30. Eden #2
Dom snorts, and Beau laughs uncomfortably, then bites his lip. They’re still red from kissing me senseless. He edges in close to me and shoots me a sinful look under his lashes. “ That was all Dom’s idea,” he confides. “ I voted for honesty.”
“ Seriously ?” Dom mutters dryly. “ Unbelievable .”
The heated way Beau’s looking at me makes me shiver. It takes me longer than I’m proud of for my brain to start functioning again, but I finally manage to work up a frown.
And I really hope it looks at least somewhat disapproving and not just desperately aroused.
“ Don’t blame him—you should have been honest regardless.
You’re responsible for your own decisions.
You’re an independent adult.” My gaze slips down to his bare, deliciously firm chest. An X -rated, beautiful, well-developed, well-endowed .
.. I catch his smirk and snap my eyes away, cheeks flushing. “ You — You’re just as much at fault.”
Dom snickers, and I twist to give him a stern look. “ And don’t you laugh, you lied to me too. All of you did. It’s incredibly patronizing.”
His smile fades. “ I was trying to keep you safe.”
I stifle a sigh. “ Yes , well, as darling and”— I wave an exasperated hand—“ macho as the impulse is, I’m not some fragile ornament, or something for you to keep .
I know you mean well, but the lying has to stop.
You need to trust me to be sensible.” My voice turns tart.
“ You do understand that I don’t actually enjoy putting myself in danger?
Given all the information, I do usually choose to keep myself far away from it. ”
Beau’s cheeks color, but Dom sighs. “ We talked about this. Sometimes I —”
“ Don’t have time to explain, yes, I heard. But you did then. You usually do. You chose not to.” I hold his gaze, even as his eyes narrow. “ I’m not a soldier, Dom . You might need to try a different approach because I don’t enjoy being treated like one.”
There must be something wrong with me that his stern look kicks my heartrate up again.
“ Cut me off again and we’ll make it another fifteen,” Dom replies, and my breath catches.
I don’t think I can take another fifteen right now though.
My butt is bruised as it is. Then he gives me a contemplative look.
“ I’ll try, Eden . You might need to remind me.
My track record at working with civilians is. .. not the best.”
“ I will,” I say sweetly, and Dom swats my hip.
“ Good ,” he replies.
My heart is racing.
It’s rather exciting, speaking your mind.
I laugh, feeling light. Surprisingly so, after the last few hours. “ So that’s it then. The deal is over!”
At my laughter, Beau’s face kindles, and he gives me that slow, melting smile again. “ I guess it is.” He runs a finger up my arm, then along my collarbone. “ So how exactly am I going to win alone time with you now? You’re going to have all of us fighting for your attention.”
Despite my best intentions, my mind slips to the sparring session I happened to briefly glance at the other day. They were sweaty, and wrestling, and pressed up against one another...
“ Hmm .” I pretend to consider that as his finger trails back down the curve of my breast. Breathlessly , I murmur, “ I guess you’ll have to convince me that you’re worth my time.”
His pretty hazel eyes widen in surprise, and he shoots me a cheeky grin. “ Now I wonder how I’ll do that.”
“ You’re both getting ahead of yourselves,” Dom cuts in, and I look back at him. His eyes linger on Beau’s hand on my chest before they lift to meet mine. “ The set days were in place to keep things fair. Even . It’s not easy to share, Eden .”
I purse my lips, studying him. “ Yes ,” I say slowly, “ I understand that it’s easier for you all when I don’t get a say. But it’s not working for me.”
Dom rolls his eyes with a short, hard sigh. “ That’s not what I meant.”
“ Then what did you mean?” I ask testily. I’m not about to let him ruin my glow, no matter how distracting he is, all damp and dark and gorgeous in the sunshine.
“ I think he means, darlin’,” Beau says, “that Dom and I have tried it a few times. Negotiating jealousy, issues, keeping everything in balance... it was a lot with three people involved, on all sides. You’re talking about six.”
