“She just got home,” John was on the phone with one of the officers he had tailing Evangeline. Thank God she was home safe. John hung up just as he drove up to her house.

He couldn’t climb the stairs fast enough. And as he waited for her to answer all he could think of was how much he wanted her.

As Evangeline opened the door, he took in the site of her clad in her oversized terry cloth robe. She had just taken a shower and looked so fragile, so vulnerable. Damnit RJ!

“Hey,” he managed before cupping her face in his hands and touching his lips softly to her forehead.

“Hey, yourself,” she smiled as she closed the door behind him.

“What happened?” he stood there studying her, hands on hips, “I heard Sonya Toledo showed up.” Evangeline prayed he couldn’t hear her heart drumming.

“Well after we left the Palace we headed over to Capricorn for drinks. RJ played his usual cat and mouse games and when Sonya showed up they pretty much kicked me out”, she shrugged.

He watched her walk over to the couch, she was lying, he could tell.

“And that’s it?” she didn’t look at him.

“Yea, that’s about it. I’m just glad this thing is over,” She watched him come over and sit next to her. For a moment he just stared at her, brushing the hair from her face as he did so. He wouldn’t push it. She would tell him when she was ready.

“I’m just tired that’s all,” she saw the question in his eyes even before he said it. She hated lying to him.

“Then I should let you get some rest.” Suddenly he got up to leave. She wanted so badly for him to stay, to just make everything go away. But if he did she knew he would find out, John was like that.

She walked him to the door not knowing what to say. A cloud seemed to overshadow them.

“Hey, about tonight…” she spoke softly, “at the palace, I didn’t mean to hurt you…with RJ I mean.”

“I know,” He stepped in closer and Evangeline knew she should pull away. But she didn’t, and when his lips found hers all she wanted was that moment in time. His lips were so tender she felt her heart tighten with emotion; she could feel the tears as John hand moved to pull her closer, his kiss somehow touching the depths of her soul. She felt his hands move from her face to her back tracing their way downwards, lightly caressing her breasts before they moved to her hips, pulling her even closer.

Immediately she winced in pain and jumped backwards. His hand had come in contact with a soft spot where she had hit her hip as she had struggled with RJ. The pain shot all through her lower back, she looked up and realized John was staring at her; she knew he had felt it too.

He stepped in closer his hands moving back to her hips.

“John…Please,” she stepped away, seeing the anger in his eyes.

“Evangeline, what the hell happened?”