Page 38 of Tempting Eden

“Persuasive?” I’d had years to develop stratagems against Ms. Temple’s kind-hearted coercions. I still failed miserably. Eden, though formidable, didn’t stand a chance.

“Yes. I think she’s kind of badass. And,” she tapped her chin, “has she ever mentioned my mother to you?”

“Your mother? No, why?” What was she talking about?

Her face fell. “Oh, nothing, just something she said earlier.”

She fidgeted with the hem of her sweater, a V-neck in a light lavender color that cut down to the pale swells of her breasts. She wore tight jeans with tall brown boots that came to her knee. Pitch perfect for the fall, though I preferred her the way she was in the hotel room—naked, wanting.

“Well, anyway, I should be going. You’re probably worn out from cutting the lawn. You looked so hot… I mean you were sweating, so it was hot. Not that you weren’thot,because you were…” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

I don’t think I’d ever seen her so rattled. Score one for Ms. Temple.

“Come on, sit down.” I sat on my worn but comfortable sofa and patted the cushion next to me.

She sat and crossed her legs at the knee. I let her get comfortable, gave her time to talk. One thing I’d learned about Eden was that she wanted to tell me things, almost seemed to need it. I didn’t know why she felt compelled to tell me so much about herself when she never told anyone else more than what was necessary. It pleased me, all the same.

She took a deep breath. “Well, Maria told me about how you were at first, when she met you. The things you did to drive her away.” She met my gaze, a question in her green eyes.

“That’s all true. I cussed her, threatened her. Anything horrible you can imagine, I said to her, more or less.”

“But Helen brought you back around?”

I nodded. Helen had become my patron saint. I still dreamed about her sometimes, her smile and the tinkling sound of her laugh. She was the standard I was trying to reach, though I knew I never would.

“I’m sorry those things happened to you. And, more than that, I’m sorry about how I reacted last night. I was just sort of taken by surprise, I guess.” She shrugged.

“It’s okay, Eden. I came to terms with what I did and what I ought to have done a long time ago in that cell where Ms. Temple found me. I had to go through it all to get to where I am now. A different man. I still miss Helen. I think about her. I pray for her. I don’t think that will ever go away.”

She put her palm against my cheek and rubbed her soft thumb along the stubble there. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

“You aren’t exactly weak.”

A haunted look passed across her face, but it was gone in an instant. “You don’t know me, not really.”

“I know enough. I know you’re tough, kind, a great mother. And just a little temperamental. Just a smidge.”

She smiled. “Only a smidge, huh?”

“I don’t mind it. Keeps me guessing like, ‘what will she do next? Yell at me, or pat me on the back? Tell me we’re equals, or demand I go fetch her lunch?’”

Her laughter echoed around my small space, making the streaks of late afternoon sun musical. I wanted her to laugh like that often. She rarely laughed, and when she did, it didn’t reach her eyes like it did now.

She took my hand in hers and opened my palm. She flattened the back of her hand against it, her whiteness surrounded by the darker pink of my skin. “The thing that we did. The thing at the beach. We probably shouldn’t do that anymore.”

She looked up at me, hand still in mine. Her mouth said one thing, her eyes another. Now she knew me, the real me. My secrets were in front of her, and I could sense that she still wanted me, the real me.

“You’re probably right.” I leaned in and took her mouth.

She was sweet, the sweetest thing I’d ever tasted. I wanted more, wanted it all. I’d thought about her so much, replayed our night over and over in my mind. Her skin, her smell, her taste.

She wrapped her arms around my neck as I deepened the kiss, slanting over her mouth and slipping my tongue inside. She moaned into me as I pulled her onto my lap. My hands were in her hair, sifting the silky strands before pulling them. She gave into my pressure and raised her chin, breaking our kiss. I fastened my lips to her neck, feeling the rapid beat of her heart along her jugular as I traced kisses there. I continued down and lingered on her collarbone until the fabric of her sweater was in the way.

“Arms up.” My voice was gruffer than I intended, but she obeyed.

I stripped her sweater up and tossed it aside. Then I picked her up and made her straddle me. The heat from her pussy permeated her jeans and went right to my cock, making it strain against the fabric of my shorts.

She wore a black bra. I didn’t want to see it; I wanted to see her. I kissed down her chest and reached behind her, unfastening her bra and pulling it away from her gorgeous breasts. Her nipples were pink, tight, and hard. I cupped one breast and kissed the other. I wanted the tip in my mouth so bad, but I wanted to make her want it even more.

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