by Hoy, E. S
Nathan meanwhile had guessed that Eve had bolted out of fear; he could hear her crying and desperately wanted to hold her and reassure her. He totally understood her fear of letting anyone that close again, he had no idea how to help her overcome her insecurities. Nathan was determined to tell her he loved her and that if she cried again it would be with tears of joy this time. He felt a lot better today, the sex had helped, Christ he loved her body he couldn’t wait to take full advantage of her again. The few days apart had really clarified things for Nathan, his daughter would arrive soon and he wanted Eve to share all that with him as more than just a girlfriend.
Eve dried herself off and stared at her reflection, she was beautiful and she tried to hide it, she was loved but she chose to ignore it. Her life had been one sorry pattern of loss and rejection; she wondered whether she had blown her chances, would he ever risk opening his heart to her ever again? Eve really hoped he would give her one more chance; it was time to change and time to bring out the real Eve. Step one leave her hair down and make an effort with her appearance, a touch of eyeliner and a shimmer of gloss and she was done.
Stepping awkwardly back in to the bedroom she noticed with relief Nathan had gone down without her, she unfastened her case and began to hang some of her clothes. Her summer range was minimal but she found her short denim skirt and a white sleeveless shirt that enhanced her natural golden skin. She tied the shirt into a knot so her toned midriff was exposed. Eve didn’t need to exercise but she did sit ups most nights to keep her flat tummy. Wandering downstairs she heard voices at the rear of the house, Shona made her jump at the foot of the stairs.
“They are all outside by the pool waiting for you, go ahead I will bring you out a drink of tea if you like?” Eve thanked her and followed the directions to the garden. Through the living space was a huge set of glass sliding doors leading to the gardens and swimming pool. Eve’s heart thumped she really didn’t want her lack of swimming ability to be exposed in front of them all. Victoria walked up behind her without her hearing
“Hey Eve don’t be nervous come out with me, do you have your bikini on under there?” Eve turned round smiling weakly
“I didn’t pack one, I had no idea that you would have a pool, it doesn’t matter I am not bothered about swimming” Victoria looked blatantly at her chest
“I would lend you one of mine but it would be like wearing a corn plaster on your tits! I was thinking more about you getting a decent tan rather than swimming; I will pop out later to my store and see what I have if you like?” Eve was touched
“Actually I would really appreciate that, if find a suitable summer dress too it would be great” Victoria was only too happy to oblige. They walked onto the terrace together; Nathan was reading but looked up when they arrived. Rachel came over to hug her; and Grant was nowhere to be seen.
“Eve darling you look stunning this morning, you should always wear that beautiful hair down and those legs should never be covered” Blushing Eve returned her embrace, she saw Nathan touch the chair beside him and breathed a sigh of relief at his warm smile, he had forgiven her. Nathan waved the papers in front of her,
“This is the story plot of Christopher’s project, have a read my eyes are tired and I can’t follow it.” Eve took it from him eagerly “Scars run Deep” was the book title she settled into her chair and began to scan the gist of the story.
The two main characters were a successful surgeon Jonathan; who has a spoilt arrogant son called Rufus. He becomes very angry when his respected father leaves his mother to live with glamorous socialite and heiress Tabitha. Tabitha has a daughter Martha who was the same age as Rufus, he visits reluctantly every weekend. Rufus needs to keep the peace with his father to maintain his allowance; he is lazy and avoids a career to concentrate on art despite being a qualified lawyer.
Martha is an enigma, from the age of five she became withdrawn and had to be home schooled due to her fear of social situations. She was plagued with nightmares and hardly spoke except to her mother. She was beautiful and fragile and Rufus was drawn to her. He painted her in secret; he watched her play in the trees and pick flowers. Rufus wanted to inhabit “Martha’s world” to him she was a rare spark of light in an otherwise dark world.
