Chapter 26
EDEN
DidI really just say that?
I press my eyes shut and bite back an embarrassed laugh. Okay yes, I definitely spoke those words out loud and they were ridiculous, but I can’t help it. Sex with Danny has my brain in some sort of confused-blissed out-intoxicated haze. I really can’t think straight or speak straight or do much of anything really. All I can do—all I want to do—is repeat what we just did over and over and…
“Of course we’re going to do that again,” Danny says with a chuckle.
I open my eyes and see him flashing that epically handsome half-smile above me. Beads of sweat dot his brow and the center of his chest. It takes everything in me not to lean up and run my tongue all over his beautiful skin.
“I’m just gonna need a sec,” he says.
With a gentle hand on my hip, he pulls out of me and stands up, then walks off to the bathroom.
“I need some water after that,” he hollers. “Lots and lots of water.”
“Me too!”
A minute later he returns with two glasses of ice water. I sit up and scoot over on the bed to make room for him and take one of the waters. I down half the glass, set it on the nightstand, and cuddle into his bare chest. He tucks the sheet around us, wraps his arms around me, and together we settle against his headboard for a few quiet moments.
Danny runs his fingers up and down my back. The feather-soft touch makes me want to purr, it feels so damn good.
“So. We really just did that.”
He chuckles at my incredibly obvious statement. Wow. I’m a wonder with words tonight.
“Sorry. I know I sound ridiculous right now, I guess I’m still a little woozy from what you just did to me.”
Danny laughs before kissing the top of my head. “Don’t apologize. Especially not for that. It’s a nice little ego boost knowing that I could have such an effect on you.”
The heat of embarrassment fades from my cheeks. This guy. So perfect—in and out of bed.
My heart and stomach to dual flips in my torso. Whoa. Has that ever happened before? I mean, I felt the proverbial “butterflies in the stomach” with guys before. It hasn’t happened often, but I know what it feels like. This is different though. More intense. Giddier too. Maybe because I’m currently in bed with my childhood crush after he gave me the best sex of my life?
Maybe because I’m developing some serious feelings already for Danny?
I leave that thought for later, and instead close my eyes so I can focus on the shivers flashing across my body as he runs his fingers up and down my back.
“You bring up a good point,” Danny says after a few minutes.
“What do you mean?” I mumble sleepily.
He pauses. I sit up to look at him.
“We slept together,” he says.
I revel in the flustered smile tugging at his lips. “You’re right. We did.”
He tucks a chunk of my hair behind my ear. “I really, really like you, Eden. And I hope that this isn’t a one-time thing for you.”
I’m sputtering. How could he ever think that? He’s amazing, and I’m utterly smitten by him.
He clears his throat, his eyes shy. “Because…well, it’s definitely not a one-time thing for me.”
I cup his cheeks in my hands and kiss him.
“It’s not a one-time thing for me either,” I say, eyes closed, my forehead against. “I like you a lot too, Danny. A lot, a lot.”
He chuckles again.
“Like, I think it would freak you out if you knew just how much.” I open my eyes and catch the furrow in his brow.
“What do you mean?”
I hug myself, tucking the bedsheet around me extra tight. This is going to be all sorts of embarrassing to admit.
“I’m not sure if you knew this, but when we were kids I had the biggest crush on you,” I say.
I cover my hands over my face and count the seconds until he says something, anything. But all I hear is another easy chuckle.
“Eden.” Danny wraps his hands softly around my wrists, pulling my hands away from my face. I take in the unbothered expression on his face.
“Why are you embarrassed?” he asks.
“Um, because it’s mortifying to admit that I spent my preteen and teenager years lusting after you,” I mutter.
He bites his lip like he’s trying not to laugh.
“Do not laugh at my humiliation,” I say in a half-serious tone.
He does exactly that. “Eden, there’s no reason for you to feel humiliated. Did you think I’d be upset at finding out that you had a crush on me when we were both kids?”
I shrug.
“I’m not. I think it’s sweet. And normal. I had crushes on dozens of people when I was a teenager. Teachers. My friend’s moms. Celebrities. Random strangers who smiled at me on the street.”
Now I’m laughing. “Okay, I feel slightly less embarrassed. I just don’t want you to think that I’m a creep.”
