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  I swallowed a surge of childish jealousy that I’d never been invited to watch a practice.

  “Apparently,” Briar continued, “Red drove Stone wild like a bull and he’d tear her lingerie to pieces to get at her.”

  I scowled. That I really didn’t want to know.

  Briar giggled at my face and ruffled my hair affectionately.

  “Don’t worry Evie,” she laughed again, “Stone was listening in and I saw him roll his eyes. Chloe was shooting off at the mouth because she wanted to piss me off.”

  “So what did you do?” Candy asked excitedly, clutching more lace to her chest as her eyes shone with fascination.

  Briar laughed and sent us an evil smile. “I yelled out ‘Hey Stone! What’s your favourite colour lingerie?’.”

  Candy laughed as well and I couldn’t hold back my own smile of anticipation.

  “Did he yell out ‘black’ then?” Candy asked, when Bri didn’t add anything.

  “Nope,” Briar said, turning back around to look at more underwear, “He just stared me down for a few moments, trying not to laugh, and then Chloe purred ‘it’s red isn’t it baby?’ and Stone just nodded once, before starting the drum count in.”

  “What?!” Candy exclaimed, “He didn’t show her up? How do you know it’s black?”

  Briar sent Candy a stern look. “As much as I wanted him to, Stone would never show up his girlfriend in front of all his friends. He’s not like that. No matter how little he usually cares about them.”

  Candy and Briar both turned to smile at me.

  “I’m not his girlfriend,” I protested yet again.

  “Right,” Candy said with a cheeky grin, “That’s why you’re buying lingerie for him.”

  “No,” I muttered, “You’re buying lingerie for me.”

  Briar opened her mouth to give me yet another spiel on the subject, but I quickly cut her off.

  “So black?” I inquired.

  Briar chuckled, knowing that I was trying to distract her. In retribution she grabbed a completely see-through black nightie and added it to my pile as she answered my question.

  “He whispered it in my ear when he gave me a hug goodbye that night,” she said simply, pushing our trolley of lingerie to the counter.

  I looked down at the jumble of lace, ribbon, satin, sheer fabric and cotton…and noticed that at least half of it was black. Sure, there was some cute pinks, hot reds and vibrant blues decorating the black garments, but there was a definitely a very black theme going on. I looked at the non-black items being scanned and bagged, noticing that Briar had picked the other colours to go under the clothes we’d bought. I breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way I was wearing a black bra beneath a white shirt.

  ***

  Back at the car, I collapsed against the side with a groan. My feet were killing me!

  “Finally,” I whimpered, “I can’t wait to get home and lie down.”

  Candy and Briar looked at each other, and then back at me, twin evil grins growing on their faces. I gulped.

  “We saved the best for last,” Briar said chuckling, grabbing my hand and leading me back to the beauty salon.

  “What?” I started to ask, before remembering what they’d said the night before. I frantically tried to tug my hand free, looking desperately back at the car. The salon was the very last place I wanted to go right now.

  “C’mon Evie,” Candy coaxed, grabbing my other arm and tugging playfully, “Stone will love it.”

  I stopped short, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Ben had never said anything about it. Surely if guys preferred bare then Mr. Bossy himself would have asked me to. But then I thought back to all the things I’d heard my brothers say about girls and I paled. Guys could be crude and mean about things like that and, although I couldn’t see Stone chatting away to all his buddies about me (that would require talking!), I didn’t want him thinking those things either. I blushed when I realised he’d already felt my curls and thus, knew they were there.

  “O-okay,” I whispered.

  “You’ll be fine,” Candy said, patting my shoulder.

  I wasn’t reassured.

  ***

  I winced as I lay down on my bed and Candy winced too in sympathy.

  “The first time is always rough,” she told me, “It gets better.”

  I groaned, shutting my eyes tight and telling myself I’d never let anyone convince me to get that done again. There was a solid knock on the door and my eyes flew wide as I realised who it was. I moaned in embarrassment as I remembered the way the bleeding, bruised, bare flesh had looked in the mirror. Candy rushed to the door and opened it a crack.

  “Hi Stone,” she said brightly, “What can I do for you?”

  There was silence from the hallway and I knew Stone was staring her down.

  Candy laughed breathlessly. “Right. You’re here to see Evie.”

  More silence.

  “Um,” Candy said slowly, twitching nervously, “Evie’s not feeling very well. She wants to sleep alone tonight.”

  There was more silence, before he eventually called out to me.

  “Evelyn,” he said stiffly, “You okay?”

  He obviously didn’t believe Candy, but then, she is a terrible liar.

