His breath was warm against her cheek. "Whatever it is, I can"t seem to stop myself."
Eva"s fingers slowly curled into the bed sheets beside her in an effort to stop herself from reaching out and touching him. "I don"t think this is a good idea, Finn."
He laughed throatily. "Sure, and you must have heard that when a man"s blood goes south he isn"t capable of thinking at all?"
South? Did that mean that he... Oh dear lord, yes, that was most definitely a wickedly hard and denim-covered erection now pressing against the bareness of her hip.
Eva had no idea where all the blood had gone from her own head, but as Finn"s lips skimmed lightly across the lobe of her ear, that highly sensitized lobe of her ear, she found it impossible to think either.
She could only feel.
And it felt sooo good, time seeming to stand still, the two of them coc.o.o.ned by that eerie wind and snow-dampened silence outside, as Finn ran the heat of his tongue slowly along the sh.e.l.l of her ear. He didn"t touch her anywhere else as he supported his weight with his elbow, his breath hot and seductive, the silky darkness of his hair brushing against the warmth of her throat.
Eva"s fingers curled into painful claws now as she fought her need, the compulsion, to touch all that hot naked flesh she had been looking at for the past two hours.
Hot licks of pleasure were coursing through her, her nipples tight, tingling, just aching to be touched, and between her thighs slick and wet.
She"d only met this man a few hours ago, she reminded herself desperately. They couldn"t... She couldn"t...
Eva groaned low in her throat, eyes opening wide, as Finn"s fingers brushed along the length of her spine before unfastening her bra, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s springing plump and free as he slipped the straps down her arms before tossing the sc.r.a.p of lace to one side.
"Jesus, these are f.e.c.king gorgeous, woman!" His eyes were dark, devouring, as he gazed down hungrily at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s for several stunned seconds before lowering his head to rasp his tongue across one swollen and elongated nipple.
Time and time again that tongue stroked and rasped as the finger and thumb of his other hand squeezed and rolled its twin. Finn"s breath was ragged when he finally took the fullness of one nipple into the wet heat of his mouth and began to suckle, drawing in hungrily, hard and deep.
Eva"s back arched in pleasure, her hands coming up to clasp onto the bareness of his shoulders as the swollen folds between her thighs became even slicker, wetter with her juices, the air filling with the scent of her arousal.
She groaned again as Finn"s fingers pulled on the nipple he wasn"t sucking, fingers squeezing to the point of pain before stopping, and then squeezing again, that steady rhythm of pleasure pain, on both her nipples, causing her c.l.i.t to throb and swell, needy for more.
Eva was mindless with that pleasure now, only Finn"s mouth, Finn"s hands, becoming real to her as he continued to suck her nipple deeply into his mouth, his teeth an almost painful bite in rhythm with the squeezing of his finger and thumb.
Her breath left her in an aching sigh as Finn breathed raggedly and released her nipple from his mouth.
"Now I"ve heard that a woman," his voice seemed to throb along each and every one of Eva"s already sensitized nerve-endings, his breath cool against her hot, wet nipple, "can be making out the weekly shopping list inside her head," his breath moved higher, "or organizing the laundry, at the same time as a man is making love to her."
Eva was so lost in the l.u.s.tful sensations coursing through her body, the building of that pleasure to an almost unbearable degree, that it took her several seconds to realize what Finn had just said.
She opened her eyes wide to find herself looking straight into wicked blue eyes as Finn leaned on his elbow beside her, one eyebrow raised mockingly.
She swallowed before answering him. "What are you doing now?"
Finn was breaking that f.u.c.king piece of invisible string, that"s what he was doing!
Yes, Eva looked as s.e.xy as h.e.l.l, and the little whimpering noises she made as he pleasured her twisted his insides with need. So much so that he could have gone on suckling and pleasuring her for hours.
But he wasn"t going to.
This woman had arrived on his doorstep just hours ago, for the sole purpose of delivering a parcel. A parcel he didn"t want. Or need.
Just as he didn"t need or want to become involved with an innocent like Eva Shaw!
Chapter 6.
"d.a.m.ned if I know, darlin"." Finn ran his fingers through his hair as he sat up to swing his legs to the floor. He stood up, only to catch his breath in his throat as he glanced back at Eva splayed across the bed, covered only by that one small triangle of black lace, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s so big and plump, nipples red and swollen from where he had suckled them, and the skin around them abraded by the stubble on his chin.
