WindSwept Narrows: #6 Eve Hastings

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  Dark lashes opened, the untouched glass of wine on the small table as she stretched and listened to the shower. She slid the small metal sheet into the oven and poured wine into his glass. She set the four six inch pizzas on the table at the same time he came down the hall, full lips set into a grimace.

  “That smells good,” Zach said, meeting her stare as he reached for the wine and took a long drink.

  “Why are you walking strange?” Eve drizzled the balsamic dressing over the large bowl of communal salad and sat down, watching him closely.

  “Stop staring at me like I’m a specimen,” Zach closed his eyes for a minute. “Sorry. Just twisted wrong or something at the site today. Chalk it up to age.”

  “You aren’t old, Zach,” Eve left the table, crossing the room to her desk and lifting several containers and dropping capsules into her palm. She went to his side and lifted his palm off the table. “You can take them all now…the wine won’t affect them.”

  “What are they?”

  “Anti-inflammatory herbs,” she said, taking one of the small pizzas onto her plate and lifting it for a big bite. “I can help after you finish eating. One of my training years involved therapeutic massage and herbal remedies.”

  Zach looked at her, his head shaking as he popped the capsules into his mouth and swallowed them before beginning to eat. He followed her lead and stabbed into the bowl of mixed salad greens and other vegetables.

  “A communal salad bowl?” Zach reached for a second pizza hungrily. “Clever.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not concerned with getting girl germs,” Eve said with a little chuckle. “I think at your age, you’re immune to them.”

  “This way I can’t tell how much you haven’t eaten,” Zach returned with one brow arched.

  “I eat. I have tons of energy,” she told him with a wrinkled nose.

  “You left your juice untouched this morning,” was his reply.

  “I get distracted…it’s not a conspiracy.”

  “I eat three pizzas and you eat one and a few bites of salad,” Zach met the narrowed dark lashes patiently. He was laughing a minute later when she lifted the third pizza and took a large bite out of it before setting it back on his plate.

  “Better?” She asked, continuing to eat salad. “What were you doing at the site today? Besides flexing your muscles…”

  “Discovering that humans can be hazardous in their own right,” Zach shook his head, talking for several minutes about the odd pieces of equipment and office items left in the abandoned buildings. Her questions and comments in the middle of his diatribe brought a few chuckles and thoughtful pauses before he realized their meal was over and she was clearing the table. “You need to assign me some chore, Eve…I feel like a free loader. I get clean laundry and good food and companionship…” He stopped himself from adding the word sex to the list.

  “I’m sure it’ll even out in time,” Eve said with a shrug. “It is much nicer to share a meal than have it alone. You should go change into your pajama things you sleep in…”

  “I should?”

  “I really can help with the pain, Zach,” Eve met his eyes honestly. She found the infused oil she wanted and rested it in a bowl of hot water in the sink while she spread a thick quilt on the floor, tossing the pillow down on top. She looked to the pallet she had made when he came around the corner.

  “The floor?” Zach said dubiously.

  “The floor…I don’t have a professional table…be right back,” she told him, disappearing to the bedroom and finding her own pajamas. Best to be comfortable and relaxed, she thought, wandering past him and wrapping the plastic bottle of oil in a small hand towel.

  “You don’t have to do this, Eve…it usually goes away in a day or two,” Zach leaned on one elbow, noticing the slinky pale pink pajamas she wore. The tank top stopped just beneath her breasts and the pants rode low on her hips, presenting him with a very nicely curved package.

  “You would rather be in pain for a few days?” She ignored him and gracefully sunk to her knees at his side, the warm oil next to her. “Show me where…”

  Zach sighed, put his face in the pillow and one hand behind him on his lower back and to the side. Eve replaced his palm with her own, pressing gently until she heard him groan.

  “Seriously…you don’t have to…”

  “Will you just relax and trust me?” Eve looked down at the solid back and narrow hips. “Do you ever just let some one help you?”