  “I’m fine,” I called out shyly, “I-I just need to sleep alone tonight.” I pushed off the bed carefully and slowly made my way over to the door. Candy moved out of the way and I opened the door a little more so that I could kiss his cheek. His body relaxed and he gently grasped my head between his hands, before bending to kiss my forehead.

  “Night,” he growled.

  “Good night,” I whispered, then slipped back inside and firmly shut the door.

  ***

  Wednesday night I ate dinner in my room, taking the time to work on an assignment and providing a hopefully believable excuse as to why Stone couldn’t sleep in my room tonight. I was still sore and the bruises had come out in bright colours today. Plus, Briar and Candy had thought it would be cool to leave the surprise until I was all dressed up and sexy on the weekend.

  When I didn’t come down for dinner, Stone came up to me, pounding twice on my door instead of the usual one thump.

  “Come in,” I called softly.

  He pushed the door open and leant against the frame, his eyes sweeping my book-covered carpet, before flicking up to examine my face. His annoyance had lessened upon seeing my books, but increased when he saw the nervousness written on my face. He growled in frustration when I didn’t say anything.

  “Candy said you’re pulling an all-nighter,” he said emotionlessly, but I knew it was a question.

  “Yes,” I whispered, unable to look away from him.

  His face darkened further, but he relaxed his stance.

  “You better?”

  I frowned in confusion, wondering how he’d found out…then remembered that I’d been ‘sick’ last night. His eyes narrowed and I hastily nodded.

  “Yes!” I squeaked, “Much better.”

  “Did you eat?” he asked gruffly, looking around my room for signs of dinner. I nodded and pointed to the tray on the table next to him. He relaxed a little and tossed me the plastic bag he’d been holding. I peered in and smiled when I saw an entire bag of Smarties and a bag of Musk sticks.

  “Snacks,” he said shortly, before he closed the door hard on his way out.

  ***

  On Thursday afternoon I paced a dark section of the library, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth as I tried to think up an excuse for that night. So I was totally unprepared and startled when I saw Stone striding purposefully towards me. I ‘eeped’ and backed up against a bookshelf, quailing under the ferocity of his gaze. He crowded me with his body, propping a hand next to my head as he leaned down to stare at me.

  What excuse will you have tonight? – his eyes seemed to ask.

  I gulped.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  The muscle in his jaw flexed and my pulse kicked up.
<
br />   “What’s wrong?” he snapped in his rough voice.

  “I don’t know what you-”

  “Evelyn,” he warned.

  I shut my mouth and he waited.

  And waited.

  I didn’t know what to say. I was about to blurt out the truth, but his face softened first.

  He looked uncomfortable. Maybe even worried. He cleared his throat and ran a finger lightly down my cheek.

  “Did I…go too far?” he asked in a low voice.

  I looked up at him in confusion, distracted by the soft touch of his rough hand against my skin.

  His eyes seared mine as he took an unsteady breath.

  “Monday morning,” he said stiffly, “Did I upset you?”

  Oh God! No wonder he was worried! I’d been barring him from my room since that morning. I flushed as I remembered taking off my shirt and rubbing wantonly against his crotch.

  …him coming in his pants…

  God, was he feeling self-conscious about that too?

  I quickly grasped his face in my hands and shook my head rapidly.

  “No,” I whispered, “It’s not that.”

  He raised an eyebrow dubiously, so I leaned closer and tentatively pulled his bottom lip between mine, trying to give him the sweetest, most trusting kiss I could. His body relaxed, pushing into mine as he slowly slid his tongue into my mouth. I caressed him back with my own and the satisfied sound he gave made my heart jump. He was careful with his attentions though, holding a little of himself back as if still waiting for my explanation.

  I grudgingly broke the kiss and whispered against his lips, “It’s a surprise.”

  He backed up to read my face.

  “I’ll show you this weekend,” I promised.

  Several emotions flashed across his face but they were too quick for me to read.

  “Tomorrow night?” he asked impatiently.

  I thought about it and decided I’d still be too raw. I shook my head.

  “Saturday,” I murmured, “After I watch you play.”

  He hesitated a moment, before briskly nodding. I leaned forward to kiss him again, his addictive sugary taste still on my tongue and making me hungry.

  But he leaned back.

  Tease, his eyes said.

  And then he half-smiled and walked away.

  SEVENTEEN

  Chapter 17

  Friday night was the longest night of my life. For hours I lay on my back in my dark bedroom, staring up at the ceiling and ignoring the hushed giggles coming from Candy’s bed. Mason had decided to sleep in our room that night, but that wasn’t what kept me awake.

  I was more than anxious about the following night…when I’d reveal my ‘surprise’.

  How would Stone react?

  Would he like it as the girls insisted?

  Would he stare at it and make me feel uncomfortable?

  How would I show him?

