The last thing I heard was Ky’s deep voice whispering in my ear.
“You completely own me Eden Rivers.”
••••
Soft, delicate fingertips swept over my still tingling lips, drawing me from my peaceful slumber in the arms of the man who took me places I never dreamed of reaching. My eyes slowly fluttered open, trying to adjust to the darkness of his bedroom. I shifted my head and through the flicker of candlelight my eyes found Ky’s worry-etched face watching me closely. His brow pulled in concentration and he gnawed on his bottom lip as his eyes searched mine.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked softly, scooting closer to me so our naked chests collided. My body hummed, and I winced as a deep ache filled me, showing me exactly where he had finally been.
“I feel amazing.”
I dropped my eyes from his intense gaze and rolled onto my back to stretch. I knew I’d be feeling him for days. Sex had been forced into my life—from my very first experience—causing me to fear it, to despise it, to avoid it. I never thought this kind of sex existed, I never wanted to believe that it existed. The thought that this type of sex, the type where I was cherished, protected, loved, and admired, could be mine was never ever imagined.
“What’s going through that pretty head of yours?”
I rolled to my side and propped up my head with my hand. The man beside me allowed me to switch on my life again, and was quickly becoming the person who made me feel like I was becoming myself, but who was I to begin with?
“I never knew it could be like that,” I whispered in pure honesty and felt his arms tighten around me. “You make me feel so special Ky. You make me feel free.”
Perfection wasn’t the word to describe what I had just experienced. I wasn’t sure there was any word in the English dictionary that could explain the feelings aligning within my body, the feeling of complete connection with her on every level possible.
“Let’s take a bath,” I whispered heatedly as my eyes raked over her still naked body. The glimmer of my come still lingering between her thighs immediately caused my cock to thicken at the thought of having marked her as mine. My arms wrapped around her waist and I lifted her from the bed and walked toward the bathroom. The shriek that left her still swollen lips when I delicately placed her on the porcelain vanity filled the empty room. I felt her eyes watching my every move, and I loved the thought of being under her heated gaze. Everything had changed tonight. I fought back the urge to be with her but everything was lost the moment I had seen her in that lingerie. My heart had beaten my head once again.
How was I meant to ever say goodbye to her now?
I shut off the faucet and tested the water. Perfectly hot. Turning back to face her, I moved between her legs and wrapped my arms around her waist, lifting her in one motion off the vanity before placing her in the bath. Her gasp as her still tingling body hit the heated water filled my ears. I stood and looked down at her, the bubbles swam around her; the sated look on her face completely undid me.
“Are you getting in?” Her words shocked me. Her confidence was beginning to come through, and I loved the thought that I had something to do with that.
I nodded and slid in, pushing my back against the opposite end of the porcelain bath. In all my time living here, I had never used the bath.
“You asked me what I was thinking, but what are you thinking?” The softness of her voice massaged the intensity of my thoughts so tenderly.
I took a deep breath, meeting her inquisitive eyes as they begged for honesty. A tightness in my chest thundered to life as I prepared to give her my every thought. “Sex will never be the same again. You, Eden, have singlehandedly ruined me for anyone else.” My honesty even shocked myself, and by the way her eyes widened, I knew they shocked her too. “I can still feel myself deep inside of you, deeper than I’ve ever been before, and I fucking love it. I tried so hard to deny you because I didn’t want to hurt you; I didn’t want to lose you, but now that I’ve felt you, that I’ve had you, that I’ve come inside you, I don’t know what to do.”
My words were absolute truth. How was I meant to move on from this? This was exactly why I never wanted to be with her like this. I didn’t think I could possibly move on from this.
The splashing of water hitting the tiled floor brought me back. Eden shifted toward me until her legs were over mine and we were chest to chest, face to face. A thousand unspoken words shifted between us as her shining blue eyes met my hazels. The moment her head hit my shoulder and she crawled onto my lap, I closed my eyes as a contentment I chose to ignore for so many years engulfed me. Four years. I had fought every single regret for four years and now what I craved—a life of peace, contentment, love, and redemption—was brought on by the girl who was my biggest regret in the first place.
“Thank you for making the hardest day in my life into something I will never forget.”
December 16th.
I knew the day all too well.
The lump in my throat disabled my ability to speak so I held onto her for dear life as the water around us cooled. I held her as I knew her memories were coming in thick and fast; I held her for my memories of a fateful day that had stuck with me as a constant reminder and I held her for a secret that I knew I had to admit sooner rather than later.
“Are you hungry?” I said softly against her neck once the water had completely cooled.
“Mmhmm.”
“Let’s get changed and get some food.”
We walked out of the bathroom once we dried off and put on our sweats then made our way to the kitchen hand in hand.
“I made some spaghetti; it’s a recipe that I stole from Mom.” I grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the red sauce giving off the strong aroma of fresh tomatoes and garlic.
“Oh my God, that is delicious,” she groaned and licked her lips savoring the taste. “I’d ask you to cook this every night if it didn’t mean that I’d put on a hundred pounds.”
I loved playful Eden, and it seemed like she was the one who came out after sex and I loved it.
“I could make it low fat if you were really that desperate.”
“Ky Crawford, did you just insinuate that I had a weight problem?”
“Never! I love every single curve of your body.”
I grabbed her around the waist and she squealed as I lifted her from her feet and placed her on the counter. The bubbling of the spaghetti matched the bubbling of tension in the kitchen.
“You are crazy,” she whispered.
“Maybe a little, but that’s what you like about me, isn’t it? Or is it the way I kiss you or maybe it’s the way I make love to you?”
I reached behind her and pulled out the pins holding her hair in place and with steady fingers I ran through her hair separating the clumps so it fell perfectly over her shoulders.
“Your crazy is what got my attention in the first place, and you know I enjoy your kisses, and well, you know what else.”
“You can say it,” I whispered and moved in closer. “I want to hear you say it.”
“When you—” she inhaled sharply, and I watched as her eyes moistened with emotion “—made love to me.”
“We are going to do that again you know. It’s not just a one-time thing. I want you in my bed all the time; I want to fall asleep beside you and wake up with you in my arms. None of this separate room bullshit. I want you for as long as I can have you.”
“You don’t frighten me anymore,” she admitted so softly that I almost missed her confession.