Page 74 of Filthy Twisted Devil

“She doesn’t owe you anything,” I continue. “Eden made her own life in Toronto, and she’s kicking fucking ass at it. Flair Events brought her in as a contractor, then hired her full-time as soon as they saw what she could do. She’s got friends and an apartment and a future. She’s fucking thriving. So guilt trip her all you want. She’ll only move back here if she chooses to, and you need to respect that.”

“You barely even know her,” Jasper snaps. “You started dating what, five months ago?”

“You’re right,” I say in a low voice. “You’ve known her longer. But at least I listen when she fucking speaks. She told you what she wants, and you’re pretending she’s not grown enough to know better. Seriously, listen to yourselves. Even if you manage to shove her into a box where she doesn’t fit, she’s not going to be happy here.”

“You don’t know that—” Jasper starts, but Wade raises his hand.

“Stop,” he says. “Luke’s right. Things went better for the ranch when Eden was here, it’s true. But we made a deal with her when she left. If she could make it in Toronto, that was it. We weren’t going to drag her back. Well, she made it.” He looks at his sister. “Shit, this got out of hand. We were going to ask you if you’d come back to Sundre. The plan was a conversation, not an ambush.”

Jasper crosses his arms, but he looks more embarrassed than angry now.

Eden sighs. “You knew I was going to say no, right?”

“I think they did,” Rose says. “It's probably why they got so pissy. Eden, we might've had some growing pains since you left, but we’ll figure them out. We’re very proud of you and everything you're doing, and we’re delighted you brought this young man home to meet us. Now, Luke, how about you go to the fridge and get us that pie?”

Based on the way Rose is glaring at her sons, I'm guessing she's sending me on an errand to give her time to yell at them.

“Sure,” I say, hopping to my feet. “I’ll be back.”

Thanks to a quirk in the farmhouse architecture, the kitchen is down a long hallway from the dining room. Voices drift down after me, but I don’t hear what they’re saying. They fade away entirely when I walk into the small, homey kitchen.

Then, I hear small light steps rushing down the hallway. I barely have time to turn around before Eden rushes at me like a small tornado. She wraps her arms around my neck and hauls me down for a quick, hard kiss.

“Thank you,” she whispers against my lips. “Nobody’s ever stood up for me to my brothers like that. It was amazing.”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

She shakes her head. “No, Luke. It was everything.”

She says it like it’s rare. Like being defended is some exotic luxury she never budgeted for. Something in me goes quiet and certain at the same time, because I suddenly know exactly what I want to be for Eden Locke—not the man who pays her way out of trouble, but the one who plants himself between her and every voice that tells her she’s too much or not enough.

Before she can pull away, I wrap my arms tight around her waist and haul her against me. She lets out a small, surprised exhale before I claim her lips. My tongue sweeps against hers, and she presses onto her toes to get closer. We gasp short, desperate breaths as we devour each other, our lips sliding messily across each other.

Before my cock can get completely hard, she pulls away. There’s a twinkle in her hazel eyes.

“Grab the pie,” she says. “I told them I’d get plates.”

She opens a cabinet and pulls out five dessert plates, then rushes back to the dining room, leaving me standing in the dark kitchen behind her, my heart pounding so hard, I can practically hear it.

31

EDEN

The quiet sounds of the ranch at night surround me. The breeze through the prairie grass and the sycamore tree outside my window. The occasional creak of the house settling. The quiet buzz of the heater, because it gets more than a little chilly here at night this time of year.

For my whole life, these were the sounds that lulled me to sleep. Tonight, though, I’m so wound up that sleep feels miles away. My mind buzzes, cataloguing every time Luke touched me today. There were plenty, since we’re acting like a couple for my family’s benefit. I shiver, thinking about his thigh brushing against mine as he sat next to me at the breakfast table, his arm wrapping around my shoulders when we chatted out on the porch with Mom, his hand grazing the small of my back as we walked out to the old barn.

The whole day, I was hyperaware of exactly where Luke was. My chest felt light when he smiled, when he made my brothers laugh, when he grabbed Mom tea before she even asked for it. It’s no wonder I finally cracked and kissed him in the kitchen.

I want him. Maybe more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.

I could have him, too, if I just walked down the hallway, three doors down. Twelve steps, a knock on the door, and I could crawl into his bed. I know he’d let me, because Luke has never left me wanting on that before.

Groaning, I pull the sheet up over my head. It would be beyond stupid to give into that instinct. I don't need to feel any closer to Luke than I already do, not when our fake relationship is already on borrowed time.

Then again, who ever had any fun making the smart choice?

I throw off my blankets, and goosebumps rise on my skin immediately. It gets chilly in Sundre at night, and my cami top and pajama shorts don’t cover much.