Natural Passion (Au Naturel Trilogy Book 1)

by Anna Durand

  I'd never before come inside a woman without a condom. She'd let me. She'd wanted me to do it. A feral part of me loved the idea that I'd branded her in this way, but mostly, I loved the intense intimacy of spilling myself inside this woman with nothing separating our bodies.

  We were both breathing hard and drenched. She laughed softly and tickled my nape with her fingertips. I chuckled and squeezed her ass.

  "Mmm," she hummed straight into my ear, her lips vibrating against my skin. "Water sex is awesome."

  I agreed, but I couldn't manage to speak yet. Being with Eve left me speechless. Maybe I should've worried about that. I didn't have the energy for worry, too relaxed to do anything except savor the warmth of her body and the afterglow of our lovemaking.

  Footsteps slapped farther down the trail, coming closer.

  Eve's head snapped up, and she craned her neck to peer down the trail.

  Heidi emerged from the woods. When she spotted us, her eyes widened, and she stumbled to a halt.

  "Oops!" she said, flinging a hand up to cover her mouth. "Sorry, guys, I didn't think—" She moved her hand away from her mouth to cover her eyes. "Didn't see a thing. I hate to interrupt, but some new guests have arrived."

  "New guests?" Eve pushed me away and whirled around, sloshing water over me. "I don't have any new bookings until next week."

  "Uh, they're not paying guests. It's your parents."

  "What?" Eve virtually screeched the word. She slapped her palms onto the ledge and hoisted her body out of the water, scrambling to get to her feet. Water sluiced off her skin and poured from her hair, but she didn't seem to notice. "When did they get here?"

  "A few minutes ago," Heidi said. She made a pained face. "They brought the whole gang."

  Eve went rigid and motionless as a granite statue, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Her voice was hushed, almost a whisper. "My brother and sister? The kids? Everyone?"

  "Yep."

  I heaved myself up out of the water and got to my feet. Coming up beside Eve, I slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Why do you look shocked? I would've thought you'd want to see your family."

  Only her eyes moved when she glanced at me. "I do, but not today. It's kind of a bad time."

  She looked me up and down, her eyebrows lifting. Her appraisal stalled at my dick.

  Ah yes, that. I wasn't fully aroused, but neither was I completely limp.

  Eve raced toward Heidi, grasped her shoulders, and spun her to face the trail. "Don't look back. Just go. Tell my family I'll be there in a few minutes. And please, do not under any circumstances let them come out here."

  "Aye-aye, captain," Heidi said with a smirk.

  She lowered her hand and trotted down the trail.

  Eve rushed to get dried off and get dressed.

  "Relax," I said, observing her frantic movements while I slipped on my sandals and toweled off. "Your parents know this is a nudist retreat. They won't be shocked to see me."

  She yanked her dress on over her head. It got stuck on her ear. She fumbled with it but seemed too frazzled to get it free.

  I unhooked the strap from her ear, and the dress fell into position. "You're panicking. Is it because of me?"

  She almost tripped getting her sandals on. "Ya think? I just had sex with a man I don't really know"—she flapped her arms, apparently to indicate the woods and the hot spring—"out here in the open. I took my clothes off outdoors where anyone might see me."

  Eve flapped her arms again and made a face I couldn't describe. Her upper lip curled even as her mouth fell open. Her nose crinkled. She squinted her eyes and shook her head. Maybe it was shock or embarrassment, but I'd never seen an expression like that before. It was adorable. Bizarre, but adorable.

  I grasped her shoulders. "Take a deep breath, Eve. This isn't as bad as you think."

  "Sure, not as bad." She nodded her head with so much vigor it must've jarred her brain. "My entire family is here, everyone knows you and I are having sex, and you walk around naked twenty-four seven. My parents aren't nudists, but hey, what's to worry about?"

  Her grin was sarcastic and slightly manic.

  I did the only thing I could do. I gave her a quick, hard kiss and then grasped her hand in mine to lead her back to the guest house and her home. She didn't complain about the hand-holding, a testament to her frazzled state. We walked out of the woods hand in hand.

  Eve froze, her eyes even wider.

