Sweet Evangeline (Moon Magic Book 2) (5 page)

Their eyes met. And for a moment, he saw hunger and yearning in her gaze. Every cell in his body screamed out for her. There was total recognition in every fiber of his being. He watched her shut her eyes, as if gathering strength. Then, she turned her back on him. Her hair hung in a seductive braid to the middle of her back, the long dark tresses intertwined with dark blue ribbon that was dusted with rhinestones.

That braid! He had just seen that braid! His nighttime princess had that braid!!

The sight caused his gut to wrench, the woman in the second statue - the one that was carved in his arms - making love to him -the woman driving him crazy night after night - - was her! Eric was mesmerized. Then it dawned on him. This was the artist! This must be Evangeline Martel! Somehow, he and this woman had a connection that he couldn’t begin to understand.

Nothing in the world could have prevented him from going to her. He stopped about three feet from her. Oblivious to the crowd he approached her. “There you are.” God, he wanted to lick his lips. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, sweetheart. Turn around and look at me.”

She stood still one moment longer, her back to him. He hungrily took in her form, from the top of her head, the luscious curve of her bottom, to the small bare feet encased in what looked to him like glass slippers. Then she turned to face him. At first, it seemed as if she was trying to be composed and business like - but then something broke in her expression and she stepped right up to him. Reaching out, she put her small hand on his cheek, caressing it so very lightly. Then she leaned up and whispered in his ear. “Are you real? Or did I conjure you?”

Conjure, that was a word his mother used. He didn’t take the time to analyze the implications. “Oh, I’m real baby. Would you like to pinch me and find out?”

A rosy blush rose from her neck and enveloped her cheeks. “Yes.” The one word answer hung between them. Desire was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

Much to Eric‘s surprise, she picked up his hand and caressed the palm. Her touch was saying ‘take me’, but her words were saying something else. “I am so sorry; I never meant to hurt you. Was that woman your girlfriend? If you will go get her, I can explain. I can fix this.”

Eric didn’t want her to fix this. What he wanted; was her. But he didn’t intend for anymore of his business to be public knowledge. He whispered where only she could hear. “I need to talk to you. Now. In private.” She seemed to hesitate. “I want to do things to you that no one else needs to see. If you don’t want to shock every person in this room, I would suggest you get us to some place more secluded. Now.” His voice was much gruffer than he intended it to be. His passion was running extremely high.

Eric had never felt so turned on in his entire life. The crowd was dead quiet. They were all straining to hear any word that passed between them. Everyone was aware that Eric McAllister was standing face to face with the woman who seemed to have an intimate knowledge of his body and was brave enough to declare it to the world. She hadn’t moved, so Eric took the initiative. He grasped her hand and led her off to one side and into a conference room, slamming the door behind them. Clenching his hands into tight fists, he fought to keep his hands off of her. But she looked so upset, he stepped back and waited, watching her, giving her time to compose herself.

“You have every right to be angry. I should have thought this through; there are always consequences to our actions. I’ve manipulated your life. Can you ever forgive me?” Closing her eyes, she seemed to be trying to regain control. “I know I owe you an explanation, but you probably don’t want to hear anything I have to say. Suffice it to say, that I am deeply sorry to have caused a problem for you and your girlfriend.”

He had no idea what she was talking about – he liked her kind of manipulation. “She’s not my girlfriend, not anymore, sweetheart.” He couldn’t stop looking at this beautiful woman. “How did you know what I look like naked, who gave you the photograph?” He didn’t really care; he just wanted to watch her lips form the words as she answered him.

“I didn’t have a picture, I…I had a dream about you. God, that sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

She was aware of the dreams?
Instantly, his cock sprang to attention, sat up and began to beg
.
Eric wrestled with the possibilities
.
They both connected in the dream. What he was considering was impossible, wasn’t it? Hell, if he knew. All he was sure of was that he wanted this woman, as soon as he could get her naked, ready and in position. So for right now, he decided to play innocent and see what happened. Damn, she was making his mouth water. “It must have been some dream, considering that second piece -
Rapture
- that was you wasn’t it? The woman with her legs wrapped around my waist, the one that was riding my . . . .”

