10. Eden
EDEN
Sterling’s weight on top of me feels even better than anything I’ve ever imagined. My legs are spread open to make room for him as his hips thrust into me. The friction is igniting every nerve ending in my lower body.
It’s almost too much, too many feelings at once. I look up at his face, at the scar in his eyebrow and the intensity in his gaze. He’s so good-looking. This almost doesn’t feel real. His lips part, ecstasy etched into all of his features. His dark eyes are searching my face.
“How’s my baby doing?”
I nod, unable to form words. If I say anything right now, I’m worried it’ll be an emotional confession. It’s way too soon for that. His movements grow languid and lazy, like he’s just taking his time with me, no rush at all.
He blows out a steady breath. I gape at the sinewed muscles of his arm, every vein bulging with the effort he’s putting in for me. I want this to never end.
“What are you thinking about?” he breathes, pressing a kiss to my nose.
I swallow down a gulp of air, unsure of how honest I want to be right now. “Just … wondering how hard you have to work to get these big muscles, and now I get all the benefits.”
He barks out a laugh. “All for you, Sunshine.”
I reach up and scratch my fingers through his hair. His eyes close, and he groans, picking up the pace. I let out a whimper when his fingers make contact with my sensitive clit again.
“I want to feel you come again,” he growls.
My body tenses up as the orgasm builds inside me. I close my eyes, trying to give in to it despite how overwhelmed I feel with the emotional response I’m having to him.
“I can’t,” I cry.
“You can. Give it to me.”
He pistons his hips like a man undone, a man with endless stamina who trains to go to war for a living and rides bulls for fun. I shake my head, writhing against the bed as the wave swells inside me.
“You’re mine, Eden Wesson. This pussy is mine.”
My eyes fly open at his filthy words. I gasp, the orgasm tearing through me. He grunts, bracing himself above me with his free arm as his hips jolt. I’m coming undone underneath him, feeling my wetness soak the sheets. He pumps me full of his cum, groaning with the pleasure my body gives to his.
“You’re a dream come true, so pretty and perfect,” he pants into my ear as the final aftershocks wreck us both.
I never want it to end. Part of me wishes we would have talked about it first because now I’m wondering what exactly this means.
Is it physical for him?
The way he was talking to me during it, calling me his and claiming ownership over my lady bits with his filthy mouth, makes my mind swirl with questions.
He pulls back, removing himself from me. I feel empty and satisfied. He climbs off the bed, stretching out his body.
I let my eyes travel over him, drinking in the work of art that his form is.
“You need me to get you a napkin for the drool on your lip?” He smirks at me.
I shake my head, mortified that he caught me.
“Come shower with me. I haven’t even gotten to see you naked yet.” He grabs my hand, pulling me up off the bed.
I’m still wearing his sweatshirt. The bathroom is right outside his door, but Duke is also out there. Cum drips down my thighs.
He turns the door handle, seemingly uncaring if his brother sees him naked. He ushers me out into the bathroom quickly, shutting the door behind us both. He turns the shower knob to heat up the water.
He looks down over me with dark eyes. “My turn.”
He grabs the hem, peeling it off over my head. I step back, suddenly self-conscious despite the fact that his face was just buried between my thighs. I wrap my arms around my stomach.
His eyes graze over my skin, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. I hold my breath, waiting for him to say something.
He licks his lips. “You’re beautiful.”
He pulls me closer, planting a kiss on my forehead. My knees are shaking.
I look up at him, slowly releasing an exhale. “You’re too good to be true.”
He steps into the shower and pulls me in after.
It’s a small space, so we’re close together.
He grabs the removable showerhead and starts spraying my body with it.
He moves it up to my hair next, fully wetting it before placing it back on the holder and grabbing the shampoo bottle.
It smells like charcoal and citrus, and the scent reminds me of the first time he walked into the kitchen after a shower and I nearly dropped the loaf of bread I’d just taken out of the oven.
He tried to buy me my own stuff that has a girlie scent, but I guess he’s caught on to the fact that I kept using his.
He squirts it into his hand and motions for me to turn around.
I do, my chest tightening when he starts working the product into my hair.
My eyes drift closed as he lathers it up.
His nails scratch my scalp in a way that makes my toes curl up, and my mind floats back to me scratching his head during sex.
I halfway expect him to press his erection into my backside, but he doesn’t. He washes my hair out and follows with the conditioner. I’ve never been touched like this by a man, so intimately and tender.
Once my hair is rinsed, he grabs his body wash.
I bite my lip, trying to hold back a moan as his callous hands expertly cleanse every part of me.
