“You don’t think you will, but just wait. Here, let me show you who I really am. All we need is a credit card. Do you have a credit card?”
“Stop it,” Marcus muttered.
“No, we’ve always been honest with each other. Why not look at it? We can enjoy it together, as so many others will.”
Frustrated, Marcus decided to call her bluff. If she wanted a fight, he knew that watching the video would easily put him in the mood. “All right. Why not? I’ll go get a credit card.” He gently set her aside, then crossed the room to his dresser. His wallet was where he’d left it earlier, and he picked it up and tossed it at her. “Go for it.”
Marcus watched the emotions play across her face. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss the fears out of her. He wasn’t sure what had caused the upset, but Marcus sensed that she was doing her best to put distance between them.
Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to make love to Eden. Though she kept her emotions under control, when she did show them, they were raw with confusion. But resisting Eden and the pleasures her body promised had become an overwhelming task, and he wasn’t superhuman. There wasn’t a moment in the day when he didn’t want to touch her or kiss her. But falling in love with Eden would be a disaster in the making.
Marcus had never been in love, of that he was certain. There had been women in his life who’d kept him interested for a short time, but in the end he’d stepped back, unwilling to put his heart at risk.
Maybe Eden felt the same as he did. They could go so far, enjoying each other’s bodies without sacrificing their hearts and souls. But Marcus already sensed that they were wandering into dangerous territory now, unfamiliar to them both.
Marcus slowly crossed the room, then took his wallet from her stiff fingers. “You’re the one who wants a fresh start,” he murmured. “If that’s true, then forget the mistakes you made in the past. Walk away, Eden. Start your life now. Tell me what you want to do and I’ll help you.”
Eden drew a ragged breath and nodded. Then, her bravado crumpling, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Marcus scooped her up and carried her back to the bed. He lay down beside her and pulled her body into the curve of his, nestling her backside into his lap.
“Do you want to change your life?” he murmured, his chin resting on her shoulder.
“I’m not sure I have much choice.”
“You do. You can leave here today, hop a plane, and be back where you came from by tomorrow evening.”
“I can’t,” she said. “I want to stay here with you.”
“Then stay,” Marcus said, “and stop looking back.”
“We can’t hide out here forever,” she said. “Sooner or later we both have to go out into the real world again.”
Marcus nodded. “I know.” He realized that by pushing her to find a new life, he might just lose her for good. Why not allow himself this chance to get close? To finally see what it would be like to let a woman inside his life? He and Eden were similar in one way-their unhappy childhoods had molded them into cynical, wary adults. But at least Eden had searched for something more. She believed she could fall in love. Marcus had never truly believed it could happen for him. And even with Eden wrapped in his arms he still couldn’t make himself believe it.
“Sooner or later they’ll find me,” she said.
“I know,” Marcus replied.
“And if you’re with me, you’ll get caught up in it, too. Promise me that you won’t hate me.”
He kissed the spot beneath her ear. “I could never hate you.”
“I have to call them. My parents,” she murmured. “And I will, I promise. But before I do, I just need to know that I can do this on my own. That I can start again.” She laughed softly. “Where am I going to live? What kind of job will I get? What if I can’t do this?”
She rolled over and faced him, her eyes filled with doubt. His fingers came up to stroke her cheek. “You can stay here with me for as long as you want. I’ll help you.”
Marcus kissed her, gently parting her lips with his tongue. For now, she belonged with him. He needed to keep her close, to grasp at that tenuous connection they’d found with each other.
It wasn’t just desire driving him anymore. And though the physical release was intense, there was something more to it, something he wanted to hold on to. Marcus searched his mind for an explanation of what he’d found, but there were no words. It was more than satisfaction or release. Was it contentment?
Eden reached down between them and slowly unbuttoned his jeans. By the time she worked the zipper open, he was already growing hard with anticipation. And when she wrapped her fingers around him, Marcus closed his eyes and surrendered to her touch. He’d worry about all the complications later.
6
SHE SEDUCED HIM AGAIN in the middle of the night, waking him with her caress. Half-asleep, Marcus had thought he was dreaming at first, but as he’d drifted toward consciousness he’d felt the heat of real desire pounding through his veins.
The clothes they’d worn to bed had easily been discarded, and in the darkness he’d explored her body by touch. When she’d climbed on top of him and taken him inside her, Marcus had found himself instantly aware of every movement she made and the effect it had on him. Caught in a dreamy half sleep, his body had responded instantly, attuned to every sensation. She had rocked above him, slowly at first, in complete control of herself and his responses. Blind to the beauty of her body, Marcus closed his eyes and let his imagination take over.
She’d climaxed without him even touching her, her orgasm quiet but intense. And the moment he’d felt her spasm, Marcus had joined her. When he’d finished, Eden had curled up beside him and fallen asleep as if nothing had happened.
Marcus turned his head and gazed at her in the early morning light, her face resting on the edge of his pillow, her fingertips nearly touching his face. Their encounter in the shower had been based on raw and very mutual need. But Eden’s silent seduction had been different.
As if awakening from a bad dream, she’d found some sort of comfort in his body and her power over it. When he’d tried to touch her, she’d simply linked her fingers through his and pinned his hands above his shoulders, interested only in physical release and nothing more.
He reached out and took a strand of her hair between his fingers. It was darker than it had been, now a warm shade of honey. Curls surrounded her face, making her look much younger than she actually was. Marcus wondered at the contrasts-the sweet, vulnerable girl and the determined seductress.
He liked both in his bed. With others, he’d always preferred to sleep away from home, making it easier to leave when he felt the need. But he wanted to keep Eden close.
The sound of Marcus’s cell phone echoed in the loft, and he carefully rolled out of bed and grabbed his jeans from the floor, finding the phone in his pocket. He flipped it open and recognized Dec’s cell number on the caller ID. Marcus paused, wondering if he ought to answer it.
He finally pushed the button as he walked across the loft to the bathroom. “Hey,” he murmured. “What’s up?”
“I’m downstairs,” Declan said. “Do you have coffee?”
Marcus stared at his reflection in the mirror, rubbing his palm over the stubble on his jaw. “No, we’ll have to go out. I’ll be right down.”
He quickly grabbed his jeans and pulled them on, then shrugged into a T-shirt. His deck shoes were at the door, and he slipped into them before crossing back to the bed. Bending over Eden, he kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him. “I have to go out for a bit. I’ll bring back breakfast,” he said.
“Don’t leave,” Eden murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Stay here with me.”
Marcus groaned as he tangled his fingers through Eden’s tousled hair. He kissed her again. “I have to go. Dec is downstairs waiting. If I don’t show, he’ll come looking for me and he’ll find you.”
Eden’s smile brightened. “Invite him up. We can all climb back into bed.”
Marcus growled playfully. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
