Beauty and the Feast

by Julia Barrett

  Eva smiled then, as she stepped toward him, kicking the bathroom door closed behind her. Gabe took her hand and pulled her beneath the water, bringing her hard against his chest. She was immediately soaked to the skin.

  “Your breasts are glorious,” he said in a low voice, palming them roughly through the lace. “God, I love the way you look in anything. You could be wearing shapeless overalls and a filthy work shirt and I’d still want to fuck you senseless.”

  With Gabe’s hands busy on her body, Eva found that her mind had nothing intelligible to say. She moaned as one of his fingers slipped beneath her lace panties.

  “Um…wet…” he murmured in her ear, sliding a finger inside her while his teeth tugged on her earlobe.

  Feeling utterly boneless now, Gabe easily maneuvered her against the shower wall. His mouth moved downwards and he sucked on the sensitive junction between her neck and her shoulder. Somehow, that spot seemed to run in a straight line directly to her clit. Between the sensation of his mouth on her neck and his finger between her legs, Eva became so aroused she found herself unable to move a muscle. She heard herself whimper like a little kitten. She felt Gabe pull the cups of her wet bra down. She knew the pressure of the straps had thrust her breasts forward, directly into his waiting mouth. He sucked hungrily on one nipple while he rolled the other nipple between a thumb and forefinger. As he pulled his mouth away from her erect tip, he bit down with just enough pressure to make her squeal, thrusting two fingers into her at the same time.

  Eva would have fallen then if Gabe hadn’t leaned into her, pressing his erection against her stomach. Eva ached to take his length into her hands, but her hands wouldn’t seem to cooperate. Despite her admonition, they stayed glued to the shower wall while his mouth explored her face, finally finding her lips. He pressed his against hers. She parted her lips in response, allowing him to enter. Gabe’s kisses were so sensuous, so full, so generous, that every time he kissed her it was as if she’d never been kissed before in her entire life.

  “God, you taste good,” he murmured, lifting his head. “You taste like smoke and marshmallows and chocolate and barbecue sauce. Tell me, Eva, do you want to come? Do you want me to make you come now? Right now?”

  “Mmmmm,” she managed to reply.

  “That’s not good enough, lover. Say it. Tell me to make you come. Tell me.”

  “Gabe… I… I…”

  “You what? What? Say it.”

  “Oh God, Gabe, make me come,” Eva exhaled.

  “Please? You forgot please.”

  “P…p…please…please make me come, Gabe. Please…make…me…come.”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  With a firm hand on her shoulder, Gabe kept her pinned to the shower wall. He kissed her, long and slow, and lowered his mouth to an aching nipple. He moved his fingers so that they slid beneath her panties along her thigh. He rubbed, slow and deliberate, through her slick folds, skimming his fingertips over her clit and into her opening. Eva began to shake and she wondered if her legs were about to give out.

  Gabe lifted his head. “Stand there,” he ordered her, his voice firm, and he dropped to his knees.

  Eva desperately pressed her back to the dripping stone wall, while Gabe spread her legs. His fingers thrusting inside her, he laid his mouth against the front of her panties and bit down, right onto her clit. Eva screamed as she felt the beginning of an orgasm. Gabe didn’t stop. He sucked against her panties, taking her nub into his mouth, his fingers thrusting, sending her over the edge again and again, until exhausted, Eva finally dropped, the shower spraying over her head and shoulders. Gabe caught her in his arms and sat her gently on the wet floor. He stripped her panties from her and pulled her toward him. He lifted her up and supported her above his erect cock. He felt hard, thick and hot against her opening.

  “Shall I fuck you?” Gabe asked.

  “Yes…please…” Eva said in a small voice.

  “When?”

  “Now.”

  “You’re sure? Now? You want it now?”

  “Yes…oh…yes… Please God, yes…”

  Gabe slid his entire length into her in one motion.

  “Oh, God,” Eva gasped.

  “No, my sweet and tasty Eva,” Gabe whispered, “Oh, Gabe.” And then he laughed huskily.

