WindSwept Narrows: #6 Eve Hastings

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “The Rueben,” Zach said without pausing, his mouth next to her ear. He felt his body tighten, something in her scent had woven its way into his senses.

  They walked away with two large toasted sandwiches, his palm at her waist as she wheeled the small cart toward the fruit section. She added some apples and pears and a packet of grapes before heading to the cooler section. A couple large bottles of water and she declared they were ready to go.

  Eve paid for their items and watched Zach’s face as they got closer to the SUV, her smile broadening. “You’ve never eaten in the SUV before, have you?”

  “I have my coffee with me every…” He chirped the car and watched her grip the stainless steel handle to pull herself inside. He handed her the bag, still frowning.

  “Coffee isn’t sandwiches and fruit, Zach,” Eve turned sideways on the seat, carefully pulling their sandwiches out. “I promise to be very, very careful and not get crumbs anywhere…” she positioned the large paper on her legs and opened it carefully, lifting out half and biting down hungrily. “I’ll pay to have it cleaned, Zach. How long have you had this car?”

  Zach shifted to the side, his sandwich opened carefully on his lap. He accepted the bottle of water she held out to him. “Four years…”

  “It looks brand new,” Eve remarked in surprise, licking her fingers when the pickles leaked. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the sauerkraut and corned beef kinda guy…”

  “Once in a while…” He said, eating the thick flavorful meat and thinking about the old man he’d spoken with. Was that him and Eve in fifty years?

  Eve carefully wrapped up the second half of her sandwich, packing it away and holding the bottle of water between her palms, chatting idly about the weather and the little shops all around them at the large shopping area.

  “We should make it there about six,” Zach mentioned, his hands crunching the paper and tossing it into the bag she’d slipped to the back seat. Eve was on her knees in the center of the front seat, staring toward the back.

  “This thing is like a small apartment,” she said in awe, laughing when he pulled her across his lap. Her hands fell to the front of his shirt, her eyes laughing. “I’ll try not to mess up your car, Zach.”

  “Eve Hastings…the old guy at the gas station was right…you make us laugh or curse…” Zach needed a fix, he decided, his mouth down and capturing hers for a long, slow kiss.

  In the middle of a parking lot in the middle of nowhere, his mind chided. At the moment, he didn’t care where they were.

  Eve wasn’t panicked. She reached for him and laughed with him. He felt her palms pressing over the front of his shirt, slim fingers caressing over his throat and onto his face for a few seconds before sliding to the back of his head. He felt her fingers caught in the hair at the back of his head, her lips parting and eagerly returning his kiss without reserve.

  “I should have found you when I was eighteen,” Zach whispered against her mouth.

  “I never made out in a car before,” Eve admitted, their foreheads resting against one another, the windows fogging over.

  “It’s been a long time…”

  “Have you forgotten how?” Eve teased, peeking up through her lashes, her breath catching at the fire she saw spark in his dark eyes. She turned a little, her hands pulling his mouth back to hers before she took her left hand from his head and letting it fall over his palm that rested at her waist.

  Zach gave himself over to her kiss, groaning softly when she pushed his palm from her waist to her thigh, her body pressed hotly against him while his palm roamed over her thigh and onto her behind. He felt her breath catch and her body slowly relaxing, tiny shivers along her form as his touch grew more firm, more knowledgeable as he learned the shape of her.

  “We’re too old to get arrested for this,” Zach whispered huskily against her mouth, his hands moving to her shoulders to set her firmly back onto the seat of the SUV. “Open the window,” he ordered gruffly, shaking his head and wincing as he pushed his legs out to slide back behind the wheel of the car.

  “Oh…I guess we did that…” Eve opened the window as he started the car, reaching for her water bottle with a long swallow. She offered it to him, the set jaw and focused eyes making her frown. “Are you okay? You look…in pain…”

  “I’m fine, Eve,” he took the bottle after he had them back on the highway, setting the cruise control to save himself a speeding ticket. He drained half the remaining water before handing it back. “Next time we do that, it’s going to be in the driveway of the house,” he declared, his gaze swinging toward the tiny burst of giggles.

