But when he’d kissed her in front of the window with the scent of the sea creeping in around them, it had been no less devastating, no less illuminating than the first time. Need, both sharply physical and deeply emotional, had run through her. Not need for a man, for a lover, for a companion, but for Alexander. She’d wanted him—to make love with her there near the window while the sky and the sea were still a perfect blue.

It wouldn’t have been lovemaking, Eve reminded herself as she pressed fingers against her tired eyes. It would have been sex, plain and simple. She didn’t want that, didn’t need it, and she wasn’t going to think of it anymore.

It was barely two on her first full day in Cordina. Her morning meeting had gone well enough. Alexander had been more his familiar self—distant, businesslike and exacting. That was a man she knew how to deal with. The man who had kissed her the afternoon before, the man who had made her feel weak and strong and desperate all at once—she didn’t know how to deal with him.

He’d been the perfect host to her company the evening before. His charm was on the formal side, but her people had been impressed. In fact, she mused, more than one of her female players had been overly impressed. She’d have to keep her eyes open. It wouldn’t do to have anyone distracted over the next few weeks. Including her. With that in mind she began checking and cross-checking her lists.

The glamour of theater, she thought wryly as she rubbed the back of her neck. Just how many tubes of makeup had they shipped—and where the hell were they? Then there was the crate of cable that had left Houston just fine, but had never made the transfer in New York. If the airport didn’t call her back by four, she was going to—

“Yes, come in.” Harried, Eve barely glanced up. “Yes, Russ. There can’t be a problem already can there? But wait.” She held up a hand before he could speak. “You and the rest of the troupe aren’t due in until tomorrow, right?”

“Yes to both questions. There is a problem already and I’m not due in—but I couldn’t stay away.” He was a young-looking thirty with a well-built body and a lantern jaw. Eve had liked his looks from the beginning, but had still put him through three readings before she’d signed him. The wavy blond hair and the blue eyes were a plus, but she looked for substance. She’d never have cast him as Brick if she hadn’t found it. When he perched on the edge of her desk, she leaned back and grimaced.

“Tell me the problem first.”