As he watched Eve walk into the room, John was struck by how different she seemed. There was still the light teasing humor in her eyes and the heat of desire, but there was a power that she seemed to wear like a comfortable shirt. He'd caught a glimpse of it last night, but in the full light of day it seemed to pour out of her in waves and he wondered for a moment if he shouldn't kneel on the floor and wait for her permission to do more than breathe.

A flick of his tongue over his lips was all he allowed himself to show of the tangle of anticipation, desire, need and fear that was rushing through him. The air in the room seemed charged with heat and the electricity of her presence.