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)
I don’t want to lose those moments. I don’t want to lose her.
“But you’re a professional athlete. Won’t you disintegrate or something? Maybe turn into a pumpkin if you don’t hit the gym at least once a day?” she teases.
I chuckle. “I’ll just bench press you,” I say, tickling her side.
She laughs and wriggles in my arms, trying to get away, but I’m not ready to have her that far away from me, so I stop and pull her back to my chest. She settles as if she belongs there, as if she wakes up in my embrace, with my face buried in her neck every day, and fuck, the mental image… I don’t hate it.
“I should go. Get out of your hair,” she finally says, breaking the silence, but she makes no move to leave the warmth of my bed or my embrace.
“Not yet,” I say, kissing her bare shoulder again. I can’t stop touching her, kissing her, holding her. Instantly, my mind goes back to my time with Violet. She’s my only comparison, because even if I didn’t mean for it to happen, Eden is more than just some random hookup. I fish through my memories, and I don’t ever remember feeling this needy where Violet was concerned. It has to be because I’ve been depriving myself of this intimacy for far too long, right?
The rain pelts against the window, the clouds making the room darker than it should be at this hour. The power came on at some point during the night. I’m glad she didn’t wake up and try to leave. Not that I would have let her escape this bed without me.
“Do you have a bucket list?” I ask her. Suddenly, I want to know more about her. No, I need to know more about this beautiful woman. Maybe then, I’ll understand why she’s different than anyone else before her. There has to be something more than just similar backgrounds that’s drawing me to her, letting her in, unlike anyone else in my life. Even Violet, if I’m being honest.
“What?”
“You know, a bucket list. What things do you want to do in life? Sky dive, swim with sharks, that kind of thing.”
“Um, no. I’ll keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much, and hell no to swimming with sharks. You are aware they can eat you in one bite, right?” Her back is to me, but I can imagine those big blue eyes of hers wide with disbelief that I’d even suggest such a thing.
I chuckle. “Not those things specifically, but something… anything.”
She’s quiet for so long, I don’t think she’s going to answer me, but then she starts to speak.
“I want a family,” she says softly. “I want someone to come home to. I want to create a couple of tiny humans, and I want to show them how much they are loved every single day. I want someone I can lean on not only during the good times, but the bad, too.” She’s quiet, and I’m trying to find the right words when she speaks again. “I wanted my first time to be with someone whom I trusted. When I was younger, I feared that choice might be taken from me. There were a few times I was pretty sure that was exactly what was going to happen, but I made it through.”
“Eden.” Her name is a caress because I feel those words in my soul. Hearing what she wants out of life and that I was able to give her one of them has me feeling like I’m ten feet tall and bulletproof.
“I want to see the ocean. I want to sink my bare feet into the sand and watch the waves roll in. I want to feel safe and loved, and yeah, I guess I have a list.” She laughs nervously.
I open my mouth to speak but find there’s a lump in my throat the size of a football, so I swallow hard and try again. “I’m honored you let me be that man for you, Eden. Last night was incredible, and you gave me a gift that I’ll always cherish.”
“Oh, you don’t have to blow smoke up my ass, Foster. I know this is a onetime thing.”
“Why would you say that?” I ask, pushing her gently to her back so I can settle between her thighs and look her in the eye. My cock is hard as I find my place, and she lifts her hips, making me groan. “Not now,” I scold playfully. “Answer me.”
“But we’re still here in the same bed, in the same room, so it’s technically still the same event. One more time,” she says, reaching between us to grip my cock in her small hands.
I close my eyes, pulling in a deep breath, before slowly exhaling. “Eden, focus, baby,” I tell her, opening my eyes again to see her blue ones full of lust staring back at me.