She quieted. Slowly, he stood and went to the bathroom. Running warm water over a cloth, he returned to where she lay on the floor and gently lifted her. Lucian cradled her pliant body to his chest and settled her into the bed. The cloth cleared away the remnants of their passion, and she shivered. Carefully tucking her under the heavy satin covers, he discarded the cloth and climbed in beside her, drawing her body close to his, needing to hold her.
His hands coasted over the gentle curve of her shoulder as his gaze watched her drift slowly to sleep. He couldn’t tear his touch or his gaze from her. For some reason he needed to see her, feel her, know she was real and right there beside him.
As her breathing settled and her body drifted off to sleep, his mind seemed to waken, a thousand thoughts running through his head, each one triggering the next. His fingers twirled her soft hair, admiring its silken sheen, loving the subtle weight of it in his palm.
This was more than finding her to make sure she was safe. This was more than fucking her because he had to have her. This was more than anything a casual proposition for company should become, but he was glad it had evolved to something else entirely.
Evelyn provoked a possessive side in him that had been dormant too long. He was not an easy man, no point in pretending to be. He knew it, his business partners knew it, Evelyn knew it. But this territorial side of him that came out around Evelyn was different than anything he ever felt. It was . . . softer. Beyond the intense need to claim her as his, came some sort of tender desire.
It wasn’t enough that she be with him. She needed to be happy, fulfilled. Emotionally, physically, and any other way a person could be made to feel content.
A soft little sound escaped her lips as she nestled closer to his chest. Her warm flesh was soft and smooth, so different than his own. Lucian cuddled her close, wrapping his arms around her delicate form protectively, not wanting to let her go, never intending to let her go.
Part III
Evelyn
Chapter 39
The hours to come . . .
All of Scout’s life she’d essentially been the same person, but that person she had always been suddenly seemed unrecognizable. She was losing Scout and becoming Evelyn. She was changing.
Evelyn had visited the spa early that morning and had her appointment with the girls, getting everything trimmed, waxed, painted, and plucked. She was acutely sore, but glad to have it done with. She was coming to take pride in such regimens and loved the way Lucian noticed such things and appreciated her efforts.
On her way back from the salon, she almost mistook a Patras attendant for Parker. The resemblance was uncanny. The man she saw had the same soft eyes and careless posture she had come to recognize as Parker’s, yet this man had a bit more meat on his bones and his skin had a healthy rosy glow. His hair wasn’t as long as Parker’s. She wanted to get the man’s name after he’d looked directly at her in the lobby, but, as a group of guests cut through the foyer to the elevators, she’d lost track of him.
Probably best she didn’t approach him anyway. What would she even say? You look just like my friend. Like he would care.
Since the incident in the lobby, however, her mind had stuck on Parker, and she wondered how he was. The snow was now gone and the bitter cold relented to uncomfortably arctic. Not perfect conditions, but certainly less bite.
Evelyn asked Lucian about the progress being made at St. Christopher’s and was pleased to discover the shelter had reopened its doors that past weekend in time for Christmas. Lucian also informed her that he’d replenished the facility with a month’s worth of food and other goods like cots that would lift the residents off the ground, blankets, a free laundry facility, showers, a huge shipment of coats, gloves, hats, and boots. He was a master of hospitality and basically turned the shelter into a free hotel for the needy. This information was extremely dangerous for her heart, which was already hazardously close to falling in love.
She couldn’t love Lucian. She just couldn’t. Love was a trap. It led people to depend on others who might not always be there and gave them the ability to hurt you more than anyone else ever could. She’d only ever loved one person, and she’d done nothing but show Scout all the reasons she should have protected her heart.
As they made the ride out of the city one afternoon, the highway opened up and Evelyn recognized the familiar route. Much like the last time they made this trip, she was anxious. Although she’d visited Lucian’s home once, it felt like years had passed since then. And that time didn’t include his family.