  A semi-hysterical giggle escaped Eva as Gabe stretched her out on the floor of his luxurious shower, holding her arms above her head with one hand, the other hand playing with her up-thrust breasts.

  Completely oblivious to the water pouring over them, firmly in control of her, Gabe rocked his hips against her, deliberately bumping against her clit with every thrust.

  “Oh fuck,” Eva cried, whipping her head back and forth against the shower floor.

  “That’s right, that’s right…damn…” Gabe bent his head and slowed his movements, trying to remain in control.

  “Don’t,” Eva cried. “God, don’t stop. Come, Gabe. Come for me now.”

  “Say please,” Gabe gritted out through clenched teeth.

  “Please…” Eva wailed as she felt her own orgasm begin.

  “Yes… Eva…”

  Gabe’s thrust into her, hard and deep. His mouth pressed roughly against hers and she opened for him, parting her lips even as she spread her legs wider to allow him deeper access. As her inner muscles began to contract around him, Eva could feel Gabe’s cock shudder within her, and then she felt the heat of his ejaculation against the mouth of her womb. An involuntary cry tore from her lips, only to be swallowed by the sound of Gabe’s deep, raw, guttural growl.

  For a brief moment, Eva forgot where she was. When she finally opened her eyes, Gabe lay over her, panting, spent. His eyes were closed. Water poured over his head and ran down onto her cheeks. She wasn’t certain that the water all came from the shower. It was possible that she’d been crying.

  Gabe opened his eyes and grinned at her. “That’s never happened to me before,” he stated.

  “What?” Eva asked, wiping some of the water away from her eyes.

  “I don’t know… Whatever that was,” he replied.

  “Me neither,” she admitted.

  Gabe withdrew from her with a groan. He got to his knees and reached up, turning the water off. He pulled Eva up with him.

  “What do you say we sleep on it?” He asked.

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Eva answered him, with a matching grin. “But you’ll have to help me to bed. I think I’ve melted.”

  “C’mon, we can help each other.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Eva anticipated a busy week, for both of them. Gabe had already forewarned her that he would need to stay in the city to catch up on everything he’d left undone while he was in Chicago. That actually worked out well for her. Dr. and Mrs. White had hired ATAP and Eva to cater Jason’s graduation party on Sunday. They wanted a deli-style buffet and a big, decorated sheet cake. Eva had already discussed the menu at length with Jason. She figured he and his friends were the ones she really wanted to please, and his palate had grown more sophisticated since she became their part-time cook. She could get his cake completed and in the freezer early and then concentrate on the buffet all day Saturday and Sunday morning. She’d already arranged for Miriam and Ruth to serve.

  Jason and his parents had considerately invited Eva to attend the reception as a guest. She’d wondered aloud if she could bring a date. Dr. and Mrs. White thought that was a fine idea, but when she and Jason were alone, he bristled at the notion that she was seeing someone. Eva reminded him that his girlfriend would have a field day with that one. He eventually simmered down and asked her about the guy. He was quite impressed to learn the guy was Gabriel Abbott. Eva laughed when the young man demanded that she divulge every detail. She deliberately kept her description of all events relating to Gabe spare and as vague as possible.

  “Don’t worry,” said Jason, patting her thigh, “I’ll talk to him on Sunday. I’ll make sure he treats you right. Has he tak
en you on a private tour of his vineyard yet?”

  “Actually… no,” Eva said. Visiting the vineyard hadn’t even occurred to her. The corner of her mouth twitched. They hadn’t really had the time, what with all the sex and so on and so forth.

  “What are you grinning about?” asked Jason.

  “Oh,” laughed Eva, her cheeks coloring. “I was thinking about what I’ll write on your cake.”

  “Like hell you were!” Jason accused her. “You were thinking about him.” The young man clutched at his chest. “I feel so betrayed.”

  “Jason,” Eva rolled her eyes, “Don’t be such a drama queen.”

