Bad Girl Lessons

Bad Girl Lessons by Seraphina Donavan

Copyright © 2012 Seraphina Donavan This material may not be duplicated or distributed to others without express permission of the author. E-books are nontransferable and cannot be sold, shared or given away, as those actions are copyright infringement. This book is a work of fiction and any similarity to persons living or dead, or events real or fictional, is purely coincidental.

Dedication To my wonderful friends who support me, cheer me on, and kick my ass when needed. Thank you. And you know who you are.

Chapter One Evangeline Harper sat on the dock, her wedding gown bunched around her knees and her feet trailing in the water. From a distance she could hear the blaring sound of the Alman Brothers. The bluesy guitar wailed in the hot summer afternoon from the small Ipod dock perched on the counter of the small bar. From the back of the open air bar, she could hear a deep voice singing along. Evie tensed as the voice grew closer. She didn’t want to see anyone, but more specifically, she didn’t want anyone to see her. She’d left the country club and the chaos and was using the dock to hide out. But as the owner of the voice rounded the bend, Evie relaxed somewhat. It was Jackson Cope, of course, local football hero made good and the bad boy every woman wanted to tame. He owned the small Marina and bar that butted up to the country club and was the thorn in it’s proverbial side. She wasn’t sure the place was ever open, but it was just tacky enough to make everyone mad, and therefore he refused to sell. In deference to the heat, he’d discarded his shirt and wore only a pair of low slung jeans. Sweat glistened on the rippling muscles across his broad, toned back as he worked, stacking boxes of recently delivered supplies. As if he’d suddenly become aware of eyes upon him, he turned to look at her. The light dusting of golden hair on his chest was darkened to bronze by the light sheen of sweat on his skin. Every muscle was perfectly defined, rippling powerfully beneath sun-kissed skin. His too long hair had fallen forward into his eyes and he pushed it back, leaving a streak of dirt on his fore-

head. Somehow, it only made him more appealing. His jade green eyes narrowed as he looked at her and his lips, normally curved into a seductive grin, firmed into a thin line. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his deep voice rumbling through her. The question might have been rude, but the tone was simply puzzled. “That’s a rude question. Aren’t you supposed to be charming or something?” Evie demanded. They’d been friends at one point and she’d harbored a painful crush on him for the better part of her adolescence, but over the last few years, with her engagement to Trevor, Jackson had become increasingly distant with her. While he’d certainly never paid the kind of attention to her that he did to other women in town, he’d never been downright rude. “The bar’s closed until seven...and you’re a little overdressed for it, anyway,” he said, opening a bottle of beer. “I’m not here for the bar. I’m here to sit on this dock, out of sight of everyone else, and hide until the last guests have gone home,” she said. Her lip trembled a bit, but she managed to keep her voice from breaking too badly. Jackson knew that he was being an ass. Still, Evie Harper rubbed him the wrong way. Mostly, because he wanted to rub her in the right ones. She was gorgeous, with her long, dark hair and exaggerated curves. He’d never had a type when it came to women. He loved them all, but his reaction to Evie had always resulted in frustration and not a little disappointment. It hadn’t helped that she’d been prepared to marry his cousin, Trevor Dupree, who happened to be the biggest jackass in three counties, if not all of Mississippi.

“So aren’t you supposed to be getting married or something?” “No... I generally sit around on half rotten boat docks in six thousand dollar satin dresses. I like to live dangerously,” she replied. Her snippy response made him smile. If she was fighting mad, at least she wouldn’t be a crying mess. Lord, he hoped. He couldn’t take a crying woman. “Reel in the attitude, chickpea. Since it’s my dock you’re sitting on, I’m entitled to know whether or not an angry, jilted groom is going to show up here and cause problems.” “No. Trevor most assuredly will not show up and cause problems. Showing up seems to be an issue for him at the moment.” Jackson grabbed another beer, thought better of it, and reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Grabbing two glasses with the other hand, he made his way toward the end of the dock and sat down beside her. The full skirt of her wedding gown was hiked up, showing off her legs and the hint of the garter belt she wore beneath. Her stockings, he noted, were still balled up in her fist, clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. “I hate to say it, and he picked a shitty way to go about it, but you dodged a bullet. Trevor’s an asshole.” Evie took the glass he extended to her and sniffed suspiciously at the amber liquid inside it. “I had reached that very same conclusion.” “Drink up. It’ll stop burning after the first couple of shots,” he offered helpfully. Evie downed the liquid and heat exploded in her gut. She coughed and her eyes watered. Eventually, the heat that was setting her on fire spread out and settled to a heavy warmth in her limbs. “Are you trying to kill me? Jesus!”

He chuckled. “Sorry. Don’t get much call for chardonnay out here. If it ain’t Bud Light or tequila, most folks aren’t that interested. Jack Daniels is the only halfway passable thing I have to drink...It would take too much beer to get you blitzed right now and I really hate pukers.” “Then you’re in the wrong business,” she said, holding her glass out for a refill. Jackson complied. “So what’s that damage?” “The damage is that my father just shelled out almost fifty grand for a wedding that didn’t happen. Trevor’s parents are beside themselves. My Aunt Lynnette and Uncle Bill are beside themselves too, because apparently Trevor didn’t decide that he didn’t want to get married.... He just decided he didn’t want to get married to me. So, he ran off with my cousin Lisa.” Jackson was momentarily impressed. Lisa Harper was a red haired bombshell and one he would have assumed was way out of Trevor’s league. To his knowledge, Lisa hadn’t dated anyone that didn’t have a six figure income, legitimately or not, since she’d graduated high school. “That’s not what I expected to hear... It isn’t much of a consolation, but he’ll regret it. Lisa Harper will chew him up and spit him out in record time. I imagine he’ll come crawling back to you soon enough.” “He can just keep crawling,” she said hotly. “Do you really think that I would have him back after this? Oh, I get it! I’m fat and therefore should be grateful for any male attention I get!”

Jackson held up his hands in mock surrender, “I never said that. I never once said that! If you don’t want him back, don’t take him back. I never thought he deserved you to begin with.” Evie felt the flush of embarrassment, accompanied by the heat of the alcohol. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just hear that a lot.” “Then stop listening because they’re fucking idiots. You look amazing. You always have.” She didn’t know if it was the whiskey, her wounded pride or the sincerity that she convinced herself was there in his voice, but Evie suddenly felt compelled to do the one thing she’d always dreamed of. She was going to seduce Jackson Cope. “I want you to teach me how to be bad.” “I don’t think so,” he said mildly. “Why not? I thought you liked the way I looked.” “I do like the way you look...and if you hadn’t been jilted at the altar and just consumed enough whiskey to fell the entire Ol’ Miss defensive line, I’d probably take you up on it.” Evie lay back on the dock, staring up at the blue sky and the wide expanse of his well muscled back. “Do you remember offering to teach me? It was the Memorial Day Picnic, when you and Trevor got into a fight. It was after you punched him in the face, but before they carted you to the gate. You said that if I ever got tired of being everybody’s good little girl, I should come and look you up. So, that’s what I’m doing… I’m

here because you offered to teach me how to be bad.” With each word she traced tiny circles on his bronzed back with her fingertips, loving the feel of his sun warmed skin. “I’m not your instrument of revenge. Yes, Trevor and I hate one another’s guts, but I’m not going to fuck you just to piss him off,” he said. Evie knew his language was chosen purposely. He wanted to make her angry. “I didn’t come to you because of Trevor. I came because you offered and according to the text message he sent me, if I was a better lay, he wouldn’t have had to run off with my slutty cousin. Since you’re the local sexpert, who better to give me lessons?” “So you want me to teach you the tricks to lure him back, is that it?” Evie shook her head, and the fluffy clouds overhead seemed to dance. She closed her eyes and allowed her fingers to trail along the waistband of his ancient jeans, her perfectly manicured nails scraping lightly over his skin. “I don’t want him back…but what if he’s right? What if—I’ve never been with anyone but Trevor, and it was awful. Every time, it was just awful.” The vulnerability of her voice, the slight quivering he heard pushed him over the edge. “It isn’t your fault. It’s his. He’s a selfish bastard and selfish people make horrible lovers,” he responded reasonably. “So teach me…show me what I’ve been missing,” she urged. Jackson knew he was in trouble then. While the rational part of his brain was telling him to run like hell, it was rapidly losing the battle with his cock, which was pulsing eagerly in his pants. He wouldn’t do that. She’d been dumped at the altar, jilted in front of the entire town. He doubted she was making rational decisions, but he had to know.

The question had haunted him from the first time Trevor had boasted of taking her to bed. He shifted slightly, coming down onto his side, laying beside her on the dock. “Did he ever make you come, Evie? Just one time?” “No,” she replied. “I thought maybe it was me but…” He knew what she’d been going to say. “But you never had that problem on your own?” Her answering blush as she nodded set him on fire. He’d wanted her forever, and Trevor had taken her just for spite. He could have this one afternoon where he taught her what it felt like to be well and truly loved. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers, tasting the whiskey they’d shared. She sighed into his mouth and he wanted to consume her. He deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding between her lips to slide sensuously over hers. The dress was too complicated to remove. If he did, he’d never get her back in it. He settled for touching her through the satin. He placed his hand on her ribs, moving in the same slow circles that she’d used to drive him crazy. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss and pulled back, staring down at her expectantly. “Here?” she asked, looking around with a hint of panic. He grinned, “You wanted to be bad, right? Part of being bad means taking risks.” Leaning closer, he whispered hotly against her ear, “Anyone could see us here... Your dress pulled up, my hands beneath it, moving between your thighs. Is that what you want?” Evie couldn’t respond. A whimper of sound escaped her and her hands fisted against his sides. He smiled, knowing that he had her. “I want to see your breasts.” It was a challenge, and it would tell him just how far she was willing to go. When her

trembling hands moved beneath the straps of her dress and she tugged the fabric down, he realized that she’d already turned the tables on him. The dress would only go so far, and the pink of her nipples was just visible above the embroidered neckline. Dragging his eyes away from her breasts which were barely contained in the lacy cups of whatever feminine confection she wore beneath that dress, he looked at her face. The uncertainty was there in her big, brown eyes; in the nervous way she chewed at her lower lip and in the blush that fanned over her high cheekbones. With her dark hair spilling about her creamy, white shoulders she’d never looked more beautiful, but she didn’t believe it. That had always been Evie’s problem. To her parents and to Trevor, she’d never been thin enough, never been good enough, and to him, she’d always been perfect. Reverently, he covered one lush mound with his hand, his callused fingers sliding over her soft flesh. Her nipple pebbled against his palm, the hard bud begging for attention. She moaned softly, her back arching up off the boards of the dock, pressing her breast more firmly into his hand. He lifted her breast and dipped his head to close his mouth over the furled peak. Swirling his tongue over it in gentle, soft strokes, he reveled in the sweet taste of her skin. But sweetness wasn’t what his Evie needed. Evie wanted to be bad. With that uppermost in his mind, he closed his teeth over her nipple, tugging gently. She screamed, not in pain, but in pleasure. Her hips moved against him, seeking. “Jackson! Oh, sweet lord,” she said. Lying there on the dock, in a dress that cost a small fortune, Evie would have let him rip it to shreds just to feel him against her skin. She wasn’t thinking about how big her ass was or how much she needed to tone her thighs. She wasn’t worried about her

rounded belly or the fact that she’d had to have her dress let out to accommodate the twenty pounds she’d gained while her mother and Trevor harped on her to diet. Her brain had simply ceased to function and all she could think about was how good it felt to have his hands on her, and his mouth. Dear sweet lord, the things he was doing with his mouth. Another rasp of his teeth on her other nipple and she screamed out again. The tiny thong panties she wore were soaked and he hadn’t even touched her between her legs yet. She felt his hand on her thigh and her body tensed. The doubts surfaced then, the fear that he would find her lacking. Evie shivered as much from anticipation as fear. “Let go, Evie,” he said, and his voice was firmer this time, with an edge to it that she didn’t recognize. “There’s no one here but us, and there’s nothing about you that isn’t perfect.” It was so perfect, and just what she needed to hear. Which only made her question the sincerity. “I can’t. This was a foolish thing for me to do... I’m not some seductress. Anyone could see us.” Jackson saw the doubt and fear in her eyes. It had nothing to do with him. It was the litany of complaints from others running through her head. “If you could see yourself the way I do, you would never say that. Haven’t you ever wanted to be watched? Or are you a watcher, Evie?” She shook her head. “No one wants to see the fat girl naked, Jackson.” “You’re voluptuous, curvy… Sexy as hell,” Jackson said, nuzzling the skin of her neck.

Her pink nipples grazed his chest, hardening into taut peaks. He inhaled the scent

of her. Evie always smelled of strawberries, but there was something else. He could smell the soft musk of her arousal. Whatever fears she had, she wanted him. “You don’t have to say that—” Rather than let her finish, Jackson planted his hands on the dock on either side of her head. It was an aggressive position. He had her pinned beneath him. He took her wrists in on hand, pinning her hands above her head. She gasped, her kiss swollen lips parting in invitation. He took them. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. He devoured her mouth. His teeth scraped against her lower lip sucking it into his mouth before he delved his tongue into the soft recesses. His tongue glided against hers in a sensual dance, until she mimicked the movement. He could have lost himself in that kiss, drowned in it. The taste of her was everything he’d ever imagined and more. As glorious as her mouth was, he wanted her breasts. Her pebbled nipples called to him. Trailing hot kisses down her neck, he dipped lower, until he could close his mouth over the dusky tip. Her soft moan hardened his aching cock even more. Jackson buried his face in the soft valley, savoring the softness of her skin and the weight of her breasts. Her hips bucked against him, moving rhythmically, seeking the release only he could provide her. He toyed with her breasts, teasing with his mouth, the bristle of his unshaven jaw marking her delicate skin, before turning his attention once again to her distended nipples. He devoured her breasts, sucking the taut peaks as deeply into his mouth as he could. Evie gasped and shuddered, but the forward thrust of her hips was confirmation that the rougher treatment was turning her on. He lavished that same

attention on her other breast, and by the time he was finished, Evie was moaning his name and pleading with him incoherently. “Tell me what you want, Evie,” he said. Beneath half shuttered lids, she met his gaze. Her lips were kiss swollen, exaggerating the natural pout. “I want you inside me” she said. “Oh, you’re not getting away with that. You tell me precisely what you want,” he said. “And use the dirtiest words you know.” Evie met his gaze, and with a boldness that shocked them both, she said, “I want you to fuck me. I want your cock inside me.” That statement went through him like a bolt of lightning. It rocketed straight to his aching cock and balls. His cock hardened ever more, which he hadn’t thought was possible.

He’d known Evie for nearly two decades and had never heard her curse.

Nonetheless, the words had a predictable affect. His balls tightened painfully, but he could not and would not take her. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anything in the world, but if he did it, he would hate himself. She was hurting and vulnerable. He could please her. He could worship her body and show her just how much pleasure she was capable of feeling, but he wouldn’t take any for himself. “Not today…not yet. Today, I’m going to feast on you.” Before Evie could even question what he meant, Jackson pulled her further up the dock and knelt between her thighs. She felt his breath, hot and damp on her mound, through the thin satin of her thong. He pressed his face against her, nuzzling her. Butterflies did nose dives in her stomach. Trevor had never done that for her. He’d always

acted as if the very idea was repulsive. Looking down into Jackson’s face, she saw the rapturous expression on his face as he inhaled her scent. When he kissed her she thought she would die. “Spread your legs for me,” he said. Nervously, Evie did as he asked, parting her thighs until he hooked her legs over his shoulders. She felt vulnerable and exposed. “Jackson, I don’t know about this.” He looked up at her, “I want to taste you. I watched you at the picnic when you were sitting under that big oak tree and Trevor had his head in your lap. I’d never been so jealous of him in my life. But I knew that if I had been where he was, I damned well wouldn’t have been napping.” Evie was stunned. “You thought about me that way?” It was time for confession. “Evie, I’ve thought about you that way since I was fourteen years old.” Evie didn’t get a chance to respond. Before she could even fully process the thought, his mouth was on her. He nudged aside the damp fabric of her thong and pressed his tongue inside her. The heat of his mouth and the sensual glide of his tongue along those delicate nerve endings made her moan. Her back arched and her hips thrust forward, meeting his questing mouth. Each pass of his tongue was more exquisite than the last, ratcheting the tension in her body to new heights. He moved lower, and then his tongue was thrusting into her, his whiskers rough against the soft inner lips of her sex. Jackson felt the trembling of her thighs against him. Her soft pants were interspersed with moans and low keening cries. Deliberately, he licked his way back up her

slit, nibbling softly, before flexing his tongue and flicking it against her clit. She gripped his head, her hands tugging at his hair as she called his name. He circled the hardened bud with his tongue. “Jackson, please!” He drove her to the edge, kept her hovering on the brink of orgasm until her head was thrashing from side to side and she was crying out incoherently. Closing his lips over her clit, he sucked it into his mouth. She screamed his name and he felt the little nub pulse against his tongue as she climaxed. Her thighs trembled and her belly quivered as she came for him. He continued the exquisite torment, licking, nibbling and sucking at her clit until one orgasm faded into the next. He withdrew his mouth from her still quivering cunt and pressed his body to hers, holding her in place. Kissing her parted lips, he shared the sweet taste of her desire. She kissed him back hungrily, her fingernails marking the skin of his back as she clutched at him. Jackson waited until her tremors ceased and then pulled her to a sitting position. When it seemed her legs would support her, he helped her to her feet before stepping back. “Go home while I still have the strength to let you. Think about this and if you still want me to teach you to be a bad girl, come to the house tomorrow.” Evie watched him walk away, her breath still ragged. Gingerly, she walked back up the dock. With each step, she could feel the aftershocks of pleasure coursing through her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she retreated, confused. She walked back to her car, unsure of exactly what had happened. What she did know for certain, was that she was coming back. Hell or high water, she wanted more of what he had just given her.

