All About Eve

by Liliana Hart

  “Oh, pish-posh, Jake. Don’t be such a prude. I know my body looks like a science experiment or one of those cadavers they cut on in medical school.”

  “Why me?” Jake said under his breath.

  “I heard that,” Ruth said, getting into his truck. “Make sure you take care of that girl.”

  “I plan to,” he said, bringing Eve’s clothes down to her.

  “I don’t suppose you’re going to give me the same treatment,” he asked, his smile rakish and disarming.

  “I don’t think so. I still have a ways to go before I’m as brave as your grandmother.”

  “Thank God for small favors. I’ll have to ask about your sanity with my back turned. How could you let my grandmother talk you into something like this? You seem like a sensible woman. I was hoping you’d be a good influence on her.”

  Eve started to laugh so hard at that statement she could barely get out of the water. “Jake, your grandmother is old enough to make her own decisions. She doesn’t need a keeper. And I sure as hell am not going to get in her way when she gets it into her mind to do something.”

  The sound of her clothes sliding over wet skin was driving him insane. He couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying when she was naked so close behind him, so he just gave her a noncommittal hmm and turned around.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her with all the pent up passion and frustration he’d been holding back over the last weeks.

  The cold left her body quickly and turned into a blazing inferno at the first touch of Jake’s body. This is what she’d been missing through the weeks of platonic dinners and brotherly pecks. No matter what she felt about Jake’s ability as a trustworthy partner, she knew she wanted him. And she knew she wanted him because she was already in love with him. Her mind would let her do no less.

  “I’ve been wanting you to do that,” she said, placing her hand upon his cheek. “I’ve been going crazy remembering what it was like and then making do with those horrid brotherly pats on the back.”

  “It hasn’t been easy keeping my hands off you, but I wanted to give you space. I can’t do it anymore. Let me come home with you tonight,” he whispered. “I need to be with you.”

  Eve knew the desperation in his eyes mirrored her own. She would deal with the consequences of her decision later. Tonight, she needed him.

  “Yes. Come home with me tonight.”

  Jake let out the breath he’d been holding, sure that she would reject him again. He wasn’t going to let her get away. Before the night was over, she’d belong to him and no other.

  “I’ll drive Gran home and meet you at your house.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing you finished the downstairs bedrooms.”

  “I had a feeling we might need one before too long. I know where to put my priorities when I build a house. Besides, I don’t want to limit our activities to the bedroom. I worked overtime to make sure the kitchen and other rooms were finished in record time.”

  “You can’t think to…”

  “Oh, I can think. I plan on christening every one of those rooms. Now get a move on and stop tempting me with that wet shirt. I’m not a saint, you know.”

  “I’ve noticed that,” she said, dodging him before he could grab her in another soul searing kiss.

  Eve hurried to her car, as giddy as a young girl, wondering how long it would take him to get the second floor finished so they could try those rooms out as well.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Eve lit white tapered candles all over the bedroom. Her hands shook with nerves and pep talks were no longer doing the trick. Reminding herself that she was a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing didn’t relieve the pressure in her chest. The worry that Jake Murphy would walk away with more than she was willing to give when it was over left an ache she couldn’t soothe.

  She looked around the room. He’d done an amazing job with the house in the months he’d been working on it. It was sturdy, built to last, and it was hers.

  The first floor was completed, the rooms painted and furnished. They’d had fun picking out colors and flooring, arguing as most couples probably would when faced with the same situation, but they weren’t a couple, and Jake would leave when the project was finished. All she’d have left of him was the home they’d made together. Somehow that would be the most painful thing of all.

  She hadn’t had a home when she’d been married to Steve. She’d been finishing her doctorate and then starting a practice. He’d never wanted to stay where she was for very long anyway, so she’d set up an apartment to her liking and welcomed him home when he thought to stop by. Why had she settled for that kind of a relationship? She had loved Steve at one time. He’d been an exciting, dynamic knight on a white horse, and she’d been a naïve rich girl that had more use for books than sexy shoes or highlights in her hair. And she’d been lonely. Hadn’t that been at the heart of it all?

  And when Steve had died, there’d been no love left. He’d killed it long before he’d crashed his car so recklessly. But that was Steve, reckless, careless, selfish. It was part of his appeal, to his fans and to her, but no one knew the real Steve Slater like she had. She’d have to tell Jake eventually, but not tonight. There wasn’t room for the past tonight.

  She jumped when she heard the knock on the door. “Silly,” she said. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just Jake.”

  Opening the front door was one of the hardest things she’d ever done.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi, yourself,” he said, leaning his shoulder against the door frame and looking at her intently. There were flowers in his hand, white roses that she planned to fawn over when she was alone, and his hair was damp. The air smelled of rain, a gentle shower that would be gone before it had started.

  “Are you going to invite me in?” Jake asked.

  Wasn’t that the question that would change everything? She wasn’t just inviting Jake into her bed for the night. She was inviting him into a part of her soul that she thought had withered long ago.

  He saw the doubt in her eyes, the denial, and knew that she could just as well turn him away for expecting too much, but he needed something. This wasn’t meaningless to him, no matter how much she pretended otherwise.

