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She pulled into the parking lot and drove up to the neon sign that indicated the office. Eden frowned. It wasn’t glamorous and it probably didn’t have room service or a masseuse on staff, but it was a start. She’d get a room, cut and dye her hair and make a plan. And tomorrow morning she’d begin her life all over again.
MARCUS GRABBED A BEER from the refrigerator in Ian’s kitchen, then leaned out the screen door. “You guys need another?”
Ian and Dec stood next to the grill, staring at the hamburgers that Ian was cooking for their dinner. “We’re good,” Ian shouted.
Marcus glanced at his watch again, wondering why it was taking so damn long to cook a few lousy hamburgers. He’d stopped by Ian’s simply to check in and waste an hour before heading back to Newport. But from the moment he’d arrived, he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Eden. He wondered what Eden was doing, how she was feeling, whether she’d come to her senses and seen the truth of the situation or whether she was still angry at him.
He imagined how he’d make things right with her. There was a certain simplicity in taking her into his arms and kissing her until she surrendered. But he was also prepared to apologize for his harsh words and seduce her slowly. However it went, he was determined to get back to the place they’d been, that wonderful state of constant arousal and anticipation.
Marcus glanced over at his brothers, grateful they couldn’t read his thoughts. For now, what he shared with her was a tantalizing secret, something that defied description and analysis. He’d have to find a way come clean. But there was no way he could tell his brothers the truth of his life right now.
With Eden, he didn’t try to make sense of it. What had happened with her was a complete break from everything he’d known about desire. It was as if a giant wave had come and swept him out to sea, caught him in a current that was impossible to escape. He’d fought it at first, but then Marcus had realized that the only course was to surrender. To just let himself drown.
He sat down on the picnic table and bent forward, bracing his hands on his knees and staring at his beer bottle. When he touched her, it was pure pleasure. When she touched him, it was exquisite torment. When release finally came, it was a sensation that was unmatched in his lifetime.
He remembered his first experience with losing control at a girl’s touch. The world had seemed to shift on its axis, and from that moment on Marcus had known that sex was something he didn’t want to do without. But now, with Eden, he realized it was something he couldn’t live without.
There was only one partner he wanted, one person who could provide the kind of pleasure he sought. Eden had become his drug of choice, her body so addictive that he found himself barely existing between fixes. Marcus shook his head. How was it possible that he felt this way and they still hadn’t had sex yet?
“Hey! Are you planning to speak anytime soon?”
Marcus glanced up, pulled from his thoughts by Dec’s voice. He blinked. “What?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Dec asked.
“Nothing,” Marcus replied. “I’ve just … got some things on my mind.”
“Here’s a question,” Ian said. “Should a guy ever be completely honest with a woman? Or is it always better just to tell her what she wants to hear?”
“Always be honest,” Marcus said at the very same time Dec said, “Tell her what she wants to hear.” They glanced at each other.
“If you’re not honest, it’ll come back and bite you in the ass.”
“Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?” Ian asked. “So you’d tell her that her hair looks like crap and her butt does look huge in those pants and that you’d rather drink varnish than have dinner with her parents?” Dec asked. “Hell, Marcus, you’d get kicked to the curb with the rest of the garbage. No wonder you can’t keep a woman.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Marcus murmured. Hell, he didn’t know what he was talking about. All he knew was that he’d been honest with Eden and it had led to a relationship more intense than any he’d ever experienced. By stripping away all pretense, they’d had a chance to know each other in a very intimate way.
“I think there are very specific things you should never tell a woman,” Ian ventured. “Guy secrets. You know, those universal truths that all guys know but we need to keep to ourselves to preserve the future of the male species.”
“Like what?” Dec asked, clearly curious.
“Like when we look at other women, we really are looking at other women,” Ian said. “And thinking about what they’d look like naked.”
“And that no matter how many times a woman wants to have sex with you, it’s never gonna be enough,” Dec added. “And that no guy likes to cuddle after sex.”
Ian nodded. “And that we really do read Playboy for the pictures and not the stories. Universal truths.”
“Be honest. Have you ever been with a woman when you’ve been completely satisfied with the quality and frequency of the sex?” Ian asked.
Yes, Marcus mused. With Eden, even though they hadn’t actually had sex, he’d been completely satisfied. There was a certain excitement that came from the anticipation, waiting to share that final intimacy, thinking about having sex, even avoiding sex, that made the need more acute.
“I rest my case,” Ian said after weighing Marcus’s silence.
Marcus took a long sip of his beer, then shrugged. “Maybe none of us has found the right woman.” He glanced over at his brothers as they stared at him. “Yet.”
Ian groaned, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. “Jaysus, Marky, this is what comes from being stuck on that boat all alone. You’re not making any sense. What’s wrong with you? You’re sounding like a bleedin’ romantic.”
“So that’s not what you want out of life?” Marcus asked.
“First off, you can’t talk to women, so how can you be honest with them? They have no capacity for logical reasoning. They’re driven by emotions. Let me tell you, getting into a real conversation with a woman is like stepping on a land mine. One stupid move, one offhand comment or misplaced adjective and—boom—you’re dead.”
