Besotted by Rebecca Sharp

Eve

Two months rent.

I stared at the piece of paper, trying to stop the tears from welling in my eyes.

I’d found an apartment—just in time as Miles and Mick were to start working at Blooms next week. I’d even managed to put together the first month’s rent with my income from working at the bar the last two weekends. But when I went to sign the lease this morning, the owner pointed out that the security deposit was the first two month’s rent.

Not one.

And that meant I didn’t have enough unless I dipped into my savings—into my dream.

I took another sip of the tea I’d made, sitting cross-legged on my bed. There was already a stack of boxes in the corner of the room of some of my stuff, all ready to go. Funny how I thought I’d be unpacking those right now and not sitting back at square one.

I couldn’t tell my sister, that was for sure.

She and my brother were on limited speaking terms right now because she was supposed to be doing this interview tomorrow—the one that everyone but her seemed to think was dangerous. I couldn’t put this on her plate, too.

I let out another unsteady breath.

Really, there were three options. Either I had to see if I could stay with Laurel for another week or two until I found a different place or enough money to rent the one I’d found, assuming it was still available. Or I had to ask Gwen for the same thing.

Or I had to take money from my savings.

I didn’t know which option made me cringe harder.

Folding the paper, I slid off my bed and shoved it in my bag.

Unfortunately, life didn’t wait for me while I figured out my situation, and that meant I needed to get down to the bar and grab a quick snack before my shift started. Normally, I ate here, but I was having this crazy craving for pickles and Benny made this town famous pickle plate that my mouth had been watering for all day.

That, and Miles.

As hard as it had been, I’d walked away after last week and gave him the space he needed to sift through everything that had happened… everything he felt.

Calling out a few goodbyes as I went downstairs, I slipped out the front door quickly before Addy caught me to ask if I’d signed my new lease; I’d made the mistake of telling her I was going to have a new place by the end of the day.

I kept my eyes out as I walked, wondering if Miles would be coming to the Pub tonight. My body instantly tingled with the butterflies of hope.

I still saw him at Roasters—even more frequently this past week if that was possible. But it wasn’t like before. Gone was the mask that tried to hide how much he wanted me. Now, he looked at me with a desire that was blinding. And deafening. And all-around debilitating.

All my years of yoga—of breathing and meditation and practiced calm—seemed nonexistent when he walked into the room. Instead, my lungs, my heart, my mind, it all centered around him.

And he, in turn, made it clear that the ‘one night’ wall that was agreed between us was rapidly crumbling like sand underneath a wave.

One night was all it took to change everything.

“Hey, Benny,” I called, tucking my purse underneath the counter in the back room. “Can I get a pickle plate, please?”

He looked up from behind the stove. “Hey, sure,” he said with a smile.

A few minutes later, I was devouring pickled cauliflower, pickled pineapple, and pickled green beans, moaning in delight.

“You okay?”

I turned to see Benny walking out from the back room, the look of concern on his face making him appear so much like his older brothers. “Yeah.” My brow furrowed. “Why?”

He shrugged and slung a towel over his shoulder, the unofficial mark that the night shift was beginning. “You asked for a pickle plate.”

My head tipped to the side. “And?”

“Pickles usually mean one of two things,” he said with a small laugh. “Problem or pregn—”

“No!” I exclaimed, cutting him off vehemently. “I mean, a small problem. But, I’ll figure it out, I’m sure. I always do.”

His kind expression turned serious, and I knew I’d said too much. Even though Benny wasn’t officially a member of Covington Security, that didn’t alter in the slightest his desire to help and protect the people of this town.

“What happened?” he asked. “Is it Miles? Do I have to talk to him? I swear to God, Eve, if he did something to you—”

“No!” I waved my hands, forgetting completely about my pickles. “No. Definitely not. I just—” I sighed and pressed a hand to my forehead. “The apartment I thought I was signing a lease for today fell through,” I confessed, laughing because the first time saying the words made me want to cry. “It’s not a big deal. I just can’t tell my sister; she’ll feel responsible and guilty, and she’ll push back her plans for Blooms. I’ll find another place. I’ll just live on the beach for two weeks or so,” I finished with a laugh, hoping he would take it as lightly as I tried to make it.

He began pulling out glasses from the dishwasher, holding my gaze. “Do you want to move in here?”

