by Pam Richter
"I don't think the lady wants you to do that," Ivar said, leaning forward to look around Eve.
"Howd inda hell doyou know," the drunk asked belligerently.
"Because the lady came to see me," Ivar said. He gently maneuvered Eve's stool around and guided her off the seat. Then he took Eve's ten dollar bill off of the bar and handed it to her. Ivar took out a ten of his own and placed it on the bar. He took her arm and they walked through the restaurant and out to Sunset Boulevard. Then he let go of her arm.
Eve noticed that she was shaking. She supposed it was an adrenalin response getting out of hand again. She had wanted to bash the man who had his hand on her leg and was repulsively moving it upward. And then run. The fight or flight response. No wonder she was shaking. Excess adrenaline was pumping through her body.
The man standing beside her had helped her leave, but she didn't want him around her either.
"I can see you're very upset. You should have popped the drunk," Ivar said.
He must be reading her mind, Eve thought. "I was afraid I would hurt him."
Ivar laughed, "I don't think so. And I'm sorry you were so uncomfortable. Maybe I could walk you back to your car? I'll see you get there safely."
"I walked."
"I'll walk you home, then. It's not safe to walk alone in Hollywood."
Eve looked at the man. She noticed he was quite tall and could protect her from drunks, so she started walking. The man positioned himself on the outside of the sidewalk and did not touch her, but walked with her. Eve was getting Sabrina Thoughts about his attractiveness. He had a broad face with prominent cheek bones and very dark blue eyes. There was a dimple in the middle of his chin. She searched for the right word and it was there instantly. The man had a cleft. A very attractive face with the short blond hair. His whiskers had been shaved off recently and he was dressed very much like she was, in jeans and a brown leather jacket. Eve felt warm inside and wondered if the alcohol that she had consumed so quickly was affecting her.
She could tell that the man was also looking at her and he asked what she did for a living. Eve borrowed some of Sabrina's history. The man told her his name and said that he was a private investigator.
Ivar looked closely at Eve but couldn't detect any scars from recent surgery. And her hair looked natural. He could see the part at the side of her head and it looked like real scalp. He wished he could pull on the hair to make sure it was not a wig and then laughed inwardly. It was not something he would ordinarily think of doing to such a pretty woman. And she was beautiful up close. Even better looking than she had been when he had seen her through the binoculars that morning. Eve was so delicate she had an ethereal look, as though she was so fragile she could only be touched very carefully and gently. Ivar found it amusing when she said she did not hit the drunk because she thought she might hurt him. Ivar couldn't imagine her hurting anyone.
Except in the heart, Ivar thought. In that she would be lethal.
Ivar's dilemma was that he couldn't walk Eve back to the apartment where she lived. Malcolm was sitting in the car outside. He would be off the case.
He thought that maybe he could ask her to come to his apartment, then put her in a taxi from there, and be back in the car with his partner none the wiser. But would she go to a strange man's apartment? He didn't think so, but they were getting close, so Ivar asked Eve if she would like to come to his place for a drink uninterrupted by a drunk. He was surprised when she said yes.
Ivar hoped Eve would like his apartment when he took her inside. He had large comfortable furniture, a real white bear skin rug on the floor, and an authentic jute box in the corner of the living room lit up in neon colors. On the glass living room table he had an antique chess board. He settled her on the couch.
Ivar went into the kitchen and made a creme de menthe and soda for Eve and got a Perrier for himself. Then he sat down beside Eve. He didn't sit close to her, thinking that she would not like it after her experience with the drunk, but he would have liked to. He saw that Eve was looking intently at the chess board and he asked her if she had ever played. Ivar loved the game and was an expert. The board had a game in progress. He had been playing one move a day with a friend of his in Washington.
"I have not played, but I know how to move the pieces from having read about the game," Eve said.
"Would you like to try?"
"What color is mine?"
"Whichever you like."
"But the white has won."
Ivar, who had been playing against his rival with the black pieces, wanted to know why. Eve described each move quickly. When Ivar suggested different moves, Eve countered. She was very quick. Ivar could tell that she had thought ahead about ten moves from each of his objections, so he asked if she would show him directly.
Ivar watched Eve move the pieces. She kept up an amusing commentary. She said, See you just move the little horse in the L pattern here, this way. Then move the littlest men this way. And then you have the queen vulnerable and the game is won. Or, she said, if the black soldier is moved this way, like you suggest, then you move the white little man over here, then you have the castle, and again the queen is down. See what I mean? Ivar did. She had exhausted each of his possible moves. He was astonished that although Eve said she had never played the game that she could plan strategies in her head. He watched her move each piece delicately, but with amazing swiftness, back to its original place.
Ivar asked Eve if she would like to play a real game of chess. Eve said yes, so he aligned the chessmen for a game. She opened the game, moving one pawn. Ivar then countered with one of his own. As they played he sometimes sat and pondered a move. Eve never hesitated for an instant. She won three games.