“And you can’t depend upon women,” Declan continued. “They may have your back now, but the minute you don’t agree with them they’ll cut your legs out from under you. You want someone who’ll have your back? That’s what brothers are for.”
Marcus took another sip of his beer. In truth, he’d been thinking the same thing about Eden just a few hours ago. But that had been at the end of a brutally honest conversation, the kind of conversation that had exposed some pretty raw emotions. It may not have been a pretty argument or a fair fight, but at least it had been honest.
“Women are not the enemy,” Marcus said.
Ian stared at Marcus for a long moment. “Did you break the pact?”
“No!” he lied. “I’ve just figured out a few things for myself.”
But hadn’t the pact contained a fatal flaw? He and his brothers had assumed that the only way to figure out women was to stay away from them, to make a vow of celibacy and stick with it. But Marcus had learned more about women in the week he’d spent seducing Eden Ross than he’d learned in his previous twenty-seven years. She was a complicated, perplexing pain in the ass, but he knew her better than he’d ever known any other woman in his life.
“So are you planning to share with us?” Declan asked.
Marcus shook his head. “Not at the moment.”
A long silence descended on the group as Ian and Dec stood at the grill and stared into the fire. Marcus fought the urge to tell them everything, to explain it all in the hopes that they would be able to offer some explanation. To confess that he’d been the first to break their pact and succumb to the pleasures of the flesh.
But what had gone on between him and Eden defied description. Hell, he’d been trying to put words to it for days with no luck. “Any luck on finding that girl you were looking for, Dec?” he asked, anxious to shift the topic.
“Eden Ross?” Dec sat down on the picnic table next to Marcus. “Nothing yet.”
“Louise Wilson over at the diner mentioned that there were a couple of guys wandering around Bonnett Harbor asking if anyone had seen her,” Ian said. “They’re promising a big payday for information. Ten thousand for a tip that leads to a photo of Eden Ross. I’m thinking I ought to be out looking for her.”
“She must be close by then,” Dec said.
“Why do you say that?” Marcus asked.
“Those tabloid photographers usually know more than the local cops. They can afford to pay for information. And when it comes to celebrities, folks are anxious to talk, especially for cold, hard cash. I’ll just wait until they smoke her out and then I’ll grab her up and take her home to daddy.”
“What if she doesn’t want to go?” Marcus asked. “She’s an adult. She makes her own decisions.”
“Whose side are you on?” Dec asked. “It’s my job to find her. I don’t get paid unless I find her. Ross is your boss, too. Watch out for his interests and he’ll watch out for you.”
Marcus was starting to understand how the rest of the men in Eden’s life had felt. It was difficult to resist a woman who made him feel the way she did. All she had to do was touch him or look at him in a certain way, and he felt his desire begin to burn.
Dec poured a bit of his beer onto the charcoal as the flames licked at the burgers. “Hell, if I were Ross, I’d think about putting that girl in a convent, locking the door and throwing away the key. I wouldn’t mind getting a look at that tape, though. See what all the fuss is about.”
Marcus fought back a surge of anger, struggling to maintain an indifferent facade. He’d never been the jealous sort, but the notion of his brother staring at images of a naked and aroused Eden cavorting with another man didn’t sit well with him. Marcus jumped to his feet and set his empty beer bottle on the picnic table. “I gotta go,” he said.
“You haven’t had anything to eat,” Ian said.
Marcus shrugged. “The wind is supposed to pick up later tonight, and I’ve got to set another anchor.” Marcus started toward his truck parked in the driveway next to Ian’s house.
“So how’s the job going for you?” Dec called. “What did Ross think about the work?”
“He thought it was great,” Marcus yelled, giving them both a wave. By the time he slipped the key into the ignition, his thoughts were firmly fixed on Eden. He’d been away from her for three hours, too long in his book. He needed to touch her, to inhale the scent of her hair and feel the warmth of her body against his.
Eden had become a basic need for him, like food or water. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but as he pulled onto the street and pointed the truck toward Newport, he felt the hunger grow even more. When he touched her again, he wasn’t going to stop until they were both completely sated.
5
MARCUS STARED AT HIS watch, then looked out across the water at Victorious. Midnight. And Eden was gone. Marcus had returned to the boat five hours before, fully expecting her to be waiting for him, ready to smooth over the rift between them. But when he’d climbed on board, he’d found the boat silent and empty.
He stood on the end of the dock, his arms braced on a piling, feeling helpless to do anything but curse himself for driving her away. Hell, Eden could be on a plane back to Europe at this very moment, ready to return to the glamorous life she’d left behind. Or she could be checking into a luxury hotel in New York City. Or she could be sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Newport. Even if he wanted to find her, it was impossible.
He sat on a nearby bench and stretched his legs out in front of him, tipping his head back to look up into the starry sky. Inhaling a deep breath of the damp night air, Marcus tried to put order to his thoughts. Where would she go? She’d been determined to avoid her father, so maybe she’d returned to California, to her mother. Or she could have called friends.
Wasn’t this how he’d always expected it to end between them? One day Eden would be there, and the next she’d be gone, no explanations, no apologies. Marcus sighed. In truth, he ought to be glad it was finally over. They’d made a quick and clean break. He could go back to his work without having to worry about Eden and the drama that seemed to swirl around her.