He scoops my hand in his and kisses it. “You, Eden, are the least creepy person who ever lived.”
I chuckle at his phrasing. “I swear, I haven’t been, like, carrying a torch for you my whole life. When you graduated high school and went off to college, my interest in you faded.”
He clutches his free hand to his chest. “Ouch.” He mock-winces and I shove him playfully.
“You weren’t around for me to pine over anymore. Especially after you graduated college and we fell out of touch for a few years.”
He pulls me closer to him so I’m cuddling into his chest once more.
“I’m teasing you,” he says. “I totally get it. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything, it’s flattering that you thought I was anything worth crushing over when I was a dumbass teenager.”
“You were hot, so I overlooked any dumbass-ness.”
He bursts out laughing.
“But then when you randomly showed up at my door a few months ago, that crush came right back.”
“Well, that’s convenient because I started to develop a crush on you then too.”
I lean back. “You did?”
His expression turns playfully incredulous. “Yeah. I thought it was obvious. I was awestruck by you when I saw you that night, Eden.”
I beam. “Really?”
“Really.” He traces a finger down the side of my neck.
“I had no idea. I mean, I definitely felt the flirty vibe develop between us when we started working together. But I didn’t know you felt it from the get-go.”
“How could I not? You’re stunning. And funny. And brilliant.”
That giddy feeling in my stomach and heart strikes again. Danny presses his lips against my temples and I let out a sigh of pure content.
“Well, this ended up being adorably perfect,” he says.
I feel him smile against me.
“So does this mean we’re…officially together?” I ask as soon as I muster the nerve.
“Yeah.” I relish how quickly Danny answers. “I mean, if that’s what you want?”
I twist my head so I can look him straight in the eye when I say this. “It’s absolutely what I want. You are what I want.”
As soon as I say it, I see a flash behind Danny’s hazel stare. A half-second later his lips are on me and we fall into that familiar rhythm: kissing, touching, teasing, grabbing, gasping.
“I want you too, Eden,” Danny says after a few minutes. “So bad.” His breath is ragged, his eyes are dilated, and I can feel his heart pounding against my chest as he braces himself over me.
“Wait,” he mutters, breaking our kiss. He leans up.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“What happens with Dream Guy?”
“What do you mean?”
He runs a hand through his hair, leaving it adorably mussed. “Sometimes I have to kiss the women I go on dates with. Or hold their hand or embrace them or act romantically with them. Does that bother you?”
It’s so, so sweet that he’s thinking about this.
Reaching up, I pull him back down to kiss me. “None of that bothers me. What you do on your Dream Guy dates is a job, Danny. I know it doesn’t mean anything romantic to you.”
The smile he flashes is pure relief. He lets out a breath that he must have been holding. “That’s how I feel too. I like working as a Dream Guy, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I’m not. At all. I promise.” When I kiss the tip of his nose, he laughs. “And I think it’s the sweetest thing ever that you’re thinking about me like that already. Like I’m an important enough part of your life to include in decisions like that.”
“Of course you’re important to me, Eden.”
Soon we’re tangled in the sheets, in each other. I maneuver on my side and press a hand to Danny’s chest, easing his back onto the mattress. When I straddle him and kiss down his toned stomach, he makes a feral grunting noise I don’t think I’ve ever heard before.
“Eden.” My name is a cross between a growl and a bite. I freaking love it.
As soon as I have his cock in my mouth, I feel his thighs and stomach tense under my touch. I take my time, working my tongue and my hand along his length, slowly at first. He threads his hand through my hair and makes a fist against my scalp.
“Eden, you’re too good. I—I’m not gonna…”
His words morph into groans as I pick up speed. He lets out some caveman-level grunt as he finishes. I sit up and smile at him, wondering if I look as smug as I feel.
I take in the dazed look on his face. His mouth is open and his chest rises high with each breath he takes. “Jesus. You’re incredible.”
I move to lay by his side so we can cuddle again, but he sits up before my back even hits the mattress. He grips me by the hips and pulls me flush with his lower body. With his knee bent, he spreads open my legs.
“I’m not done with you yet.”
That fiery gleam flashes once more in his eyes. I’m grinning as he lowers his face between my legs. It’s not long before my smile disappears, my jaw drops, and I’m howling.