Chapter Two Evie came down the stairs the following morning only to face her mother’s disapproving stare. She’d let her apartment go in order to move into Trevor’s house, but that was obviously not going to happen. So, she was stuck at her parents’ home again, at least until she could find something better. “Is there a problem, mother?” she asked, though she truthfully had no interest in hearing an answer. Her mother always had a problem with her. “Where were you yesterday afternoon?” Margaret said, her tone huffy. “I just needed to be alone. I had a lot of things to think about. Then I ran into Jackson.” Margaret curled her lips disdainfully. “Of course, you did. Perhaps if you had paid as much attention to Trevor as you did to that lowlife he wouldn’t have left you!” “Margaret! That is uncalled for!” Evie looked up as her father walked in, scolding her mother. He rarely spoke up against his wife’s tirades. Evie never spoke out against her mother, but that comment had been uncalled for. “It’s true!” Margaret protested, though her voice remained cold. “She’s mooned over that white trash for years!” “Trevor left me because he has no honor. He lied, he cheated, and he ran like a coward and left me to face everyone alone…Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment to view an apartment,” Evie said, her voice quiet and resigned, revealing none of the hurt that she felt as she swept from the room, her fists clenched at her side. Her

father called after her and she paused at the foot of the stairs. He approached her cautiously, as if uncertain of her response. “Evangeline, I know your mother is hard on you at times, but she does love you. She is distraught over all this.” “No. She’s embarrassed socially. It offends her to be the object of gossip and pity because her fat daughter got jilted at the altar. I can’t live here and I refuse to apologize for what he did.” “I understand. If you need help with the apartment, you’ll let me know?” Touched, Evie leaned forward and kissed her father’s cheek. “Yes, Daddy. If I need help I will always come to you.” Leaving her father at the foot of the stairs, she went up to her old bedroom to pack her clothes. Most of her things were still at Trevor’s house. She was living out of the suitcase she’d packed for her honeymoon. Folding the lingerie, she was determined that it would not go to waste. She wondered which of the delicate items Jackson would prefer and then pushed that thought aside. It was too distracting. Once the suitcase was packed, she hefted it off the bed and down the stairs, where her father carried it out to her car. “Here, take this,” he said and pressed a check into her hand. “Daddy, I have money. I have a job,” she protested. “You work at that museum. You make next to nothing. Take the money. It’s expensive to start over.” Evie hugged him and kissed his cheek again. “Thank you, Daddy.”

He paused and then said, “You know, I don’t approve of Jackson Cope. He’s always been a bit wild, but I do know that he’s always been a good friend to you, so ignore what your mother says about him and do what makes you happy. She approved of Trevor and that was a disaster.” Evie laughed, “Are you giving me your blessing?” “I’m telling you to do what you need to do to be happy.” The conversation replayed in her mind an hour later as she walked through the tiny, box-like apartment. Everything in it was beige but it was in her budget. She hated it on sight. “I’m sorry. I was hoping for something that’s a little more unique.” The landlord smiled, “I understand. Maybe you ought to think about buying a house instead? With the market the way it is, and assuming you’ve got a halfway decent credit score, buying would make sense for you right now.” Evie considered his words. “I need a place right now, though.” “I’ve known your daddy forever. Why don’t you take the place for a month or two until you find something you like?” “Okay. That sounds great.” They completed the paperwork and he left the keys in Evie’s hands. She called a moving company and arranged to have her things moved from storage the following day. With that done, she left the apartment and headed for Jackson’s house. She had questions for him. Evie pulled her car into the small parking area outside the lake house that had been Jackson’s home since he came back to Gresham County after leaving his football

career behind.

Built in the low country style, the house was raised on pylons with wide

sweeping stairs going up the front and back of the house to a wraparound porch. Large Palladian windows caught the light reflecting off the water and winked at her as she made her way up the steps. Her low heeled sandals clicked on the wood, announcing her presence. Jackson stood in the open doorway as she reached the porch. He wore a pair of low slung jeans and white button down shirt. The shirt had been left open and her mouth went dry as she took in the well muscled chest and six pack abs lightly dusted with golden hair. The dusky bronze of his skin appeared even darker against the white fabric of the shirt. “I didn’t think you were coming,” he said. “I had to find a place to live first. If I had to spend one more night in my mother’s house I would probably have committed suicide.” He grinned, “Can’t say I blame you. Your father is a strong man.” “You really want to talk about my parents right now?” His smile faded. His expression transformed into something darker, feral as he disappeared into the house, leaving the door open. Taking a deep breath, Evie followed him inside and closed the door behind her. The sound echoed through the silent house. Glancing around the living room, Evie took in her surroundings. She hadn’t been in his house before. All of her interactions with Jackson had taken place in social settings. It wasn’t the bachelor pad she’d been expecting. It looked more like a featured home in a magazine with traditional furnishings but few personal touches. It was beautiful, but it

told her nothing about him. But the decor was hardly what held her attention. Jackson was standing next to a chaise upholstered in soft cream. “Are you sure you want to learn how to be a bad girl?” he asked. Evie nodded, “Very sure.” Jackson smiled enigmatically. “The first lesson in being bad is knowing how to take your punishment. Strip. I want you completely naked for this.” Her palms sweating and her mouth bone dry, Evie began to remove her clothes. She unbuttoned her blouse slowly and then shrugged it from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Shyness threatened, but a glance at his face and the intensity of his gaze upon her spurred her on. She then unzipped her tailored pencil skirt and shimmied her hips until it joined her blouse. Standing before him in only her bra and panties, she felt his eyes traveling over her. It should have made her nervous, but it didn’t. It excited her, she realized. She was eager to be naked in front of him. With trembling hands, she unhooked her bra and let it fall. Her breasts felt heavy and her nipples puckered under the weight of his stare. Hooking her thumbs beneath the elastic band of her panties, she slipped them over her hips and let them fall to the floor. “Now what?” He patted the chaise, “Over here, and on your knees.” Evie strolled leisurely to the chaise and settled onto it on her knees, facing him. “So what’s my punishment?” He avoided the question, “Put your hands on the back of the chaise.” Even in the stifling heat, Evie shivered. Hearing the cool command in his voice was an altogether new experience for her, but it was having an unanticipated effect on her

body. Reaching up she grasped the back of the chaise with her hands. She had to lean forward to do so, and she felt vaguely embarrassed that her bottom was now sticking up in the air, but that had apparently been his plan. He lifted a set of cuffs from the floor. They were black Velcro and were attached the legs of the chaise. When they were fastened around her wrists, she felt a spark of fear but it was balanced by a spark of desire. She watched from the corner of her eye as he walked behind her. His hands stroked over the pale globes of her ass, the touch soft and tender. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensation. Seconds later, Evie’s eyes flew open and she screamed. Jackson’s hand landed on her ass, the force of the blow stinging like nothing she had ever felt. “What are you doing?” “You made me wait. Now you have to pay for it,” he said, landing a blow on the other cheek. Evie’s ass was on fire. If she told him to stop, he would. She knew that. She considered her options. Yes, it had hurt, but there had been something more. As the burn settled into her tender flesh, it stoked another kind of heat inside her. She felt an answering burn low in her belly and a growing wetness between her thighs. Another stinging blow landed on her ass, lower this time, so that the slap radiated to the swollen lips of her cunt. A low moan escaped her and she knew then that she wouldn’t tell him to stop. She was going to beg for more. Jackson smacked each cheek again, loving the soft resilience of her flesh under his palms. “How bad do you want to be, Evangeline?” he asked, softly.

Evie glanced over her shoulder at him, meeting his intent gaze, “As bad as I can be.” Jackson slapped her ass again. He shrugged out of his shirt and shucked his jeans as she watched. Her soft gasp when his cock sprang free had him grinning. He stepped in front of her, his cock level with her face. “See something you like?” Evie could only nod. Jackson’s cock was long and thick, curving upwards toward his navel. The head glistened with pre-cum. “Oh, my goodness.” “That’s hardly the way a bad girl would react… Tell me how much you like my cock.” “It’s perfect.” “Say it,” he commanded. “Your cock is perfect,” she responded. “What do you want to do with my cock?” “I want to taste you.” Jackson stroked his cock from base to tip. The sight made Evie moan. When he stepped closer, she opened her mouth and traced the thick head of his cock with her tongue. She caressed each vein and ridge before closing her mouth over the tip, sucking him into her mouth. The salty taste was decadent and a small hum of pleasure escaped her, prompting an answering groan from him. His hands delved into her hair, tightening in the thick, sable strands as he angled her head to take more of him. Evie forced herself to relax, to allow her jaw to go slack, as he guided his cock deeper into her mouth. Eagerly, she closed her lips around him, pressing the sensitive head against the roof of her

mouth while she caressed the thick vein underneath with her tongue. A harsh curse hissed from between his clenched teeth. Looking up at him as she sucked his cock deep into her mouth, she watched him watch her. It was a heady experience and made the encounter even more intimate. She felt connected to him in that moment, in a way that she never had with anyone else. Evie focused all her attention on him. She watched his face, taking note of every shift of his expression, every sigh and groan, learning what he liked. Pulling back, she dipped her head lower, nuzzling his balls with her lips. The soft curse told her how much he enjoyed it. Gently, she licked and sucked at his scrotum until he pulled back from her. “This isn’t going to end that quickly,” he said. Evie sighed as he stepped away. She felt the cushions of the chaise dip as he moved behind her. His hand dipped between her legs, cupping her sex. Callused fingers slid gently along her damp slit, probing for entrance. He pressed inside her, stroking in and out, filling her with gentle pressure. “You’re so wet for me,” he murmured. “So tight. What do you want, Evie?” “I want you inside me,” she said. “I am inside you. You have to be more specific,” he said, his voice gently challenging. “I want your cock inside me, Jackson. Please.” He slapped her ass with his other hand, his fingers still buried inside her. Evie moaned at the intensity of the feeling. She whimpered as he withdrew his hands from her, but when he gripped her hips and nudged the head of his cock at her entrance, she

sighed with relief. With her hands still bound, she bent her elbows and dropped her forehead onto the chaise, lifting her ass higher against him. His cock slid into her, slowly, stretching and filling her. She cried out as he pressed deeper. He didn’t stop until she felt his balls pressed against her clit. “Oh, my god.” “How do you want it, Evie? Slow and easy are hard and fast?” “Hard and fast. Just fuck me!” she said, desperate for him. Jackson withdrew his cock, the walls of her pussy clutching at him. He bit back a groan at the sight of his cock coated with her juices. His fingers tightened on the soft flesh of her hips, gripping her tightly. When only the head of his cock remained inside her, he thrust forward, slamming his cock back into her welcoming heat. She screamed, her hips jerking against him. He drove into her again and again, until sweat drenched them both and she was trembling beneath him. Her voice had grown hoarse from her cries. He snaked one arm around her waist, his fingers moving unerringly to the hard bud of her clit. He flicked it, stroked it with his fingers as he surged into her again. Her body tightened around him even further, and her breath came in short, harsh pants. Her thighs trembled. He thrust again and her clit pulsed under his fingers, the walls of her pussy rippling around his cock. He hadn’t intended to come yet, but the sensation of her sheath spasming around him was more than he could withstand. With his hand at the small of her back, he pressed down, angling her hips to take him even deeper, and thrust again. His balls drew tight and with two quick, deep strokes, his cock jerked inside her, twitching as spurt after spurt of cum exploded from him.

He should have pulled out. It was a risk they couldn’t afford to take, but he simply didn’t have the will. It felt so good to be inside her. It was primal, elemental. It was the fulfillment of every erotic fantasy he’d had about her for the last fifteen years. He didn’t even withdraw immediately. When she collapsed onto the chaise, her knees no longer able to support her, he followed her down, curving around her body. He left his cock inside her until it softened and slipped from her. Though it took more effort than he felt capable of, he reached up and loosened the ties at her wrists, freeing her hands. With her mobility restored, she snuggled against him and he closed his arms around her. “That was lesson one,” he said, smiling contentedly. Evie smiled back at him. “How many lessons are there?” “Enough to keep us both busy for a while. Not all of the lessons are like this.” Evie raised herself up on one elbow, “What are they like then?” He tugged her back down so that her head was on his shoulder, her silky hair spilling around them and his arm curled around her until his hand rested on the curve of her hip. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” They lay there for some time, but as the sun began to set, the room grew cooler and Evie began to shiver. “I should go.” “Back to your parents’?” he asked incredulously. “I can’t. I mean, I can, but I won’t. Maybe I’ll go to a hotel,” she said, tangling her fingers in his chest hair. “Or you could stay here and spend the night with me,” he said, kissing her shoulder and working his way toward her neck.

Evie sighed, her fingers trailing over his rock hard abs. “I don’t have any clean clothes for tomorrow. I left my suitcase locked in my office at work.” He chuckled. “That’s lesson number two…Every bad girl has to know how to do the walk of shame.” “The walk of shame?” “Umm hmm,” he said, nuzzling her neck, then nipping it with his teeth. “You’ll be leaving here tomorrow morning with your panties in your purse and nothing but cool morning air covering that sweet pussy.” Evie smiled and then let him talk her into it.

Chapter Three Evie’s cell phone rang from the bottom of her purse as she worked on the museum’s payroll. Though she technically had the week off for her honeymoon, she’d decided she’d rather work. If not, she’d only go back to Jackson’s and do something shameful again. Pushing that thought aside, she opened the bag and carefully extricated the phone, blushing at the silk thong that lay crumpled at the bottom of her very ladylike

purse. Jackson had insisted that a true walk of shame required that her panties leave the house in her handbag. It had felt incredibly decadent to walk down Main Street in her proper skirt, without any panties on underneath it. The smile that thought had prompted faded immediately when she glanced at the screen of her phone. It was Trevor calling her. She debated whether to answer, but in the end, she simply couldn’t help herself. “Hello.” “Listen, babe, we need to talk.” Cold fury swept through her. “No, Trevor. We needed to talk before you failed to show up for our wedding. Now, I can’t imagine that there’s all that much left to say to one another.” He sighed into the phone and the sound irritated her even further. “Look, Evie, I know I messed up, but we need to talk about this.” “We really don’t. If you want to have a conversation, I suggest you have it with Lisa since she’s apparently been warming your bed for the past few months,” Evie replied before hitting the button to end the call. She had never hung up on anyone in her life. It was a strangely satisfying experience. When the phone rang again, she didn’t even bother to look at it. She simply answered it and said something she would never have dreamed of saying in public before the events of the last seventy-two hours. “Trevor, fuck off!” The answering chuckle made her groan. “I’m sorry, Jackson. I thought it was Trevor calling back.” “So, I gathered… I’m in the lobby of the bank across the street. I was calling to ask you to have lunch with me.”

“Lunch sounds amazing. It also sounds a lot like a date. You really want to be seen with your cousin’s jilted fiancee?” she asked. “Honey, if we make it through lunch without me fucking you on the counter of the diner, it’ll be a miracle. Yes, I’m sure.” Her stomach did the little flip that only he seemed to inspire. She also felt a telling dampness between her thighs. That he could do that to her with just a word amazed her.

“I’ll meet you at the diner.” “I’ll pick you up. I expect you to slide all the way across the seat of my truck and

sit so close to me that nobody looking at us would ever think it’s a platonic lunch between friends... It’s only fun to be bad, Evie, when someone knows you’re bad.” A little thrill went through her at the thought. “Alright. I’m ready for the fallout if you are.” Ten minutes later, Evie was in the cab of Jackson’s vintage Chevy. She’d slid all the way across the bench seat and was sitting there with her hip pressed against his and his arm around her shoulders. As they drove through town, heading to the diner out on Highway 10, there were more than a few double takes. The gossips would be blowing up her mother’s phone before they took their first bite. “It’s lunch, darlin’. Not a firing squad.” Evie shrugged. “I was just thinking about my mother.” “Well, don’t. It’ll spoil your appetite,” he said, as he eased the truck into park. “Don’t even think about reaching for that door handle. You wait for me.”

Evie smiled as Jackson walked around the truck to open the door for her. Bad boy he might be, but he was still a southern gentleman. Her smile was fixed in place when they walked into the cafe and met the curious stares of the other patrons. They made an odd pair, she knew. In terms of looks, Evie knew that she was just ordinary. She’d listened to people tell her all her life that she had such a pretty face, if only she’d lose weight. Meanwhile, Jackson was like a Greek God. Adonis or possibly Apollo, she thought, with his golden good looks. They took a seat in one of the back booths and ordered their lunch. Jackson raised his eyebrow at her when she asked for a salad. “It’s what I want. I’m not eating it because I’m dieting. It just sounded good.” Jackson clasped her hand atop the table. She wasn’t sure if it was because he truly didn’t care that others were watching them or if it was because he wanted to make a point. “It was bad enough that Trevor swooped in and stole you right out from under me. What really stung was watching the way he treated you. It made me mad as hell every time I heard him say something snide about your weight. You don’t have to change anything for me.” Evie didn’t answer immediately, since the waitress picked that moment to return with their drinks. When she’d walked away, Evie asked, “What does all this mean, Jackson? Are we dating, are we a couple, or are we just friends with benefits?” He shrugged. Answering questions about how he truly felt about Evie was not something he had any intention of doing. At least not for a while. “We’re a couple...definitely a couple. While we’re together, I won’t be with anyone else. If you

decide you want someone else, just say the word. I don’t know where this is going, Evie. But I like where we’re at right now. Don’t you?” She nodded. “So, I guess we just take it as it comes then.” He leaned in closer, “Evie, you’ve only ever been with one other man besides me, and he apparently wasn’t that much of one. I want you to enjoy this, to experiment and figure out what you like. The rest of it will work itself out.” Evie shrugged, “I just worry. Two days ago I was engaged to Trevor and now I’m here with you. What will people think of me?” “You’re a bad girl, remember? You don’t care what people think about you,” he said mildly. A grin split his face as he added, “And if you’re getting cold feet, just think about how much it will piss your mother off when she finds out you were having lunch with me.” Sputtering the sweet tea she’d just sipped, Evie’s eyes watered from coughing. “Oh, that does not help at all. She hates you!” “Bad girl,” he reminded her. “Dating men your mother hates is a requirement.” They continued their lunch in the same vein, talking about nothing. Jackson teased her unmercifully and she found herself enjoying his company much as she had before permanently altering the nature of their relationship. It was a dangerous thing. Liking him too much would only lead to heartache. After they finished their meals, Jackson returned her to her office at the museum. “I’ll pick you up tonight at seven. I’ll call you at six thirty with instructions,” he said with a wink.

