Chapter 10

TEN

Hendrix

“Why did you sneak out?” I demand once she answers the door.

Her neighbors next door start banging on the wall, yelling at us to keep it down, and I glare at the wall separating us. I’m already in a shitty mood, and having to deal with those jerks isn’t going to help matters.

When I woke up to find Evie gone and her side of the bed cold, I was furious. After last night and earlier this morning, I thought that we were finally on the same page. Obviously not, though. I don’t like that I have to track my woman down and explain to her that we're meant to be and that she needs to stop running away from me.

“Why did you leave?” I ask, stepping into her apartment and closing the door behind me, shutting out the rest of the world, including her rude neighbors. My focus is entirely on her, and the small space feels even smaller with the tension that’s been building between us.

We need to get her moved out of this place ASAP.

“I just needed to get home,” she says vaguely, and I frown.

Her hair is still wet from the shower, the wet strands dripping water onto her shirt, and I hate that she’s washed me off of her. There’s something about seeing her like this, fresh and beautiful, but without a trace of last night or this morning on her skin. It's like she’s trying to erase everything we shared.

“Why? Why not wake me or leave some kind of note?”

“I didn’t think that you would care,” she mumbles, and I shake my head, frustration boiling over.

“That’s not it, Evie. Come on. Tell me the truth. I thought that things were good between us.”

She chews on her bottom lip, her eyes starting to turn glassy, and an abhorrent thought hits me.

“Did I hurt you?” I choke out, and her eyes widen in shock.

“What? No! No, it’s not that,” she promises, and I frown.

“Then what is it? What happened, Evie?”

“Nothing,” she insists, and I growl under my breath, knowing there’s more she’s not saying.

“Evie—” I start, and her hands tighten into fists, her knuckles going white as she steels herself.

“It’s fake, okay! I forgot that for a moment, and when I woke up this afternoon in your bed, it just hit me, and I panicked. I needed a minute to get myself together before I had to face you and?—”

“It’s not fake,” I interrupt her, my voice firm. The words tumble out before I can stop them, my frustration finally pushing me past the point of keeping it all inside.

She blinks at me, her brows furrowing. Then it’s her turn to frown at me.

“What?” she asks, sounding dazed.

“It’s not fake. Not to me. It never was.”

“But when this started, we agreed it was fake.”

“How can you still think that this is fake between us? Haven’t I shown you how I felt?” My voice rises with the weight of everything I’ve been holding back. The vulnerability of it burns through my chest, but I push forward. She has to know.

Her mouth opens and closes, but no words come out.

“I love you, Evie,” I tell her, and her mouth drops open. “I’ve been in love with you since I first met you. I didn’t think that I would ever have a shot with someone like you, which is?—”

“Someone like me?” she asks, incredulous, and I nod.

“You’re gorgeous, and everyone loves you. You’re so nice and generous, and optimistic. I’m none of those things.”

“You are,” she argues softly, taking a small step toward me. Her hand brushes her hair back nervously, water droplets still glistening on her skin.

I give her a look, and she lets out a small laugh.

“Well… maybe not the optimist part,” she amends, the tension between us shifting slightly.

“Still. You make people feel at ease. I’ve seen guys in town checking you out, and I know that anyone would be lucky to be with you.”

“That’s why you never said anything?” she asks, her voice quieter now, her vulnerability starting to peek through.

I nod. “I figured that you would reject me, and then you might have quit to avoid things being awkward. I just… I needed you in my life. Any way that I could get you.”

“So that’s why you agreed with the fake dating thing,” she murmurs, finally piecing things together.

“Yeah. When I first heard that people in town said you told everyone that we were dating, I thought that I was dreaming. Then, when you mentioned it, well, it just seemed like maybe it was my sign to convince you that I could be good for you. I could be what you wanted.”

“You are,” she admits softly. “You always were. I just… I didn’t think that you saw me that way.”

“It would be impossible for me not to see you that way.”

She smiles, her cheeks turning bright pink, and something in me settles.

“I love you, Evie. I always have.”

“I love you too,” she says, and in the next instant, I’m on her.

I close the distance between us, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her tight against me. The kiss is slow at first, hesitant even. Her lips are soft beneath mine, a contrast to the tension that had been filling the air just moments before. But then, as her hands slide up my chest and around my neck, everything changes.

I deepen the kiss, pouring every ounce of frustration, fear, and love I’ve been holding inside into it. Evie responds immediately, her body molding to mine, her fingers curling into the hair at the nape of my neck as if she’s afraid to let me go.

I press her back against the door, my hands moving down to grip her hips. I want her closer; I need her closer. Her breath hitches against my lips, and that small sound undoes me. I kiss her harder, with more urgency, as if I’m trying to make up for all the time we wasted pretending this wasn’t real.

Her hands tug at my shirt, her fingers slipping beneath the fabric, and the heat of her touch against my skin makes my heart race. I groan into her mouth, my hands sliding up to cup her face, framing it as I pull back slightly, just enough to look at her. Her eyes are dark, her lips swollen from the kiss, and there’s something so raw, so real in her gaze that I can barely breathe.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper against her lips. “I’ll always have you.”

Evie smiles softly, her lips brushing mine again, and in that moment, it feels like everything in the world has fallen into place.

“I’m still not moving in with you,” she whispers, and I nip at her bottom lip.

“I’ll change your mind,” I tell her, and she laughs.

“I’m sure that you will,” she says as her arms wrap around my neck.

“Shut up!” the neighbors next door scream, banging on the wall again, and I growl, tearing myself away from Evie long enough to glare at the wall.

“You need to move,” I tell her, and she laughs breathlessly.

“I know. I am. I’m going back to Wolf Valley… or I was. I…”

“I’ll move with you. I’m not tied to this place. Just to you. I’ll follow you wherever you want to go.”

She smiles up at me, and I kiss her again. This time the kiss is softer, slower, and full of promises and certainty.

“Well, right now, I want to go back to your place,” she whispers against my lips, and I grin.

“Let’s go.”

She laughs as I grab her hand and drag her after me, leading her out of her terrible apartment and back to where she belongs.

In our bed.