She was still hypersensitive. The exquisite, sumptuous leather she sat on vibrated erotically over her swollen, throbbing clit as the car navigated through Brooklyn. It was the worst sort of torture because it was a good distance from Impulse to the apartment she shared with her three roommates in Queens.
She didn’t chance staring at Maddox too long. She didn’t want him aware of her scrutiny. That, and she was positive he’d take one look at her face and see her every thought reflected, and that would truly send her over the edge on a night where her nerves were already frazzled and frayed to mere threads. And she was barely hanging on to those fragile threads as it was.
He was utterly unaware of her anyway, his gaze fixed ahead at a point over the driver’s shoulder as if studying the streets, alert at all times. Was he expecting them to be carjacked or something?
She almost laughed but knew that too would give away her mounting hysteria.
Surely escorting errant women from his boss’s club wasn’t in his usual list of duties. If she hadn’t had the night from hell—and heaven, God, the last part had been pure bliss—she could almost summon sympathy for him and his job of babysitting her all the way to Queens.
They continued the drive in silence and when they were but minutes from her apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief. But then Maddox shocked her by turning his attention to her, the first time he’d even acknowledged her on the ride home.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently. Then he shook his head, evidently irritated with his own question. “Of course you aren’t all right. But will you be?”
Her mouth fell open because she’d gotten the distinct impression that she was a tedious job, an unwanted one at that, but now genuine concern, and worse, sympathy was reflected in his eyes, making her wince.
She didn’t want this man’s pity. Or Drake’s for that matter. The evening had been a disaster. Well, except for the bone-melting, oh-my-GOD orgasm Drake had given her, because it had been painfully obvious to everyone at that damn club that she didn’t belong, no matter that Drake had tried to dissuade her of that notion.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly.
He cast a doubtful look in her direction. One that told her he saw right past her obvious lie, but then she’d never been able to deceive anyone. She was everyone’s version of Miss Goody Two-Shoes, which was why Eddie had seen her as a challenge and wanted to be the one to shame and humiliate her. To conquer the ice queen and be smug over his victory. Some victory. He’d been terrible in bed, and it had only taken Drake’s mouth and nothing else to reveal that much to her.#p#分页标题#e#
“Okay,” she muttered. “I will be fine. Happy? I’ll get over it. I always do.”
He frowned at that, his eyes glittering with sudden anger, but he clamped his lips shut, thank God. She had no desire to bare her soul a second time to a complete stranger as she’d done with Drake within five minutes in his presence. Her and her annoying, ridiculous habit of blurting out the truth, no matter how humiliating. She’d mentally kicked herself at least a dozen times for not telling him it wasn’t any of his business. But then there was the fact that Drake didn’t appear to her to be a man to ever be told to mind his business. She’d convinced herself that he scared the holy hell out of her, but then he’d been extraordinarily tender—and sweet—to her, and she hadn’t been able to summon fear when he was making her mindless with his mouth. But after? When she’d partially regained her senses? He definitely terrified her.
The driver rolled to a stop in front of the aging seven-story apartment building that was far older than she was. She and her girls lived on the top floor and the elevator had stopped working a year ago, something the cheap asshole landlord hadn’t ever seen fit to fix. It made carrying groceries, or even worse, walking up those six flights of stairs unbearable after a long night at work with aching, swollen feet.
Evangeline didn’t wait for the driver or Maddox to get out. She quickly opened her door and stepped onto the curb, hoping neither man would bother to get out and would be on their way, more than happy to be rid of her.
No such luck, but then nothing about this night had gone right, so why would now be any different?
Maddox climbed out on his side after checking for traffic, which wasn’t much given the lateness of the night and the fact that for all practical purposes it was a one-way street since vehicles were curbside parked on both sides, making it a tight squeeze for two cars to pass in opposite directions.