The story then develops as Martha begins to trust Rufus and they spend more and more time together, Rufus kisses her then everything changes. Martha screams and runs way Tabitha accuses Rufus of rape and because Martha won’t talk he is arrested. Eventually she clears his name but Jonathan insists that Tabitha gets Martha help; he suspects there is a deep issue buried somewhere. Eventually after many experts write her off as autistic, schizophrenic or bipolar they find help through hypnosis. Martha is regressed and the truth is uncovered that Tabitha’s father violently abused her leaving her scarred and terrified.
The rest of the movie depicts her recovery and the fight for justice against a powerful millionaire who tries to destroy Martha to keep his dirty secret. Justice finally gets served and Rufus and Martha reunite, Martha emerges from her little world and the two become lovers.
“Eve why are you crying?” Nathan was stroking her face gently, Rachel passed her a tissue.
“Sorry it is such a sad story, I would love to play her but I think it will be emotionally exhausting. There is going to be some moments where my own experiences will come to the fore. It will be amazing to do especially working with you and Christopher. Do we know who the two leads are yet?” Nathan shook his head Christopher was keeping that for tomorrows chat. Eve put the story down as Shona had arrived with drinks, Nathan had removed his top and the bruises on his ribs were exposed. Shona passed Eve a tub of gloop, that smelt very herbal;
“Apply that twice a day, the bruises will come out and the tissue will mend so you will heal internally, I guarantee improvements after a single application.” Eve took the lid off and began to gently stroke the ointment along the damaged skin, Nathan winced when she touched the worst area.
“Sorry Nathan but I am under Shona’s orders, she completed the task then wafted her hand under her nose. The smell was pungent she needed to wash, excusing herself she wandered into the downstairs cloakroom which luckily had a WC sign on the door. While she was in there her phone rang, it was her father
“Michael hello is everything alright?” he assured her it was, he had just wanted to check on how Nathan was doing. Well that was a shocker, she told him about the flight and the Matheson’s home he sounded suitably thrilled for her. Of course he asked how soon they would return, she estimated another couple of days as Nathan was anxious to check on Sasha. Michael offered to go down and sit with Sasha if Nathan wanted him to, just to make sure she didn’t do anything silly. Eve was quick to refuse the offer, that would be just too weird, Sasha sat with a vicar in her room was mildly amusing but not an option.
Nathan was alone when she returned, she told him about Michael’s phone call, he found the turn of events as bizarre as Eve. Eve sat back down to read the rest of the movie outline, it seemed the ending was a happy one Rufus and Martha lived happily ever after and their parents got married a typical Hollywood ending. Nathan had lapsed into sleep so Eve took the moment to dip her toe in the water; she was sitting on the edge both feet immersed. When she leant forward to look at the pattern of a dolphin sank into the tiles, a patter of feet roused her. She looked up to see a huge dog bounding towards her in a panic she tried to stand but the dog knocked her feet from under her and she slipped and fell straight into the pool.
Eve felt weightless a sparkle of light was flickering all around her, she felt a sense of peace and sank gracefully towards the dolphin smiling up at her. She wanted to stay here forever it felt warm and comforting a place she wanted to stay. Her leg was suddenly yanked upwards and at first she resisted the hand reaching towards her. Reality struck and Eve quickly noted her closeness to death grasping the hand she allowed it to pull her upwards and her lungs burst as the oxygen hit them with full force.
Grant lifted her to
wards the awaiting arms of Nathan, he dragged her out despite his obvious pain wrapping her in a towel and leading her to her sun lounger.
“Jesus Eve are you okay? I thought you were dead, I heard an almighty splash in my sleep and when I opened my eyes I saw you floating face down in the water and the dog running into the trees. Thank God my dad was right behind. Did you bang your head? I was waiting for you to swim up to the surface.” Grant was drying himself off staring at Eve with a concerned look; Nathan was searching her head for an injury. Eve cringed and heat flooded her face
“Stop Nathan, I didn’t bang my head… I can’t swim okay? I never went swimming as a child and we never swam on holiday, so I have never had to do it before.” Nathan pulled her into a hug
“Eve you could have drowned, thanks’ dad it looks like you saved her life” Grant touched the top of Eve’s head
“I came running after the dog because I knew he may hurt Nathan if he jumped up, I never expected to have a swim luckily I was in my shorts. Buster here boy!” The dog bounded over, Eve pulled away to have a look at him. He was a boxer and had a lovely face he obviously knew Nathan as he was trying to lick his skin off. Grant took hold of him and marched him back to his bed, when he returned he sat beside Eve.