“Instructions for what?” He didn’t answer, just smiled wolfishly and then drove away. Evie gritted her teeth and went inside the building. She hated surprises like that. “O-M-G! Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were doing Jackson Cope?” Evie grimaced at the sound of her best friend’s voice. Cass Blakely was loud and obnoxious, and other than Evie’s weight and Jackson Cope, the only thing she and her mother had ever fought about. Margaret had considered Cass to be white trash and crass. Cass considered herself to be the same things, only she took pride in it. “Because I wasn’t doing him, as you so eloquently put it, the last time I saw you.” Cass settled herself onto the small couch in Evie’s office, propping her stiletto clad feet on the small coffee table. “He’s hung like a bull, isn’t he? I’ve always been dying to know.” Evie frowned, “You mean you and he have never...?” Cass laughed, “Not for lack of trying on my part. Hell, I can’t count the number of times I’ve thrown myself at him. He’s always turned me down gently and sweetly as possible...so damn nice I leave the bar wondering who rejected who. Guess I know why now... Seems our resident stud has a thing for curvy brunettes.” Evie shrugged, “I wouldn’t say that. I sort of threw myself at him.” Cass rolled her eyes and tossed her flaming red hair over her shoulder, “Find me a woman in town who hasn’t thrown herself at Jackson Cope! Trust me, girlfriend, that man can afford to be picky... If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in his bed, it’s because he wants you there. Now, dish! I want all the details.” Evie blushed furiously, “I am not discussing the details of my sex life with you!”

Cass laughed, “It must be really good then! Just tell me his cock is huge!” Evie didn’t have to answer. Her expressions had always made her an open book. Cass’s squeal of delight was deafening in the small room. “For the love of God! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know! Just don’t make that noise again!” For the next hour, Evie was interrogated about even the most minute detail of her sex life. Rehashing every delicious, scintillating moment of her encounters with Jackson did more than embarrass her. By the time, Cass left the office and headed for home, Evie was wet and aching, thinking of just how wonderful it had felt to have Jackson’s cock sliding into her. Glancing at the clock on her desk, she noted that it was nearly four. If she left the office, she’d have time to run to the mall and pick up a few things. Exiting the museum, she stepped out into the small parking lot and approached her car. Her steps faltered as she neared it and saw Trevor getting out of his well polished Volvo. He looked tidy and perfectly pressed in his khakis and polo shirt. His hair was perfectly groomed, but there was tension in his face and dark circles beneath his eyes. “Evie, we need to talk.” “I have nothing to say to you, Trevor. You left me at the altar. Literally. If that isn’t a clear indication that our relationship wasn’t working, I don’t know what is,” Evie said briskly as she walked past him. She was unprepared when his hand gripped her elbow and yanked her back. His grip on her arm was hard and bruising. “Don’t walk away from me when I am talking to you! Dammit, Evie! It isn’t like that!” “You’re hurting me,” she said, her voice coming out between clenched teeth.

He glanced down, seeming surprised by the fact that he had put his hands on her. He let go so abruptly that she stumbled, her hip connecting painfully with the side mirror of her car. “Evangeline,” he said, and his tone had become placating. Whenever Trevor had been annoyed with her and felt the need to bring her around to his way of thinking, he’d used that same patronizing tone. “What happened was unfortunate, but it was never my intent to not go through with the wedding.” “So you accidentally ran off with my cousin whom you’ve been fucking?” He gaped at her, having never heard her speak that way. “I understand that you’re angry,” he finally managed. “That’s fine. Be as mad at me as you want to be for as long as you need to be. When you’re ready, we’ll get married. Quietly, this time. No big wedding.” “I’m not going to marry you, Trevor.” He smiled, “Of course, you will. Let’s face it, Evie. I screwed up, yes, but you don’t have that many other options.” Only two days earlier that statement would have had her sobbing in the bathroom. But not anymore. Not only did she now realize that it was possible for other men to be attracted to her, she also fully understood what had been missing from her relationship with Trevor. She’d never wanted him. Not really. She’d settled for him because she thought she couldn’t do any better. “No, Trevor. My options are wide open, and even if they weren’t, I still would have you back.”

“The thing with Lisa was just a fling...a drunken mistake, Evie. It will never happen again.” “I really don’t care. That’s why I am surprisingly okay with what you did, Trevor. When I realized that the only thing I felt when you didn’t show up was embarrassment...not heartbreak, not even anger, just a little wounded pride, I realized that you’d actually done me a huge favor. So go fuck Lisa... Fuck any woman you want to. But it won’t be me. Ever again.” Trevor’s expression twisted, transforming into something dark and ugly. “You’ll come crawling and beg me to take you back.” “Really? Cause it seems to me that you’re the one chasing after me at the moment. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time.” Evie moved towards the car door, but as she unlocked and pulled it open, Trevor’s hand slammed against the upper part of the door, forcing it closed again and throwing her once more off balance. He was standing behind her, pinning her to the car. A frisson of fear went through her. Trevor had always been arrogant and he’d been childish when things hadn’t gone his way. She’d never been afraid of him before, however. “You’re going to move in with me. We’re going to go back to things the way they were before and when things have settled down again, we’ll get married,” he said. Fear motivated her to placate him. “Trevor, I need time to think about all this. Two days ago you left me for another woman.”

It was apparently the right approach to take with him. He backed off and said, “You’re right. I’ve hurt you and I need to be more patient. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll talk about it.” “All right,” she said, and opened the door. He made no move to stop her that time, but her hands trembled as she fitted the key into the ignition. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she drove away. She didn’t go home immediately, but headed directly to the police station. When she left it twenty minutes later, she was bitterly disappointed and more than a little shocked at how ineffective the laws were. He hadn’t threatened her, and the small bruises on her arm would only garner the smallest, most trivial assault charges for which he would probably get a fine and nothing else. Disgusted, Evie drove to her new apartment and once safely inside, locked all the doors behind her. It was just after six when Jackson called. A hot shower and a glass of wine had gone a long way towards easing Evie’s nerves. She should have been unpacking and arranging the furniture that the movers had dropped off, but she simply didn’t have the heart for it. Seeing Jackson’s name on her phone brought a smile to her lips. “What are you wearing?” His gruff question had her smile stretching into a grin. On a light chuckle, Evie asked, “Seriously? That’s the line you’re going to use?” “Not a line. Just answer the question,” he said. “Right now, I’m wearing a towel.” She thought she heard an answering groan, but he quickly reverted to character. “Get the denim skirt you wore to the picnic. Put it on with a pair of high heels. The sexiest bra you own and a white tank top. No panties.”

Evie shivered as he delivered his instructions coolly. “And where will I be going?” “You’re going to walk into Tiny’s Bar and you’re going to pick me up... In front of everyone. You are going to throw yourself at me, and when we walk out of that bar tonight, everyone will know what we’re going to be doing.” It was her most secret fantasy. She’d never told anyone that, not even Cass. Evie had dreamed of walking into the local bar and playing the sex bomb. Could she go through with it? Did she have a choice? “Seven,” he said, “Not a minute later.”

Chapter Four Slightly less than an hour later, Evie was sitting in the parking lot of Tiny’s Bar wondering why the hell she hadn’t protested Jackson’s autocratic demands. She knew the answer, of course. She wanted him bad enough to put up with just about anything, in-

cluding his arrogance and his crappy taste in night life. Of course, the options were limited. Even though it was a dive by most people’s standards, other than Jackson’s marina which was only open on the weekends, it was the only nightspot in town. Giving her appearance one final check in the rearview mirror, Evie climbed out of her car, feeling very self conscious given the length of her skirt and the lack of panties. She’d never been to Tiny’s before, she realized. The doorman did a double take when he saw her, but waved her in anyway. It wasn’t like he really needed to see her ID in a town where everyone knew everyone else’s name, age, date of birth and shoe size. Stepping into the dim interior, Evie surveyed her surroundings nervously. Neon beer lights seemed to cover every available wall space that wasn’t covered by fake boobs and autographed dollar bills. Several men were playing darts and a few couples were on the small dance floor. Scanning the patrons that were seated at the bar, she noted that Jackson was not amongst them. She headed in that direction regardless, as she needed the fortification of a little Irish courage. “A shot of Jack Daniel’s, please,” she said to the bartender. Other than a raised eyebrow, he didn’t outwardly respond. “You wanna pay now or start a tab?” Evie withdrew a bill from her purse and placed it on the bar. “Another shot,” she said, as she picked up the first glass. She took a deep breath and then downed the liquid. Somehow, she didn’t cough, though it burned like the devil going down. The second one went down easier, and a languid warmth spread through her, settling the jangled nerves. She didn’t think it was her imagination that everyone in the place was staring at her. The

weight of their gazes was tangible. Turning her back to the bartender, Evie scanned the crowd again and noted the pool tables in the far corner. Jackson was leaning over the table to take a shot, but his eyes were on her. Evie smiled and leaned back on her elbows. The pose thrust her breasts forward, and she could feel the denim of her skirt inching up her legs to expose even more of her thighs. The five inch heels of her impulse buy, black, Jessica Simpson stilettos made her feet ache, but even the brief glance in the mirror before she’d left the house had told her that they made her legs look amazing. As Jackson’s gaze traveled over her body, she knew that he thought so too. She could feel his appreciation. With a smile, she rose to her full height and crossed the bar to the pool tables. “Hello, stranger,” she said, stroking her hand along the scarred wood of the table’s rails. “Hello, yourself,” he replied, smoothly. “Slumming?” She smiled, turning her attention toward Jackson’s opponent. Reed Harrison was a prominent attorney in town, but from a working class background. He smiled at her and offered her a wink. She laughed and looked back at Jackson, “So who’s winning?” “I would say it’s definitely me,” he responded. Reed snorted from the other end of the table. “I’ve kicked your ass at this game.” Jackson’s eyes never left Evie’s as he said, “Who the hell is talking about the game?”

Evie stepped closer to Jackson and closed her hand around the cue he held. Idly she stroked her fingers up and down the polished wood, “It looks pretty complicated. Maybe you could give me a lesson?” Jackson chuckled, “Think you can bend over in that skirt?” Evie looked over her shoulder at Reed, “I can trust you to be a gentleman and not take a peek, can’t I, Reed?” He cleared his throat nervously, “Well, of course. Absolutely.” “Rack ‘em, Reed,” Jackson said. While Reed saw to that task, Jackson led Evie to the head of the table. He placed the cue in her hands, positioning her fingers around the stick. “Hold it firmly but not tightly, let it glide between your fingers.” Evie knew he was not talking about the game. “Soft hands and a gentle touch?” Reed swallowed convulsively at the other end of the table. “I need a beer. An ice cold beer.... Maybe I ought to get you all some too.” Evie smiled, “It’s definitely hot in here, but I don’t think a beer is what I need to cool me down.” “Beer. A whole bucket of it. Maybe on ice,” Reed muttered, as he walked away. Jackson chuckled, his breath ruffling her hair and skittering over the delicate shell of her ear. “You’re a natural at this bad girl business,” he said. “You’ve got poor Reed so hot and bothered he’s all but twitching.” “That’s nice. How hot and bothered are you?”

Jackson pressed his hips against the lush curve of her ass. His cock was rock hard and pulsing behind the straining fly of his jeans. “Burning up, darlin’. But that only makes it sweeter.” Turning “So what does a girl have to do exactly to pick up the much sought after Jackson Cope?” Jackson helped her line up the shot, “You’re doing a damn good job of it without any inside info.” Evie arched her spine, thrusting her bottom against Jackson’s crotch, as she let the cue slide forward between her fingers, sending the other balls scattering across the tables felted surface. “Is that so? You know, Jackson, I’m a pretty good pool player, already. I don’t need any lessons there.” Jackson surveyed the table top, “I’d say that’s true. All you have to do to get us out of here, Evie, is show everyone in this bar how much you want me.” Evie laid the cue on the table and turned so that she stood in the circle of Jackson’s arms. In her stilettos, they stood eye to eye and their bodies were perfectly aligned. “How do I do that?” Reed returned then. “We’re not going to finish this game, are we?” Both Evie and Jackson ignored him. Evie ran her hands over Jackson’s chest, over his broad shoulders and slid them into the hair at the nape of his neck. With an insistent tug, she pulled him forward until their lips touched. His hands slid over her hips to grip her waist. It was a soft kiss at first, just the slight brushing of her lips against his, but Evie grew bolder. She knew that everyone was looking, but she simply didn’t care.

Opening her lips over his, she deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue seductively over his bottom lip. She didn’t rush or hurry. She kissed him slowly, languorously, letting the heat build between them. His hands slid from her waist, down to cup her ass and she smiled against his mouth before breaking the kiss. “You really walked in here without a stitch on under that skirt, didn’t you?” he said incredulously. “Dance with me,” she said. He didn’t need to be asked twice. Tucking her hand into his, he pulled her towards the dance floor just as an old Otis Redding song came on the ancient jukebox. He pulled her into his arms. Hip to hip and chest to chest, he led her around the dance floor in a slow, seductive rhythm. Their bodies moved in perfect unison as they swayed to the music. When the song ended, Evie took Jackson’s hand and walked towards the door. If anyone at the bar questioned whether or not they were already lovers, no one doubted that they would be before the night was through. Outside in the night air, Jackson took a deep breath to steady himself. He hadn’t really expected Evie to be that bold. Maybe in his wildest fantasies, he’d thought about it. The reality was far better than anything he could have imagined. Of course, there would be hell to pay the next day, but it was well worth it. “Let’s take my truck. I’ll bring you back for your car in the morning,” he said. “Would that have anything to do with that bench seat you have?”

It did. It also had something to do with the sleeping bags in the bed of the truck and the fact that he had no intention of taking her to his house. “Let’s just say that I have a couple of surprises in store for you.” Evie laughed, “I like the sound of that.” Once in the truck, Jackson drove them far out of town, pulling the truck off the road and into the middle of a field. The farm had been fallow for years, so he had no concerns about being shot for trespassing. Climbing out of the truck, he turned and helped Evie. “Those shoes are sexy as hell, but you’re going to break your neck in them.” “Well, truthfully, I hadn’t really planned on being vertical when I wore them.” “Fuck, you’re killing me,” he groaned as he lowered the tailgate. Rather than have her climb up, he closed his hands about her waist and lifted her into the truck bed. “Now scoot back, and please try not to wreck the bed with those lethal heels.” “You’re worried about the paint job on your truck bed. Seriously?” He shrugged, “I love my truck.” Climbing into the truck bed beside her, Jackson spread out the sleeping bags, forming a thick pallet for them to lay on. He also produced two candles in silver pails. While it looked romantic, they served a far more practical purpose. He wanted Evie naked under the stars, but he didn’t want either of them to suffer a million mosquito bites in the process. Lighting the citronella candles, he placed them on the tailgate. “Now, strip.” It didn’t even dawn on her to protest at the autocratic command since it meshed perfectly with her own desires. She wanted nothing more than to feel his hands on her

bare skin. Tugging the white tank top over her head, she revealed the sheer, lacy bra beneath. With the moon and stars shining brightly above, she knew Jackson could see her clearly. Even in the dim light, she could see his eyes darken with desire. Reaching behind her, Evie unhooked the clasp of her bra and slid her arms free of the straps. She didn’t let the garment drop, however. She brought her hands up quickly, cupping the lace over breasts, her fingers framing her puckered nipples. Knowing that he was watching, she circled her fingertips over the hardened nubs, the rough texture of the lace only heightening the sensation. “You have no idea how gorgeous you are,” he said. The sight of her hands cupping the generous mounds of her breasts, her fingers with her perfectly manicured nails playing with her nipples was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. Boldly, Evie moved her hands away, allowing the bra to fall to her lap and her breasts to spill free. With a trembling sigh, she unbuttoned her skirt and shimmied it over her hips, when it reached her knees, Jackson took hold of it and pulled it off her completely, until she sat there in the bed of his truck wearing nothing but a pair of black stiletto heels. Laying back against the sleeping bags, she looked up at the sky and allowed him to look his fill at her. The heat of the night air closed about them as Jackson removed his own clothes. Stripping off his T-shirt and jeans, he joined her on the sleeping bags and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply, hungrily. His tongue tangling with hers and his teeth scraping at her lip. There was a weight to their touches, an intimacy and a longing that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t about being fun or naughty. It wasn’t about fulfilling