  “A drama queen? A drama queen? I’ve bided my time for an entire year and the minute I graduate from high school, you throw me over in two seconds for some rich dude. Hey, you think he can get me some money for a start-up?”

  “You little jerk!” Eva gave Jason a shove off the couch.

  “What can I say?” winked Jason. “I’m an opportunist. So remember, three layers, two chocolate, espresso in the middle, chocolate mousse in between, and I want that chocolate glaze over the top, not butter cream. No flowers, no sprinkles and no writing. No girlie stuff. Got it?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Is that what you call Gabriel?”

  “Jason, you shit! Get the hell out of here.”

  “Ah…ah…ah, potty mouth.”

  Eva tossed his soccer bag at him. “Get,” she said.

  Jason sauntered out the front door, leaving Eva to her cleaning. Five days without Gabriel Abbott. Well, she’d spent the previous week without him, and the week before that, and the week before that, and the week before that, ad nauseam. But things had changed since their initial phone conversation. Was it really only three weeks since she’d first spoken with him? God, that was hard to believe. Eva felt as if she’d known him far longer than that. It seemed like the man had been in her life for many years. Gabe had managed to become an integral part of both her inner and outer worlds. How weird was that?

  * * * *

  Despite the fact that he had Eva on his brain, Gabe concentrated on his work. The sooner he wrapped things up, the sooner the week would be over and he could return to Napa and her bed. There was a big backlog on his desk and in his computer’s inbox. After several hours of answering email requests and returning phone calls, he asked Marsha into his private office. They needed to begin scheduling interviews for promising high school juniors and seniors. Most years, Gabe traveled to interviews during the month of June. His first stop, as always, would be Chicago, provided Father Joe felt well enough to participate. If not, he’d put his visit off until early July. Gabe had printed up the list of students who had been referred to Abbott Industries.

  “Marsha,” he said, holding a stack of paper in his hand, “I’d like to go over this list with you. Maybe we can whittle it down until it’s manageable, but I’d also like to help as many of these kids as we can. Even if it’s just with a partial. Do you mind spending a few hours with me this afternoon?”

  “No problem,” Marsha replied. “I can spare as much time as it takes.”

  Marsha stood at his desk for a moment. Gabe looked up. It seemed as if she wanted to ask him something.

  “Yes? You got something on your mind, Marsha?”

  “Eva,” she said simply.

  Gabe raised his eyebrows. “What about Eva?”

  “I like her,” said Marsha. “I like her a lot. If she’s just another cog in your wheel, Gabriel, then…well… I think you know what I’m getting at.”

  Gabe wasn’t angry at her inference. He’d known Marsha a long time. They were good friends. Most of the time, no matter how uncomfortable it made him, she addressed him as Mr. Abbott. That was for public consumption. When they were alone, she always called him Gabriel or, as in this case, when something was important to her and she wanted to remind him of their long association.

  “Yeah, I know what you’re getting at,” he said, walking out from behind his desk. He leaned against it and crossed his arms. “She’s a lot more than a fling. She’s… Eva’s… I’m not sure I can explain how I feel about her, other than to tell you that I think I’m in love with her. And that is for your ears only. I need a little time to digest this. It’s a brand new feeling for me. Why? She say something to you?”

  “We talked,” Marsha admitted. “She’s a private person and she kept her end of the conversation pretty noncommittal, but I got the distinct impression that she cares for you, quite a bit. Not only that, but she seems surprised.”

  “Surprised?”

  “Yes. Surprised that a man like you would be interested, seriously interested, in a woman like her.”

  Gabe looked confused.

  “She feels a bit…well, I guess a bit undereducated for you. Do you understand? Like she’s not quite the sophisticated sort of woman you’d want to show off at the symphony. She’s pretty down to earth. There’s nothing pretentious about her at all. With Eva, I’m guessing that what you see is what you get.”

  “That’s one of the things I find so attractive about her,” protested Gabe. “There’s not a dishonest or disingenuous bone in the woman’s body.”