“Take the chance while you are here to learn a few basics, we won’t think any differently about you Eve. It could have been a matter of life and death; Victoria is an excellent swimmer she can help you as Nathan is not well enough yet. Maybe you could continue in the UK then” Eve nodded then rose to her feet,
“I better go and change into something dry.” Victoria arrived then armed with bags
“Well you couldn’t resist the pool I see? Thankfully I have come in the nick of time with suitable swimwear. Follow me” Eve went upstairs with her and told her about the incident at the pool.
“Blimey Eve fancy not saying, hey I am happy to show you a few strokes, it is easy honestly. Better to do it now in case this accident causes a fear of water.” Eve thought about what she had said but only for a second
“No I don’t think it will, I found it really relaxing being weightless, I actually tried not to let your dad save me, I wanted to stay down there. I felt no fear or panic at all” Victoria looked puzzled
“Wow that’s surreal, are you sure you don’t have a death wish or something?” Eve laughed death was becoming an integral part of her life at the moment. Victoria brought out a selection of sarongs and an array of bikinis for Eve to try. Eve had never seen such tiny pieces of fabric and didn’t think she could wear any of them. After some persuasion she tried on the three most modest and showed each in turn to the young designer.
“Eve I wish you could be my model they all look stunning on you, Nathan will get his health back in no time if he sees you in that one” Eve looked down at the two tiny triangles that just about covered her nipples, it was still the best of the bunch so she slipped a tunic over the top and followed her back down to the pool. Shona had made a lovely cold lunch for them all and Rachel had re-joined the group. Eve sat beside Nathan who was trying to peep through her top; she slapped him playfully as she tucked into a salmon baguette with cream cheese. Rachel was staring at the two of them;
“Eve I heard about the dog, I am so sorry, we were trying to keep him away from Nathan, he adores him and I was worried he would hurt his ribs. I have to say that magic ointment is making a visible difference don’t you think?” Nathan winked at his mother and Eve took a longer look at him, yes his eye was now less swollen and he definitely looked perkier, Eve’s heart thumped as he wiped some cream cheese off her bottom lip. He smirked playfully about to make a joke when his phone buzzed
It was a call off Christopher; he was thrilled to hear how excited Eve was about playing Martha, and had some fantastic news for them about the lead roles so he would see them tomorrow. Nathan finished his lunch and then decided to stretch his legs with Buster, Eve chose to stay behind and use the pool. She watched as he left with Grant and the dog and looked at Victoria meaningfully.
“Right let’s have a dip Eve it is the hottest time of the day so a good time to get out of the sun” Eve slipped off her tunic and caught an envious glance from Rachel; she smiled kindly then left the girls to their swimming. An hour later Eve was doing a pretty decent breast stroke across the pool, she had taken to it straight away and it felt very natural to her. Nathan returned and stood watching.
“Eve I thought you couldn’t swim?” Victoria splashed him and they both watched her proudly as she continued her laps. As she pulled herself out of the water Nathan’s face glazed over when he saw her bikini. Eve tried not to feel self-conscious, but the battle not to fold her arms was a tough one.
“Nathan stop perving on your girlfriend, although I have to admit she does it for me too” they all burst out laughing and Eve relaxed a little. She lay back on her lounger to absorb the sun’s rays; Nathan lay down admiring her discreetly behind his shades. Rachel appeared an hour later with a tray of iced tea, an unusual choice but one Eve found refreshing. The sun had turned Eve’s skin a deep golden colour and Nathan looked remarkably improved. An hour later they parted ways to dress for dinner, the chef was cooking up something spectacular apparently and Nathan’s appetite was back with a vengeance and not just for food.
