“You make him happy,” Josh whispered beside me. “Four years has been too long to watch my brother slowly destroy himself.”
His words hit me hard.
“Why has he been destroying himself?” I asked, lifting my head from his shoulder and moving to face him.
“It’s not my place to say, but what I can say is that you are giving him a second chance without even knowing it and no matter what the future brings, I will always be grateful to you for that, for however long it is.”
Josh was such a mystery. He went through women like I went through underwear, but beneath it all, he was the most loving and fragile man I’d ever met. His protection of Ky was paramount, like something I’d never witnessed before. They had the relationship that I would have loved to have if I had siblings; it was the type of relationship I would want for my children if I were to ever have them. He was the little brother but more often than not he stood up for Ky like the big brother.
“I’m meant to leave soon,” I admitted through a thick voice.
“Do you want to leave?”
“I can’t stay here Josh; I am scared every time I leave the house and now that Jeremy is somewhere out there, it just makes it worse.”
“What about Ky? It’s going to kill him when you leave. Fuck I’ve said too much.”
“Your brother has made me feel alive again Josh.”
“And you have made him live again.”
••••
“Thank you so much for a perfect day,” I said later in the night as I stood in the kitchen with Sue cleaning up the last of the dishes. “And thank you for my lovely gift. You really shouldn’t have.”
“Oh sweetie, it has been mine and James’ pleasure to have you here today. You make my boy happy; he has changed so much and it’s all thanks to you.” The smile looking back at me was so honest and identical to the one I often saw on Ky. “He is a good boy. He just has a lot of demons locked up in that pretty head of his, and he won’t let anyone get close enough to get rid of them, not even Joshy, but I can see it in the way he looks at you, the way he always needs to be near you, how he is smiling and laughing more than he has in four years. You are the one for him. He will let you in, but please just give him a chance to explain everything.”
“Mom, are you telling Eden embarrassing stories about me?” Ky voice echoed as he came waltzing into the kitchen. His mom’s words hit me square in the heart, and I had a billion questions to ask. Ky came up behind me and pulled me firmly into his chest. I molded perfectly against his protectiveness.
“No stories tonight, but the photos come out next time. How about you kids head upstairs and get some rest. It’s been a big day. I’ve put extra towels on your bed sweetie. I will see you both in the morning.” Her eyes bounced between Ky and me and the sweetest of smiles filled her face.
Sue Crawford left the kitchen and the moment she was out of sight Ky spun me around to face him and pushed me against the kitchen island.
“Bed?” Ky muttered against my lips before they gave me a quick sweet kiss. “I need some alone time with you. You’ve been very popular with my family today, and I’m a little jealous at the lack of Eden time I’ve had.”
“I’ve had a really good day. I’m glad your bossy ass made me come.” My arms squeezed around his middle and my chin rested on his chest as I looked up at him.
Like a thundercloud, his eyes darkened with mischief. “I haven’t made you come yet Eden.”
“Ky! We are in your parents’ home.”
His laughter bounced around the empty kitchen and soon I was dragged out of the kitchen, my hand in his, and we headed up the grand staircase. I hadn’t been up there yet and I was intrigued to see where Ky had spent his childhood. Ky squeezed my hand as we walked down the hall until we stood before a door that had a bright blue plaque that had Ky displayed proudly.
“Welcome to my childhood abode,” he said with a soft laugh and pushed open the door. With a flick of a switch, light illuminated the room, and I stood in the center taking it all in. Pale blue walls were graced with posters of sport stars and bands, a double bed sat in the middle of the room and a chest of drawers lined with trophies sat against the far wall.
It was almost like his parents had made no changes since he left home.
“You did so well today,” he whispered as he pulled me into his chest for a tight hug. “You’ve got to give yourself more credit.”
“You are a big reason for the new Eden you are seeing,” I admitted unashamedly.
The content expression on his face dropped suddenly as did his arms from my waist. It was a move I was becoming very well accustomed to. It seemed that anytime I said anything positive about him, he would shut down and feign indifference.
“I’ll grab you one of my shirts if you want to shower. I am pretty beat.” He stepped away from me, pulled open the drawers, and grabbed a t-shirt to hand it to me. I didn’t even bother talking, I simply heading toward the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
After showering I tiptoed back into the dark room highlighted only by the television. Ky was motionless in bed; his chest rose like it did when he was in a deep sleep and I sighed in defeat.
I climbed into bed and my earlier exhaustion I felt quickly left my body as I rolled to my side and looked out the window at the falling snow.
“You’re the first girl I’ve had in this bed,” Ky whispered into the darkness, and I jumped at his admission and felt my stomach drop.
I flipped over to face him and propped my head up with my hand. “You never had girlfriends?”
“I did but my mom and dad never let me have a girl in my room and definitely not in my bed. I told you that they would like you. They are letting you corrupt their son.”
My laughter was muffled as I dropped my mouth to his bare chest at the absurdness of his statement. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and his laughter fell against my hair.
“And I’ve never had a girl in here who I’ve liked as much as you.”
My heart stammered in my chest.
“I really fucking like you Eden Rivers.”
Through the light drifting in from the street lamp outside I saw a wicked look sweep over his face, a look I had witnessed so many times before.
“Remember when you were at the photo shoot and I asked you to be quiet. Can you do that again?”
My heart rate increased and instantly my core awoke. “Ky! Really? In your childhood bedroom with your parents down the hall?”
“I’m not going to have sex with you Eden.” He shifted his body down over my chest and my hips; his hot breath danced on my lower stomach as he pushed up my shirt. With strong hands he lifted my hips from the bed and slid my panties down my thighs until they sat beside me on the bed. “I am going to finally give you the Christmas gift I’ve wanted to give you all day.”
Oh.
Oh!
I reluctantly left Eden in bed after the most exhilarating morning sex of my life. Her body responded to my touch like I was the air in her lungs, like she needed it to survive. To say it didn’t stroke my ego would be a lie. A huge day was ahead of me, a day that would involve back to back meetings, lunch with Josh, and then organizing everything for the night I had planned with Eden.
Eden had officially gotten to me, and there was no way I could deny it any longer. She had squeezed her way so far into my heart that now I would be ruined for anyone else but I couldn’t be happier. What I was quickly learning was that there were no rules when it came to Eden and me, and that was what I cherished the most. We seemed to give each other what we needed, when we needed it.