“Are you saying you think we should find a way to be together? That’s what I want. Even if we have to keep it a secret. I don’t care.”
“Listen, I spent my life being persecuted for loving someone who everyone told me was forbidden. That love of my life just died. She’s gone. Forever. In a weird way, losing her made me appreciate all of our struggles even more. I couldn’t imagine her leaving this Earth without our having had the chance to fully express that love to each other. I just couldn’t fathom that. Not having that regret is the only reason I sleep at night now. My nightmare is that Vangie is going to regret running away. Regret is a horrible curse. I don’t want that for either one of you.”
“I can see why Evangeline loves coming here.”
“I know we just met, Sevin, but I care about you, because she cares about you. I want you to know if either one of you ever needs a safe haven, you’re always welcome here. I’ll give you work and a roof over your head. Vangie’s like the daughter I never had.”
“I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I don’t have parents. I don’t have anyone.”
“You do now.”
“Thank you.”
“I know it seems impossible, but don’t give up on her.”
“I need to see her.”
“Go on. She’s in the garage.”
She hadn’t noticed me standing there for the longest time. Looking almost exactly like the day we first met, Evangeline had grease on her face, and her wild black hair was all over the place. A beautiful mess.
She’d been worried about going to hell for our kiss. Hell to me was life on Earth without her. Time was running out fast, but I had a lot of fight left in me. The one area where I’d been holding back was also her biggest area of weakness. I knew she couldn’t resist me sexually. She would literally run from me to avoid giving into the strong physical pull between us. Needing to try everything to get her to stay, I knew that holding back wasn’t an option anymore. I wasn’t going to let her run straight into the arms of another man just because she was afraid of the consequences of loving me. Over my dead body. She was mine.
I needed to claim what was mine.
I called out, “Evangeline.”
She jumped and placed her hand over her chest. “What are you doing here, Sevin?”
“It’s raining. I came to pick you up.”
CHAPTER 17
EVANGELINE
Hiding out at Adelaide’s, I’d been crying inside most of the day. When I saw him standing there, as much as I’d prayed he’d stay away, my heart leapt for joy. I should have known better than to think Sevin was going to take that letter as closure. I didn’t even try to ask him to leave because the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t going anywhere. It also told me I was screwed.
I cleared my throat. “I’m almost done.”
Sevin crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I’ll wait.” The heat of his stare was overpowering as he watched every moment of my hands as I tightened the distributor.
When I finished, I said, “I’m just gonna go wash up.”
He was standing in the same spot when I returned from the wash room. He looked amazing in a black hoodie that hugged his chest snugly. His hair was still damp from the rain. But it was the self-assured look on his face that really made my knees weak.
“Let me just get my coat.”
“Do you need to say goodbye to Addy?”
I shook my head. “I’m stopping by tomorrow before…I leave.”
His jaw clenched at the mention of my impending departure, his eyes telling me that I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Let me help you with that.” Sevin pulled the coat from my grasp and opened it up for me. His palms lingered on my shoulders, igniting a warm current of energy down my spine.
I turned around to meet his eyes, his face too close for comfort.
“Let’s get going then,” he said as he stared into me.
It was dark outside, and the earlier rain had turned into a drizzle. Sevin opened the passenger side door to his truck and waited until I was seated before shutting it.
His smell saturated the inside. It was enough to make me drunk off of him. His eyes darted to the side, and he looked at me briefly before starting the car.
Neither of us was saying anything as he kept driving fast down the long dark road in the opposite direction from our ranch.
I was looking out the window which was covered in raindrops when his warm hand landed on mine, prompting me to look at him. The intensity in his eyes made my heart beat faster.
After several minutes of driving in silence, he pulled over into a desolate open field. My stomach dropped. Sevin turned off the ignition and leaned his head back before looking over at me.