  Zach opened his mouth but was cut off.

  “I’m not talking about your guy buddies and advice on stocks or…or who’s going to win a sporting event,” Eve said sarcastically. “Have you ever had a massage?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? No massage at whatever gym you go to?” Eve held her breath and poured the warm oil into her palm, rubbing her hands together before putting them on his lower back. She nudged the sleep pants a little lower, using the heels of her palms and fingertips.

  “I don’t go to a gym,” he said through his teeth. “Am I allowed to say ‘OW’ now and then?”

  “Sure…lets me know it’s working…there…I can feel it right there…” she caught the tense bundle of muscle and nerves between two palms.

  “How do you know?” He resisted the urge to yelp, pulling both arms above his head and half smothering himself in the pillow.

  “Because I can feel the tension…the knot…why no gym?” She continued massaging the bundle, gently easing her finger tips into a more firm rhythm.

  “I run a couple days a week and…oww…”

  “I’ve heard the sit-ups and push ups you do in the mornings before your shower,” Eve said, switching to the flat of her palms, spreading the soothing oil deeper and wider over his lower back and upwards. “You think massages are for girls…” she teased, frowning slightly and standing up, placing one foot on either side of his hips. “Don’t panic…” She lowered herself to sit lightly on him, her hands on his back. “Much easier.”

  Zach knew the groan that was swallowed up by the pillow had nothing to do with the tension in his lower back.

  “What’s that smell?” He lifted his face when he trusted he wouldn’t embarrass himself. The touch of her hands, the feel of her pajamas against his sides, the warm oil and the fragrance combined to make a heady aphrodisiac.

  “An infused oil I make…it’s a mixture of arnica oil, comfrey, a little St. John’s wort…chamomile and even a tiny bit of rose petals…”

  “All that is real stuff?” Zach choked out, realizing her hands were firmer over the area where he should be yelping.

  “Hmm…amazing…” Eve teased, her hands moving more firmly along his sides. Smoothing the oil into his skin and onto his shoulders. He was slowly relaxing, the tension in his muscles softening beneath her massage. “All of the herbs I use have healing properties.”

  “You’re gloating,” Zach said, his sigh relaxed and his eyes closing.

  “Yeah…it happens when I’m right…” She poured a little of the oil onto the center of his back, massaging for several long minutes until it was spread and being easily absorbed. “Your skin is dry…”

  “I’m a guy…”

  “I did notice that,” Eve answered with a little giggle, her head shaking as she leaned higher to massage along his shoulders and neck. “It doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself. Your skin is the biggest organ on your body.”

  “You learned this stuff in college?” Zach discovered he was having to not only work to stay awake, but work to keep his body from reacting to the way her pelvis moved over his behind.

  “Hmm…surely did…babies and children benefit from gentle massage. Especially ones with grouchy tummies…or stress…”

  “What do kids have to be stressed about?”

  “Silly question, Zach,” Eve returned to the lower part of his back, gently feeling and nodding to herself, adding a little more of the soothing oil and stroking deeper into the muscles now that he was r
elaxed and the spot not so painful. “People think they’re invisible…but they hear what goes on in their lives. The sad part is too often they believe it’s their fault…”

  Eve massaged steadily, changing from soft to solid and spreading from his sides to his shoulders and back to easing the tension outward from his spine.

  “That guy…Milton…”

  “Eve…” Zach drew out her name. “If you want to talk about him, the pain will be a hell of a lot lower than my back…”

  “Lower…oh…” Eve cleared her throat, scowling at the back of his head. “So this is all about a business deal for the apartments for the resort?”

  “You regularly ignore cross walks that say don’t walk now, don’t you?” Zach asked tiredly, remembering their conversation from the night before. She wasn’t afraid of him or his temper.

  “I have my moments,” she murmured testily. “It was me he came to visit, Zach.”

  “Yeah, well it won’t be happening again,” he told her confidently.

