Chapter 19
Roman sat in the car, watching the door and waiting to calm down.
Another week had been wasted.
Evelyn had ignored all his calls and messages. It had been foolish of him to try to call her anyway, especially after her first refusal, but he had needed to know where she’d been. He’d needed to know what she was doing. What could she have possibly been doing that she hadn’t found a single moment for him? Okay, so that was a bit hypocritical, but he would have thought she was too old to play tit for tat.
Well, obviously she wasn’t too old for games, because she was playing one now.
What had taken her so long to return from that boy’s house? Wasn’t she supposed to be helping her parents? What about arranging her things for university? That was only a couple of weeks away. If she had tried to do that at all, she would have been told everything had already been arranged for her despite her refusing to let him do that. She would have called him to ask why he had done that. But she hadn’t called a single time, so obviously, her excuse about school was bullshit.
She’d been off playing with a boy.
He found his anger rising again and tried to push all those thoughts out of his head again. He’d lost count of how many times he had taken this out on his employees. It had been the worst week of his work life, with so many things he had let slide just because Evelyn had occupied all his thoughts.
This shit needed to stop.
He needed to let her go and find a woman who’d stay in the background. Someone he could take out on Fridays and then put her back in her box. It was time he trusted his instincts before Evelyn caused more trouble.
Seven on the dot he opened the car door and pulled his briefcase out. He was tense and angry but he could still feel the slithers of anticipation running through his body. It made him angrier. This was probably how his father had felt for all his women before they had trapped him and ruined his life.
He took a breath and took control of himself before he rang the doorbell.
Five minutes later he was still waiting outside. He rang the bell again, longer than the first time. She was in there, he knew she was. The security team had told him she’d arrived home a couple of hours ago and hadn’t left. She was playing her stupid games again.
When another five minutes went past and he was still standing outside, he fought the curse words that came to his mind as he found the key on his key ring and unlocked the door himself.
The first thing he heard was the loud music in the sitting room - loud enough for Evelyn not to have heard the doorbell. What the fuck was she up to now? It had been weeks since she had met him at the door the way she usually did, all breathless and eager to see him. Was she trying to make a point or had she genuinely lost track of time?
He put his case down on the sideboard and then walked to the sitting room. He had to stop in the doorway at the sight that met him.
She was fucking with him. She had to be. What the fuck was this?
Evelyn had her hair in a messy bun on top of her head, absolutely no top on and the ugliest pair of grey sweats he had ever seen. Was that a food stain? She was bobbing her head while she watched the music video with her legs sprawled out in front of her and had balanced a bowl of popcorn on her chest.
She was supposed to be ready for him! She knew the rules!
He didn’t know how long he stood there before Evelyn turned her head and saw him. She had no make-up on. He had seen her like this before, several times, especially after they’d showered together, but somehow seeing that fresh face now felt like he was seeing her for the first time again. She hadn’t worn any make-up then either, and her beauty had knocked him sideways.
A big smile appeared on her face before she reached for the television controller and switched it off.
“Oh, hey, love of my life,” she said easily.
And those words speared him just as much as the smile.
“What is this?”
Evelyn picked her phone up and looked at the screen before she tossed it aside and moved the bowl from her chest.
“I’m sorry, I lost track of time,” she said as she stood up. “But It’s okay, I’m ready.”
Her breasts captured his attention for far too long before his gaze moved down to the sweats she was wearing. He was right about the food stain. There were several of them.
“What’s the matter?”
He met her gaze again. The way she stood there so innocently as if she didn’t know what she was doing was a testament to her character. Had he misjudged her? He would never have believed there was a manipulative bone in her body before this week.
“What are you wearing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. The rules say I have to be washed and half-dressed, but you’ve never stated your preference for my clothes. I’ve bathed and I’m clearly half-dressed now, so we’re good to go.”
Clearly, she was. He almost rolled his eyes at her words but they were glued to her body. Did this woman even know how good she looked naked? Did she know how many sleepless nights he would have, waking up hard as a rock, aching to sink into her?
Moving his eyes away from her chest was a little more difficult than he cared to admit but he managed it and met her gaze. Her words penetrated his horny haze.
So now she was following the rules but putting her spin on things? Was she not going to address the fact that she had refused to talk to him all week? He wouldn’t ask, because she was obviously waiting for a reaction from him like last Friday. She was waiting for him to tell her she’d broken the rules so she had to leave.
He needed to do that.
He’d told her it didn’t matter what she said or did but the last week had proven otherwise. It had been humbling to admit that maybe he was more like his father than he realised. It was the whole reason he had come here this weekend. He had come to have her one last time and then tell her she had become a liability. Give her her university documents and wish her well.
“Okay,” he said with a shrug. “Let’s go then.”
The bright smile on her face lost some of its shine.
“Seriously?” she asked.
“Yes. I mean, you’re going to be fully naked anyway in a few minutes, so it doesn’t matter what you wear.”
The smile disappeared completely from her face and she sat back down.
“What are you doing now?”
“I don’t feel like sleeping with you, Roman. I can’t do it anymore. I just want you to let me go.”
And he wanted the same but hearing her say those words... All the anger he had felt earlier disappeared and was replaced with something he was unfamiliar with.
Maybe that boy could give her something he couldn’t. Maybe Brendan could tell her all the lies she wanted to hear when she told him she loved him. Words that would never leave his lips.
But for some reason he found himself sitting next to her on the sofa, contemplating a future where he didn’t have her to satisfy him. He didn’t want that yet. No matter how much she played this game or behaved like Esther, it wasn’t enough to let her go. He was a selfish bastard, he knew that. Evelyn was staying right where she was until he had wrung out every bit of pleasure that he could.
Yes, he was definitely like his father because his dick was making the decisions now.
“Tell me what you need. What can I do to make you want to stay?”