“Is there any other kind?”
A pleased look crossed her face, replaced a second later by suspicion. “Really? Are you serious? Those are really difficult to find.”
“Yes. And yes, they are nearly impossible to find. But I managed to track down a box.” Anson could have gone for the joke and made a flippant comment. He went for serious instead. “I know how busy you’ve been getting ready for the launch. I appreciate you taking time to simply be with me.”
Her hand rose to cup his face. “I love being with you. You know that.”
Turning, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I feel the same.”
Eve rested her head against his chest, and Anson stroked her silky hair. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve such a wonderful woman, one who truly cared about him. One who wasn’t out for his money—she had plenty of her own—or filled with a desire to be part of Denver’s elite. She was already a part of that crowd.
“I don’t care what Jerome thinks,” she said. “I’m with you because I want to be with you, not because I want to please my fans.”
When she lifted her head, Anson met her gaze. “It’s important you know what you mean to me. Not just as a casual friend either. What I feel for you is, well, I love you, Eve.”
Before he could say more, she stepped close and cupped his face in her hands, her eyes intense and very blue.
“I love you, too.” Her words were as soft as a caress. “And, unless you’ve got your heart set on spending the afternoon on the water, I’ve got another idea that I think you’ll like even better.”
* * *
“Come with me.” Eve crooked her finger, and Anson followed her down the hallway into one of the bedrooms.
As his gaze traveled slowly over her, Eve shivered.
He suddenly grinned. “I think I’m going to like this alternative plan. A lot.”
A hot riff of sensation traveled up Eve’s spine at the desire in his eyes. “I thought you might.”
Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears.
A sudden look of tenderness crossed his face. Even before his lips met hers, she knew the feel of them, the softness, the warmth, the gentleness.
Eve wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. She loved the way he smelled, a woodsy mixture of cologne and soap and maleness that brought a tingle to her lips and started heat percolating low in her belly.
“I didn’t want to rush you,” he said in a husky voice that made her blood feel like warm honey sliding through her veins.
“You’re not rushing me.” Eve realized she was stroking the back of his neck, twining her fingers in his thick, soft hair. She planted a kiss at his throat, his skin salty beneath her lips. “I’ve been wanting this.”
Pulling his face down with her free hand, she gave him a ferocious kiss. They were both breathing hard when he pulled back, his eyes an impossible shade of green.
“I’ve got condoms,” he assured her.
“I’m on the Pill.” She met his gaze. “We’re doubly protected.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Heat radiated from him as he kissed her again, this time with a slow thoroughness that left her weak and trembling.
As clothing fell to the floor, Eve noticed her hands weren’t the only ones that shook.
She studied the strong lines of his face before her gaze dropped lower. Eve found herself longing to run her hands over his body, to feel the coiled strength of skin and muscle sliding under her fingers.
Anson’s lips lifted in a boyish smile as he stepped close to tuck a stray dark curl behind her ear. “You know, you can touch as well as look.”
Eve chuckled. “You’ve been checking me out, too, buddy. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
“I have, and you’re gorgeous. Inside,” he pulled her to him, his hand flattened against her lower back, drawing her up against the length of his body, “and out.”
A smoldering heat flared through her, a sensation she didn’t bother to fight. She cocked her head. “Why are we still talking?”