Forsaking All Others Page 16

  “I love you, Julianna.”

  He finished with a peck on the forehead before he laid back in the bed with one strong arm encircling her waist, his grip possessive, yet gentle. She immediately sat up but remained silent as she stared down at him.

  “Evan.”

  “Mmm?”

  He’d closed his eyes, but she knew he wasn’t sleeping. When he didn’t respond further, she nudged him in the side.

  “Evan!” Her voice was more insistent this time as she nudged him again until he opened his eyes.

  “What is it, love?”

  She sat back on her heels as she stared down at him. His expression was unreadable as he waited for her to respond. Her heart hammered in her chest as his gaze focused on her. “Do you realize what you just told me?”

  “Yes.”

  “But—”

  “Would you prefer I didn’t tell you?”

  He continued to stare up at her, his gaze challenging hers before she shook her head with a chuckle. He didn’t even realize the gravity of the words he had just spoken to her.

  “No, I want you to feel like you can tell me anything.”

  Evan grunted and closed his eyes once more. She admired his features as he lay there, a small smile crossing her face. Although he came off as gruff and blunt, he was nothing more than a gentle giant at heart—even though he didn’t possess a knack with words. She said as much as she leaned over him, enjoying the feeling of his warm hands running along her body as she kissed him. His quirky demeanor was one of the many reasons she loved him.

  “I love you, too, Evan.”

  His eyes snapped open, and he sat up in the bed. She now had his undivided attention. It was clear that wasn’t the response he had expected.

  She smiled and rubbed the scruff along his jawline. “What, only you get to say it?”

  Any further argument died on her lips as Evan crushed his lips against hers. His lips danced along hers, urgent, as he drew her closer, his hands now cupping her face. When he finally withdrew, he stared down at her with an expression in his eyes she couldn’t quite place, but it was one she knew she liked. It softened him. She snuggled up against his chest, enjoying their closeness, as she laced her fingers through his. His hands were large, with long fingers, lightly calloused, but had the most gentle of touches. They were the hands of a man who worked hard—hands that were trained to be skillful and precise, but gentle when needed. That was her Evan.

  “I’ve been in love with you for a while, Ev. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “Where does this go from here?” she asked softly.

  “Wherever you want it to. But just know I’ll be with, you wherever it is.”

  Touched, Julianna pressed a kiss to his cheek. To know he felt the same about her was freeing; although she hadn’t expressed as much to him, she had no problems envisioning a future with him—a long one, nothing like the past she had endured with Devon. She hadn’t been looking for love, but here it was, reciprocated back to her in the form of the man who lay next to her. Julianna straddled him, enjoying to the tightening of his dick against her abdomen as she did so. She grinned as she slowly eased down onto him, shivering in ecstasy as he filled her, inch by inch, his length engulfed by her warm center. His eyes were staring at her intently as she brought her lips to his, slowly undulating her hips on top of him. A sharp hiss escaped his lips as he grabbed her ass, filling his hands with the ample flesh as he ground his hips into hers. His hands roughly trailed up her body where he cupped her breasts, drawing a hard moan from her mouth as he kneaded them, running his fingertips against her nipples until she shivered, rewarding him with another flood of wetness from her center. As she reached her peak, she closed her eyes and arched her back.

  “I love you, Evan.”

  He took her face in his hands, eyes never leaving hers. “I love you too, Julianna.”

  Satisfied, she closed her eyes, and splintered into bliss.

  Julianna quietly walked through her home, and sorrow crept into her body. At first, this home had been such a point of triumph for her—it had been her first real taste of freedom ever since leaving Devon, but now it felt cold and empty. Once again, Devon had something to do with that. He’d violated her privacy and had destroyed her sense of security in her new home.

  At first, she believed she would’ve seriously missed being there, but this was the first time she’d returned since she’d been staying with Evan. He’d only agreed after she begged him to come back to pick up her raw materials for her business. He’d finally relented, a deep scowl on his face, but only under the condition he came with her. Although things had been relatively quiet since she’d been staying with him, Evan stayed on high alert.

  He made her feel safe. So much so that there’d been times during her stay with him she had brief moments where she’d forgotten all about the situation with Devon. However, it would always rear its ugly head when she would awake in the middle of the night. Every night she was not at her own place was a reminder of why.

  She opened the closet door in the entry hallway to retrieve her materials but uttered a string of curses at what she saw instead. All of her glass bottles of essential oils, all of her bulk creams and butters, and her shipping labels were mangled beyond repair. The son of a bitch had destroyed them all.

  Tears welled up in Julianna’s eyes at the sight. She didn’t know what the hell Devon wanted, but this had to stop. He couldn’t expect to keep harassing her in this way. She reopened the closet and was angrily picking up shards of broken glass when she heard movement behind her. She didn’t look up, knowing Evan was also in the home with her.

  “Baby, can you pass me a garbage bag to clean this mess up?”

  She blindly reached behind her, her hand in search of the bag, and she straightened when she felt the plastic material being pushed into her hand.

