Christmas Eve (14 page)

Some women accepted whatever came their way as their just due. Acknowledged it with a slight nod. Eve was different. Her genteel sophistication kept him off balance, never certain what to expect. And like a boat without a rudder, she had him spinning in circles, floundering in midstream.

"All finished? I'll bring the salad." He leaped up to remove the bowls. When he returned, Eve was spreading butter on a crescent roll.

"Once, when I was about four," she said with a faraway look, "Cook let me help her make bread."

"Did you enjoy the task?"

Eve's wistful expression made him sorry he'd asked. She put the roll down, folded her hands in her lap. "Yes, until my mother happened in and fired Cook on the spot."

Hmmm. There's bound to be more to this story, but I'm not about to ask. Not now
.

"Would you like me to put on some music?" Without waiting for her reply Nick got up, strode over to a corner table, and pressed a remote. The cheerful sound of sleigh bells chimed from all corners of the room. "Songs of winter," he assured Eve, "not of Christmas."

Her faint smile and appreciative nod indicated she approved his choice.

"This salad's delicious. Do I have you to thank for the dressing?"

"Not... exactly. It's raspberry, I think."

"Red. That's appropriate." The color was returning to her cheeks but she still looked like a reprimanded child.

"Here. Want another roll?" In hopes of distracting her he grabbed the bread basket and passed it to Eve.

"I think I'll wait," she said and reached for her wine glass instead. Her slender fingers slid up the stem, then down.

Nick followed the slow movement of her hand, mesmerized. Did she have any idea of the way she affected him?

She
must
. Croupier sure did.

Eve had finished her salad. He should remove the salad plates and bring in the main course, but with heat still suffusing his groin, he was in no shape to stand.

She jumped to her feet. "Why don't I get the next course? What should I bring?"

Anything. Everything! Nick made a hasty adjustment to his pants once Eve turned away. "Not a thing. Sit down. You're my guest."

"Nonsense. I'm already up."

Me, too
.

Croupier nodded.

Nick followed her into the kitchen, the gentle sway of her hips again making Croupier react. "Everything in the oven's ready. Careful. It's all hot. I'll bring the duck."

He transferred the nicely browned fowl to a waiting platter, drizzled warmed glaze over it, then garnished the platter with sprigs of fresh parsley and clusters of celery leaves per André's instructions.

"My, my," Eve said, watching him with admiration.

Croupier sure appreciated that look. Nick's pants were cutting off his circulation again. Even his chest felt tight.

Eve took the dish of yams and the bowl of wild rice she'd just dished up to the table and returned. "Anything else?"

"If I see something is missing, I'll come back." He kissed the tip of her sweet, turned up nose. "Let's eat."

He centered the duck in front of his place, then seated Eve, not taking his own seat until he'd placed a second kiss on the tempting spot behind her ear.

He picked up the carving knife. "Light meat or dark?"

"Some of each?" she asked in the tentative way of an eight-year-old.

Nick clenched his fist. Who was responsible for making Eve so embarrassingly shy when it came to revealing her heart's desires? Some dark night he'd like to catch that person in an alley and teach him or her a thing or two.

"My pleasure."

He began to carve thick, juicy slices of meat that steamed as he slid each one onto Eve's plate. She started to move her plate away. "Hang on. It takes a while for me to get to the dark meat but it's well worth the wait. I'm a leg and thigh man, too."

Eve blushed.

Hot damn! He hadn't meant anything suggestive by that comment, but was again reminded of the eating scene in
Tom Jones
. Not the hacking through of bones he was now forced to do, but the stripping of meat from those bones with sharp, white teeth.

The sensual licking of greasy fingers.

The...

Croupier took that moment to remind him that his thoughts were no longer on carving the duck. Nick gripped the knife tighter and sliced off more dark meat for Eve. "There."

Her ready smile was his thanks. "I'm impressed."

"With the skillful wielding of this carving knife?" Nick asked innocently, then grinned to hide his pride in his expertise. He glanced expectantly at Eve, waiting for her reply.

"With the meal," she murmured, candle flames reflected in her eyes.