As they played the games Eve sipped her drink and studied the man. She liked the fact that their heads were so close that her hair brushed the side of his face several times and she noticed that she was trembling slightly. She also noticed that the man smelled good. His breath was nice, not sour or disgusting like the man in the bar, and she could discern the soap he had bathed with. He was not wearing perfume and she was glad because she did not like the smell of any fragrance. She had tried all of Sabrina's scents, thinking that she should learn all the human trimmings, but they were too strong for her nostrils and made her sneeze.
Eve thought that Ivar was good at the game, but he did not have a computer. She had a Sabrina Thought that she should have Ivar take her home when they had finished the third game, but she didn't feel like going back to Sabrina's apartment. She wanted to stay with Ivar a little longer.
"I think I better go home now," Eve said, obeying the Sabrina Thought.
"I have to stay here and wait for a phone call. I'll call a taxi for you."
"It's only a few blocks. I like to walk and see the world."
Ivar thought that sometimes Eve said things a little strangely, but that made her more interesting. He did not want Eve to walk home. First, it was not safe. He liked her very much and it was unthinkable that harm would come to her that he could prevent. Secondly, if she walked home alone, Malcolm would think he wasn't doing his job.
Ivar didn't think he could follow Eve covertly. She was very smart. But he didn’t have much choice if she adamantly refused to take a taxi.
Eve walked to the door and Ivar followed her. She opened the door and then turned around. "I had a good time playing chess with you, Ivar."
"Wait a minute. I'll go with you."
"The phone call?"
Ivar was thinking, To hell with the investigation and his partner and the Russian KGB agent. He couldn't let Eve walk the streets by herself. He had seen how, with all of her intelligence, she hadn't been able to fend off a pathetic drunk. She wouldn't have a chance alone on the streets.
"I'm very strong. No one will hurt me."
Eve could tell that Ivar was having trouble deciding what to do. To reassure him, Eve stepped up close to him and hugged him. It was something Sabrina would have done at the end
of a date with someone she liked. But when Eve started to move back she found that she didn't want to. She was being hugged back. It was nice. She felt like she was the one being reassured. It was comforting to be hugged very gently by such a big person. In fact, Eve felt that although the bodies were very close, it was not nearly as close as she wanted them to be. It was strange. She hadn't liked the man in the bar touching even her knee.
Ivar closed the door behind her with a push of his hand. She remembered that Sabrina had said that when people had sex they wanted to be alone. Maybe that was what they were going to do. Eve felt compelled to look up at Ivar to ask, but she didn't get a chance because his mouth moved over hers. It lasted a long time. Eve had the surprising feeling that she was losing control over the body again. It was not a rage feeling, but it was very strong because Eve hugged Ivar harder and the kiss was suddenly much more compelling and intense. Ivar evidently thought so too because he moved her away from the door and back to the couch.
Ivar took off his jacket and then removed Eve's, too. Eve was glad because she felt very warm, almost too warm for wearing clothes. It was like she was heated inside the body because she felt no warmth on her skin.
The mouth touching was very nice, and it was nice to be hugged. Eve felt like hugging back with all of her strength, but she was careful. She was disappointed when Ivar stopped.
Ivar found Eve totally captivating. He had been intrigued by her naivety with the drunk, astounded at her mind boggling strategies with the chess games, and now, very surprised that she was physically accommodating. He hoped it wasn't because she was so inexperienced that she couldn't fend him off, because that was the impression he'd had of her in the bar. It was puzzling because she said she had been a model. He couldn't figure how she could be inexperienced if she had done that kind of work, with men coming on to her all the time.
Ivar also stopped because he felt certain that if he continued, as he would have liked, he would offend her and possibly never see her again. He was also upset with himself because he was acting in such an unprofessional manner. Like a real jerk. A few moments ago, at the door, he had been willing to sacrifice his position here in the United States, not even mentioning the KGB, which was depending on him for knowledge about this woman. So Ivar, feeling like a pawn in his own chess game, put his hands around Eve's neck and into the back of her hair, as though giving her a caress, feeling to make sure she wasn't wearing a wig. She certainly had no scars on her face or neck. He was close enough to see that.
"I didn't want you to stop," Eve said.
"I didn't wish to offend you." Ivar removed his hands from her hair and moved back from her disturbing nearness.
"It was pleasant," Eve said thoughtfully.
She must be a virgin.
Ivar took a sip of his Perrier and a few deep breaths. He still didn't know how he was going to get her home.
"You don't seem to be experienced with men, so I thought I should stop," Ivar offered, hoping to draw her out a little.
"In my mind, I am experienced."
A definite virgin.
"Did I insult you? I would like to know more."
"No," Ivar almost laughed.
"Could we continue?"
As Ivar kissed Eve he wondered if she was a trap. Counter intelligence of some kind to reveal his weakness for a beautiful woman. Totally unfit for his position here and easily overcome by another agent. He would be disgraced, lose his position, and be sent back to the Soviet Union. Then he stopped thinking altogether.
Eve had stopped thinking also and was experiencing something utterly new. Her mind was totally engrossed as Ivar unbuttoned her blouse, drew it off and laid it on the table. Kissing on the neck felt good and Eve threw her head back so that he could have better access. It didn't occur to her to stop Ivar when he unhooked her bra and helped her out of it. She had nice tingles when he moved his mouth there.