Beside me, Dom tenses.
“ Five ,” I correct quietly, wrapping an arm around myself as I think of the awful chess match.
Dom’s shoulders unbunch. “ Yes , five.”
I look up at him, confused. “ You know about Jasper ?”
“ Sorry , Eden , I forgot you and Jasper didn’t work out for a minute,” Beau says quickly, glancing between us and giving Dom a quelling look. “ Five , then. Five people are a lot to keep happy.”
Dom mutters under his breath, and I sting over how easily Beau says it, like it was a thing of no consequence.
I suppose it isn’t, really. I suppose Jasper and I were never really a possibility.
Seeming to sense my mood shift, Dom looks at me. I feel him regard me for a long moment, and I avoid his gaze like it’s my last mission on earth.
I clear my throat. “ I know it won’t be easy, okay? But we’re all adults. If we have any problems, we’ll just have to talk it through. And I will do my best to keep it fair.”
“ Just like that, huh?” Dom says.
I lift my chin and look at him through my glasses. “ Yes . Just like that .”
His eyes take on a secret shine, and Beau nods. “ She’s right. We need to try this the right way. The hard way.”
Beau’s words make me bright, like fairy lights are being strung up between my ribs, and I lean up to kiss him again. “ Thank you.”
The forests in his eyes dance, alive with possibility. Beau cups my jaw and pulls me in for a low, thorough kiss. “ I hope you know you’re mine now, darlin’. Be prepared for everything that comes along with that.”
His . Theirs . And I also get to be mine now, too.
Beau presses another light kiss to my lips.
“ Eden , I don’t always say the right thing.
But I promise I’ll work on it. I think you’re fierce, and intelligent, and resourceful as anything— I was yours the minute you told us to run and save ourselves.
” He rests his forehead against mine. “ Take good care of me, sweetheart.”
My lips curve up, and those lights in me turn star bright. “ I promise.”
After a long, sweet moment, I look at Dom , who’s watching me like I’m a puzzle, an impossibly knotted string. He’s sitting so close, but just out of reach.
“ I won’t hurt them, Dom ,” I promise softly. I can see it in him, that protectiveness of them. I feel it too.
“ Don’t make promises you can’t keep, pet,” he replies, just as softly.
Then he shakes his head, and the moment breaks. “ It’s done, then. But without the deal, the consequences are all on you if this goes south.”
That seems fair, at least. “ Yes , sir.”
He stands up, and I can’t help the way my eyes trail over his naked body. When he starts tugging on his pants, I hide my sigh of disappointment.
“ Do you have a canteen?” Dom asks. “ You should have some water.”
“ Mm -hmm. In my bag.”
Dom tugs at the straps and opens the flap, pulling it forward to check the contents when an avalanche of... supplies... falls out. He picks up one of the condoms, then looks at me with a raised brow.
Beau splutters a laugh. “ Ten ? Darlin ’, you were coming out here against our orders.” He rubs a hand over his jaw. “ I like your ambition, but were you really thinking we’d use all of these?”
My cheeks heat. Rather than respond to that, I dare to start pressing small kisses across his chest, licking at the gentle glistening of sweat on his skin.
“ Water .” Beau hands me the canteen, and I drink without complaint. I drain it, surprised at how thirsty I am.
“ Come on,” Dom says. “ We should get moving.”
My arms twine around Beau’s neck, and I snuggle in. I don’t want to leave this place just yet. The circle of Beau’s arms is a wonderful, glorious sanctuary.
Beau groans... and I hate that the sound is resigned. “ He’s right. We won’t get back until well after nightfall as it is.”
I shake my head and kiss his neck. “ Mm -mm. Comfy here.”
A warning slap against my ass startles me into lifting my head.
“ Ow .” I frown, glaring up at Beau .
Dom snorts in amusement, and I glare at him too.
