buy?”
She thought back to her time in the store. “I’m not sure. For a while there, I freaked out.”
Alec straightened and dumped the contents onto the other bed. Eve stood and surveyed the pile.
“Antibacterial dish soap?” He arched a brow at her. “Floral air freshener. Unscented baby wipes. Two packages of lime-flavored gelatin. Beef jerky. Facial tissue enhanced with lotion.”
She picked out the chocolate and the cell phone, arranged the pillows on her bed, and sprawled against the headboard. A moment later she was munching on what she considered to be manna from someone’s god. She plugged the AC adapter for the phone into the outlet in the base of the nightstand lamp. Then she dialed her parents’ house.
It rang three times before, “Hello?”
Eve breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Hey, Mom.”
“Where are you calling from?” Miyoko asked. “The Caller ID says ‘unknown caller’.”
“Long story. How are you?”
“I’m okay. Your dad isn’t. He’s mad.”
Darrel Hollis’s version of mad was a long-suffering look. He never raised his voice, never got physical. Eve suspected his blood pressure was on par with her new Mark stats. “Oh? About what?”
“The city turned off our water and started digging up the yard. They have to fix a leak. I told your dad it was time to resod anyway.”
Eve smiled, relieved that the mark system had moved so promptly. “Tell him to look on the bright side,” she suggested. “This might save you money on your utilities bill.”
“Your dad says I’ll spend the savings on the new yard, so he’s not getting ahead.”
Her mother’s love of horticulture and feng shui had led to a desire for a curving stone walkway flanked by lush flower beds. Her dad, on the other hand, thought their straight cement pathway was just fine.
“He’ll get over it,” her mother dismissed. “Want to come over for dinner?”
“I can’t to night.”
“You have a hot date?”
Eve laughed softly. “Not even close. I have to work.”
“That’s good. A woman should always be self-sufficient—” Eve’s father said something in the background. “Your dad says congratulations on the new job.”
“Tell him thanks for me. You’re not going anywhere today, are you?”
“No. Why?”
“No reason. I’ve got to go now, Mom. Did this phone number show up on your caller ID?”
“Yes, the number is here. Just no name.”
“Okay. Call me if you need me.”
“Evie-san . . .” Her mother’s voice took on a concerned tone. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s just a lot going on right now.”
“Take your vitamins,” Miyoko admonished, “or you’ll get sick. Stress weakens your immune system.”
“I will. Talk to you later.” Eve snapped the phone shut and stared at it for a long moment.
“Are they all right?” Alec asked.
She nodded and bit into a Twix bar.
“I want to stake out the masonry,” he said. “Are you up for that?”
She was up for anything that gave her something to do besides contemplate how screwed up her life was. “Why did we come back here, then?”
“Bathroom break.”
“Gotcha.” Eve chewed with gusto.
Alec’s arms crossed, causing his T-shirt to strain around his biceps in a way that melted the chocolate in her hand. As she licked her fingertips, he watched her with a guarded expression. “Are we fighting?”
Eve shrugged. “I’m just waiting for you to finish your explanation about your brother.”
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
“Okay, then.”
He exhaled in a rush. “I don’t want to talk about him with you.”
“I got it.”
She turned her head to look out the window. The sounds of the nearby highway blended with the sound of blood rushing through her veins. She inhaled and smelled the familiar scent of Alec the instant before he climbed over her and caged her to the bed.
“Hey,” he murmured, tossing his sunglasses onto the nightstand tucked between the two beds.
“Hmm?” She stared up at him, admiring the fall of dark hair over his brow. Every part of her tingled with awareness. Determined not to act as devastated by his nearness as she felt, Eve stuck the other Twix in her mouth.
Alec lowered his head and bit off the protruding end of the candy bar. A low sound of pleasure rumbled up from his chest. She watched him turn the act of chewing into foreplay, the steady clenching of his jaw a surprisingly erotic sight.
They swallowed in unison. Their lips parted in tandem. Then his tongue was stroking across hers. She shivered beneath him. Sexual tension and chocolate, could anything be more divine? Alec’s hand moved to her waist and anchored