Beauty and the Feast

by Julia Barrett

  Eva slid out of bed, being careful not to wake Gabe. Her knees were stiff and sore, but she wanted to brush her teeth and she desperately needed a shower despite the fact that she knew it would sting. She felt about as grungy as she’d ever felt in her life. She tiptoed out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind her.

  The simple act of brushing her teeth had never felt so good. Eva turned the faucet and let the water warm up in the tub before she closed the shower curtain and switched on the shower. She decided she’d better go for lukewarm water, because hot and steamy, no matter how tempting, might be too harsh. She stepped into the tub carefully, keeping her back to the stream of water. Even so, Eva cringed when the water first hit her knees. Within a few minutes, the discomfort had subsided, and she washed her hair and scrubbed the sweat from her body. She took a good look at her knees and decided they weren’t so bad. She’d had worse over the years. It would be a pain to wear shorts to work all week and the scabs were going to be unsightly, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

  Eva climbed out of the tub and dried off. She smoothed her favorite lotion over everything, even the raw spots. The antibiotic ointment would have to wait until Gabe woke up. She didn’t know where he’d put the tube. She towel dried her hair and quickly braided it. The only clothes she’d brought into the bathroom were the boxers and the old tee shirt she’d been wearing, so she pulled them back on and padded into the kitchen. The least she could do was make Gabe something to eat. She assumed he’d eventually wake up and he’d be hungry. It would be nice to have something ready, to thank him for his help.

  * * * *

  Gabe woke to singing. The room he lay in was dark and it took him a moment to remember where he was. When he smelled Eva, he knew. Gabe reached for her, but the spot where she’d lain was empty. He leaned back on the pillows, crossing his arms behind his head, and listened. It was an old Bonnie Raitt song, one he’d always loved—Angel from Montgomery. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the music. At first he thought Eva had turned on a CD player, but after listening for a few moments, he realized that there were no instruments accompanying the singing voice. It was all Eva. When she finished the song, she launched into a raw rendition of Lowell George’s Dixie Chicken. Gabe found himself grinning. If Eva would be his Dixie Chicken and he would most definitely offer to be her Tennessee Lamb. Gabe reached down to make sure he was covered in case she happened into the bedroom. He was relieved to find that she had thrown a quilt over his open fly. Maybe he’d covered himself. His memory was pretty vague.

  Eva must be feeling better or she wouldn’t be up and about, and singing her lungs out. Her singing voice kept a smile on his face. It was smoky, peaty, and right on key. She sounded exactly the way she sounded when he’d awakened her with his late night phone calls. Warm, cuddly, sexy as hell. Just as Gabe began to wonder what she was up to, his nose started twitching and his stomach began to growl. She was cooking. If his nose was right, she was making Reuben sandwiches. Shit, he hadn’t had a good Reuben since the last time he was in Chicago and he’d taken his sister and her family to a deli.

  Gabe adjusted his jeans and made sure to zip them up before he climbed out of bed. He stepped into the hallway and looked for the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, he ran into Eva just coming to wake him. He took a look at her long legs as she approached and he noticed that she wasn’t quite as stiff as he expected her to be. Despite the scrapes on her knees, she moved with an athletic grace he found extremely appealing. She still wore the man’s boxers she’d slept in. They hung on her slender frame so she’d rolled the waistband several times to keep them up. The ragged tee shirt didn’t cover much. Light from the living room shone through the thin cotton, framing her narrow waist and the gentle flare of her hips. He felt himself stir at the sight of her erect nipples poking against the material. He decided to be polite and look at her face.

  “How’s your head?” he asked, studying the bruise on her forehead. She’d pulled her dark red hair back and braided it.

  “It’s all right,” Eva replied. “It’s just a bump.”

  “And the knees?”

  “Sore.” She shrugged. “They’ll be better by the end of the week. Gabe…” she began.

  “Hmm?” Gabe raised his eyebrows and waited.

  “Thank you. Thanks for bringing me home and cleaning me up. I’m… I’m… I have to admit, I’m more than a little embarrassed.”

  Gabe felt his mouth twitch. “Why would you be embarrassed? Because I cleaned your cuts or because I stripped you naked and feasted my eyes on your beautiful body?”

