Marshall's brain screamed to a sizzling halt sending sparks shooting out of his ears. A second longer and he was liable to humiliate himself and drool.
"I...thought-well?" she asked in the stretching silence, bouncing a fist against her thigh. That hint of colour he'd seen in her cheeks downstairs deepened to a full blush, suffusing her skin with a nervous glow that was oddly sexy in contrast to the bold ensemble.
"God, you're beautiful," he whispered. And watched as the blush deepened further still. Though the animal in him leapt and prowled, eager to shred lace so he could taste woman and skin, Marshall reigned in every drop of control he had left, somehow managing to tap into reserves he didn't even know existed, and reached for her. Carefully, Slowly.
Lifting her hands, he kissed the delicate skin of her palm, her wrist, all while his eyes stayed pinned to hers, watching every flicker and flash.
"I've never seduced a man," she confessed, sliding a hand up from his waist.
"Yes you have. Every time you look at me, Eva. Every single time."
Until this moment, Eva hadn't realized, or appreciated how profoundly deep such simple a declaration could be. No one had ever said such things to her before now. To Nate she'd only been a weight around his neck, a burden to be dragged around for acting on the rush of teenage hormones and baser needs.
And for Randy, well...arguably the man was obsessed with her-but when entering the program she'd learned that she was one of many, showing a clear pattern of escalating behaviour. She was a representation of an ideal he'd wanted. A cardboard cut-out to slot into his perverse little picture.
"Hey," Marshall stroked a finger between her eyes were a furrowed had formed. "None of that."
"Sorry," Eva murmured, eyes crossing as his hands skimmed across her body, cupping and molding. His mouth dipped to savour that point between shoulder and throat. Melting into his arms, he stretched her out on the bed, his body sliding over hers, a whisper that made her want-need-crave more.
More friction. More heat. Just more of him. And now.
When her hands raced to find him, to touch him, he gathered them in one his and pinned them over her head. Wagged a finger in front of her face.
Slow sips and slower caresses. Eva burned under his touch, under the maddeningly precise ministrations of hands, body and mouth. From shoulder to breast. From breast to belly.
Lower.
Lower...
"I've always been in such a rush with you," he whispered against the skin of her thigh, breath hot and thrilling. "Such a shame. Not this time."
A whispered stroke of his tongue over the heart of her. Eva quivered. "This time I'm going to watch you, Eva. Discover you. Until I know every sigh and sound you make." His fingers peeled away that wispy barrier between them, leaving her more intimately exposed than she'd ever been in her life. "No secrets. Not here. Not with me. Not tonight."
He found her with his mouth-endless and devastating in its ruthless, commanding onslaught. Moaning, Eva arched into him. Blind. Lost. His arm banded across her belly, anchoring her where he needed her.
Tonight she'd thought to seduce him, but it was he who was seducing her. Claiming her with endless patience. This iron control-a thorough intensity that was likely to kill her. And soon there was only the need, the desperate, wild need for breathless release. Dragging a pillow across her face, she sobbed his name, coming apart in a hot, violent wave that stripped her bare.
And birthed a whole new need inside of her. A need for him. Dragging his mouth up to hers, Eva plundered. Her lithe little body found leverage and used it to reverse their positions so he was now the one pinned.
He was still mostly dressed so in frustration she ripped and tore, finding any bit of exposed flesh and skin with her mouth, biting until she heard his panting hiss, his muttered oaths. Mouths fused, the taste of her passion on his tongue was intoxicating. Thrilling.
Their hands clashed and warred between them, struggling and fighting to dispense with the rest. She cupped the hard length of him, driven by a fierce, ravenous impulse, all greed and impatience.
Now, her body screamed. And she sank over him. A savage moan tore from Marshall's throat, and rearing up, he clutched at her hips, and panted her name. Pushing him flat, she set her hands on his chest, their eyes locked-held as she rose over him. And fell, again and again. This was perfection. This man, this body, this connection, all of it hers, and Eva celebrated that triumph. That wonder. And worked that gorgeous part of him inside her.
Growling his pleasure, Marshall's hips thrust to match her pace-fast and reckless and deep. A battle of wills, of give and take. A wild, breakneck pace that pushed them to that boundaries of breathless ecstasy.
Folding over him, she found his mouth and poured her cries into him, drank in his own, the two of them reaching that pinnacle together.
As one.
#
Afterwards, Eva lay there, her heart beating fast and unsteady.
"That was a hell of a homecoming," he whispered, lips nuzzling the side of her face, and his arms-so strong, so patience, held her close. Eva sighed into a stretch, turning into him so she could see his face. So close, together like this, she could see the flecks of grey and silver in the deep, crisp blue, ringed in charcoal.
Intense. Captivating. She could look into them every day for the rest of her life.
Her heart kicked at the thought.
"I really do like the hair," he said, rubbing the short strands between his fingertips.
"Claire cut it," Eva said. "Claire Willows." And at his inquiring, searching expression, realized he didn't have a clue whom that was. So she told him about the shy, little widow who'd tried valiantly to break through Eva's barriers, and the events that precipitated their newly formed friendship.
When she was done, Eva looked up at him, to see his smile had grown full and bright.
"Look at you, playing nice and making friends," he teased. "I'm so proud."
