by Anna Durand
At the hardware store, we ran into someone I'd hoped to avoid for the rest of my life.
Quentin Smith walked down the plumbing aisle toward us.
I tried to pretend I didn't notice him, focusing on the tools Val was examining. I even tried to block Val's view of the human disaster striding in our direction. I wasn't tall enough to block Val, though. Rats.
Quentin stopped an arm's length away from me. "Eve."
I pretended I'd just noticed him and pasted on a bland smile. "Quentin."
Val's eyes narrowed, and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
"Good to see you," Quentin said to me, actively ignoring the imposing man beside me. "I wanted to apologize again for the way I acted. I'm sorry. I'd like to come back to work."
Was he strung out on heroin? He couldn't seriously think I'd give him his job back.
"That's not going to happen," I said. "You firebombed that bridge."
"Any bridge can be rebuilt." He inched closer. "Please, Eve. Gimme another chance."
I didn't get the opportunity to tell Quentin to go to hell. Val beat me to it.
He moved between me and Quentin. "Eve said no. Walk away."
The dark tone of his voice implied he might resort to violence to convince Quentin to leave me alone. What happened to not being jealous? Val had sworn he wouldn't act this way.
I laid a hand on Val's arm. "It's okay. I can handle this."
His gaze flicked to me, then back to Quentin.
My former handyman glared at Val. "I'm talking to Eve, not you, Tarzan."
I squeezed between the two men, turning sideways to both of them. "Enough machismo. Val, I can take care of this myself. Quentin, I fired you and that's that. Goodbye."
Without waiting for either of them to speak again, I marched off down the aisle and swung left into the main aisle. I had no clue where I was going. Getting away from the Testosterone Anonymous meeting was my sole purpose.
Val caught up to me in the paint aisle. "Are you all right?"
"Fine. I love it when big, brawny men fight over me while completely ignoring the fact I'm standing right next to them."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have intervened."
A long sigh gusted out of me. "It's okay. Quentin has been a complete asshole to you."
"To you too." Val leaned against the shelves that held gallons of paint. "I won't get in your way again. Should we go back to buying supplies?"
"Yes."
The whole time we were shopping for plumbing stuff, I kept wondering why Val had been so protective of me when Quentin showed up. He'd been overprotective, actually. He despised Quentin, and my former handyman despised him. Quentin's reaction to Val made sense now that I realized Quentin had thought I belonged to him because we'd had sex once. But Val's reaction to Quentin…
He couldn't be jealous. Could he?
Nah.
On the drive home, I wondered.
Chapter Eighteen
Val
After spending the better part of a day with Eve's family, I couldn't understand why she'd been so upset when they arrived. They knew what kind of resort she owned. They knew she spent every day hanging out with naked men and women. Her brother and sister didn't mind at all, and Andrew and his wife had brought their two children who were eight and nine. The children had been here before, Andrew told me, and were comfortable being around nudists.
Eve's parents didn't mind either, so I had to wonder. Why was Eve so frazzled? Was she ashamed to have her family find out she'd been sleeping with me? I knew she cherished her privacy, so maybe that was the only reason for her behavior. Our encounter with Quentin in the hardware store hadn't helped, for sure.
I'd wanted to belt that bastard.
Just after lunch, the FedEx truck arrived. Luckily, Eve was busy entertaining her family and didn't notice the delivery I accepted from the FedEx driver. I planned to surprise her in the morning, but for now, the package I'd ordered would stay a secret.
For most of the afternoon, I worked with Larry, Andrew, Jeremy, and a couple of the other guests to repair the room in the guest house. I wondered if Eve would make me move into this room once we'd finished the work. The thought of being relegated to the guest house bothered me more than I'd expected. I had gotten used to being mere feet away from Eve's bedroom, within easy distance if I wanted to sneak into her bed—or vice versa. Skulking across the dirt path from the guest house to get into Eve's home in the dead of night did not appeal to me.
