His lips closed around her nipple and he drew the silken bead between his teeth. His hand slid over her belly, dipped into the golden curls and he drew back, burning with the need to see her face when he touched her. Slowly, slowly, he brought his fingers toward those golden curls again, feeling the tremor arcing through her muscles as he came closer. When, finally, his fingers stroked her, a moan broke from her throat.
“My Eve,” he said fiercely, and found and caressed that sweetest of feminine mysteries.
She arced toward him, her hand dropping hard on his.
“Don’t,” she whispered, “Zach, don’t. I can’t bear it.”
But she could. Oh, she could. She could exult in what he was making her feel, a pleasure exquisite beyond anything she’d ever imagined.
She moaned again and Zach bent and kissed her mouth, his tongue moving against hers while his fingers went on with their sweet torment.
Something was building inside her, an almost unendurable tension. She was—she was…
A cry burst from her lips as she shattered against his hand. Zach gathered her close in his arms, kissing her as she trembled against him, whispering soft, sweet words, and then, at last, he parted her thighs and knelt between them.
At the last instant, he hesitated. It was the moment he had longed for, Eve lying beneath him, her eyes on his, her lips soft and swollen from his kisses.
And yet, though he’d known how perfect this would be, it seemed to transcend perfection. There was a softness to her, a vulnerability he had never anticipated.
“Zach?” she whispered.
He looked at her, seeing the sweet curve of her mouth, the expectation in her eyes. With a groan, he cupped her bottom, lifted her to him and sheathed himself in her slick, silken heat.
His head fell back, he cried out her name, and exploded into a million shimmering fragments.
CHAPTER NINE
BY LATE afternoon, the storm was almost over. The sky began to clear, the rain fell off to a soft drizzle, and at the edge of the forest, a bird sent up a first, hesitant call.
Eve lay in Zach’s arms, safe and warm and filled with a joy so fierce it was almost painful.
I love you, she thought, closing her eyes and pressing her lips to his throat, oh, how I love you…
“Sweetheart?”
She nodded, afraid to speak.
Zach drew her closer. “Are you all right?”
She smiled. “I’m wonderful.”
Laughing softly, he turned on his side, still holding her in the curve of his arm.
“Immodest woman.” He nuzzled a spill of damp, golden hair from her cheek and kissed her ear. “But it’s true, you are.”
Eve lifted her head, propped her chin on her hand and looked into his face.
“Well, if I am, you get half the credit.”
He grinned. “Thank you.”
Eve smiled, kissed him, then lay her head on his chest.
What would he say, she wondered, if she told him he got all the credit? That not only had their lovemaking been glorious but that she had never been with a man before? She knew Zach had no idea she’d been a virgin. He had made love to her so gently, so passionately, that she’d never felt inhibited or afraid.
As for the blood and pain all the books she’d read mentioned—well, there’d been none. There’d only been sweet, sweet pleasure and the sense of being made joyously, completely whole.
Eve sighed. She knew her view of sex had been warped by the ugly memory of her foster father’s attempted seduction. Still, she’d never dreamed lying in a man’s arms could be so—so…
“Perfect,” Zach whispered, rising above her. He smiled and kissed her, while his hand moved softly over her body.
Eve’s breath caught as he bent to her breast.
“Yes,” she whispered. “That’s the word. Perfect.”
His kisses trailed over her belly, down and down…
“Zach,” she whispered, and then she could think no more.
* * *
They made an improvised meal of canned rations some prior tenant had left in the cabin, but by the time they started down the mountain the next morning, they were starved.
Zach stopped at the first restaurant they came to in the foothills and ordered an enormous brunch.
“I’ll never eat all this,” Eve protested, when their meal arrived. But she did. Every crumb. She laughed and said she’d never eaten so much in her life, and Zach gave her a slow, sexy smile and said he never had, either. Their eyes met, and Eve flushed with pleasure.
It was a sunny, bright day, one Zach insisted was made for the beach. Eve agreed, and they drove all the way to Venice where they strolled the boardwalk, drinking chilled cappuccino and doing their best to keep out of the way of the roller bladers. At sunset, they took off their shoes and walked hand in hand through the surf, sharing kisses that tasted of sun and of the sea.
That night, after lobsters and white wine at a restaurant in Malibu, Zach drove Eve home.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered, after endless kisses in her darkened living room.
“I know,” she sighed, leaning back in his arms. “It’s been such a wonderful weekend, I don’t want it to end, either.”
“It doesn’t have to. Let me stay with you tonight.”
Eve’s smile tilted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s a great idea.”
She touched her finger to his lips. “We both have to go to work tomorrow, remember?”
“Yeah, but I know your boss. He’s a very understanding guy. He won’t mind if you come in a little late.”
“Hollywood’s a small town, Zach,” she said softly. “It thrives on gossip. I—I don’t want to be talked about.”
“Come on, Eve. This is the dawn of the twenty-first century. The sky’s not going to fall down if people know we’re lovers.”
But the fingers would point, the whispers would start—and she had had enough of that in her life. Tell him that, she thought, tell him about your foster father, about the way the rumor mill ground out its evil stories, even here in a place some called Sin City after Charles put her in charge of Triad.
She couldn’t. Not yet. Talking about those things was too painful and intimate, in some strange way even more intimate than what they’d shared in bed.
So she smiled and offered what she hoped was an explanation Zach would understand.
“I don’t think it would be good for Triad if people know about us.”
Zach gave a little laugh. “What the hell does Triad have to do with this?”
“Well—well, we’re working on Hollywood Wedding together, remember? You have to deal with people, I have to deal with people. How much authority would we have if people thought they could trade on our relationship with each other? I think it would be better if people saw us as sort of separate entities. Zach?” Eve rose on her toes and kissed his mouth. “Do you un
derstand?”
He didn’t, but how could he argue with her when she was in his arms? A man would have to be a fool or a saint, and he was neither.
“No,” he said, softening the word with a smile. “Not really. But if that’s the way you want it…” His hands slipped to her hips and he brought her body against his. “But if being seen as separate entities means I’m going to have to take a vow of chastity,” he said with a teasing laugh, “forget it.”
She put her arms around his neck. “No,” she whispered, “I wouldn’t want that.” They kissed, and then she put her hands gently against his chest. “Good night, Zach.”
Zach made a sound halfway between a laugh and a groan.
“Right.” He kissed her again, then let her go. At the door, he turned to her and smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Eve smiled at him. “Bright and early.”
But not bright and early enough, he thought as he headed for his car. He’d wanted to fall asleep with Eve in his arms, wake her with his kisses.
Didn’t she want the same thing?
Frowning, he got behind the wheel and drove off.
* * *
They plunged into work on Hollywood Wedding with renewed vigor. All the final details began falling into place.
Zach met again with Ed Brubeck, who said he’d be happy to do what he could, now that Eve was back on board. Other investors said much the same thing, and the money began to come in.
Eve arranged to have a photographer visit the cabin and take still shots. The set designer was sure he could duplicate the cabin without too much difficulty.
“Great,” Eve said, and concentrated her efforts on Dex and his agent.
It wasn’t easy. The agent was going to play hardball. He finally agreed that he might consider advising Dex to sign for the part, but he wanted concessions, she told Zach over a midweek lunch at one of the city’s newest watering holes.
“What kinds of concessions?” Zach asked suspiciously.
Eve made a face. “Impossible ones. He hasn’t put them on the table yet, but he’s hinting at bonuses, final cut approval and a rewrite of the script that would all but gut it.”