She jumped in before he could say ‘cock’. “Yes, that was me. And I know that was unforgivable.” Eric was amazed to watch this beautiful woman blush, eyes dropping, unable to maintain the heated gaze they were sharing. Then she delighted him. “I should never have put my fantasies on display like that. It’s just that I’ve waited for you for so long. Please forgive me for embarrassing you.”

Embarrass him? Was she kidding? She had single handedly salvaged his reputation and bolstered his sagging ego - all in about a half an hour. And what did she mean about waiting for him? “I think I’ll live, baby. Let’s start over. I’m Eric McAllister.” He held out his hand to her. She placed her small one within his, then jerked it back. A jolt of sensual energy had passed between them as potent as any electrical shock. He captured her hand once more, refusing to let it go. He massaged her hand within his own, moving slowly up and down each finger, paying close attention to her palm. She stepped closer to him as if drawn by his heat. He gloried in the small gasp that escaped her lips. “Obviously, you know me. And there is nothing in this world that I want more than to spend time with you. Can I see you after this is over, beautiful?”

She paused, appearing to ponder the question – then she answered with one momentous word. “Yes.”

‘
Yes!
’ Eric thought. This night was ending a whole lot better than it started.

Placing a hand on his arm, she seemed to want to console him. “I know we need to talk. You must be very upset with me.”

What she didn’t realize, was that he didn’t care. It didn’t matter to him if she had paid an ex-girlfriend for a photo that he never realized had been taken, or if she was some goddess who had chosen to reveal herself to him via his nightly slumber session - - whatever. Hell, he was so turned on that his blood was beginning to sing in his veins. “Babe, it doesn’t matter to me where you got the photo from. I don’t care if you got it from Barb or Lena or Sydney…”

Shaking her head slightly, she spoke softly. “Angel, listen, I really want to tell you everything…”

God, she called him Angel. He chuckled with delight. He couldn’t resist. Closing the distance between then, he pulled her close to his body Ahhhhh, now that was more like it. Unable to restrain himself, his mouth found her throat and his tongue danced along the spot where her heartbeat showed through her skin. “I don’t want your apology,” he whispered against her skin. “I want you.”

* * * *

Evangeline’s hands itched to touch him. She clasped her fingers into a tight fist, trying to maintain control. Her nipples were standing erect and poking him right in the chest—there was no way he was missing their salute. She, also, longed to cross her legs—anything to provide some friction to the part of her body that was screaming for his touch. He made it worse. “I don’t need your explanations.” He buried his face in her neck. “I need you.”

Another moment, another millisecond and she would have attacked him, propriety be damned!! Evangeline was out of her mind with desire. But fate intervened and the door to the conference room opened. It was three of the guys from his unit. “Hey, Eric. We saw you come in here. The chief said to come get you. It’s time.”

“Give me a minute.” He growled at them and they left, but stood right outside the door, determined to obey their boss.

“I’m not letting you walk out of here without me.” He took both of her hands in his, raising them to his lips. He tenderly placed a kiss in the palm of each hand.

She didn’t want to walk away from him. “Some of my family are here. It will be totally crazy and I don’t blame you if you don’t want to go. But we’re going to
Jeffrey’s
when we leave here
,
if you’d like to join us.”

“You will ride to the restaurant with me.” He spoke in no uncertain terms, giving her no alternative.

“All right.” Her body wouldn’t let her mind say no. She had to spend some time with him, if it was only for a little while.

* * * *

Eric was almost shaking with pure, primal lust. An evening with her and her family would be torture—sweet, slow, unadulterated torture. But he couldn’t resist.

“Come on Eric. You’re on.” One of the guys yelled.