  Eve felt a lurch in her middle. “Zach…what are you going to do? If it’s simply business…well…it’s all resolved…the property is yours now…”

  “There is rarely anything simple about business, especially when you’re dealing with someone like Milton. I’ve had long talks with Logan and Cade about him. Neither of us cares for his business style. Unless I disappear from the planet, there’s no way he can get them to change the project now, it’s a done deal,” Zach sighed thickly. “It does, however, tell me he’s been watching the site. He knows we tore into the rest of the property, which accounts for why he tried making a move on you.”

  “A girl does like to be appreciated for her property,” Eve said dryly, capping the oil and drying her hands on the small towel. She stood up and stretched before moving to sink on the sofa, leaning on the arm and staring down at him.

  “It also means I need to make sure the security is a little tighter,” Zach rolled cautiously to his side, frowning. “It doesn’t hurt.” Genuine surprise filled his words.

  “Hmm…imagine that,” Eve returned, one eyebrow arched. “You just spent a little over an hour having your muscles and tissues massaged and manipulated. It helps circulation and opens the blocked portions like lymph nodes, joints and general health. You’ll need lots of water the next day or so…it also tends to release trapped toxins that will be excreted by the body.”

  “You are a continual surprise, Eve Hastings,” Zach stared at her, accepting the bottle of water she held out for him a minute later. He heard her in the kitchen and knew something had come out of the freezer and was now sitting in the sink for tomorrows dinner. “We’re not eating here tomorrow…remember?”

  “Oh…right…” Eve put the chicken back into the freezer.

  “Remember the plan?”

  “Be here at twelve thirty, got it,” she yawned and checked the locks.

  “Over an hour?” Her words finally registered, his gaze sweeping the darkness for the clock she had hanging on the wall. Almost nine thirty.

  “Funny how time flies,” Eve commented, continuing on into the bedroom, her teeth brushed before she snuggled down beneath the quilts with a sigh.

  Zach groaned when he entered the bedroom, that funny frowning pout on her face.

  “Zach…”

  “I’m coming to dread that tone of voice,” he said when he came out of the bathroom, laying back on the bed with a long sigh. “I’m listening…”

  “You believe he saw you tearing into the other property, and that’s why he came to see me,” Eve said carefully. “If it is all business, then he has to know you wouldn’t do something like that unless…like you said…it was a done deal. What would be the point of coming to me?”

  “Maybe he thought he could change your mind,” Zach rolled to his side, sighing and watching her raise her arms above her head. “Where did that come from?” He moved his palm to her upper arm, gently touching the dark thumb sized bruise. Eyes suddenly filled with a storm narrowed when she hastily shoved her arms beneath the quilt. “Evelyn…”

  “It’s just a bruise…I bruise all the time…sometimes I don’t even know how…or where they come from.”

  “Look at me,” Zach cupped her chin, lips thinned when she fought him turning her face to his. “Milton did that?” He watched her open her mouth and reconsider her answer. “Don’t lie to me, Evelyn. He touched you?”

  “Zach, I am not going to be the cause of a…a fight…a brawl between a couple of grown men who should…”

  “Did he cause the bruise?” He asked once more, each word spoken coldly and clearly.

  “Maybe…”

  “What part of the story am I missing, Evelyn?”

  “I’m thinking that tone of voice isn’t a fun one,” she said quietly, resolutely. “I came back from HR and he was standing in front of Myra, who was standing in front of the door to my office. I reached out and forced his hand and attention from her and he…he kind of grabbed my arm and shook me. Not very professional, if you ask me…then he started raising his voice. I can’t have the children upset, so I let him into my office and tried…tried talking to him. I had no idea he was so emotionally…angry…actually…”

  “I’m sorry he hurt you,” Zach let his palm soften, his thumb dragged heavily over her lower lip. “It won’t happen again, I promise you that.”