  An older woman with blonde hair sprinted toward us, followed by an older man with a rim of gray hair around his large bald spot. The couple halted a few feet from me and Eve, taking in the sight of us—Eve in her skimpy, tie-dyed dress and me in…well, nothing.

  We'd forgotten the picnic basket, I suddenly realized.

  "Mom," Eve said, struggling to catch her breath. "Dad. Hi. I wasn't expecting you."

  Eve's mother squinted at me.

  Or rather, at my penis.

  Her lips quirked, and she puckered them like she was trying not to smile or maybe laugh. She aimed her eyes, bright blue like her daughter's, at me. "Who's your new friend, Evie?"

  I kept hold of Eve's hand but offered the other one to her mother. "Val Silva."

  Eve's mother shook my hand. "I'm Donna Holt. This is my husband, Larry."

  Mr. Holt shook my hand vigorously. "Nice to meet you, Val. We didn't know Eve was seeing anybody."

  The Holts smiled and tried very hard not to stare at my dick, though Mrs. Holt kept glancing at it, her lips twitching every time. I guessed Eve hadn't told them the resort rules.

  "I'm pleased to meet you too, Mr. and Mrs. Holt," I said. "You've raised quite a woman in Eve."

  The woman in question hadn't moved or closed her mouth. I wondered if she was breathing. Her chest was rising and falling, so I decided she wasn't in danger of passing out from lack of oxygen.

  "Call me Donna," Mrs. Holt said. "Or maybe you should call me Mom?"

  Eve roused from her catatonic state with a jolt, blinking rapidly. "Mom, honestly, I met Val this week."

  "Mm-hmm." She swept her gaze over me again. "But you must really like him. You were holding hands when you came back from the hot spring, where you'd been all alone together."

  "Yeah," Mr. Holt said, "and you haven't called us since last Thursday. When Mom texted you the other day, you claimed to be too busy for that. We knew something was up, and Donna bet me fifty bucks it was a boy."

  No one had called me a boy in at least fifteen years.

  Mr. Holt clapped me on the shoulder. "Call me Larry. Dad can wait until the wedding's arranged."

  Eve spluttered for a moment before she managed to speak. "We're not engaged, for Christ's sake. I haven't called because I've been busy. A pipe burst in the guest house and then I had to fire Quentin—"

  "Oh, we heard about that," Donna said. She threw an arm around her daughter's shoulders and urged her to walk. "Heidi filled us in on the soap opera, and on your new beau."

  Larry gripped my shoulder hard. "Let's have a little man-to-man chat while the girls catch up. What do you say?"

  What could I say? "Of course, let's chat."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Eve

  My dad dragged Val away from the crowd that had gathered around us. I watched the two of them retreating from view behind the throng of guests and wondered what on earth my father was up to. He never interrogated my boyfriends. Not that Val was my boyfriend. What was he, then? My lover, I supposed. I did not want to tell my parents that, though I had my suspicions the other guests had spilled those beans long before Val and I traipsed out of the woods.

  What should I say to my parents? Hey, guess what, I'm screwing a virtual stranger who made a notorious sex tape and used to strip in public. You can probably catch video of both on YouTube.

  Since Val said he had the sex tape on his phone, I supposed my parents didn't need internet access to view my lover's past escapades. If they asked, he would show them
. He was just that kind of shameless exhibitionist.

  And I loved that side of him.

  I must've lost my mind, right? Sleeping with a man I barely knew. Getting naked outdoors. Heidi had seen us in the hot spring. I hadn't been caught getting it on with a guy since my sophomore year of college when my brother Andrew had barged into my dorm room unannounced. He'd wanted to surprise me with a visit. Oh yeah, I'd been surprised all right. My brother had gotten a good look at my tits before his face turned crimson and he scampered back into the hallway. Andrew and I never told a soul about that incident.

  Somehow, today had been more embarrassing. I was a grown woman, thirty years old, not a college sophomore. But this time, everyone knew what I'd been doing with a guy.

  Bye-bye, privacy.

  "Evie," my mom said, "why didn't you tell us you have a beau?"

  I'd never been good at lying to my mom, so I told the truth—partially. "It's not like that. Val and I met four days ago. Please don't start planning the wedding."