Finn"s denims went uncomfortably tight at the sight, his c.o.c.k throbbing even more painfully, letting him know it still wanted in.
His mouth tightened as he turned away. "Probably force of habit."
The phrase resounded starkly in Eva"s mind.
She had been audibly panting and groaning with her need for more, and Finn dismissed the whole incident as being a force of habit? As just being something he did with all of his female models? One of the perks of his working day?
Well to h.e.l.l with that! Of all the arrogant, impossible, egotistical b.a.s.t.a.r.ds- "Why don"t you run along to the kitchen and see what you can find in the fridge to make us for dinner, while I finish tidying up here?" he suggested distractedly as he moved to turn off the lights.
Eva rolled over to the other side of the bed to stand up and retrieve her t-shirt from the floor, pulling it on before answering him; her bra could wait. "I"m not sure which century you were born in, Mr. Devlin," she bit out scathingly. "But I suggest that you "run along to the kitchen and see what you"re making me for dinner. I"m the guest here, remember?"
"But not an invited one," he reminded, his voice hard.
"Go to h.e.l.l!"
Finn felt a moment"s regret as Eva stood up to collect the rest of her clothes from where she had dropped them on the floor earlier when she undressed. Giving him a perfect view of the delicious twin globes of her bottom as she bent over, that sc.r.a.p of black lace barely covering the cleft between her two cheeks.
He drew in a sharp breath. "I"ll go and deal with my parcel while you finish putting your clothes on, then we"ll both go and see what we can find in the fridge to eat for dinner," he finally compromised.
"You sound like a horse-trader," she snorted as she sat on the side of the bed to pull on her denims.
"Also in the blood, darlin"." Finn gave her a wicked grin as he picked up his own t-shirt, deliberately whistling under his breath as he left the studio.
Eva"s shoulders slumped the moment she was alone.
This whole thing was insane. She was insane, throwing her clothes off in a fit of frustration, and then posing half naked for hours while Finn photographed her. She had all but invited him to take advantage of her and the situation.
She finished dressing quickly before standing up to walk over to the window, pressing her hot forehead against the cold pane of gla.s.s as she stared out at the snow still falling heavily outside. Usually she loved snow, especially this close to Christmas. But not today. Not when it meant she had to continue to be an uninvited guest in Finn Devlin"s house. A man of such lethal magnetism, she had gone further with him in one day than she had with Tom in two months of dating- What on earth...?
There was someone outside in the snow!
She turned and quickly called out to Finn, only to frown as she turned back to the window and saw there was one there. No matter how she strained to see through the density of snowflakes, the pale shadow she thought she had seen beneath the trees had now gone.
But there had been someone there. Eva was sure of it. A shadowy figure standing amongst the fir trees that surrounded this side of the house.
Perhaps it was someone else caught in the snowstorm, and looking for shelter?
At this rate, Finn was going to think he"d opened a hotel for all the strays from the snowstorm!
Although Eva couldn"t claim she wouldn"t welcome the distraction of another person after- "What is it?" Finn demanded sharply as he strode quickly back into the studio.
"There"s someone out there." Eva didn"t turn to look at him but kept her face pressed against the window, her gaze fixed on the place where she was sure she had seen that shadowy figure.
Finn joined her by the window. "I can"t see anything..."
"I saw someone, I"m sure of it."
"Maybe it was an animal you saw?" He shrugged beside her. "I haven"t seen any, but I believe there are supposed to be deer in the area."
"I think I"m capable of telling the difference between a deer and a human being, Finn." Eva turned to him impatiently. "And that out there," she nodded towards the window, "was walking on two legs, not four."
Finn gave an exasperated shake of his head. "What do you expect me to do about it? No," he stated firmly as she raised her brows pointedly. "I said no, Eva," he repeated as she continued to look at him with those bewitching green eyes. "I am not going to the bother of getting dressed in my winter gear and going out in that," he gave a nod at the storm still raging outside, "just because you think you saw someone out there."
"I did see someone out there," she insisted stubbornly.
"Oh for the love of... Okay. Alright. I"ll go." He grimaced in impatience. "But only if you agree to cook dinner," he added challengingly.
"Horse-trader!"
"Bossy witch!"
Eva grinned at him, unconcerned. "You haven"t tasted my cooking yet."
"You really don"t want to taste mine!"
