Page 105 of Filthy Twisted Devil

Eden’s tongue slides across her lower lip, an image that goes straight to my cock. There’s just one more thing we have to discuss.

“Just to check, have you been drinking?”

“I had a glass of champagne a few hours ago. Honestly, I was pouring drinks for everyone else too much to focus on my own. Have you?”

I shake my head. “I had some whiskey, but I didn’t want to drink too much. I figured you’d need help setting up tomorrow, and I didn’t want to be hungover.”

She sucks in a breath. “You really thought about that?”

“Yeah. I might not get it right, but I’ll always think about what you need, Eden.”

She stands and takes a step toward me. Her thin, white curtains let in enough light from the still-lit barn that I can make her out in the darkness. Her eyes gaze hopefully up at me, her lips slightly parted, and I know that no woman will ever look as beautiful to me as she does right now.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer another man?” It comes out rough and broken, like a plea. “A man who isn’t going to break up with you in three days. Someone who really deserves you.”

Eden stands on her tiptoes to kiss me gently on the cheek. “No,” she whispers in my ear. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls away so she can look me in the eye. “I don’t want anyone else. Every time I’ve imagined losing my virginity, it’s always been with you.”

I swallow, my throat suddenly bone dry. “Even before⁠—”

“Even before the auction. Before I moved to Toronto. Always.”

Her admission practically knocks me backward. The idea that this perfect woman has wanted me for that long makes me absolutely feral. I hope she never stops wanting me, even after tonight.

“Then listen to me.” I tip her chin up so she can’t look anywhere but at me. “However long you’ve waited—I promise you, wildflower, I’m going to make it worth every year.”

There has to be a way that I can keep her. If I can convince Brinley to accept us, if Eden can see a real future with me…maybe she’ll consider letting me make this real. Because once I’ve crossed this line with her, I don’t know if I’ll be able to let her go.

Maybe that makes me a selfish fuck, but I don’t care. I’ve wanted her for eight months. More. I was jacking myself to PrairieSmoke before I even knew it was her. I’m beyond ready for her, and I’ve done enough fucking waiting.

I bury my hands in her hair, hauling her face to mine to claim her mouth. She gasps against my lips, the little sound making my cock throb. My tongue sweeps into her mouth like it belongs to me and she lets me. For someone so fiercely competent everywhere else in life, Eden can be so sweetly submissive when she wants to be.

My hands move down, tracing the slope of her shoulders, then dragging along her sides. Eden shivers against me, and I know she can feel my hard cock pressing through my pajama pants. I grip the sweet curve of her ass and squeeze as I yank her even closer to me.

Her hands move over my bare back, gently at first, like she’s mapping the territory. Then she drags her nails down light enough to draw goosebumps before digging them into my shoulders. Fuck, I hope she does that when I’ve got my cock buried inside her.

I pull away just enough so that I can whisper against her lips.

“Here’s how it’s going to go. You can say stop at any time, and I’ll stop. I promise you that.” I tighten my hands on her hips. “I also promise that, even if it hurts at first, I’ll do everything in my power to make it good for you.”

“I know you will,” Eden says. “I know because everything feels good with you.”

She smiles, and fuck, if I didn’t love her already, I sure as hell would now.

45

EDEN

Inevitable. That’s how tonight feels.

Since I was old enough to know what sex was, Luke has featured in my fantasies. I’ve pictured his face as I’ve come hundreds of times. I’ve always known that I wanted my first time to be with him. I held myself back before because I was afraid of how much it would hurt to lose him.

I’ve already lost him, though. In another three days, he’ll be out of my life. If this is the only time I can have him, I’m sure as hell going to take it.

The backs of my knees hit the bed before I even realize Luke’s guiding me back toward it. His hands move carefully over my sides, his touch hot through the thin fabric of my dress. My heartbeat pulses under my skin, my body a mess of nerves and excitement.

Luke smoothly pulls my sundress over my head, and he groans as his hands smooth over my bare skin. His bare chest is warm in the cool night, and I press as close against him as I can. My hands tremble slightly as I trace his back muscles.

I’m about to do something entirely new, something I’ve been fantasizing about for years. That’s a lot of build-up to this moment, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous.