Knowing that she was on the other side of the country scared, alone, and frightened did something to me that I couldn’t explain. All I knew was that I needed to get back home and sort this mess out to make sure she was okay. Well, as okay as she could be.
The moment my feet landed on New York soil it had just clicked over to five a.m. and I was soon making my way back to my apartment. My leg bounced as the cab driver weaved our way from the airport and back to the island. I didn’t think my feet touched the ground from the moment I left the warmth of the cab and stepped into the eerie stillness and chill of the air. I had one goal in mind and that was getting to Eden.
Once I was in my apartment, I headed straight to my bedroom. Fuck I hope she had listened to me. I wanted her in my bed. There would be no further discussion; my bed was hers for the rest of the month.
The moment I pushed open the bedroom door, the world lifted from my shoulders as my eyes landed on perfection curled up on her side, cocooned in the thick comforter. My chest heaved as calmness and relief swamped me. I silently undressed down to my boxers and slipped in beside her. The moment the weight of my body hit the mattress, I wrapped my arms tightly around her body, pulling her to the protection I offered.
“Ky?” her sleepy voice called, waking at the sensation of my body against hers.
“I’m here, go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Her face fell to the concave of my neck and her calm breath caressed my skin. “But Ky, thank you for being here.”
My eyes closed as I rolled into Eden, circling her waist with my arm and pulling her as tightly as possible against my body. The softest of sighs escaped her lips. I lay in the darkness in silence, wide awake, and listened as Eden slept peacefully in my arms. I was physically and mentally exhausted, but my brain wouldn’t switch off. Knowing that Jeremy Davis was lurking in the shadows caused a wave of uncertainty to linger over me. Someone like him wouldn’t stay quiet, and he wouldn’t remain hidden for long.
Soon sunlight teased through the thick blinds as a new day was born, a new day where things would change. The moment Colby told me about the threat to Eden it was the jolt of electricity I needed and it made me clearly see that I wanted her in my life beyond December.
“Did you sleep?”
I rolled my head to the side to find Eden’s sleepy eyes staring back at me.
“No,” I replied honesty.
She untangled her body from mine, a move that instantly made me feel the loss. She pulled herself up and leaned against the headboard. The sheet fell from her body and puddled around her hips. I hissed at the sight of the tight white camisole molded against her skin, creating the perfect curve of her breast which only enticed my ever wandering eye. Her nipples hardened under my gaze, peaking and becoming slightly visible through the stretched fabric.
God I was losing it.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked once I got my thoughts under control. “Actually tell me how you are feeling?” I backtracked knowing full well that she would have said yes.
“I knew this day would eventually come, but I just wished it didn’t have to be when I was here. I am scared Ky, I won’t lie. I am already looking over my shoulder because of the text messages, but now I have this to deal with. All I can think about is what he will do to me if he gets to me.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” I promised through a voice thick with emotion.
Her sad eyes looked back at me, and she offered the weakest of smiles. “You can’t guarantee that Ky, no one can.”
••••
“I’ve got to go out for a bit. I’ll be back in an hour or so,” I announced without giving away too much information. I searched for my keys, phone, and wallet and eventually found them on the dining table where Eden sat with her laptop.
“Sure no worries.” Her eyes never left the screen.
I walked around the table, peering over her shoulder at the screen. “You are looking at recipes?”
She twisted in her seat and gave me a sexy as hell smirk and I swear there was a twinkle in her eye. “Yep, I think cooking will be a great distraction.”
The thought of Eden taking over my kitchen and cooking was something that I liked and my mind suddenly started playing scenarios in my head causing my dick to instantly swell.
“You are a mystery Eden Rivers.” I kissed the top of her head and rested my hands on the top of her shoulders. My fingers dug into her flesh and her neck fell to the side as I massaged her tight muscles tenderly. “Will you be okay while I’m gone?”
“Hmmm,” she hummed in response.
My ego soared knowing that my fingers turned her to putty, but I also knew the sooner I left the quicker I could get back to her. I removed my hands and grabbed the chair and turned it to face me. Her eyes opened, and she pouted.
“Make sure you call or text me if you need me. I will be no more than an hour and then I’ll be back to watch you work my kitchen.”
Her face lit up like never before. “I think I know exactly what I am going to cook, but I’ll keep it a surprise. I think you should bring some wine home.”
“I can definitely do that.” I kissed the back of her head before heading toward the door; I hesitated briefly and looked back to find her in deep thought, scribbling down something on a notepad. “I’m so sorry for everything,” I whispered into the space around me.
Detective Douglas Smith of the NYPD was not a stranger to me. He and Dad went to the academy together and Douglas soon became a firm fixture at summer barbeques and winter football games. Up until three years ago, Dad was a lead detective in the sexual assault unit along with Douglas.
“I knew it was only a matter of time before I got a visit from you.” He stood from behind his desk and shook my hand firmly when I stormed through the door of his office. “Take a seat.”
“Where is he?” I cut right to the chase.
His heavy sigh fell from his chest. “You are like family Ky. Don’t ask me this.”
“Exactly, we are family.” I knew it was an asshole move, but right at this moment my only concern was Eden, and if I had to be an asshole to get answers, so be it.