He spends a noticeably longer time on my breasts, hyper-focused on my nipples as they pucker up under his thumbs.
The senses he’s igniting in my chest spread tingles all over my body.
I shut my eyes, letting my head drift back against the tiles as he makes his way down to my entrance, fingers swiping through my sensitive lips. I suck in a sharp inhale when the building pressure climbs much faster than I expected.
There’s no way. I can’t possibly come again.
Sterling seems to disagree. He keeps moving his fingers over me, pinching my clit between his index and middle fingers and teasing me. I grip his shoulders to steady myself. His head dips to start kissing the side of my neck.
“You’re secretly a greedy, greedy girl. Your body responds to me like a woman starving for touch, so willing and ready. You like the way my fingers feel, don’t you, baby?”
I whimper a yes.
“Are you ready to come for me again?” his deep voice rumbles into the skin of my shoulder.
I cry out as the wave of pleasure crashes through my heated frame. His filthy mouth does it to me every time, making me obey him instantly. My body collapses against the cool tiles, his hand supporting me as he pulls it out from between my legs and grabs my shoulder.
“Mmm, good girl. I think I’m addicted to making you come.”
I open my eyes to see him smirking as he grabs the showerhead to rinse my body off. I try to regain my composure, wondering how I’ll ever be able to handle him leaving for months.
He’s not yours.
But I really want to pretend he is, just for a little bit longer.
Duke and Sterling plan to go to the shooting range for some one-on-one brother time.
Sterling asks me five different times throughout the morning if I’m okay with being left alone for a while.
I reassure him as best I can that I’m completely fine, and I have some books to exchange at the library anyway.
Two hours after they leave, I grab my tote bag with the three Regency romance novels I devoured last week and put on my tennis shoes.
I open the door and make my way down the sidewalk. It starts sprinkling, the chilly November air making me wrap my arms around myself. The library isn’t far, so I pick up my pace to hopefully get there before the rain comes down any harder.
Once I’m a little over halfway, a truck drives by. Instead of continuing on, it slows down beside me. I ignore it at first, thinking the driver must be turning into a nearby driveway.
After a few more steps, I glance over, my heart falling out of my chest when I see Michael’s face behind the wheel through the open window.
“You need a ride, sweetheart?” he says.
My heart hammers in my chest as I spin around and take off running back to the house. I haven’t run since I’ve gotten pregnant, and I was never much of an athlete before. I hear the truck tires screeching over the pavement as he turns it around.
I don’t look back. My breath is coming in quick little bursts as I see the house two blocks away. I’m pumping my arms as fast as I can go, hoping I don’t trip and fall when I see the truck beside me. I drop the bag to lighten my load.
His brake lights glow red, and he jumps out of the vehicle. I slow to a stop, my heart in my throat as Michael approaches me with a cruel smile twisting his lips.
“Where you running off to? That’s my baby, you bitch.”
His hand reaches out to snatch my forearm. I jerk it back, but it’s no use. He drags me toward the passenger side of the truck. The vehicle must still be in drive because it’s slowly inching forward. He jerks open the door and shoves me inside.
He moves around to the other side. I’m hyperventilating, fear spiking in my veins. Tears are building behind my eyes.
Michael jumps into the driver’s side of the vehicle and slams his hand on the steering wheel. “Dammit! Why would you run from me? I just wanted to talk, Eden. I’ve missed you like hell since you ran off. You’re always fucking running away!”
He drives right past the house. I debate opening the door and jumping out, but it might hurt the baby.
I still don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl. I might never find out.
He choked me until I nearly passed out last time. If he does it again, it could be the last time. I’ve read the statistics. I know my chances of survival at this point are slim.
Think of the baby. Don’t panic.
I release a steady, controlled exhale, leaning back against the seat.
“Look, I just wanted to talk about the baby. I had to hire someone to find you. You got married, Eden? Really? You’re pregnant with my baby and living with another man! All this time, I thought you were a good girl, but it turns out, you’re actually just a whore.”
My head snaps to face him. So, he found the marriage certificate, then probably Sterling’s house. I try to hold back the tears, but they slip out onto my cheeks.
“You want to be in the baby’s life?”
He slams his hand down between us on the console.
“Of course I do. I never said I didn’t! You’re the one who took off, thinking you could take my son and hide from me.
You’re never going to have another second of peace, you understand me?
You don’t get to decide when this ends. And that new husband of yours is going to feel my wrath if he tries to say anything about it. ”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I know it’s probably Sterling, calling to find out where I am. My chest feels like it’s being squeezed so tight that it might burst.
I wish I’d told him I loved him, just once.