"A few minutes ago," Heidi said. She made a pained face. "They brought the whole gang."
Eve went rigid and motionless as a granite statue, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Her voice was hushed, almost a whisper. "My brother and sister? The kids? Everyone?"
"Yep."
I heaved myself up out of the water and got to my feet. Coming up beside Eve, I slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Why do you look shocked? I would've thought you'd want to see your family."
Only her eyes moved when she glanced at me. "I do, but not today. It's kind of a bad time."
She looked me up and down, her eyebrows lifting. Her appraisal stalled at my dick.
Ah yes, that. I wasn't fully aroused, but neither was I completely limp.
Eve raced toward Heidi, grasped her shoulders, and spun her to face the trail. "Don't look back. Just go. Tell my family I'll be there in a few minutes. And please, do not under any circumstances let them come out here."
"Aye-aye, captain," Heidi said with a smirk.
She lowered her hand and trotted down the trail.
Eve rushed to get dried off and get dressed.
"Relax," I said, observing her frantic movements while I slipped on my sandals and toweled off. "Your parents know this is a nudist retreat. They won't be shocked to see me."
She yanked her dress on over her head. It got stuck on her ear. She fumbled with it but seemed too frazzled to get it free.
I unhooked the strap from her ear, and the dress fell into position. "You're panicking. Is it because of me?"
She almost tripped getting her sandals on. "Ya think? I just had sex with a man I don't really know"—she flapped her arms, apparently to indicate the woods and the hot spring—"out here in the open. I took my clothes off outdoors where anyone might see me."
Eve flapped her arms again and made a face I couldn't describe. Her upper lip curled even as her mouth fell open. Her nose crinkled. She squinted her eyes and shook her head. Maybe it was shock or embarrassment, but I'd never seen an expression like that before. It was adorable. Bizarre, but adorable.
I grasped her shoulders. "Take a deep breath, Eve. This isn't as bad as you think."
"Sure, not as bad." She nodded her head with so much vigor it must've jarred her brain. "My entire family is here, everyone knows you and I are having sex, and you walk around naked twenty-four seven. My parents aren't nudists, but hey, what's to worry about?"
Her grin was sarcastic and slightly manic.
I did the only thing I could do. I gave her a quick, hard kiss and then grasped her hand in mine to lead her back to the guest house and her home. She didn't complain about the hand-holding, a testament to her frazzled state. We walked out of the woods hand in hand.
Eve froze, her eyes even wider.
An older woman with blonde hair sprinted toward us, followed by an older man with a rim of gray hair around his large bald spot. The couple halted a few feet from me and Eve, taking in the sight of us—Eve in her skimpy, tie-dyed dress and me in…well, nothing.
We'd forgotten the picnic basket, I suddenly realized.
"Mom," Eve said, struggling to catch her breath. "Dad. Hi. I wasn't expecting you."
Eve's mother squinted at me.
Or rather, at my penis.
Her lips quirked, and she puckered them like she was trying not to smile or maybe laugh. She aimed her eyes, bright blue like her daughter's, at me. "Who's your new friend, Evie?"
I kept hold of Eve's hand but offered the other one to her mother. "Val Silva."
Eve's mother shook my hand. "I'm Donna Holt. This is my husband, Larry."
Mr. Holt shook my hand vigorously. "Nice to meet you, Val. We didn't know Eve was seeing anybody."