  Eva’s mouth opened and she sputtered for just an instant before she covered her flaming cheeks with her hands. Gabe heard a muffled, “Oh crap,” and he laughed.

  Gabe took hold of her hands and he lifted them away from her face. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Eva. It was my pleasure. Truly. I would go so far as to say you are now in my top ten list of remarkable experiences.”

  “Really?” Eva shot back, grinning now. “How high do I rank?”

  Gabe ran a thumb across her luscious bottom lip. He heard her sharp intake of breath. “Number two, maybe.”

  “Not number one?” she whispered.

  “Give it time,” he teased, “I haven’t tasted you…yet.”

  Eva lifted her chin. Gabe stared into her eyes, asking permission without saying a single word. He could see uncertainty warring with her strong desire to challenge him to do exactly what he threatened. Taste her. Everywhere. Starting with that delicious mouth of hers. He watched as Eva’s lips parted in anticipation, and he knew which side won. Before she could change her mind, Gabe slid a hand under her braid and he cupped the back of her head. He rubbed his lips against hers, as if testing the waters. Eva sighed softly in response, accepting him, but at the same time, Gabe felt one of her hands press firmly against his chest as if holding him at bay. For an instant, he didn’t know which part of her to listen to, but then her tongue flicked delicately over his lips and he shut his mind up and kissed her.

  The moment Gabe’s lips touched hers, Eva felt like butter left too long in the hot summer sun. At the same time, a tiny voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she really didn’t know the man at all. She’d been in his home, even in his bedroom. She’d strolled his gardens, picked his herbs, cooked for him, tasted his wines. Yet she truly didn’t know a thing about the man. The idea of pushing him away flashed through her brain, but her body decided not to listen. Her body responded automatically to the delicate touch of his mouth against hers. Before she knew what she was doing, Eva had licked his lips. Gabe’s body replied instantaneously. In fact, he practically combusted. An arm slid around her waist and Eva found herself drawn firmly against his hard chest, while the hand at the base of her skull tilted her head back to allow Gabe easier access to her mouth.

  Eva had been kissed, but not like this. Not by a man this hungry. Not ever. His tongue explored her mouth liberally, uninhibitedly. It tangled with her own, tasting her as if she were a rare wine. Without realizing it, Eva dug a hand into Gabe’s thick hair and pulled him even closer, while her other hand clung to his shoulder. Eva felt the wall behind her back as Gabe rubbed his long, hard length against her, the material of her boxers moving with him as he pressed himself against what Eva considered her sweet spot. Caught entirely off guard by the strength of her desire, she heard herself whimper, feeling helpless, pleading for more.

  A warm hand slid under her tee shirt and fingers moved up her belly. Eva found herself arching her back, giving him easier access. Gabe wasted no time in discovering the sensitive underside of her breast. He stroked the satiny skin with his fingertips and then, as his big hand cupped her breast, his thumb circled her nipple. Eva’s legs shook when he rolled her aching tip between his thumb and forefinger. She tore her mouth away from his, and tossed her head back, moaning, while his teeth sought her neck and he nibbled his way down her collarbone. Eva knew where his mouth was headed and she
nearly screamed in anticipation. Abruptly, he shoved her tee shirt up and he arrived at her breast. Gabe closed his hot, wet mouth around a nipple that had become almost painful with desire. He sucked, closing his teeth around her taut point, biting, the action deliberate yet delicate at the same time.

  Eva did scream, at least, she thought she did, and her hands sought the front of his jeans. She stroked his hard length through the taut material. She heard Gabe groan, his mouth still on her breast. He sounded as if he was in agony. In one fluid motion, Eva unzipped his jeans and she moved his boxers and freed him. A single thought raced through her brain as her hand ran down his steely length, Oh my God, and then it disappeared as her tee shirt was torn from her and her boxers were shoved down her thighs. Gabe’s fingers searched the delicate folds between her legs. She could tell she was incredibly wet and very slippery.

