Evelyn Vine Be Mine (38 page)

***

I was asleep for several hours, only waking as we drew near to Alice Springs. Large, private properties started to appear along the roadside and Fredi sat up straight, tugging the earphones from her ears.

“Drop me at Jenny’s,” she ordered, with a smile, leaning forward in her seat to drape her arms around Stone’s shoulders. He turned his head ever so slightly to give her a look, keeping an eye on the road out of the corner of his eye.

Fredi scoffed and rolled her eyes in response to whatever message she’d read in his.

“C’mon Stone,” she said with an easy laugh, “It’s hardly out of your way. I’ll stay with her for the rest of this week and get her to drop me back before classes start again.”

Stone’s jaw tensed, but he pulled off at the next turn and drove onto a dirt driveway, yanking up the handbrake and beeping his horn once when he stopped in front of the gate. Fredi was frantically texting on her phone, a big grin in place as she jumped from the car and pulled her luggage from the boot. The roar of a quad-bike starting up made me jump, and soon an average height, pretty brunette was tearing up the long driveway to open up the gate.

“Fredi!” she shouted jovially, her loud, but feminine voice startling me once again, “What an awesome surprise! I wasn’t expecting you for another couple of weeks!”

“Hi, Jen,” Fredi purred, wrapping the woman in a tight hug and kissing her cheek, “Can I crash with you for a few nights? It’s break week.”

Jenny’s face lit even brighter.

“Sure, love. That’s bloody brilliant!” she ran her eyes over the car and grinned at Stone.

“Stone!” she shouted, spreading her arms wide in greeting. She pushed her head through the window as soon as he rolled it down and kissed him full on the lips with a hard peck and an audible ‘Mwa!’. I gaped at her in outrage, but quickly swallowed my indignation. Stone shot her a hard look and I began to suspect the cheeky brunette had done it on purpose to annoy him.

“It was nice of you to give Fredi a lift all the way out here,” she cooed playfully, batting her eyelashes at him. Fredi snorted.

“We were actually on our way back from Darwin,” Fredi told her with a small smile, “We cut our plans short.”

Jenny’s eyes flew to Fredi’s face, and then Stone’s. She and Stone conversed with their eyes for a few moments, before her expression cleared and she nodded to herself with a small, sad smile. She looked into the car, her gaze stopping curiously on me. Her grin returned as she looked between Stone and I and I felt Stone stiffen slightly beside me.

“Well who’s this little cutie?” she asked, grabbing Fredi’s hand and raising an eyebrow.

Fredi laughed throatily and winked at me. “This is Evie,” she told Jenny with a secret smile, “Adorable, isn’t she?”

I frowned at her. I’d thought I’d come a long way in the last few weeks or so. I didn’t feel cute or adorable anymore.

“Undeniably,” Jenny responded, grinning at Stone, “She yours?”

Stone glared at her through his aviators, but I saw a hint of a smile as he nodded once (obviously agreeing to avoid further questions).

“What happened to that sexy bitch you had hanging off you?” Jenny asked with a laugh. I wrinkled my nose at the possible reference to Chloe and Jenny laughed harder.

Stone simply shrugged.

Jenny leaned back through the window and offered me her hand. “I’m Jennifer Hadley,” she said with a wink, “I’m a…friend of Fredi’s.”

“Evelyn Vine,” I whispered shyly, “A…friend of Stone’s.”

Fredi and Jenny burst out laughing and even Stone let out a small chuckle. I blushed and picked at the hem of my dress, unwittingly drawing Jenny’s eye to my exposed legs. I turned even redder and tugged the hem down a little further, before sitting on my shaky hands.

“Are you coming to my party in two weeks?” she asked me with a wide smile. I looked up at Stone with a frown. I hadn’t heard about it. He gave me a slow nod.

“I guess…” I said softly, wondering why these people couldn’t just spend a weekend at home for once so that I could study.

“It’s for Jenny’s birthday,” Fredi informed me, “The band’s putting on a show for her. We’ll be here all weekend!”

Great.

Jenny’s mobile rang and she fished it out of her jean pocket with a frown. “I have to answer this guys,” she told us with a tired smile, “It’s my foreman.”

I took that to mean she ran her property as a cattle ranch. There were a few in the area.

Stone nodded and released the break with a nod in her direction. I bid them both a hasty wave as Stone reversed out of the drive and Fredi and Jenny disappeared through the heavy gate.

***

When we finally reached the university, I gratefully collapsed on my bed, sprawling out wide as I savoured the feeling of being back in my own bed. Well, the bed the university had provided me with. I groaned in protest when Stone picked me up, but he settled down onto the bed and let me lie on top of him. We both groaned in unison when his phone rang. He slipped it from his pocket and his finger moved toward the cancel button. His eyes caught on the screen though, and with a sigh he accepted the call.

“BB,” he grunted. My eyes widened as I realised Briar was calling from Sydney. I heard the faint sound of her perky voice jabbering away excitedly, obviously describing all the fun she’d had re-celebrating her eighteenth with her family. Stone sent me a small, wry smile as he leaned his head back against the pillow and listened silently.

Finally, Briar must have asked about us, because Stone grunted, “We’re home.”

“Fredi and Don,” he said a few moments later. He frowned as more excitable chatter came through the line, before handing the phone off to me. I looked at him blankly.

“Talk,” he told me, closing his eyes.

“GG? GG!” I heard Briar yelling when I pressed the phone to my ear, “Answer me Grant Graham!!”

“Hi Bri,” I said softly.

“Evie!” she responded brightly, “How was the trip?”