He stepped away, but not before she surprised the hell out of him. She framed his face with both of her small hands, rose up on tiptoe and placed her lips on his. With the gentlest of pressure, she rubbed her mouth across his, her tongue slipping out to taste him. “I can‘t wait, I‘ve wanted you for so long.” With those enchanting, beguiling words she left him standing there—rock hard as…a statue.

He didn’t have time for his erection to go down. If he could have sprayed himself down with a water hose, maybe. But now, he just had to get moving and walk a little bow-legged. The chief found him. She was enough of a lady to ignore his uncomfortable state. “Where have you been? You almost missed your part of the program, McAllister.” She looked like the cat who ate the canary. “If you want the truth, Eric, if I had known you were the star of the show, I would have asked one of the other guys to take care of the small stuff—like accepting the check.”

Eric had the good grace to blush. “I have no explanation, Chief. I don’t know what the hell is going on, so I can’t very well explain it to you.”

The program went on as planned. The night had netted a little over five million dollars to be shared between the firemen and the emergency workers. Eric knew that Evangeline’s artwork had played no small part in the bounty. He thanked the museum curator, his eyes scanning the crowd trying to find her. He was the only one who got a standing ovation after his three sentence speech and he knew it wasn’t what he said that they had been applauding. He could still feel the massive proof of his desire. Thank God, his pants were black; that made it a little less obvious.

* * * *

Evangeline watched him from a safe distance.

It was Angel.

In the flesh.

Oh, God. What was she going to do?

But it was Angel.

But it wasn’t—it was Eric!

Lord, she was confused.

The spells had worked and he was here. He was attracted to her and they had plans to get together in just a few minutes. So, why did she feel so guilty? And she had to cool it with the physical stuff. She was coming on to him like she was being paid by the hour. It was just that the fantasies made her feel as if they had been together before. What she had to get in her head was he did not have the memories she did. Basically, because they weren’t memories. They were dreams and fantasies, some even figments of her overactive, over-stimulated imagination. He had no memory of kissing her, of making love to her, of pushing his hardness deep inside of her! Why? Because, it had never happened. Not really. Only in her mind.

The curator of the museum came up and congratulated her. “We appreciate you allowing us to display your work, Miss Martel.”

“I am pleased that the money came in for you, Dr. Wells.” He handed her a check for twenty five thousand made payable to the 9
th
Ward Fund for the Rebuilding of New Orleans. “Thank you for this, it will do some people a world of good.”

“How long will you allow us to keep Angel and the other piece?” Evangeline knew that he was aware—as everyone was—that the woman in the piece was none other than she herself.

“Would three months fit your schedule?’

“Yes, indeed. That would be very generous.” He shook her hand and left.

* * * *

Nanette and Angelique watched Evangeline watching Eric. “Things are about to get interesting, Angelique.” Nanette observed.

“It would seem so.”

“She is really very good, you know. She got that talent from her mama. I wouldn’t trade the pieces Aimee painted for all the money in the world.”

After the presentation of the checks, the crowd began to clear. Evangeline went to find her family. She had to warn them about Eric. As if they didn’t already know. If she could have seen herself, Evangeline would have been amazed. The color of her cheeks was high and her eyes were shining like diamonds, there was a spring in her step that hadn’t been there before and her lips couldn’t help from slipping into a smile every few seconds.

“Congratulations, baby.” Nannette hugged her youngest granddaughter. “Those pieces were a little risqué for my tastes, but after seeing the real-life model, I would say you captured his essence.”

Evangeline blushed at her grandmother’s frankness. Arabella and Jade joined them.

“I am so proud of you.” Arabella hugged her cousin.

“So am I.” Jade kissed her on the forehead. “I’m starving, let’s go eat.”

“Guys, I have a favor to ask you before we leave.”

“Would it have anything to do with the rather large fireman that’s making his way through the crowd toward us?” Jade nodded toward an advancing Eric.

