The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (116 page)

Then at the tavern they had danced together, and the feeling of his hands on her had made her head swim. His touch was like fire, setting her to flames. Sometimes a simple look from him had her blood pounding. She could remember feeling that way before, when she desperately tried to convince herself she did not want him. He would look at her and she would feel her body react, and that was when he wasn’t even trying to entice her. Now that they were together, everything little thing he did she could have sworn was meant to torture her. She hated and loved him for it all at the same time.

When he finally looked back up at her after relieving himself of all his weapons, a slow knowing smile lit up his face. This one was filled with insinuation, not at all sweet like the last one he had given her. This was the smile of his namesake, right before he devoured you. She could only imagine what her face looked like.

“What are you think about?” he asked playfully.

She cleared her throat, shrugging in what she hoped seemed a casual response, but felt stiff and fake. “Nothing,” she answered. Damn it. Her voice was breathy and rough with arousal. There was no hiding his effect on her. She wanted to pull the covers up over her head, but that would give him too much satisfaction.

He laughed. “Doesn’t look like nothing.”

“Shut up, Wolf,” she rolled her eyes. “Just get into bed.”

“Yes, dear,” he replied, crawling in beside her. She laughed at his response while she turned over so he could hold her from behind. Her back met up with his chest as he hooked his arm around her waist. She felt secure, safe, and most importantly, happy.

“Goodnight Wolf.”

“Goodnight Elisa,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” As soon as the words left her mouth, blackness overtook her and she fell into an exhausted slumber.

Awareness was slowly seeping in as she stirred. Warmth surrounded her causing sweat to bead at her temples. Brightness assaulted her closed eyelids. Elisa blinked against the afternoon sun as she slowly opened her eyes. The dream that had occupied her sleep still lingered in the back of her mind, filling her with despair. She took a moment to remind herself that it was just a dream, nothing more. At least she hoped. The vision of Aiden’s face tormented her, so she pushed it away. Just a dream, she reminded herself.

Her hand reached down to twine with Wolf’s. His arm still held her firmly against him, while one of his legs was shoved between the two of hers. They were tangled together in such a way that made her smile. It explained why she was so hot.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice rough with sleep. She sank back into him more as he buried his face in her hair.

“Good morning,” she replied.

“I like waking up with you in my arms.”

She laughed, squeezing the hand she held. “Well I like waking up in your arms, so I’m glad we can finally agree on something.”

He grunted in amusement. “I remember feeling this way when you slept in my bed on the boat ride home from Nysa,” he admitted. “Like I could live happily if only I could go to sleep and wake up with you there.” His arm tightened even further around her. She let him hold her, not feeling the need to respond. He knew she felt the same way; there was no point in saying it out loud. They lay together for a while. Eventually her eyes began to grow heavy again and she fell back asleep all tangled in Wolf.

When she woke up the second time, the light outside had dimmed a bit, and small, wet kisses were being trailed across her shoulder. She moaned, turning her face to bury it in the pillow. They had slept almost the entire day away, from what she could tell of the light outside, and yet she still felt exhausted. Maybe if they just stayed in bed for two straight days she would start to feel better. Her inner voice argued that she wasn’t tired, she was just avoiding what was outside that bedroom door, and she immediately told it to be quiet in reply.

“As much as I love spending my entire day in bed with you,” Wolf said between kisses, “and I really do love it, I have to admit that I’m starving.” His stomach growled right then, timed perfectly. They both laughed. “You see? He’s not happy with me right now.”

She snuggled into him, burrowing further into the mattress. She really didn’t want to get up even though she knew they had to eventually. Truthfully she was starving too, but sleep seemed more appealing than eating. No she was not avoiding anything. Ugh, she moaned inwardly, she was totally avoiding
everything
.

“Okay, we can get up,” she sighed, but made no move to do just that. Neither did Wolf.

“Elisa?” he said, as his hand spread out on her stomach, the heat of his palm sinking through the fabric.

“Yes?” she replied, sounding breathless.

“Any particular reason you were yelling out Aiden’s name in your sleep?” His voice was casual and light, but she could feel the tension in his body. As she stiffened, his grew even more tense. “Should I be worried?” he asked carefully.

She pushed up on her elbows so she could turn and look at him, forcing him to remove his arm from around her. “How can you even ask that? Of course you have nothing to worry about!” she answered, appalled that he’d even ask such a question. “How could you ask me that?”

He shrugged, but it didn’t look as nonchalant as usual. She placed a hand on each side of his face, looking him in the eyes so he heard her clearly. There would be no mistakes about whom her heart belonged to.

“I love
you
, Wolf,” she vowed, “no one else. Never doubt my feelings for you.” He smiled, somewhat sheepishly. It amazed her that even self-assured Wolf needed some reassurance once and a while. The look on his face was almost childlike and made her love him even more. She kissed him, meaning for it to be a gentle touch to show him how she felt. But Wolf had other plans, and soon the kiss was all consuming. His heat filled her as their tongues met, his demanding. He moved so that she was under him, never once breaking the kiss. She opened her legs so he could settle between them, their bodies perfectly aligned as he claimed her, body, heart, and soul.

When they finally pulled apart, both were panting. “Sorry,” he breathed, smiling down at her. “I got carried away. You do that to me.”

She smiled coyly. “I’m not complaining.”

He moaned, his head dropping so his face was buried in her neck. She let her hands sift through the soft strands of his hair, basking in the feeling of his weight on her. “You’re going to make this so hard, aren’t you?”