He glared at me from across the desk, and I knew I had hit a raw nerve. “Jeremy is staying with his parents. Do not fucking approach him Ky, do you hear me? Let us do our job. All you need to worry about is making sure Eden stays safe.”
“Yeah because I am so fucking good at doing that,” I scoffed in response.
“You need to stop with this fucked-up guilt you live with boy. None of this is your fault.”
I wasn’t about to get into this conversation. It was a conversation that had been attempted numerous times over the years, and it wasn’t going to change today. I stood from the seat and held my hand out for him to shake in departure. “Call me if anything changes. I need to be kept in the loop.”
••••
Mental exhaustion was a bitch of a thing. When I left Douglas’s office I drove around for a good hour, going over our conversation and trying to rationalize the information he provided. The temptation to visit Jeremy was bearing down on me. Every scenario crossed my mind—paying him off, threatening him, hurting him—but what would that really gain besides ratting out Douglas for divulging confidential information.
Jeremy’s penance would come.
Once my emotions were somewhat in check I headed back to the apartment. The moment I walked through the front door the soft hum of music floated from the kitchen. Silently I put my keys and wallet on the foyer table and moved through the apartment like a lion on the prowl.
Eden swayed her hips along to the music; her body covered in panties, a loose fitting tank top that barely skimmed the middle of her thighs, and fucking knee high socks. She was completely oblivious that I had returned. She was a walking wet dream. I felt the rumble of a growl coming to life in the depths of my throat. My control had escaped and all I could see and focus on was the raw primal need to devour, to own, and to worship her.
>
"Get your ass up on the kitchen island Eden."
My demanding tone startled her. Her body twisted and her eyes darted to the four corners of the apartment desperately trying to seek me out. When her shocked expression met my heated gaze across the room, innocence dancing with intrigue dripped off her, which only fueled the raging fire within me. Her tiny hands tugged on the edge of the tee, desperately trying to hide those perfectly toned and curved thighs. Like hell.
"Eden, one last time, get up on the kitchen island."
My words hit her full force and with hips swaying, she effortlessly walked toward the counter. Dusk was imminent and the fading light pierced through the room allowing her silhouette to accentuate her curves into a perfect hourglass.
Eden pulled herself up onto the edge and faced me, legs swinging slightly, lips parted, face void of emotion. A billion scenarios filled my mind as countless words lingered on the tip of my tongue begging to be spoken.
I shrugged off my jacket as my mind swam through dangerous territory. Sitting on my kitchen counter awaiting my next move was the girl who controlled my every thought.
She couldn't say no.
She would say yes.
But I didn’t want that.
When I reached Eden, my hands fell to the bare flesh just above her knees. Her nerves were visible, and I lost all sense of reality. My hands slowly slid up her thighs, pushing the flimsy material up until I saw the first glimmer of the baby blue satin of her panties.
“Do you trust me?” I asked between rushed breaths.
“Yes.”
“Now isn’t the time to say what you think I want to hear. I want the truth.”
“I do trust you.”
Her eyes spoke louder than the words she said. They flamed back at me as my hands continued their journey. I was beyond pretending anymore. I couldn’t fight the urge to taste her, to give her everything she didn’t think a man could give her.
The hem of the tee bunched at her hips and the satin of her panties teased me. My body pushed between her legs, and she parted them without thought. My body slid between her legs like a perfectly fit glove. All I needed was to be as close as fucking possible to her. The innocence that I had witnessed only moments earlier was now replaced by something I couldn’t explain. Was it want? Need? Expectation?
My finger ran the length of her satin covered pussy. I would tease until she told me to stop. She whimpered under my touch, and her head dropped to my shoulder as I increased my pace. Her wetness grew and soon the lightness of the satin had turned into a deep blue. The sweetness of her arousal filled the air in pure fucking delight. I pushed her panties to the side and the moment my finger slid through her folds, her breathy moans filled the air and her head flew up until she gazed at me in wonderment. Fuck I wanted her. I wanted to be deep inside of her and hear her beg. But I knew I couldn’t. I had promised.
“I want you to be mine,” I whispered, my lips hovering over hers as I spoke. I pushed a finger into her and gentle started pumping inside her.
“I thought I already was.”
“I mean mine in every sense of the word. Tonight I’m going to make you come so hard that you forget every single bad experience you’ve had. Are you ready for that?
“Yes.”
I added another finger and continued pumping into her. She whimpered into my shoulder, and I fucking loved hearing her breathing increase. “You are going to forget your name the moment you come Eden.”
“Fuck!” she hissed against my shoulder. Her hips rose at the sound of my words, pushing harder against my hand, encouraging my fingers deeper.
Suddenly she froze, her hips dropped to the counter and her hand fell onto mine ceasing all movement. I looked at her, taking in her reaction. Her cheeks flushed with the heat circulating her body, but it was the questioning in her eyes that got my attention.
“Make me forget Ky. Make me forget that he is out. Make me forget the text messages. Make me forget it all. I just want it to be you and me.”