“Yes, he’s going with us to
Jeffrey’s
. All I’m asking is to let me tell him everything, in my own time and in my own way. No magick talk. Please.”

“You got it, baby. We’ll be good.” Nanette pushed a strand of hair out of Evangeline’s face.

Eric walked up. He automatically settled one hand, possessively, on Evangeline’s lower back. Evangeline shivered, but managed to keep her head. “Grandmother, this is Eric McAllister. He’s a fireman for the city of Austin. Eric, this is Nanette Beaureguarde. And this is Angelique Francois, a dear friend of the family.” Eric graciously shook hands with the older ladies. Evangeline realized he was under scrutiny. She hoped he wasn’t offended.

“This is my cousin Arabella Landale and her husband Jade.”

Eric greeted them. “Arabella, Congressman, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Jade seemed to size up the other man, and be pleased. “I was at the session when you got that last Congressional commendation for saving the Juarez baby. You’re a hero. It’s a privilege to shake your hand.” Jade was a big man, but the fireman probably outweighed him by forty pounds and it was all muscle. They shook hands.

“I admire the stands you take, Congressman. I voted for you, by the way.” Everyone smiled at the exchange.

“Good to know. Now, let’s go—Arabella needs to get off of her feet.” Jade put a protective arm around his wife.

Eric guided Evangeline to his car, his hand still maintaining contact with her back. When they arrived at his black Chevrolet Carmaro, he didn’t immediately open the door for her. “Wait. I promise to be on my best behavior at the restaurant, but I have to have another taste of your lips before we go.” They stood about six inches apart, not touching. “Will you kiss me, Evangeline?”

Evangeline knew this was all meant to be. She had waited a lifetime for this one special kiss. She wanted it to last forever. Placing her hands up on his shoulders, she leaned into him. She could feel her nipples hardening. Could he feel them, too? She kissed his throat, nipping gently, applying the slightest amount of suction before moving on. “God, sweetheart!” he moaned. She placed light, sweet kisses all along his jaw line, her hands coming up to fist themselves in the long hair at the nape of his neck. He smiled and when he did, she moaned and kissed the side of his mouth, touching her tongue to the indention of the dimple that she bet only showed itself when he was happy.

Finally, she settled on his lips. She teased him, touching, then retreating, then touching again. He let her have her way, for a moment, till he groaned and took control. “God, you are precious!” He kissed her for all he was worth. His tongue delved into her mouth, seeking out the depth of her passion.

She let her tongue play with his. Little moans of satisfaction began to escape from her throat. Evangeline went weak in the knees. He was masterful, he was consuming, he was showing her that her fantasies paled in comparison to the real thing. She kissed him back, thrilling to the feel of his tongue as it teased hers into submission. This time there was no hesitation on her part, she gave as good as she got. She kissed him hungrily, voraciously, seemingly content to spend hours worshiping his face.

* * * *

Eric marveled at the treasure he had found. He kissed her neck and throat, he wanted more, but there wasn’t time and this certainly wasn’t the place. He pulled back, bringing her hands down; she laid her head against his chest and gasped for breath.

He had kissed her until they both had to stop for air. Laying his head against her neck, Eric was unwilling to part from her even for a little while. Then she did something totally unexpected. She laughed, the sweetest laugh - a joyous lilting, celebration of wonder. Eric couldn’t help but step back and look at her in amazement. But he couldn’t help but smile. “What are you laughing at? What do you find so funny?” He let his fingers dance over her ribs, making her giggle all the more.

“I’m laughing because I’m happy.” Those simple words touched him more than anything ever had.

“Oh, we’ve only just begun, babe.” He returned to her mouth and gave her one last sweet, gentle kiss. “We have to go, babe. Your family’s waiting.” He meant what he said, but then he disobeyed his own directive, kissing her neck, scraping his teeth on the exposed skin of her shoulder.

