Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“My thoughts exactly. We’ll come over a little early so you don’t have to rush to your showing. How far away is it?”
“Just twenty minutes.”
“Great. We’ll be there around eleven.”
“Thank you, Eden. You’re a lifesaver. Please thank Foster for us, too. I’ll have to do something special for him for his birthday. It will just be a little late.”
“No need. Just another day,” I answer, and Eden shakes her head at me.
“We’ll see you soon,” Eden says, ending the call. “Thank you,” she says, immediately.
“It’s fine, really. It sounds like she needs you.” I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close. “We have hours before we have to leave,” I say against her lips.
“I need to brush my teeth,” she mumbles into our kiss, making no move to stop me from kissing her.
Instead of replying, I lick at her lips, and she opens for me. I’ll take this woman any way that I can have her. She moans into my kiss, leaning into me, and the next thing I know, she’s pushing me onto my back and straddling my hips. We’re both naked from last night. We got messy, showered together, got messy again, and fell into bed, naked and exhausted.
It was the perfect night.
I’m quickly becoming addicted to her. No, that’s not right. I’m already addicted to her. This woman lights me up in ways I never saw coming. I didn’t know I needed her, but now that she's in my life, I never want her to leave.
“Whatcha doing, baby?” I grin up at her, palming a breast in each hand, testing their weight, before rolling her nipples between my thumb and forefinger. She moans and grinds her hips against my hard length.
“Celebrating you,” she pants, as I lift my body to reach her and suck a pert nipple into my mouth. “I changed my mind,” I say, releasing her from my mouth and trailing kisses up her neck. “If this is what birthday celebrations are going to be like going forward, I want all the birthdays and all the celebrations,” I say, nipping at her ear.
She laughs, and I love the sound. “Note to self: seduce him to get him to see things my way. Got it.”
“Eden, babe, there is no seducing when your naked body is involved,” I say, kissing her neck again, stopping at her collarbone, taking my time, tasting her. Fuck, her skin is soft, and she smells like heaven.
She pushes on my chest, and I fall back to the mattress. My hands roam over her thighs, needing to touch her everywhere that I can reach. I don’t care how much time I spend with my hands on her soft skin. It will never be enough.
“Tell me, birthday boy, what’s your wish?”
I don’t have to think about my answer. “You. You’re my wish. My dream.” My everything. I keep that last one to myself. I’m not ready to tell her that yet. I keep waiting for my old familiar friend of feeling unworthy, partnered with his sidekick rejection, to show up, but they’re both eerily silent where Eden is concerned.
“You can wish for anything. Today is your day.”
“I have all that I need right here.” As I say the words, I know that they’re true. If everything in my life were to go away tomorrow, but she was still standing next to me, lying next to me in our bed, no matter where that might be, I’d be fine. It’s a revelation that surprises me, but the rapid thump of my heart inside my chest tells me that it’s my truth.
She’s all that I need.
My words settle between us, fragile and certain all at once. I don’t dress them up or soften them because they don’t need it. They’re already the truest thing I know. I watch her face as she processes what I’ve just said, as if I might find doubt there, or surprise, or anything that tells me I’ve gone too far. But there’s nothing like that—only a quiet stillness, the kind that feels like being understood without having to explain yourself.
I’ve only ever found that with Eden.
It’s strange how calm I feel. I’ve spent so much of my life bracing for the moment when something good slips through my fingers, convinced that happiness is temporary and love even more so. Fear usually whispers first, then grows louder, reminding me of every reason I should hold back. But here with Eden, staring up into those gorgeous blue eyes of hers, that voice has nothing to say. For once, it’s like my heart knows something my mind hasn’t caught up to yet.
I think about all the things I used to want—plans, goals, the idea of a future that looked impressive from the outside. None of it feels as solid as this moment. None of it feels as real as the way my chest tightens when I imagine a world without her in it. I’ve never needed someone like this before, and the realization should terrify me. Instead, it feels like coming home.