My whole body tenses when I hear the soft padding of bare feet. Rolling my shoulders, I pray that it’s only Petra in need of a glass of water or a snack.
But when I turn around, my heart slams, punching the air from my lungs. Eden steps through the doorway, rubbing at her eyes. She’s tied her hair into a bun on the top of her head, but a few corkscrew locks have fallen out, framing her face and making her look like an angel. Her cheeks are dusted pink and there’s a slight crease along her chin. She must’ve fallen asleep on her phone again.
My gaze slides down her body to the skimpy tank top and plaid shorts she has on. I swallow hard, noting the barest sliver of her soft belly peeking out above the waistband.
Though I’ve already seen her naked, there’s something about seeing her in her sleepwear, having just woken up, that feels more intimate. More vulnerable.
Her hand falls away from her face and she sees me. She blinks a few times.
“Oh…” She breathes the word.
We stand there for a few seconds, staring at each other, before I clear my throat and say the first thing that pops into my head.
“Don’t you think you should put on something warmer? It’s December.”
Eden’s expression hardens. She walks fully into the kitchen, heading for the pantry and making a point not to so much as glance in my direction.
Just when I think she’s going to ignore me completely, she mutters under her breath, “Wow, for a second it almost seemed like you cared about me.”
“I do care.” The words leave my mouth before I can thwart them.
She whirls around, rooting me in place with a scowl. The blue of her irises is so striking that I have to make a conscious effort not to take a step back.
“Don’t lie to me, Christian.”
“I’m not lying—”
“Then don’t be an asshole.” Her tone is sharp, venomous. “You don’t get to use me, reject me, marry my mother, and then act like you care about me.”
My throat tightens.
“You’re right. What I did to you was unforgivable. But that doesn’t change the fact that I do care about you, Eden.”
She scoffs, grabs a bag of popcorn, and walks past me toward the hallway. “Yeah? Well, you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
My arm moves of its own volition. I catch Eden’s wrist. The instant we touch, I feel electricity shoot up my arm.
“I’m sorry, Eden,” I whisper. “It’s…complicated.”
She stares at my hand wrapped around her wrist as a storm of emotions cross her gorgeous face. I half expect her to wrench free of my grasp and run to her bedroom without another word. But she doesn’t. Relief floods my body as she turns around to face me straight-on.
The anger in her gaze softens into something like sadness.
“Then un-complicate it,” she says.
I shake my head, taking a step closer to her. “It’s not that simple—”
“It is.” The earnestness in her voice is haunting. My chest aches. “You just say one word, and then another, and then another. And you keep going until you’ve taken back every hurtful thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I take a step toward her without meaning to. Here she is, this sharp, sensitive, beautiful girl, who has utterly consumed me for the last few weeks. And she’s all but ready to forgive me. I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I don’t deserve to be anywhere near her. But it’s as if there’s an invisible cord pulling me toward her, made of stronger stuff than I am, and impossible to ignore.
I brush a corkscrew curl hair away from her face. She gasps but otherwise she doesn’t move.
“I don’t want to hurt you again.” I can’t resist skimming my fingertips down her cheek to the column of her throat. She quivers under my touch.
“Then don’t.” She steps forward, leaving barely a breath between us.
Shaking my head, I say, “Eden, I can’t—”
“Why not?” she demands, dropping the bag of popcorn to clutch at the front of my shirt. Her lip trembles, revealing her inner turmoil. “Isn’t it enough to want to be with me?”
“There are other things we have to consider—”
“Like what?” She refuses to back down, the fire in her eyes returning with vigor.
Something inside me breaks.
I launch forward and capture Eden’s lips in a kiss. Her body melts against mine as she loops her wrists around my neck. My hands capture her hips. I slip my thumbs beneath the hem of her thin tank top, desperate to feel her soft skin. She whimpers, and I claim the opportunity to deepen the kiss, caressing her tongue and stealing her breath.
Fuck, I’ve missed this. The taste of her, the feel of her, just…everything about her. I spin us around, placing her back to the counter, and slip my knee in between her legs. She moans as I press my thigh against her pussy.