basic physical needs. It was something more. It was nebulous and fragile and neither one would damage it by speaking of it, but it was there between them nonetheless. Evie sighed and tipped her head back as Jackson’s lips skated along her jaw and down the column of her neck. Looking up at the blanket of stars overhead, the bed of his old truck was possibly the most romantic place she’d ever been. Her hands skated across the broad expanse of his back, reveling in the firm muscle and smooth skin. The heat of his body was scorching. His mouth moved over her skin with purpose and when he finally reached her aching nipples, Evie arched her back, offering the soft mounds of her breasts up to him. His closed his hands over the generous globes, kneading the flesh gently, bringing the taut peaks alternately to his lips. With gentle nips of his teeth and the languorous glide of his tongue over the engorged buds, Evie was writhing against him. He closed his mouth over one nipple and suckled deeply, ratcheting the intensity of the sensation. “Oh, god! Jackson, please! I need you inside me,” she whimpered, her soft cries echoing in the darkness. Unable to resist, Jackson parted her thighs and slid one hand over the mound of her sex. His fingers traced the damp slit before easing inside, strumming her clit with a slow, easy rhythm. With the stars and moon shining overhead, illuminating her pale skin and the waves of her dark hair spilling around them, Jackson thought she looked like a goddess. He moved his hand, sliding lower, using his thumb to maintain the unrelenting assault on her throbbing clit, he slid two fingers into her tight sheath. Her body clenched around him immediately, the honeyed walls of her sex pulsing around the invading digits,

pulling them in even deeper. A harsh moan escaped her parted lips. Hooking his fingers lightly, curling them forward, he found the little bundle of nerves that would drive her over the edge and beyond. Stroking her clit and G-spot simultaneously, Jackson watched as the pleasure overtook her. Her breath became labored, her thighs and belly quivered and her hands clutched desperately at the sleeping bags beneath them. The soft cries became louder and more insistent. “Come for me, Evie. Let me watch you,” he said, and slid a third finger into her sheath, stretching her, filling her completely. He felt the first shudders as they wracked her body, watched the tension gather in her face and recede. The rhythmic pulsing of her sweet pussy receded as well, and reluctantly, he withdrew his fingers from the welcoming heat of her core. Slick with the cream of her desire, he brought them to her lips and deposited some of the nectar there before leaning forward to kiss her and reclaim it. “I need you,” she moaned. “I need to feel you moving inside me.” Jackson’s gut clenched, his balls tightened until they ached. Moving between her parted thighs, he guided his engorged cock to her entrance. Nudging the head inside, he paused for a moment to savor the wet, welcoming heat. “Look at me, Evie. I want to see it in your eyes when I take you.” Evie met his gaze. It was unbearably intimate. Looking into his eyes while he slid into her body was almost as intimate as feeling his hard length penetrating her own yielding flesh. His hands slid up her arms, until he reached her hands. His large fingers twined with hers as he rocked his hips, delving deeper inside her. She wanted to close

her eyes, to throw her head back and give herself over to the sensation. But she didn’t. She kept her eyes on his, locked together, reflecting their pleasure and their need back to one another. Sweat glistened on his body. Each stroke of his cock inside her was slow and measured, a steady climb to that precipice. Needing more, craving more of him, Evie hitched her thighs up over his hips and locked her heels at the small of his back. The slight change in the angle of her hips allowed him to thrust deeper, to take her higher. Her body shuddered violently as the orgasm built inside her. Every muscle tensed, coiled for the release that was almost within reach. “You’re so hot for me, so tight,” he said, his voice raspy with desire. “Nothing has ever felt as good as sliding my cock into your sweet pussy.” Those words pushed Evie over the edge, sent her hurtling into the stratosphere as her body quivered. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed inside her, her sheath rippling around his invading cock, until he couldn’t hold back either. He thrust into her again, quick, short thrusts. He buried his face against her neck as his hot semen jetted inside her. Reluctant to let him go, Evie kept her legs locked around him until they ached. He seemed to be in no hurry to leave, so he stayed there, nuzzling her neck, placing feather soft kisses on her sweat slicked skin.

Chapter Five Jackson awoke the next morning satisfied and replete. He had convinced Evie to stay in that field with him, to sleep naked under the stars. A smile curved his lips thinking about prim and proper Evie sleeping naked in a truck bed in the middle of a fallow cotton field. He stretched, feeling muscles protest and was reminded that he wasn’t nineteen anymore. Rolling onto his side, he propped himself up on his elbow to look at the woman who had him acting like a horny teenager. Evie was curled up on her side, her dark hair a wild tangle around both of them. The upper swells of her breasts were visible above the edge of the sleeping bag, and even sated as he was, the site had an effect on him. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her arm and frowned. Taking a closer look, Jackson noted the dark bruises on her upper arm. An ugly suspicion formed in his mind, and experimentally, he placed his hand over the bruises, noting they were perfectly aligned with fingerprints. “What are you doing?” Evie’s sleepy, morning voice was one of the sexiest, most arousing things he’d ever heard. Of course, there wasn’t much about Evie that he didn’t find arousing. “I just noticed the bruises on your arm. I didn’t do that, did I?” Evie sighed and rolled to her back, looking up at the dawn streaked sky. “No, you didn’t. I had an ugly confrontation with Trevor outside the museum yesterday.”

The fury that swept through him was surprising in its intensity. He had a temper like anyone, if pushed far enough and hard enough, he’d get mad. But as a general rule, Jackson was content to simply be a smart ass. That he wanted to actually kill Trevor for touching her surprised him. “What about?” he finally managed to ask. “Apparently, Trevor feels that things should just go back to the way they were before and I should be grateful that he’s willing to. He didn’t like it when I didn’t fall in line with his plans,” she said simply. “I went to the police, but its a joke. He didn’t threaten me, and yes he grabbed my arm, but that’s such a minor offense it isn’t even worth pressing charges for.” She noted Jackson’s response. The clenching of his jaw and the chill in his eyes did not bode well. “Has he ever done anything like this before? Has he ever hurt you?” “Jackson, do not go off half cocked about this. It was an isolated event. The only danger I experienced in my relationship with Trevor was the possibility of being bored to death. I don’t know what yesterday was about other than the fact that Trevor realizes how negatively all of this could impact his precious image and now he’s trying to put it right.” “I don’t give a damn what his motivation is, Evie. He left bruises on you!” Evie was saved from responding by the sudden appearance of a blue light and the short wail of a siren. She was engulfed in a maelstrom of panic and mortification as she recognized the voice of the local sheriff. “There some reason you’re parked in the middle of a field that doesn’t belong to you, Cope?”

Evie heard the mild epithet that Jackson muttered, which was quickly followed by a brief explanation. “Just came out to look at the stars last night, Sheriff. Fell asleep here in the bed of the truck.” “You drunk, Cope?” “No, sir. I had a single beer at Tiny’s while I was playing pool, but left after that,” Jackson said. He felt his gut tightening as the sheriff continued to walk closer, “Sheriff, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t walk any closer. I’m not exactly by myself here.” “Who the hell is in there with you?” the man demanded angrily. Jackson reached for his T-shirt and tossed it to Evie, knowing that it would be the quickest thing for her to put on. Even then, it was no easy task laying flat in the bed of the truck. When she finally managed to get the thing on, she sat up and pushed her tangled hair back. “Good morning, Sheriff Dobbs.” The look on the middle aged man’s face would have been comical had Evie not been thinking about the fact that it would be all over town before breakfast that she’d been buck naked in the back of Jackson’s truck in the middle of a field. When the sheriff regained his composure, he made a snorting noise that might have passed for a laugh. “You sure didn’t let any grass grow under your feet, did you, girl?” “Sheriff, this is more than a little bit embarrassing, so--” “Well, the truth of the matter is, Evangeline Harper, it’s a bit more than just embarrassing. It’s also illegal. You’re trespassing on private property, and then there’s the

little matter of public indecency...but seeing as how this is your first offense, I reckon we can let matters slide a bit.” Evie let out a shuddering breath of relief. That was something at least. It might not stop the gossip, but at least she wouldn’t have to ask her father for bail money. “Thank you, Sheriff.” “Now, I’m gonna get out here. Y’all are gonna get dressed and then skedaddle. Next time y’all decide to have a romantic evening, rent a motel room like normal folks, you hear?” “Yes, sir,” Jackson responded and watched as the man slid behind the wheel of his car and drove away with a cheerful salute. “Well, do you think it will be before or after lunch that your mother shows up at your office?” Evie put her head in her hands and groaned. It was going to be a nightmare. Trevor would hear, of course, and then he’d be on a tear. Her mother would be impossible and she didn’t even want to think about what her Daddy would say. She reached for her skirt and struggled into it. Finding her scattered clothes and dressing as quickly as possible, she said, “Just take me to my car so I can get home and start battening down the hatches. This is not going to go well.” “If you want to be a bad girl, Evie, then be one. Who gives a damn what anybody else thinks?” I do, she thought. Being bad or kinky or anything else in the privacy of her bedroom or his was one thing. Of course, that hadn’t stopped her from walking into Tiny’s the night before and walking out with Jackson in tow like she was the whore of Babylon.

Only now it was coming back to bite her in the butt. Having the whole town know that the sheriff caught them naked in a field together, fooling around in the bed of his truck like a couple of horny teenagers was not what she’d had in mind. Even then, she couldn’t really bring herself to regret it. As humiliating as it would be to be at the center of Gresham County’s gossip storm, the way he’d made her feel had been worth it. Getting caught had not been on her list of things to do, but she wouldn’t trade the night before for anything. “I don’t have to go to work, you know? I was supposed to have the whole week off anyway.” Jackson laughed, “Oh no. You have to face the music sooner or later, and trust me, sooner is always better. Go to work. Face down your Mama when she demands you stop acting like a jezebel and if that son of a bitch, Trevor, comes within fifty yards of you today, you call the police.” “And what are they going to do, Jackson? He hasn’t really done anything.” “Then you call me,” he said, and all traces of humor were gone from his voice. “I won’t go find him and beat the shit out of him, even though I want to, because you don’t seem so keen on the idea. But if he comes near you again, all bets are off.” It was a unique occurrence for Evie. She’d never had someone be protective of her before. “You know, Jackson Cope, you are a much nicer man than you are given credit for.” He pulled her to him, molding their bodies together, “I just take care of what’s mine.”

She raised her eyebrow at that. “Yours? Since when?” “Since the moment you laid back on that dock and lifted that white satin dress for me,” he retorted, and then stopped any further protest with a searing kiss. “Now get your ass in the truck.” Had it not been for his cheeky grin, Evie would have clocked him with one of her black stilettos. Sliding into the cab of the truck, with Jackson holding the door for her, she met his cocky grin with a death star, “Keep on being a smart ass, Jackson and you’ll find out just how bad I can be.” “I fucking hope so,” he responded.

Two hours later, Evie was once again seated at her desk, but it wasn’t work that filled her mind. It wasn’t even Jackson, which was something of a surprise. She stared at the picturesque house on her computer screen with a half smile curving her lips. It wasn’t a large house, but it had a lot of history which was important to her. Built at the turn of the century, it hovered between Victorian and Craftsman styles. With dark stained woodwork and large windows, it had gorgeous built in shelving and a kitchen that just begged to be cooked in. Picking up her phone, she placed a quick phone call to her bank to make an appointment with the loan manager and a second call to the realtor to schedule an appointment to view the house. With that done, she settled back in her chair to savor the excitement that burned inside her. That excitement withered when she heard the

familiar click of heels in the hallway. Her mother’s perfect, ladylike stride would have been recognizable anywhere. Evie braced herself for the coming confrontation. “Good morning, Evangeline,” Margaret said, stepping inside and closing the door. “I hope you’re proud of yourself. The entire town is talking about you.” “My fiancee left me at the alter just a few days ago. They were talking about me anyway,” Evie responded. “Is there some reason you came here, mother? Other than to lecture me?” “I came because I was concerned for you,” Margaret responded coolly. “I understand that Trevor’s behavior was hurtful to you, but he’s told me how sorry he is. He wants to work things out with you, Evie, but if you continue this ridiculous affair with Jackson Cope, it will never happen!” Evie stood and walked to the window. She counted to ten before speaking. “Mother, I don’t want to work things out with Trevor. I don’t love him and I’m beginning to realize that I never did. Furthermore, if Trevor comes near me again I will press charges. He assaulted me yesterday, or did he forget to mention that?” Margaret waved her hand, “It was a simple misunderstanding!” Evie stripped off her cardigan, revealing the dark bruises around her upper arm. Margaret’s lips thinned in response, but she continued, “Well, he was upset, dear. Trevor was overset by all the things that have happened, but he would never truly hurt you.” “He already did hurt me, mother. We dated for five years and were engaged for two, and for that entire time, my life has been a misery of criticism from both you and him. I was never thin enough, never good enough and was always an embarrassment to

you both. I don’t know why Trevor is so desperate to work things out when he could barely stand the sight of me to begin with!” “Constructive criticism--” Evie threw her hands up in the air and made a screeching noise. “No, Mother! There is nothing constructive about it! This isn’t a paper being graded...It’s me. The way I look, the way I speak, the way I dress, everything about me has literally been picked apart and I’m done!” she yelled. Gathering her composure, in a more even tone, she added, “If you can’t be supportive of my choices and happy for me then you can stay away.” Margaret rose, “You will regret this, Evie. Jackson may talk a pretty piece, but men like him never stick around. When he gets tired of you, and believe me, he will, you will be alone... Trevor won’t wait forever.” “Please leave.” Evie sank into her chair as Margaret’s footsteps receded down the hallway. It didn’t help that Margaret’s words had only reflected her own fear and insecurity, but then her mother had always been good at going for the weakest link to bring down the kill. There was a reason that Margaret Harper was at the top of the Gresham County social ladder. It wasn’t just because she was an amazing hostess. Others feared her and with good reason. Throughout her life, Evie had known that she never measured up. As a child, her clothes had always been rumpled, her hands dirty and her hair mussed. In her tween years, she’d begun to put on weight, and in adolescence had failed to shed it. No amount of dieting or exercise ever made her small enough for her mother’s standards.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Evie decided to focus her energy and attention on something she could control. She pulled up her email and began working on the ad for the museum that would run in the back of a few magazines targeted at Southern readers. Their small museum, with its adjacent battlefield and antebellum home would not draw tourists from around the world. But it did have the potential to draw people for a weekend if they lived only a few hours away. It would be good for the town and good for the museum. Two hours later, with her eyes burning, she turned off the computer and rose from her desk. The ad was done. She would send it to her graphic artist that she normally used for such things and have it prettied up, but it was essentially done. With her purse in hand, Evie left the museum and crossed the street to the small, local bank. Stepping inside, she scanned the room for her cousin, but when Lisa’s face did not appear she breathed a sigh of relief. She would have to face her eventually, but not after an ugly confrontation with her mother. The receptionist ushered her into the loan manager’s office, which was, in fact, nothing more than a glass enclosed cubicle. Evie completed the application she’d been given and the little man who came in reviewed it. He typed into the computer for several minutes, asking her terse questions. It was hardly a friendly process. “I’m sorry, Miss Harper, but we need more documentation before we can approve the loan.” “What documentation? My credit is perfect.”

“Of course, your other loan was paid off without ever missing or being late on a single payment.” Evie felt ill. “I don’t understand. I’ve never had a loan here before.” “You borrowed money for Mr. Trevor Dupree, for his accounting firm. I understand that the two of you have recently parted ways, but I assure you, I have all the proper signatures on file.” “Who witnessed the signatures?” she demanded. “Lisa Harper. I believe she’s a cousin of yours,” he offered helpfully. “She is. She’s also the woman Trevor ran away with. I did not sign those papers, Mr. Morris!” The man appeared visibly distraught. “My only advice to you, Miss Harper, is to retain a lawyer. As Miss Harper is an employ of the bank, I’m afraid I cannot say anything further.” “I need copies of the loan documents and I also need all of my account statements for the past six months.” He gulped nervously. “Of course, Miss Harper. If you’d like to come back at four, I’ll have everything ready for you.” Evie nodded and walked out of the office. She was absolutely reeling as she made her way towards the doors. She stepped out into the bright afternoon sunshine and wanted nothing more than to see Jackson. Cursing, she slid behind the wheel of her car and made the long drive out to the lake. When she got out of her car, she followed the sound of Jackson’s blaring southern rock. He was in his small detached garage, up to his elbows in engine grease and ap-

peared to be happy as a clam. He wasn’t working on his truck, but on an ancient Chevy that appeared to be more rust than metal. Hot, sweaty, dirty and sexy as hell, Evie’s knees went a little weak when she saw him. As if he sensed her presence there, he turned to her with a questioning gaze. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “I may not be able to get a loan to buy a house because Trevor forged my signature on a business loan for himself.” Jackson pulled himself completely out of the car then, and wiped his hands on a grease covered rag. “Why would Trevor need a business loan? His family owns the building that his office is in. He doesn’t have any employees, and his overhead is next to nothing.” “I don’t know. But Lisa knew about it. She ‘witnessed’ my signatures on the documents. What if there’s more? Mr. Morris is supposed to be getting all of my bank statements together for me, as well as the loan documents. I’m supposed to pick them up this afternoon.” “And Trevor’s insistence that you get back together is because he is probably trying to cover his tracks.” “Probably, but he hasn’t called or approached me today.” “You’re not going to meet with him alone. Trevor is now and always has been an underhanded bastard, but this is a new low even for him.” “Trevor would never hurt me physically.” “He already did,” he said, pointing to her arm, “And apparently he’s a forger and defrauder, as well. You don’t know him, Evie. Not really.”

