Chapter 15
Eve
“Does he fuck like he looks?”
Eve almost tipped over the bottle of nail polish. “What?”
It was movie and mani-pedi night. Lauren had kept giving her side glances while the film rolled, and Eve sensed that her friend was about to explode from holding back the questions, but she hadn’t expected this.
Eve halted, brush poised above Lauren’s index finger. “How do you know what he looks like?”
A sly grin spread across Lauren’s face. “I creeped him.”
Eve shook her head.
“What? I needed to know who cast the spell on you.”
Lauren smirked. “I get it. He’s quite…aesthetically pleasing.”
“Big words, again,”
Eve teased. Her friend had always liked to read the dictionary for fun. “There isn’t much about him on the internet. What did you find?”
“The article about his fancy supersonic plane. Blue suit.”
Of course, that photo. She’d brought it up and viewed it several times herself. Adam in a smart royal-blue suit, a striped gold-and-blue tie lying, perfectly knotted, on his pristine white shirt.
Lauren turned her hand. “You omitted the fact that he is loaded.”
Eve dipped the brush into the bottle. “This is a really great new shade of red. I love the shimmer. What’s it called?”
“Self-Looove. Spelled with three O’s.”
Lauren smiled. “So, nice try, but you haven’t really changed the subject.”
Eve snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Look at the label.”
Eve looked, and sure enough, that was what OPI had named the candy red polish with gold flecks. “This will look killer with my red dress.”
Lauren’s mouth twisted. “Come on. Spill. Hot guy, no condom. How was it?”
A vision of Adam kneeling naked on his bed, pinning her with those smoldering blue eyes, then taking up her leg, hit her so powerfully, Eve shivered.
Lauren’s brow lifted. “That good, huh? Oh my God.”
Eve nodded.
“Wow. I thought maybe he looked too good to be true. Would’ve balanced things out if he were lousy in bed.”
“Definitely not lousy,”
was all Eve said.
Lauren’s brow furrowed slightly. “Might have been better for you if he were.”
Eve looked away.
“From what you’ve told me, he’s acting like a boyfriend and paying for the privilege instead of just taking what he paid for.”
Eve said nothing. That was a pretty good assessment of what was going on.
“Sometimes these guys let themselves believe in the fantasy because it’s easier to do that than to admit they’re paying for a service,”
Lauren said.
Eve carefully finished painting Lauren’s pinkie. “I’ve never had this happen to me before.”
She capped the bottle and shook it. “Other hand.”
Lauren inspected Eve’s work, nodded approvingly, then placed her left hand on the table. “Define this, please.”
“I don’t know… He’s different.”
“How?”
“I’ve never had a client who wasn’t a taker. He’s…”
How to describe Adam?
“Please don’t say special. Or awesome. I really, really hate those words.”
Eve laughed. “I won’t. But I will say that all he has to do is show up, and I can’t control myself. It’s like I’m a different person when he’s around. Me, Jane; he, Tarzan.”
Lauren’s lips twitched. “OK, I get it. But amazing sexual chemistry doesn’t guarantee long-term relationship success, even in a normal situation.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had amazing sexual chemistry or a relationship. Or a normal situation, for that matter.”
“I’m glad you’re having one of the three, at least. Just be careful. Remember, you’re working. It’s like clocking in for a shift. Some clients can’t stay on the right side of boundaries if they feel they’ve cultivated some sort of relationship. And getting into an intimate relationship with clients comes with the risk of someone getting hurt.”
Lauren was right, of course. She wasn’t saying anything Eve didn’t know, but hearing it was rather brutal.
“How does he feel about what you do for a living?”
Lauren watched the crimson brush drag over her thumb.
“Not sure.”
“Does it bother him?”
“We haven’t talked about that.”
“Maybe you ought to.”
“I don’t know how to bring it up.”
“Hmmm…”
All this talk of Adam was making Eve shift in her chair.
It was finally Sunday. They’d texted back and forth, but he’d been very busy. Communication had been sparse, but he’d found time to send several photos of interesting things he’d seen in Tokyo.
“How long has he been away?”
“A little over a week. He’s coming back on Tuesday.”
