Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Twenty-Two

She lay on her back on the bed in her hotel room, the diva having managed to check into her hotel room shortly after she and Kelly had finished eating... Something that she normally wouldn't have been able to do given the fact that it was still early. However, the hotel hadn't been full the night before and had already had several checkouts, so there had been rooms ready when she'd stopped by to see if she could check in yet. For her part, Kelly had decided to head to the mall for awhile, which had given Eve some time by herself... Well, until the man that was sprawling on his stomach next to her on the bed had shown up. He was currently reading a book as she lay there, Eve frowning slightly as she listened to the music they had playing... The diva turning her head to look at CM Punk. He'd called her a few minutes before to see where she was, and Eve had told him to come on up to her room so they could hang out before the show.

"It's hard to believe that it's time for another pay per view already," she said quietly, and CM Punk shrugged his shoulders, marking his place in the book he was reading and putting it on the table next to the bed before he turned his attention to her, rolling over to his side and propping himself up on his elbow so that he could look down at her. He let his free hand drift out, his fingers skimming over her arm.

"You worried?" he asked her, and Eve looked over at him.

"About being at ringside? No. I just... Kind of crazy to realize that today's Friday, and Jeff gets his one-on-one rematch on Sunday. How about you? Are you worried?"

"I can beat him. I care more about beating him up than anything else."

"Punk-"

"It's true. I don't know. I might find a way to mess with him. Figure he deserves it. Especially after Monday," the world heavyweight champion said, the look in his eyes growing dark as he thought about it, and Eve sighed.

"Don't do anything stupid and cost yourself the title-"

"I get DQ'd, I still keep the title," he reminded her. "Might almost be worth it just to go crazy on him." He reached out then, his thumb moving over her lip where it had been cut... The injury now impossible to see and more or less healed. The small bruise by her mouth wasn't entirely gone, though. It was covered by makeup at the moment, but she'd admitted to him that it was still a bit visible. "You going to the show with Kelly tonight?"

"Don't I always?" she replied, then sighed, looking over at him briefly before fixing her gaze on the ceiling. She didn't particularly want to tell him this, but she also had the feeling that if she kept it from him, he'd probably find out anyway. On top of that... Not telling him would make her feel guilty, like she was lying to him and, well... Even if she didn't look forward to telling him what had happened earlier, she didn't want to lie to him, either.

"What is it?" Punk asked, obviously realizing that there was more she needed to say, the man's free hand coming out to rest against her abdomen, not touching bare skin because the shirt she wore covered her completely.

Eve sighed. "Jeff suspects something," the diva told him before relating her conversation with the man to Punk, how she'd indicated that someone else knew about what had happened several weeks before. As she finished the story, she looked over at him. "I'm worried about Kelly. I mean... She figures that Jeff has to know it wasn't her that picked me up that day when he left me on the road, but... I'm not entirely sure that he'll remember that she was with Maria that day. Not to mention the fact that it's clear she's on my side."

"If he's starting to worry about that, then he'll also be worrying about his reputation. The more people that know what he's done, the more of a chance there is that someone will spill the beans. He's not likely to try to go after either of you unless he can find a way to turn it so that it looks like it's your fault. And he may think... He may think it was Edge," CM Punk told her, and Eve frowned.

"Edge?"

"Makes a bit of sense, wouldn't it? He knows that Edge is the one that helped you Monday and got you out of there. He knows Edge hates him... He probably hopes it turns out that it was Edge that found you that day. He probably figures that Edge has done enough over the past few years that he could turn it around and make it seem like Edge was a liar or that he stole you away or something-"

"But Jeff thinks I called someone. At least, I'm pretty sure he does. I wouldn't call Edge."

"You wouldn't have called me, either. Not then," Punk said. "Which means he's not likely to figure out who really found you that day... Not until we tell him."

"Tell him?" Eve questioned, the diva sitting up on the bed so fast that Punk's hand that had been settled against her abdomen slid up a bit with the motion, the man managing to pull his hand away just before he ended up touching something that he shouldn't. The woman didn't seem to notice where Punk's hand had almost been, Eve instead shoving her hair back from her face and looking down at him. "Tell him?" she repeated. "Why would we tell him?"

