Intimidating didn't begin to describe her. Even at five in the morning she was dressed for serious business. She wore a sleeveless black sheath dress that stopped just above her knees and a pair of wicked stilettos in a neutral color. Her legs were long, her nails manicured and painted crimson, and her lips slicked with lipstick of the same shade. Her hair was like black silk and hung to the middle of her back.
"Did I scare you?" she asked.
"No, of course not," Tess said. "I'm used to seeing strangers pop in unannounced. I'm actually just leaving."
Eve smiled and walked around the spacious kitchen, looking at the area as if she were a prospective buyer, her heels clicking on the tile.
"He's an excellent lover," she said. "Deacon, I mean."
Tess's blood chilled at the words.
"A well-oiled machine in his prime. Men like Deacon are trained for one thing. Don't you want to ask me what that one thing is?" Eve arched a brow like a teacher expecting an answer from a student.
"Not really," Tess said. "Like I mentioned, I was on my way out."
"You're stubborn. And you've got spine. I can see why he enjoyed this assignment more than the others."
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. It wasn't difficult to read between the lines and interpret what Eve was trying to tell her. It was clear Eve and Deacon had been lovers. Was she jealous? Were they still lovers? And the insinuation that Eve had ordered Deacon to sleep with her had been a debilitating blow. The slice had cut deep and she was bleeding, only she couldn't feel the cut yet because her body was numb.
"I'd told him you're an asset to us here because of your connection to the community in aiding our transition here. But I can see you're a woman who's ready to break free. It's hard being the steady one. The responsible one." Her nails drummed rhythmically on the granite countertop of the island. "It's hard being the one everyone always depends on. Everyone else gets to live their life as they choose and have adventures. To come and go as they please and sleep with whomever they choose. What's holding you back from doing the same? Fear?"
Tess's hand balled into a fist around her car keys and the metal bit into flesh. It seemed Eve knew every one of her secret thoughts. Knew exactly what buttons to push. She hated being manipulated. And worse, she hated that it was so effective.
"I'm exactly where I want to be," she said firmly. She could feel the blood rushing to her face and hated that she couldn't be calm and cool like Eve. That her emotions were too strong to contain. But she really hated Eve Winter, and there was nothing she could do to hold it back.
"Really?" Eve said. "My mistake. But are you experienced enough to be able to go on with your daily life, to see Deacon every day and not have it cut you to the bone when he moves on? You wear your heart on your sleeve. Men like Deacon don't have hearts. They only have love for the next mission. The next adrenaline rush. Though there are benefits to those adrenaline rushes, as I'm sure you know."
Her smile was smug and knowing, and a vision of Eve and Deacon, naked and wrapped together in an intimate embrace, flashed through her mind before she could stop it. Eve seemed like the type of woman he'd be attracted to. Beautiful and smart and polished. Not a small-town, blue-collar girl who didn't crave that same adrenaline rush.
"I just don't want you to get your heart broken," Eve went on. "You're useful to the team for now, and his interest lay in the fact that you're needed here for us to work effectively. But that'll change once this mission is complete, and he'll move on to the next mission. The next woman. There's always another woman. A man like Deacon is very . . . virile. They all are. It's learning how to contain and harness all that sexual energy that's the challenging part of my job.
"I've known of his fascination for you since he met you, and now that he's gotten a taste he'll be able to move on and become more effective. So I should really be thanking you. And as I told you earlier, I have use for you in another location. Your skills are useful, and you've proven to be trustworthy with our secrets. Your salary would be triple what it is now, and you'd finally have the opportunity to have your adventure and go off on your own. And it would make things easier on you. Putting that separation between you and Deacon while you're piecing together your broken heart."
"Wow," Tess said. "You are a piece of work. Really."
Eve arched a brow, her full lips moving into a sensual pout. "I won't make the offer twice."