She shifted her hips up a bit, biting back a laugh when she heard him hiss through his teeth against her skin. “Make what hard?” she asked with feigned innocence. His head popped back up, his eyes narrowed as he looked down at her.

“You’re terrible.”

“Me?”

“Absolutely. You’re worse than me, you wench.”

She laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Come on,” he said, pushing himself up and off the bed. “I need food so I can get some energy before I pay you back for that.”

Her heart sped up. She could only imagine what his payback would be. Anticipation raced through her, and must have shown on her face, because as soon as he looked at her his head fell back and he groaned up at the ceiling.

“You’re killing me! You don’t need to look so excited about it.” He shook his head and looked back down at her. “Most people are terrified of my revenge.”

She smiled wide, sitting up in the bed. “Well I’m not most people.”

He chuckled, still shaking his head while he put his boots and shirt back on. “That you’re not. Come on, we should find Aiden, Logan and my brother. I want to find out what happened last night.”

The mention of Aiden instantly ruined her good mood. Could she face him, knowing what she knew? She looked down at her hands, clasping them together.

“Hey.”

She looked up as Wolf sat down on the bed. “What’s the matter?”

She smiled weakly. “I’m just trying to get used to the idea of not having Alistair around anymore,” she lied. She felt horrible, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell Wolf the truth. She wasn’t sure she would be able to tell anyone what she had discovered. The letter was back in its hiding place, and she had no plans to tell anyone it was there. Sometimes, the truth seemed so much worse than the lie. When she pictured Aiden, and thought about what his reaction would be, she knew there was no way she could bring herself to be the one to tell him. She’d just have to keep it to herself. No one needed to know. Not Wolf, her father, the King, her friends, and especially not Aiden.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Her eyes popped open to stare into endless depths of warm chocolate. Rose had never known anyone with soulful eyes like Callum’s. She had heard people say that the eyes were windows into someone’s soul. With Callum this was absolutely true. She saw every emotion, raw and deep, looking back at her as they lay in bed face to face. She smiled, mentally shaking off the sleep fog from her head. She had finally had restful sleep last night. The baby had been quiet, no kicking and shoving, so she was able to get a solid night’s rest.

“Good morning,” she said around her yawn.

Callum chuckled. “Looks like you’re not quite ready to get up.”

She snuggled further down under the covers. “Sounds tempting, but only if you stayed with me,” she smiled. Callum reached out, wrapping a strand of hair around his finger while he looked at her in a way that took her breath away. There was no mistaking how he felt for her, it was always written on every line of his face. “You’re upset about something.”

His lips pulled up into a small smile that did not reach his eyes. “Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re looking at me like you’re afraid I’m just going to disappear right in front of your eyes.”

His eyes continued to look her over carefully, as if he was memorizing every inch of her. She reached out and placed a hand of his cheek.

“Tell me what’s happened.”

“Alistair was killed last night,” he said on a sigh, turning onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

“What? How?” She pushed herself up into a sitting position so she could see him better. Callum rubbed a hand down his face. He looked exhausted. From the weary expression on his face, she guessed he hadn’t slept at all the night before.

“Someone tried to kill Jameson,” he answered. “The arrow ended up hitting Alistair by mistake. There was poison on the tip. He died quickly.”

She scooted closer to him, rising to rest on her knees so their faces were level. Framing his face in her hands, she brought her forehead to his, resting there. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. One of his hands lifted to cover hers.

“I didn’t get a chance to really talk to him since I’ve been back. Alistair was almost like a second father to me growing up.” Guilt and shame laced every word. They sat together in silence. Rose didn’t know the right words to say to try and ease whatever he was feeling right now. So instead she gave him whatever comfort she could by just being there. Finally he pulled back to look at her, placing a quick kiss on her lips. “There will be a memorial in the Sanctuary soon. We should get ready.” She nodded, letting him help her up.

Callum stood outside the cell. He could hear the whimpers of the woman inside as she begged his brother for mercy. Jameson had spoken to her so softly Callum had a hard time hearing him. The servant had arrived at their bedroom shortly after they finished getting dressed. Jameson had sent a note letting him know they had discovered the culprit behind Alistair’s death. When Callum had met Turk in the dungeons and found out exactly who it was, he had never been so shocked in his life.

Melaine had been one of the girls that were constantly at court. He had never spoken to her, perhaps if anything just in passing, but he could remember her. She had been much younger then, but he could remember how lovely she was even at such an age. It was no surprise that Jameson had chosen her out of the court ladies. Callum had a hard time believing the same girl pictured in his mind was the one who would have attempted such a treasonous act. The arrow alone was one thing, but to add such a horrible poison as well? There could be no sparing her life after this.

Callum could see how much this weighed on Jameson as he exited the cell and joined them. He had that look of a man betrayed. The mixture of shock and sadness when you realize someone close to you had the ability to ruin all the trust you had in them. Callum knew that look well. He had worn it long enough.

“Did she tell you anything useful?” Turk asked.

Jameson shook his head. “She just kept crying and apologizing. She’s in hysterics, I can’t get much of anything out of her.” He looked over at a solider standing further down the hall and nodded once at him. The man motioned to two others and all three headed for the cell. Callum noticed the large axe in the third man’s hands.

“Beheading?” he asked, watching the men disappear into the cell.

“It is the fastest way,” Jameson answered tiredly. “Despite everything, I don’t want her to suffer.” Callum reached out and grasped his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

“Come,” he said, “let us go mourn for our friend. You do not need to stay and hear this.” Turk grunted in agreement, walking ahead of them. Jameson gave Callum a grateful look with a small smile.