"Not soon. Not... While this is still going on," CM Punk replied as he sat up as well, the man sitting cross-legged on the bed as he faced the woman. "But eventually, Eve... When you're away from him... When you've finally turned against him... I want him to know why I did what I did. I want him to know that what he did to you brought that down on him. He had his dream match, and he won it, and I took that title from him two minutes later because of his behavior. I want him to know it. I don't care if anyone else knows it, but I want him to know."

"Punk-"

"Look at me," he told her, his hands on her face as he gently urged her to do just that. "I will not let him touch you. He'll only know the truth once you're away from him, and I won't let him touch you after that. Because once you turn against him, I want you with me."

Her eyes widened in surprise; it wasn't really something she'd considered yet. "You... You want me..."

"With me. Unless... Unless you just want to keep this a secret. Whatever's happening between us. If you don't want anyone to know..." He shook his head, starting to shift away, but Eve reached out and grabbed at his arm, tugging him back using a fistful of his t-shirt.

"No! It's not that. I just... I don't know where this is going or what you wanted or... Anything," Eve told him, her hand still clutching at the sleeve of his shirt. "I really... I don't know what I'm doing here, Punk. I know how much I want you around. I know that I keep finding myself wondering when I'm going to see you again... But I'm not sure what this is sometimes. After everything with Jeff... I'm scared to trust myself. What I feel. But I do know that I don't want you to go. And I don't just mean right now. I mean... I don't want you to walk away."

"I don't want to walk away, either," he told her, Eve dropping her grip on his shirt as he reached out, running his hands up and down her arms. "If you asked me to, I would. It would hurt like hell, but... I'd do it. Because it's what you want and I promised myself awhile back that I wouldn't push you. You've dealt with a lot when it comes to Jeff Hardy and... I don't want to give you more problems to think about."

Eve gave a small smile. "If you're a problem, then you're the best problem that I've had in a long time," she told him, and Punk smiled at that, gripping her by the elbows and tugging her closer to him, Eve rising to her knees as he pulled her forward, seeking out her mouth with his own. She kissed him easily, tugging her arms from his grasp so that she could wrap them around his neck, his arms coming to wrap around her slim form as he tugged her closer, shifting their bodies as they kissed, Punk laying back down on the bed and bringing Eve down on top of him, the diva quickly finding herself sprawled across his chest. She blinked at the change in position, breaking the kiss to look down at him, and he lifted one hand, reaching out to run his fingers over her face.

"I'm not asking for more than you're ready for. I just want to kiss you."

"Sooner or later, something has to come after the kissing," she said quietly, and he sighed, shifting them around so that instead of her laying on top of him, they were laying side by side on the bed, the two of them facing one another. He stroked a hand down her arm.

"Not until you're ready for it."

"Punk-"

"I already said that I'm not going to push you. I meant it. I'm not going to lie. I'm seriously attracted to you and I want to be with you. But that doesn't mean I'm going to ask for more than you're ready to give. And if what you're ready to do is kiss me, then I will gladly kiss you as much and as often as possible," he told her.

"But... That has to be frustrating for you."

"I'm a grown man. I can deal with it," he told her, lifting himself up a little higher on the bed so that he could get a look at the clock on the nightstand, then settling himself back down again, his hand coming up to play with her hair. "It's still early. We've got several hours before we have to head off to the arena for SmackDown," he told her. "If... If you want to take a nap or something, there's time. Or, you know, we could do what I'd really like to do."

Eve pressed her lips together. "And what, exactly, is it that you really want to do?" she asked, and he grinned at her, his hand sliding down her arm to rest on her hip for a moment before he let his arm wrap around her waist, tugging her a bit closer to him.

"Well, I figure that we have plenty of time right now for a really amazing make-out session. Then maybe we could get some room service or something so we can actually eat - something we'll need to do before the show... And then maybe some more kissing. Lots of kissing," he told her, looking her in the eyes as he spoke and, after a moment, Eve lifted a hand, her fingers sliding over his cheek as she leaned in closer to him, so close that her lips brushed against his as she spoke.

"I think I really like that idea."

"I was hoping you would."