  Yeah, I omitted the fact neither I nor Val wanted a romantic entanglement, much less a commitment.

  Mom slung an arm around my shoulders and gave me a good squeeze. "You might be my baby, but you're an adult. I won't judge your choices. Have I ever complained about one of your boyfriends, even the ones I didn't like?"

  "No."

  "I like Val."

  "You met him five seconds ago."

  She tipped her head side to side, then gave a decisive nod. "I can tell if a man is good or bad news in thirty seconds or less. Val is a good one."

  If she knew about his past, would she feel the same way?

  Why did I care? Val was fun to be with and gave me awesome orgasms. End of story.

  My brother and sister ran up to us, all grins and chuckles. Andrew had that gleam in his eyes that always meant he was about to razz me big time.

  "Hey, Evie," he said, giving me a quick hug. "Hope you don't mind the surprise visit. Didn't know we'd be breaking up your private party."

  Krista's lips twitched like she was trying not to smirk. "Must've been some party. You're all flushed, Evie."

  "Don't tease your sister," Mom said. "Can't you see she's embarrassed enough already? But Evie, really, you don't need to be embarrassed. I'm glad you've found a man who makes you happy."

  "Mom," I moaned, "I told you Val is not my boyfriend."

  Andrew's grin turned positively goofy. "Not your boyfriend? You run off into the woods with lots of naked guys?"

  "This is a nudist resort."

  "Sure, but you were out in the woods with him all alone." He pointed at my dress. "And your dress is on backwards."

  What? How had I not noticed that? Val hadn't seemed to notice either.

  Before I could snarl at my brother, our mom said, "Be nice, Andy. Oh, what is your father doing over there? I'd better make sure he isn't giving Val a hard time."

  My brother snickered and grinned some more. "I bet Val can handle himself fine. Can't he, Eve?"

  Our mom smacked his arm on her way past him. She headed for the secluded spot on the other side of the lawn where my father had cornered my lover.

  Krista sidled up to me and murmured, "Good job, Evie. Val is smokin' hot."

  I wasn't sure what good job I'd done and decided I didn't want to know. Krista had a filthy mind.

  My sister adopted a sarcastically dramatic tone of voice when she whispered, "Ollie told us Val is staying in your house."

  "Uh, yeah, his room in the guest house got flooded by a burst pipe."

  Krista leaned in closer, her face millimeters from mine. "Was that an accident, or did the pipe have a little help bursting?"

  "Very funny." I settled one hand on my hip. "The pipe broke before Val even got here. I had no idea what he looked like or who he was. All I knew was his name. He might've been a pudgy sixty-year-old who smelled like cigar smoke."

  "But he's not. He is one guy who absolutely should be a nudist." She glanced in Val's direction and sighed wistfully. "I love my fiancé, but Jeremy wouldn't know a weight machine if it dropped onto his head."

  "Muscles aren't everything," Andrew said. He clucked his tongue and spoke in a tone of mock chastisement. "Shame on you, Kris. Aren't you supposed to love your fiancé for who he is, not what he looks like?"

  "Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a beautiful man. Val is eye candy." She winked at me. "Except to Eve. I bet he's all sorts of other kinds of candy for her."

  "Ech," Andrew said, feigning a dry heave. "Don't make me hurl."

  With an inward groan, I resigned myself to my fate. Today was going to be a blast.

  Of the atomic bomb variety.

  I loved my family, but really, could they have a chosen a worse moment to pop in for a surprise visit? I guessed I ought to be grateful they hadn't all tramped down the trail to the hot spring with Heidi.

  Andrew scanned his gaze over the lawn until he spotted Val and our parents. His brows squished together. "I'd swear I've seen Val somewhere before."

  Oh God, don't let my brother have seen the sex tape.

  Even if he hadn't, Ollie knew about Val's past and might've blabbed to Andrew.

  "Man, I wish I could remember," Andrew said, frowning and shaking his head. "Is Val an actor or something?"

  I kept my trap shut, sealed with invisible duct tape.

  "Yeah," Krista said, "now that you mention it, he does seem familiar."