“I know. It’s just that…”

He rubbed his face against hers, the scent of her skin making him drunk with passion.

“What is it, love? What do you want?”

Her answer nearly brought him to his knees. “You. Eric, I want you.” If it were possible, he pulled her even closer. And in response to her declaration, he pressed his swollen, aching shaft against her, letting her know that he was as desperate as she was.

“I’ve been hard from the first moment I saw you. Let’s go get this dinner over and then I promise to love you all night long.” His voice was husky with anticipation.

“We can’t. My grandmother and Angelique are staying at my house.” Her hands were on his shoulders, fingers never still, kneading the muscles that strained with the effort to hold himself back—to keep from picking her up and laying her across the hood of his car.

Damn! “For how long?”

“I’m not sure.”

“We’ll deal with it some way, I have to have you—and soon. Before the night’s over I’ll come up with a plan. Trust me?”

“I do trust you. We’ll do whatever you say.” Their conversation was helping, he could tell. Her heart rate was slowing and breathing was becoming a little easier.

“Well, then we’ll wait one more day. Tomorrow is Sunday; I don’t go back on duty till Monday morning.” He hugged her close. “I’ve waited a lifetime for you; one more day won’t kill me, maybe.” Holding the door open for her, he waited while she slipped down into the car. Then, he went around and climbed in, started the car, put it into gear and pulled out into the street.

Almost automatically, his hand came over to rest possessively on her knee. “I feel like we’ve met before, but I know nothing about you.” He felt her tense. Should he say something about the dreams? He chose not to, not yet, anyway. “Relax, babe.” He began to move his hand from her knee up to her thigh and back. “I’m just trying to let our minds catch up with our bodies. Tell me five things about yourself before we get to the restaurant.”

It didn’t escape his notice, she trembled. Was he making her nervous? “I’m twenty-one years old and a Junior at UT. My hometown is New Orleans. My dad died in the Gulf War and my mom drowned in Katrina.”

They had stopped at a red light. He took advantage of the moment, pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, babe.”

“I’m all right. It was a long time ago. Now tell me five things about you.” She encouraged him, by placing her hand over his, as it rested on her leg.

“I’m older than you, twenty-eight. I also graduated from UT with a degree in Psychology and my eventual career goal is to own my own Security Company. Firefighting was a dream of mine that I just couldn’t let go of, so I decided to get it out of my system before doing anything else. Let’s see, is that three things? Two more. Fort Worth is where I grew up and my dad and stepmother live there; he’s a Baptist minister. Your turn, five more.”

* * * *

With that last little bit of information, Evangeline felt a tremor of uncertainty go through her. Baptist minister? If Eric shared all of his dad’s beliefs it wouldn’t bode well for her. But she answered him without a waver in her voice. “I’m an only child. My major, obviously, is art. I love to cook; Cajun and Mexican are my specialties. My favorite color is dark purple and I’ve fantasized about you every night for ages.”

“Damn! Do you have one of those stupid, firemen, beefcake calendars?” Eric laughed as he pulled into the restaurant, parked the car and pulled her across the seat and into his arms. “I don’t understand everything that’s happening, but you’re the hottest little thing that I’ve ever seen in my life.” He kissed her with tenderness this time. She knew it was unwise to start something they couldn’t finish, but Eric was making her feel things she had never imagined—it was, as if, he intended to claim her for his very own—and that was a heady thought.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend. But it’s true. And I don’t have a calendar, but if you’re in it, I want one.” She clung to him, like she never wanted to let him go.

“Oh babe, you are making me be the strong one and that’s not easy. Come on, let’s go in and make nice with the family. Then I’ll drive you home, we’ll talk about those dreams and fantasies, and I will torture us both with just enough lovin’ to keep the fires burning until we’re together again.”

They found the family waiting for them in one of the private dining rooms. “Ahem.” Arabella laughed. “Why did it take you two twice as long to get here as it took us?”