Evie had no response to that. “I don’t know what to do.” “You press charges,” he said, angrily. “It’s identity theft and fraud.” “Oh, god. My mother is going to be impossible about this,” she said. Jackson didn’t disagree. Margaret Harper hated scandal of any sort. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “It’ll be okay. I’ll help you any way that I can. You know that.” She did know it. Though they’d never been more than friends until she’d thrown herself at him only days earlier, she’d always known that she could count on Jackson. “What are we doing, Jackson? I mean, bad girl lessons are one thing, but this feels like something else.” It was a complicated question and the answer would probably send her running for the hills. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he said, “I don’t think that’s a question either of us really wants to answer right now. Two days ago you were going to marry someone else. Let’s just take it a day at a time and see what happens, okay?” *** Two hours later, Evie was sitting at the counter of Jackson’s kitchen pouring over her bank statements with a growing sense of unease. It was one savings account in particular that bothered her. Most of the sizeable inheritance she’d received from her grandmother had gone untouched, left in a savings account to draw interest. Evie had never touched that account, neither adding to it or withdrawing from it. But in the past

six months, someone had. Several sizeable deposits had been made along with withdrawals that made her stomach hurt. Checking the calendar on her laptop, Evie realized that each of withdrawals and deposits had occurred in conjunction with weekend trips that she had taken with Trevor to Biloxi or business trips that he had taken alone. The withdrawals she understood, but the deposits were problematic. There was only one explanation that she could think of. Walking back to the garage, she saw that Jackson was welding some car part that she couldn’t identify. The sight momentarily distracted her from the nightmare she was in. Jackson was unlike anyone she had ever known. The image and reputation that was so important to everyone else in her life seemed to have no value for him. Jackson was comfortable with who he was and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of him. It was a refreshing change of pace. As if he’d become aware of her watching him, he turned off the torch and turned toward her. “What’s the verdict?” Realizing that he was asking about Trevor rather than what she thought of him, she said, “I think Trevor’s been using my accounts to launder money.” Jackson set the torch down and took off his safety glasses. “That’s not what I expected to hear. We’ve got to find out who he’s laundering for and how the hell the dumbass got caught up in it.” Jackson looked over the printouts she handed him and his frown deepened to a scowl. “You should take all of this to Reed,” he said. “I know he’s a small town attorney, but the guy is smart.”

“Do you think we have enough proof?” “Not yet…but I think before you make any decisions about what to do with this information, you need to find out what your options are and how to protect yourself from any fallout.” “I’ll call him right now.” Jackson closed his hand around her wrist as she reached for her phone. “It’s Monday afternoon. He’s in court. I’ll text him and have him meet us for dinner later.” Evie looked down at his dark, bronzed hand against her own paler skin. It took so little. With nothing more than a touch or a look, she was ready to tear his clothes off. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?” “It’s a hobby, not work. I’m an independently wealthy lay about, remember?” Jackson said as he pulled her to her feet. He tugged her over to the bench seat that would eventually go into the car he was restoring and settled himself onto it with her sprawled across his lap, straddling him. His hands skimmed over her thighs, pushing her skirt up to her hips. He pressed his thumbs against her inner thighs, gliding them over her silken skin and up to the bare mound of her sex. “I’ve been imagining that you’ve been walking around all day without any panties under this skirt and it’s damn near driven me insane.” Evie kissed his jaw, enjoying the soft groan that escaped him as she scraped her teeth over the corder muscles of his neck. She loved the feel of his whiskers against her skin. “I haven’t worn panties since I let you talk me out of them the first time. It feels so decadent. I think I’m getting the hang of this bad girl thing.”

He chuckled, “God, help me.” As he watched Evie unbutton her blouse, revealing the white lace of her bra and the lush fullness of her breasts, he silently repeated that statement. Through the thin lace, he could see the darker tips of her breasts and her swollen nipples that begged for his touch. Tugging the lace down had the beautiful side effect of pushing her breasts up higher. Leaning forward, he took one turgid peak into his mouth, drawing it sweetly between his lips. He swirled his tongue gently around the hardened bud and was rewarded with a soft moan. Reaching up, he pulled the band from her hair and loosened the braid until her hair fell freely over her shoulders. His normally tidy and put together Evangeline looked wild and wanton. “You are so beautiful and you don’t even know it,” he said, his breath whispering across her skin. She shivered in response as she slid her hands beneath the T-shirt he wore. Eager for the feel of her hands on his skin, he tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Her soft palms skated over his chest, her nails scraping lightly over his nipples. Her breath hissed out as he kissed his way up the slender column of her throat. His teeth grazed against that tender flesh and she clutched at him as she tipped her head back, giving him greater access. With his teeth and tongue he played over her sensitive skin until she was writhing atop him, her hips undulating against him, hot and seeking. He claimed her mouth, thrusting his tongue between her parted lips, tangling his tongue with hers. Evie kissed him back hungrily, and he had to bite back a groan as her hands stroked down his chest until she reached his belt. She fumbled a bit unfastening it but with that task done, she continued on her quest. She freed the button and the zipper rasped loudly

as she tugged it down. When her cool, soft hand closed around his cock it was all he could do not to come immediately. “Fuck, Evie! You’re killing me!” She smiled down at him, “You look pretty healthy to me.” Jackson narrowed his eyes, “You want to play dirty, huh?” Before she could even ask what he meant, he tugged her closer and slid his cock along the wet slit of her cunt, the ridged head stroking over her clit. She pushed up onto her knees, placed one hand on his shoulder and with other hand she reached down and grasped his cock, guiding it into her. Jackson groaned as she sank down onto him, his cock easing into the welcoming heat of her body. “Jackson!” she cried out, as he surged into her. “Ride me,” he said. Evie flexed her hips, setting an easy pace. Each thrust of her hips was slow and measured, grinding against him, ratcheting the pleasure to new heights. He dug his fingers into her hips, guiding her as she moved on him, over him. He couldn’t resist the lush bounty of her breasts and buried his face between them. Turning his head, he captured her nipple between his lips, suckling the taut bud as he thrust inside her. The feel of his hot mouth at her breast and his cock filling her was too much. The now familiar tension stole through her body and Evie knew she was on the brink. He thrust again and his teeth scraped the pebbled bud of her nipple and she was lost. Her body shattered, her climax rippling through her, wave after wave. She was dimly aware of his hands tightening on her hips, his body grinding against hers, and then she felt him

shudder beneath her. The rush of hot liquid inside her triggered another wave of pleasure for her. Gasping for breath, Evie collapsed against him, her head resting on his shoulder. His arms closed around her holding her even closer. The soft brush of his lips against her temple made her smile. She had known that sex with Jackson would be amazing. There was no denying that he was the hottest man she had ever laid eyes on. She hadn’t expected that he would also be sweet and tender. Snuggled against his chest, his lips brushing her hair, he’d made all of her worries go away, at least for the moment. It was something she could get used to, and that thought frightened her more than anything.

Chapter Six That evening, Evie and Jackson met Reed for dinner at a local diner called the BBQ Barn. It wasn’t fancy, but the smell of barbecue as they walked in was divine. Evie tried to recall a time in her relationship with Trevor when she’d been able to enjoy food in his presence. She realized she never had. Every time they’d gone out to dinner or to a party, everything she had eaten had been scrutinized and often criticized. Of course, she reminded herself, it wasn’t as if she and Jackson were in a real relationship. It was just sex, she told herself firmly. Thinking it would be more than that was a one way ticket to disaster. They joined Reed at his table. He’d already ordered an assortment of barbecued meats and sides, all of which would be served family style. The restaurant was a dieter’s nightmare. Everything smelled divine and Evie cringed as she considered the calorie count. “So, what’s so important that you had to meet with me after hours?” Reed asked. “And by the way, you’re buying.” “I always buy, you cheap bastard,” Jackson responded amiably, dishing food onto his plate. He noted the small amount of Evie’s plate and with a frown added more to

hers. When she protested, he raised an eyebrow at her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Don’t make me have to spank you in public.” “You wouldn’t,” she protested. “Try me.” “Hello? Remember me?” Reed said. “I’m the lawyer who will begin billing you by the hour if you don’t stop acting like lovesick teenagers in my presence. It’s disgusting and I’m frankly jealous as hell.” “Ass,” Jackson retorted. “Boys, please!” she intervened. Both Jackson and Reed grinned at her like naughty school boys. “Reed, we’re here for a very serious reason.” “Please tell me you’re going to sue Trevor for breach of promise and emotional damages.” “No. I think Trevor may be in hot water with people other than me. I think he’s been using a savings account in my name to launder money…and he forged my name on a loan application which he was using for his business,” Evie explained. She quickly detailed the loan process and the fact that Lisa had witnessed all the documents, as well as the fact that Lisa had handled most of the bank transactions when money was deposited and withdrawn from the account. “It’s a process called smurfing,” Reed explained. “Whoever he’s laundering money for will give him larger amounts, which he will break up into smaller increments and deposit into your account, usually less than ten thousand at a time, because he

doesn’t want it flagged by the IRS. The loan, that’s a little trickier…What do you think, Jackson?” “From what Evie said, he’s been making a lot of trips to and from Biloxi which can only mean gambling, and Trevor and gambling have never mixed well.” Reed nodded. “Okay, I’ll make some calls and see what I can find out. First thing to do is go to the bank and close all of your counts. Next thing, you have to file charges against him for identity theft and fraud. That’s the only way to protect yourself legally and financially. I’ll get the ball rolling on that in the morning.” They finished their meal and Evie went to the restroom, leaving Reed and Jackson alone at the table. Reed wasted no time in pinning Jackson with the hard questions, “What the hell are you doing?” “What do you mean?” Reed shook his head. “You’ve been in love with her since we were kids, man. You can deny it all you want to, but I know! I was there. She’s rebounding from Trevor and from being literally left at the altar!” Jackson scrubbed a hand over his face. “I wasn’t really thinking. It just sort of happened and no, I’m not going to tell you what happened. You know me better than that. So, I’m just going to let it play out and see what happens.” “It’s your call man. But when you’re crying in your beer a month from now, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” They stopped talking abruptly as Evie returned to the table. Reed stood, “I’ll have some papers for you to sign by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come by the museum.”

Evie smiled at him, “Thank you, Reed. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all this.” He shrugged. “Don’t mention it. I should tell you that this is icing on the cake for me. I’ve hated Trevor’s guts since kindergarten.” Evie’s expression was baleful as she responded. “Why didn’t someone warn me about him?” “Because you’re stubborn and it would have just made you dig your heels in,” Jackson said. He tossed several bills on the table and then took Evie’s hand. As they walked out, Evie could feel the stares of the other diners on them. She knew that there were people wondering why he was with her, there were also people wondering if perhaps Jackson was the reason Trevor had left her at the altar. She also knew that every time she stepped into public with Jackson, people were reporting it back to her mother. It was worth it, she decided. Whatever anyone said, she couldn’t remember being happier. After helping her into the truck, Jackson slid behind the wheel. Noting her curious expression, he asked, “What are you thinking?” She smiled at him, and leaned over to press her lips to his, “That things have a funny way of working themselves out.” “Are they working out for you to spend the night at my place?” “I need clothes… Everything is at my apartment. Why don’t you spend the night with me? Assuming you don’t mind the boxes.” “Is there a bed?” When she nodded, he said, “That’s all I need.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking into Evie’s apartment. While she went to shower, Jackson stripped down to his jeans and began to explore the small space. The off white walls and beige carpet weren’t exactly a decorator’s dream. Evie’s antique furniture and brightly upholstered couch looked out of place in the drab apartment. Heading back into the bedroom, he sat down on the edge of the bed and listened to the sound of the shower running. He wanted to join her, but then she was probably shaving her legs and doing all of those things that women pretended they didn’t have to do. Smiling, at the thought, he allowed his curiosity to get the better of him and opened the drawer to the tiny, painted nightstand. While his own contained a stash of condoms and the latest issue of Playboy, Evie’s was a treasure trove of feminine touches. A pair of earrings that she’d forgotten to remove before bed rested atop an embossed leather journal. A bottle of expensive and sweet smelling lotion was also in there. He sniffed the lotion, recognizing Evie’s favorite scent. At the back of the drawer was a little wooden box. Unable to resist the mystery, Jackson opened it and a wolfish smile spread across his face. Nestled inside the box was a small, silver vibrator. He heard the shower turn off, and quickly replaced the box, cupping the toy in his palm. With his most innocent expression, he waited for Evie to come out of the bathroom. He was not disappointed when he saw her. Her hair had been brushed out into loose waves, and she wore a black silk robe that only reached to her mid thighs, leaving the long expanse of her legs bare. It parted to reveal a tiny swatch of lace and made him wonder what delights were concealed beneath it. “So where is it?” he asked.

“Where’s what?” she replied, walking around the bed. She made a great production of fluffing the many pillows there. “Every single or dissatisfied woman’s best friend... I know you have a vibrator, Evie. I’ve yet to meet a woman who doesn’t.” She blushed. “You’re being ridiculous.” Reclining on the bed with his hands folded behind his head, he grinned. “You’ve got some monstrous vibrating cock hidden in your closet, don’t you? One look at it and I will feel like less of a man, right?” She rolled her eyes heavenward. “Are you twelve? Where do these random questions come from?” Raising up on his elbows, he looked at her, and at the deep V where her robe parted as she straightened the bed clothes. Her breasts swayed beneath the silk and lace with each movement and his cock pulsed behind his fly in response. “No...that would be entirely too tacky for you. I bet you have something small, quiet, discreet...ladylike but very effective.” The blush on her cheeks deepened and her lips firmed with disapproval, “Jackson--” “Show me,” he said. “Do you honestly think that I would be bothered by that? The truth is, the very idea of it turns me on.... I can just see you laying here in this bed, naked. Your creamy, white thighs spread apart and your beautiful, pink pussy just begging to be touched.”

“Fine. If you want to see it, then just fine,” she said and opened the night stand drawer. When she pulled out the small inlaid wooden box and opened, she stared at it in dismay for a second before, turning back to him. “You sneaky bastard.” He chuckled, but didn’t allow her to walk away in a huff. Grabbing her hand, he tugged her down onto the bed until she sprawled atop him, widening the gaping split at the front of her robe. In addition to the black lace he’d seen before, he now knew that the rest of the garment was pink satin. “Is this what you were looking for?” he asked, opening his hand to reveal the small, egg shaped toy. Flipping her onto her back, he turned it on and rolled it delicately up the inside of her thigh, until she shivered in response. “Jackson--” “Don’t go getting shy on me now,” he said, tugging at the ties of her robe until it parted completely. The pink satin chemise was so thin it was practically transparent. He could easily see the darker shadows of her nipples beneath. They were perfectly framed by the black lace that edged the garment. “Open your legs for me.” Evie wanted to be angry at him for snooping, but with the way he was looking at her, and the delicious weight of his body pressed against hers, it was impossible. Her whole body clenched in anticipation when he stroked her moist slit with the toy. She bit back a moan, as he made another pass, firmer and more insistent than the last. When he parted the damp folds of her sex, Evie expected him to simply place the vibrator on her clit the way she normally did. Instead, he turned it lengthwise and slipped it between the lips of her pussy. The soft hum of the tiny engine was more dispersed this way, the pleasure building at a steadier pace. But he wasn’t done. In a move that was totally un-

anticipated, he closed his hand over her mound, clamping the damp folds together and forcing the vibrator into more persistent contact with her clit. Evie screamed, her hips coming off the bed as she felt the pleasure begin to build inside her. Jackson leaned in and without releasing the pressure, begin to run his tongue gently over the seam of her cunt, lapping at the juices that had escaped. Then he moved lower, his tongue sliding along the cleft between the lush cheeks of her ass, then delving between them. She sobbed out his name as he began to lick that small, puckered opening, sliding his tongue in and out. Over and over again, he teased that tender flesh until she was writhing beneath him. “Jackson!” Evie cried out. “Please, please...” “Please what?” he asked, only pausing in the sensual torment. “Please, just fuck me!” she begged, her fists clutching at the bedclothes as she strained against him. Moving between her thighs, he nestled the hard ridge of his cock against her. He didn’t enter her, but rocked his hips against hers, his cock gliding along the slit of her pussy. She threw her head back, and one dusky nipple peaked from beneath the nightie she wore. Leaning forward, he closed his mouth over it and sucked it deeply. He bit her, closing his teeth gently over the hardened peak, then assuaging the stinging flesh with his tongue. “Oh, god! Don’t make me beg, Jackson! You’re driving me crazy.” He was driving himself crazy, as well. With a few deft twists of his fingers, he freed the button fly of his jeans. His cock was so hard it ached, and precome already

leaked from the reddened tip. He hissed out a breath as she closed her hand around him and guided him to her entrance. He released his grip on the plump and swollen lips of her cunt, but kept the small vibrator pressed tightly against her clit. Allowing her to guide his cock, to take him deeply inside her, he gave himself up the sensation. The soft, velvety heat of her sheath clutching him was like heaven. When she brought her legs up, wrapping them tight around his waist and locking her ankles behind him, he bit back a curse. With another thrust of his hips he drove his cock completely inside her, balls deep, and the pleasure of it was mind numbing. Evie sobbed his name, her hips moving in time with his. She met each thrust as she clutched at his shoulders, her nails scoring his back. Sliding her hands lower, she cupped the firm muscles of his ass as she rocked against him. With his cock filling her and the vibrator humming lightly on her clit, she was teetering on the edge. With a few driving thrusts, he sent her hurtling over. Evie felt the first rippling contractions of her orgasm. They began deep inside her, radiating outward as the intense pleasure coursed through her, leaving her weak, even as the felt the familiar warmth of him coming inside her. It was hours later when they lay twined together on her bed, Jackson tickling her with a strand of her own hair, that she told him about the house. “I have an appointment to look at it tomorrow. It’s so perfect, Jackson... When I saw it, I just knew. Have you ever felt that way about something?”

