Mastered(38)

“You better do just that,” Steph snapped. “Because if I don’t hear from you personally in the next twenty-four hours, I’m coming back with the police.”

Then she shifted her furious stare at Drake, who merely looked at her as though she were a nuisance.

“There isn’t a place in this damn city you can hide from me, and so help me God, if you hurt Evangeline in any way, I’ll cut off your balls and make you eat them.”

“Since that’s not ever going to happen, your threat is completely hollow,” Drake said in a dismissive tone. One that said it was time for her to leave. Now.

He lifted his gaze to Thane and sent him a silent look of apology. Thane mouthed his words but Drake could clearly see what he’d said and only barely managed to hold back his laughter.

Thane had said Fuck me.

“Thane will see you home now,” Drake said in a formal voice, remaining cold and aloof toward the woman who’d nearly ruined the entire evening. For that matter, she might well have for all he knew, because he had no idea what was going on in Evangeline’s mind.

Not waiting for any more drama or theatrics, Drake drew Evangeline to his side and guided her back to the elevator. Her eyes were closed the entire way up, her features still frozen with mortification.

He gently escorted her into his apartment, this time giving her no time to ponder the size and elegance of it. He ushered her into the bedroom and she immediately began to tremble against him.

Something went soft inside his heart. It was an alien, uncomfortable feeling. One he was not used to at all.

But she looked exhausted, lost and so confused that all he could do was pull her into his arms as he’d wanted to do before they were interrupted by her roommate. At first she was tense against him, but as he did nothing more than hold her against him and stroke a hand through her hair in a soothing motion, her own arms crept around his waist and she relaxed.

She laid her cheek against his chest and he felt her soft sigh all the way to his bones. It was a sound that would make a man do anything to make this woman happy.

“Get ready for bed, Angel,” he said gruffly. “You’re tired, your feet hurt and you’ve had a very long couple of days. The thing you need most right now is sleep. However, you sleep with me, in my bed. Every night. No exception.”

Slowly she nodded, her cheek rubbing up and down his chest.

“Don’t get me wrong, Angel,” he murmured. “There’s nothing I’d love more than to make love to you all night so that when you wake up you’ll know exactly who you belong to. But you’re dead on your feet, and for now, just having you in my bed, in my arms, is more than I could have dreamed of.”





When Evangeline awoke, two things immediately registered. One, Drake was no longer in bed with her and two, it was well into the morning. Likely approaching noon and yet exhaustion still weighed her down and all she wanted to do was snuggle deeper into the covers and go back to sleep.

As she shifted to a more comfortable spot, turning to where Drake had slept, her hand instinctively reaching for any lingering warmth or evidence that it hadn’t been a dream, her gaze lit on a folded piece of paper with her name scrawled across it.

Forcing herself to a sitting position, she crossed her legs and reached for the note, hesitantly opening it, unsure of what it would say. Then her brow furrowed as she took in the contents.

Your things are in the living room to put wherever you like. But just so you are aware, only your personal keepsakes and mementos were brought over. Your clothing, shoes and accessories were thrown out. One of my men will be there waiting to take you shopping for anything you require, and I expect you to buy everything you need. My man will have a list of the necessary accoutrements, and the salespeople at the shops you will be escorted to have already been given my instructions as well as your measurements and will have appropriate selections for your viewing when you arrive.#p#分页标题#e#

Her measurements? And for that matter what was wrong with her clothes? Why would he just throw them out without even consulting her? How wasteful was that? The clothes certainly weren’t expensive by his standards, but she’d had to save to buy each and every item and she’d never been able to go and buy an entire wardrobe or anything. She bought a pair of jeans or a T-shirt or a pair of shoes. When she had the means to do so. Sending money to her parents was her first priority. Her comfort was a far second on her list. It stung that he’d so thoughtlessly discarded clothing that she’d worked damn hard for. So what if they were bought in a thrift shop or on the clearance rack of a bargain shopping center? She’d paid for every single thing with her own money. No one had given her anything and she took pride in that. Never once did one of her roommates have to cover her share of the rent, because she made sure that after sending money to her family, she had enough to cover her part of their living arrangement and pitch in on groceries. She also did most of the cooking so they didn’t spend money eating out, which meant she saved more money for the necessities. Drake was obviously ashamed of her, and that ate at her. She had her pride. She knew she wasn’t anything to look at, and she still couldn’t fathom what she was doing here in his apartment with instructions to go shopping for an entire new wardrobe where one outfit would likely cost more than all the things Drake had so blithely tossed out.