Chapter 15
The moment they were inside the room Nathan was upon her, he lifted the tunic over her head and stood before her moaning in appreciation. He squeezed her nipples through the fabric so they were taught then rubbed them both with his thumbs, biting her lip Eve closed her eyes in pleasure.
Reaching up to him Eve pulled his head to hers carefully so their mouths locked together, his tongue found an opening and he tasted her mouth with desperation. Eve knew this was going to be painful for Nathan so she tried to reach for him but he pulled away.
“My turn baby, no shortcuts tonight” he backed her up towards the huge bed so she was lying just with her back on the covers. Nathan removed his shorts and her briefs, her legs opened and he lifted her thighs so they gripped him around his hips. Stepping forward he teased her opening with his erection until she was thrusting upwards at him desperate for his possession. Eve cried out as he plunged into her, carefully he increased his rhythm until they both glided together perfectly.
Placing his hands under her buttocks he angled her upwards so he could reach deeper causing her to thrash wildly on the bed. Spurred on by her pleasure; his orgasm erupted sending Eve into her own with a suddenness that took her breath away. Sitting up Eve wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her face on his firm abdomen feeling the aftershocks running through his body.
Eve closed her eyes as his hand stroked her hair, she was so happy at this moment and wanted to push her luck a little more.
“Nathan, this morning when you looked at me what were you going to say?” Eve’s voice cracked and Nathan lifted her face so he could look at her.
“I was going to say…I love you” Eve felt her eyes burn and rush of pleasure so strong she gasped.
“I..I..love you too Nathan” he smiled at her and pushed her back down onto the bed, laying down beside her he raised himself up on his elbow their eyes had never looked away. Running his fingers up and down her body she stared up at this man who had changed her whole perception on life. She wanted to scream, she wanted to laugh but most of all she wanted to grab her things and run as far away as possible so that nothing could spoil what they had at this moment. Nathan read her mind and held her down tightly shaking his head; dipping forwards he pressed his forehead on hers
“No running Eve, not anymore we are together and nothing will spoil it I promise. We have come into this wide open, you know about Sasha I know about Rory, we love each other despite those things so there is nothing bigger to overcome. Trust me Eve, my family feel the same way I can tell, you are like a beacon of light in the dark and I am drawn to you. Do not let that light go out, without that light I will crash and burn, so I am risking my heart as much as you ar
e do you see that?” Eve hadn’t looked at it that way before; he was opening himself up to pain as much as she was. That made her feel a whole lot better, Nathan then proceeded to make love to her again and that made her feel better too.
They were finally dressed for dinner; Eve had found a sundress in one of the bags Victoria had brought from her store. Nathan was staring again
“Eve you look gorgeous; that yellow sets off your skin beautifully, your eyes look bluer and your hair has lightened in the sun. You look radient we must buy that off Vic, it was made for your figure.” Eve thought Nathan looked delectable also in his black chino’s and white shirt. They joined the family downstairs for a predinner drink. Victoria screamed when she saw Eve,
“Oh I am so glad you liked it, that dress is from my new collection, nobody has seen it yet. Oh Eve its fab on you; mum take a picture for me I want to put that on my website.” Rachel smiled and went to fetch her camera after Eve reluctantly agreed. Victoria said she could have the dress as payment so Rachel took Eve out to the garden to get a good shot of her in the moonlight.
“It really does suit you Eve, I am glad to get you alone please sit with me a moment” Eve sat beside her nervously wondering what she was going to say.
“Eve I can’t begin to imagine how you feel about Sasha and the baby, it is a huge amount of baggage for you to handle. I can see you are good for Nathan, he has never looked so happy despite the bruises.” Eve smiled at her “I just want to be sure that if one day you start your own family you won’t resent this baby? I know it is far too soon to consider this but as a mother I know how tricky accepting another woman’s baby would be.” Eve stopped her there