Eva stood in the marketing office at Eva’s Organics, ready to have a nervous breakdown.

Two of the designers had called in sick, and the marketing comps for the latest ads for Divine, their newest fragrance, looked like crap. It was as if Nelson had hired a bunch of five-year-olds with a box of Crayolas to create the print ads, and now she was regretting ever choosing the tall pink vial with the gold foil around the neck for the packaging.

Basically, all hell was breaking loose, and she couldn’t stop thinking of the way Jack had felt inside her.

Which was really bad. She wasn’t wearing underwear, and as she’d suspected, thinking of him kept her constantly aroused. Her nipples seemed eternally erect, pressing obviously against the sheer fabric of her blouse. If she had to endure eight hours at the office, all she really wanted to do during them was sit at her desk, alone, and touch herself, entertaining nothing but thoughts about last night.

She laughed privately at the image. My, my, had she turned into a naughty woman or what?

She leaned over Georgie’s shoulder and squinted at the Mac’s computer screen. “Nelson actually thought this looked good?”

Georgie nodded. “Well, um, we all do. We thought the staircase to heaven wrapping around the bottle was genius. Remember?”

Maybe losing her virginity had made her temporarily blind to genius. Eva craned her neck, tilted her head.

No, it was shit. Everything was shit.

“Escape to Paradise.” She wrinkled her nose. “Did we really choose that as the tagline?”

Georgie nodded slowly again, studying Eva curiously. Eva vaguely recalled the meeting a month ago, when all of these ideas had sounded so damn good. She’d come out of it and actually fist-bumped the entire team for their awesomeness.

But now…

“Is it just me,” she asked, “or does that bottle look like a giant penis?”

Georgie’s eyes widened and she grabbed Eva’s sleeve, tugging her into the chair next to hers. Her throaty voice was even lower than usual as she asked, “Eva, what the hell is up? I was expecting a full report right after the deflowering, but you didn’t even send a text. And since then you’ve been running around like a chicken with her head chopped off. Are you seeing penises everywhere because you got laid or because you didn’t? End the suspense, girlfriend.”

Eva looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then smiled. “Last night.”

Damn, it felt good to tell someone.

Georgie clapped her hands excitedly. “So, was it good?”

The words bubbled forth. “It was amazing. Ah-maze-zing.” Then she thought about this morning. Something had gone wrong, but she wasn’t sure what. It had been hot as all get out, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Jack was upset with her for some reason. “But then…”

“But then, what?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I tried to downplay the virgin thing. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to make a big deal of it, or expect flowers and a marriage proposal or anything. I told him I wanted the full Jack, no special treatment.” She glanced over her shoulder, making sure she and Georgie were still out of earshot of the rest of the Eva’s Organics crew before she confided in a softer voice, “But this morning he kept trying to treat me like I was made out of tissue paper. And when I told him to cut it out, he got pissed.”

Georgie nodded thoughtfully. “And then what did he do?”

“He, um…” She fought a blush. “He really got into it. We did it in the shower and it was hot. And hard,” she added in an even softer voice. “But good. Great.” She shivered as sense memories swept over her skin.

“Oh, steamy shower sex is the best!” Georgie grinned. “So how do you feel?”

“I’m a little sore. And I don’t know. It’s like we vacillate between getting along perfectly and being mad at each other for some unspoken reason. Sometimes I just want to…” She mimed choking someone. “Ugh! Smack him upside the head. And I don’t even know why. We barely talked before we left for work because I think we were both afraid of saying something we’d regret. Is that normal?”

“Stop right there.” Georgie held a manicured finger up. “So you’re thinking about him so much that you’re seeing penises in perfume bottles, and yet all you want to do is rip his gorgeous head off? I’m sorry, darling, but that sets my warning bells to going off. Big time.”

Eva frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like you’re suffering from push-him-away-before-he-pushes-me-away-itis,” she said, shrugging. “Next stop, an ugly case of Love with a capital L.”

Eva stared at her, horrified. “No. No way!”

“Yes way,” Georgie said, nodding sagely. “And if he’s doing the same thing, then maybe he’s feeling it, too.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Maybe Big Bad Jack is falling in loooove.”

Eva burst out laughing; she couldn’t help it. “No. That’s definitely wrong. You know who we’re talking about, right? Jack Bennett. You forget, I’ve known him since he was seventeen. Even when he was in high school, he would have a few new notches on his belt every time I visited campus.”

