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"I have never secretly taped any woman. You've heard about the sex tape. I'm not ashamed of that, but the woman I was with consented to being recorded. In fact, it was her idea."
Eve's sister studied me, one finger tapping on her arm.
Her attention set my skin to itching. I fidgeted again and scratched my thigh.
"Your sister means more to me," I said, "than a costar for a sex tape. I would never knowingly hurt her."
Krista puckered her lips for half a second, then smiled. "Good. That means I don't have to get Andrew and Jeremy to tie a concrete block to your ankle and toss you headfirst into the hot spring."
The twinkle in her eyes confirmed she was joking.
I might not have been sure otherwise. Krista had seemed like a cheerful, easygoing person when I'd first met her. Here in the dining hall, she'd turned into a deadly protector of her older sister. I respected that. If I'd thought any man was using one of my sisters, I would've done the same thing.
Krista got up and walked around the table to sit in the chair beside Jeremy, which Andrew had vacated.
Eve was staring at me, unblinking.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I—I heard what you and Krista were talking about." She bit the inside of her lip and focused on my shoulder. "You must've been saying that stuff to make my sister happy."
Saying what stuff? With a start, I realized everything I'd said.Your sister means more to me than a costar for a sex tape. I would never knowing hurt her. She's a special woman.Had I sounded like a smitten man?
I'd meant every word, a fact that stunned me, but I couldn't tell Eve that. She might panic more than she already had today. But I didn't want to lie to her either.
"Yes," I said. "I, uh, didn't want your sister to think I'm using you."
"Sure, I get that." Eve relaxed, the shock dissolving into a casual smile. "Krista is my baby sister, but she likes to pretend she's my bodyguard. She likes you, though. She saves the inquisition for guys she thinks might be— Well, she doesn't do it to every guy I'm with."
Eve's parents came back to our table and spirited Eve away for a private conversation.
I wondered what she'd been about to say before she changed her mind mid-sentence.
And then I wondered why I cared.
Chapter Nineteen
Eve
After a day with my entire family and all my guests, I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. Val and I had both been too tired for sex, so he retreated into his room while I retreated into mine. If I hadn't been so exhausted, I would've sneaked into his room to crawl under the covers with him and go to sleep there. A couple days ago, I'd invited Val to share my bed.Would you like to come into my bedroom?I'd asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. Val had declined the offer, of course. He wanted a relationship even less than I did, but his rebuff had stung more than I expected.
The idea of sleeping with him—actually sleeping—appealed to me a lot. I tried not to think about why.
When I woke in the morning, I felt good. Wonderful in fact. I'd slept straight through the night without rousing once. Lying in my bed, I yawned and stretched my entire body. Refreshed and ready for another day of chaos, that's what I was.
"It's a stunning view from here."
Val's voice made me jump.
He leaned against the jamb of my open bedroom door, arms crossed over his chest, that gorgeously naked body on full display. His hair was mussed like he hadn't bothered to comb it yet, and his sizzling gaze gravitated to my chest. "I dreamed about those tits all night. That and other parts of your edible body."
I glanced down and realized my stretching had made the cover slide down to my waist, exposing my breasts. Not bothering to cover them, I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. "Good morning. You look edible as usual too."
"Did you dream about me?"
Oh yeah, had I ever. Sinfully hot, decadently erotic dreams about all the things I wanted to do to him and with him, not to mention the things I wanted him to do to me. I pushed the covers off the rest of my body. "All I dreamed about was you. I had half a mind to crawl into your bed last night just to sleep there."
Why on earth had I said that part about wanting to sleep with him? I hadn't meant to say it. Like the last time I'd suggested we spend the night together, the words had tumbled from my lips without permission. My mouth had a mind of its own when it came to Val and the notion of sharing a bed with him all night.