  Should I sneak him into the girls’ bathroom at the club and drop my pants?

  Should I slip his hand beneath my skirt on the drive home?

  …Should I strip for him in my room? ...Or let him undress me?

  How far would I let him take me…?

  How far did one go with someone who wasn’t their boyfriend?

  Sleeping with someone who wasn’t my boyfriend didn’t sound appealing to me. And yet, the thought of never sleeping with Stone made something inside me ache with disappointment. I didn’t want to date Stone, and in any case he’d yet to ask, so it looked like I’d have to resolve my issue with sex outside of a relationship.

  During that restless night, I managed to come to one clear conclusion: I wanted to have sex with Grant Stone.

  Maybe not tomorrow night…or even in the next month…but, when I was ready, I wanted it.

  I knew that if I didn’t get to experience it just once, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

  What little encounters we’d had so far had been so beyond what I’d felt with Ben – and so much more…willing – that I now looked at this whole ‘sex’ thing with more hope…and enthusiasm.

  Stone still scared the shit out of me, but I was beginning to trust him and the small surge of fear he usually incited, only added fuel to my arousal.

  So I dressed carefully Saturday night, letting Briar attack me with my new makeup and fluff my newly-styled hair.

  I wanted to make Stone hard tonight.

  Not for delicate, frightened little Evie – the babied and ignored little sister…

  But for Evelyn, as he called me – the sexy and confident Woman.

  I stumbled in my heels as we approached the bar and blushed when Briar giggled.

  …Okay, so I wasn’t quite there yet.

  But Vines aren’t quitters!

  I straightened my spine and wriggled my feet more firmly into my shoes as I raised my chin and sauntered into the bar after Bri.

  ***

  We were late.

  The band was already on stage and well into their set. I swallowed my disappointment that they hadn’t seen my dramatic entrance. I’d felt strong and confident walking through the door in my high-heeled ankle boots and lacy dress. Briar had fallen in love with the dress the minute she’d seen it. It was made entirely of stretchy, white lace and was so short on my long legs that it covered only a few inches below my ass. The top half was more conservative, the neckline high at the back, but dipping low and narrow at the front, exposing the inner curves of my breasts. My shoulders were covered, but my arms were bare and I felt naked. The material was thin and the lace exposed more than just flashes of my tanned skin.

  Briar had goaded me into wearing some of the lingerie we’d bought beneath the flimsy dress. The black, lacy bra and boy shorts were only just visible through the gaps in material…but they’d show up more clearly once I stepped into black lighting. I blushed as I realised the bouncers were sneaking looks at my ass and moved further into the club.

  I glanced up at the stage again, focusing my attention on the band. I was supposed to take pictures of them tonight. I’d promised Donny. I pulled my big, black camera out of its case and left the bag with the barman. I moved closer, raising the camera and focusing in on the band members. I took a group photo and Stone’s head snapped toward me. His eyebrow rose, but in a friendly way as he gave me a brief nod and twirled his drumsticks in some tricky way as the song came to an end.

  Show off.

  I cocked my hip to one side and scrunched my nose up at him, one hand on my hip, the other holding my camera. Donny talked to the crowd, but Stone looked at me, his eyes dancing with humour for a moment, before they dropped and made a sweep of my body, as if he suddenly realised I looked different. His eyes darkened, and then shot back to mine. The intensity of his hunger made me shiver. I’d obviously denied him for too long if he was getting this hot over little ol’ me.

  He started to rise from his stool, but Donny was introducing their next song, so he sat down with a scowl. Briar gave me the thumbs up from across the club and I blushed as I quickly moved the camera back into position. I took several pictures of the band, and even switched the settings to film for a few so I could develop them later. I captured a great shot of Stone as he went into a fast drum solo and hoped that I’d compensated correctly for his rapid movements (I’d be crushed if the photo turned out blurred).

  The heat of the club started to get to me, so I grabbed a pen from my camera bag and twirled it around the ends of my long hair, before pinning the messy scroll to my head. Wisps of hair fell about my face in different lengths and I felt a few trails of hair escape down my back. I didn’t care how it looked. The weight of it had been hot against the lace covering my back. I crossed my fingers and hoped I didn’t start to sweat – that wouldn’t be good for the smoky-black eyes Briar had spent nearly twenty minutes perfecting.

  Some people from the university noticed me taking photos and, recognising me as Stone’s ‘girlfriend’, asked me to take some pictures for them. I was actually starting t
o relax and enjoy myself, when the band stopped and Donny found me.

  “Phwoarr!” he said with a sexy grin, “Looking hot tonight Evie-baby. Like some hot-ass, big-city photographer.”

  He ran his eyes over me again, walking around me in a circle and making me feel extremely uncomfortable.