  “Can we stop at a winery?”

  “When we see a sign…I have reservations for us for the night in Idaho,” Zach told her, meeting the surprise on her face. “I’m a planning kind of guy, Eve.”

  Two hours later, Zach was wondering where his plan had run off to. They had visited three wineries in a two hour space and he was now firmly headed to Idaho, frowning at the soft humming from Eve to the music she had tuned in on the radio.

  “Eve…are you nervous?” He asked after a quite few minutes.

  “I think so…but…not really…I’m feeling very relaxed,” she admitted in a little sing-song voice, her legs crossed beneath her and shoes on the floor.

  “I think it has something to do with the samples you drank,” Zach said, amusement in his voice.

  “They were very good,” she said seriously. “Did we buy wine?”

  “We bought wine,” he told her. “And we’re not stopping again until we’re in Idaho.”

  “You didn’t sample any.”

  “I’m driving. I’ll try it with dinner some night,” he looked over at the closed eyes, full lips in a naturally sexy pout as she sang along lightly to the music. “You’re not much of a wine drinker.”

  “Nope…not usually…it makes your head foggy,” she said thoughtfully. “I think a lot of babies are made because of wine.”

  Zach laughed out loud. “Yeah…I think you might be right on that one.”

  “Zach…I don’t want our baby made because of wine, okay?”

  He felt his heart lurch, his palm out to lift hers from her lap and carry it to his lips. “I don’t want our baby made because of wine, either, Eve.”

  “Good…I’m glad we agree,” she sighed deeply. “I really like kissing you.”

  “I am rather fond of kissing you, too,” he said quietly, guiding the SUV to the directions the GPS was offering. He pulled beneath the large covered driveway and turned the car off. “Stay here. I’ll get us registered and get a key.” He saw her nod, dark lashes raising and staring around.

  “It’s very pretty,” she said, unfolding her legs and sliding her shoes on.

  Zach registered them, gathered the forms to be completed and looked toward the small chapel the woman pointed to where they would go in the morning at nine a.m.. He got outside in time to stop Eve from leaving the SUV, tucking her back inside and driving around to the ground floor end room.

  He had both their small bags in his hand, catching her against him when she slid out of the SUV. He nudged the door closed and led them to the motel room, locking the door behind them.

  It was after eight because of their stops. He watched Eve drop her shoes on the floor and drop onto the pillow and laughed.

  “You don’t want your pajamas?”

  “Clothes are good,” she murmured. “It’s safer in clothes…”

  “What’s safer, Eve?” Zach carefully rearranged her, pulling the thick blankets over her.

  “It’s harder for them to rape you in pants…” she answered drowsily.

  Chapter Eleven

  Zach listened to those words repeated in his mind each time he woke next to her in the night. He held her close, whether she snuggled into his arm or he wrapped his arm around her from behind, he kept her near. He took his shirt off during the night and woke stretched out on his back with Eve snuggled tightly against him, his palm on her shoul
der.

  He woke slowly, his palm moving along her shoulder and onto her head, stroking over the soft, short hair. He watched the thick lashes flutter, her lips parted and mew of protest soft. She shivered and tried to get closer, making him chuckle and tip her head back, letting his mouth cruise gently over the fullness. Slowly, leisurely their tongues played, teased and withdrew, leaving them both staring and breathless.

  “It’s morning,” Eve noted, swallowing and moving to sit up in the bed, blinking and looking around her. Asking where they were would mean she’d have to admit to missing a big part of her evening. They both had clothes on, so that meant she didn’t miss anything really important.

  “That is an interesting expression, Dr. Hastings,” Zach put both his hands behind his head and watched. “Do you remember the wineries?”

