Tempting Eden (10 page)

He bent his head down. “Give them to me.”

I held out my hand and he licked my wet fingers. He groaned as he lapped each drop from me, his tongue like hot velvet.

“Then what?”

I dropped my hand back down to my pussy and separated my folds. He growled low in his throat as I rubbed up and down, squeezing my clit between my fingers. My hips rocked, and he dug his fingers even harder into my sides, likely leaving bruises.

“You sink your cock into me.” I was panting, my fingers stroking faster and faster as I imagined him inside me.

“And then what?”

“You fuck me like you can’t live without me. But also like you hate me. Hard. So hard.” I was getting close already. “You suck my tits as you pound into me.”

“Like this?” He bent over me and took my nipple in his mouth. He sucked and twirled his tongue around it, sending tremors through my body.

I moaned his name at the sensation. “I’m going to come.”

“Come for me, Eden. Only for me.” He bit down on my hard tip.

I couldn’t stop if I’d tried. I arched off the bed as I came, my legs spread wide as I stroked myself and imagined him coming inside me. I wanted him to coat my pussy, my throat. I wanted every drop he had to offer. I moaned his name as I rode the wave back down, relaxing back into the bed as he relinquished my breast.

I wasn’t the only one panting. He’d controlled himself the whole time I’d pleasured myself, but he seemed to be on the brink. I wanted him. I rolled my hips up to him, grazing his hard cock through his pants.

“Eden.” He gripped my hips and pushed me back down. “I can’t.”

I cooled a bit at that. I had just come in front of him, and he didn’t want to fuck me?

As if reading my thoughts, he quickly said, “I want to. Trust me, I want to be buried in you right now more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my whole life.”

“Then why not?”

“I don’t think I’m ready.”

“What do you mean?” I stilled. “Oh my God, are you a virgin?”

He laughed. I wished I could see his dimples. I knew they were there whenever he laughed like that.

“No. I just want to do this the right way. You’re more than just a fuck to me. I want to prove it to you.”

Complicated. This was becoming complicated. Maybe he was right. I mean,
of course
he was right. I was his boss. This was a lot more than a one-night stand. My cheeks reddened at the thought of having to see him the next day after what I’d just done.

“Don’t do that,” he said.

“Do what?”

“Regret this.” He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. It was our first kiss, I realized. He was gentle, his tongue licking my lips until I said
what the hell
and opened my mouth for him. He slanted over me, our tongues caressing each other as my body heated for him again. I ran my hands through his hair, my fingertips exploring the tight little curls.

He pushed away from me, sitting back on his haunches as he surveyed me laid out before him.

“Have to go. Have to. Can’t stay.” He shook his head.

“Who are you trying to convince?”

“Me. All me. Jesus, I’m an idiot to leave this, leave you.” He stroked a knuckle across my pussy. “Fuck. Just one taste. Just one.”

“Please.”
Was that me begging?

He leaned down, his face hovering right above my pussy. I needed him, needed anything he would give me.

“Jack, please.”

“Just a kiss, that’s all.” His voice, still a deep growl, had me digging my fingers into his scalp.

When his lips met my wet flesh, I cried out, and when his tongue circled my clit, my hips bucked toward him. He groaned into my skin while licking along my folds. Sparks of heat burst wherever he made contact, and I was on fire for him.

He gave my pussy another lick and stopped on my clit, tonguing it as I writhed beneath him. Pulling away, he hopped up from the bed.

“Jack, please.” I made a keening sound I didn’t know I was capable of.

“Fuck, Eden.” His voice shook, his stoic façade gone by the wayside. “If I stay, I can’t stop. I know I won’t be able to. It’s all I can do not to bury my cock in your pussy right now.”

I smiled in the dark just knowing I’d caused him to lose control. My pussy demanded to be filled by him. I wanted the heat of his mouth on me, I wanted everything he had.

“We can’t.” He took a step back.

I let out a breath, trying to calm the heat he’d kindled inside me. I knew if I reached out for him and stroked his cock, he’d be off the cliff. But I didn’t. Maybe it was for the best that we didn’t have sex. Maybe we should just put this one crazy night behind us.

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

J
ACK

I
RECALLED HER TASTE
and 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.

Takeoff wasn’t nearly as bad this time since I knew what to expect. My panic didn’t resurface, and I was able to enjoy the flight. Eden had once again donned her earbuds and begun working, likely sorting through the signed contracts that were being returned in fits and starts.

I gawked out the window again. When we took off, the sun glinted off the ocean so brightly it was almost unbearable to watch. I may have singed my retinas focusing on the scene, stamping it into my memory so I could sketch it at my first opportunity.

The flight seemed somehow shorter on the return trip, and Tom landed our plane smoothly back in Birmingham. A car waited for us.

Eden struck out ahead of me, hurrying toward the black sedan. Even in flats, her hips swayed as she went, a tantalizing pendulum. The driver took her bags and then motioned for me to hand him mine.

She plopped into the backseat and took out her phone, immediately engrossed. There was no talking to her at this point. She was intent on pretending I, and last night, didn’t exist.

We left the airport and hit I-20 when her phone rang. She scooted her sunglasses on top of her head and frowned at the screen.

“What?” I asked.

She glanced at the screen and then at me. “Nothing.” She swiped the screen to answer it. “Rosa?”

Her expression shifted from questioning to furious in moments. “He what? No, he can’t! Keep her inside. I’m coming home right now.” She looked into the rearview mirror. “Step on it. Now!”

The driver picked up speed, racing past the industrial furnaces and train tracks, past downtown, and up Red Mountain, the ridge of Appalachian foothills that hemmed in downtown Birmingham to the south.

“No, Rosa, no. Mason knows. He knows. Shit! He can’t do this. Where is Adele now? Just keep her preoccupied. And Mother’s gone? Thank God. Two minutes and I’m there. Don’t let him in.”

She hung up and threw the phone into her bag. Her hands were shaking.

I wanted to ask, to see if I could help. But her demeanor told me that now was not the time to ask her anything. The car sped up a long driveway surrounded by immaculate lawns and gardens. It ended in front of a three story stone home. It was immense, one of the largest clearly visible from downtown Birmingham. A white Mercedes was parked out front, and a man sat on the steps, leaning back on his elbows and sunning himself like he was at the beach. He had thinning blond hair and a deep tan.