She stirred in her sleep and slipped her arm across his chest, her fingernails lightly scratching him. When the breeze through the open window ruffled her hair, Eve awoke.

Opening her eyes, she stretched and repositioned herself in Julian’s arms.

“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered.

“Hmmm,” she murmured sleepily. After a moment, she turned and looked up at him. “How long have I been sleeping?”

“About an hour,” he said.

“How about you?”

“I didn’t want to waste time sleeping. Besides, I was really enjoying watching you,” he grinned.

“I probably snored too,” she said, embarrassed.

“No; Just a whole lot of snorting,” he teased.

She sat up and lightly punched his arm, “I was not!”

He laughed, “I’m only teasing.”

She sat beside him and looked down into his laughing eyes. “I’ve missed these times we had together,” she said quietly.

He sat up and looked into her eyes. “You have no idea how many countless nights I have spent thinking about you, wishing you were here in my arms.”

“I would have been, Julian,” she assured him. “My love for you was deep and real. But I was so devastated when you left me to marry Ivy Winthrop.” Tears welled up in Eve’s eyes as she relived the moment when she saw them together at the Harmony Country Club.

“I know,” he whispered. “I hated myself for it. If I only knew then, what I know now…” His voice full of regret, he turned away and got up out of bed. Slipping into his robe, he stood by the open window. “I had every intention of keeping you in my life. But I guess the way I went about it wasn’t a woman’s dream come true,” he snorted at his idiotic way of thinking when he was younger. “You wanted a man that would be true to you, not someone you had to sneak around to be with….” he laughed lightly. “This is ironic, because here we are, lamenting over our past and the mistakes we made, and at the same time, doing now exactly what I had planned to do then.”

Eve got up from the bed and put Julian’s shirt back on. She approached him, placing a hand against his back as she stood beside him.

Julian turned slightly and took her in his arms. “Do you have any idea at all how much I love you?”

Eve leaned her head against his chest and hugged him close. “Yes….I do,” she replied.

He tilted her chin up. “I wish things were different. I wish that I had been the man you deserved to have. I wish I had married you instead of Ivy.” Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Don’t, Julian, it’s no use. We can’t change anything. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes.” She brushed her hand across his shoulder to his neck.

“How, Eve? How do I learn from that? You belong to someone else….” He turned away from her, swallowing hard.

She leaned against his side, hugging her arms around him. Resting her cheek against his arm, she sighed. “I’m sorry, Julian. I wish things were different too.” Her voice trembled with emotion.

He turned and wrapped her in his arms again. Tilting her tear-stained face up to meet his, he bent and placed his lips on hers.

Her arms went up around his neck as she pressed him closer, surrendering to him completely. After a few minutes, she slipped her hands down to the front of his robe, pushing it open. Her hands roamed his chest, caressing the smoothness of his skin.

He reached down and grabbed her hands. Pulling them up, he placed them around his neck again, grinning against her lips. “You drive me crazy,” he said, his lips barely a breath’s space from hers.

She smiled back; her lips against his, her tongue darted out and briefly teased him.

“Oh, so that’s how you want to be?” he grinned and bent and swept her up in his arms. “Well, we’ll just have to see what we can do about that.”

Eve laughed, loving Julian’s playful side. “Tell me, what exactly are you planning to do?”

He placed her on her feet at the foot of his bed. Then he put his hands against her hips, sensually sliding them up her leg, dragging the shirt with them. He continued to move up till he was level with her breasts. “You’ll see,” he promised, as he brushed his thumbs against them.

Eve sucked in her breath. “Julian…” she whispered her knees about to buckle.

Julian smiled and leaned her back against the bed. As they hit the bed, he immediately rolled over and pulled her up on top of him. He grabbed the sheets that had been thrown carelessly aside and pulled them overtop of them when she shivered.

“I’m not cold,” she laughed.

“I agree, my dear, you are hot! There is just something about being wrapped in a blanket with you.” He pressed his lips to hers, his tongue invading her mouth as they kissed passionately.

Eve lay on his chest, both hands braced on the pillow beside his head. As she kissed him boldly, his hands roamed her back and moved lower, causing her breathing to become quick and shallow.

Suddenly Julian flipped her onto her back. Covering her body with his, he smiled into her laughing eyes.

“How old did you say you were?” she teased.

“What’s age got to do with it?” he grinned.

“Well, you handle me like…..” she paused, searching for a word.

“Hmmm,” he caught her bottom lip with his teeth.

She caught his head in her hands and pressed him closer, kissing him soundly. Then she released his lips and leaned back on his pillow and looked up into his eyes. “I don’t believe I ever spent so much time kissing in my entire life,” she giggled.

His eyes roamed her face, then centered on her lips. “Well, you taste like fine champagne; do you blame me for indulging?” he grinned happily.

“Champagne, huh?” she smiled.

“Would you like some?” he asked softly as he grabbed his phone.

“It’s so late, do you think we should?” she wondered, trying to be sensible.

“Too late? Honey, the night has just begun,” he said wickedly as he pressed a number on the keypad of his phone. Listening for a moment, he then said, “Bring a bottle of our finest champagne to my room.” He shook his head at the response on the other end. “I pay you for your prompt service, not lectures about the time.” With that he hung up.

“Julian, be nice. I am sure that you woke her up,” Eve chided.

“Him, it was a man,” he corrected her with a quick kiss. He shifted his body and lay on the bed next to her. Then he pulled her into his arms, her chin resting on his chest, so that she was looking up at him. “He is paid rather handsomely to do as I say,” he replied matter-of-factly.

Eve decided to give it up, realizing it wasn’t her place to argue with him over the matters in his own house. “Well, thank you anyways,” she smiled.

He sat up and pulled her up with him. “I’d do anything for you, you know that,” he said as he placed a thumb on her chin and caressed it.

“You are so good to me,” she said softly.

“I love you. I always have; I always will. I just wish I could show you like this every night.” He immediately regretted saying that, fearing she would think of TC and leave.

Instead, he was pleasantly surprised when she laughed and said, “I’d never get any sleep. My patients would all leave me due to medical malpractice.”

“I’ll be your patient,” he grinned. “Actually I have been thinking about switching doctors. I think having you give me a physical would be a much more pleasurable experience.”

Eve laughed, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh, is that a dare?” he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“No….” she started, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Julian jumped up and put on his robe. He placed a finger against his lips, motioning for her to be silent. Opening the door, he took the champagne from the servant before he could enter the room. “There will be a bonus on your next paycheck,” Julian promised and then closed the door.

Eve got out of bed and put on Julian’s shirt and began buttoning it.

“What are you doing?” Julian asked.

Surprised, she looked up. “Buttoning your shirt?” she offered.

“Oh no, you’re not! I like it just the way it is,” he smiled as he placed the champagne on the night table and then proceeded to unbutton the shirt again. “I like looking at your beautiful body, so curvy and sexy. Just looking at you could reduce a grown man to tears.”

“Are you always this sweet?” Eve asked as she slid her arms around his neck.

He bent and kissed her. “Only with you, my dear. Only with you.”

The champagne chilled on ice as Eve and Julian collapsed on the bed once more in a feverish heat of passion.