Two more days. This week had seemed to drag on forever.
Her phone chimed with the unique tone she’d set for him. Eve quickly capped the bottle but wasn’t fast enough because the text disappeared from the top of the screen. Impatiently, she typed in her passcode.
Lauren watched her in bemusement. “That him? You even gave the man your number. Wow, that’s a first.”
Adam: Which one?
Huh? Eve’s brow furrowed.
A moment later, a photo appeared. It looked like a clothesline arranged in a checkerboard pattern. On it hung various men’s boxers, printed with large Japanese lettering, all featuring different versions of Godzilla.
One was a ferocious-looking head, eyes bulging, open mouth full of sharklike teeth, dark pink tongue lolling. The beast prepared to devour a capsized boat, with terrified people scattering everywhere and falling into the water. The graphic took up the entire left side of the shorts.
Eve giggled.
Lauren leaned forward. “What? What is he saying?”
Eve turned the phone, holding out her arm to let her friend view the screen.
“Oh, boy.”
Lauren shook her head. “All that, and a sense of humor too. That kicks up the level of danger to…”
Eve was no longer listening. Using her thumbs, she enlarged the giant-head monster one, screen-shotted it, and sent it back to Adam.
Adam: My choice as well.
Eve: Dare you to buy them.
Adam: Ha.
Adam
The marshaller raised his arms slowly above his head until the bright orange wands crossed, and Adam eased the G550 to a full stop. He waited for the signal, then set the parking brake.
At last, he shut off the engines, and the whine of the turbines gradually decreased until there was silence in the cockpit.
“Home, sweet Vegas.”
Adam pulled off his headset.
Manuel rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank God, man. I couldn’t take another day of nasty food.”
Adam chuckled. “Raw fish not your thing?”
He knew that Alma was an excellent cook, and Adam often teased Manny about the danger of getting a fat gut from her excellent tamales.
“Hell no. I didn’t eat that bait; I ate the cooked stuff. Still bad. I think I lost two pounds this week.”
He patted his stomach. “Can’t wait to get home and eat a decent meal.”
Adam thought of his empty apartment waiting for him and promptly decided to call Eve and ask when she could get there. He, too, was hungry, and not only for food.
First, though, he’d have to send off his passengers.
He said goodbye to Manny, exited the cockpit, grabbed his flight bag and jacket, and sprinted down the stairs. On the tarmac, he accepted his passengers’ polite thank-yous and handshakes, then found his sunglasses and slipped them on.
Bright Vegas sun, crisp air. He was finally home.
Something caught his eye in the distance: a white-clad form approaching quickly from the direction of the FBO. He shielded his eyes and tried to make it out. Despite the sunglasses, he couldn’t see clearly for the glare. In long strides, he headed for his waiting limo, parked on the tarmac a few yards away.
The figure still came running. Something about it gave Adam pause. A moment later, his heart kicked into high gear. He took off his glasses, hoping what he thought he saw was real.
Yes, Eve was running toward him in a white halter dress, closing the distance between them, killer legs moving with surprising speed. He stopped in his tracks and ditched his Rollaboard, flight bag, and jacket, opening his arms just before she launched herself at him, full force. She slammed into him hard enough to knock him back a little.
His arms tightened around her, lifting, and he spun her around once, grinning big.
He set her down, gazing into her beautiful brown eyes. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
Her cheeks were pink, and she was out of breath.
He lowered his head then and took those lips he’d been waiting all week to savor. He kissed her hotly, pressing her into him, feeling her soft breasts against his chest, her small hands clasped tightly around his neck. She smelled of Delina and sunshine, and it was so damned good to feel her in his arms again.
“Hey now, you two,”
drawled Devon from behind him. “For Chrissake, get a room.”
Adam broke the kiss and gazed down into Eve’s pretty face, her eyes alight, lips reddened from his kiss. “Shut it, Thomason,”
he said, not bothering to take his eyes off her.
Eve let go of his neck and reached to take his hand to press it to her cheek, smiling brightly at Devon as he came to stand beside them. “Hi, Devon.”
“Hi, yourself.”
He gave her one of his sly grins. “I think that Thor, here, missed you. Been testy all week long.”
