Page 25 of Tempting Eden

Even I knew I was kidding myself. I would never forget this.

He bent and grazed my lips with his once more before backing away into the darkness. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

The door clicked shut when he left.

I buried my face in the pillow next to me and yelled. Half with unfulfilled desire, half with embarrassment that I’d just masturbated in front of my assistant while screaming his name.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JACK

IRECALLED HER TASTEand licking it from her fingers. I lay on my bed, stroking myself as I remembered how she looked spread out before me, her pussy glistening and ready.The way she’d said my name.God, she was sexy. Did I tell her she wasn’t a ten? That was because she was off the fucking charts.

She’d come into the party wearing her short dress and stilettos, looking like sex personified. Every man in that room was ready to make a deal with her if it meant getting close to her, or maybe having a chance to bed her. She was like a siren, luring hapless men to their doom. I’d watched her all night, imagining what she’d look like spread out on my bed.

And then she was, my fantasy come to life, screaming my name and pleasuring herself right in front of me. I had never seen anything more beautiful, more sexy, in all my life.

I stroked my shaft faster, the image of her perfect tits flashing across my mind—the way her lips felt, the softness of her skin. The heat of her pussy. I don’t know how I kept myself from sinking my cock into her. If the light had been on, and I could have seen her more clearly, it would have been over. I wanted her still, wanted to rush back to her room and fuck her until the sun came up, have her screaming my name until her voice went hoarse.

The thought was too much, and I came in a hard rush, ropes of cum lashing out of me as I saw her writhing beneath me, begging for my touch.

Her name was on my lips.Eden.

I woke early and set up my canvas on the beach.

The night before felt like a stunning erotic dream. I had to push the thoughts to the background just so I could focus on the grandeur before me. But if I wasn’t careful, thoughts of Eden rose and swirled like an eddy in the water, reminding me of something deeper.

The smell of the salt water hit my nose, and a light wind picked up. I painted as the sun rose, the hues of the sea and the sky informing each flick of my brush until I had a decent framework. The colors weren’t quite right. I’d need to do some more mixing before I could capture the feeling of the morning with the rhythmic waves and the clearing clouds. But this was a good first draft.

When I was finished, I strolled up to the water and sank my dark toes in the white, sugary sand. Even though I’d seen pictures and videos, I’d never seen such a wide expanse of water. I couldn’t begin to fathom its depth, the sheer mass of the water, or what lurked within it.

My thoughts strayed to Helen, and I wished she stood here with me. She would flounce along the sand, her braids swaying as she dashed away from the incoming waves. Her laughter was imprinted in my mind, high and melodic.

I turned toward the hotel and collected my paint supplies. Back in my room, I prepared the contracts on each of the deals Eden made the night before. Once the contracts were done, I went ahead and sent them to the brokers and buyers. I finished in time for a late breakfast at the hotel café.

Eden wasn’t there, but our car was scheduled to pick us up at 11:30 a.m. to take us to the airport. I had a coffee and a bagel as I waited. She stepped off the elevator at 11:35 a.m., dark glasses clamped down over her eyes and her hair swept back in a ponytail. She wore jeans and a black tank top. For about the twentieth time that morning, my thoughts strayed back to the way she looked the night before. Naked and beautiful. Mine.

She glanced in my direction, but continued toward the hotel doors. I imagined she might feel embarrassed. She shouldn’t. I wanted her to know that secrets were something I was particularly adept at, both making and keeping them. More than that, I wanted her to know how much last night meant to me and how much more I wanted from her.

I gathered up my bags and followed her to the waiting car.

“Morning.”

She raised her coffee cup in answer to my greeting and took a big swig. We settled into the backseat as the driver pulled away from the hotel.

“I saw you got the contracts out this morning. Good work. Once they come back, make sure you send them to the back office. We’ll need to get the deals funded and the deeds recorded as soon as possible.”

“Sure thing.” I was relieved she was back in business mode, her element.

“And we’ll need to start planning the true opening party. The building should be done for our purposes in three weeks, and we’ll be able to have the party at the site. The pool has already been poured, and I’ve told Gray to put the finishes together in the lobby and common areas on the first floor. Last night was great…” She paused as if catching the full meaning of her words after they were spoken. She cleared her throat. “Next time needs to be even better. Bigger. More buyers, more everything. Gray’s tight schedule means everything is riding on the sellout that night. I’m going to leave it all to you.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll be spending my time speaking with buyers and brokers between then and now. No doubt we’ll get more than a few calls from buyers who were reluctant to commit last night. I’ll just have to sweet talk them over the phone instead of in person.”

She whipped out her phone and started scrolling through emails. I could feel her dismissal. She’d turned back into Ms. Rochester, not the Eden who’d melted for me just hours before. I wasn’t surprised. I would just count the moments until I could make her transform for me.

We boarded the plane in silence. Tom tried to rib Eden a bit about being hungover from her big party. She was a brick wall. He shrugged and abandoned his efforts.

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