Oh, but I would do that if I had to. No chance in hell I'd give up making love to her because of geographic inconvenience. I would've traveled to Siberia barefoot in the middle of winter, swimming across the Bering Strait to get there, if it meant I could feel Eve's body around me.
I liked her. Very much. For more than her body.
The realization stopped me for a moment. I stood in the damaged room in the guest house, a hammer raised in my hand, holding a nail in position to pound it into place. Was this what people called an epiphany? I'd never had one before. I liked Eve. That shouldn't have been shocking, but I'd never wanted a woman for much more than sex. The occasional dinner, maybe. Never more. Never anything…serious. With Eve, I wanted all of it. All of her.
"You okay?" Larry asked.
His question startled me out of my thoughts. "Fine, yes. Just thinking."
About his daughter and all the nonsexual things I wanted to do with her. Ah, but I did think about sex too. I could take Eve out to dinner and then for a romantic walk along the river in town, followed by hours of sweaty, dirty sex.
"We're almost done," Larry said, oblivious of my carnal thoughts. He patted my shoulder. "You've done great, helping out with the repairs. I'm sure Eve really appreciates it. And it was a wise decision to put on coveralls."
Yes, I'd given up my preferred state of undress during the repair job. When I had thought about doing construction work in the nude, I'd suffered visions of taking a nail to the dick or the balls. Sometimes, even a nudist needed to wear clothes.
Everyone ate dinner in the guest house that evening. Eve had ordered a feast from the local Mexican restaurant in honor of her family's visit, since they loved tacos and spicy queso dip. More laughter and chattering voices filled the dining hall tonight than on any other night since I'd been here. Ollie, the Norrises, and some of the other guests already knew Eve's family.
Krista, Eve's sister, sat next to me during dinner. Eve had taken the seat on the opposite side of me, so I was sandwiched between the two lovely Holt women. I flirted with Eve and only Eve. Krista was equally beautiful, but she had a fiancé. Besides, I'd realized during our time in the hot spring I had eyes for Eve alone. No other woman, no matter how beautiful, could compare to her.
Heidi sat beside Krista. Eve's parents along with her brother and soon-to-be brother-in-law occupied the chairs across the table from us. The next closest table stood a few feet away, so we could chat with Ruth, Sylvester, Ollie, and several of the Kittens.
Eve had been right about the Kitten Brigade. They were sweet girls, but they got boisterous whenever three or more of them gathered together. Those girls made every occasion a party but never took things too far. I could see why Eve liked them so much.
Conversation stayed casual until dessert, when Krista turned to me and asked, "So, what are your intentions with my sister?"
"Intentions?" I intended to fuck her every night and as often in the daytime as possible. Her sister wouldn't want to hear that, though. "I like Eve very much, but it's a bit early to be having intentions of the kind I think you mean."
"Hmm." She eyed me like she was sizing me up. "You're hot, and you seem nice. But Evie is my sister, and I don't want her to get hurt by some has-been athlete who likes to make DIY porn."
On the other side of me, Eve was engaged in conversation with Ruth across the distance between our tables. She seemed unaware of her sister's interrogation of me. Larry and Donna Holt had gone off to mingle with the other guest
s, and Heidi had moved into the chair beside Andrew, regaling him and Jeremy with stories of the Kitten Brigade's antics.
Krista had me cornered.
"I have no desire to hurt Eve," I told her. "She's a special woman. I enjoy spending time with her, but I haven't known her for long."
"Yet you're sleeping with her."
"Well—" I fidgeted in my chair but resisted the impulse to look away from Krista. Her interrogation would not unsettle me, that I'd decided. "I can't discuss it with you. Anything that happens between me and Eve in private stays private."
Krista locked her arms over her chest. "Does that mean you're not secretly taping it when you screw my sister?"
"I have never secretly taped any woman. You've heard about the sex tape. I'm not ashamed of that, but the woman I was with consented to being recorded. In fact, it was her idea."
