Beyond Eden by Kele Moon Page B

pulled off the condom, threw it away and then washed his hands. No steam rose out of the shower stall and Paul didn’t say anything. Knowing he was probably waiting for him to leave before he got out, Danny left.
    He crawled into his bed naked, hoping Paul would join him but knowing he probably wouldn’t. His heart ached and Danny realized how lonely he was. What was going to happen once Paul got married and left? Who would Danny have to take care of?
    He closed his eyes. An image of Eve swam up in his mind with her long, beautiful red hair, pale skin and a soft, feminine figure that made her so nice to hug. She was as lost as Danny, stuck at a crossroads in life, and he couldn’t help but wonder if their paths had crossed at just the right time. It could be destiny, but Danny preferred the idea that his mother was watching over him from somewhere and had sent Eve back to him right when he needed her.
    One thing was certain—Eve Everton was at the top of his “to do” list and no one stayed there for long. Danny had made up his mind he wanted her and he always got what he wanted.

Chapter Three

    Eve woke to the dull throb of a headache at her temples. She groaned, rolling over in bed, clutching at a pillow she realized with dreadful certainty wasn’t her own. She blinked awake against her head’s profound protest against it and found herself in a strange room. The bright sunlight filtering in through the window nearly blinded her and she moaned out loud as she looked around. The room was sparsely decorated and she frowned at the simplicity of it.
    Memories surged at her then, putting her mind on fast forward. She groaned again, putting a hand to her head and rolling over to lie sprawled across the bed in Paul and Danny’s guestroom.
    Would she ever stop making a mockery of her life?
    As if returning home with nothing to show for ten long years away wasn’t enough, she had gotten herself completely trashed and hung all over Paul—who had a girlfriend.
    She vaguely remembered Paul calling her mother and making up excuses for her, which made it even worse. Way to make a good impression. She had envisioned seeing Paul a million times over the years but her fantasies had never played out so horribly. She couldn’t have made up a more humiliating situation if she had tried.
    Someone give her a gun and let her put herself out of her misery. “Evie Girl?”
    “Lemme alone,” she moaned, putting the pillow over her head. “I’m plotting my demise.”
    “Oh, don’t do that,” Danny called from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?” “I don’t care.”
    Eve was still sprawled out over the bed, wearing only Paul’s enormous shirt for modesty. She felt Danny’s eyes on her as she hid under the pillow, pushing it closer to her face, deciding suffocation would work if she couldn’t locate a gun.
    “You’re adorable,” Danny said, his voice soft and strangely full of longing. “I thought of you all night.”
    “Are you still drunk?” Eve asked accusingly into the pillow.
    Danny laughed and the sound was endearing enough to force Eve to move the pillow aside and blink up at him. Danny stood over her, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans—and nothing else.
    “Want some coffee?” he asked, raising dark eyebrows as he stared down at her. “I just made it.”
    “What?” Eve mumbled, her eyes wide as she took in Danny’s strong, cut arms and muscular chest. He was built more lithely than Paul, reminding her of a panther rather than a bear. Her eyes ran down to his flat stomach that was defined with the lines of a very nice six-pack. His hips were narrow, his legs impossibly long. His hair was mussed from sleeping, his dark eyes sated and heavy. He was beautiful enough to make her breathless and she decided right then any world that had a man that handsome in it was worth living in. “Maybe suicide is over the top.”
    “I think so,” he said with a sexy grin. “What about the