  “It wasn’t a trick question, Eve. Invite me in. Give us a chance.”

  “I’d like you to come in,” she said, standing back to let him in. His gaze never left hers as he crossed the threshold he’d repaired so many weeks before.

  “Here, let me put those in some water,” she said, looking for something desperately to do with her hands. “They’re beautiful.

  Jake let her have them and reminded himself to be patient. She needed something she’d never gotten from Steve Slater, but he had to tramp down his own desire to make it special for her.

  “You could always change your mind, you know,” Jake said, crossing his fingers. “I wouldn’t want to pressure you into something that you’re not ready for.” He hoped lightning didn’t strike him dead for that lie. He was desperate, and he’d do anything to get Eve exactly where he wanted her.

  Eve snorted out a laugh. “That is such a lie. You should be careful saying things you don’t mean. What if I took you up on it and invited you to play a game of Monopoly?”

  “I’d tell you to get prepared to lose. My daddy taught me how to play real life Monopoly, and I play to win. Of course, we could always play a different version. Maybe the loser would have to make love to the winner.”

  “Hmm, I should’ve known you’d find some way for it to be turned in your favor. You’re a sneaky man, Jake Murphy.”

  “That’s what I’m told. Come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I want to do only what you’re ready for, Eve. I love you.”

  He felt her body tense and ignored the pang it brought. “Now don’t shy away from that. I’ll make sure to tell you as often as possible so you can get used to it. But if you need more tim
e, I’ll give it to you, because nothing is more important to me than you are. But at the same time, I’m not going to sit by and wait patiently. I’m going to do everything in my power to persuade you to change your mind. Like kissing you,” he said, dropping his lips to her forehead.

  He feathered kisses over her eyelids and made his way to her ear and then down to the tender spot just below her jaw before she moaned and realized the sound had come from her.

  “I could kiss you for hours.”

  She would forever be branded in his mind just as she was this first time. Dark curls soft around her face and her witchy eyes bright with anticipation, confusion and nerves. There were no trappings that most women he’d been with liked to use, no seductive perfume or sexy lingerie. Just Eve. That was all he needed.

  Eve wondered at his gentleness when she could see the desperation and desire banked just behind his gaze. The tension drained from her shoulders at the thought that he could hold back such a fierce need for her.

  He finally kissed her fully on the mouth—a tender kiss—filled with everything she’d ever longed for. He devoured her lips until he was dizzy with her scent, with her touch. The need broke through and he was frantic to touch her everywhere. They were going too fast, but he couldn’t seem to pull back once the desire was unleashed.

  They circled to the bedroom, and he was speechless again when he saw the dozens of candles lit around the room. Her skin glowed bronze in the candlelight and her eyes were sensuous gems. He undressed her with care—patiently—the earlier fires of desire banked with something more. And when the last of her clothes were pooled at her feet, he stood back and looked his fill.

  She ducked her head in embarrassment, and her skin flushed to a rosy glow. Her breasts were full and her nipples were ripe, the color of raspberries, just waiting for him to take them in his mouth. Her waist dipped in, her hips flared out, and her legs were long and smooth. She was beautifully made, and the tightness behind his zipper was getting more painful by the moment.

  “You’re spectacular,” he whispered. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

  Her head came up in surprise, and her eyes darkened with emotion. Hadn’t anyone ever told her that before, he wondered. How could she not know how special she was?

  “I want to see you too,” she said, gathering her courage and stepping towards him.

  Jake helped her discard his shirt then took her hands in his and held them loosely captive. “There’s time enough for that, Sugar. This will end much too soon if you get your hands on me. Let me kiss you for a while. I love the way you taste.”

  He backed her toward the bed and followed her down on the cool sheets. He drank in her moans and gasps as she got used to the feel and weight of his body against hers. He knew she’d been married and had experienced love making before, but her reaction to him was like she was discovering the act for the very first time.

  Pleasure and heat consumed his body as she matched every thrust of his tongue with her own. She fought to free her hands from his gasp, and when she did she pulled him even closer, tightening her grip on his shoulders. He kissed his way down her jaw and neck, and when he took the ripe bud of her nipple in his mouth and laved it with his tongue, it was everything her could do not to spend his seed in his jeans. Her body arched into him and her throaty purrs spurred him to find more of her sweetness.

  He didn’t fight her when her nimble fingers found the button of his jeans. He helped her push them down and tossed them from the bed, turning back to her arms. She took his rigid length in his hand, and her cry of surprise as he filled her hands would have fed any man’s ego.

  “Not yet,” he chanted, holding her hands down on each side of her body. He scraped his teeth over her belly, causing her to shiver, and placed wet kisses across her hip bones until he reached the thatch of black hair between her thighs. He could smell her arousal and see the proof of her desire between her folds. He kissed her nether lips and sought out the hidden nubbin with his tongue.

  “Ohmigod,” she cried. “What are you doing?”

  “Loving you.” So maybe she was more of a virgin than he’d thought. The thought that he could be the first to give her something filled him with satisfaction.