He'd perfected his carving skills during a six hour stint on the buffet line. When he'd first inherited the casino, he'd insisted on reporting for a brief shift at each job. He considered the training grass roots preparation for running the place. Figured he couldn't very well tell a person how to improve his work without having stood awhile in their place.

More or less.

Eve took a sip of wine. "The roasted duck is really good."

"As I said, I had help." He topped off Eve's wine glass, then his. "Yams?"

Eve spooned a generous serving onto her plate, making him glad he hadn't waited to ask and had heated the colorful side dish rather than serve it cold.

"Olives?" she asked, offering him the relish dish.

Nick popped one into his mouth, forked several more onto his plate. "Now I'll take a roll, please."

When Eve passed him the basket, their fingertips brushed. Surprised by the accidental, electrically-charged touch, she glanced up and met his startled gaze.

Unnerved by the impact of that brief moment, he placed the roll on his plate, picked up a knife and promptly dropped it. The knife hit his plate with a loud clang.

Eve laughed softly, breaking the spell, then passed him the butter. While he slathered his roll, she picked up a small, meat-covered bone and gnawed her way down one side.

Was it possible for Croupier to have a heart attack?

Nick stared, fascinated, as she daintily licked her russet lips, then gnawed her way up the other side of the bone.

This time he was prepared for the swift emergence of her tongue, pink and lush and so temptingly erotic Croupier tried to kick his heels.

He was not prepared for Eve to lick her fingers, one at a time. Nick swallowed convulsively as she wiped her hands and met his gaze. "What did you have in mind to do tomorrow? Go tobogganing again?"

He hadn't gotten beyond what he planned to do later tonight.
That
would most definitely include Eve. Naked, of course, and in each other's arms. Participating in the kind of slow, sensual sex that he knew could drive a woman out of her mind.

"Nick...
Nick
? You're grinning." Eve lightly touched his wrist. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," he said softly, and stopped eating long enough to stroke her hand. "And me."

"And..."

Doing what comes naturally. Making love
.

"We'll think of something." The implication inherent in his words made Eve blush.

She smiled self-consciously. "I'm sure we will."

Nick glanced at his plate. Sometime in the last five minutes, he'd eaten everything in sight, but could not recall the taste of a single bite. So closely attuned to Eve were his senses, he imagined he could taste the salty-sweet column of her neck.

Her plate was nearly cleaned, too. Would she mind waiting for dessert? He reached for her hand. Haunting music swelled in the background, something about snowy lanes and glistening snow. "Listen. Hear that?"

Eve cocked her head, revealing more of the long vulnerable curve he'd just fantasized about. Nick stilled. She was incredibly beautiful, sitting there in the candlelight, and seemed unaware of how she affected him. Dare he believe that?

Chapter Fourteen

The haunting strains of the love song swelled, and although not yet finished with their meal, Nick wanted Eve in his arms more than he'd ever wanted anything. "Dance with me," he whispered, pushing his chair back from the table.

She agreed with a wide smile, stood and reached out to take his hand. His heart pounded like a teen taking a girl in his arms for the first time. He found it hard to move, let alone dance as smoothly as the socially-experienced man he considered himself to be.

Eve didn't seem to notice. She interlaced her fingers with his and led him across the room to the hall. There the floor was bare and she turned into his arms. Humming softly, she leaned into him, her head against his shoulder, her thighs warm against his. She began to sway, forcing him to take slow, rhythmic steps, a tempting love dance that brought every dormant nerve in his body instantly awake.

Through the silk of his shirt, he could feel her breasts, soft and warm, a fluid target for his fingertips, now occupied with the sensual rotation of her hips.

Holy Hell
! Beneath his hand the slow, sensual movement of Eve's hips was driving him wild.

Dancing was
not
a wise suggestion, not when he badly needed cooling off time, yet he tucked Eve's hand in his and nestled both chest high.

Her warm breath and rapid heartbeat wrought havoc with his sanity.

"Nick?"

He was so deeply engrossed in his thoughts his mind barely registered that she'd plaintively whispered his name. "Hmmm?"

