Chapter 28
Abigail and EJ sat in his expensive, foreign car. Abigail didn't know anything about cars, but, the fact that her seat had a butt warmer was making her jealous that her own car did not. Why didn't all cars come with this feature?
EJ's hands expertly gripped the leather steering wheel. As she watched his hands firmly hold the wheel, she'd almost forgotten that he used to be a world renowned race car driver. It seemed like a lifetime ago when he had moved to Salem with his boyish face and British charm. She could even remember the first time that she met him. He was all cute, clean shaven and seemingly adorable. He'd flirted with her back then as well, his brown eyes had looked her up and down, checking her out. He seemed worlds away then and even still, a little now.
His eyes now didn't even look at her. His gaze was solely fixed on something on his dashboard. The silence between them was palpable as they had left the doctor's office. Her hand instinctively rubbed her stomach. Rubbing it gently, her eyes betrayed her and let a few tears flow free.
He must've known something was off, because it was then that he spoke. "You alright?" His voice seemed incoherently loud for some reason.
Abigail nodded her head, letting the realization that she was in fact not pregnant with his child sink in. Somehow when the doctor delivered the news that she was simply over-stressed the first thought to go through her brain wasn't relief but disappointment. Why would she be disappointed that she wasn't pregnant with a child she wasn't even sure she wanted in the first place, with a man she both loathed and loved.
Did she? Did she love him?
He had let it slip that he loved her, although at the time she believed it to be a distraction on his part. Perhaps it wasn't a distraction at all. Maybe, just maybe, he did really love her. The way he held her hand and the small of her back the entire time in the doctor's office, showed that he still had feelings for her.
"Abigail?" His British voice gently called to her. His voice seemed to be more smooth and gentle now.
"Yeah." She responded. "I'm fine." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, EJ or herself.
He simply nodded his head, letting it go for now that she had just lied to him.
Even with the "good" news, she hadn't relaxed and EJ had noticed. Her shoulders were tense and her usually calm, soft eyes were filled with turmoil and confusion.
"You're tense sweetheart."
She eyeballed him, letting her pony-tail whip from one side to the other.
"I could… help you release that tension." He coaxingly brought his hand to her face, letting the familiarity of his fingers trail the soft skin under her chin, just the way he knew she liked it. He had missed her. He ached for her. He had tried to keep his distance but, a part of him felt like they weren't over.
"Seriously?!" She yelled at him. She couldn't believe his audacity or his ego. They just went through a huge pregnancy scare and his first thing he wants to do is stick his dick in her? "NO FUCKING WAY!"
Her reaction wasn't quite what EJ had been expecting. Normally she didn't use language like that and he was a bit surprised when it left her soft lips just then. He wouldn't deny that it was incredibly hot to hear such a dirty word leave her pretty, pink lips. It was even making him hard now.
"Abigail…"
"Don't you dare 'Abigail' me, EJ! You know I am with Logan and you know that this is over."
He wouldn't let her go again without a fight. If there was one thing DiMera's were good at, it was fighting and winning and getting exactly what it was that they wanted. EJ DiMera wanted Abigail Deveraux and he wouldn't stop until he got her.
"Fuck Logan! You and I-"
"You and I, nothing EJ!" She interrupted him and got out of his car. She had hoped that he wouldn't follow her. She obviously didn't pay attention to the fact that that wasn't how DiMera's operated. One simply did not just walk away from a fight with them.
EJ was seething fumes. He got out of the driver's side and followed her. "Don't you dare walk away from me young lady while I am speaking to you." He grabbed her elbow whipping her around to face him. She was millimeters from his chest. She could feel the intensity of his gaze on her. Slowly she looked up at his hard brown eyes. His breathing was quick as was her own. Something about fighting with EJ turned her on. She could feel his passion when he argued and it was hot, she wouldn't lie.
"Let me go." She whispered, not paying attention to the fact that EJ had in fact stopped touching her arm.
He wasn't sure if it was a command or a question but either way, he wasn't about to give in. Slowly he bent his head down and captured the lips he had been dreaming about kissing again for the past few weeks. Lips he had missed and the way they made him feel. Abigail didn't push him away. She deepened the kiss, just as eager to taste him again and he was to taste her.
EJ's arms wrapped around her small frame and lifted her up, her legs encompassing his hips, reminiscent of their tryst in the shower before they had been almost caught by Samantha. The need for her was growing inside of him. The need to feel her around him, the need to be inside her was damning to his soul. If he didn't take her then and there, he might burst.
"Never." He darkly promised. It was the truth. He would never just let her go. He had tried and it nearly killed him the past few weeks. He really was an impatient man. He thought he would let Abigail get her tryst with Logan out of her system before she came crawling back to him on her hands and knees. When that didn't happen, he had decided to approach her in the square, and thus, in that moment, with her in his arms.
As their kiss drew a close, Abigail wanted to shove EJ away. The part of her that was falling for Logan was shouting in her head that what she was doing with EJ was wrong. The part of her that knew that Chad would stop at nothing to destroy her relationship with EJ was screaming rationalizations about their future. And still… Still, she was drawn to him; encompassed by him; by his passion. His passion burned brightly for her. It was more than just for her, it was a passion for them. Together. He didn't want to let her go. He was willing to fight for her, tooth and nail. She'd all but slapped him in the car, and still… There he was, grasping at her to come back to him, like he needed her.
