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CHAPTER ONE

EVE MASON SAT cross-legged in the center of her bed, Yoga-fashion, with eyes closed while she concentrated on trying to relax She was also trying to ignore the bright sunshine outside the blinds that et the fact that the telephone hadn't rung, even once But what did she expect? She'd changed her telephone nuht when they were together And the other un to accept when she'd felt she'd needed so to fill the emptiness in her life after Mark had died— after a while they'd stopped calling

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, fighting the feeling of tension in her body She'd been getting quite good at relaxation before David Daht of David out of her ht, had told her to try stream of consciousness Think about it, re about the bastard, he'd said

Lately, Eve had started sleeping with Peter, but only on weekends (to fill up the eed to David) Doctor Peter Petrie, San Francisco's most fashionable analyst So damned busy, his tiular patient

However, when he was feelingMaybe to keep her sane until the next weekend, when, no doubt, he'd want to screw her again

Peter had been David's friend—and David was her sickness, her obsession, her madness She wouldn't call hi in love with David That was another thing Peter had told her Stop trying to fight it Analyze it instead But how could you put feelings and emotions under a microscope, especially if they were your own?

Eve, you idiot! How could you have fallen so deeply and irretrievably in love with a guy that you lost all shame, all pride?

Thinking about it, she felt herself shudder Now she could feel revulsion at herself for her spineless, prideless crawling to David; clinging to him even in the face of his rejections Peter, of course, was a rebound lover; but then, Peter had admitted that that was his specialty

"I take other men's rejected lovers and make them over, doll," Peter had told her once "I etfulness Pretty soon, they've forgotten whoever it was threw theht say It's my small contribution to the cause of womankind"

"It's nice to know I'ood cause," she had responded waspishly

But she wasn't depending on Peter to make her over Since David, she'd had a lot of casual affairs—one-night stands with ive her unlisted telephone number to Funny, that Once she had despised women who screwed around for the hell of it, or just to prove they were the equals of men, as if that were the only way they could think of to prove it But God, then she'd been so independent and so sure of herself and where she was going!

Eve had told Marti, who shared the apartment with her, that she felt as if her life could be divided into two segments—before David and after David Marti, who had been indirectly responsible for herDavid in the first place, had merely looked sourly at her Marti didn't like David—never had, fro, when he'd walked in with Stella

Stella—Stella-by-starlight, with the platinu damply around her face; at the nape of her neck Stella with the soft, demure manners, the voice of a lady —and the body of a wanton

At first, Eve had thought that Stella belonged to David Or the other way around But Marti soon clued her in Marti was a lesbian, and Stella was her lover of the moment But Stella, as also David's secretary, could never admit in public what she was So Stella always carried a "front" with her

On this particular occasion the front had been her young, open-, sharp dresser Up-and-co in late, had noticed hiht away And latched onto him

Maybe it had been only because she felt sorry for hiht, and none of Marti's other friends were Maybe because he was so tall, and had the nicest brown eyes and a sexy, full-lipped mouth—she always looked at eyes and lass in his hand, standing slightly apart froay friends of Marti's

Eve had had a particularly hard day, filht-Ashbury" Since she'dnews, she hadn't had toopeople on the streets, and she had enjoyed this particular assigno straight to her room and to sleep

Instead, after she'd kicked off her shoes, she'd asked hily to fix her a drink

It a her up, wondering

"Hello" He had a nice voice, too Deep, definitely masculine "I'd love to fix you a drink, but I' is—I'm just an observer here"

"So I noticed!" In those days, not really knowing David, she could tease hi's hidden in that cabinet behind you I'm Marti's roommate, by the way"