by Anna Durand
Well, I didn't have to get attached to him or get enmeshed in any kind of relationship. We could have sex, period. I could satisfy this outrageous craving for him that had me acting like a horny teenager and then move on.
Letting him go down on me in the kitchen? For pity's sake, I was thirty, not sixteen.
Once we'd finished with the dishes, Val turned to face me and leaned his hip against the counter. "Why don't you have a dishwashing machine?"
"Those things are expensive, and you have to practically wash the stuff before you put it in the dishwasher anyway." I replaced the dish towel on the little hanger attached to the counter, only in part as an excuse to look away from him and his hot bod, not at all disguised by his clothing. "I'm not above manual labor."
"You need more than a handyman. You need a team of employees."
"I've done fine so far."
He touched my arm. "When was the last time you took a day off?"
The warmth of his hand on my bare skin set off a flurry of goose bumps. My nipples went hard. I struggled to keep from sounding breathless when I told him, "My work habits are none of your concern."
He moved closer.
Too close. I could smell him, that indefinable essence of man that made everything inside me perk up and take notice. No, it wasn't the essence of man as in any old man. It was the essence of him.
His fingers curled around my arm. "Why haven't you hired anyone else? Why only Quentin?"
I noted the way his voice took on a faint sharp edge when he spoke my handyman's name. "It's complicated."
"You can tell me. I won't post it on Twitter." He winked. "I save that for sex tapes."
"Uh-huh." I considered walking away but decided I had no reason not to tell him the truth. I faced him and said, "When I started this business five years ago, I didn't have much money. My dad inherited this place from his great uncle, but he and my mom wanted to retire to the Florida Keys, not to the Oregon wilderness. They gave me this property. My parents also gave me ten thousand dollars to get started with, and I took out a loan for the rest, mainly to pay for building the guest house. I paid off the loan six months ago, which means I don't have enough left over to afford more employees or the other improvements I'd like to make."
"I would be happy to invest."
Folding my arms over my chest, I squinted at him. "Invest? That would mean you get your money back eventually, but I don't think that's what you really mean."
"Call it a gift, then."
"Oh-ho, no." I shook my head, wagging a finger at him. "I don't accept payment for sex."
A smirk stretched his lips. Amusement sparkled in his eyes and crinkled the skin around them. "That almost sounds like an invitation to fuck you."
"You think everything I say is an invitation."
"Because it is." He wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me into his big, firm body. "We both want the same thing, sex with no strings. Stop fighting it. At the end of two weeks, I'll go home and we will never see each other again. What have you got to lose?"
My sanity. My self-respect. My heart.
I wouldn't fall for him. I barely knew Val, and I had no intention of getting to know him better. Sure, that's why I'd explained my financial situation to him. Ugh. As much as I would've loved to take a wild roll in the hay with him, I needed to shut this down ASAP.
"Sorry," I said, wriggling out of his hold, "I don't sleep with guests. Right now, I have to do some stuff in my office and then I need to make lunch. After that, we're all off to the Pioneer Days festival." I scrunched my lips, trying not to smile. "You'll need to keep your clothes on for that."
He tapped a finger on my lips. "I know that, Eve. I'll help you with lunch."
"No way. You are a guest, so go mingle with the rest of the gang."
Val stared at me for a moment, his full lips twisting into a half frown. He gusted out a sigh and nodded. "All right. I will mingle."
"Good."
He sauntered to the door, pausing there to glance back at me. "But I won't give up on seducing you."
Val walked out the door.
Once it clicked shut after him, I almost sagged into the counter. Whew. One calamity averted. For now.
He wouldn't give up. I believed that. For some bizarre reason, an infamous football star and unabashed nudist who liked to tape himself having sex had set his sights on me, the non-nudist proprietor of a low-rent resort who refused to sleep with guests.
Maybe a roll in the hay with him would be worth the risk of repercussions. He kept telling me he wasn't the jealous type and he didn't want a relationship. So maybe, just maybe, I could take the roll with him. Oh yeah, my body loved that idea.
