Not a Toy

SAM

Evie was still sleeping—the angel in all her glory. I couldn’t blame her, though. She’d worked hard last night. And even though she’d tormented me for a while, I’d enjoyed every second. I mean, the girl knew how to fuck.

Leaving her to catch a few more REM cycles, I headed to the bathroom. Evie’s little stand-up shower was no match for mine at home, unfortunately. My mind drifted to my two rain heads, the tiled space large enough for at least six people—but not one to share it with.

Evie would look nice in there if I could get her over to my place. Her nude little body all soaped up and clean, only for me to get her dirty again—damn, would that be a sight…

But I need to get that image out of my mind. Evie didn’t want to have sex with me again. She’d said as much last night. I couldn’t walk back into her room with another hard-on and no way to hide it other than a measly towel.

The shower knobs squeaked dully as I twisted them off, leaving behind a few droplets trickling from the showerhead. I stepped out and claimed a fresh towel, folding it around my waist to head back in and grab my clothing from her floor.

When I opened the door, Evie sat up, still wearing that seductive black satin slip she’d fallen asleep in. She stretched and yawned.

I would kill to push those thin straps from her shoulders and wrap my mouth around one of her nipples, but I reminded myself: I was wearing nothing but a towel, with no cover for any inconvenient erections. I put those thoughts on the back burner.

“Morning, angel. Are you ready for phase two of Operation Fake Relation?”

“What’re you talking about?” she asked, still sounding sleepy.

“I already talked to my mom this morning,” I said, leaning against the threshold of her bathroom door. “You’re meeting my parents tonight.”

“No,” she groaned. “No, I’m not.”

“Evie, we had a deal. I met yours last night. And then, to top it all off, you tortured me afterward.”

“Oh, like you didn’t like it…” She sneered.

~I didn’t. I loved it.~

“Just remember, angel, payback’s a bitch.” I thought for a second, looking for leverage, and then cruised toward her ebony dresser on the other side of the bed.

Her brows pinched. “What are you doing?”

“Did you know you can tell a lot about a person from what they keep in their sock drawer?” I asked, dragging open her top drawer. “All types of juicy info to use as blackmail.”

“Oh, what?” She huffed, throwing a hand in the air. “Now you’re going to force me into this?”

“Oh.” A hot-pink, sheer lace thong called to me, and I drew it from the dresser with a smirk. “Evidently ~not~ a sock drawer.”

Evie jumped from the bed’s edge, snatching the thong from my grasp. “Can you not?”

I peered back in the drawer, catching sight of a small, sky-blue silicone device that I instantly pictured myself using on her.

“Evie, you dirty girl…” I snickered, grabbing her tiny vibrator from its hiding spot. “Why didn’t we have some fun with this little ornament last night?”

She blushed as she snatched it from my grasp, throwing it back in the dresser with the panties and hurling it shut. “Look, I’ll go to dinner with you under one condition. Stop the jokes.”

“Why?” I asked. I put my hands on either side of her, caging her against the dresser. “Are they making you wanna fall back into bed with me?”

~For the love of all that is holy, please say yes.~

Her face was as red as her cute little Santa outfit had been last night, and I caught her eyeing my chest as she gulped.

“Why do you do this?” she whispered.

I delicately tipped her chin up with a finger, eyeing her luscious lips. They were still stained with faded lipstick despite her attempts to remove it last night. “Because you, angel…are ~so~ fun to play with.”

All the playful humor in her face disappeared in an instant.

Her next statement was as good as a punch to the gut. “I’m not a fucking toy, Vázquez. And if that’s how you see me, you ~and~ our arrangement can fuck off.” She shoved past my arm, gathering my clothing from the floor.

Even though Evie and I had bickered before, something about this felt different. “Whoa, Evie…,” I said in a grave tone. “That’s not what I meant at all.”

“You know, I’m beginning to think this whole thing was a bad idea,” she said, not looking at me, her knuckles turning white around a sock.

“Our arrangement?” I clarified.

“Yeah. You know, between work and this fake relationship thing, we’re together all the time. Frankly, I could use some space.”

“What about dinner tonight? I already told my mom and dad you were coming.” I hadn’t thought it would be a big deal. She’d offered to meet them, after all.

“I don’t know.” Evie threw my pile of clothing at me, smacking me dead in the chest, and folded her arms. “Figure it out.”

I headed into the bathroom, tail between my legs, and tossed on my slacks and button-down. When I emerged, she stood waiting for me to leave, arms folded.

“Evie—I tried.”

“Leave, Sam.”

~Wow.~

That was the first time she’d ever called me by my first name, and under the circumstances, it felt like shit. Like a spasm in my chest and an endless pit in my stomach.

I headed quietly out her door and down the staircase. Everyone else must have still been asleep, because the house was quiet; not a creature was stirring, as the poem would say.

I hated leaving with her upset with me. She’d ordered me to go, though, so what could I do?

Then a low voice sounded from the living room. “Leaving so soon?”

~Fuck. I almost made it.~

I turned to discover Saanvi’s husband, Tim, on the sofa, steaming mug in hand.

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “Evie and I just need some space from each other, so…”

“Oh boy.” Tim rose from the cushions, stepping toward me. “You made her mad, didn’t you?”

“It appears that way, yeah.” Except, I didn’t exactly know what I’d said that was so bad. I sincerely didn’t mean to insult her; I’d thought we were just teasing as usual.

“You know, when I make Saanvi mad, I stop on the way home and get her flowers,” Tim said.

I furrowed my brows. “Flowers?”

“Yep.” He nodded. “Works every time.”

I tried to remember my exact words. ~You’re so fun to play with.~ Cute. Flirty. Our usual vibe. Right? It must’ve hit a nerve somehow, though. Maybe she thought I didn’t respect her?

That couldn’t be further from the truth. I respected the hell out of her, and her kicking me out of her room felt like it might kill me.

Maybe Tim was right. A kind gesture might be exactly what I needed. After all, Evie had been a florist for a long time; obviously, she liked flowers.

“Now if only I knew her favorite kind,” I mumbled to myself.

“Lilies,” Tim said. “I only remember that because Saanvi and Evie like the same kind. Not the orange or the pink ones, though. They’re classy ladies. Go for the white ones.”

~White lilies. Okay. Yeah, I can do that.~

I smiled. “Thanks for the tip, Tim.”

“No problem.” Tim gave me a nod and headed back into the living room to read his newspaper in peace.

I headed for the door, excited to visit the local floral shop in town as soon as they opened at nine.

~You’d best watch out, Evangeline Marie Beckett, because Samuel Andres Vázquez is about to sweep you off your pretty little feet.~