  Jeremy, Krista's fiancé, jogged up to us. "Hey, Eve, great to see you." He hugged me and slipped an arm around Krista while still watching me. "Why didn't you tell us you have a famous guest?"

  "Famous?" Krista said. "You know who he is? We've been trying to figure out why Val looks familiar, but Eve won't tell us."

  "He's Val Silva, the soccer champ who took the Brazilian team to the Olympics and scored the goal that won them a gold medal."

  Please, please, please let that be all he knows.

  "An athlete?" Krista said. "Well, that explains the sizzlin' bod."

  "Yeah, he was an athlete," Jeremy said. "I think he's a model now. He used to like to strip buck naked at the end of every winning game."

  Aw, fuck. Why did I have such sucky luck? I'd met Jeremy several times before, but I didn't know him well. Why couldn't he be the kind of guy who played video games all day? No, of course he had to be a soccer fan.

  Krista looked at me like she'd never seen me before. "Evie hooked up with an exhibitionist?"

  Jeremy squinted like he was thinking hard. His expression brightened, and he lifted a finger. "I remember the rest. Val Silva was notorious for being a nudist, but he got to be really infamous after everybody saw his sex tape."

  I winced. Double fuck with a side of shit and a goddamn on top. The universe was punishing me for all my past transgressions. Sleeping with Cody and Aaron. Sleeping with Quentin. Spying on Val while he gave himself a happy ending, getting naked with Val in public, doing him in the hot spring, the list went on and on. Since Val arrived, I'd become a sex-crazed moron.

  No, I hadn't done anything wrong. So what if everyone knew about Val's sex tape? I had no desire to get entangled in a relationship with him. His past had no bearing on my life or anything we did together. A surprise visit from my family had knocked me off balance, that was all.

  My sister gaped at me, though I got the impression it wasn't all horror. There seemed to be a bit of awe in there too. "Evie, you naughty girl. No wonder you're glowing. A man like Val could perk up any woman."

  I crossed my arms over my chest and said nothing, hoping my small smile came off as enigmatic.

  "Everybody thinks I'm the bad girl in the family," Krista said. "All I did was flash my tits during Mardi Gras. But Evie, you… Wow, I didn't know you had a wild streak."

  She sounded impressed rather than disgusted.

  I excused myself to mingle with my guests, claiming I needed to check on whether they needed anything. Really, I needed a
break from the pseudo-inquisition from my smart-mouthed siblings. For the rest of the day, I juggled spending time with my family and struggling to take care of my guests at the same time. When Dad and Andrew heard about the burst pipe, they insisted on fixing things for me. Val volunteered to help them, but they needed supplies first.

  Val insisted I go with him into town to get those supplies.

  And yeah, he wore clothes.

  Well, sort of. His shorts were so short and tight they could've passed for briefs. His short-sleeve shirt was looser-fitting. He'd opted to wear the same sandals he'd had on when we sneaked off to the hot spring. No matter what he wore, he looked good enough to lick and nibble and fondle from head to toe.

  Mm, I'd done all of that this week.

  I drove the truck, though Val tried to talk me into letting him take the wheel.

  "You're a guest," I said. "It's bad enough you insist on helping with the repairs. I am not letting you drive. Enjoy the scenery like a good little tourist."

  "Are you upset about what happened? Your family knows about us."

  "Everyone knows." I glanced at him sideways. "I'm sorry about the parental inquisition. My dad has never done that before."

  "Should I be offended or flattered he gave me special treatment?"

  "Not sure." I steered the truck around a corner while I thought about whether to tell him what my sister and brother had figured out. What the hell. Val wouldn't care. "Andrew and Krista know about your, um, antics on the football field. Krista's fiancé, Jeremy, recognized you. And he had also seen the sex tape."

  "I know. Jeremy, Andrew, and I had a good long chat. They're very protective of you."

  "Yeah, Andrew is. I don't know Jeremy all that well, so I doubt he was being protective."

  "He definitely was. Face it, Eve, everyone loves you."

  My pulse sped up. Everyone loved me? He didn't mean to include himself in that statement, for sure. Did I wish he had?

  No, of course not. We'd known each other for a matter of days.