He gave Adam a mock salute. “See you next time, Captain. Good flying with you.”
Adam touched two fingers to his temple, returning the gesture. He donned his sunglasses. “Later.”
He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. “My place?”
She nodded happily.
He grinned at her. “Let’s go.”
?
Eve
Ensconced in the shelter of his arms, Eve nuzzled Adam’s stubbled chin, inhaling deeply of his scent.
He’d had a long hot shower, eaten a giant meal, then taken her straight to bed.
The first time, it had been hot, swift, and almost frenzied, with both unable to get at each other fast enough.
Now, the busy week and last twelve hours of flying had finally taken their toll, and this languorous version of Adam was turning her on in the hottest possible way. His smiles were slow, his eyes were shuttered, his voice was low, and as she looked at him, she burned with a slow, smoldering fire.
She’d missed him.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
She smiled against his throat. Somehow, they seemed to be in sync in such an uncanny way. “I’ve missed you too.”
He kissed her temple. “How much?”
“Very much.”
“I thought of you.”
“Did you?”
He nodded. “In the morning…”
he tipped her chin up, kissing her lips softly.
“Only in the morning?”
“Day and night too.”
He ran his thumb over her lower lip.
Another long, lingering kiss.
Her head tipped back against his solid chest. “I’ve thought of your hands on me.”
“Mmm.”
Finding her breast, he began a languid exploration. “Like this?”
“Yes.”
“And this?”
He continued stroking, skimming over her breasts, downward over her abdomen, then lower. His fingertips circled her navel.
She exhaled a soft breath. “Uh-huh.”
He splayed his fingers, then covered her with his palm. “Here?”
“Yes.”
She arched into his hand.
With gentle fingers, he caressed her there, back to front, then back again. Slowly, he slipped one finger along her center, seeking, sliding, increasing the pressure slightly with every long, deliberate stroke. “All week…”
“Ah!”
Two fingers. “…I’ve thought…”
Three. “…of doing this.”
He decreased the pressure just slightly, then found exactly where she needed, and pressed a little harder, circling, gliding forward and back, and circling again.
She undulated with his hand. Her hips seemed to be moving of their own accord. Something was building, somewhere very deep and distant. She chased it, but he was working her at such an impossibly languid pace.
“That’s it, Eve,”
he murmured. “Go slowly with me now.”
She raised her chin, breathing deeply, reaching, teetering on the precipice.
Another pass, another…building, building…
And then, at last, it broke the surface. She tipped her head back, mouth open, coming apart in slow motion against him, like waves lapping and breaking, taking so very long to crest, then free fall. Over and over, she shuddered under his expert fingers.
Through it all, he held her, his warm hand gently coaxing, pressing his cheek to her hair, murmuring words of encouragement or murmuring sweet nothings. She couldn’t tell because she couldn’t comprehend a single thing he said.
She only knew feeling, warmth, and the sound of Adam’s deep voice.
At last, she floated down.
He nuzzled her hair. “You are so beautiful when you come.”
Small tremors still racked her body. Even her lower lip was trembling. He caught it in his mouth, sucking gently. Then, Adam gathered her to him, her back to his front, his arm firm around her waist, and took her slowly, sliding in deep and easy from behind. Hand on her hip, his strokes were long and unhurried, but his breathing was harsh in her ear, and she knew he, too, was flying.
Flying…Adam, flying.
She countered his moves, then reached back to touch him, her fingers lingering at the point where he was driving into her.
This felt like a dream, and she never wanted to wake up.
It also felt like more than just sex. It was like real lovemaking.
The realization struck her, and she closed her eyes, stunned at the thought.
She knew the second he was there because his hips stuttered, she felt him harden, and then the unmistakable sound of Adam coming washed over her in that low, exquisite rumble. She shook right along with him, then listened as his breath gradually calmed.
She sighed then and turned to kiss him lazily, her fingers threading in his hair, and wondered how on earth she could keep this up and stop herself from falling hopelessly for this man.
?
“The 1950s called, and they want their razor back.”
Eve leaned against the bathroom doorway, watching Adam drag the gold safety razor over the foam covering his face, leaving a fresh, clean-shaven line.