“Uh…”

“How were the nights?” she added with a cheeky purr, giggling a little. I blushed.

“Nice,” I whispered. Stone’s eyes opened and looked at me curiously. I blushed again and he chuckled softly, before closing his eyes once more.

“Only nice?” Briar asked with a laugh, “Details!”

“No,” I said softly, but steadily.

“No fair!” Briar complained with some more giggling. Then her giggles stopped and she demanded what had happened between Fredi and Donny.

My breath whooshed out and I tried to find the right words. I wasn’t sure how Briar would react. She’d been growing closer to Alec, and I’d sensed an attraction growing there, but I was pretty sure she’d still be upset about Donny.

“They had too much to drink,” I said softly. There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Just tell me Evie,” Briar whispered, “I’ll find out anyway and I’d much rather no one see my expression when I do.”

Fair enough.

“They had sex,” I admitted, my voice barely even a whisper. Stone’s eyes snapped open and he watched my face steadily.

“Fuck,” Briar’s breath caught and she said nothing for several moments.

Then, “And they regretted it?”

I winced. “They were screaming at each other when I woke up.”

“Shit,” she sighed and then I heard her snapping at her brother in the background.

“Hey Beautiful!” his low voice greeted me after an obvious tussle for the phone.

“Hi Liam,” I said shyly. Stone sat up, his eyes narrowing on the phone.

“How’s the big man been treating you?” he asked with a husky laugh.

“Good,” I whispered with a blush. Stone reached out and took the phone from me, turning it off and tossing it onto Candy’s bed.

I opened my mouth to protest his rudeness, but the fierce look in his eyes cut me off and then his hungry kiss stole my breath. His arms wrapped around me and he lay back down, hauling me up his body so that he could kiss me more deeply. I pressed my hands into the mattress on either side of his head as I fought to maintain some balance. His tongue stroked mine in firm, savouring laps as his hands moved under my dress to grasp the bare skin at the back of my upper thighs. I felt him harden steadily against my legs, before he spread them across his abdomen.

I groaned into his mouth and tried to wiggle down his body. I wanted to feel that hardness snug against my core. I wanted to rub against it and hear him moan for me. But then I’d have to release his mouth…His kisses intensified as if hearing my thoughts and I forgot all about moving. I ground myself against his hard abs instead as he fisted one hand in my hair and took my mouth even deeper. I thrust my hands beneath his shirt and quivered against him as I felt his hot, taut skin and the soft scattering of hair. He pulled the top of my tube dress down in one swift tug and I pushed his shirt higher so that our chests could touch, skin to skin.

Stone’s growl was quiet, but raw as his mouth left mine and latched onto my neck. His teeth scraped gently as he licked his way along my pulse and I whimpered with sudden desperateness for more.

The door crashed open and Candy and Mason tumbled in, passionately locked in their own embrace. Stone quickly tugged a loose sheet over me before I recovered enough to squeak in alarm.

“Mason,” Stone growled, making the pair jump and Candy squeal. They took one look at us, before Mason tugged Candy back out of the door. She shot me the thumbs up before it closed.

Stone slumped against the pillows with obvious frustration as I emerged from the sheet blushing. I tugged my dress back into place, wiggling a little against his hard lap by accident. He sucked in a harsh breath and groaned quietly.

“Sorry,” I murmured, before crawling off the bed and moving toward the bathroom for a shower.

***

After a long, hot shower, the last of my hangover dissipated and I re-entered the bedroom in just a pink, fluffy towel. Stone was sitting up against the headboard, shovelling Smarties into his mouth. I looked at them with amusement and he scowled.

“I need a smoke,” he said gruffly, as if that statement explained it all.

I smiled and moved toward my dresser to find some sleepwear, but Stone reached out and grabbed my hand, tumbling me back onto the bed so that I lay beside him. I clutched the towel tightly as I squeaked and adjusted my position. I glared up at him, but he simply looked down at me innocently, shoving another small handful of Smarties into his mouth. Suddenly, his eyes darkened, narrowing on a strip of exposed skin on my stomach. I quickly covered it, but Stone tugged the towel open and stared down at me. I blushed and tried to cover myself with my hands, drawing my legs up and together. He chuckled and pinned my hands above my head with one hand. With the other, he upended his box of Smarties over my stomach, the cool, shock of them against my skin suggesting he’d recently taken them from my mini-fridge.

My chest heaved with my rapid breaths, drawing his eyes as one, cold, purple Smartie slid down the curve of one breast, leaving a faint trail of sugar and food die behind it. His eyes, shimmery silver, watched it fall, before he moved over me and licked it up. I gasped and jerked, causing more cool pebbles of sugar-coated chocolate to bounce and slide across my skin. With an amused twitch of his lips, he lapped them all up, his mouth moving over every inch of my body in a slow, torturous exploration.

I was writhing by the time he reached my inner thighs, desperate for more pleasure. He spread my legs with his shoulders and I stiffened in alarm as I realised his intentions. We’d not done this yet. I’d been too impatient last time. It was incredibly intimate and I blushed as his heated breath tickled my folds. I forced myself to relax, only to clench tightly in response as Stone slid his tongue along the edge of me.

Damn, that felt amazing!

I moaned and raised my hips toward him as I eagerly awaited the next stroke. He chuckled and blew on me, withholding the pleasure of his lips and tongue as I whimpered with need. He circled my clit with his tongue, not quite touching it the way I needed as he teased his way around it. His lips pressed a hot kiss to my thigh and his hands moved up to stroke my sides, teasing the underside of my breasts.

“Grant,” I groaned, my voice breaking with both pleasure and frustration.