Chapter 25 #2
That just makes her huff again and look away. “No.”
What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?
Still supporting her weight with one hand, I use the other to force her to look at me. “Eden.” I manage to soften my voice enough that I sound stern rather than angry. “What is wrong?”
“I don’t want to tell you,” she bites out. “You should just say it.”
“I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to be saying.” I stop just short of asking her if she hit her fucking head today.
Her eyes dart away since I’m still holding her face in place. “It seems like you have no problem saying it ,” she mutters.
My frustration peaks, and I growl. “Eden.” My grip adjusts from pinching her chin to lightly gripping her throat. “Talk to me.”
She stares at me angrily, and for a moment, I think she’s not going to answer me. I’ll get it out of her one way or another—though edging her into an admission sounds more fun than this.
It surprises me when she slides her hands up my chest and behind my neck, fingers delving into my hair. She twists them a little too tight, but I don’t flinch. Not when she finally admits, “It’s been ten months.”
I stroke my thumb along the column of her throat. “I know.”
Only one important thing has happened in the last year of my life: meeting Eden. I don’t even have to think to know that’s what she is referencing.
She tugs on my hair, making my scalp burn. I still don’t move. “Then why haven’t you told me you love me yet?” she snaps, but I hear the underlying emotion she’s trying to hide. Eden hates being vulnerable—as much as I do—so I don’t blame her for wanting to cover it up right now.
But I’ll take her anger if that’s what she needs. I’ll let her pick a fight instead of making her admit that she’s scared. I know she’d do the same for me.
That’s why I lean in, lips pulling up into a smirk. “Are you saying you love me , mo chuisle ?”
I knew that it would piss her off. That’s why I’m prepared when she jerks her knees up, trying to use them to shove me away.
I only chuckle as I grip the back of her thigh and drag her legs apart, stepping closer so that my hips pin her to the pool wall. My thumb keeps moving over her throat, even as she tries to burn me with those beautiful eyes.
“Eden.” I brush the tip of my nose against hers. “I truthfully thought you’d threaten me with one of your blades if I got too emotional for you.”
Her lips purse at that, and it eases the smallest bit of tension out of her body. Enough so for her to hook both legs around my waist like I wanted. “Probably because I would.”
I laugh softly. “And I’d understand.” Letting go of her leg, I twirl a piece of hair around my finger, tugging it gently. “You and I aren’t people who rely on words.”
It works for us, though. She fights me, and I like it. She makes me earn her affection, and I want to prove myself to her. Rarely do we rely on words, but I have no doubt she knows what she means to me.
“Not always.” Her hand returns to my hair, playing with the strands thoughtfully this time. “But…maybe we could try. At least when it comes to important things.”
I can see how hard this is for her. Fuck, it’s not much easier for me.
Still, I can try. For her.
“We could.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “I hope you know that I’ll be pretty shite at it. If you want me to start writing you poems, you’re better off just drawing blood now.”
She wrinkles her nose at that. “That sounds like torture.”
I chuckle. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
She sighs, finally sinking into my hold. Looking up at me with a softer gaze, she murmurs, “I’m not asking for you to get soft on me.”
“You’d kick my arse if I did.”
Eden grins. “I would.” Her tongue swipes along her bottom lip, and I know she’s nervous. “There are just some things that require words.”
My mind drifts back to what Rohan said before I left his house. When I admitted that I wasn’t sure if Eden would want to marry me. He seemed so certain that she wants me the same way I want her.
Which means I need to be the fucking vulnerable one here. As much as I hate it.
Sliding my hand up to cup her jaw, I tip her head back. I lean in, watching her lashes flutter as she gets ready for me to kiss her. She’s willing to drop the conversation altogether—probably out of fear that if she pushes any farther, she’ll get an answer she doesn’t want.
I pause just as my lips brush hers, waiting for her eyes to open. When they do, I stare into her golden gaze, whispering against her mouth, “I love you, Eden.”
She practically melts. I swear it thaws my heart seeing her look at me like this.
And then she’s climbing me, thighs locking around my hips and hands tugging on my neck as she pulls my mouth to hers. She kisses me frantically, lips parting and tongue teasing as she coaxes me into a frenzy.
I lose myself in her. If I’m being honest, I’ve been completely lost to her since the moment we locked eyes. I’m just finally admitting it.
She pulls away, chest heaving as she sucks in the air I’ve been denying her. She looks so beautiful in the soft glow of the twilight, smiling up at me in a way that looks perfect on her—even if she rarely lets anyone see her with her guard down this much.
“I love you, too, Kieran.”
I swear something inside me shatters at that. Any restraint that was holding me back from giving this woman everything, any careful reservation that the logical part of my mind was trying to keep in place—it’s gone.
Three words and Eden Resnick has ripped every vital part out of my body, has stolen my soul itself and made it all hers.
And I don’t want it back.
All I want is her.