Eva gave him a slow and deliberate stare from his head to his toes. "You don"t exactly look as if you"re fading away."
"I have a strong const.i.tution."
"You"re going to need it with my cooking," she a.s.sured him dryly.
Finn folded his arms in front of his chest, muscles bulging beneath the short sleeves of his navy blue t-shirt. "I"ll risk it."
"You"re a brave man, Finn Devlin."
Finn went to collect his heavy coat before pulling on his boots, followed by his hat and gloves, and heading for the front door.
He had deliberately downplayed Eva"s claim just now, wasn"t about to let her see how worried he was. Could it have been Moira out there? Watching the house? Watching him?
Surely if Eva couldn"t leave, then Moira wouldn"t be able to get in either?
Unless she had driven in before the storm hit so badly...?
This house was miles from its nearest neighbor-Lucien really did value his privacy-and the chances of anyone else finding themselves stranded out here were virtually non-existent. It had been pure fluke, the delivery of that b.l.o.o.d.y parcel, that had resulted in Eva being caught out by the weather.
Or luck?
Eva was entertaining. On so many levels. She had a mouth on her, and he didn"t mean those made-for-s.e.x lips. A spirit that refused to give up. And yes, she was also s.e.xy as h.e.l.l.
That "s.e.xy as h.e.l.l" part had almost caused Finn to completely lose control earlier. Before good sense prevailed and he pushed her away by being deliberately dismissive.
If Eva really had seen someone outside just now-and she seemed convinced that she had-then surely they in turn would have been able to see the lights shining in the house, if not Eva silhouetted in the window. If that was the case, why hadn"t they headed towards the house rather than away from it?
Finn thought of the parcel he had opened a short time ago, and its disturbing contents, wondering once again if Moira could already be here...
"Find anything?" Eva prompted lightly twenty or so minutes later when Finn, having already removed his coat and boots, now stomped into the kitchen and headed straight over to stand by the hot stove to warm himself. She had kept her tone deliberately light so that Finn wouldn"t see how glad she was to see him safely back in the house.
Eva had felt guilty the moment she heard Finn go outside into the blizzard, and had immediately started to worry that he might get lost in the snow, become disorientated, and somehow wander off in the wrong direction.
She had no idea what she would have done if he hadn"t come back.
Gone out into the snow looking for him, probably, and no doubt become lost herself!
"It"s as I thought, there"s no one out there," Finn dismissed, head bent as he continued to warm his hands on the stove, his cheeks ruddy from the cold outside.
"Oh." Eva instantly felt foolish for having made such a fuss earlier. "Here," she handed him a mug of the tea she had poured for them both the moment she had heard the front door slam closed as he returned.
"Thanks." He cradled the warmth in his hands as he took a grateful sip. "What did you decide to make for dinner?"
"You have a freezer full of food." She smiled approvingly. "I chose pizzas as something I couldn"t ruin. They"re in the oven now."
He raised dark eyebrows as he looked at her over the rim of his mug. "Have you ever cooked in one of these stoves before?"
She gave him a puzzled glance. "No."
"Oh."
"What are you doing?" she demanded as Finn put down his mug of tea and picked up the oven cloth before going down on his haunches to open the oven door, the kitchen instantly filled with the smell of burning. "I only put them in ten minutes ago!" Eva wailed as he brought out two pizzas that were more than a little black around the edges.
And she had thought that even she couldn"t spoil pizza!
Finn placed the hot baking tray on the trivet. "These stoves cook in half the time a normal oven does. I found that out myself the hard way too!" He grinned.
Eva found herself fascinated by the grooves that had appeared in both Finn"s cheeks as he smiled. Not quite dimples. His face was far too hard and chiseled to have anything as tame as dimples. But those twin grooves were definitely interesting. So much so that Eva"s fingers itched to touch them.
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. "I"m sorry I sent you outside for nothing." Had it suddenly gotten hot in here again, or was it her imagination?
"It wasn"t a completely wasted trip," Finn a.s.sured briskly. "I brought some more wood over to the house and stored it in the garage."
"And then came in to burnt pizza for dinner!" Yes, it was most definitely hotter in here! Had become so the moment Finn came into the kitchen...
He shrugged those broad shoulders. "Win some, lose some. We needed more wood anyway."
Eva moved away awkwardly, attempting to cover her discomfort by busying herself cutting the blackened edges off the pizzas. "Did you have anything nice in your parcel earlier?"
"What?"