Eve wanted to reciprocate and helped Ivar take off his shirt. She thought he looked good. She had never seen a nude man before. When Ivar took off the rest of his clothing she could see that men and women were quite different. She had thoughts that she should not be doing this, that the man might hurt her, but the thoughts were not true because she didn't see how he could, even though he had big muscles in his chest, arms and back. She explored the muscles with her hands. She liked the way their bodies felt when they didn't have clothes on and it occurred to her, finally, that something was missing. A sensation. It was her remembrance that bodies were warm to the touch. But she could feel warmth inside her and could tell that her heart beat and respiration had become faster.
Ivar had positioned Eve so that she was lying down on her back on the couch. He was lying on his side beside her. His hands moved over her body, causing sensations that were as wonderful as seeing a sunset, or eating steak, or having the high feeling when she ran at the gym. Maybe even better. As he touched between her thighs with a feather light caress, Eve was surprised at the jolts and tingles her whole body experienced. Eve anticipated even more. She pulled Ivar so that he was almost lying above her, propped to keep his weight off of her with his elbows. She could feel him trembling and that his male part was very hard in her hand, so she opened her legs so he could have access to her and felt the sensation of warmth, finally, when he entered carefully and gradually inside her. It was exactly what she had wanted so much and she moved up to enclose him.
Ivar did not move for a while. Then Eve was startled as he moved in and out of her, understanding why there was so much literature about this wonderful closeness of bodies. She had read that the earth moved, or that people were lost in ecstasy, and had wondered about it a bit curiously. Certainly the earth did not move, but something exquisite was happening inside her. So she moved in concert with Ivar to experience this ultimate pleasure of the body.
Suddenly the body was out of control in a most sensational way and she experienced waves of lovely feelings throughout her entire body.
No wonder there were so many people in the world if this is how they were conceived, Eve thought, when she and Ivar were finally resting together. He had been so nice that Eve felt what could only be classified as Love.
Ivar was relieved that Eve wasn't a virgin. He had been afraid that if she had been that he could not have controlled himself long enough for her to experience pleasure. Eve was so pretty that she excited him beyond the point that most women did. She seemed to like exploring his body and was not at all hesitant about touching him, so Ivar concluded that she must be experienced even though she was quite young.
Eve was also totally uninhibited about him looking at her and seemed extremely comfortable not wearing any cloths. Most women Ivar had known would make love, but they were reluctant the first time, and then always wanted to immediately cover themselves with clothing, as though suddenly beset with modesty, and as though he had never seen them nude. Of course this woman was so beautiful that maybe she didn't feel that way. So Ivar enjoyed looking at Eve. She appeared extremely content, maybe pleased, and that made him feel good, like he had caused great pleasure. She stretched like a beautiful cat and then curled against him, putting an arm around his shoulder. She fell asleep as he petted her hair.
Eve's arm was over Ivar's shoulder and it dangled over his back. He was surprised that it seemed to be so heavy after she went to sleep. He didn't want to disturb Eve, but the arm was making him uncomfortable. He picked it up and moved it off of his shoulder and put it down between them. The weight of the arm was unbelievable and he grasped the wrist gently and lifted it again. He thought she must be resisting him, so he waited a while and uncurled the fingers to make sure she was still asleep. Then he again lifted the arm from the forearm area. He had been right. It must weigh two or three times that of a normal arm.
Ivar sat up quickly, alarmed, and looked at Eve sleeping peacefully. He thought that maybe he was mistaken, that she really had been resisting him, so he went to the end of the couch and grasped her ankle. He found he had trouble
picking up the flaccid leg using the strength of both of his arms.
Ivar waited five minutes to make sure that Eve was really asleep before going to her purse and looking inside. There was no wallet, comb or lipstick. All he saw was the ten dollar bill and a large bottle of syrup.
Ivar sat down on the floor and drank Eve's unfinished drink. The investigation must be about this intriguing woman. He realized that he did not want her to be the focus of the investigation. He wanted to get to know her better and spend time with her. He wanted Eve to be a normal person. The fact that she could play chess like a computer and the fact that she was unbelievably heavy pointed to the fact that she was different in some unfathomable way.
Ivar remembered that when Eve had wanted him to enter her she had lifted him on top of her. She had done it so quickly he had not thought about it in the midst of passion. He had been afraid that he would fall on top of her and crush her. But she had actually pulled him up and over her, had in fact almost picked him up to put him in position for lovemaking. He thought now that she must be very strong. He was six feet, five inches tall and weighed a little over two hundred pounds.
Ivar reached up and touched the skin on Eve's stomach. It was real skin. Soft and smooth and warm. She was not a robot. He watched as Eve suddenly started to tremble, and then she was crying. Not soft cries, like during their lovemaking, but loud sobs that racked her entire body.
Ivar got up on the couch, lay down beside Eve, and put his arms around her, holding her close.
CHAPTER 14
Alexander had felt like an imbecile; a worthless, stupid, greedy shit when he left his father's hospital room that afternoon, but now he knew what to do to get them all out of the terrible predicament his actions had precipitated.