  She heard the humor in his voice and pulled her lips into a taut pucker before meeting his stare. “Mostly,” she admitted slowly, climbing to her feet with a long stretch toward the ceiling. She lifted her pack and went into the bathroom, ignoring his laughter.

  Eve came out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand and pointing. “Where are we?”

  “We are waiting for their turn at the one bathroom,” Zach picked up his pack and moved to the open door, closing it when she stepped aside.

  Eve refreshed and was waiting when he came out, buttoned up and looking quite handsome in a simple button shirt and jeans. She had found the form on the small table and filled in all the blanks, adding it to his already completed form. Her hands only shook a little.

  “This is a nice little place,” Eve commented, waiting while he made sure they had everything.

  “It caters to the people from Washington not wanting to mess with a three day wait. The whole town is built around that,” Zach took both their packs in one hand and led her to the SUV. “Did you think I would marry you under the influence, Eve?”

  “I…” her eyes went to his immediately, heat filling her cheeks. “I think nerves got the best of me…”

  “We have a nine a.m.…bring your purse,” he said simply, taking her hand after locking the SUV and leading her to the small quiet chapel.

  Zach watched the professional, in control Eve came out, her answers to questions soft and polite, her eyes honest as she repeat the vows read to them. He liked the surprise in her eyes when he pulled the rings he bought from his pocket and handed one to her. Slim fingers shook as she slid it onto his hand, her eyes filling with tears that she tried to blink away. Zach brought both his palms up to frame her face when the ceremony finished and he kissed the bride, his touch a soft gentle whisper that she returned.

  Congratulations rang out from the people around them, another couple stepping forward as Zach led her from the inn. Eve was looking at the new set of rings that fit her so perfectly, her hand turning in the early morning sun and fog to catch the light with a sparkle.

  “When did you…?” She stared at the man she was now calling her husband when he opened the car door for her.

  “Yesterday morning when the car was being fitted with the step,” Zach backed her up to the open door, a palm on each side of her and his head down for another sampling of her kiss. “I have a friend with a jewelry store…and I took a ring from your desk as a size match,” he reached into his jeans and pulled out the small silver braid and held it up for her. “I saw you wearing it on the ring finger last week.”

  “You picked beautiful rings, Zach…thank you…” Eve only smiled when he lifted her to the seat. “Do we have time to drive through the town? Look around?”

  “We have all day, Mrs. Covington,” he told her with a wink, closing the door and crossing to the drivers side. “After we find some breakfast and coffee.”

  “You seem to have adapted quite well,” Eve noted as they were eating breakfast, a large slice of the syrup laden pancake lifted on her fork and held out to him. He accepted the offering hungrily, returning to his steak and eggs with a nod. “Considering your initial reaction…”

  “I’m chalking it up to mellowing in my old age,” Zach told her with a slow nod, draining half a cup of coffee and reaching for more.

  “Zach, you are not old,” Eve laughed, finishing most of her fruit and pancakes, enjoying their random chatter about all things. She leaned over the table. “Old guys do not make out in their SUVs.”

  Zach just closed his eyes and finished his toast.

  “Why does it embarrass you?” Eve asked as they walked to the SUV, her hands holding the sweater she dug out of her pack together, the winds whipping up around them, coming off the dark blue lake.

  “I’m not embarrassed.”

  “Have you made out in a car before?” Eve stared at his face, his jaw seemed a little tight.

  “When I was a kid, yes.”

  “A kid?” She repeated skeptically.

  “Seventeen…a kid, Eve,” Zach opened the car door and went around to the other side.

  “Can we stop over at the wine shop we saw on the way here? It’s on the way out of town,” Eve asked, buckling her belt and waiting for him to settle.

  “It would probably be safer than the wineries,” Zach admitted, starting the SUV and easing them into mid-morning traffic.

  “So…” She sighed when he groaned. “You’ve had sex in a car…”

  “Eve…”

  “I have to know where the learning curve is, Zach and that means asking questions,” she explained carefully.