“It will always be just you and me,” I murmured as my lips fell to hers. She was as delicate as a piece of thousand-year-old silk, and I planned on handling her with patient hands. All I wanted was for her to see that she was the world in my eyes and that the world needed care, love, and protection. The darkened corners of her world needed new light.
My arm threaded around her waist, and I gently lowered her down until she lay before me on the counter. My lips fell away from hers, and I took a moment to relish in the specimen of absolute perfection staring back at me. Eden’s perfect blues, hooded with desire and not an ounce of hesitation, stared back at me and the smallest tinge of pink began spreading across her cheeks.
“So perfect,” I hummed as my ability to speak faltered quickly.
My hands disappeared under her t-shirt and ran over the smooth skin of her hips and up her sides. Her breath hitched as I removed the cotton from her heated body. My gaze roamed over her, taking in her heaving chest and the flesh of her breasts.
I licked my lips in anticipation and need to taste and my mouth dropped to her breast. My tongue teased her nipple, swirling the delectable peak and her fingers raked through my hair, twisting and tugging as pleasure ignited within her. My fingers trailed over her belly, sweeping along her hips until they found the satin of her panties and her swollen and needy pussy. Two fingers thrust in, and I continued what I had started.
I removed my mouth from her nipple and kissed along her jaw until I reached her ear.
“Do you want to come on my fingers or my tongue? Your choice baby.”
“You… oh fuck… fingers. Please.”
My fingers pumped deep inside her and the harder I went the more her moans and pants filled the air. She was fucking beautiful to watch. The innocence that radiated off her was nowhere to be seen; lying before me on my kitchen counter was a vixen, pushing her hips closer begging me to go deeper. Her lips were parted as she desperately tried to grab any air she could; her cheeks were flamed pink and her eyes looked back at me in a complete haze of need and pleasure.
“Come for me baby.”
I felt her walls clench around my fingers before she exploded with a moan of my name. It was the best fucking sound in the world. Her breathing pounded against my shoulder as I pulled her body back to mine and her arms wrapped tightly around mine.
“Let’s get to bed,” I whispered. She nodded without finding any words.
I wrapped my free arm around her waist and lifted her from the counter in one swift movement. Her legs locked around my hips as I carried her through the apartment and my fingers remained deep within her; with every step I took she whimpered at the sensation.
Softly I laid her on my bed and the smile on her face made my heart sing. Regretfully, I pulled my fingers from her and the frown that covered her face at the loss nearly made me explode in my pants. Our heated eyes watched each other intently and I wanted nothing more than to bury myself inside her and get lost for days. Her eyes shot wide as I lifted my fingers to my mouth and licked and sucked the taste of her clean off. I crawled over her like a stalking lion and hovered before my lips landed on her needy mouth. Our tongues collided and she moaned against my mouth as she lavishly tasted herself.
“I’m completely lost in you Eden, and I don’t think I ever want to be found,” I whispered against her lips in an honesty I never knew could exist.
“I need free standing lighting there, there, and there.” I pointed, giving directions to the assistant that I had been allocated for this shoot. “And the backdrop needs to be crisp black, no creases and no lint.”
The cover shoot for Beats and Bangs was happening in an abandoned warehouse downtown. After spending countless days scouring for the perfect location, Daniel and I had stumbled across it by accident. The natural lighting, the vast space, the flutter of sunlight through the smashed windows in the rack ceilings would offer a brilliant backdrop for the ideas I had in mind and there was no better place.
I
had arrived on set just after sunrise, leaving Ky asleep in bed. Last night had been amazing. We had gone further than I could have ever imagined. Never in my life had anyone looked at me or treated me the way Ky had mere hours ago. He looked at me like I was the only person in the world. The way he held me, caressed me, tended to me, made me feel like a delicate flower and he was afraid to damage my petals. For so many years, intimacy had meant punishment—it was foreign, feared, and unwanted—but now my body tormented me with a need so deep and a craving that seemed to only be sufficed by Ky Crawford.
My skin still tingled from the sensation of his lips sweeping over every inch of my body, traveling all over me, treating me like an unconquered land, exploring and delving into places that I had locked away from any man—but in the process he had opened me up to so many possibilities. Last night was pure pleasure in the most honest form I’d ever experienced.
I jumped as my assistant tapped my arm, breaking me from my trip down an erotic memory lane, and said, “Miss Rivers, lights have been set up, I just need you to come and check the drape.”
“Please call me Eden.” I smiled and took off toward the far corner of the space where I would be taking the photos of The Fallen. Thankfully the busyness of setting up for the day enabled my rabid thoughts to diminish, and I concentrated solely on the shoot. Noise was my constant companion, something that I requested whenever I worked. Music and it had to be loud.
“Eden!” Ashlyn’s voice sang from behind me. I placed my camera on the table and turned around to greet her with a warm hug. Thankfully Ashlyn was the stylist on the shoot, much to her excitement at the thought of dressing Blake and Colby, so I knew we would get a great set of photos. “Ky isn't here?”
I knew my cheeks flushed red when a knowing look swept over her too-gorgeous-not-to-be-a-model face. “No.”
“I sense we have a serious girl chat in our near future. Tonight, definitely tonight. You are coming right?”