"Shut up." Balling a fist, Eva playfully punched his belly. And as her gaze shifted over his shoulder to her alarm clock, she gawked at the blinking numbers. Time had crawled when he had been gone, and now it was racing towards midnight.
It was getting late. Soon he'd have to leave.
Obviously sensing her thoughts, Marshall stroked a finger down her nose, capturing her attention. "Ask me to stay."
She wanted him to. Today. Tomorrow. Always. A gamble, a risk, but god she was tired of caring. Of being so careful all the damn time. She'd just made love to a man...a man she cared a great deal about, a man she'd come to want and need and cherish. A man who, for the first time, she believed she could actually grow to love. To trust.
So why couldn't she have him for one night?
"Okay. But you'll have to be gone before the girls wake up."
"I can do that."
"It's Payton's special breakfast in the morning." Sitting up, Eva angled her head left than right, the delicate bones in her neck cracking with movement. Leaning across the bed, she pressed her lips to his, smiled. "How do you feel about omelettes?"
"Love 'em," he said, nibbling around her mouth.
"And fresh berries with yogurt?"
"Great." Tugging her down, Marshall rolled her beneath him, the rest of his body awakening with renewed appetite.
"I could use a shower," Eva said, looping her arms around his neck, "And I happen to know mine's big enough for two."
#
Always a light sleeper, Marshall woke to the yawning creak of a door, and at his side, Eva jerked up as the bedroom lights clicked on.
"Mooooomma," Lucy's sleepy little voice mewled. "I'm scared. There's monsters in my room again."
"Baby," Eva rushed from the bed and gathered her daughter into her arms, trying to steer her around but it was too late. Blue eyes lifted from her mother and fell on him. Wide and full of tears.
"Marshall?" she sniffled.
Shit. Eva's eyes shot to him, full of guilt and worry and self-blame. Thankfully they'd had the presence of mind to slip into clothes before passing out somewhere in the neighbourhood of two AM.
"Hey, Gummy Bear." Joining Eva, he lowered to his haunches, swept a finger over the curve of a pudgy cheek, clearing the path of tears. "What's the problem? Monsters, you say?"
Lucy nodded, dark hair flapping around her face. "Uh-huh. Payton heard 'em, too. She's in the hall." Sure enough, Marshall could see the shifting of a shadow and a hint of toes visible from the gap of the partially open door.
"Come, baby. I'll get you back into bed." As Eva rose, holding her hand, Lucy dug in her feet, eyes fixed to him.
"No, Momma. I want Marshall to do it."
Speechless, Eva looked from Lucy to him and back again. "I-baby, I don't think..."
"Marshall's bigger." Lucy set her lip then looked to him, intent. "Will you come?"
"Only if Payton doesn't mind," he said. A few seconds later, a little blonde head peeked in, eyes flitting to his face, and nodded.
At a loss, Eva set her hands on her hips. "Alright. Okay. I'm here if you need me."
Plucking Lucy into his arms he held out a hand for Payton and led them down the hall to their bedroom. As they approached he heard the clattering rattle of an old house and older plumbing.
He knew how scary those sounds could be, the yawning and groaning of wood, the rattle of pipes behind walls combined with the boundless imagination of youth was perfect breeding ground for conjuring all sort of bump in the night critters.
As the girls sat down on the edges of their twin beds, Marshall made a show of poking around in their closets, rooting around under their beds, showing them there was nothing to be afraid of but dust bunnies and stray clothing.
"Nope. Just as I thought, no monsters here."
Lucy sat upright in bed, dark brows flat over blue eyes. "That's cause they're smart monsters. They'll come back soon as you're gone."
Not as smart as you, he thought, unable to contain his smile, or admiration. "Then there's only one solution," he said. "I'll stay here. Right here. And make sure they stay away for good."
Lucy and Payton exchanged uncertain glances.
"All night?" Payton whispered. Marshall looked up at her, set a hand over his heart.
"All night," he vowed. "And should they dare return, I will vanquish them back to the shadows from whence they came," he said, flourishing a pink princess wand from a bin of toys. "Using this magic scepter."
Enjoying the game, Lucy leapt out of bed. "You'll need this special cloak, too." And wrapped a gilded bit of cloth around his shoulders. "To keep you safe."
"Why thank you, princess." On bended knee, he bowed his head. And lifted it at a tap on his shoulders. He looked around to find Payton staring at him intently. Brown eyes focused. Searching. Then she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I like you," she whispered. Flushed. Then scrambled back into bed, pulling covers over her shoulders.
I'll be damned, he thought. And grinning like a fool, Marshall plopped down on the floor, stretched out, and crossed his hands behind his head.
And true to his word, stayed put-ignoring any ache, crimp or pain in his back. Long after he heard dreamy snorts and sighs. The door whispered open and Eva stood over him, a questioning tilt of her head.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm protecting the princesses from monsters."
Eva snorted, she disappeared out the door. Five minutes later, she was back with blankets and pillows. Nudging him aside, she tucked one under his head, a smaller one under his right shoulder, then snuggled in next to him and kissed his cheek.
"We'll protect the princesses together."
As they drifted off to sleep, surrounded in shadows and the sounds of sleepy snores, Marshall thought he liked the sound of that.