“What we need is some practicality. You think this place is some kind of Shangri-La. I don’t.”
Her chin lifted. “Just tell me what’s wrong with it.”
It’s full of ghosts, he wanted to say, and it drives me crazy to think of you with somebody else.
“Well?” Eve folded her arms. “Tell me one thing that’s wrong with my cabin.”
Zach looked at her. “I don’t have to. Final decisions are mine.”
“And creative ones are mine.”
“Subject to my approval,” he said coolly.
He could see the rapid rise and fall of her breasts, the splashes of color across her cheeks. She was angry and defiant, and it only made her more beautiful.
Zach felt his throat constrict. He didn’t want to quarrel with her. He wanted to take her in his arms, kiss her until she trembled, exorcise the ghosts that haunted this cabin—that haunted him—by making love to her. Wildly. Tenderly. Passionately—until she clung to him and sighed his name.
“Okay, Zach.” Her chin lifted even farther. “Do your thing. Be pigheaded and dictatorial, but I’m telling you, you’re making a mistake.”
Pigheaded? Hell. That was him, all right. He was making a mistake, and it was time to do something about it, to reach out and take her in his arms.
“Eve,” he said, and took a step forward.
But she was already swinging away from him. “If you knew anything about movies,” she said, yanking the door open, “you’d realize that Hollywood Wedding is a woman’s film. I was up here with three women, Zach, three perfectly normal, average American women. And every last one of us thought this was just about the most romantic place we’d ever seen.”
He stood there, his jaw dropping, as she marched toward the car.
Three women? She’d been here with three women?
“Three women?” He said the words stupidly as he went after her, caught her and spun her toward him.
“So what?”
“Well—well…”
Well, what, Landon? What can you say that won’t make you sound like an ass?
He cleared his throat. “Well, what you just said makes sense. About this being a woman’s film, I mean. And if—if the women you were with all gave this cabin points for being perfect, who am I to knock it?”
He held his breath while she glared at him. God, but he felt dumb, not just for the way he’d been behaving but for what he was doing now, lying like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
But he couldn’t let her know the truth, that thinking of her belonging to any man but him was more than he could stand, that something was happening to him, something he wasn’t ready for.
“Well, then,” she said, and very slowly a smile edged across her lips. “There’s hope for you yet, Mr. Landon.”
Zach smiled back at her. “Yeah. I think maybe there is.”
“Amy, Beth, Susie and I all loved it here.”
“The Little Women’s vote of approval,” he said, and laughed because otherwise he was going to say to hell with it and sweep her into his arms.
Her smile became a grin. “Exactly. I mean, we didn’t know what to expect. Amy’s brother had rented the place for the weekend. He was going to bnng his girlfriend here and propose, but she came down with the flu or something. So he told Amy she could have the place, and she invited the rest of us. We all waited tables together at…”
She went on talking, telling him about their weekend, how they’d driven up here not knowing what to expect and how much fun they’d had doing kid stuff, hiking the woods and toasting marshmallows and singing around the fire at night.
And Zach nodded and smiled when she smiled, and he knew that whatever happened all the rest of his life, he would always remember this moment, when he’d first realized that he was—that he was…
“Eve?” he whispered, and she stopped in the middle of a sentence and looked at him. He saw the bloom of color sweep into her cheeks, heard the sharp intake of her breath, and then she was in his arms.
Thunder rumbled across the clearing, a sound that seemed no louder or deeper than the thud of his heart. Lightning lit the sky, but it barely registered against his closed eyelids.
And then the sky tore apart.
Eve shrieked as a silver curtain of rain spilled from the sky. She pulled back in Zach’s arms, her hair already soaked, her clothing drenched.
They looked at each other and began to laugh.
Zach scooped her into his arms.
“I think it’s raining,” he shouted, above the roar of the storm.
She looped her arms around his neck. “We should have brought a bar of soap,” she shouted back.
He trotted across the clearing and into the cabin, shouldering the door closed behind him.
“My God, woman,” he said, “you look like you’ve been into that hot tub with all your clothes on!”
Eve laughed. “So do you.”
Zach’s smile faded, becoming something sexy and dangerous.
“It seems to me,” he said softly, “that we’re going to have to get out of these wet clothes.”
Eve’s heart skipped a beat. “Zach,” she whispered, “Zach, listen…”
He bent his head and kissed her. It was a long, gentle kiss, and as it went on, as it changed and became hot with need and electric with desire, Eve knew it was time to admit the truth.
Somewhere between that dusty hillside where Zach had almost run over Horace the Wonder Horse and this isolated cabin, somewhere during all the quarrels and anger, she had fallen hopelessly, desperately in love.
Her lips parted, opened to his. Her hands clung to his broad shoulders.
“Zach,” she whispered against his mouth, and the single word said everything he needed to hear.
He lowered her to her feet, cupped her face in his hands. His fingers swept into her hair and fisted in its rich, silken strands. He tipped her head back and kissed her again, his teeth nipping at her soft bottom lip, his tongue slipping against hers like hot silk.
