Eternally. Maureen Child

back one more box of sushi, she’d sprout gills.

      “Oh,” Kate whispered, “you’d love it. Ruth’s Chris. Just breathing in here I think I’ve gained two pounds.”

      “Thank God. Meat.”

      “So, what’ll it be? Filet mignon?”

      Julie sighed. “I think I just had an orgasm.”

      Laughter spilled through the phone. “Baked potato or garlic mashed?”

      “Please. Garlic mashed. Definitely.” Not like she had to watch her breath or anything. “Order the steak rare to allow for heating up later. And if he’s willing to spring for dessert, anything chocolate.”

      “It’s been so long since I had chocolate,” Kate half moaned.

      “Live a little,” Julie urged, catching sight of herself in the mirror across the room. Her favorite jeans were so old and faded, they were more thread than fabric. And her T-shirt covered a figure that was more rounded than was fashionable. But then, she wasn’t trying to catch a man, was she?

      She closed her eyes to her reflected image and concentrated on Kate again. “Eat something you have to chew for a change.”

      “I’ve got a shoot tomorrow, Julie. I can’t eat.”

      She rolled her eyes. “Right. Sorry. What was I thinking?”

      “How’s the party?”

      “Haven’t been out there yet.”

      Kate sighed. “Live a little,” she retorted, throwing Julie’s words back at her. “Go. Have a drink. Talk to people. Maybe a male people. Person. Whatever.”

      Julie pushed away from the door, shaking her head. “No, thanks. Been there, survived that.”

      “You’re too young to be a nun.”

      “And you’re too thin to diet.”

      “Tell you what,” Kate said, her whisper hushing through the phone, “you get laid and I’ll eat a sandwich.”

      “A whole sandwich?” Julie teased.

      “Half,” Kate compromised.

      “I’ll think about it.”

      “Good.” A pause, then, “Oops. Gotta go. He’s coming back from the bathroom. See you later.”

      “Right. Bye.” Still smiling, Julie slipped her cell phone into the front pocket of her jeans and opened the door. Instantly music slapped at her. Thundering drums, wailing guitars and the crash of the bass that jolted through the floorboards and up through the soles of her bare feet.

      She shook her head, winced and headed down the dark hall. Sounds of the party drew her through the shadows into the kitchen. The lights were on, glancing off the bright yellow walls and white cabinets, searing into Julie’s eyeballs like needles. On one side of the room, a man and woman were wrapped around each other as tightly as shrink wrap on a new DVD.

      A quick jolt of envy shot through her, but Julie squashed it.

      Sex=Bad.

      If her hormones hadn’t been doing the happy dance when she’d met Evan, none of this would have happened. Celibacy had to be better than letting your desires lead you down roads that only dead-ended.

      Deliberately she turned her back on the couple, ignoring completely the muffled sighs and groans. But her insides twitched and a wash of heat ran through her despite all her efforts. To fight the neediness, she grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer and headed for the one sensual delight that never let a woman down.

      She yanked the freezer open and a chill blast of air wrapped itself around her. Snatching up the carton of ice cream, she took a moment to appreciate the fact that because she shared a house with a wannabe actress and a part-time model, the ice cream she bought was always in the freezer waiting for her. Smiling, Julie had the lid off and tossed onto the counter even before she swung the freezer door closed again.

      “Whoa!” Startled, she took a step back and stared up into pale blue, icy eyes. “Didn’t know you were there.”

      She hadn’t even heard the man come into the room. Not a big surprise, though, considering the volume of the music. Although, she admitted silently, there was no way she could have missed this guy any other way. He shifted his cool gaze to the couple across the room from them and his jaw tightened.

      Tall, at least six foot four, he had broad shoulders, long legs, night-black hair and sharply chiseled features. He was dressed all in black, from the jeans that hugged his legs to the T-shirt straining across a muscled chest to the three-quarter length coat that hung to the middle of his thighs.

      A coat? In summer?

      Ah, life in Hollywood, where image was everything.

      When he swung those pale eyes back to her, Julie took a deep breath and a big bite of the ice cream. It wasn’t enough to cool her off, though. She had a feeling that standing buck naked in a snowstorm wouldn’t do it, either.

      He frowned at her, then shook his head and glanced back to where the shrink-wrapped couple were practically horizontal on the counter. Before Julie could say anything, the tall, dark stranger was halfway across the room. He grabbed the guy’s shoulder and spun him around.

      Lover boy didn’t much like the interruption. “Dude, what’s your problem?”

      “Hey,” his girlfriend complained as she tugged her tube top back up to cover most of her breasts.

      “Leave. Now.”

      Something in Mr. Tall, Dark and Dangerous’s voice must have gotten through. The shorter man grabbed his girlfriend, swung her off the counter and tugged her across the room. Just before he slipped through the swinging door, though, he tossed back one last shot. “You are so lucky I don’t feel like fighting tonight.”

      Julie half laughed as they disappeared into the main flow of the party. “You notice he didn’t try to threaten you until he was sure he could escape.”

      “He’s here. I know he’s here. Somewhere.”

      “Who? Hell,” Julie said, just a little nervous at being alone with a man bristling with a sense of power, “half of Hollywood’s here tonight.”

      “This is your home.” His gaze snapped to hers as his voice, deep and low, rumbled as insistently as the bass.

      She swallowed. Everything about this man felt just a little over the top. Danger seemed to flash around him in electrical arcs that might as well have been lit by neon. He wasn’t the ordinary guest who showed up to these parties. This man was…different. “Yeah. Why?”

      He moved in closer and Julie felt heat rippling off of him in thick waves. Just watching him walk—long legs, slow, determined strides—was enough to make a woman go all hot and gooey. Not a man for a recently declared celibate to be around for very long. Her knees wobbled unsteadily even as her pulse kicked up into high gear.

      It suddenly dawned on her that because of the noise level, if she had to yell for help, it wouldn’t do any good. No one would hear her.

      “Have you noticed any strangers here?”

      “Huh? You mean besides you?” Julie forced another laugh and took a bigger bite of ice cream, still wildly hoping the frozen treat would cool off the heat building inside. “You’re kidding, right?”

      She waved her spoon at the closed swinging door separating the kitchen from the living room. “Everyone here is a stranger. Parties are free-for-alls in this town. One person tells someone, who tells someone else who tells someone and—” she paused for yet another bite of ice cream “—you get the picture.”

      He scowled and his eyes narrowed. “That’s what I thought.”

      Julie took another bite and momentarily savored