He smiled, appreciating the irony of the question. The only thing he’d ever felt that way about in his life was the woman in his arms. “I have, actually. Do you want me to go with you?” “You don’t feel weird about that? I mean, I know we’re not serious or anything, but that might make other people think we are.” “We don’t give a damn what other people think. Remember?” She smiled, “Of course. How silly of me to forget! Then yes, I would love for you to come with me. I know nothing about plumbing or construction. I have no idea how to tell if the house is going to cost a fortune to repair.” He kissed her, “Sleep, Evie. If I’m going to play the he-man tomorrow, I need rest, woman!” Evie laughed again, and snuggled against him. She’d never had fun in bed with Trevor, she realized. It had always been more of a chore than anything else, or at least it had become one when she realized it wasn’t going to get any better. Smiling at the thought, she drifted off to sleep with Jackson’t arms around her, grateful to finally know what all the fuss was about.

Chapter Seven The following day Evie was sleepwalking through work. She and Jackson had gone to view the house that morning, and she’d coasted through lunch on a high from that. The house was even better in person than in pictures, and the major stuff like wiring and plumbing had been recently updated. There were small cosmetic changes to be made, like ditching dated wallpaper and painting kitchen cabinets, but those were easy fixes. Jackson had taken her to lunch afterward, and it was then that her bubble had been burst. He’d gotten a strange phone call and told her that he had to meet someone that evening. It had been very hush-hush and mysterious, which was a huge red flag. She couldn’t say anything even if it was another woman. It wasn’t like she had a claim on him. Stifling a yawn, Evie signed off on the packages that had arrived and returned to her office to begin penning more of the handwritten thank you notes that would be sent out after the annual fundraiser. They were generic enough, but still added a classy touch to holding one’s hand out. As she turned down the hall toward her office, the face that greeted her there made her smile instantly vanish. “Trevor, you need to leave. Immediately.” “Why? Is Jackson waiting in your office to fuck you senseless?”

“Even if he is, it’s none of your business. Get out, or I’ll call security.” “Evie, we need to talk about things. I have to explain to you why I left.” “No, you don’t. I don’t care about why you left, only that you did. I’m done with you, Trevor.” The curt dismissal only seemed to enrage him and grabbed her upper arms, shoving her back against the wall so hard that she bit her lip. “You have no idea what’s at stake here!” “I know about the loan, Trevor...and I know what you’ve been using my bank accounts for!” His face paled and he dropped his hands from her abruptly. “You fucking bitch.” “Is there a problem, Miss Harper?” Evie looked in the direction of the voice, never so thankful to see the security guard that patrolled the battlefield and house during the daytime hours. He’d never had to do more than run off kids who were trying to cut school in the past. “Mr. Dupree was leaving, Tom. If you would be so good as to show him out.” Trevor glared at her before turning to walk away and the look was pure venom. Evie retreated to her office. She was shaking as she sat down at her desk, tears threatening. Trevor was reaching bottom and she had no idea what he was capable of. But she wouldn’t be foolish enough to dismiss any further warnings about him. He was a desperate man, and that made him a dangerous one. Dashing tears away, she pulled a compact from her purse and tried to repair her face as a knock sounded on the door. When Reed

appeared, she bit back a mild oath. He would tell Jackson she’d been crying. “I’m sorry, Reed. I forgot you were coming by.” He looked at her swollen, puffy eyes. “I can come back if it’s a bad time.” “No… It’s fine. You just missed Trevor,” she said tightly. “I think in addition to everything else, I may need a restraining order.” “That would probably make me cry, too,” he said, pointing to the small split on her bottom lip. “He do that?” “Indirectly... I bit my lip when he shoved me against the wall.” “I’ll work on the restraining order...the big thing is going to be how to keep Jackson from killing him in the meantime.” Reed placed several documents in front of her, “This is an accounting of the money that is missing from your accounts. It’s a small amount really, given the amount of money that’s been shuffled in and out. The big issue is the loan. I’ve already taken care of having the charges filed against him. I had a talk with the district attorney and they will probably issue a warrant for him by this afternoon… Are you prepared for all this, Evie? The gossip is going to get very ugly, very fast.” “I don’t think I have a choice. If I don’t get it taken care of, it could destroy me financially…and I can’t let Trevor get away with this. Whatever he’s doing, whatever shady dealings he’s involved in, they have to be stopped.” Reed nodded, “Okay. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” “I won’t. Thank you, Reed.”

Evie signed all the forms he’d brought, in triplicate, it seemed. When he stood up to leave, he paused for just a moment. “If things don’t work out with Jackson… Just go easy on him, Evie. He’d kill me for telling you this, but he’s been hung up on you for years. Don’t break his heart.” Evie was still puzzling over his words long after he left. Was it possible that she would even have that power? She’d worried about the possibility that Jackson would break her heart. It had never even occurred to her that he might fear the same thing. With a weary sigh, she locked her desk drawers and then left the museum. She didn’t go to Jackson’s, but drove home to her rented apartment instead. She needed to finish unpacking, or at the very least organize the chaos. Perhaps organizing her surroundings would help her to organize her thoughts, she mused. Regardless, she needed a little time to clear her head and process everything that had happened. Across town, Jackson sat in the luxuriously decorated office of Dr. Phillip Harper. He did his damnedest not to fidget or otherwise giveaway how scared shitless he was. He craned his neck when the door opened behind him. A pretty nurse stuck her head in and said, “I’m sorry you’re having to wait, Mr. Cope. Dr. Harper will be with you as soon as he can. Can I get you some coffee or tea in the meantime?” “No, thank you. I’m just fine.” After another ten minutes had passed, he regretted telling her no. At least having a drink is his hands would give him something to do with them. Getting up, he crossed the small space to study the row of pictures hanging on the wall. Most of them were of Evie as a little girl. He smiled as he looked at them, seeing her tidy hair and even tidier clothes. Looking more closely, however, it was easy

to see how unhappy she’d been. In most of the pictures, her smiles seemed forced and there was a tenseness to her body that could only have resulted from her mother’s endless criticism. “I always thought my sweet Evie was the prettiest girl in the world. Still do, honestly.” Jackson turned back to the man who had entered the room silently. He wore scrubs and those little tissue shoe covers beneath a white lab coat. “There’s no denying that Evie is beautiful. It’d be pointless to try.” The older man’s posture was deceptively casual as he strolled to his desk and took up a seat behind it. “She’s a good girl, too... Leastways, she was. Some folks appear to be thinking differently about her now, since she’s been running around with you.” “I imagine that’s quite true. But I find it’s better not to worry too much about what other’s think. Evie’s done that for way too long and all it ever got her was engaged to a shithead like Trevor.” Phillip made a noise that might have been a laugh, but Jackson couldn’t be sure. “Well, be that as it may,” he said, “My little girl is everything to me and that son of a bitch, Trevor, might not have broken her heart, but he definitely bruised her pride. Now, she’s running all over hell and creation with you acting like the second coming of Bathsheba. The question, Jackson Randall Cope, is whether or not you intend to do right by her?”

“I’d marry her tomorrow if she’d have me... I would have married her a decade ago if your wife hadn’t threatened to have me shot for trespassing if I came on your property again.” “Well, I’m not saying I approve of Margaret’s meddling, but you were a bit of a wild card back then. You were still in the NFL then and that kind of lifestyle would have chewed her up and spit her out.” “Evie’s tougher than you give her credit for.” “Probably so. But be warned, Jackson, you hurt her and I’ll have your balls stuffed and mounted in my study. Are we understood?” “Perfectly, sir.” “And please try to refrain from getting my daughter naked in public places. I dislike having to hear about it.” Jackson had no appropriate response to that, so he simply nodded and headed for Evie’s apartment. He hoped he could convince her to go dancing with him again, or maybe just turn on some music and dance naked at home. That would get them in less trouble with her father. When he arrived, Jackson knew instantly that something was wrong. Evie let him in, but her expression was guarded. “Is there something wrong?” “No, nothing is wrong,” she said, as she moved back into the kitchen and continued putting away her cookware. “Just trying to get things organized a bit. How was your meeting?” “What meeting?”

“The one that you tried to be so secretive about and failed miserably.” If he told her, she’d be angry and embarrassed. “It was nothing important. Just business.” She whirled on him then, “You don’t have a job. How can it be a business meeting if you are unemployed?” “I have investments! I own property! And I’m retired,” he shouted back. “Retired from a very lucrative athletic career!” “You know what. I don’t care who you were with or what you were doing! This...this thing between us, it’s just fun and games to you. I let myself believe for half a second that it might be more than that and it was stupid. Once again, I was stupid. So just forget it. Go home to your rented bachelor pad on the lake and invite over whatever two dollar whore you were with this afternoon and have her spend the night with you. I have actual grown up shit to do.” Had he not been chomping at the bit for the last six months, questioning his own usefulness in life, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him. If he hadn’t been wound tight over her for more than half of his life, he might have been able to see the humor in the fact that she thought he was cheating on her when he’d been getting a lecture from her concerned father. But those things weren’t coming to mind. The only thing Jackson could see in that moment was red. Furious with himself and with her, he threw his hands up in the air. “What the hell ever. I’m out of here.” “Yeah, you’re good at that. There’s never been a woman you couldn’t walk away from.”

For a split second, when he paused, Evie thought maybe she’d pushed him too far. But he simply cursed under his breath and kept walking. When he left, when the small apartment felt empty and she felt completely hollow inside, she sat down in the middle of her tiny kitchen, on the ugly beige linoleum, and cried.

Chapter Eight The pounding on her apartment door woke Evie. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, she grimaced. It was only six in the morning. She had spent the better part of the evening and long hours into the night unpacking and trying to make her apartment at least somewhat livable. She’d wanted to text Jackson an apology, but it seemed cowardly. She knew she’d picked the fight with him out of nothing more than panic. It scared her to need him so much. Thinking of Reed’s request that she be careful of Jackson’s feelings, guilt gnawed at her a bit for that but she brushed it aside.

Stumbling through the apartment, Evie struggled to get her robe on. When she reached the door, she hastily tied it before unlocking the door. Very few people knew where she was. Her dad and Jackson had the address. She had assumed, or more accurately hoped, that it would be Jackson on the other side of the door, but when she saw Trevor standing there, her heart sank. She should have asked before opening the door, she thought. He reeked of alcohol and he was wearing the same clothes he’d had on the day before. His hair was standing on end and several days worth of beard covered his jaw. Some men could rock that look, but Trevor was not one of them. “You should go, Trevor. We have nothing to say to one another.” He bared his teeth at her in a growl. “You went to the fucking cops? Are you crazy? My own fucking parents have turned their backs on me!” Evie tried to close the door, but he shoved his foot in the door, preventing her from closing it. “Get out, Trevor. If you want to talk to someone, call my attorney.” Evie’s worst fears were confirmed as the door to the apartment burst inward, sending her flying backwards. Her hip connected painfully with the edge of the coffee table and she barely missed putting her elbow through the glass top. She scurried back, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg, as she tried to get away from him. As Trevor advanced into the apartment, Evie felt actual fear of him. She’d never imagined that Trevor would be able to incite such an emotion in anyone. “They served the warrant at my parent’s house! All I needed was a few days, Evie and everything would have been fine! I could have gotten all the money back and no one would have ever known the difference!” he shouted.

“You forged my signature! You laundered money through my savings account and you dumped me at the altar for my cousin!” “Not really… I wanted to marry you! I still do! If you drop the charges, everything can be the way it was,” he pleaded. “Nothing will ever be the way it was… I don’t want it to be.” The minute the words escaped her, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. He became enraged. When he grabbed her by her hair and slung her against the wall, Evie literally saw stars. Her head hit the drywall with a resounding thump, leaving a massive dent in it. Before she could even begin to collect her wits, he had his hands on her, tugging at the belt of her robe. When she felt the fabric being wrapped around her wrists, panic spurred her on. She kicked out at him. In her bare feet, it wasn’t the most effectual self defense but it at least slowed him down. “Get off me!” she screamed. He punched her then, the blow slamming into her cheek bone and radiating agony throughout her body. She jerked her hands, managing to loosen his grip enough to roll onto her back. Bringing her knees up, she kicked out wildly as she struggled to loosen the belt around her wrists. “Fucking bitch!” he spat. “You’ve ruined everything.” The distant wail of sirens split the early morning silence, and through the wall, she heard her neighbor’s voice. “I’ve called the police! I don’t know what’s going on in there, but the cops are on their way!”

Trevor’s face blanched and he backed away, making a hasty exit. Evie slumped on the floor, her body aching and in shock. As she lay there, she began to tremble and then to sob. She was still crying moments later when two police officers rushed in. *** It was nearly two hours later when Evie was lying on a gurney in the emergency room, after having been x-rayed, cat scanned and thoroughly questioned. Everything faded to background noise when Jackson walked in. His hair was mussed from having literally tumbled out of bed and Evie just wanted to crawl inside him. When he entered her cubicle, he didn’t say anything. He just looked at her for the longest time before settling his hip on the edge of her bed and putting his arms around her. “Oh, god! I’m going to start crying again,” she said, as the tears gathered. She hated crying, helpless women. It made her mad at herself to suddenly be one. “I think you’ve got a pretty good reason,” he said. “I hate to say it, love, but you look like hell.” A watery chuckle escaped her, and she pressed closer to him. “Have I mentioned lately what an ass you are?” She could feel him smiling against her cheek. “You might have brought it up once or twice... Last night.” They sat there like that for the longest time. When Jackson spoke again, he’d grown very serious. “When Reed called me this morning and said that you’d been taken to the hospital following a home invasion… I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Evie realized then that he didn’t have the whole story. “It was Trevor… I don’t know what’s happened to him, Jackson. Whatever it is, he’s like a totally different person.” Jackson continued to hold Evie. He forced himself not to squeeze as tightly as he wanted to. His stomach felt hollow. The horrors of what might have happened had simply gutted him. He wanted to murder Trevor. Literally, he wanted to feel the life draining from the other man’s body. Rather than upset her more, he kept his mouth shut, but knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Trevor had better hope the cops found him first. “Did he say anything useful?” “He just kept saying that he wanted everything to go back the way it was before and that if he’d had just a few more days no one would ever have known, that all the money would have gone back where it was supposed to.” “So whatever it is that he’s in to, he was expecting a big payoff. Something that would have allowed him to pay off whoever he owes and cover any discrepancies in your account… The real question is, where was the money coming from and how did he get involved?” “I think I can answer that.” Evie pulled out of Jackson’s embrace as Reed walked in, but she refused to let go of his hand. “What is it?” Reed took in her battered appearance and winced, “Jesus, you look like hell.” If it wouldn’t have made her head ache worse, Evie would have rolled her eyes. “You guys are so good for my ego. I can’t thank you enough for your brutal honesty.”

With the good grace to blush, Reed apologized. “Come on, Evie… You know you’re gorgeous, but damn, he beat the hell out of you.” “I am aware. I was there, after all,” she responded drolly. “Now cut to the chase and tell me what the idiot has done.” “He bet big on last year’s Super Bowl. Stupidly big, as in six figures, and not just slightly into that range… He bet to the tune of a quarter million.” The word that slipped from Jackson’s mouth was not one that he ever used in public. “Who the hell would even take that kind of action?” “Organized crime…Not sure who. Could be the Vietnamese or it could be the Russians. It could also be good old Dixie Mafia. Either way, he’s screwed and he knows it. He made the bet and he lost big time. To cover part of his debt, he took out the loan, and the other part of it he’s been working off by laundering for them...and that’s where Lisa enters the picture. The guy handling the transactions was her one time boyfriend, Tony Davano.” “Why not just use the casinos? Hell, that’s what they’re there for,” Jackson said. Evie answered, “Because the money is probably being siphoned from the casino. The amount of money we’re talking about, in terms of Mafia money, is miniscule.” “Bingo,” Reed said. “I think that whoever Trevor’s in bed with, figuratively, of course, is working outside the lines.” “So, what’s next?” Evie asked as she gripped Jackson’s hand tighter. “Well, the question right now for a lot of people, has nothing to do with the money. No one has seen Lisa since the day of the wedding. Trevor told his parents that he left

her in Biloxi after having a change of heart, but her parents haven’t heard from her and neither have any of her friends.” Even a day earlier, Evie wouldn’t have considered that Trevor might have harmed someone. Given the events of that morning, she was no longer certain. “You think she’s dead, don’t you?” “Probably…whether it was Trevor or the badasses he’s tangled up with, that I can’t say yet.” A loud voice from the hall caused Evie to groan. “Oh, no. Not this. Not now.” She had no more than uttered the words when her mother swept in, her father trailing behind. Margaret Harper might have just gotten out of bed, but no one would know to look at her. Her hair, or given the time of day, her wig, was perfect, and her makeup had been applied just as judiciously. She wore linen Capri pants that wouldn’t dare to wrinkle and a lightweight coral sweater set. Evie wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. “What is the meaning of this?” Margaret demanded. “The entire town is talking about this ridiculous incident and saying that Trevor is being hunted by the police!” “That’s because he is,” Evie said sharply. “Trevor forced his way into my apartment this morning and was hell bent on making me see things his way.” “I just can’t believe it,” Margaret huffed. “Trevor has never been anything but kind and considerate! This just shows you how desperate he really is!” “Get out,” Evie said. “Dad, you can stay, but she has to go right now.” Phillip Harper moved forward and took his wife’s arm, “Margaret, you will go to the car and you will wait for me there…and you will not say another word to Evie.” He

waited until she’d gone, before turning back to them, “If he comes near you again, I’ll kill him.” “You won’t have to,” Jackson said. “She’s going home with me.” Phillip nodded. “Under other circumstances, I’d probably take exception to that, but right now, I can’t think of anything better. I’m going to take your mother home now, and she and I are going to have a long talk. I’ve allowed her to bully us both for far too long.” Evie smiled as her father hugged her and placed a kiss on her cheek, much like he always had when she was a little girl. “Thank you, Daddy. I’m going to be fine, really.” “I know. I talked to your doctor and he’s going to let you leave shortly. I’m also going to have a talk with a private investigator I know who works out of Gulfport. I’ll find out what Trevor has been up to and we’ll put an end to this once and for all.” Reed stepped forward and placed his hand on Phillip’s shoulder, “Let’s talk about that. I need to make sure you’ve got all the info, assuming that’s okay with Evie.” Evie nodded and watched them both turn to go. Alone with Jackson, she sank against him, grateful for the solid warmth. She didn’t want to think about her feelings or his. She didn’t want to examine anything. Feeling safe and secure for a few moments was enough.