He smiles back languidly, some of the stiffness in his muscles relaxing as he looks down at me. “ Move that ass, or I’ll bruise it, gorgeous.”
I huff, but a smile bubbles at my lips. “ I think you already did that.”
Beau kisses my forehead, and Dom’s slow smile deepens. “ One .”
I drop my legs and get up quickly enough that my head spins, and Dom laughs. Beau begins collecting his clothes, and I grudgingly do the same with a sigh.
As Dom slings on his pack, he looks over at me thoughtfully. “ How are you feeling about the rest of it, Eden ? The shooter?”
Another unwelcome thought. How do I feel about it? Sick . Sad . Sorry . But ...
“ I do understand why I had to do it,” I say finally, and the words don’t feel like a lie. I swallow. “ I would do it again.”
Please don’t let me have to do that again.
Dom nods. “ You should talk to Jasper .” At my expression, he lifts a brow, then shakes his head. “ We might have helped with your initial panic, Eden , but kink isn’t a substitute for therapy. This kind of thing leaves a mark. You should talk to him.”
“ And I promise he’s better at dealing with trauma than he is at relationship advice,” Beau adds wryly, and I snort softly.
The thought of opening up to Jasper again makes my stomach churn in a different way. I remember curling up at his feet and staring up at the gorgeous veil of his eyelashes. The way the world just fell away.
For me, anyway.
I couldn’t have made more of a fool of myself.
“ I’ll think about it,” I promise, when both of them keep staring at me.
Dom opens his mouth like he’s about to argue, but Beau shoots him another quelling look.
I smile softly at him. “ I’m okay. For now, I’m okay.
He —they all—wanted to hurt us. He would have killed me, or taken me back to Sam , and I —”
I cut off as Beau turns stiff as a board. “ What ?” I look at him. “ What did I do?”
Dom and Beau exchange a look loaded with meaning, and alarm skitters down my spine.
Hard golden eyes impale me. “ That name, Eden . Where did you hear that name?”
“ What name?” I stammer. “ Sam ? That’s their leader. He’s the one who almost caught me.”
His eyes press closed.
“ He wasn’t in the clearing that first day,” Beau says, dull shock ringing through his tone. “ We didn’t see him in the woods later. We couldn’t have known. But , shit... We didn’t even question her when we took her home. Dom ...”
Beau yanks his shirt on, shaking his head.
“ You’re sure?” Dom asks me urgently. “ You’re sure that was the name?”
“ Y -yes.” I glance between them. I feel a sudden draft. Looking at my mangled bra and ripped shirt, I abandon them and reach for my bag. I pull out my spare set of clothes and get dressed as quickly as I can. “ What am I missing?”
“ This is important, Eden . What did he look like?” Dom asks, then kneels to re-pack my bag for me with swift experience.
I run a hand over my tangled hair, trying to catch up with this abrupt shift in tone. “ I — Well , he was a little older. Maybe early fifties? Short beard. Salt and pepper hair. I — I don’t know what else. Medium build, but he was strong? I remember he was strong.”
“ Fuck ,” Beau curses as he yanks his pack up, and an ice-cold weight lands in my stomach.
Beau doesn’t swear. Not like that.
When Dom hands me my pack, my hands are trembling with foreboding.
I glance around the clearing. All evidence of our messy, perfect tryst is gone. Dom and Beau’s faces are wiped of emotion too. They’re back to pure soldier mode now. If the aching weakness in my muscles wasn’t screaming at me, I could almost think it hadn’t happened.
“ Please ,” I ask, and Dom pauses. “ Why does that name matter? What does it mean?”
Dom looks down at me, and my knees turn to water at what’s in his eyes. I know it’s bad then. It’s really bad.
For the first time since we met, Dom is afraid .
“ It means this trap wasn’t meant for us.” Dom looks away and slings his rifle over his shoulder. “ It means Bristlebrook is under attack.”