Beauty and the Feast (15 page)

* * * *

Gabe stepped out of the shower. He toweled off quickly and pulled on a pair of worn blue jeans that hung low on his narrow hips. He’d heard Eva downstairs and although he was in a hurry to see her, he wanted to wash off the travel dust first. He shook the water from his hair and walked over to the window. He was about to open it when he caught sight of Eva out by the pool. He saw her pick up one of his old shirts, one he left out there to pull on whenever the sun began to burn his shoulders. He watched as she brought the shirt to her face and inhaled deeply. The corner of Gabe’s mouth twitched. He imagined she was trying to smell him, to see if he’d worn it recently. He hadn’t. Gabe was about to turn, thinking he’d join her at the pool, when he saw her take a quick look around, as if she wondered if anyone was spying on her. Suddenly she turned her back to the house and pulled off her top.

“Fuck me,” Gabe hissed through gritted teeth as he felt his cock swell against the zipper of his jeans.

Down went her shorts and Gabe sucked in a ragged breath. It was going to be now. He would have her right now…from behind, and it was going to be hard, and he was going to squeeze that sweet ass in his hands while he pumped into her.

He hurried down the stairs, strode through the kitchen and quietly stepped out onto the patio. He heard a splash as Eva dove into the water. As he approached the pool, he took a moment to appreciate her long, strong, athletic, overhead stroke and the kick of her smooth legs. Gabe stepped right into the pool and stood motionless on the stairs, water soaking the bottom of his jeans. He waited for her to swim close.

As Eva neared the shallow end, Gabe watched her movements slow. She pulled her legs beneath her and stood up, rising from the water like a Venus from the sea. A lovely, furious Venus from the sea. His shirt clung to her, transparent now, hugging her every curve like a second skin. Better than a second skin, because Gabe could see, yet not see. The pink peaks of her nipples pressed against the material, the auburn hair of her mound shown dark and wet beneath the white cotton. A sleeve of the large shirt had slipped down, exposing a bare, velvety shoulder. Eva tossed back her thick mane of hair as she approached him. Gabe could see the anger in her eyes, but he deliberately ignored it. His throbbing cock refused to let him attend to anything other than those rosy nipples. His eyes remained fixed on Eva’s chest. He had to take one in his mouth. Now.

“Look at me,” she demanded, her voice pitched low.

“I am looking,” replied Gabe, his voice equally low, hoarse with desire as he reached for her arms and drew her to him.

One hand brushed her shoulder, pushing the shirt down further, exposing her breast with its pink tip. Gabe watched, fascinated, when her nipple peaked even more as a breeze passed between them. He lowered his mouth to her and he felt her chest expand as she inhaled abruptly. She exhaled on a moan.

“Stop,” he heard her say in a weak voice, while at the same time, her hands buried themselves in his hair, drawing him closer.

He shook his head, “no,” in reply, as his tongue circled the hard rosebud. He took it in his mouth and sucked, rolling her nipple against his palate. Nipping at her. He heard tiny whimpers escape her throat as his free hand pulled the shirt away from her other breast. She felt delightfully cold and wet beneath his fingers, cool and tasty in his mouth. He leaned Eva back over one arm and licked his way to the other peak. She gripped his shoulders. He could feel her nails digging into his flesh as he sucked and nibbled at her sensitive tip.

“Oh, Gabe, you bastard,” she groaned.

Suddenly her cool hands slid down his bare back. She reached his buttocks and she cupped them through his jeans, pulling him close, pressing herself against his steely length. Gabe growled in response and he lifted his head. He looked into her eyes and he caught the anger mingled with pure lust. The anger he didn’t understand, the lust, he shared. Staring into those big brown eyes, daring her to say no, he slowly lifted the hem of the shirt. His fingers trailed along the flesh of her thigh, leaving goose bumps in their wake. As he watched, she closed her eyes and her head fell backward in a mute gesture of surrender.

“Fuck,” Eva whispered.

“That’s my intention,” Gabe rasped. “If you really want me to stop, it’s now or never.”