  “Jesus Christ,” she heard him grit out between clenched teeth as a finger was thrust carefully inside her. Her body welcomed the intrusion and her mouth trembled as he took her lips again, thrusting his tongue inside, matching the rhythm of his finger. Eva teetered on the brink of what seemed like either a precipice or a cataclysmic orgasm. She wasn’t sure which. She slid her thumb over the tip of Gabe’s big cock, finding a drop of moisture there. The image had her panting. She heard him growl deep in his throat and her boxers vanished. She felt his hands reach beneath her bottom. Gabe began to lift her off her feet and… suddenly Eva smelled smoke. She pried open her eyes and watched, puzzled, as a gray haze drifted their way from the kitchen. For an instant, the sight didn’t register, then the smoke detector above their heads began to shriek.

  “Shit!” Eva yelped. “The potatoes!” Her feet found the floor. She shoved Gabe backward and bolted for the kitchen.

  “Fuck the potatoes!” she heard him rumble from behind her retreating back.

  Eva burst into laughter. Naked as a jaybird, she grabbed a dishtowel and tore open the oven door. Smoke billowed around her. She grabbed the pan containing the charred mass and tossed it into the sink. She opened the tap and ran cold water. Nasty smelling steamed hissed upward. Eva threw the back door wide open to try to usher the smoke outdoors.

  “You got a broom?” Gabe stomped down the hallway, buttoning his jeans, his eyes fixed on her naked behind.

  “Over there.” Eva pointed to the pantry.

  Gabe grabbed the broom and returned to the hallway. The shrieking vanished abruptly as he managed to shut off the offending smoke detector. While he busied himself with that chore, Eva grabbed a throw from the couch and wrapped it around herself.

  Gabe reappeared in the kitchen doorway. He looked her over, from her flushed cheeks to her swollen lips to the throw wrapped tightly around her shoulders, her arms crisscrossed in front of her to hold it in place.

  “So,” he said finally, “I take it you don’t intend to pick up where we left off.”

  “Maybe… maybe it’s for the best,” Eva replied. “Things were getting a little out of control there.”

  A corner of Gabe’s sinful mouth turned up. “Do you hear me complaining?”

  Eva smiled shyly. She suddenly felt very exposed. He was fully clothed. She was not. She wanted to get dressed. Now.

  “Sit,” Eva motioned to a seat. “I made Reuben sandwiches and at least they’re not burned. I took them out of the pan before I… I mean I was going to come back and get the…”

  Gabe stood there, listening to her, indulging her, an amused expression on his face.

  “Oh fuck. Just sit down, Gabe. I’ll be right back.”

  Eva tried to skirt past him, but he grabbed the throw and whirled her around to face him. “You look guilty as hell,” he said to her. “Like you just got caught shoplifting or something. You have nothing to feel guilty about, Eva. Nothing whatsoever.”

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to…to get so carried away. It’s embarrassing.”

  “What’s embarrassing?” Gabe’s voice challenged her. “What the hell is embarrassing about wanting someone? About what we just did… almost did?”

  “Because…because I’m shy, all right? I’m shy around guys.” Eva began to raise her voice. “I’m not like you. I don’t have a lot of… I don’t have all that much…all that much experience. I’m not like you.”

  Gabe kept his hand on her shoulder. He looked directly into her eyes. “How do you know what I’m like, Eva? How would you know?”

  “Well that’s just it, isn’t it? I wouldn’t know. I don’t know you at all. I mean, look at you. You probably have women throwing themselves at you. You were probably fucking someone just last night. She was probably in your bed when you called me. Isn’t that what the dinner was all about? So you could seduce some woman? Isn’t that why you hired me?” Eva listened to her own words in shock. She didn’t know why she was behaving like such a harpy. Gabe had been nothing but kind to her.

  Gabe stood silently for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally he said, “Go get dressed, Eva, and then we’ll start this conversation over.” He let his hand drop from her shoulder. Eva felt its absence like a wound. Tears filled her eyes and she knew he’d noticed them. Eva ran to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Crying, she threw herself on the bed. Behind her, the door opened and she felt the bed lean as Gabe sat beside her.

  “Eva,” he said, and then he pulled her onto his lap, taking care to keep her covered with her blanket, and he wrapped her in his arms

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m not usually like this. I’m not… I’m not usually a weeping, screeching shrew.”