  Marsha looked at him with what he thought was doubt in her eyes. “In all the years I’ve known you, that’s not been high on your list when it comes to who’s in your bed.”

  “Since I met Eva, it’s become very high on my list.”

  “She’s why you turned down Stephanie Lindstrom.” Marsha wasn’t asking a question.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I’ve got to give you credit for that. She’s a pit bull, that one. She’s been asking questions, you know.”

  “Stephanie? About what?”

  “You. Who you’re seeing.”

  “You’re kidding?” Gabe was taken aback. “I don’t think anyone here would discuss my personal life with her. I don’t even discuss my personal life with anyone aside from you.”

  “No, nobody here. Some of our business associates. Obviously, until yesterday, nobody had any idea you were seeing Eva. I just heard that Miss Lindstrom has been asking about you. A few people thought it was worth mentioning to me. They’d seen you with Stephanie several times and of course assumed the two of you were an item.”

  “I’m surprised it matters to her,” Gabe stated flatly. “Nothing happened between us.”

  “Maybe in your mind, nothing of any consequence happened, but women sometimes make certain assumptions, read things into situations that aren’t there. With luck, she’ll come to her senses and drop it soon enough,” added Marsha. She nodded at the papers in his hand. “Shall we take a look at these students?”

  * * * *

  “Hey, lover,” said Gabe, “What are you doing up so late?”

  “Just working on the buffet for Jason’s graduation.” She sounded a bit distracted.

  “Damn. I was hoping you were curled up in bed, naked, warm, thinking of me. Thinking real hard about me.”

  Gabe smiled when he heard Eva laugh into the receiver. “Well, I may do that, curl up in bed, in a few minutes. And maybe I’ll think of you, a time or two. Maybe.”

  “Can I stay on the phone while you think of me?”

  “Gabe! Now you’re embarrassing me.”

  Gabe wondered if her cheeks were burning. “I can’t imagine how you could possibly be embarrassed after everything we did this weekend, but I think it’s fetching nonetheless.”

  “Fetching?”

  “Yes, fetching. Attractive. Appealing. Sexy.”

  “I know what fetching means, Gabe. So how are things looking? Any chance you’ll be able to come back to the Valley before Friday?”

  “Doubtful. But we can spend the entire weekend together.”

  “I will need to prep for Jason’s party, and by the way, I’d like you to come. Dr. and Mrs. White invited me and I asked if I could bring a date, so, if you don’t mind, you’re it,” Eva said.

  “I’d be honored. In fact, I was wonderin
g if you’d attend an event with me this Friday. It’s right up your alley. It’s a catered dinner to thank the major donors for the Ride for Sight. One of the sponsors is hosting. Will you come with me?”

  “Um… You mean like a date?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  “I’d like to, but Gabe, I guess I’m kind of a jeans and flip-flops girl. Do you know what everyone will be wearing?” Eva sounded a little nervous.

  “Got a little black dress? You know, that proverbial little black dress I always see discussed in women’s magazines?” Gabe would offer to buy her a dress but he knew she’d be insulted.

  “You read women’s magazines?”

  “Only when I’m stuck in a waiting room,” Gabe said defensively, a hint of laughter in his voice. “It’s not like they have The New Yorker or The Wall Street Journal in dentists’ offices.”

  “That’s true. Although my dentist here in Napa actually has a bookcase filled with novels. The last time I was there, I became so engrossed in one that she gave it to me.”

  “Which one?” Gabe asked.

  “The dentist or the novel?”

  “The novel.”

  “The Persian Boy. It’s a good book. I finished it in two days.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “You can read it for yourself. It’s sitting on my dresser.”

  “So I’m invited back into your bedroom?”

  “Yes,” answered Eva, “I can’t seem to say no to you.” Eva was silent for a second. “I really should be playing hard to get, Gabe. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can hear my mom’s voice now—Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?”

  “Don’t start listening to your mother,” said Gabe. “Listen to me. You don’t come free and you’re not easy. I want to be with you for a lot of reasons, the joy of fucking you just happens to be one of them.”