His blue eyes met hers in the mirror, and he paused for a moment, looking her up and down in that way that released instant dancing sparklers in her lower belly.
“I’ll have you know this is a classic Gillette Gold. My grandfather gave each of us one when we started to grow facial hair.”
He grinned. “Except for my sister. I don’t know how he got them. Brand-new in box.”
“Looks tedious.”
“I like to get a close shave.”
She tipped her head. “You know, there’s this really cool modern invention called an electric shaver.”
Again, he leaned toward the mirror. “Not the same. Also, this happens to be a manly ritual.”
His face was gradually emerging from under all that foam, and she couldn’t wait to kiss it.
“Is that so?”
He rinsed the gold head of the razor under hot running water. “Yeah. A chance to think and plan the day in peace, without the annoying mosquito buzz right in my face.”
She shook her head in wonder. “I didn’t think anyone still used those.”
“Sure they do. There’s even a store dedicated to these things. Ever heard of The Art of Shaving?”
She vaguely recalled passing that place at the mall. She filed that away, too, in case she ever needed to buy a gift for him.
A thought occurred to her. “When is your birthday?”
He paused, gold razor in the air, and something twinkled in his sapphire eyes. “February twenty-ninth.”
“Leap Day?”
“Yeah. I only have to feel old every four years. Funny that it’s—”
He stopped short as if he’d changed his mind about what he’d been about to say, instead lifting his chin to begin shaving the underside of his jaw. Eve took one look and started shifting, needing to squeeze her thighs together.
He slanted her an amused glance. “After I’m done, I’ll let you lick me. You can do quality control.”
“That’s all you’ll let me do?”
Her gaze dropped to the white towel around his waist.
“For now, unfortunately. I really need to get to work.”
“You just got back twelve hours ago!”
“Sixteen,”
he corrected. “Things piled up while I was gone. I have to tend that pile, or I’ll be buried.”
“Go tell that boss of yours I said he’s a tyrant.”
“A tyrant?”
He chuckled. “He’ll be crushed. He really likes you.”
Her curiosity piqued. “What were you about to say just now?”
He took one last swipe, then splashed water on his face to remove the last traces of foam. “About what?”
“About your birthday. You said something was funny.”
Carefully, he rinsed the razor and set it in its vertical stand. He turned, holding out his arms to her, and she moved into them, her heart beating a little faster. Hooking a hand around his neck, she pulled him down to nuzzle his jaw, her lips tingling in anticipation.
He raised his chin, offering himself to her. She licked his Adam’s apple, taking her time to thoroughly enjoy the thrill. Her nostrils filled with the clean scent of shaving soap, and she could taste it faintly too.
“February twenty-ninth was the first time you ever did that to me,”
she heard him say.
Her eyes widened. She looked up at him in surprise. “It was?”
“Indeed. This year, you were my birthday present to myself.”
She took this in, then laughed a little. “Well, I guess I am the gift that keeps on giving.”
He lowered his head, his lips a breath away from hers. “You are.”
He kissed her thoroughly, tasting of mint. She kissed him back, mind reeling from this latest revelation.
Her fingers drifted down over his abs, stopping at the edge of the towel at his waist. Unable to stop herself, she gave a little tug, and the terry dropped to the tile floor.
But instead of what she expected, she saw…
She burst into a peal of laughter. “Well, Konnichiwa, Godzilla!”
The answering grin he gave her was priceless. “I never named it, but OK.”
She eyed the toothy monster on his boxers and shook her head, still giggling. “I can’t believe you really went ahead and bought those.”
“Believe it, Eve. I always take a dare.”
“I dare you to show me what’s behind Godzilla.”
Deftly, she slid a hand under the elastic of his boxers. The effect was instant, and she delighted in what she could do.
Adam breathed in on a hiss. “Eve—”
She got to stroke him once before he blocked her. Gently but with resolve, he gripped her wrist and removed her hand. “Let’s not start what we can’t finish.”
Too late, she thought.
Why was she taking this as rejection?
Throat tightening with something she dared not name, Eve wondered how she’d cope when this thing she’d started with Adam came to an end.