HOURS later, Evie was settled into Jackson’s big bed and he was in the kitchen making her soup. It was entirely too domestic, but she found that she rather liked the idea of be-

ing taken care of by him, so long as it was only temporary. Getting attached to Jackson could be very detrimental to her well being, she thought. She leaned her head back against the pillows, and immediately regretted doing so. The room spun dangerously. “That’s a bad idea, darlin’,” he said, stepping into the room with a tray laden with soup and a large glass of iced tea. “You never want to look anywhere but straight ahead. If you need to look in another direction, it’s best just to move your whole body.” Evie grimaced as she raised her head again, “And you know this how exactly?” He shrugged as he placed the tray over her lap, “I played professional football, Evie. I know a thing or two about concussions. Now, I want you to eat your soup and drink that whole glass of tea. The painkillers will give you cotton mouth from hell.” They already had. She could have drank the entire gallon of tea. “So what did Reed say when he called?” Jackson looked at her sharply, “You were eavesdropping?” “Since the conversation was about me and my jackass of a former fiancee, you can’t really call it eavesdropping.” “I guess not. He heard back from the PI your Daddy knows. Trevor really is a dumbass. He’s in bed with the Dixie Mafia, thanks to Lisa. She was the one who set him up the bet with her boyfriend.” “What aren’t you telling me?” Jackson sighed, “They found Lisa dead in a motel room in Biloxi, a gunshot wound to the back of the head. At this point, they don’t think Trevor is guilty but they’re pretty damn sure he knows who is. She was his warning, from what I understand.”

Evie shivered, “Poor Lisa. Nobody deserves to end up like that.” Jackson laid down on the bed beside her, brining her hand to his lips for a quick kiss. “Trevor won’t get near you again. And when all this is over with, you and I are going to have a long talk.” “I’m not going anywhere... Let’s have it now.” Rolling onto his elbow, Jackson met her gaze. It was steady, if somewhat dulled by the pain medication she’d been given. “I want you to move out of your apartment and move in with me.” “For how long?” “Dammit, Evie! What do you mean for how long? I’m asking you to move in with me. I don’t have an expiration date for our relationship.” He ran his fingers through his hair in an exasperated gesture. It was one that Evie recognized very well. She’d seen it a dozen times before when he’d been attempting to extricate himself from the clutches of some weeping woman. He had never intentionally broken hearts, and to her knowledge, he’d never been one to break promises, for the simple fact that he had always avoided making them. “This is where it starts to get a little murky, Jackson Cope. Because my understanding of the matter is that we aren’t having a relationship. You, as a general rule, don’t do relationships.” “Haven’t... Past tense. I know I have a reputation in this town for being womanizer, but I’ve never made promises to a woman and not kept them. I’ve never lied. I want you to move in with me, Evie and I want us to be together.”

“Monogamously?” He smiled, “Unless you want to invite Cass over for a little girl on girl action, yes.” With the tray over her lap, Evie couldn’t hit him the way she wanted to. Instead, she leaned over slightly, grabbed a handful of chest hair and yanked. “A three way with Cass? Really? You think bringing that up in the middle of this conversation is a good idea?” He laughed and rubbed his chest, “I was only teasing. I don’t want to share you with anyone. Including Cass. Will you move in with me?” Evie looked around at the rented house that didn’t reflect anything of the man she knew and certainly didn’t reflect anything about her. It was also the place where he’d brought all of his many conquests to. “I will, but not here.” Jackson looked around at the perfectly functional house, “Why not?” “If I am going to live in sin with you, I want to do it in full view of the entirety of Gresham County, Mississippi. I’m not hiding out in the backwaters...Besides, I found the house I want to buy.” He grinned, “Does this mean I get to be your kept man?” Evie set the tray aside and lay back against the pillows. “Maybe you ought to demonstrate what I might want to keep you around for.” Jackson didn’t need to be asked twice. He rolled over, pinning her to the bed, but kept his weight off of her. Bruised and battered as she was, he wanted to make her feel better and not worse. “Didn’t the doctor tell you to take it easy?”

“I intend to,” she said with a smile, “I’m just gonna lay back and let you do all the work.” He kissed her then, catching her bottom lip between his teeth with a gentle nip. He’d kissed more women in his life than he ought to ever admit to, but Evie had the softest lips he’d ever encountered. When his lips touched hers, he didn’t want to stop, and when her tongue slid sensually against his, and he could taste the sweetness of her mouth, there was nothing in the world that he wanted more. Her teeth nipped at his lip in the sweetest retaliation and his whole body shuddered in response. She could drive him to the brink quicker than anyone else. Tugging back the sheets, he looked at the long expanse of her gorgeous legs, exposed beneath the hem of the shirt he’d given her to wear. The hem barely covered her behind and the soft mound of her pussy. The fabric strained across her chest, the buttoned placket gaping and offering a tantalizing glimpse of her lush breasts. “That shirt has never looked better,” he said, as he began to unbutton each button. Every inch of skin that was bared was teased and tormented by his fingertips. He skated the callused pads of his fingers over every inch of her, except the parts that ached for his touch. His touch on her breasts was light, grazing and he deliberately avoided touching her pebbled nipples. “God, you make me so crazy!” He laughed softly, his breath hot against her skin. “In a good way?” She slid her hands into his hair and arched her back, offering her breasts to him. “Sometimes.”

Jackson eagerly accepted her invitation, taking one taut peak into his mouth and scoring it gently with his teeth. He might have though her answering hiss had been one of pain had she not arched her hips against him in a blatant offering. He gripped her arms, bringing them over her head and clasping both her wrists in one hand. “You are supposed to be still and rest... Doctor’s orders.” “Make me.” “Witch,” he murmured, turning his attention to her other nipple, treating it to the same sweet torment. “Slut is probably a more accurate description at this point.” He laughed then, “Jesus, you say some things! Slut isn’t a very poetic term... How about Jezebel?” “You can call me anything you want as long as you do it with your cock inside me,” she said with a taunting grin. With that simple statement, she sent every drop of blood in his body straight to his cock. He didn’t even take off his clothes, he simply unzipped the jeans he’d tugged on that morning and took her. It should have been more gentle. He should have been more careful with her, but his emotions were running too hot and so were hers. They clung to one another, riding out the surge of passion and adrenaline. As she came, her body shuddering around him, the words were just there. He wanted desperately to tell her how much he loved her, but it was too much and too soon. So he bit them back and contented himself with holding her while they both trembled together in the aftermath.

Chapter Nine Evie strolled through the Oak Room of the country club. Her back ached, her feet were killing her, and she had smiled so much she felt like Jack Nicholson in Batman. Fundraising was a part of her job and she normally enjoyed it, but given the events of the past week, it was hellish to be the center of the gossipy crowd’s attention. It was not exactly how she’d wanted to spend her evening. Not only was she fielding questions about the wedding that wasn’t, but she was having to field the questions about Lisa’s murder and all the questions about what had happened to her face. Then there were the hungry eyed cougars who kept talking about how wonderful Jackson looked in a suit and tie. Cass approached her with a glass of champagne. “How the hell do you get al these rich people to just open their wallets for you?” Evie chuckled, “I appeal to their love of Gone With the Wind. Everyone in this room secretly fancies themselves as Scarlett, Rhett or Ashley.”

“And you’re their Melanie.” “Say what you will about Melanie, she managed to get all of them to do what she wanted,” Evie replied. “Let’s step outside for a minute. I need to stop smiling before my face breaks.” Cass led the way to the terrace. The humid air actual felt good after the chilly air conditioning. “So, Jackson looks good enough to eat in that suit. How’d you convince him to come here? He hates the country club.” “I just asked,” Evie responded. They were alone on the terrace. Most people, especially those that had been partaking heartily of the champagne, preferred the indoors. “I think I’m in trouble, Cass. I’m in so far over my head, I can’t even tell which way is up.” With an eye roll, Cass responded, “Honey, you’ve been half in love with him your whole life. Did you really think you could get tangled up with him and not get your emotions involved?” “I’d hoped. He asked me to move in with him. I know it’s quick. I mean, it was just over a week ago that I was supposed to be marrying Trevor!” “Evie, darlin’, Trevor was never right for you. You only ever went out with him because your mother kept pushing you in that direction. Move in with Jackson, have lots of amazing sex, and take a chance for once in your life. Even if it doesn’t work out, isn’t it worth it?” “You’re right. I need to stop worrying and just enjoy the ride.” Cass’ smile faded, “Oh, shit! Evie!”

Evie glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Trevor step out from behind the hedges. The gun in his hand sent cold chills racing up her spine. “Trevor--” “Just shut the fuck up! Not a word!” he hissed and reached past Evie to grab Cass’ arm. He pulled her roughly to him and shoved the barrel of the gun against her ribs. “Since I know you would do anything in the world for your slut friend, you are going to walk in front of us to my car. If you balk, if you scream, if you so much as twitch, I will put a bullet in her.” “Don’t do it, Evie,” Cass said. “If he gets us away from the other guests, we don’t stand a chance!” Trevor gripped Cass’ hair and pulled it hard, making her stumble. “You don’t stand a chance now, you fucking cunt! I have nothing left to lose!” Knowing that it was true and knowing just how desperate he was, Evie nodded. “I’ll go with you, Trevor, and I won’t make any trouble at all. Just promise me that when we get to the parking lot, you’ll let Cass go. By the time she gets back here, we’ll be long gone.” He nodded jerkily and motioned for her to walk. With every step Evie took her heart got heavier. Fear clutched at her, for herself and for Cass. By the time they reached the parking lot her heart was pounding frantically in her chest and cold sweat trickled down her spine, in spite of the heat. She headed toward’s Trevor’s Volvo. It was covered in mud and dust. “Get in the car, behind the wheel,” he ordered. Evie followed his directions and then screamed as she saw him bring the gun crashing down against Cass’ temple. When he climbed into the car, Evie was frantic, but he

put the key in the ignition and turned it on. “Now drive, or I will fucking shoot her where she lays!” Evie clenched her shaking hands around the steering wheel and eased out of the parking space. In the rearview mirror, she could see Cass’ crumpled body slumped agains the other car. “Trevor, I don’t know what you’re planning--” “I’m planning,” he said, “To ransom your fat ass back to Jackson and use the money to disappear before I wind up like Lisa!” “What happened, Trevor? What’s this all about?” Evie demanded, hoping that if she could keep him talking she might be able to come up with a plan. “I made that stupid bet, but I had this hot tip from Lisa’s boyfriend... They’d paid off one of the refs to make a couple of bad calls during the game. It was supposed to be a sure thing and I would have made a fortune. But then they made that fucking tackle and the ref got hit! The stupid fucker got knocked out and they had to bring in someone else and it all went south... I had put a quarter million down, but I could only come up with half. So, Lisa’s boyfriend offered to let me make the rest in payments, if I would shuffle some funds around for him, make the money look a little cleaner!” “You were set up from the get go,” she said, hoping to placate him. If she could appease him, she thought, maybe she could convince him to let her go. “Exactly! That fucking bitch hung me out to dry! She helped me forge the loan documents to borrow the money and I paid off everything I could. Did a few deposits and withdrawals for them, and then told them I wanted out...But these aren’t the kind of people you just walk away from. They made it abundantly clear that I was their bitch

from that point forward. Still, I could handle that. Once I got the debt paid off to them, I was making a shit load of money at it... But once again, Lisa had to fuck it all up! She and Tony got into it, he dumped her crazy ass, and the bitch called the feds!” “Is that why they killed her? Because she talked to the FBI?” “Yes, and they’re going to kill me too. These people don’t like witnesses and I saw that fucker shoot her in the back of the head. Not to mention, that I know where all the money is. I’m screwed, Evie. Jackson had damned well better pay up, cause I’m not going down alone.” He had lost his mind. He had completely lost his mind, she thought. “Take the next right... Route 9,” he ordered. They were driving out into the middle of nowhere. He would kill her and they would probably never find her body. The fear congealed in her, forming a hard knot in her gut. It made it difficult to breathe and she focused as much of her attention on that as she could. As if sensing that she was on the verge of doing something reckless, Trevor said, “All he has to do is pay... If he gives me the money, I’ll let you go. But if you make this difficult, if you don’t do what I tell you to, I can hurt you without killing you, Evie, and I will.” Evie drove, panic keeping her going. She wanted nothing more than to open the door and dive out, to take her chances. But she couldn’t afford to doubt Trevor. He’d already gone further off the deep end than she’d ever imagined possible. Fear for Cass clawed at her. Was she still alive? Had someone found her yet? Other thoughts, fleeting and panicked, assailed her. Would Trevor actually let her go?

CHAOS ensued at the hospital. Cass was in the emergency room getting stitches. They’d done a CT scan and diagnosed her with a concussion and planned to admit her for the night. Jackson paced the waiting area as he waited to talk to her. The police had already questioned her, but they weren’t saying anything to him. They wouldn’t even given the information to Evie’s parents. They were playing everything very close to their chest and that was escalating the stress of the situation to even greater heights. Cursing, mildly, he paced back to the small bank of hard plastic chairs and took a seat. His hands were clenched into fists as he leaned his elbows on his knees and stared down at the tile floor. He wasn’t one to pray, but in that moment, he made a silent request. Evie was finally his, and the very idea of letting her go was more than he could take. He should never have let her out of his sight, he thought bitterly. “It wasn’t your fault, son. You can beat yourself up for it untill the cows come home, but there’s only person responsible for this mess and it’s Trevor.” Jackson looked up at Phillip Harper, meeting the older man’s worried gaze, “I know that. Logically, I know that. But logic doesn’t seem to be cutting it right now.” Phillip took the seat beside him. “It never does when it comes to the women we love.” Jackson had never come right out and told anyone that he loved Evie. He didn’t bother denying it though. In that moment, he made a vow to himself that he would tell her the second she was back in his arms.

The buzzing of his phone saved Jackson from having to respond openly. A quick glance at the screen and he saw that the text message was from Trevor. He scanned it quickly and then re-read it to be sure he had all the information. “Phillip, Trevor wants a quarter of a million.” “I can’t get that kind of money right now. It’ll take days!” “I’ve got it. If Morris will open the bank and get me to my safe deposit box, I can get it for him... He says that if we bring the cops, he’ll kill her.” “Then no cops. We do whatever it takes to get her back alive,” Phillip responded. His voice was resolute. “I’ll talk to Reed. We’ll get her back, Phillip. I’m not going to let her go now.” Phillip nodded, “Whatever happens, Jackson, I know that you’ll do everything in your power to bring her home safely. And if you can’t, if it’s too late for Evie, just promise me you’ll kill the son of a bitch.” “If I have to follow him to hell and back, I will.” Jackson left the hospital, motioning for Reed to follow him. Outside, he showed him the text. “He’s at that abandoned motel by the river... I have to get Morris to the bank so I can get the cash.” “You’re going to pay the ransom? What’s to stop him from putting a bullet in the both of you?” “You are. I know you have a gun at the office. I need you to get it and head out there first. Get yourself in position and wait for me.” Reed started to protest, but thought better of it. “Fine, but if this goes south--”

“It won’t,” Jackson said sharply. “It can’t.”

TWO hours later, Evie was seated on the filth littered floor of a motel room that hadn’t housed guests in over twenty years. From the smell, she knew it had housed a few rodents. She could hear scurrying in the walls and shuddered in response. Trevor had tied her hands to the headboard which was bolted to the wall. She’d tugged, pulled, even laid down on the disgusting floor and kicked at it, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge. Shifting her weight, since her behind had long since gone numb, she kicked one of the many empty bottles that littered the floor and it went skittering into a pile of trash. “Would you stop making so much fucking noise!” Trevor roared at her. Evie didn’t bother to respond. Two hours with Trevor had told her just how desperate he was. He’d never stopped watching the windows, paranoid that someone would find them. It wasn’t the police, her father or Jackson that he feared. It was a man named Tony. Recalling the shady man Lisa had brought to her engagement party, Evie could understand why. “Trevor, I can get you the money. You just have to let me go,” she said reasonably. He whirled on her then, “Just shut the fuck up! All your snooping has made things worse! Now it isn’t just Tony I have to worry about! I have the goddamned cops after me too! All because of you.”

Pointing out that it was because he had done things that were illegal would not help her cause any, so Evie bit her tongue. “Trevor, I have money. I can clear out the savings accounts and give you everything in them.” He approached her then, stalking across the room. Evie braced herself for the blow, but it was still staggering. His open hand struck her cheek so forcefully that her head snapped back, connecting painfully with the wall. She tasted blood and knew that her lip had split again. He grabbed her bound hands, twisting them painfully as he pulled her to her feet. When he shoved her facedown onto the tattered bed, she began to scream. He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back roughly. “Just shut up! This is all your fault! And Jackson’s! How could you, Evie? After all those years together, how could you go straight to him knowing how much I hate the son of a bitch?” “Trevor, it wasn’t like that! You had left me!” “I didn’t have a choice! Tony was demanding all the money and I didn’t have it... I convinced Lisa to go and talk to him, to make things right, but I didn’t know she’d gone to the feds! He killed her! Right in front of me and if he finds me, I’m a dead man!” With every word, his grip on her hair had gotten tighter, the pressure on her neck increasing as well. Evie was afraid it would snap if he didn’t let go. “Trevor, you’re hurting me!” He released her so quickly that her head bounced against the mattress, but then his hands were tearing at her clothes, shoving the hem of her dress up over her thighs. “I’ll show you, Evie. You just have to remember how good it is between us... You can leave with me. We’ll take the money and go away together!”

