She laughed. "Why are you fishing for compliments?"
"Compliments aren't what I'm fishing for."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No?"
"I mean, I am pretty awesome. But that's just a state of being." He shrugged. "You should compliment me on something I'm willing to work hard at perfecting."
Her expression turned suspicious, but she played along. "And that would be...?"
He crooked a finger. "Come here, and I'll tell you."
He saw the awareness in her eyes as she leaned in. "You know what? I think maybe you should just show me."
He cupped the back of her head. "I think that sounds like a delicious idea," he murmured before tugging her down so that her arm rested on his chest, and her lips covered his.
It was a more intimate position than he'd intended, their balance thrown off by the steepness of the hill, and he was afraid she'd pull away, although, dear Lord, he didn't want her to. Because right then, he thought that her mouth was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted, and the heat from this kiss combined with the heat of the sun beating down on them made him almost fear that they'd both spontaneously combust at any moment.
But what a way to go.
Far too soon, she broke the kiss, then rose just enough so she could meet his eyes. "I've been wanting to do that again since the moment I decided to stay."
"Thank goodness," he said, then waggled his brows. "Wanna go back to my place?"
She laughed. "Yes. But no." She shifted so that she was sitting on him, straddling his waist. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea," she said softly, her words making him feel cold. Both because he didn't want to hear them, and because he actually agreed with them. "But I want this too much to stop completely."
"Completely?"
"I mean I want to take it slow. Is that okay?"
He reached up and cupped her cheek, then looked deep into those dark, beautiful eyes. "Sugar, that sounds just about perfect."
Her smile seemed to light her from the inside, and she shifted her face so that she could kiss the palm of his hand. The sensation was unexpectedly erotic, and he felt the pull of her lips all the way down to his cock. Christ, he wanted her. But she was right. Slow was better.
"Eva," he murmured. "About that slow thing."
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me," he demanded. "Kiss me long and slow."
Her lips twitched with amusement, and then she bent over, brushed her lips over his, and did exactly what he asked.
* * *
Any lingering fears that Eli or Elena would find the new family arrangement to be awkward or weird or untenable were quashed the first time that Elena and Eva came to Tyree's place for a family dinner.
It was, he thought, the perfect mixture of chaos and fun.
Elena had brought some Nintendo gadget that made Eli's eyes bug out, and he swore that he'd been intending to ask for one for his birthday. When she'd plugged the small device into the television, basically turning it into a gaming console, Tyree's usually calm and collected teenager went absolutely apeshit.
"She picked the perfect ice breaker," Tyree commented as he returned to the kitchen after taking a peek at the newly acquainted brother and sister hunched over their controllers as they killed bad guys--or possibly aliens--on the television screen.
"It wasn't as altruistic as you think," Eva said from where she was perched on a barstool watching Tyree finish putting together the enchiladas he was making for dinner. "Eva's been a gaming fanatic since she was fifteen. That gizmo was her Christmas present last December. She begged me not to get her any little presents and to put all the money I'd budgeted for her toward it. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she and Eli are going to get along even better than we'd hoped."
"I think you may be right," he said, then tossed aside the oven mitt he'd used to pull out the dish and move it onto a trivet.
He came around the bar and sat on the stool beside her, the words she just spoke echoing in his head. "The budget," he repeated, feeling like a complete ass. "Hell, Eva, I never thought to ask. Is being here messing you up financially?"
He'd assumed she had money. Because, frankly, when he'd known her in San Diego she'd had lots of it. Or, at least, her father had.