Chapter Ten
Val
When Eve strolled out of her house at one fifteen, her guests were waiting for her in the grassy area between her home and the guest house. I'd made sure to be in the front line. Eve stopped a short ways from us, gripping the strap of the huge purse she'd slung over one shoulder.
Her brows lifted a touch when she saw me.
I'd changed clothes for the occasion, though I doubted Eve would appreciate my ensemble. She had, I was sure, hoped I'd keep my entire body covered so she might feel less inclined to ravish me. Though I hated disappointing her in any way, this one time I had to do it.
Her gaze traveled the length of my body. Her raised brows lowered and cinched together over her nose.
Maybe my clothing surprised her. I was, after all, wearing swim shorts with a brightly colored zigzag print, a sleeveless T-shirt, and the latest, impossible-to-get style of Nikes that featured a bright pattern not unlike my shorts. I'd taken off my bucket hat and my Ray-Bans so I could see Eve clearly, though I held them in my hands.
She looked incredible in her pink jeans and white blouse. Here in the sunshine, the blouse became semi-transparent, revealing the outline of her bra that barely covered her gorgeous tits. She wore white sandals that exposed her toes and the shiny pink polish on them that matched the polish on her fingernails. She'd painted her nails since I had left her in the kitchen.
Just looking at her pink nails made me want to fall down at her feet and suck her perfect little toes one by one.
A straw hat with a wide brim perched on her head at a slight angle, shading her face. She adjusted the strap that held the hat in place and smiled at me. "Nice outfit, Val. I suppose that's the latest fashion in summer menswear."
"It is, but I augmented it with my own style."
"Naturally." She eyed my clothing again. One side of her mouth kinked upward. "Your style is definitely unique."
Every other man in our group wore subdued clothing—khakis, denim, shirts in earth tones. Ollie had opted for a bright-blue T-shirt, but even that was subdued next to my clothes.
"Why blend in?" I said to Eve. "I enjoy standing out from the crowd."
"No kidding." She feigned a surprised face. "I never would've guessed."
Ruth patted my arm. "This is a good sign, sweetie. Eve is flirting with you. I've never seen her do that with anyone else, not even the gentlemen she had flings with."
"I am not flirting," Eve said. She darted her gaze around the crowd, gripping her purse strap in both hands, and cleared her throat. "Not that it would be anyone's business if I were."
Her cheeks had turned a lovely shade of mottled pink. It almost matched her jeans.
Ruth hurried over to Eve and hooked an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Evie. We're all glad you found a man who excites you. Maybe you'll even let him take you on a date."
The idea of exciting Eve excited me, but Ruth would be disappointed about the dating suggestion. Neither I nor Eve wanted that.
"Thanks," Eve muttered. She stepped away from Ruth, lifted her chin, and called out, "Everybody in the bus. It's field trip time."
We all piled into a decommissioned school bus, once a yellow monstrosity but now painted sky blue. I hadn't noticed the bus on the property yest
erday, but Ollie had explained that Eve kept it on the far side of the guest house, hidden in the shadows of tall trees. She didn't want a bus to be the first thing her guests saw when they arrived at the resort.
The afternoon had turned warm but not so hot we would be uncomfortable in the bus during the drive into town. Besides, someone—Eve, I suspected—had opened all the windows sometime earlier to let in fresh air. The vinyl bench seats had been reupholstered with soft beige fabric and seemed to have acquired more cushioning than any school bus I'd seen before. The benches featured seat belts too. Eve did everything she could to make her guests feel comfortable and safe. It was no wonder they kept coming back to this place.
Every bench seat had at least one person occupying it by the time I stepped onto the bus. I scanned the interior, looking for a good place to sit.
Ollie waved at me. He had taken the front seat on the left side.
I nodded to him.