She struggled, trying to break free from him, but his legs were clamped around hers, keeping her from moving. “Don’t do this! Trevor! Please, stop this!” Evie could hear the sound of his belt as he began to loosen it, and the rasp of his zipper was deafening in the room. But then he stopped. Evie heard the crunch of gravel and the roar of an engine outside. Trevor stepped away suddenly and she sobbed with relief. “Looks like Jackson is eager to have you back,” he said bitterly, as he hastily fastened his pants. He grabbed the gun from the scarred table in front of the busted window, and walked outside. Dropping to her knees on the filthy carpet, Evie began to tug at the bed frame again. The mattress shifted off the frame enough to reveal the metal bed rails beneath. The frame had rusted from the leaky roof, leaving sharp jagged edges along the rails. Evie sighed in relief as she began the arduous process of trying to slice through the ropes at her wrists. The metal chaffed at her skin, but she kept going, nearly shouting with victory when the rope began to fray. Moving as little as possible so as not to alert Trevor, she blocked out the pain and simply kept sawing away at the ropes. Trevor opened the door, calling out, “Jackson! Last room on the left and don’t even think about trying anything!” Evie could see Jackson approaching through the barred windows. The wrought iron had been intended to give the motel a New Orleans type appeal, but it had failed miserably. Still struggling with her bonds, she watched as Trevor motioned Jackson inside. She felt the warmth of Jackson’s gaze on her, saw him surveying her critically to see if she was hurt. Banked anger blazed in his eyes and Evie prayed that his temper wouldn’t get the better of him.

“Toss the phone out the door and open the bag!” Trevor demanded and Jackson complied, flashing stacks of cash inside the black duffel. “It’s all in there, Trevor. Now, let Evie go.” “I’m afraid no one is going anywhere, Mr. Cope.” The voice belonged to Tony Danova, Lisa’s former boyfriend with the mob connections. He lounged negligently in the doorway, another muscle bound good behind him. Even in the heat of summer, they wore heavy sport coats, but the jackets did nothing to disguise the bulge of guns beneath. “You’ve been a very naughty boy, Trevor Dupree.” “Tony--” “Only my friends call me Tony, Trevor. My friends don’t duck out of me when they still owe me a hundred grand. You will call me Mr. Danova and you’re gonna hand me that piece right now.” Trevor’s attempts to be a tough guy ebbed away and he sniveled at the other man. “I have your money right here, Mr. Danova, with interest. I was just coming to see you,” Trevor said, his voice trembling as he handed over the gun. Tony shook his head, “Don’t bullshit me, Trevor. Now, as for you Mr. Cope and Ms. Harper, I apologize for this. It’s an unfortunate sequence of events that has led us all to be here at the same time.” Jackson held up his hands in an attempt to placate the other man. “Far as I’m concerned, you were never here. We were never here. Trevor got cold feet and let Evie go,” Jackson said, his voice pitched low and his tone perfectly reasonable.

Tony let out a heavy melodramatic sigh, “I wish it were that easy, but it isn’t. Witnesses have a way of coming to back to haunt you, and I can’t have that. Trevor here is going to come with me. You and Ms. Harper will stay here...Jesus, Trevor, you don’t even have any fucking bullets in this gun!” “I never really intended to hurt anybody. I just wanted to get the money I owed you,” Trevor said, his voice breaking on a sob. Tony motioned to the muscle behind him, “Put him in the trunk. I’ll take care of these two.” The goon grabbed Trevor, who screamed like a little girl, as he was being hauled across the parking lot. Evie watched with growing horror as Tony Danova replaced the clip in Trevor’s gun with one that was loaded with real bullets. “Love triangles are always messy.” “I’m not going to let you hurt her,” Jackson said, and with a move that was very much reminiscent of his football days, leapt across the ruined bed and tackled the other man to the floor. The struggled with the gun for several minutes, but Jackson was obviously the more powerful of the two. He had rested the gun away from him when the goon suddenly reappeared in the doorway. The loud pop of gunfire echoed in the small room and Evie screamed at the growing red stain on Jackson’s shirt. Tony grabbed the gun from Jackson’s hand as he collapsed to the floor. He rose, brushing off his suit and stepped over Jackson’s prone form. He surveyed her bound wrists, “I’m going to leave here and within seconds, this place will go up in flames. I ought to kill you, I ought to put a bullet in his head and one in yours, but I don’t like to shoot women. It makes me feel a little funny, so... So here is

what I am going to do, Ms. Harper. I am going to leave you and your rebound boyfriend in God’s hands. If you get out, then you’re free to go, safe from me and mine. If not, then I guess you’ll just be an unfortunate parable about the evils of jealousy... Because naturally, Trevor will be the presumed culprit.” “Don’t do this! At least cut me loose and give us a chance!” He shook his head sadly, “It’s a shame, Ms. Harper. You’re a very lovely woman. More of a lady than your late cousin could have ever hoped to be.” Evie watched him walk away, her head reeling and her stomach on the verge of heaving. When the door closed, the sound of the lock snipping into place spurred her into action. Sawing the ropes back and forth on the bedrail, she trembled when she heard the splash of gasoline and smelled the familiar, overwhelming odor. “Fuck it hurts to get shot,” he hissed. Relief washed through her at the sound of his voice. “Jackson! I thought--” she couldn’t bring herself to finish. Jackson knew what she had thought. Since blood was literally pouring from him, he knew that it wasn’t out of the question. He grabbed the cord of a broken lamp and pulled it toward him. He smacked it against the floor until another piece of the glass broke off. Taking the shard in his hand, he pulled himself over to the bed and placed it between Evie’s fingers. The broken glass was infinitely quicker than the rusted bed rail and within seconds, the frayed ropes snapped. He smiled, but felt his eyes closing against his will. A sharp slap to his face pulled him back to consciousness and to Evie’s irate form struggling to pull him to his feet.

“There’s a window in the bathroom that if we can get it open, we might be able to get out,” she panted brokenly. Somehow, she got him upright. It had to be sheer determination on her part, he thought, cause he’d been no help at all. Still, he leaned against the wall and tried to stay in that position as he ignored the burning pain in his ribs and the blood that was trickling freely down his side. He felt her arms sliding around his chest, supporting his weight, as she struggled to get them to the other room. Flames were beginning to lick along the front wall of the motel room. In the bathroom, he leaned against the filthy shower wall as Evie fought with the window that had been painted shut decades earlier. He would have offered to help but knew that at the moment he was more of a hindrance. The blood loss was taking a toll and it was all he could do to remain upright. As he listened to Evie cursing the window, he smiled. “I don’t think you need any more bad girl lessons, Evie. You’ve got the lingo down pat.” “Now, Jackson Cope, is not the fucking time!” she shouted. Spying the remnants of the shower curtain balled up in the corner, Evie grabbed it and tried to ignore the dirt as she wrapped it around her hand. She said a quick prayer as she punched the window with all the strength she could muster. Smoke was already filtering into the bathroom when the glass cracked under her fist. She hit it again and the glass shattered. Pulling in lungfuls of the clean air, she grabbed Jackson and pushed him toward the window. “You’re going out first,” he said.

“No, I’m not! If I go out first there’s no way in hell you can make it out on your own. Now just shut the fuck up and climb.” Jackson followed her orders because he was simply too weak to do anything else. Using his uninjured side, he levered himself up on the window sill and shimmied through the narrow opening. His landing was less than graceful and he hit the hard packed earth with an impact that made him sea stars. He watched from the ground as Evie hoisted herself up and out of the window. She landed in a heap beside him. For the longest moment, neither of them said a word. “Phone,” he finally managed. “Reed’s close by.” Evie got to her feet, and once again was pulling Jackson up with her. She didn’t have the strength to get him around to the front of the motel, but she at least wanted him further away from the building. Half dragging and half carrying him, she took in the pallor of his skin and began to panic anew. Tears were choking her when she heard the sound of Reed’s voice calling out. “We’re here!” she screamed. “Behind the building! Jackson’s been shot!” Reed appeared at the side of the building and rushed forward. He lifted Jackson onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and pulled Evie with him to the front lot. She could hear the wail of sirens in the distance. Lowering Jackson to the ground, Reed ripped Jackson’s shirt off of him and pressed it to the wound. He placed Evie’s hands over it, “Hold that! Put as much pressure on it as you can!” Evie didn’t hesitate. She just nodded and watched as Reed ran toward the road to wave the paramedics over. With the debris cluttered lot, it would have taken precious

time for them to locate them. Time ceased to have any meaning. Evie was only barely aware of the noise around her, of the men screaming instructions to one another and to her. She simply held on to Jackson and prayed with everything she had in her. It was Reed who pulled her back. He grabbed her arms and lifted her bodily away from Jackson as the paramedics loaded him onto a board and into the back of the ambulance. “We’ll meet them at the hospital.” “I need to stay with him!” “Evie, it’s bad. Really bad. They need the room in the back to work on him in case--” “In case he dies on the way?” “Yes, Evie. Let’s go. I’ll get you there. I promise.” Numb, she allowed Reed to lead her to Jackson’s truck, where he pulled a spare key from the wheel well. She kept her eyes trained on the ambulance in front of them, fearing that at some point during the drive they would turn off the sirens, signaling the end. By the time they reached the hospital, tears were streaming unchecked from her eyes, but she hadn’t made a sound. Reed helped her from the truck and led her inside. Jackson was rushed straight into surgery and she was taken to a small cubicle in the Emergency Room where her cuts and abrasions were catalogued and recorded as evidence before being treated and were then photographed again. The ropes that were still tied around her wrists were bagged as evidence and her clothes were taken as well. Marginally cleaner, she was given a pair of scrubs to put on and returned to the surgery waiting area where Reed still sat stonefaced

and silent. Her mother and father were there, as well. Phillip rose and pulled her into his embrace, and Evie finally snapped. The silent tears gave way to great hiccuping sobs. “Evie, my sweet girl! I could kill Trevor for this!” “I don’t think you’ll need to,” she said on a watery sigh. She told them about Tony Davano and that the police had already taken him into custody after rescuing Trevor from the trunk. Reed had filled her in on that as soon as they arrived at the hospital. She recounted the entire sordid tale as they waited. When it was done, they all fell silent and stared at the waiting room walls. It seemed like hours passed before the surgeon came out to update them. “For right now, he’s in critical condition but he’s stable. The bullet didn’t pierce any major organs but it did nick an artery. He lost a lot of blood and has a few broken ribs for his trouble. The blood loss is really the key issue here.” “When can I see him?” “They’re moving him to recovery now and from there, he’ll go to the unit. When they get him settled in recovery, I’ll give you a few minutes with him, but once he’s on the unit, you’re at their mercy.” Fifteen minutes later, Evie was standing beside Jackson’s hospital bed, looking down at his incredibly pale face and noting the brackets around his mouth. She couldn’t stand the thought that he might be in pain. “I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!” His eyes fluttered open, “I will spank you for that... soon as I’m able.” Evie laughed, but it turned into a sob. “I shouldn’t say it. I know it’s stupid and you’ll probably never want to see me again, but I love you.”

He smiled then. “I loved you first.”

Epilogue The nights had given way to cooler, Fall-like temperatures and Evie was savoring the sensation of lying on the rug in front of her new fireplace. She had bought the house with her father’s help after getting the mess Trevor had created taken care of. Hearing Jackson’s footsteps in the hall, she smiled. Rolling to her side, she let her robe fall open, revealing the black lace nightie that she knew he would love. When he entered the living room and stopped dead in his tracks, she greeted him, “It’s about time you got home.” “Coaching high school football is hard work,” he said, unzipping his jacket and tossing it onto the stack of boxes that still sat in the corner. His shirt followed, and then he was kicking off his shoes and sliding his jeans down his long legs.

“Well, your work is far from done, Jackson Cope. I suggest you get over here and earn your keep.” He crossed the room and joined her on the rug, but Evie quickly turned the tables on him. She rose up over him, straddling his lean hips. “The first rule,” she said, reaching for a length of satin ribbon that was lying beside the rug, “Is that a kept man must follow orders.” Jackson narrowed his eyes at her. “What exactly are you planning, Evie?” Evie leaned forward and grasped his wrists, looping the ribbon around them, “I am planning to teach a few lessons of my own.” Jackson allowed her to loop the ribbon around his wrists. He even submitted to the big giant bow she tied the ribbon with, his only response was one raised eyebrow. “You’re the Martha Stewart of dominatrixes now?” “I’m not as mean as Martha,” she said with a grin as she shrugged the robe off her shoulders, revealing creamy, white skin and black lace. “Lord, you’re gonna be the death of me,” he said. Evie kissed him then, not taking his mouth, but pressing soft kisses to his jaw, his neck, tugging at his ear lobe with her teeth. All the while, she touched his chest, her hands skimming over the hair roughened skin, toying with the flat discs of his nipples. With his cock nestled in the juncture of her thighs, she could feel his response. His cock was so hard and every harsh breath and gutteral groan that escaped him was her reward. The ribbon merely gave her the illusion of control, she knew, but she was enjoying the fact that Jackson was willing to play along. “Dammit, Evie!”

Evie slid further down his body, her mouth moving sensually over his stomach. She paused, her lips poised just inches from his cock. “I could always stop if you really wanted me to.” “No...for the love of God, no,” he said, his breathing labored. Evie laughed as she dipped lower, her lips gently brushing the glistening crown. She didn’t take him into her mouth, but skimmed her lips and tongue over every inch of his cock. She could feel the tension coiling in his body as the anticipation built. Slowly, she licked his cock, starting at the plum shaped head and working down his shaft, until she reached the tight spheres of his balls. With teasing licks, she drove him to the brink before taking the head of his cock into her mouth. Relaxing her jaw she worked her mouth over him, taking as much of him as she could. His thighs were straining with tension, his hips thrusting upward. Slowly, she began to move, feeling the glorious slide of his cock over her tongue as she withdrew, only to tighten her mouth and pull him in again. “Christ, Evie! I can’t take it anymore!” Evie relented, working her mouth back up to the tip of his cock before letting him go with one last lick that had him shuddering. “Then tell me what you want, Jackson.” “I want to be inside you,” he said. She moved over him, her hips straddling his and the wet slit of her pussy teasing the crown of his cock. “Oh, no... You don’t get off that easy. You have to tell me precisely what you want and you have to use the dirtiest words possible.”

Had he not been in agony, Jackson would have laughed at having his own lessons tossed back in his face. His voice was harsh with lust when he answered her, “I want to slide my cock inside your pussy. I want to feel how wet and tight you are for me. I want to feel every ripple of your cunt as you cum for me.” Evie shuddered. “That’s not playing fair.” “Bad boys don’t play fair,” he reminded her. Evie grasped his cock in her hand and guided him inside her, her body clenching hotly around him. With a gentle, teasing undulation of her hips, she took him deeper and deeper until he was seated to the hilt. Without moving, she began to clench her pussy, massaging his cock with the rhythmic contractions of her sheath. Jackson’s breath hissed out between clenched teeth. “Bad girls don’t play fair, either,” she said. Jackson raised his bound hands, looping them behind her head and tugging her down to him for a ravishing kiss. He stroked his tongue boldly into her mouth as he thrust his hips forward, tunneling into her with reckless abandon. He moved his hands down over her back, cupping her ass, holding her to him as he drove into her again and again. He felt her shuddering against him and swallowed her cries as she came. Unable to hold back any longer, he thrust into her welcoming heat one last time, his body shuddering as he came. Afterwards, Evie lay draped over his chest, her head nestled against his shoulder. Both of them were too replete to move. But there were pressing matters to attend to, Jackson thought. “Are you planning to untie me sometime today?”

“Maybe...When I can move,” she replied with a satisfied smirk. Jackson raised his arms and used his teeth to grasp the ribbon and untie the bow, before dropping it to the floor beside them. “We’ll hang on to that for later.” Evie protested when he turned them over so that she was flat on her back on the floor. “I would tell you not get your panties in a twist,” he said, “But you’ve given up wearing them.” “You’re a bad influence,” she retorted. Jackson rose and walked over to the stack of boxes, where he retrieved his jacket and carried it back with him. He dug in the pockets for a second before producing a small, black velvet box. “Well, seeing as how I’ve thoroughly corrupted you, the least I can do is marry you, right?” Evie sat up and stared at the box in utter shock. When Jackson lifted the lid to reveal a large diamond in an antique setting, she felt tears burning her eyes. “You want to get married?” “I want to get married to you,” he replied with emphasis. “You’re it for me, Evie. You always have been. I’ve been in love with you since we were kids. I can’t imagine ever wanting to be with anyone else.” Evie threw herself into his arms and kissed him soundly. “Oh my god! Yes, yes, yes and yes! I love you. I’ll marry you tomorrow!” He laughed as he slipped the ring on her finger, “What? No big wedding this time?” Evie thought about it for second before answering, “Yes, actually. I do want a big wedding. One scandalous enough to make people forget all about the first one!”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” “Well, it could be.... If I were hugely pregnant when I walk down the aisle and maybe wearing a red dress?” His heart skipped a beat. “Are you?” “Maybe...It’s still too early to tell for certain, but I kinda think so.” A year earlier, the very idea would have terrified him. But it was Evie, and with her everything was different. “Then by all means, let’s set the Gresham County gossips on their asses... I kind of like the idea of a little, black haired, hellion running around.” Evie reached for the ribbon laying beside them, “Didn’t you say you had plans for this?” Jackson took the ribbon from her and pressed her back against the floor. “I have plans for you.”

THE END