Milton coughs and turns back to me. “I, uh, I’ve just spoken with your father, who’s given his consent for the two of us to go out tomorrow.”
Rowan whistles “Wow, now that?” He grins, shaking a finger at Milton. “Now that’s just class. You don’t see that a lot in today’s modern times. A man asking a father permission before having dinner with his fully grown adult daughter?”
Rowan slips an arm over my shoulders, turning to smile while giving me a subtle roll of his eye.
Milton beams. “Ah, well, I’m an old fashioned guy.”
“Real old fashioned, huh?”
Milton chuckles. “Guilty.”
“Well then, I should be going.”
I shoot him a look as he turns, his back just enough to Milton to flash the white cotton of my panties in his hand before he slips them back into his jacket pocket with a wink.
A fever pulses through me.
He turns back to the older man. “Milton, my friend, a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you as well!”
“You’ve got a peach of a fiancée here.”
“Oh, well, thank you.”
Rowan grins wickedly. “A real sweet peach.”
My face grows hot.
“Ahhh yes, well, as soon as I met her father, I knew I had to have her.”
“Right, well, isn’t that just romance.” Rowan shoots me a look.
“So, Eva? Tomorrow?” Milton smiles broadly at me. “Your father has given his permission.”
I quickly clear my throat. “Uh, yes! Of course,” I say sweetly.
He beams. “Well! Tomorrow it is, then! A pleasure to meet you, Rowan! Peace be with you.”
“And with you.” Rowan smiles a plastic smile at Milton as he turns and walks away.
“Give me those back,” I hiss as soon as Milton is out of the back gate and halfway down the block.
“Nah.” Rowan grins, pulling my panties out of his pocket just enough to make my face hot all over again before stuffing them back in. “Besides, you should get to bed yourself. Sounds like you’ve got a big date tomorrow.”
“You know I have to go on that.”
“Of course you do. Can’t go against Daddy’s wishes, right?”
I frown. “It’s not like that,” I hiss.
“Oh, not at all. You’re just marrying an old guy because your dad says so.”
“You’re old.”
He snorts. “I’m not that old. And besides, that guy?” He moves close to me, and I gasp as his hand suddenly slips right underneath my skirt and runs over my bare thigh.
“That guy doesn’t make you wet like I do,” he growls.
“Rowan-” my voice catches as his hand slips between my legs and runs over me.
I’m still wet, and I know he can tell.
His finger strokes through my lips, making me gasp quietly, my hands moving to his shirt and clinging to him.
Suddenly, his hand slips back from under my skirt.
“Better get your rest for that date,” he growls. “Night, angel.”
And then he’s gone.
My heart pounds as I step into the house. I close the door behind me, turning towards the stairs, when the voice in the dark kitchen sends my heart jumping into my throat.
“Where have you been?”
I gasp, jumping a foot back at Chastity’s voice and bringing a hand to my heart.
“Lord, Chastity!” I hiss. “You scared the crap out of me!”
I glance out the window of the back door just in time to see Rowan slip out the back gate. He glances back and grins.
That wicked, captivating grin.
I’m sinning, and he makes me want to do it even more.
“Your mother said you went out for a walk over an hour ago.”
I turn back to her. “I went down by the piers, yes.”
“At night? By yourself?”
“Yes?”
She scowls. “Milton was here.”
“I saw him outside.”
“Your dad gave him permission to take you out tomorrow, you know.”
“I do know, and I also know I can make my own decisions.”
“Well so can your father, Eva,” she says sharply. “It’s his right to make sure his daughter is on the right path towards marriage, you know.”
She stands from the kitchen table and gives me a hard look. “And towards God’s love.”
“Goodnight, Chastity.”
I leave her in the kitchen as I climb the stairs to my bedroom and close the door. I wash my face and brush my teeth in the bathroom before I slip into bed.
But I’m not thinking of “my path to marriage,” or even God’s love.
I’m thinking of Rowan Hammond’s wicked tongue, and the lust he ignites in me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Evangeline