Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Eden
I glance over at the cardboard boxes next to my front door.
One has bedroom scrawled across the side. The other is labeled kitchen items. I packed them before I got in my car to drive to Manhattan.
“You were a prosecutor?” Dylan punctuates the words with an arch of his right eyebrow. “What was that like?”
Stressful. Difficult. Exhilarating. Fulfilling.
“I loved it,” I admit. “I was excited to go to my office every day.”
“Why did you make the switch from that to working for Kurt?”
I skim my fingertip over my top lip. I answer in the simplest terms. “Money.”
Aron and I split with an agreement in place that we’d both walk away with what we brought to the marriage. I fought hard for that. I didn’t want to accept anything from a man I no longer had an ounce of respect for.
With that came a feeling of freedom and independence. I’ve never regretted the decision to turn down the large settlement he offered me.
I never wanted to be in his debt in any way.
My decision was right for me, even months later when my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer, and I faced the first of many medical bills.
Kurt saw that I was drowning so he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I packed my things, moved to Buffalo, and took care of my dad and his financial needs.
Carrying that burden for him was the right thing to do.
The move also gave me more time with him before he died.
Dylan’s phone vibrates on the coffee table. He glances down at it. “It’s Griffin calling.”
“Take it,” I suggest, needing a break from our conversation.
We’ve covered a lot of ground quickly.
It’s good but exhausting and since I have more to tell, I need a break to recharge. “I’m going to take another nap.”
“I’ll come to tuck you in as soon as I’m done.” He scoops his phone into his palm. “I’ll be right there.”
I let him help me up from the couch, waiting as he presses a kiss to my cheek. “I love you, Eden. I’ll always love you.”
“I love you too.”
I always have.
I wake to a rush of desire when I feel Dylan’s body wrap around mine from behind.
He’s nude.
I am too.
He helped me undress, taking special care with the sling on my arm. I only suffered a sprain and not a fracture, which means I’ll be healed in no time.
I invited him to join me under the covers, but he insisted that I sleep first.
When his lips brush over my bare shoulder, I’m grateful that he didn’t let me sleep the entire night away.
“I called Dr. Yelena,” he admits on a sigh.
Worry crowds my thoughts. After the accident when I was seventeen, the doctor didn’t tell me everything. He held things back because my dad asked him to.
It wasn’t until the third surgery on my right leg that I realized that I’d never dance professionally.
I still suffer from pain in my legs, but it’s not enough to steal away my love of dance for good.
I glance over my shoulder at his face. “Why?”
His features look softer in the darkened room. “I wanted to be sure it was safe.”
“You wanted to be sure what was safe?”
I’m not sure if it’s the minor concussion I suffered or sleepiness, but I finally realize what he’s talking about as the question leaves my mouth.
“Oh, you’re talking about…”
His hand skims over my hip. “I know you’re tender. She said I had to be gentle, so we’re not going all out tonight, but I want to do one thing for you.”
I close my eyes, relishing in the way his fingers are gliding over my hipbone. “What do you want to do for me?”
His hand moves slowly, trailing a path over my stomach until it dives lower. “I want to touch you, kiss you. I want to feel you come.”
I roll onto my back, wincing from the pain in my shoulder. “I want those things too.”
He brushes his soft lips over my collarbone. “You don’t have to move a muscle. Let me help you feel.”
I breathe out on a heavy exhale when he slides down my body, nestling his shoulders between my legs.
He parts me with his fingers. That lightest touch ignites something deep inside of me. I moan. “Dylan, please.”
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” His tongue skims my cleft. “I love you so much.”
“I love you,” I whisper in a breathy moan.
I tangle my fingers in his hair as he takes me with his mouth.