home to change. After he pulled on his jeans and shirt, he took a seat on the bed and watched Maya get dressed.

She could feel his eyes on her, intently following every move that she made. Having him watch her filled her with excitement, and as she rifled through the drawer to pick out some panties, she purposely picked one of her sexiest pairs she had. She bent down to slip her feet though the leg holes, and then seductively slid the fabric up along her legs. Once the panties were in place, she turned to face him, and offered him a front view. The panties she was wearing were made from a thin, filmy material, and they offered Evan a tantalizing peek of her sex. His eyes were fixed intently on her nether regions, and she teasingly traced a finger along the floral design that was embroidered along the crotch area. She saw his eyebrows lift in appreciation, and she offered a little smile at the response she was receiving.

Maya grabbed a bra from the drawer, and slipped into it. It had a clasp in the front, so as she pulled the cups together, it pushed her boobs inward, creating some nice cleavage. The material was of the same see-through fabric as the panties, and it gave Evan a nice, clear view of her chocolate-colored nipples. Her peaks had grown hard from the lustful way he was looking at her, and she could see the outline of his stiffening cock beneath his denims.

Heat was building in her loins, and she felt a strong pull to join him on the bed, but she knew there was no time for them to fool around, so she chose instead to continue getting dressed. She headed for the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans from a hanger, and as she shimmied into the tight fabric, her breasts jiggled from the movement. She delighted in Evan’s rapt attention, and couldn’t help but revel in the fact that she held some sort of feminine power over him.

Evan stood up from the bed and walked over to her, embracing her from behind as he placed a kiss on the nape of her neck. “Mmmm, you smell delicious.” He pressed his crotch against her backside, sharing the feeling of his excitement with her.

She felt his hand slide up to offer her left breast a firm squeeze, and she gave it a playful slap. “You’d better stop, or we’re both going to be late for work.” A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she reached into her jewelry box to retrieve her favorite choker.

“Here, let me.” He took the necklace out of her hand so he could slip it around her neck.

After pushing her hair over her shoulder, he secured the clasp in the back. Evan’s lips grazed against her shoulder, and she gave a smile of contentment in response. She loved the feel of his mouth on her skin, and as his tongue slid across her flesh she gave a small moan, shivering from the erotic sensation of it. His hard-on pressed urgently against her thigh, coaxing her to give into temptation.

She wanted him so badly that her groin was aching in response, and she knew that being in his presence would only continue to build her desire for him. Seeing no other option, she removed herself from his grasp, and then turned around to face him. “Why don’t you go into the kitchen and get something to drink? I’ll be out in a few.”

Evan’s eyebrows rose a little, as if he found himself surprised that she’d managed to resist his ministrations. “Trying to get rid of me, are you?”

“It’s kind of hard to concentrate with that thing of yours poking into my backside.”

“Afraid you might not be able to control yourself?”

She playfully rolled her eyes. “I have plenty of control. You, on the other hand…” Her voice trailed off, and her eyes roved southward.

A small chuckle fled his lips, and he headed for the door. “You give me a striptease, and then send me on way, huh? I see how it is.” He gave a little pout, and hung his head low in an exaggerated show of disappointment.

She gave a little laugh, and then pulled her uniform T-shirt over her head. After applying her makeup, she fixed her hair, and then dabbed a bit of perfume oil behind her ears. Then she headed out of the room and into the living area.

Evan looked up at her from the magazine he was reading. “All ready?”

“Yep.” Maya grabbed her purse, and they headed for the door.

Once they were outside, Maya locked the door behind them, and they walked to the end of the pathway. Cradling her face in his palms, Evan claimed her lips in a deep, hungry kiss, tonguing her mouth with a passionate urgency. They found it a difficult feat to pull away from each other, but eventually their lips became unsealed.

“Is it okay if I come by again tonight?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it.”

“So am I. Have a good day, okay?” She then headed for her car.

“You, too, sweetie.” Evan walked toward his own vehicle, offering her a wave before he got inside.

Maya was first to pull away from the curb, and she watched in her rearview mirror as Evan drove behind her, following her out to the busy main street that was a few blocks away from her apartment. Once they reached the busy road, she turned one way and he turned the other, and a few moments later his red Jeep was completely out of her sight.

Barely a minute had passed since they’d separated from each other, and already she felt an ache in her heart, as well as pangs of terrible loneliness. She supposed this was what they meant by lovesickness, because that’s exactly how she felt—sick to her stomach over the absence of him. It was now certain that she was in love, and life as she knew it was already in the midst of change.

* * * *

Evan parked his Jeep at the curb in front of his apartment then got out of the car. He still had half an hour before he was due to show up at work, so that would give him plenty of time to change into his uniform and then hit the road. Once he entered his apartment, he headed straight for the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He was just taking a swallow of the cold liquid when he felt a vibration in his pocket, followed by a soft chiming noise. As he pulled his cell phone out to look at the display screen, he found himself hoping that it was Maya. It hadn’t been very long since they’d parted, and he already found that he was missing her. As he looked at the display screen, he saw that the text was from Tanya, the woman who worked as a cashier at Ted’s Diner. He knew that the best thing to do was to just erase it without even opening the message, but curiosity got the best of him, so he decided to see what it said.

Hey handsome, where have you been hiding? I haven’t heard from you for a few days now. Hope to see you at the diner soon. Give me a call sometime, ok? Xoxo Tanya

Evan stuffed his phone back into his pocket and then finished his bottle of water. He couldn’t lie to himself—he did find Tanya very attractive, and had enjoyed the times they’d gone out for lunch together. But now that Maya was back in his life, he was going to commit himself to only seeing her. He really did like her a lot, and he wasn’t about to mess things up by continuing to see Tanya on the side.

After finishing his glass of water, Evan exited the kitchen and headed back toward his bedroom. After stripping out of his clothes, he discarded them in the dirty clothes hamper, and then changed onto his work uniform. After that was done, he headed into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face then slicked his hair back into a ponytail. He had just finished brushing his teeth when the melodic sound of his ringtone filled the air.

He grabbed his cell phone from off the bed and then hit the call answer button.

“Hello?”

“Hi cousin, what’s up?”

“Hey there, Reyna. How are you?”

“Not too bad. Just busy with the kids, as usual. Listen, your mom was running a bit of a fever last night. Nothing to worry about, though. Just thought I’d get in touch with you to let you know.”

“How has she been feeling today? Has her temperature gone down any?”

“Oh, she’s much better now. The fever broke this morning. Her blood sugar was pretty high yesterday, so I think that’s what caused her to get sick. Last time I checked her glucose levels was earlier this morning, and they were within normal range, so it looks like everything will be just fine.

“So other than that, is she okay? Do you think she needs to see a doctor?”

“No, I think she just needs to get outside and get some fresh air, so I’m planning on having her go out with me for a walk later this afternoon..”

“That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for looking after her, Reyna. I appreciate it.”

“Hey it’s no problem. We’re family, and we always take care of each other, right? So, what exactly have you been up to lately? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days now, but it seems like every time I call, the voice mail picks up.”

Evan felt a pang of guilt at her words. He’d always been close to Reyna, and the bond that they shared made it seem as if they were more like brother and sister, rather than just cousins. She’d been calling him for days now, and he’d meant to get back to her, but this past week had been quite busy for him. Yet still, he knew that was no excuse for him to fall out of contact with his family.