Eve's sister studied me, one finger tapping on her arm.
Her attention set my skin to itching. I fidgeted again and scratched my thigh.
"Your sister means more to me," I said, "than a costar for a sex tape. I would never knowingly hurt her."
Krista puckered her lips for half a second, then smiled. "Good. That means I don't have to get Andrew and Jeremy to tie a concrete block to your ankle and toss you headfirst into the hot spring."
The twinkle in her eyes confirmed she was joking.
I might not have been sure otherwise. Krista had seemed like a cheerful, easygoing person when I'd first met her. Here in the dining hall, she'd turned into a deadly protector of her older sister. I respected that. If I'd thought any man was using one of my sisters, I would've done the same thing.
Krista got up and walked around the table to sit in the chair beside Jeremy, which Andrew had vacated.
Eve was staring at me, unblinking.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I—I heard what you and Krista were talking about." She bit the inside of her lip and focused on my shoulder. "You must've been saying that stuff to make my sister happy."
Saying what stuff? With a start, I realized everything I'd said. Your sister means more to me than a costar for a sex tape. I would never knowing hurt her. She's a special woman. Had I sounded like a smitten man?
I'd meant every word, a fact that stunned me, but I couldn't tell Eve that. She might panic more than she already had today. But I didn't want to lie to her either.
"Yes," I said. "I, uh, didn't want your sister to think I'm using you."
"Sure, I get that." Eve relaxed, the shock dissolving into a casual smile. "Krista is my baby sister, but she likes to pretend she's my bodyguard. She likes you, though. She saves the inquisition for guys she thinks might be— Well, she doesn't do it to every guy I'm with."
Eve's parents came back to our table and spirited Eve away for a private conversation.
I wondered what she'd been about to say before she changed her mind mid-sentence.
And then I wondered why I cared.
Chapter Nineteen
Eve
After a day with my entire family and all my guests, I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. Val and I had both been too tired for sex, so he retreated into his room while I retreated into mine. If I hadn't been so exhausted, I would've sneaked into his room to crawl under the covers with him and go to sleep there. A couple days ago, I'd invited Val to share my bed. Would you like to come into my bedroom? I'd asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. Val had declined the offer, of course. He wanted a relationship even less than I did, but his rebuff had stung more than I expected.
The idea of sleeping with him—actually sleeping—appealed to me a lot. I tried not to think about why.
When I woke in the morning, I felt good. Wonderful in fact. I'd slept straight through the night without rousing once. Lying in my bed, I yawned and stretched my entire body. Refreshed and ready for another day of chaos, that's what I was.
"It's a stunning view from here."
Val's voice made me jump.
He leaned against the jamb of my open bedroom door, arms crossed over his chest, that gorgeously naked body on full display. His hair was mussed like he hadn't bothered to comb it yet, and his sizzling gaze gravitated to my chest. "I dreamed about those tits all night. That and other parts of your edible body."
I glanced down and realized my stretching had made the cover slide down to my waist, exposing my breasts. Not bothering to cover them, I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. "Good morning. You look edible as usual too."
"Did you dream about me?"
Oh yeah, had I ever. Sinfully hot, decadently erotic dreams about all the things I wanted to do to him and with him, not to mention the things I wanted him to do to me. I pushed the covers off the rest of my body. "All I dreamed about was you. I had half a mind to crawl into your bed last night just to sleep there."
Why on earth had I said that part about wanting to sleep with him? I hadn't meant to say it. Like the last time I'd suggested we spend the night together, the words had tumbled from my lips without permission. My mouth had a mind of its own when it came to Val and the notion of sharing a bed with him all night.
Yesterday, Val had told my sister I meant more to him than a partner for a sex tape.
A little shiver coursed through me, but not the sexy kind. Getting attached to Val was a bad, bad, bad idea. The man was a notorious exhibitionist, he made sex tapes that he kept on his phone forever after, and he loved the spotlight. I needed my privacy, would've fled from the spotlight if one had ever veered in my direction, and never took my clothes off anywhere except inside my house. We were completely wrong for each other.
