***Eden***
Sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window woke Eden the next morning, and she groggily opened her eyes, then let out a groan. Pulling the pillow over her head, she closed her eyes again, wishing she could go back to sleep. After tossing and turning, feeling guilty and horrified at the same time, she’d finally fallen asleep just as the sun started to brighten the horizon. Even then she’d had disturbing dreams about Theo, the guilt spilling over into her unconscious mind, and she realized that she wouldn’t be going back to sleep.
Letting out a long sigh, she kicked off the covers and gotout of bed, knowing what she had to do. After a quick shower, she threw on a bathing suit and one of her new coverups, too preoccupied to think about how much skin was showing, threw her hair up into a ponytail. Stuffing a towel, a book, and a few snacks into her beach bag, she left the cabin, planning to humiliate herself once more, then retreat to a quiet spot on the beach to nurse her wounded pride.
The whole way to the village, she alternated between hoping that Theo would be there and wishing she never had to see him again, so the rush of emotion that flooded her when she saw him was no surprise. Taking a deep breath, she marched right up to the table where he was sitting with Max, knowing she’d chicken out if she didn’t do it right then.
“Could I talk to you for a second?” she asked, feeling a blush rising on her cheeks. “Alone if that’s okay.”
Theo studied her for a second, then got to his feet. “My lady beckons,” he said, but there was no humor in his voice, and she winced. “I don’t dare refuse her request.”
Knowing she deserved that and worse, she didn’t defend herself. “It will just take a second,” she said. “Then you can get back to your breakfast.”
Theo led her over to the shade of a big tree, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you here to give me another ultimatum?” he asked. “I haven’t fulfilled your last request yet. It’s a bit soon for another one.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, the butterflies in her stomach making it hard to breathe. “I owe you an apology, I shouldn’t have said what I did. It wasn’t fair to you, and it wasn’t true. I’m sorry, Theo, I just……lost control, I guess. I didn’t want to hear you telling me no, so I tried to manipulate you. It was a mistake, and I hope you can forgive me.”
“It was a dirty trick, Eden,” he said. “And an empty threat, I guess.”
She studied her sandals for a few seconds. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I don’t want just anyone, I want you, Theo, but not that way, not with all that ugliness. You said no. I have to respect that, even if I’m disappointed. Maybe we can just forget the whole thing happened and go our separate ways. I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one summer.”
He was silent for so long that she finally looked up at him. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m not very good at this stuff,” she said. “I know I screwed up, Theo, but I really am sorry.”
She started to walk away, but he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. “Damn it, Eden, did you have to apologize?” he asked, looking down at her. “It was much easier when I was mad at you. Now I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Maybe we could just pretend I never said that and go back to the part where you were kissing me,” she said, finally looking up at him. “I like that part.”
He groaned, “Woman, do you ever stop?” he asked. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“I already made a fool of myself, I don’t exactly have anything to lose,” she said. “Besides, if you don’t ask……”
Theo put his fingers over her lips, making them tingle. “No more talking about kissing. That’s rule number one,” he said. “As to the rest, that’s off limits too, at least for now.”
“You mean we might……” she said, feeling a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Well, you know, I thought you didn’t want……”
Theo’s face filled with what looked like pain. “Oh, I want to, more than you can imagine,” he said. “But we’re not going to talk about that either.”
“Well, what can we talk about?” she demanded, getting frustrated.
“Anything else you want, your life, my life, how blue the ocean is,” he said. “Just no more talk about sex, I can only take so much.”
“Well, as long as I know that it’s still a possibility,” she said, running her hand up and down his chest. “I guess that’s okay.”
He grabbed her wrist. “I think we should go for a swim,” he said. “I think we both need to cool down.”
She grinned up at him. “I kind of like the heat,” she said. “It feels good.”
Theo groaned, then started for the beach. “For someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, you’re making it very hard to resist you,” he said. “I can see a lot of cold showers in my future.”
“Well, you know there is one way to fix that,” she said, thoroughly enjoying herself and the power she had over him. “But I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
He froze, then turned around to face her, and the next thing she knew, his arms were around her, and he was kissing her. When he finally let her go, she was forced to cling to him until her legs stopped shaking and she could catch her breath, but it was several more minutes before the throbbing deep inside her faded away.
“Will that shut you up for a while?” Theo asked, smiling down at her. “I hope so, because I’d really like that swim now.”
CHAPTER 8
***THEO***