  “I may need more than one. The son of a bitch destroyed everything.”

  “Of course, darling. But first, we’re going to have to talk about your choice of words when describing your husband.”

  Julianna’s body went cold. She spun around to find Devon standing directly behind her. Her eyes darted from Devon to the door and scrambled to her feet. He was dressed casually in sweats and a T-shirt. There was stubble growing along his jaw, and he looked disheveled. This wasn’t the Devon she had been used to seeing.

  “I knew you would come back here. It was only a matter of time before you came to your senses and left that maggot. You’ve taken up enough time.” Devon took a step forward, a grin widening on his face when Julianna took a step back. “What’s this? You’re acting afraid of me when you’ve been choosing to fuck a complete stranger? What’s wrong with you, Julianna? Your head is all mixed up.”

  “Why are you in my house?”

  “Because I need to see you.”

  “So you break into my house?!”

  He shrugged. “Wouldn’t have had to break in if you had just answered my calls. Come back home. Act like you know how to be a good wife.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Where the fuck have you been? Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?”

  She took another step back and immediately straightened when she realized she had backed up against the wall.

  Where was Evan? Was he hurt? Did Devon do something to him?

  Devon advanced on her. She bolted from the entryway into the middle of the living room, in search of a weapon, anything she could use to defend herself. He reached for her, but she dodged him and ran to the far end of the living room.

  “Come. We’re going home. Now.”

  He reached for her again as she swatted his hand away with a scowl. Enraged, he grabbed her by the front of her shirt, glaring down at her. “Listen, Julianna, I don’t have time for your bullshit right now. We are leaving. Now.”

  He replaced his grip on her shirt with a firm grip on her forearm as he tugged her. She scratched at his arm, refusing to give in so easily. He would have to work
to get her out of the house.

  “I told you there was no one better than me, but your little silly ass didn’t want to listen. Once again, you see that I am right.”

  He continued to tug at her, but she resisted him, unwilling to move. When he realized that she wasn’t moving, his face twisted into a scowl.

  “Don’t make me tell you again, Julianna. You already have tons to regret. Don’t make this moment be one of them.”

  When she didn’t move, she watched as his hand ball into a fist. He slowly raised it when Evan suddenly appeared beside him. She hadn’t seen him approach, but there he was, his jaw clenched. He grabbed a hold of Devon’s raised fist.

  “Unless you want to lose that arm, you’ll let her go. Now.”

  Evan tightened his grip, forcing Devon’s hand back at an awkward angle. His face was solemn as he continued to pull, causing Devon to release his grip on Julianna, not wanting to chance a broken arm. She ran to Evan, needing to increase the distance between her and Devon as Devon spoke.

  “What the fuck is this, Julianna? What are you trying to prove going around with this piece of shit?”

  Evan’s jaw twitched.

  “What I do now is none of your concern. We are divorced. I’m never coming back. I don’t understand why you won’t get this through your head.”

  Devon took another menacing step toward her but shrank back when Evan stood directly in front of Julianna, his hands already balled into fists, ready to strike at any further movement Devon made.

  Annoyed, Devon raised his voice. “Because I can’t understand why someone would be so stupid. Leave me? You’re clearly delusional.”

  Julianna blew out a sigh, drained. She didn’t want Devon to realize just how much he rattled her. She rubbed her temples and shook her head slowly.

  “I’m your ex-wife, Devon. I don’t get you—when we were together, you acted like it was hell to be around me, but when I give you what you want, you act all crazy. What, the grass isn’t greener with Michelle?”

  She’d moved on. Why didn’t he seem to get it? She watched Devon smile at the mention of Michelle. The gesture was wolfish, disturbing. He rubbed his jaw as if he knew something she didn’t. It made her stomach turn.

  “Because no one leaves me.”

  He advanced on her again when Evan immediately took a step forward. Evan’s muscles tightened and his face contorted into a sneer as he waited for Devon to continue. Instead of fighting, Devon laughed to himself before he shook his head. He took his time scanning Evan from head to toe before he laughed again.

  “You make me out to be some terrible person, but you turn around and fuck this guy? Tell me, do you even truly know him?”

  Evan’s body visibly stiffened. He remained silent, but she could sense his irritation as his hands remained balled into fists at his sides. Confused, she glanced up at him, but he didn’t look at her. He continued to glare at Devon with a murderous look in his eye, his anger palpable.

  Devon laughed. “Hmm. I see. Well, I guess I’m stuck. You only want to see the so called ‘bad’ in me and me alone.” He suddenly looked down at his watch as he started for the door. “You think this man is your savior? Ask him about Austweitz.” He paused, nodding his head toward Evan with a wink. “Oh, and as for Michelle, she’s no longer in the picture. I got what I needed. I’ll be seeing you. Soon.”

  He waltzed through the door without another word, as if he had no care in the world.

  Julianna watched him leave, a sinking feeling in her gut. She remained silent as Evan wordlessly walked out of the living room and into the kitchen where he leaned against the kitchen countertop, his expression brooding. He didn’t move, said nothing for a while until he straightened, roughly running his fingers through his hair.