My mouth dropped and I shook my head. “W-What?” I must’ve misheard him.

“There are two apartments upstairs, but I’m only using one,” he informed me. “You’re welcome to take the other one for as long as you need.”

I gaped.

Was it really that easy?

Not that living above a bar—even if it was the Pub—was ideal but for the immediate future, it was better than being hopeless.

Maybe I should just get a tent for my car like Miles had…

I groaned. Yeah, I bet that would look real classy on top of my ninety-two Hyundai.

Before I could answer him, the door opened and Benny moved to greet incoming patrons. Meanwhile, my phone buzzed next to my abandoned pickle plate.

Shoving the last bite in my mouth, I almost choked on the tart treat as I saw who texted. Miles.

I didn’t have the fancy, thumb-scanning new phone so, after typing in my password wrong three times because my excited fingers were too nervous to tap correctly, I finally unlocked the damn thing and read his message.

Aquaman: One more night?

A thrill hummed through my body, blowing out every other sound like the sonic silence before the boom, and I let out a small squeal, clapping my hand over my mouth and glancing around to make sure I wasn’t causing a scene.

My cheeks ached with the stupid-happy grin as I tapped out a reply.

Me: I can come to the cove after work.

I caught Benny’s stare and put my finger up. I think it was probably my giddy face that had him laughing and shaking his head.

Aquaman: No. We aren’t going to the cove.

Aquaman: I’ll meet you at the end of your shift. You aren’t walking anywhere alone.

My heart picked up speed, wondering what he had in store for us at two a.m. besides the obvious. I crossed my legs as I stood, hoping it wasn’t too obvious from the other side of the bar, and quickly tapped out an answer.

Me: You don’t have to do that… Where are we going?

Aquaman: I do.

Aquaman: I don’t take risks with what is mine.

My phone almost dropped from my hand as a shiver jolted up my spine.

I liked when he called me his. Even if it was only for one more night. Because one more was longer than the single one I’d been promised.

The next few hours passed in mayhem. It seemed as soon as I looked up, the pub was crowded with people and the green glow was like a green light that kept me running a marathon behind the bar all night. I’d always found that keeping busy made time go quickly but tonight, no matter how fast I moved, time seemed to pass normally, if not even slower until it was finally the end of the shift.

“Great job keeping up tonight, Eve,” Benny praised as he came to stand by me at the far end of the bar where I was taking stock of the alcohol bottles along the back, measuring the remaining liquid in them like he’d taught me so he knew how much he needed to order.

“Thanks.” My hands planted on my hips, and I let out a relieved laugh.

“Yeah, I hear you,” he agreed.

“Do you have plans tonight?” Keeping up the conversation was easier than listening to the ever-growing beats of my heart as they drummed inside my head.

Benny shook his head.

I didn’t know that I’d ever seen him have plans after working—not that I’d been here that long or even visited as a patron until closing time before.

“Nah, I’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

“Oh? What’s going on?” I jotted down a few numbers in the stocking notebook and then looked up. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be nosey. You don’t have to tell me. It’s that point in the night where I have a good excuse for not having the filter that I never possess anyway.”

He let out a bark of laughter. “I’m glad you’re with Miles.”

I froze. “I’m not with Miles. I mean, he… I… we… Well, maybe sort of. But not technically,” I stammered, my face reddening as each uncertain syllable turned the heat up in my body a few degrees. Still, I blurted out at the end, “But why do you say that?”

He just continued to laugh. “Because someone needs to tell him like it is.”

“Oh.”

“He needs someone who has no other setting besides absolute truth,” Benny added more quietly. “And I’m glad that someone is you.”

My blush dulled to a permanent pink tint as I murmured thank you, refraining from saying anything else because I would end up saying too much.

“Anyway, my plans are no giant secret.” He switched gears to respond to my initial question. “I have to help my brothers up at the Covington offices.”

“With the self-defense courses?”

All three boys were trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and offered camps over the summer for vacationing kids along with classes for adults. About five years ago, when Benny came back here after college, he’d been the one to suggest offering a women’s specific defense class and Addy had sent more than a handful of the Blooms residents there to learn.

I saw his head shake as he began to wipe down the counter.

“No, that’s probably not for another week or two,” he informed me. “I should reach out to your sister and see if she has anyone coming to it though… Anyway, tomorrow, I’m helping them train the new guy they just hired—Jackson.”