He scooted closer to the window and patted the seat beside him. "Take a load off, Val. This bus isn't exactly a Ferrari, or even a Chevy Volt, so it's a longer ride to town than if you were in a car. That's why Eve made the seats cushier and had better shock absorbers installed." He patted the spot beside him again. "Take a load off."
"Thank you." I settled onto the seat. "Does Eve organize a lot of field trips?"
"At least one a week. She likes to give us something to do other than sit around naked and contemplate our navels."
"Can't say I've spent much time doing that. My navel isn't that interesting."
"Belly buttons are weird, aren't they?"
I hadn't seen Eve's belly button yet, but I had a feeling her navel would be as sexy and fascinating as the rest of her body. The thought made my cock stir.
Quentin stomped onto the bus and dropped into the driver's seat. He flashed me a tight frown.
Eve bounded up the steps and faced her guests. "Everybody ready to go?"
Heads nodded. Voices murmured.
"Good," she said. "Buckle up, guys."
While everyone else secured their seat belts, she glanced around as if looking for something.
"Forget something?" I asked.
"I'm looking for a place to sit."
I patted my thigh. "My lap is available."
She clamped her lips between her teeth, clearly struggling not to smile.
Ollie hopped up. "Take my seat, Eve. I'll hang with Fred."
Before Eve could respond, Ollie squeezed past me and trotted toward the rear of the bus.
"Well," I said, "looks like you're sitting with me. Do you prefer the window or the aisle?"
"I'll take the window."
She sidled past me, and I got a close-up view of her bottom sheathed in those skintight pink jeans. Resisting the urge to palm her cheeks tested my willpower, but I managed to restrain myself.
Quentin started up the bus. It lurched forward.
Eve grasped the metal bar that separated our seat from the steps.
I placed a hand on her hip to offer support.
She raised her brows at me but settled onto the seat, sticking close to the window, careful to keep a gap between us.
"I'm not contagious," I said. "And I'm not even naked. Should I be offended that you're hugging the wall?"
"Sorry." She relaxed, moving a little closer. Her blue eyes studied me. "You must be rich, right? I mean, your truck is ultra-expensive and you're a famous athlete slash model."
"I have more than enough money, yes."
"Why did you come to my little bargain-basement resort? You would've been more comfortable at a luxury club."
"I like your resort. Besides, I value privacy and friendliness more than luxury."
Her lips curved into a sweet smile. "Well, you definitely came to the right place if you're looking for privacy. We're in the boonies."
"That's part of why I chose your place for my vacation."
"What's the rest of the reason?" She winced. "Sorry, I'm being way too nosy."
"Not at all." I draped my arm across the seat back, angling a few degrees toward her. "I told you I've seen your photographs. Your talent impressed me, Eve. I've done a fair bit of modeling, and you are better than the fashion photographers I've worked with. Do you sell your pictures?"
"Yeah, on stock photo sites."
A gray head popped up behind our seat. Ruth peered over the seat back at us and winked at me. To Eve, she said, "Don't forget to tell Val about the sessions tomorrow. I bet he'd love to pose for you."
Ruth's gray head retreated.
I looked at Eve. "Sessions?"
She focused on the floor, scratching the back of her neck. "Uh, yeah, I do private portrait sessions for my guests. Nude portraits. It's an add-on. The guests who want it pay an extra fee."
"How much?"
"A hundred dollars."
"Sign me up."
Her fingers froze mid-scratch. She rotated her unblinking eyes toward me. "You've posed for famous photographers. Why would you want me to take your portrait? All those other pictures of you ought to be enough."
"Those photos weren't for me, they were for magazines and billboards." I leaned closer, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I'd like to have an intimate portrait, and I would love for you to take it."
"Billboards? Jeez, you really must be famous."
"I was, briefly. It's not important." I leaned in more until my lips hovered an inch from her ear. "Will you photograph me?"
She stared straight ahead for a minute or more until, at last, she rolled her shoulders back and announced, "Yes, I'll photograph you."