  “Gather what you need. You won’t be coming back here.”

  “Who or what is Austweitz, Evan?”

  He closed his eyes, an array of emotions crossing his face, the most prominent being pain. When he opened them, he walked toward the master bedroom.

  “It looks like he was staying here. I guess he was waiting to catch you when you got back.”

  He completely ignored her question as he disappeared into the bedroom. He sat on the bed, in deep thought. The door remained opened, and she stared at him for a while, fighting the wave of nausea that washed over her at what Devon had said. As soon as Devon had brought up that Austweitz thing, Evan immediately froze. It was obviously something disturbing to him. Now, she’d directly asked him, and he’d acted as if she hadn’t asked. If he chose to hide this—whatever it was—from her, then it had to have been bad.

  Although she didn’t want Devon’s words to get to her, there was still a sense of dread. Yes, it was true there was still a lot about Evan that she didn’t know, but up until now, it was never something that bothered her. He was a guarded individual, and she’d been enjoying getting to know him in bits and pieces. However, there was now a piece of her that feared the mysteries hid behind the man she now loved.

  Evan raked his hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. Devon had been there in Julianna’s home—right in front of her, and he froze. All because of one fucking thing from his past. He cursed again, a little louder this time, as he leaned forward. He’d planned to tell Julianna all about his past, but it seemed like it hadn’t been soon enough. That Devon had beat him to it made it seem like it was something he wanted to hide.

  And telling her will be painful.

  He allowed the familiar wash of pain to engulf him. He’d hoped that things would have gotten easier with time, but the wound still felt as fresh as the day everything had happened. He sighed and made his way back out to the living room where Julianna was quietly sitting. She too seemed deep in thought. She stood as he entered the room.

  “I want to tell the police about this.”

  He stood there, unmoving, as she continued to stare up at him. He finally gave a single nod when he realized that she was waiting for some confirmation.

  “Of course.”

  “Okay.”

  She stood there, biting her lip, watching him. She was bursting with questions, but she remained silent as she called the police.

  Evan remained eerily silent as she recounted her ordeal to the cops, and he answered all of their questions on autopilot, his mind clouded. He fought to regain his concentration even after she filed her report. This wasn’t like him. He couldn’t afford to lose focus. Ever.

  But he did.

  Julianna’s sigh was almost deafening to his ears as she got into the car. He too sighed as he got entered the driver’s seat, anger creasing his forehead as he drove.

  He wanted her to know about him, but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard. He took his time driving to his home, dreading the conversation he knew would come when he got there. There were plenty of things Julianna didn’t understand. If she would understand, was another issue. He sighed again, his gut twisting into tight knots.

  There was a tense silence between them as he drove to his home; Julianna kept her gaze out of the window and didn’t look over at him, didn’t engage him even once during the whole ride. When they got there, they exited the car and Julianna stood quietly at the door as she waited for him to open it. As soon as they were inside, Julianna set her purse on the kitchen counter. He followed her into the living room before she turned to him, a wan smile on her face.

  “Hey, I’m exhausted. I’m just going to get some rest for, okay?”

  He nodded, bending to place a kiss on the top of her head. His body stiffened when he noticed that she had opted to rest on the couch instead of his bed.

  I need her to understand that there are reasons for everything I have done in my life.

  He watched her curl up on the couch and close her eyes. “Julianna.”

  He paused, uncomfortable with the vulnerability he felt. He shifted his weight, standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room and cleared his throat, unsure of how to proceed.

 
“There are things about me—not so great things, that I have done in my past. I’m not perfect, but I also am not deliberately trying to keep anything from you.”

  She remained curled up, her eyes still closed, but he could tell that she was still listening.

  “I’m listening.”

  He slowly shook his head, already dreading the conversation was to come. Those memories—those times were ones filled with great deals of pain, and they had never been shared with anyone else in his life besides Hudson, who’d been right there at his side to endure the same grief. He closed his eyes, willing his nerves to calm themselves before he could bring himself to explain his past to the woman he loved. Before he could continue, Julianna eased up from her place on the couch, came to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. His entire body relaxed as she leaned into him, and he inhaled the scent of her hair as they embraced.

  “You’re not ready. I’ll wait.”

  He furrowed his brow while he stared down at her. She was watching him intently, a gentle smile on her face as she took a step back. Her arms were still loosely encircling his torso as she spoke.

  “I don’t know the extent of what you need to tell me, but I know I love you. And trust you. For now, that is enough.”

  Something stirred inside Evan’s chest as he tenderly brought her face up to his. Their lips touched, and he pulled her closer, molding his body to hers before he released her.

  “I love you, Julianna.”

  She smiled. “I love you, too.”

  Something jolted him awake in the middle of the night, the sound of a loud boom reverberating through his home. He shot up in the bed, and reached next to him, in search of Julianna’s warm body next to his. When his hand touched the cold sheets beside him, his anxiety immediately mounted.