  “Zach…seriously…” Eve felt the words fading, in her voice and her mind when he leaned closer, his mouth moving over where his thumb had been. Like before, she felt herself falling into that warm cavern. She slid down and rolled to face him, her palms moving to press against his chest.

  “Shh…just a kiss, Eve…” Zach let his head fall from his palm, his hand sliding beneath her arm and urging her closer. His other hand went to her head, fingers letting the soft, thick hair tease the center of his palm before settling on her neck for a few seconds, gently massaging.

  He allowed his hand free roam. The curve of her ear with two small cut stones; the length of her throat that was long and had a strong, steady pulse. Her body seemed so slight yet she filled his arms as she melted against him, the silken feel of her pajamas soothingly sweet against his chest, their flesh touching just beneath her breasts. The full, firm roundness of her breasts pushed against his chest as she wrapped her arms a little tighter around his neck. She prolonged their kiss, sending her tongue out to trace around his mouth and tease his tongue with soft bites.

  Eve enjoyed the feel of his mouth as it traveled over hers, again and again breaking for a nip here or a touch there. Her tongue traced his mouth, moved on to tease his tongue or soothe the little nip she offered his lower lip, pulling it gently before settling against his mouth to forget to breathe until he lifted his lips from hers. She palms remained on his chest, soft, crisp coils of dark brown tickling the centers, his heart thumping strongly in time with her own.

  There were so many things vying for attention in her mind. So many things reaching out like strong tentacles from all her aroused senses. She could smell the oil and the soap he used in the shower; she felt the hard lines of his body against hers, the very strong line of his arousal.

  “Zach…”

  “Only a kiss, Eve…a sweet kiss that would drive the sanest of men mad,” Zach whispered against her mouth, relaxing when she lay in his arms gazing at him. He thought about asking her if she wanted him to stop, but decided against it. He would pull back, and he would control himself, to make certain she doesn’t assume the guilt he knows she would take and to show her that he could. He kept telling his body that this was not about him.

  “Will I get the blame for that?” Eve asked when she was sure her voice worked, smiling at him with he laughed, kissed her on the forehead and tucked her close.

  “Good night, Eve…”

  “G’night, Zach,” she rolled to her other side but didn’t try and move out of the arm he had wrapped beneath her head and around her shoulders.

  “Did you ever learn to find a peaceful pl
ace in your mind to meditate?” Zach whispered against her throat. “An island with white sands and warm sun…or by a waterfall in the mountains…someplace only yours. Someplace safe and quiet…”

  “Here…” Her words came out faintly, doused in pre-sleep. “Here with you.”

  Zach touched her head softly with his lips before settling down with her tucked snugly alone his body. Sometime during the night he shifted to his back, one arm above his head but the other holding her close, the soft feeling of her head on his chest, her breathing regular and no signs of the nightmares that night.

  Chapter Nine

  For the first time in four days, he woke at the same time she began a gentle, careful stretching. Soft little noises that abruptly stopped when she saw him watching her. He did nothing to stop the laughter, the stark surprise on her face when she realized he wasn’t asleep.

  “G’morning…” Zach followed her example, still amazed that there was very little twinge in his lower back as he stretched his arms above his head. “Still a little unnerved at this sleeping arrangement?”

  “A little…confused that it’s…it feels okay…” Eve slid from the bed, hastily pulling the sagging bottoms a little higher when she felt the cool air against her skin.

  “I think I’m growing on you,” Zach sat up, carefully keeping the quilts on his lower body. Somehow explaining mornings and the male body just wasn’t something he was up to this morning. “You shower…I’ll use the other bathroom.”

  He watched the rapid nod, her hands finding what she needed quickly and disappearing into the bathroom. He stepped into the walk in closet, shrugging into a pale blue shirt. He was working the buttons when he noticed how very few dresses there were in her closet. Zach was buttoning his slacks, still pondering the observation. Climbing around on the floor would be one simple answer. But something told him answers weren’t that simple when it came to Eve Hastings.