Page 107 of Whistleblower

Closing the space between us, I pull her into my arms and rub her back sweetly, like it can soften the blow. “No.”

“Linc—”

“Eden, in time. Right now, it’s safer to keep a low profile. I don’t know who’s watching you. We can order something. Callen will go pick it up, right?” I glance his way and he nods in agreement.

“Sure. Happy to.”

Eden nuzzles into me and puckers her bottom lip out even further. “I’m tired of being your prisoner. I’m bored.” She pops her lips, emphasizing the b of her last word.

I whisper in her ear, “There are things we can do to pass the time.” I’m mostly kidding. Sex has been the last thing on my mind over the past few days, but Eden enthusiastically tugs on my belt.

“Interesting,” she mumbles with a seductive undertone. I feel the familiar stirring in my pants.

“Callen, leave my home. Now,” I bark.

“Roger that,” he says, basically flying out of the room. “I’ll call with developments,” he shouts from down the hall. I wait until the front door slams and the security system beeps before I slide my hand down Eden’s stretchy pants. I feel the heat before I stroke the damp cotton of her panties.

“You get ready fast, don’t you?”

She bats at me with her thick eyelashes. “I’ve been ready. You haven’t touched me in days. I’ve been really patient…like a good girl.” She clicks her jaw as she winks.

Chuckling, I run my finger over the left side of her face where that fucker struck her. My stomach twists when I think of what I saw on the surveillance tapes. “I didn’t want to rush you if you needed time to process—”

“Liiinc,” she pleads. “I’m fine. Let’s forget about it, just for an hour. Please.” She unbuckles my belt and pops my pants button free. “I’m due for a reward.”

“That you are.” I follow her to the bedroom. I expect her to get naked and crawl on to my bed, but instead she disappears into the en suite bathroom and returns with a little bottle of lubricant.

“Look what I found in your bathroom while I was snooping.” Fuck. My stomach sinks and I’m hoping she doesn’t ask me why I have that.

“You were snooping in my bathroom? I thought you were sleeping while you were alone in here.”

“You have hidden surveillance cameras in my apartment. Pot…kettle? Plus, I told you, I’m bored.”

“It was from a long time ago—”

She holds up her palm to interrupt me. “No, no. I don’t want to hear about your past women.” She dangles the little bottle playfully in the air, as she bites her bottom lip. “I want you to take my ass.”

Every single alarm in my mind is going off. This can’t be good. Eden just had her life threatened, she’s acting unfazed, and now she’s begging me for anal sex. This is a downward spiral if I’ve ever seen one.

She sinks to her knees and unzips me, pulling my pants and briefs to the ground. She tickles my hard tip gently with her teeth before engulfing as much of my cock as she can.

“Oooh, fuck, baby,” I groan.

“Please?” she begs when she comes back up for air. Eden’s so strategic. All the blood in my brain has flooded South, and all I can think about now is giving her exactly what she wants.

“Get yourself comfortable on the bed,” I command before I pick up the lube she set on the nightstand. “We’re going to go really slow.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

EDEN

I’m. Not. Fine.

I want to be, but I’m not. I keep saying the words over and over again, hoping they’ll ring true, but at this point, I flinch at my own shadow. I hate myself for it. I want to be brave, but right now I’ll have to settle for pretending to be brave.

It wasn’t just about having my life threatened. It was all the questions. All the unanswered questions. Who? Why? And why me? What if I’d died and the mystery was never solved? Would my soul be able to rest?

The fear that had slowly been fading since I got to PALADIN has returned, tenfold. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t sleep. This has been too much for too long. I wish I’d never set foot inside of Empress. I’m so tired of it all and I just want to feel something different.

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