She laughs again. "I wish. What time will you be back tomorrow?"
"Not until late."
"Oh. Okay." She sounds disappointed. I smile to myself.
"How did your meetings go?"
"Pretty well." I sigh. "I didn’t mention this because it’s just another example of my dysfunctional relationship with my mom but... she has some issues with my father’s will. It’s what she was meeting with the board about in Cincy. I met with company lawyers today to find out if she has a case at all and what it’s going to take to fight this in court."
"Oh. Jake. That’s... I’m sorry. What does she want out of it?"
"Essentially, she wants control over the company, over me. But my lawyers are confident that she’s not going to get it. Still, I’m going to have to be here more than I’d like." I don’t succeed at keeping the bitterness out of my voice.
She pauses. "Maybe I could come with you once or twice, if I’m not working during one of your trips. You know, to support you. If you think it would help... " She trails off, sounding unsure.
Emotion wells up in my chest and I’m quiet for several beats. "Jake?" She asks quietly.
"You’d do that?
"Would I do that? Yes, of course I’d come with you–"
"Support me."
She’s quiet for a minute. "Of course I’d support you.
I let out a harsh exhale, and something deep inside warms and softens, seeming to unclench, like a muscle that has been held in a perpetual cramp. "I don’t deserve you, Evelyn Cruise."
"Probably not. Those cookies were also meant to serve as a warning of what you’ll be stuck with if you don’t treat me right. A lifetime of chocolate stained sheets and dissatisfaction."
I laugh, and we continue to talk about what she’s been doing for the last couple of days, including making dinner plans for us with her friends Nicole and Mike. After a little while, I can hear in her voice that she’s fading, and so we say our goodnights.
On Wednesday morning, when I arrive in Cincinnati, I barely have time to stop home and shower before changing and driving straight to the Hilton. I use the keycard I was given yesterday to enter the penthouse.
When I hear three loud knocks on the door, I don’t answer. I stand in the doorway between the bedroom and the bathroom and wait. My heart picks up in excitement as I anticipate Evie appearing in the bedroom doorway. I make some quiet noises so she’ll know someone is here.
"Hello?" she calls out and I just grin, not answering.
The minutes drag as I hear Evie doing something in the other room. I crane my ears, listening to her quiet footsteps on the plush carpeting, stuffing my hands in my pockets and waiting, suddenly feeling a little nervous. How will she react to this surprise?
I see her peak around the doorway, a walkie-talkie in one hand and a bottle of some type of cleaner in the other.
I keep grinning as she spies me, a look of shock first and then pure happiness fills her face.
She drops the items in her hands and launches herself at me, letting out a little shriek of happiness as I catch her. I laugh in surprise and spin her around as we both laugh and kiss. Evie, Evie, my girl, my heart. I imagine that this is what it would have been like if I had come for her when she turned eighteen. For just a minute, I pretend that we’re just two kids who had a rough childhood but were lucky enough to find each other, and now it’s just her and me against the world, starting over. Our whole life is in front of us – no secrets, no guilt, no shame.
She takes my face in her hands, laughing against my mouth as she kisses me again and again. I kiss her back with just as much passion, spinning her once more. Everything about her feels like home. The only home I’ve ever truly had.
After a few minutes, our laughter dies and we go still, simply holding each other close, soaking in the moment.
Finally, I let my grip on her loosen and she slides to the floor, gazing up at me. "What are you doing here, Jake?"
"I wanted to surprise you. When we talked on Sunday, you told me you were cleaning the penthouse all this week if it was occupied, and my evil wheels started turning. I rented it on Tuesday morning before I left town. How long does it usually take to clean it?"
"You rented this room so you could spend the time with me it takes to clean it?" she says, furrowing her brow.
"Yup."
She looks up at me quietly for a second.
"Um, how long to clean it? If the guests are really messy, an hour and a half?"
"They're dirty slobs."
"Oh, okay, then, maybe I could push it to two hours."
No time to waste. I start unzipping her dress.
"What are you doing, Jake?" she asks.
"Not wasting any time."
"Um, Jake–" she starts, but doesn’t finish her thought, as I kiss down her neck. That’s fine. There’s plenty of time to talk later.
She looks at me with heated eyes and a small smile on her lips as she takes my hand and leads me to the upholstered chair on the opposite side of the room. She pushes me down and I watch her, wondering what she has in mind. I was hoping things would lead in a specific direction. Me, Evie, a bed... several days of missing the hell out of her. But I didn’t know if she’d feel comfortable with that while she was supposed to be working. Apparently, she does. Thank God.
She climbs on top of me, straddling me and takes my face in her hands, looking into my eyes for several beats before lowering her lips to mine, nipping at me and sliding her tongue into my mouth. I smile against her lips. My Evie is finding her inner sex goddess. Something in me roars to life – a fierce possessive pride in the fact that she’s only known my lovemaking, only learned what she knows from me. I take control of our kiss, tilting her head so that I can go deeper into her sweetness, the taste of her exploding on my tongue and making me harder. My body is gripped in an onslaught of desire, my erection swollen to its fullest beneath Evie’s core. I ache to be inside her, to sink into her so deeply that we don’t know where she begins and I end.