  He swirled and flicked his tongue until she was writhing between him, on the cusp between here and oblivion. He inserted his finger inside her to the second knuckle and then curled it up, so he pressed against her most sensitive spot. She went wild in his arms, bucking against his mouth and finger as she came apart in his arms. Her cream tasted of the sweetest nectar and soaked his fingers.

  “Please, please,” she begged, delirious from his touch. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me. I can’t take any more.”

  He moved up her body slowly, so the motion was one long sinuous caress. The tip of his cock touched her moist folds, but he didn’t enter her. “I’m giving you everything I’ve ever dreamed of. And you can always take me. Take me,” he said as he pushed inside her.

  Even with her adequately prepared, the fit was still more than snug. He moved slowly and swallowed every whimper and cry with a kiss as they became one. And then he began to move, and he never wanted to be anywhere else. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clawed at his back, her hips meeting his with every thrust.

  “Look at me, Eve.”

  Her eyes opened slumberously and she met his gaze. He felt her tighten around him and knew he wouldn’t last much longer.

  “This is everything, baby. I love you.”

  She cried out beneath him, her womb pulsing around his cock, and he gave everything he had to her as he came inside her. He collapsed on top of her, his heart pounding against his chest in the aftermath of something he’d never felt before.

  Jake rolled to the side so he wouldn’t crush her and pulled her close so they held each other. They were both lost in their own thoughts, afraid to move, afraid the magic would be broken.

  Eve sighed and stretched her well used muscles. So that’s what she’d been missing all her life, she thought. Incredible. No one had ever made love to her as if she was delicate—beautiful…something special. She’d treasure Jake always for that alone.

  She’d had two lovers in her thirty years. The first had been a mistake. She could admit that now without shame. What she’d felt for Steve couldn’t hold a candle to what she felt for the man in her arms. But the second man who’d claimed her body…he would leave her devastated. Jake Murphy was much more lethal to her heart than Steve Slater could have ever hoped to be. There would be no other lovers after Jake. She loved him with everything she had.

  “Eve…” His fingers trailed down her spine, and she felt the tingle of desire begin once more.

  “Mmmm.” She arched against him, loving the feel of her nipple against his chest hair.

  “I think we have a problem.”

  Eve froze in his arms, the lust cleared from her mind with terror. God, what had she done wrong? She’d heard it often enough before. When she’d first been married to Steve, she’d heard all about the “problems” during sex. She was too aggressive. Then she wasn’t aggressive enough. She expected too much. And then she learned not to expect anything but a few minutes of sweat and discomfort.

  She’d been a virgin on her wedding night, but she hadn’t been afraid of it. Sex was a new experience and she’d tackled it with the same determination she’d used to finish her doctorate and open her own practice. But Steve told her men didn’t like for the women to take charge. When she finally learned to just lay there and take it, he’d compared her to a plastic blow up doll. After that, she hadn’t cared one way or another, because he’d found other women to fulfill his needs.

  “What…What did I do wrong?” she finally asked. She loved Jake enough to try and fix whatever it was. This was the first time after all. There was plenty of time to practice. Surely they’d get better.

  Jake realized she was serious. Her eyes were hurt and unshed tears rested on her lashes. He wiped his thumb
gently at the corner of her eye and caught a tear.

  “Don’t ever compare me to him, Eve. I would never hurt you. I love you. I was going to say we have a problem because I’m going to want to do this often. Probably everyday. More than once. Do you think you can handle that?”

  She laid her lips against his, with a kiss that held all the love she felt for him.

  “I could probably get used to it,” she choked out with a laugh.

  She would live in the moment, she assured herself. What more could happen besides getting her heart broken?

  CHAPTER TEN

  The explosion rocketed through the established neighborhood sometime after midnight, and Eve heard the tinkling of glass as it hit the wood floor in one of the front rooms.

  “My windows,” she said, getting out of bed and throwing a robe on. Jake was already a step ahead of her and had his jeans pulled on and a pair of sneakers on his feet.

  “Let’s go,” he said, pulling her by the arm. “I want you to stay close until we can figure out what the hell is going on.”

  “What was that? It sounded like the whole neighborhood was destroyed. Do you think it was a gas line?” She bumped into Jake’s back when he stopped suddenly.

  “No. It was the trailer,” he said, looking at what was left of his office. Fortunately, he hadn’t had anything important inside. He’d let Eve have the run of it during working hours since her own office inside the house wasn’t finished yet.

  “Oh, no,” Eve said. “My work. It’s all gone.” She ran out the front door in her bare feet, hoping to salvage something of the papers that were flying down the street.

  “Eve, wait,” Jake said, grabbing her hand. There was glass, metal and other debris scattered everywhere, and Eve’s feet were still bare. There’s nothing we can do but wait for the fire department to get here.”

  She stopped beside him and realized she could hear the sound of sirens close by. Neighbors were all standing out on their lawns in various stages of dress. Dr. Gardener was fully clothed, just in from the hospital it looked like, and Mrs. Hansen was in a silk peignoir with a fur collar and matching slippers.