“Ky, please don’t yell at me,” I whispered as fresh tears formed in my eyes.
“Babe, I’m not yelling at you.” He sighed deeply down the line. “You should have told someone. If not me, then Josh, Ashlyn, Colby, Tori! Don’t keep this shit to yourself. Was it happening before your hotel room got broken into? What were you told about Jeremy?”
“I got the first message when I was having chocolate cake with you, on my birthday, and all I know is that he got released today. I’m really scared Ky. I don’t know what to do.”
“Fuck!” He fell silent, and I dropped my eyes to the table. “I’m coming home early. Be in my bed when I get home.”
He hung up.
Everything passed in quick succession. I hung up the phone after hearing Eden’s petrified voice, called Simon Davenport to inform him that I was leaving due to an emergency back home, rushed to the LAX, and now I sat on the first plane back to New York awaiting departure.
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.”