“I should go and see if there is another room available.” Her muffled words against my chest startled me.
“Eden, there is no way in hell that you are staying here.”
Her blue eyes flashed up to mine.
“You are coming back to my place. You can stay in the spare room until we work something out. There is no fucking way you are staying here.”
“Can you come with me while I pack up my things?” she asked timidly.
“Eden, I’m not letting you out of my fucking sight. You are going to get sick of the sight of me before this month is over. We will get your things and then head to my place. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes.”
She unwrapped herself from my body and attempted to step away. Like hell. My hand shot out and grabbed hers and immediately her fingers laced with mine so tenderly and so needy. We walked in silence through the foyer and toward her room and my mind felt like it was running a marathon and I couldn’t see the finish line. Eden hesitated as she slid the card through and the door unlocked.
“I’ll go in first,” I soothed and gave her hand a squeeze in a desperate attempt to offer her protection and comfort.
Her suitcase lay in the middle of the bed in total chaos. It was obvious that someone had been ratting around in it. My stomach clenched and I felt bile rise from the pit of my stomach and sit precariously in my throat as I focused on the bras and panties spilling out of it, thrown around and disturbed by some dirty fucking asshole’s hands.
“Do you want to stay in the hall and I’ll pack everything up?” I asked softly.
“No!” She gasped and shot me a pleading look. The color in her face had drained and her eyes showed nothing but sheer terror. Her hand grabbed hold of my arm for dear life. “Please don’t leave me out here.”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s get in here and get your stuff together and get out of here.”
I sat on the edge of the bed while Eden packed up her belongings at rapid speed. My eyes traced her every movement and I couldn’t ignore the fact that she was trembling and her shaking hands caused her to drop everything she picked up.
“Eden.” I spoke so softly that she froze and turned to look at me. “Come here.”
She crossed the room and fell into my open arms and unleashed a deep sob into my chest. I felt the cotton of my shirt dampen under her tears and my arms tightened. She was completely falling apart in my arms and I felt at a loss of what I could provide her.
“I’m scared,” she admitted when she pulled away and looked up at me. “I’m really scared.”
“What can I do to stop you from being scared?” My fingers tucked the hair that had fallen out of her braid behind her ears and her eyes closed under my touch.
Her voice strained as she responded with, “I don’t know but you being here is helping.”
“How bout we finish this and then we can leave?”
“That would be good.”
Eden stepped away from me and went about collecting her laptop and camera gear and continued shoving her belongings back in her suitcase. Seeing the expensive items not touched confused the fuck out of me. A breaking and entering like this was always for the most expensive items that could be grabbed but here they still sat, out in the open and begging to be taken. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just a random act, and it sent shivers soaring down my spine.
One name kept circling in my head: Chris Edwards.
Fifteen minutes later, with Eden’s suitcase in my hands, we were walking out of the hotel and toward my car.
“Thank you so much for coming to get me.” She said as she watched me load her bags into the trunk of my car.
“I’m glad you called,” I said as I slammed the trunk shut and moved toward the driver’s seat. She fidgeted in the passenger seat as we took the ten-minute drive back to my apartment. The familiar ding of a text message sounded and as I looked over to her I noticed that she slammed her eyes shut and didn’t make a move to get her phone.
“What’s wrong?” I asked hurriedly, my eyes falling to the phone in Eden’s hands.
Her eyes flew open and her mouth twisted with nerves. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”
“Are you going to check your text?” I asked, not believing a word she said.
“No.”
I wanted desperately to probe further and get her to speak, but she was already shutting down and I didn’t really want to have her fleeing into the night because I had pushed too much. I bit my tongue and concentrated on the road ahead while my mind danced through scenarios of who could be texting her to get a reaction like that.
Ten minutes later my apartment building came into view, twinkling in the night sky. I pulled into the garage and grabbed her suitcase and bags from my trunk and we made our way silently to the fourteenth floor. The moment we walked through the entrance and into the warmth of my home shy Eden decided to appear. She stood just inside of the foyer as I headed toward the kitchen. I pulled out a pot from the cabinet beside my stovetop and turned to find her looking around my apartment with a nervous look plastered on her face.
“Don’t look so nervous. You are staying here for as long as you want so make yourself at home. I’ll give you a tour once I make us hot chocolate to warm up.”
“You’re making hot chocolate?” she quizzed, the shocked expression on her face was not missed.
“Of course. It’s minus a billion degrees outside, and I need something to warm me up. Well unless you want to hug me all night?” I teased, desperate to break the tension. “So hot chocolate it is. Do you want white or milk chocolate?
“White please,” she whispered.
I felt her eyes on me as I moved around the kitchen preparing our drinks. It felt good. Soon the delicious aroma of melting chocolate filled the air. Once I was done, we both moved to the large couch that took center stage in my living room and collapsed into its comfort. Eden pulled her legs under her and blew softly on the steaming hot chocolate I had just given her. We drank in silence, and I knew that her head was going crazy and analyzing everything that was going on around her. She didn’t say a word and I was okay with that. Knowing that she was here and not in that pathetic excuse of a hotel satisfied me. It allowed me to take care of her and to keep her safe and that was what I wanted. My eyes slammed shut as an unwanted pounding erupted behind my eyes. Memories could fuck off, I didn’t want them intruding on this moment, not now.
“Would it be okay if I took a shower?” Her voice ended my flashback, and I opened my eyes to find her gazing in wonderment at me.
“You don’t have to ask me Eden, as long as you are staying here you can use whatever you like. I’m probably going to head to bed anyway; it’s been a long day. I’ll show you to the guest room.”
I stood from the couch, and she mimicked my action. I took her mug and placed it on the glass table and then moved through my apartment and headed down the hall. Opening the door, I stepped in and switched on the light flooding the room with a harsh glow. Eden moved beside me as she entered the room holding one of the smaller bags she brought, having left the bigger one in the living room. A king-size bed, large dresser, reading chair, and side tables with iron woven lamps completed the room. Once again, Ashlyn didn’t fail in her interior decorating skills.