“They hired someone? How many people do they have now?”

I knew that Covington Security was small—elite. Carmel Cove was small so it was never really an issue, but I wondered if their belief that the Crown Cartel was claiming part ownership of Rock Beach Resort had them taking precautions for the crimes that followed in the cartel’s wake.

“Ace and Dex are really the only full-time people there ever since Mario left. I’m there as needed. And then there’s only Rocco and Dante.” He sighed. “So, we’ll see how it goes.”

“Good luck,” I offered, knowing that working with his two brothers who were very… stubborn… was sometimes hard for him even though they all loved each other.

In the back of my mind, a corner of my brain registered that the door to the Pub had opened but for some reason, I thought it was one of the few remaining patrons leaving.

“Did you decide about upstairs?” Benny asked, and with the bustle of the night, I had managed to forget that I was on the brink of homelessness. “The room is all cleared out and ready. I’ve been thinking about renting it out on one of those sites for a while but just haven’t gotten around to it. So, you’re welcome to move in anytime.”

“Move in here? Above the pub? With Benny?” A low gravelly growl interjected and the anticipation that had pooled in every pore of my body for the past few hours lit like kerosene under a match and transformed into a burning ache.

It wasn’t a guest who’d left. It was Miles who’d walked into the bar and just overheard that I was thinking about moving in above the bar. With one of his friends.

Miles

I couldn’t have heard him right.

Eve. Moving in above the Pub. With Benny.

I’d wanted to get here a few minutes earlier, but my damn crazy dog decided to play fetch with himself and my damn car keys. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem because I’d walk here and back, but tonight, I wasn’t taking Eve back to my tent.

After a week of my need for her becoming more and not less, after a week of craving not just her body but that soul-cleansing honesty and light that seemed to fucking follow her like a halo, I was taking her to bed tonight. A real one.

One that I’d spent two hours at the damn mattress store picking out for Mick’s old apartment.

“Eve…” I looked at my woman who met my gaze defiantly as soon as her surprise wore off. “What the hell is going on? You’re not moving in here. Why the hell would you be moving in here?”

Benny stepped back because he knew what was good for him, the movement catching Eve’s eye.

“Benny, I’m going to get going,” she said lightly, a sweet smile gracing her lips. “Thanks for everything, especially for the offer. I’ll let you know tomorrow.” She reached under the back counter where the register sat and retrieved her jacket and bag, pulling the most-easily-beatable Covington in for a hug. “Good luck with your brothers.”

“Good luck with your…” He trailed off and nodded toward me with a smirk.

And fuck if I didn’t want to beat him… just a little bit.

I fumed as she walked by me casually, waiting until we were both outside when she let her mouth loose on me.

“Really, Miles? Blaring out my living situation in front of everyone?” Her eyes were on fire but even in the dim lighting outside, I could see the hard tips of her tits against her shirt. Even when she was mad at me, she wanted me. And hell, if that didn’t make my blood sing.

“There was no one in there,” I informed her tightly. Okay, maybe like two fucking people. “And I want to know why the hell I come to pick you up to find out you’re thinking of moving in with Benny.”

There was no question that we were arguing, and I had no idea what that was going to mean for the night I had planned, so I couldn’t help but be a little surprised when my stubborn woman walked right up to the passenger door of my Jeep and climbed in.

No, not surprised. My heart tripped like the clumsy thing it was around her.

I wished it was the big things that made me realize the difference between Eve and Amanda and how they treated me but it never was. It was always the little, unexpected things—the things I never even noticed with Amanda until Eve did something, and one more blinder was removed so I could see just how poorly my ex had always treated me, even aside from her lying and cheating.

Whenever we’d fought, Amanda had always run—especially if I had something planned for us. She retreated to her house, her room, or someplace other than where I was, forcing me to follow her around like a lap dog if I wanted any kind of discussion, let alone resolution. She’d made me feel so infinitely small, infinitely inferior for questioning her, that I always ended up admitting to being at fault.

With Eve, I wasn’t small. I was an equal—an equal that she just happened to be upset with.

“And what if I don’t want to tell you?” She hummed, her arms still crossed as I turned on the Jeep and pulled out of the lot.

“Evie, you’re in my car. On the way to my place.” I chuckled. “I have ways of making you tell me.”