“I’ve dreamed about this,” he whispered. “About holding you in my arms and kissing you.”
Eve pulled his head down to hers. “Kiss me, then,” she said fiercely. “Kiss me, and never stop.”
His fingers dropped to the buttons that ran the length of her cotton shirt, and he undid them slowly. She was wearing a silky bra beneath the shirt, something pink and lacy that had a front clasp. His fingers trembled as he opened it, and his heart turned over.
She was so beautiful.
“Beautiful,” he whispered. “My Eve.”
His hands dropped to her belt. Her eyes flew open as he undid it, then her zipper.
“Eve,” he said, and there was a tremor in his voice.
“Yes,” she whispered, hearing the question, knowing she could give only one answer. “Yes,” she sighed as the rest of her clothing fell away from her, and she stood, for the first time in her life, naked to a man’s gaze.
Zach looked at her and wondered how any woman could be so lovely. Her breasts were round as apples, ivory colored and tipped with nipples as pink as furled rosebuds. She had a waist he could almost span with his hands, a sweetly curved belly that tapered into golden curls, softly rounded hips and long, long legs.
“My beautiful Eve,” he whispered.
He looked into her face. It was flushed with color, and her eyes were wide and filled with expectancy.
“I—I want to see you, too,” she said.
He smiled. “Undress me, then.”
The color in her face darkened. She hesitated, and then she stepped closer and lay her hands against his chest. Her palms felt like fire, burning through his wet shirt.
“Lift your arms,” she whispered.
Slowly, she eased the shirt over his head, catching her breath when she saw the hard musculature in his arms and shoulders, the soft, dark curls that laced across his chest.
Her gaze dropped lower, to his ridged abdomen, to his navel, to the belt l
ooped through his jeans.
Blood pounded in her temples as she reached out and undid the belt. Her hands were shaking; she managed to undo the button at the top of his fly but when she reached for the zipper tab, she faltered.
Zach caught her hand in his. “I’ll do it,” he said huskily, afraid of what might happen to him if he felt even the softest touch of her hand.
She nodded and stepped back, waiting.
And then he was naked, too, that powerful, masculine body exposed in all its terrifying beauty.
Suddenly, Eve felt uncertain.
“Zach?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he said, “oh, yes, my love…”
He gathered her to him and kissed her deeply, and as he did, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed.
She fell back against the soft pillows, her eyes locked on his face as he bent to her. Her lashes fluttered to her cheeks as he kissed her mouth, her throat, and then his lips were on her breast.
Eve moaned, buried her fingers in his hair and sighed his name.
His lips closed around her nipple and he drew the silken bead between his teeth. His hand slid over her belly, dipped into the golden curls and he drew back, burning with the need to see her face when he touched her. Slowly, slowly, he brought his fingers toward those golden curls again, feeling the tremor arcing through her muscles as he came closer. When, finally, his fingers stroked her, a moan broke from her throat.
“My Eve,” he said fiercely, and found and caressed that sweetest of feminine mysteries.
She arced toward him, her hand dropping hard on his.
“Don’t,” she whispered, “Zach, don’t. I can’t bear it.”
But she could. Oh, she could. She could exult in what he was making her feel, a pleasure exquisite beyond anything she’d ever imagined.
She moaned again and Zach bent and kissed her mouth, his tongue moving against hers while his fingers went on with their sweet torment.
Something was building inside her, an almost unendurable tension. She was—she was…
A cry burst from her lips as she shattered against his hand. Zach gathered her close in his arms, kissing her as she trembled against him, whispering soft, sweet words, and then, at last, he parted her thighs and knelt between them.
At the last instant, he hesitated. It was the moment he had longed for, Eve lying beneath him, her eyes on his, her lips soft and swollen from his kisses.
And yet, though he’d known how perfect this would be, it seemed to transcend perfection. There was a softness to her, a vulnerability he had never anticipated.
“Zach?” she whispered.
He looked at her, seeing the sweet curve of her mouth, the expectation in her eyes. With a groan, he cupped her bottom, lifted her to him and sheathed himself in her slick, silken heat.
His head fell back, he cried out her name, and exploded into a million shimmering fragments.
CHAPTER NINE
BY LATE afternoon, the storm was almost over. The sky began to clear, the rain fell off to a soft drizzle, and at the edge of the forest, a bird sent up a first, hesitant call.
Eve lay in Zach’s arms, safe and warm and filled with a joy so fierce it was almost painful.
I love you, she thought, closing her eyes and pressing her lips to his throat, oh, how I love you…
“Sweetheart?”
She nodded, afraid to speak.
Zach drew her closer. “Are you all right?”
She smiled. “I’m wonderful.”
Laughing softly, he turned on his side, still holding her in the curve of his arm.
“Immodest woman.” He nuzzled a spill of damp, golden hair from her cheek and kissed her ear. “But it’s true, you are.”
Eve lifted her head, propped her chin on her hand and looked into his face.
“Well, if I am, you get half the credit.”
He grinned. “Thank you.”
Eve smiled, kissed him, then lay her head on his chest.