“Damn you, Gabe,” she cried out. “Don’t you stop. Don’t you dare stop.”

Gabe tore the shirt from her slender form and lifted her naked body in his arms. He swung her around and headed toward the house. Eva offered no resistance. She molded her wet body against his hard chest, nibbling on his shoulder with her teeth, sucking greedily on the tendons in his neck. Gabe knew he’d never make it up the stairs. Shoving objects out of the way, he lay Eva down on the dining room table and he unzipped his jeans. His cock sprang free, hard, thick and long. He watched Eva reach for him. She ran the fingers of both hands up and down his length. Gabe gritted his teeth. If she wasn’t careful, he’d come in her hands.

Gabe spread her legs and her folds opened to him, rose red and glistening with moisture. Hers, water from the pool. God. He had to feel her, taste her. He slid a finger inside her, then two, watching as her opening contracted around him.

“Oh my God,” he heard her utter as he went down on his knees and spread her further. He wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her toward his mouth. He ran his tongue around her clit, over the swollen bud, circling her opening. Sampling her as if she was a tasting menu. Eva thrashed on the table. From a distance, Gabe heard something crash to the floor. He ignored it. Instead, he concentrated on her sweet-savory taste, on the satiny texture of her on his tongue and his lips. He held her quivering thighs still with his hands and he began to suck. Within seconds, Eva arched her body against his mouth and she began to convulse wildly.

“Oh God,” she cried. “Oh God, yes…yes…Gabe. Yes. Please…please…”

After a moment, when her contractions had faded, Gabe lifted his head. “Please what, Eva?”

“Please fuck me.”

“Yes, Eva.”

Gabe rose to his feet. As if she weighed no more than a feather, he flipped Eva onto her stomach and lifted her onto her hands and knees. He grabbed her bottom with one hand and spread her legs with the other, exposing her fully. Gabe heard Eva sob, a low, keening sound, and he knew he had to get inside her. Now. He wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and dipped it into her cream, spreading it over his thick head, rubbing it over her clit. Teasing her until he could tell that she was once again on the brink of orgasm.

“Gabe,” Eva begged, “Gabe…fuck me. For God’s sake, fuck me.”

He tried. Damn, she was tight. Tight as a virgin. Gabe met with fierce resistance when he tried to enter her. Eva cried out.

“Easy sweetheart. Easy…shhhh…” Gabe panted as he attempted to get himself under control. Christ, he was ready to explode and he’d barely gotten inside her. “You can take me. You can take all of me.”

He reached a hand around and found her clit. He began to stroke her, his touch gentle. A moan escaped Eva’s lips and she tossed her head back. Gabe used the fingers of his other hand to caress her opening along the side of his cock. Gabe felt her muscles relax and before she could tense again, he thrust into her in one smooth motion. Eva gasped.

“Oh…fuck yes…” he heard himself say as he pressed his stomach up against her sweet ass, buried in her to the hilt. “Yes…Eva… Yes…that’s it…that’s right. Just like that,” and he began to pump in and out of her, watching himself, watching her. My God, she was luscious. She felt hot, she felt wet, and she fit him like a supple, skintight glove. She fit him better than any woman he’d ever had or ever dreamed of having.

Gabe didn’t know how long he could last, but he wanted to feel Eva come with his cock deep inside her. He heard her cries and he knew she was close. Gabe leaned over and reached for her breast. He rolled a nipple between his thumb and his forefinger and he pinched the tight little bud while his other hand continued to caress her clitoris. He could feel her muscle contractions begin and when he heard Eva practically growl his name he stood up straight and plunged into her, hard and fast, claiming her for himself. Eva screamed as her own climax took hold of her even as her body milked him, unconsciously urging him to join her. Gabe did so with a deep, visceral groan. When his seed exploded against her womb, he felt as if he’d caught fire and he was burning out of control from the tips of his toes to the ends of his hair. Jesus. His last coherent thought was,
my little chef is some kind of woman
.