She shrugged. “Well, maybe ol’ lick ’em and leave ’em Jack has matured?”

“Doubtful.” Eva pondered it another moment only to come to the same conclusion. “Totally doubtful. The saying about leopards and spots is coming to mind.”

“Oh, well,” Georgie trilled, stretching her arms overhead and twiddling her fingertips. “When he shows up with flowers and a marriage proposal, I promise not to say I told you so.”

Eva snorted. Jack Bennett and marriage proposals. Could any two things be more diametrically opposed to each other?

Georgie pointed at the computer screen again. “So, other than it looking like a giant penis staircase, is there any other feedback I should present to the design team?”

Eva sighed. “No. Don’t tell them that. Just tell them good work.” She stood. “Is this a normal thing for the newly deflowered? To see penises everywhere they go?”

“Absolutely.” Georgie nodded. “Post-first-coitus-itis. Penis hallucinations are a classic symptom.”

Evan sighed again. “Tell me it goes away.”

“Ordinarily I would say yes, but who knows the power of the wondercock?”

Perfect. Eva smiled dryly. “Great. Very encouraging. I’m going to take a little walk, okay? I need to clear my head.”

Georgie fluttered her fingers. “You’re the boss, lovely. Take all the time you need.”

Out on the street, Eva casually strolled down 5^th Avenue, drawing deep breaths of air. She’d taken mid-morning office-break walks before, but never had one felt so desperately needed.

Georgie was nuts. She had to be. Jack wasn’t falling in love. That wasn’t possible. His heart was covered in an impenetrable titanium coating.

But Eva wasn’t so sure about hers, which was why she had taken precautions in the first place. She had known what she was getting into, and had worked extra hard to steel herself against any emotional entanglements. She’d even practiced her causal, aloof, having-an-affair-for-the-first-time-is-no-big-deal routine in the mirror. And last night, when she’d met Lucy, she was sure she’d managed to pull it off.

Who would have thought playing it cool would make Jack so angry?

The truth was, meeting Lucy had felt like swallowing razor blades, and not just because she was a vile creature who had clearly worked some sort of Svengali magic on Jack when they were together. Coming face to face with someone else who had been naked with Jack hurt.

Still, Eva had pretended that she didn’t care, hoping to make things easier for both her teacher and her. Instead, Jack had lost his temper in a way that wasn’t like him.

Ugh. Men. They could be so hard to figure out sometimes.

Even Jack, who she’d known forever.

But the sex. Oh, God, the sex. The thought of him driving inside her, filling her to completion, made her shiver in the warm air. When he’d realized she was a virgin, he’d turned so gentle, sweet, accommodating. She’d heard so many stories about horrible first times, but Jack had handled it the way he handled everything—like a master.

Only a few days ago she had been so anxious and uncertain, and now suddenly she craved him like a drug.

No, I’m not craving him, she corrected. I’m craving it. The act, not the person. Don’t confuse the two, Eva.

She refused to acknowledge the small thought tickling the back of her mind. That gentle, sweet side that was so uncharacteristic of Jack? It was lethal. Too much time with tender, adoring Jack, and not even the most experienced woman would be able to resist falling hard.

And Eva was far from experienced.

Eva wandered farther and farther from her offices, lost in her troubling thoughts.

It was a nice, sunny day in the city, with so many people out on their lunch breaks that the streets thronged with activity. Because the weather was so mild and her mind so confused, Eva managed to stroll right out of her neighborhood, letting her need for peace lead her away from the bustling main thoroughfares. Soon she found herself on a quiet, tree-lined residential street, far away from the usual midday bustle.

When she surfaced from her thoughts, something niggled at the back of her mind.

A disquieting sense of alarm.

She turned a corner as another car slowly rounded it. It was a black Cadillac with tinted windows. She’d seen a similar car idling outside her office building the week before.

Was someone watching her? Following her?

Her heartbeat quickened.

She walked faster, her heels clicking on the uneven pavement.

The car accelerated slightly, keeping close behind her. This time, whoever was in the car didn’t try to be cagey or stay hidden.

Cold nerves skated over her skin, and she tensed everywhere.

There could be no mistake.

She was being hunted.