Yesterday I had, for the first time ever, disrobed outdoors.
Sure, Val had been the only one there. Heidi's accidental glimpse couldn't have amounted to much. Why had I gotten naked at the hot spring? Why had I had sex outdoors? That wasn't me at all. So of course, the one time I'd done anything of the sort, I'd gotten caught in the act. At least my parents hadn't seen it.
Would it have been horrible if they had? I was an adult, after all. They knew, because my guests had gossiped about it, that I was getting it on with Val. They knew I ran a nudist resort. Would they have cared if I became a nudist? Not that I was planning to do that.
"Qual é o problema?" Val asked.
"Huh?"
"I asked what's wrong. You're puckering your whole face. So what is the problem?"
"Nothing, not really. I was reliving the moment when we walked out of the woods together yesterday. My family must've heard from the other guests that you and I are, um, you know."
"Fucking? Yes, I'm sure they did." He strolled up to the bed and settled his taut ass onto it in front of me. "But they would've guessed we're more than friends anyway. We were holding hands when we walked out of the woods."
Holding hands? He'd tried to do that on the way out to the hot spring, but I wouldn't let him. On the way back, I'd been too freaked out to notice anything short of Bigfoot leaping out to snarl at us. When I thought about it now, I remembered the soothing warmth of his hand in mine.
"Guess you're right," I said. "And I know I've been an idiot about all of this. I'm sorry. Please don't think I'm ashamed of having anyone know about us. I'm not."
He reached out to sweep a lock of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear, and grazed his fingertips down my cheek. "I tempted you to step outside your comfort zone. That wasn't easy for you, I know."
"It was easier than I'd thought it would be." That was the honest truth. I hadn't hesitated for more than a few seconds when Val suggested I strip and jump into the hot spring with him. Sex in the warm water, with him, had been one of the best experiences of my life.
Being with him was the best experience, period.
He moved closer, his hip pressed against mine, and looped an arm around my waist. "What else can I tempt you to try, docinho?"
Gazing into his
sultry brown eyes, I forgot all about my inhibitions and silly worries about privacy. I wanted to do anything and everything with him.
I blinked rapidly as I realized he'd thrown another Portuguese word at me. "What did you say? Docinho? I don't know what that means."
He shifted his ass on the bed and cleared his throat. "It means sweetie."
Not long ago, I would've bristled at his use of endearments. He'd called me bebê and linda, and I hadn't minded at all. Hearing him call me sweetie in his native tongue… I liked it. A lot.
Because he meant more to me than a casual sex partner.
Holy shit. It was true. The revelation tingled over my skin, raising the hairs at my nape, but it wasn't fear triggering my response. All my anxieties over getting attached to Val and whether our lives could mesh melted away at the instant I'd realized he meant something to me, something more than the best lover I'd ever had. Sure, we still might not work as a couple. We lived in different worlds, different planes of reality. But here, now, for as long as he stayed with me, I would enjoy our fledgling connection and the silky warmth it engendered in me.
I glided my palm up his torso, from his waist to his pecs. "I think you could tempt me to do just about anything."
He tickled my bottom with one long finger. "In that case, I'll have to think about what I most want to seduce you into doing with me."
"I have an idea."
One of his dark brows lifted. "What is it?"
"Take a shower with me."
"You do realize if we take a shower together, I will ravish you."
"I'm counting on it."
We dashed into the bathroom and enjoyed a long, steamy shower. The actual steam from the hot water filled the stall, but we also created our own steam. I locked my legs around his hips while he backed us up to the wall, directly under the shower head, and drove into me again and again until we both hit that peak together.
Then we did it again.
Our morning sex might not have been the most creative ever, but it got our day off to a blissful start. By the time I'd gotten dressed and walked into the kitchen, Val was busy preparing breakfast—for an army.