It hit her then, what being with EJ would be like. She slowly looked up into his soulful eyes. The look of pure necessity in his brown orbs was shocking to her. But, was it enough to push down the constant worry, looking over their shoulder, wondering if Chad, Stefano or even Sami would be out for revenge against them? Could she handle that if it boiled down to it? Could she be strong enough to weather the storm that came with being with EJ DiMera?
Her thoughts drifted to that of her parents. Her mother had been that strong. Her father had been deemed "a bad man" by the townspeople of Salem decades ago. And they had good reason for it. He had done terrible, hurtful, damning things. Through all of that ugliness, her mother, had seen a glimpse of good in Jack Deveraux. A glimpse that she was the product of. It was that hope and faithfulness that Jennifer had in Jack that helped him become the man he was meant to be. Though he still struggled with his calling to be on an adventure, getting the latest scoop, and being home with his family, Jack Deveraux was at his core, a good man.
She wouldn't lie to herself and say she hadn't recognized EJ had a similar struggle beneath his heavily guarded, expensive exterior. He'd done reprehensible things, things that she'd only heard whispers of and yet, she had seen a similar glimpse to him. A glimpse that perhaps, there was a good side to EJ DiMera, one that even Sami hadn't seen. But, would his old life call to him, like her father's had done to him? Could EJ ever truly let go of being "A DiMera"?
Her heart broke as she didn't want to answer that question. She didn't know and she was utterly petrified to find out. As he stroked her face, brushing her hair out of her eyes and behind her ear, the one thing that makes every girls heart melt, she found the courage deep down in the core of her belly and uttered the words, "I love you."
A light sparked beneath his eyes and a smile danced upon his full lips. He found his charm and cockily answered her, "I know, my dear."
"What are we going to do about Chad?"
"Don't worry about Chad, sweetheart. I'll take care of him. First thing you're going to do, is break it off with Logan."
"He'll be crushed." Abigail admitted, a light, almost playful tone in her voice.
"Well, I mean, who wouldn't be when being let go by a woman as amazing as you?" He sweetly charmed her.
She could feel her cheeks blush at the compliment. She was about to say something snarky back at him when his phone rang. He took her hand in his and quickly apologized.
"Just give me one second sweetheart."
Absently, she assured him. "Don't worry about it."
EJ answered his phone. "DiMera."
Abigail stood behind him, quietly observing the man that was in front of her. She'd been around the world, had seen, done things that some people only dreamt of doing and being with EJ was something that made her belly as hard as rock.
"No, tell Mr. Shin that wasn't the arrangement. His men were supposed to meet my guys down at the loading docks three hours ago with the shipment." His voice grew impatient and Abigail could tell he was getting angry. "Look, if Shin doesn't want his money or his product that's fine with me. Tell him, I'll be happy to find someone else who is willing to supply for DiMera Enterprises."
The weight of the conversation hit Abby like a ton of bricks. On the outside it seemed like a normal business transaction. To someone who knew better, EJ was pissed. She'd never heard someone be so menacing and yet so calm in his voice before.
"Is this what you're ready for?" Abby asked herself. "Being with someone who is dirty and does illegal things? Someone who has attempted murder?"
EJ turned around and saw the look of horror and repulsion on Abby's face. His posture changed, his eyes lightened at seeing her. "You know what? This is what you can tell Mr. Shin. Tell Mr. Shin that as of this moment if he wants to deal with a DiMera, he can call my father or I have a feeling he can speak to my brother Chad. But as of this moment, he can no longer speak to me on such matters."
With that, EJ hung up his phone. He tightly took Abigail's hand and promised her, "I never want to see that look on your face again. Whatever I have to do to make sure that doesn't happen, I will make it so."
Abigail nodded her head, completely thrown by the turn of events. Perhaps there was hope for EJ after all. She swallowed thickly and wondered, "EJ?"
"Hmmm?"
"What are we going to tell my mother?"
He chuckled at the question, seemingly out of the blue. "That, my dear, is one battle that I think can wait for another day. Right now, right now all I want to do is take you home and never let you go. I won't lie to you Abigail. I will screw up. I will lie. I will do things that make you crazy. But the one thing I won't do is ever give up on us. I am in, sweetheart. All in."
"Just repeat that to my mom and I think we will be okay."
"Jennifer Deveraux doesn't strike me as someone who will see past all of my mis-doings." EJ graciously opened the door to her side of the car to let her in.
Abby smiled and told him as she sat down in her seat, "She might just surprise you." EJ closed the door and walked over to his side. A sense of relief washed over him that he had managed to do what he thought he could not. Which was to say, get Abigail back in his life. And the weird thing was that he didn't need to manipulate her to do so. All he had to do was show her just how on fire their chemistry was. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He had once had a similar feeling, attraction, connection to Samantha. What he had with Abigail was something new. Something… seemingly illicit. The "Princess" of the "Perfect Horton Clan" with the "Prince of Darkness" of Salem? They would bring a whole new meaning to the term forbidden.
As EJ sat in his driver's seat, his hands expertly handling the wheel, he could only think, "The citizens of Salem are in for one hell of a ride."