Why, she couldn’t even imagine, but she didn’t intend to find out by allowing herself to get caught. She hastened her pace, feeling the sting of her patent leather heel rubbing her ankle raw.

Damn these high heels. She’d worn them because she knew they turned Jack on, but right now, she wished for her Adidas. The heels weren’t meant for athletic endeavors.

She peered over her shoulder, trying to get a look at the driver, but the windows were too dark. Seeing a sign for the subway across the street, she took a deep breath, trying to settle her pounding heart. Then, without giving any warning, she dashed into the street, narrowly evading the bumper of the Cadillac.

Oh, shit, she thought as she heard the car slam on its brakes. A door opened. She ran, eyes trained on the subway entrance.

Footsteps sped behind her.

She picked up the pace as she ducked down into the subway station, taking the steps two at a time, at a speed she’d never traveled before in her life, praying she wouldn’t twist an ankle in her high heels.

Breathing hard, she furiously flipped through her wristlet, trying to find her subway card. She picked through about a thousand credit cards, spilling some on the floor.

She bent low, frantically shoving the cards back into her purse. With so much in walking distance of her apartment, she rarely took the subway.

Where was the card? Where was the fucking card?

A shadow fell across her. Instinctively, Eva bolted.

Heart beating madly, she crawled under the turnstile and scrambled back to her feet, racing toward the empty platform, desperately searching for help. But the waiting area was deserted.

A city of nine-million people, and I’m the only one here?

She flattened herself on the other side of a column, praying the person who was chasing her would just go away.

But the swiftly moving footsteps came closer, echoing hollowly through the station. Eva bit her lip, pulse beating wildly at her throat as sweat trailed down the valley of her spine.

Any second she was going to be discovered. And then what would she do? There was nowhere left to run except onto the tracks.

Suddenly she heard the familiar rumble of the train thundering through the tunnel, the volume rising before the brakes squealed. She could no longer see or hear her pursuer, but she could sense the presence of someone not far behind her, and more sweat trickled down her rib cage from beneath her breasts. Panting from the chase, she pressed her back against the column and watched the doors of the subway car slide open, aching desperately to be inside, heading away from her tracker.

She waited a beat, two, slowly slipping off her shoes and gripping them in her hands, ready to make a run for it at the last possible second.

Just before the doors to the train could slide shut, she bolted, running faster than she ever had before. She slid into the subway car so quickly that she toppled into the far wall of the empty car, then collapsed into a seat, panting.

Heart still crammed in her throat, Eva peered through the window onto the platform. The man stared back at her from far too close to where she’d been hiding. He had long dark hair, pulled off of his forehead in a ponytail, and his ruddy face was partially obscured by dark sunglasses and a scraggly black beard.

Tough was the first thought that came to her mind.

He’ll kill me, was the second.

Though she was certain she’d never seen him before, something about his face tickled a fragment of a memory she’d buried long ago. She cringed as he made a move toward her, but the doors slid closed before he could reach the train.

Sighing with relief, Eva sunk into the seat, while the man still watched her from the platform, stone-faced. As the train pulled away, she thought of Antonio. She had always made fun of him for his tireless efforts to keep her safe. Only now did she suspect that there had been no reason for jokes or laughter. None at all.

She put her face in her hands and cried in a way she hadn’t since her brother’s funeral.

---

He watched his man Luca emerge from the subway entrance without Eva Fiorini and fought the urge to stub his cigarette out on the Cadillac’s leather seat.

The coward had let her get away. Fucking Luca was too worried about getting caught by the police and not nearly worried enough about disappointing his boss.

Maybe it was time for him to have a lesson in what it meant to cross a man such as himself…

Taking his pound of flesh out of the guy hustling back to the car wouldn’t bring him any closer to recovering all the things the Fiorini family had stolen from him, but it would take the edge off. That edge had gotten sharper the past few days as he’d watched Eva run around town without a bra under her whisper-thin shirts, practically inviting every man who passed her by to yank her skirt up around her hips and take her against the nearest wall.

Her true colors were showing at last. She was as morally corrupt as every other member of her family, people who had cheated and lied their way into their fortune, all while pretending that their hands were clean.

It shouldn’t have come as any surprise. A rotten tree will only bear rotten fruit.

Still, a part of him mourned the loss of the little girl he’d watched grow into a lovely young woman, even as he looked forward to showing Eva what happened to bad girls who didn’t play by the rules.