Eva felt as if she was being roughly tossed between heaven and hell. Heaven lay in Gabe’s arms, his still firm cock buried in her. So did hell. How could he make love to her like that, if he didn’t care? Not only had he made love to her, it was as if he’d
taken
her, caveman style. How could he be so possessive, so forceful, so powerful, if he wanted someone else? How could he make her come like that, Eva shivered, harder than she’d never come in her entire life, if he didn’t have any feelings for her?

“You’re cold,” she heard Gabe say, and he withdrew from her.

A whimper escaped her. She couldn’t help it. Her body felt almost unbearably empty without Gabe to fill her up. Eva knew tears were running down her face and she couldn’t seem to stop them. Helpless in his hands, Gabe turned her around.

His hands were on her wet cheeks and he was kissing her. He hadn’t kissed her before he’d fucked her. Before he’d claimed her with such ferocity. Now he kissed her as though she meant everything to him. As though she was that special woman he was seeing. His lips were soft and full and soothing. She felt him trying to kiss her tears away and she was tempted to let him. She heard him say her name in his deep sexy voice, over and over again. She had to stop him, now.

“How…” Eva sobbed, “How could you…make me…make me do this? How could you make love to me…like this…when…when…you have…you have someone else? How could you do this, Gabe?” She turned away from him and covered her face with her hands.

“Someone else? What are you talking about, sweetheart? There’s no one else.”

Eva heard the certainty in his voice and she lifted her face to his. She studied his eyes. They appeared guileless. Eva asked herself if it was possible that she’d misunderstood Marsha, but then she remembered her words, that Gabe had invited a woman, someone special.

“No,” Eva shook her head vigorously. “Marsha told me. She said…” Eva began to hiccup. “She said that you’d invited a woman to the barbecue…someone special…that I was cooking for someone special. How could we do this? How could you make me think that…?” Eva crumbled against him. She was shocked to feel his chest shake with laughter. Eva’s head shot up. “You son of a bitch!” she yelled through her tears. “You’re laughing! You’re laughing at me. You mother fucking son of a bitch!”

“That’s better,” Gabe spoke, laughter still in his voice. “There’s the foul-mouthed little chef I’ve come to love.”

Eva wrenched her arm from his grasp and hauled it back to slug him. Gabe grabbed her wrist before she could connect. “You little idiot,” he said, “it’s you. You’re the special woman I want everyone to meet tomorrow. It’s you, Eva. You.”

“Me?” she squealed.

“Yes,” Gabe grinned, “you. Now bring that truck driver mouth of yours over here so I can kiss it again.”

“But Marsha…”

“Shut up about Marsha.”

“But…”

Gabe’s mouth descended upon hers, effectively cutting off any further conversation. When she opened her eyes, Eva saw that Gabe had stripped off his jeans. She shrieked with surprise as he scooped her up from the table and slung her over his shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

“To bed, my dear…to bed. No more talking.” Gabe bit her hip and Eva quickly reached down and smacked him on his bare ass.

“Ow,” he yelped.

“Hey,” mumbled Eva, her voice quaking as her head bounced upside down while Gabe took the stairs two at a time. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” replied Gabe, tossing her onto his bed. “Because I can think of quite a few things that are good for the gander.”

“Mmmmm,” was all Eva could manage. She curled against Gabe’s side and rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder. She felt his arm tighten beneath her, his hand stroked the curve of her naked hip.

“You are a beauty, my Eva,” Gabe’s voice was soft, admiring.

Eva turned her face into his chest. She knew she was blushing. “Thank you,” she whispered, “but I’ve always considered myself average. You, on the other hand, are definitely the most amazing man I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh,” Gabe replied, “You are far from average. A word of advice, when a man… this man… gives you a compliment like that, a simple thank you will suffice. I’m not fishing.”

“I didn’t think you were,” said Eva. “It’s just…it’s just…Gabe?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you think I’m easy?”

Gabe lift his head to look at her.

“Easy? There’s nothing easy about you. You are a very complicated woman.”

“That’s not what I mean. What I mean is…well…I let you…even though I thought you were with someone else, I let you…we…don’t make me say it, please.”