Reese rises abruptly and starts out of the room.
I take a stand. Lolita does too.
“I’ll talk to her.” I order, crossing the room.
No fucking way. My jaw is set. She’ll have sons. My sons and daughters.
28
Reese
November
I sit up against the pillows and look at Evan. His entire body dominates my queen-sized bed. We haven’t slept here in so long. The winter solstice is coming up shortly, and I’m preparing for Nook’s grand opening. I had initially chosen the spot around the corner from Evan’s home to resurrect Flour. At the moment, the front of Flour is closed, and I continue with the dessert catering business in the kitchen. Besides, the location for Nook is on a bustling artsy street, so breakfast food and drinks will be all the rave.
For now, I set aside the frenzy of starting over to watch him.
Every gold-plated muscle and tendon which becomes my safe anchor is at peace. And every crazy thing my mom has told me, Evan has been by my side. The day I stormed out of Tony’s place after Lolita declared that I was a decedent of the Giugliano family, Evan’s response was rich with confidence. Seasons have passed away, and I can still hear Evan’s declaration that I have no need to worry. He'll always be there.
Do not be apprehensive about my own family, my own blood… I tell myself. Evan and I haven’t divulged the seriousness of our relationship to our parents at my request, yet he is my reassurance. We’ve all had a serious discussion about Evan keeping an eye on me since we live near each other.
Leaning against a flurry of pillows, I watch him sleep, I pray Evan is never put into a situation because of me. Unlike Grayson, he didn’t run after hearing of Giovanni. Upon seeing the love, doubt, and guilt in my ex-fiancé’s eye, I know that Lolita warned him.
I smile down at Evan, with a flurry of emotions running through me. Happiness that he hasn’t run after learning about the Giugliano family. Angst at the thought of him one day deciding I am not worth the fight. And I suppose the greatest sentiment I have is ‘selfishness.’ Can I honestly love Evan the way he loves me if I’m too selfish to let him go? I’m afraid to say that three letter phrase: ‘I love you.’ But I’m too damn selfish to want better for Evan than being tied to me.
He’s become my place of refuge. He handled all of the murders at my apartment. After initial questioning, the cops never gave me a second thought. On the first day of winter, Nook will open. Jamie and I have strategized on having a winter solstice type of event to garner new customers and perk the ears of our weary, loyal ones. And I can officially get rid of my ‘Amityville’ apartment. There are boxes all around my bedroom, and we usually sleep at Evan’s, but this morning…
Evan’s big, buff bicep locks around my thighs. And he pulls me closer to him, leveraging his head in my lap. His tone is a mixture of a wet, groggy dream, “Stop staring at me. And why'd you wake up so early?”
“Sorry.” I give a wry smile. “Cannoli. I’m up to make cannoli. That’s why we had to sleep here, at the little shoppe of horrors. One of my longest running customers flies to LA every month for business. Since he’s virtually the only one who hasn’t abandoned me, I’ve felt obliged to continue on with our routine month after month, and have a fresh box ready for him at dawn.”
“Mmmm...” Evan becomes king of the jungle, his tone vibrating into my lap so raw, so animalistic my entire body aches for him. If it weren’t for being loyal to my customers, there’s no way I’d get out of bed.
“Okay, big boy, I've gotta get downstairs to the kitchen.” I feather his perfect, wavy hair.
“No ya don't.” Evan grips my ass and in a flash, I'm beneath his girth.
“Oh, hell no, morning breath. C’mon, stepbrother, this is getting scary.”
“You've got morning breath too.” He chuckles. Then his warm mouth comes down onto mine. It's tingly, cool, minty.
“What!” I pull away. “No fair.”
“I woke up around four this morning. Brushed my chompers and I've been waiting for you,” his minty mouth glides across my cheek.
I hold a hand over my mouth, “Sneaky snake!” I gasp the words.
Evan pulls my hand away from my mouth with ease to my protest. He says, “We’re in love, doll. You're mine.”
Then his mouth clamps onto mine. My sweet Evan knows I’m still too chickenshit to utter my adulation for him. I struggle to save my sanity but his teeth sink into the flesh of my lip. I sense his dick rising before it even pokes into my thigh. Evan’s callused hand touches along the same spot of my neck, then around to my cheek. Then his thick lips go to that soft spot right behind my ear. The kiss lingers and makes my breath catch and my heart skip a few beats.
“I’m still mad,” I barely can get the words out for smiling.
“Is that so?” Evan licks his lips as he pulls the zipper down the front of my footie pajamas. “I should be mad at you for wearing these darn cartoon pajamas.”
Whimpering, I say, “But it gets cold at night.”
“The next time I’m in Armani, I’ll push through discomfort to see if they design some sort of onesie.” His laughter is warm as it sinks into the soft skin of my chest.
“Okay, the day you do that, I’ll have no problems forcing you to the store to purchase tampons too.” I grin. “Worse! I’ll have to tell my mom about our freaky relationship. She’s a piranha when it comes to my well-being. See how much Lolita likes you, then.”
The affable glow in Evan’s gaze warms over with lust. He palms one of my breasts, then helps me
