“Yeah?” He scrabbled around on the carpet, found a condom somewhere and rolled it onto his still enormous erection. “May I try to fix you?”
“With that?” She pointed in pretend horror.
“Well, of course. It’s my very best tool.”
“Argh! You will have to pay for that horrible pun!” She spread her legs open, arms equally open, inviting him. “Come take your punishment.”
“Like a man, I will.” He lay over her, his face suddenly serious, ran his hands through her hair, coming up with a still-clinging seal. “You are beautiful, Eva. Amazing. I’m crazy about you.”
I love you. Her arms went around his neck; he entered her slowly. They made love with gentle rocking, gazing into each other’s eyes, until the feeling was so intense she had to close hers. How could she leave this man? But she couldn’t stay. Not only was California her home, but Chris would be wanting her life and her shop back.
“Eva.” Her name brought her back. Ames was pushing harder now, breathing harder. He was on his way to coming, and she wanted to be there with him.
Tilting her pelvis up to create more friction, she bore down hard on him, answering each thrust.
“Eva.” He held her tightly, muscles straining in his neck and shoulders as his body worked. “You are going to make me come so hard I might break you again.”
“Go ahead,” she whispered. “Try.”
A sharp breath turned into a groan and then a shout as his jaw tightened, his thrusts became fierce and fast, then stopped as he came inside her.
They lay panting for a long while, arms wrapped around each other. Eva refused to allow any thoughts to enter her mind but immense satisfaction, thorough enjoyment of his warm body pressed against hers.
Finally, Ames lifted his head and glanced at the clock over the fireplace. “I hate to say this, but we should probably get dressed.”
“Yes.” She loosened her grip, all the complicated thoughts flooding back. All they had to face, tonight and in the next week.
“Did I break you?” His touch on her face was achingly tender.
“No.” She forced a smile, ran her fingers through his thick soft hair. No, he hadn’t broken her body. But after tonight there was no more uncertainty. It was totally within his power to break her heart.
13
AMES WAITED IN the living room, fully dressed, pacing. Yes, he was nervous. He’d committed himself to taking Eva to the dinner and he had no regrets, nothing but certainty that he’d done the right thing, for her and for himself.
How his boss, Mr. Boyce, would take Eva was another matter. Ames didn’t like his boss’s ultraconservative attitude toward dress and behavior, but he understood it was part of business, living up to the revered decades-old corporate image of neat, professional appearance as well as integrity of action.
Nothing said Ames couldn’t become involved with a woman outside Boyce’s narrow definition of what passed for appropriate around clients. It was just that no one else in the company had. Besides the annual client dinner, the only place Ames had seen such elegant gowns was on the red carpet in Hollywood. Total waste of time and money to his way of thinking, but that’s how it was. When he met Eva it had seemed impossible he’d ever be escorting her to an event like this, but for different reasons than the ones he still worried about tonight. Back then he’d worried only about being embarrassed by her. Now he was worried she’d be treated poorly, snubbed, looked down at, whispered about. And that if that happened, he’d lose his cool and cause some kind of scene. He’d already proved to himself over the drunk harassing her that Eva brought out some pretty fierce protective emotions in him.
Not ingredients that promised a calm evening.
For his part, he’d made as much of a concession as he could, given the wardrobe limits for men. He’d gone out and bought a tuxedo with a Mandarin collar, not exactly wildly rebellious, but definitely not what other guys at the dinner would be wearing. He’d also kept in his earring, which he never wore for business.
Maybe he was worrying for nothing. Maybe no one would even blink at Eva’s hair and outrageous clothes. But this was the least he could do to support her, to show her he cared, that she was worth it.