  “A learning curve?”

  “You’ve had sex in a car…I haven’t…so there is a learning curve,” she said simply.

  “And this is important because…” Zach really didn’t want to know the answer to that one, but the words were out before he could stop himself.

  “Because I don’t want to shock you,” she said with a little nod.

  Zach choked slightly. “Shock me?”

  “I’ve been reading this book Chloe gave me as a gift a week ago,” she began to explain.

  “You’ve been reading about sex in a book?”

  “I learn everything from books,” she answered as if it was the most natural answer out there.

  “Does this book have a name or author?”

  “Xaviera Hollander,” Eve answered immediately. “She is amazingly knowledgeable. Men and women are vastly different in more ways then simply their appearances.”

  “I…you’re…Eve…do you think it’s possible to hold this conversation for a time when I’m not trying to drive?” Zach asked, his voice betraying his disbelief.

  “When we get home? Alright,” Eve spotted the large wine shop proclaiming all made in the Pacific Northwest and smiled. “What’s your favorite kind of wine?”

  “Something with a crap load of alcohol at the moment,” he answered instantly, parking the SUV and stepping onto the concrete, his head still shaking when he took her palm and walked toward the wine shop.

  Eve turned the conversation to the apartment project, asking questions and listening to the enthusiasm in his answers. It was shortly after three when they pulled into the driveway, Eve jumping out and carrying their packs, while Zach brought in the two boxes of wine they had found.

  “You have a really nice wine cooler here,” Zach commented as he laid the bottle inside.

  “It came with the house,” she answered with a shrug. “The only reason I had the one bottle of wine was someone gave it to me.” She turned the gas fireplace on and began working on large Caesar salads for dinner with broiled chicken on the side. She went to her computer and checked her mail before putting the romaine lettuce in cool water to soak and prepping the chicken. She heard him wandering in the back of the house and outside, not sure what he was doing while she worked on reviewing the schedule she had for Monday.

  Zach stood in the hall watching Eve on the computer, she was playing an online game and listening to music. He nudged the heater up a little and wandered over to sit on the other side of the large desk, opening his laptop and checking for updates from his crew.r />
  “You have any magical oil for driving fatigue?” Zach asked casually, looking over the top of his computer at wide eyes meeting his.

  “I told you to let me drive a little,” Eve nodded slowly. “But yes…I do have a magical oil for that…does that mean you’re looking for a massage after dinner?”

  “It means maybe you’ve started to spoil me,” Zach said with a grin.

  “I’d better be careful…no telling where that could lead,” Eve signed out of her game and went to finish their dinner.

  It continued to surprise Zach how fast time swirled around them. World events, sports, music and television, their conversations were filled with laughter and honesty. He was helping clear the table shortly before seven when he looked up from the dishes he was loading and saw her watching him.

  “Eve? Is there something wrong?”

  “Are you angry at me?”

  Caught off balance, Zach straightened up and shook his head. “Have you dented the SUV?” He was relieved to see one corner of her mouth tip into a sexy smile. “Why would I be angry at you? Dinner was very good by the way…”

  “I like simple meals,” she answered, turning the light out and perching on the edge of a stool. “I thought…our conversation in the car…that you were angry.”

  Zach brought a palm up and rubbed the back of his neck, leaning against the counter and meeting her gaze. “In my family….” His head shook slowly. “Most every topic was tip-toed around. I don’t want that. I’m pretty sure we’ll disagree on some things and argue on others…”

  “Pretty certain of that…great minds tend to clash now and again,” Eve agreed with a teasing gleam.

  “The point is…” He continued, walking to stand in front of her, pulling her from the stool and into his arms. “Nothing…and I do mean nothing…is ever to be out of bounds as a topic,” her mouth opened and he shook his head again. “That is not to say…that said timing should be slightly improved when choosing the topics so that the driver is not graphically distracted…” Zach watched his words register, understanding in her eyes.