"Do you have your heart set on dancing?"

Well, yes, but the dance I have in mind entails you naked and pinned willingly beneath me.

"Not if you have something else in mind," he murmured, then moved back to gaze into Eve's eyes.

Her mute nod made his breath catch. He swept her off her feet, then headed for...

The sofa
?

Too narrow.

The bed?

Too far away.

There. Quick. The rug in front of the hearth
.

Nick strode through the front room, Eve light as down in his arms and far softer. Kneeling, he centered her on the furry rug, then surrounded her with pillows from the sofa and a velvet throw. "Is this what you had in mind, too?"

* * * * *

Smiling in anticipation, Eve stretched out her arms to Nick, and when he settled into them, she felt whole. That realization made her tremble far more than her need.

She was too close to losing her heart to a man she hardly knew. So close it frightened her. She wanted to resist, to hold back from Nick's embrace, but he was no stranger to her willful body. It knew him and readily welcomed his hands and his mouth.

There was no fighting this attraction. Everything in her turned to mush beneath his knowing hands, but she refused to give in. Tried to slow her breathing. Closed her eyes, but could still picture him. Counted backwards from one hundred.

She only reached ninety-eight before his warm hand found its way under her sweater and her good intentions evaporated in the heat of desire. She pulled at Nick's shirt, trying to work the buttons free with fumbling fingers.

He saved her the bother. He ripped the shirt open. Buttons flew everywhere. Then her hands were feasting on the ridged muscles of his chest. The wiry sprinkle of dark hair that sprouted across those muscles begged her fingers to touch. To sift. To admire.

While her attention was taken by the broad expanse of Nick's chest, he delved into her bra. Warm and possessive, his palm cradled her sensitive flesh.

"Nick..."

"Shhh." His thumb flicked across her nipple. Then back.

A bolt of heat zinged from her nipple, surged down to her heated core. Helpless, she moaned.

He removed his hand from her bra and tugged at her sweater with both hands. Sitting up, she helped him ease it up and off, then shook her head. No longer restrained, her hair cascaded down her back, a deliciously exciting feeling. She'd never,
ever
, worn her hair loose like this.

Only
with Nick. He had her doing things she'd never considered doing before, and loving it. Loving him.

No. Don't think. Just enjoy
.

And enjoy she did. Through the thin, silky lace of her bra, Nick's tongue found her nipple, the sensation so sweetly erotic she writhed against him. Encouraged, his hands explored further. Her spine. Her waist. While she sought the band of his jeans, his hands slid up, then down her arms, encouraging her.

Good. He wore no belt.

One deft touch and the button holding his jeans closed came undone and Eve did some exploring of her own.

When she discovered Nick wore no briefs, she grinned.
He made things easier for me.

He unzipped her skirt, helped her slide the garment off, then ran his hands up the inside of her thighs and down.

No, no. Come back. Slide your hands higher up.

To leave no doubt in Nick's mind how to pleasure her, Eve rolled on her side, then thrust out her hips.

At her brazen action, he chuckled. "All in good time, sweet Eve," he whispered and wrapped his arms around her tight.

* * * * *

Nick sucked Eve’s bare ear lobe into his mouth, knew the instant the beat of her heart changed pace.

Had she left off her earrings in anticipation of this? To give him easier access to the dainty appendage he liked to explore with his tongue and mouth?

She was hot and needy and had him so hard Croupier was likely to explode, yet Nick wanted to wait, to keep Eve edgy.

To make her beg.

She gave him a feeling of power. Yeah, and more. Like he was the only man on earth who could satisfy her.

He liked the feeling far too much. Who would have thought?

He hugged her tighter. She trembled and her body clenched with desire. When she sighed, he gave in to the urgent need to bury himself deep in her soft flesh, and pushing Eve's trembling hands aside, yanked down his zipper and stripped off his jeans. Her bra and panties took longer to remove, but finally, there she was, naked in his arms, her skin like pink ivory in the firelight, her eyes aflame with passion, and himself ready to stoke that fire.