Yet he couldn’t help but worry a little. The way Declan talked, there were people out there looking for her—and not just her father. Reporters, photographers, they all wanted a piece of her. He felt as if he were the only one qualified to protect her.
Though she wanted everyone to believe she was tough and resilient, Marcus knew better. He saw something of himself in her bravado. As a kid, he’d covered up his loneliness with a false confidence, hoping that if he appeared to be sure of himself, then others wouldn’t notice that he was a bundle of fears. Eden was lost like that now, trapped by her insecurities and fighting to prove that she was strong enough to survive.
Eden had handled that kind of attention in the past, but she was much more vulnerable now. Could she withstand another onslaught from the press or her father? Or would she capitulate and go back to the life she’d led before? Marcus shook his head and sighed.
He’d come to her rescue, keeping her presence on board Victorious a secret. But she could take care of herself if she had to. She had her father’s money. That kind of money could get her out of almost any mess.
He raked his hands through his hair. So that was it. Eden was gone and Marcus would go back to life as he’d known it. But it would never be the same for him. Marcus couldn’t imagine ever meeting a woman now without comparing her to Eden, without wondering if he’d ever experience such crazy, uninhibited desire again.
His cell phone rang and Marcus reached inside his pocket and pulled it out. He glanced at the caller ID—the Sandpiper Motel. Frowning, Marcus flipped open the phone and held it to his ear. “Hello?”
“It’s me.”
Her voice sounded shaky and strained, as though she was on the verge of tears. Marcus sat up straight. “Eden? Are you okay?”
“Can you come?”
“Are you at a motel?”
“I can’t remember what it’s called. I’m in room five.” “Are you all right? Tell me.” A sob tore from her throat and Marcus winced. “No,” she replied.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice now barely audible.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes, sweetheart. Stay right where you are. Don’t go outside and don’t open the door to anyone but me. And if anyone tries to get in, then you call the police or 911, all right?”
“O-okay.” She hung up the phone and Marcus jumped to his feet. His mind raced with all the possibilities. Had she been hurt? Was she being threatened? Obviously something had happened to upset her, but what? Hell, maybe she’d called her father and it hadn’t gone well.
As he sped along Ocean Avenue toward Newport, he felt oddly relieved. She wasn’t gone yet. And when she needed help, she hadn’t hesitated to call him. Marcus grabbed his phone again, ready to ask for Ian’s help. But then he thought better of it. If he told Ian about Eden, then Ian would feel compelled to tell Dec, and Dec would have to tell Ross.
The fifteen-minute drive across the bay to Bonnett Harbor was accomplished in ten minutes, and by the time Marcus pulled the truck up to the front of the Sandpiper Motel he was determined to grab Eden and take her back to the safety of the boat.
He jumped out of the truck and found the door to room five. Marcus knocked softly, and a moment later the door opened a crack in front of him. Eden peered out, then stepped back as she let him enter. She closed the door and stood against it, dressed only in her panties and a bra, a towel wrapped around her head. Marcus strode into the room and glanced around, but Eden was alone.
“Thank you for coming,” she murmured.
He faced her, his heart twisting at her tear-stained cheeks. Marcus held out his arms and Eden crossed the room and stepped into his embrace. “Are you all right?” he asked, his hands smoothing over her narrow shoulders to rest at the small of her back.
God, it felt good to touch her again, to feel her warm body beneath his hands. He’d grown accustomed to touching her whenever the whim struck and he didn’t like doing without.
“It’s stupid,” she said, burying her face in his chest.
“What? Tell me. I’ll make it all right,” Marcus said. “I swear I will.”
“You can’t.”
He drew back and cupped her face in his hands. “I can try. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
Eden wiped her nose on the back of her hand and drew a ragged breath. “It’s green,” she murmured.
“What’s green?”
Eden reached up and brushed the towel off her head. “My hair.”
A laugh slipped from his throat, and the moment it did Marcus wished he could take it back. This was one of those times when honesty was probably not the best policy.
Eden’s expression crumpled into tears and she ran to the bed and threw herself face-first onto the mattress. “I know! It looks ridiculous. I wanted to dye my hair so people wouldn’t notice me. I might as well have a neon sign attached to my head now.”
Marcus sat down on the bed and gently turned her over to face him. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at your hair. It was just a laugh of relief. I thought you were hurt or in trouble.”
She plucked at her hair. “What do you think this is?”
“Jaysus, Eden. You scared me. I thought … well, you don’t want to know what went through my mind. I’m just glad you’re all right.”
“But I’m not all right,” she said. “Look at my hair.”
God, even with the green hair she looked beautiful. How was that possible? “Well … it’s green. How did that happen?”
“I don’t know. The box said medium brown and it came out green. I should sue. This isn’t even close to medium brown.”
“Why did you dye your hair?”
“It’s part of my plan,” Eden said. She gave him a narrow-eyed glare. “This is all your fault, you know. You told me I needed a plan, and I made a plan and now look at me.”
“Unless that plan includes clown college, then I’m not sure what you’re going to do with green hair.”