  Gabe rubbed her back, soothing her. “I know sweetheart. I know. It’s been a long, hard day.”

  That’s right, Eva thought, long and hard. She suddenly began to giggle despite her tears. She could feel her body shaking against Gabe’s chest. He tilted her head back to look at her. She saw concern in his eyes.

  “Giggling? You’re giggling?” He sounded surprised. “What did I say that was so funny?”

  “Long…,” Eva managed to choke out, “…and hard.”

  Gabe’s resulting grin was wide. “Hey,” he protested, “Aren’t you the same woman who was just yelling at me about how shy she is?”

  “I am shy,” laughed Eva, “but I know a big thing when I feel it.”

  Eva hid her flaming cheeks against Gabe’s shoulder. She felt her head bounce up and down as he laughed at her words.

  “I don’t know whether I’ve just been complimented or sexually harassed,” Gabe finally commented.

  “Maybe both?”

  Gabe winked at her. “C’mon Eva, throw some clothes on. I’m starving.”

  He lifted her in his arms and lowered his head. He kissed her soundly on the mouth. “And not just for a Reuben sandwich. Meet me in the kitchen and we can talk.”

  * * * *

  “Damn, this is good.” Gabe felt juice run down his chin but he didn’t care. He wiped it off with the back of his hand. The Reuben was the best he’d ever eaten. The corned beef had been sliced paper-thin, the Swiss cheese had a nice, nutty tang. Eva had melted it just right, and the seeded Jewish rye was grilled to perfection, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. She’d drained the sauerkraut before she’d laid it on the meat, but its sour juice still mingled with the sweet homemade Thousand Island dressing. Gabe licked his fingers. In Gabe’s view, there was no way to eat a Reuben neatly. The sandwich was messy, sticky comfort food, pure and simple. It reminded him of home. He glanced over at Eva across the table where she picked at her Reuben minus the corned beef. She’d donned a pair of faded jeans and a short-sleeved sweatshirt.

  “So how come you have corned beef in your house if you don’t eat meat?” Gabe asked, curious.

  “Oh, Tom and Marcus stop by a couple times a week and they like my sandwiches. I indulge them.”

  “You gonna eat that?” Gabe nodded at her sandwich. “Or pick it apart?”

  “I’m eating,” Eva replied,
with a roll of her eyes. “I haven’t eaten with anyone for a while. It takes some getting used to.”

  “You were all ready to eat with me before.”

  “Yes, but that was before we…”

  “Nearly fucked in the hallway?”

  Eva smirked at him. “Yes.”

  Gabe chuckled. He waved half a sandwich at her. “If it makes you feel any better, I’d rather be fucking you than eating this. And I really, really like this. In fact, this is amazing.”

  Eva shot him a reluctant grin. She pulled a piece off her sandwich and began nibbling on the edge. “So,” Gabe heard her say, “what happened last night?”

  “Nothing,” he replied.

  “Oh, so you mean it’s none of my business?”

  “No, I mean nothing. I ate supper and I called you and I tried to sleep, which was pretty damn hard after eating that meal you prepared. That salmon was something.”

  “You liked it?” She sounded pleased.

  “That would be an understatement. It was…” Gabe searched for the right word. “Evocative. Extremely evocative.”

  “Evocative? Of what?” Eva asked innocently.

  Gabe looked directly into her eyes. “A certain portion of a woman’s anatomy. On my tongue.”

  Eva’s cheeks flamed almost instantaneously and she quickly looked down at her plate. Gabe loved to watch her reactions. She could cuss a blue streak, but the least little mention of sex made her blush.

  Gabe finished up one sandwich and started in on a second. “Your four brothers, is that where you got your potty mouth?”

  Eva grinned at him. Gabe noticed that she had a small dimple in her left cheek. He found it adorable.

  “You ever hear a farmer when he’s pulling the engine out of his old pickup because of a blown head gasket? Or listened to him when his John Deere breaks down in the middle of spring planting? Or heard what comes out of everybody’s mouth when the bull gets loose? My dad and my brothers can use some pretty colorful language.”