What would he say, she wondered, if she told him he got all the credit? That not only had their lovemaking been glorious but that she had never been with a man before? She knew Zach had no idea she’d been a virgin. He had made love to her so gently, so passionately, that she’d never felt inhibited or afraid.
As for the blood and pain all the books she’d read mentioned—well, there’d been none. There’d only been sweet, sweet pleasure and the sense of being made joyously, completely whole.
Eve sighed. She knew her view of sex had been warped by the ugly memory of her foster father’s attempted seduction. Still, she’d never dreamed lying in a man’s arms could be so—so…
“Perfect,” Zach whispered, rising above her. He smiled and kissed her, while his hand moved softly over her body.
Eve’s breath caught as he bent to her breast.
“Yes,” she whispered. “That’s the word. Perfect.”
His kisses trailed over her belly, down and down…
“Zach,” she whispered, and then she could think no more.
* * *
They made an improvised meal of canned rations some prior tenant had left in the cabin, but by the time they started down the mountain the next morning, they were starved.
Zach stopped at the first restaurant they came to in the foothills and ordered an enormous brunch.
“I’ll never eat all this,” Eve protested, when their meal arrived. But she did. Every crumb. She laughed and said she’d never eaten so much in her life, and Zach gave her a slow, sexy smile and said he never had, either. Their eyes met, and Eve flushed with pleasure.
It was a sunny, bright day, one Zach insisted was made for the beach. Eve agreed, and they drove all the way to Venice where they strolled the boardwalk, drinking chilled cappuccino and doing their best to keep out of the way of the roller bladers. At sunset, they took off their shoes and walked hand in hand through the surf, sharing kisses that tasted of sun and of the sea.
That night, after lobsters and white wine at a restaurant in Malibu, Zach drove Eve home.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered, after endless kisses in her darkened living room.
“I know,” she sighed, leaning back in his arms. “It’s been such a wonderful weekend, I don’t want it to end, either.”
“It doesn’t have to. Let me stay with you tonight.”
Eve’s smile tilted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s a great idea.”
She touched her finger to his lips. “We both have to go to work tomorrow, remember?”
“Yeah, but I know your boss. He’s a very understanding guy. He won’t mind if you come in a little late.”
“Hollywood’s a small town, Zach,” she said softly. “It thrives on gossip. I—I don’t want to be talked about.”
“Come on, Eve. This is the dawn of the twenty-first century. The sky’s not going to fall down if people know we’re lovers.”
But the fingers would point, the whispers would start—and she had had enough of that in her life. Tell him that, she thought, tell him about your foster father, about the way the rumor mill ground out its evil stories, even here in a place some called Sin City after Charles put her in charge of Triad.
She couldn’t. Not yet. Talking about those things was too painful and intimate, in some strange way even more intimate than what they’d shared in bed.
So she smiled and offered what she hoped was an explanation Zach would understand.
“I don’t think it would be good for Triad if people know about us.”
Zach gave a little laugh. “What the hell does Triad have to do with this?”
“Well—well, we’re working on Hollywood Wedding together, remember? You have to deal with people, I have to deal with people. How much authority would we have if people thought they could trade on our relationship with each other? I think it would be better if people saw us as sort of separate entities. Zach?” Eve rose on her toes and kissed his mouth. “Do you un
derstand?”
He didn’t, but how could he argue with her when she was in his arms? A man would have to be a fool or a saint, and he was neither.
“No,” he said, softening the word with a smile. “Not really. But if that’s the way you want it…” His hands slipped to her hips and he brought her body against his. “But if being seen as separate entities means I’m going to have to take a vow of chastity,” he said with a teasing laugh, “forget it.”
She put her arms around his neck. “No,” she whispered, “I wouldn’t want that.” They kissed, and then she put her hands gently against his chest. “Good night, Zach.”
Zach made a sound halfway between a laugh and a groan.
“Right.” He kissed her again, then let her go. At the door, he turned to her and smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Eve smiled at him. “Bright and early.”
But not bright and early enough, he thought as he headed for his car. He’d wanted to fall asleep with Eve in his arms, wake her with his kisses.
Didn’t she want the same thing?
Frowning, he got behind the wheel and drove off.
* * *
They plunged into work on Hollywood Wedding with renewed vigor. All the final details began falling into place.
Zach met again with Ed Brubeck, who said he’d be happy to do what he could, now that Eve was back on board. Other investors said much the same thing, and the money began to come in.
Eve arranged to have a photographer visit the cabin and take still shots. The set designer was sure he could duplicate the cabin without too much difficulty.
“Great,” Eve said, and concentrated her efforts on Dex and his agent.
It wasn’t easy. The agent was going to play hardball. He finally agreed that he might consider advising Dex to sign for the part, but he wanted concessions, she told Zach over a midweek lunch at one of the city’s newest watering holes.
“What kinds of concessions?” Zach asked suspiciously.
Eve made a face. “Impossible ones. He hasn’t put them on the table yet, but he’s hinting at bonuses, final cut approval and a rewrite of the script that would all but gut it.”
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