"Thank you. I'm looking forward to it."
She swiveled her head toward me, those lustrous eyes zeroing in on mine. "Me too."
For the rest of the trip, we talked about nothing of importance. She told me funny stories about her past guests, and Ruth joined in to share her own stories. Soon, everyone on the bus was chiming in with tales of the shenanigans at the resort. None of it was salacious, though the antics of the Kitten Brigade skirted the line. I was both looking forward to and dreading the day when those young women arrived.
The Pioneer Days festival was fun, but I would've preferred to have Eve all to myself. Our group stayed within sight of each other the whole time. Ruth, Sylvester, and Ollie stuck close to Eve and me. Quentin had opted to stay in the bus at Eve's suggestion. I got the impression she was growing tired of her handyman's jealousy. About damn time, I thought.
When we got back to the retreat, a delivery car from a local bistro was waiting in the driveway. Somehow, Eve had arranged to have our dinner hot and waiting for us. When I asked how she pulled that off, she shrugged and said, "The restaurant has an app. I placed an order while everybody was getting back on the bus."
She thought of everything for her guests. I wondered when she'd last done something for herself.
Naturally, I asked her that question.
"I keep telling you, it's my job to take care of my guests," she said. "My needs are last on the list."
"What needs of yours aren't being met? Maybe I can help."
"I don't need any help."
Eve joined the group for dinner in the guest house. She enlisted Ollie to assist with the cleanup, waving me away when I tried to join in. Was she avoiding me? That wouldn't work for long. Tomorrow, I'd be posing for her. A private session with Eve Holt was worth a lot more than a hundred dollars.
Eve retreated to her office after cleaning up the dinner mess.
I waited in my room, lying on the bed, with the door halfway open.
At eleven o'clock, Eve sashayed down the hallway. When she spotted my open door, she leaned in to peek at me. "Thought you'd be asleep."
"I'm a night owl." I stretched and sighed. "Why don't you lie down with me?"
She shook her head, her lips twitching up at the corners. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm used to sleeping alone."
"Who said anything about sleeping?"
"Good night, Val."
She moved away from the door.
I sighed again, this time with disappointment. "Good night, Eve."
After a few minutes of trying to read a book on my phone, I gave up. Eve's curves kept invading my thoughts, driving me crazy with visions of what I could do to that body. I set my phone down and took my rock-hard cock in my hand. If she wouldn't join me, I'd take care of things on my own. Maybe she'd overhear and decide to join me.
By the time I'd come, I realized Eve wasn't going to walk through the door and beg to take my dick in her mouth. Just the thought of her doing that made me hard again. I tried to sleep, but the sensual woman slumbering across the hall from me tormented my dreams.
Tomorrow. We would fuck tomorrow.
If we didn't, I'd need tranquilizers to get through another night.
Chapter Eleven
Eve
"Oh, Val, yes." I slipped my hand between my drenched folds, stroking myself while remembering the dreams I'd had last night. Dreams about him. About us together. Naked and writhing and devouring each other in every way imaginable. I whisked my fingers up and down my cleft, and my breaths grew shorter and sharper.
A fist rapped on my door.
I froze, halfway to my happy ending, panting and burning for release. "Who is it?"
"Val. I've made you breakfast."
"What time is it?" I could've glanced at the clock on my bedside table, but I'd lost the ability to move even a single muscle. My hand was still between my legs.
"It's five thirty," he said. "This is when you normally get up, so I made sure to be up first. It's the only way I'll get the chance to do something for you."
Oh, he'd done something for me all right. He'd turned me into a sex-obsessed idiot who spied on him while he masturbated and got myself off repeatedly while thinking of him. I hadn't watched him last night, though I had my suspicions he'd done himself a favor at least twice. His bed had been thumping, and I'd heard his grunts.
Big mystery why I'd endured intensely erotic dreams last night that forced me to do myself a favor…or two, or three. Maybe this was the fourth time. I'd lost count.
