He looks visibly relieved. No less intense, of course, but definitely relieved. “I don’t think I could stand it if there was. I couldn’t…just thinking about it…Shit!”

“Well, there’s not, so don’t give it another thought.”

“It was making me crazy. You are making me crazy.” I know I shouldn’t thrill at his words, but I do. I do because, in his own way, Cole’s been making me crazy, too. “Do you think you can ever forgive me for what I did last night? If I could take it back, I would. You don’t know how much I regret it, Eden. I–”

It’s my turn to shush him with a finger to his lips. “Let’s just forget about it, okay?”

He nods.

“It will never happen again. You have my word.”

“I believe you, Cole.”

And I do. This is the man I thought him to be. This is the man I had hoped was underneath the broken and brooding man on the beach and across the street. This is a man that could change everything for me.

We stand in silence, practically nose to nose, for at least two full minutes. I realize as I stare up into his ocean blue eyes that I could drown in them and die a happy woman.

When his gaze flickers down to my lips, I wet them automatically, every part of me yearning for his kiss. “I don’t have anything to give you, Eden. I’m broken. More than I ever thought I could be. But you can have what’s left of me. If you want it. You can have what little I have to give.”

“That’s all I want, Cole. That’s all I want.”

SEVENTEEN

Cole

OUR EYES ARE still locked as I tilt my head and draw closer to her. I watch her lids flutter shut just before mine, before my lips meet hers. When they do, it takes every ounce of my willpower not to go crazy. The taste of her…sweet Jesus! It’s the most delicious thing that has ever touched my tongue. As I sweep along the inside of her mouth, I have to fight harder and harder to go slow. Every fiber, every nerve, every muscle wants to strip her down and ravage her. Lick every surface, test every opening, taste every juice.

I can’t remember wanting something this badly. Not once. Everything about her sings to me. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh, her body. I want to lose myself in her. And I am. I’m not thinking of anything other than Eden right now. And the reprieve from my usual pain is almost overwhelming.

I feel her hands come tentatively to rest on my chest. My pecs flex in response to her cool touch. I run my fingers into her silky hair and hold her head still as I dive deeper into her mouth, wishing I was already inside her.

When her palms trail from my chest down to my stomach, my cock fills with blood so fast it’s almost painful. I groan into her mouth and she digs in with her fingernails.

I jerk my head up, feeling like I’m about to lose control. “Eden, you can’t do things like that.”

“Things like what?” she asks, her eyes wide and innocent, yet dark and sexy.

“Touch me like that. It’s…it’s been a long time.”

I feel the huff of her breath against my chin as she stretches up to brush her mouth against mine. “It has for me, too.”

She runs her hands around my waist and presses her lips to my throat. I feel the plush mounds of her breasts rubbing against me and I grit my teeth to keep from doing something stupid. I feel like a bomb, getting ready to explode and take out a damn city block.

“Eden, I’m serious.”

“I am, too. I don’t want you to hold back with me.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me.”

“I-I don’t have any protection. I wasn’t planning to…”

“I haven’t been with anybody in a long time. I’m clean,” she tells me.

“Me, too. It’s been a while.”

“And I have an IUD.”

That one short sentence…holy God! I feel it like a punch to the gut. Just the thought of being inside her slick heat with nothing between us, just the idea of shooting come way up inside her, of spilling every last ounce of myself into her, is nearly my undoing.

“Eden, give me this one time and I’ll make it up to you. I promise. Next time, I’ll go slow. But tonight…”

I barely hear her breathy Okay before I let go. She said not to hold back, but if she hadn’t, after telling me that she has an IUD, I probably would’ve had to leave and come back later. It has to be all or nothing. Those are my only two speeds right now.

I wind my arms around her and crush her to me from her lips to her knees. I feel every softly rounded contour of her body against mine as I lay her down on the rug in front of the fire. I think to myself that I’ll take my time and enjoy every inch of her after this. But right now, I have to get inside her.

I reach for the button and zipper of her jeans and flick them open quickly. Our tongues tangle in the most delicious way and I can feel her heat all the way through the denim of my own pants. My cock is throbbing for her. My whole being is concentrated on her–the way she smells, the way she tastes, the way she feels underneath me.

I pull away just long enough to drag her jeans and panties down her legs. I lean back to look at her, the skin between her spread legs glistening, all pink and wet, in the firelight. My mouth waters reflexively and I bend to run my tongue into her crease.

I only meant to have a quick taste, just because wondering about it has been driving me nuts, but my throbbing dick gets put on hold the instant her flavor hits my tongue.