Page 13 of Fractured Dreams

The moment was over in less time than it took for a single hard beat of his heart.

Eden blinked, huffed. “Then don’t act like it,” she said, before spinning on her heel and heading back to the dance floor. Neither he, nor Noah, tried to stop her, though Tex was pleased to notice she was quickly joined by Lexie again, who looked to be apologizing for leaving Eden on her own.

Noah turned to him, his eyes conveying a silent understanding. “So… you’re going to stay at my house and look after her while I’m gone, right?”

“Goddamn fucking right.”

Chapter 7

Eden was standing next to Noah’s bed, arms crossed and a frown on her face as she watched him packing for the Crossfire tour. “I can’t believe you asked Tex to move in and babysit me!”

“That’s not how it is Eden,” he said, as he continued stuffing clothes randomly into his bag. “Look, fans can get crazy and you know my house has been broken into before. Even with all the security, sometimes people still find a way. And I don’t want to take the risk with you here.” He glanced up at her and must have noticed her scowl.

“Plus, Tex is having his place, uh, fumigated, so the timing worked out for having him stay here.”

“Fumigated huh?” Eden raised a skeptical brow. “Got roaches, does he?”

Noah looked shifty. “Yeah well, you know, he leaves crumbs.”

“Crumbs?”

“Yeah, you know, it attracts the, uh, roaches.”

A reluctant smile tugged at Eden’s lips. “You’re an idiot.”

“Well, you’re the one who loves me anyway, so what does that say about you?”

Crumbs, Eden laughed to herself, for some reason imagining big, tattooed Tex sauntering around his house eating cupcakes and leaving a trail of crumbs behind him. She wasn’t sure why he was shirtless in her imagination, but she wasn’t about to make him get dressed for her sake.

Her mind wandered back to what had happened at the club two nights ago, the way he and Noah had ‘rescued’ her from that guy, the way Tex had hauled her into him and kept her pressed against his chest. She might have been annoyed, frustrated, but there was a small part of her that had enjoyed feeling his hard muscles against her. She’d looked up, seeing his amber-gold eyes flashing down at her as he held her protectively against him, and, well, she had to concede it had stirred something in her. Something a little needier than she wanted to admit.

And then there had been that moment afterward. The one where, for a frozen second in time, the intensity in Tex’s gaze had stolen the breath from her lungs, spiking her heart rate through the roof and leaving her on edge for the rest of the night.

Eden shook her head at herself. It was probably just because of her temporarily heightened emotions; the feeling of being cared for and protected by a man whowasn’ther brother for a change. Because in hindsight, she didn’t think she’d experienced either of those things with the two men she’d dated. Tanner hadn’t been around long enough to show any signs of possessiveness. Mason had, but there’d never been a sense of security in that possessiveness—only ownership. And what she’d felt from Tex wasn’t the same feeling she got from her parents, or even Noah, as if they didn’t trust her to take care of herself. She couldn’t put her finger on what the difference was, but it’d been there, and she’d found she hadn’t minded one little bit.

Eden had made sure not to let him know that, though. As nice as it had been, she didn’t want him making a habit of it. Because she could see that happening if they spent more time around each other. That’s how Tex was—strong, protective. He’d be the same with anyone he cared about. When she was a kid, he’d been the only one of Noah’s friends that had paid any attention to her. It hadn’t been much, he was a teenage boy after all, but he’d at least made her feel seen—made her feel welcome among them. The others hadn’t been mean—not at all—they’d just been mostly oblivious to her.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad thing having Tex stay. She’d already admitted to herself that she wasn’t exactly excited about spending several weeks in Noah’s big house all on her own. And it might give her a chance to connect with Tex on a deeper level. Maybe they could even become friends. Genuine friends, not in the friend of her brother’s way. Because she liked Tex. A lot. There was something about him, about the warmth in his eyes when he looked at her, as if he could see parts of her that others couldn’t—as if he saw something special in her. And she liked it. She thought she might really like being Tex’s friend.

Suddenly Eden was looking forward to the next few weeks. She hoped Tex wasn’t dreading it and only doing it out of obligation to Noah. But even if that were the case, she could make the situation fun enough that he enjoyed himself while he was there. She loved cooking, so she could try out some new recipes on him. Or maybe they could cook together if that was something he liked to do. Maybe they could play their instruments together again; that had been amazing. Oh, and she’d have to ask if he liked horror movies. They were one of her guilty pleasures, but there was no way she’d be able to watch one if she were staying alone.

Eden smiled happily to herself, but quickly replaced it with a frown when Noah glanced up at her. She may have decided that Tex staying with her was the best thing that could have happened, but she wasn’t prepared to let her brother know that. Not yet anyway.

She frowned harder.

Chapter 8

Tex rang Noah’s doorbell, not letting himself in this time since he didn’t know how Eden had reacted to the news he was going to be staying with her. He was carrying a duffel bag, and his guitar case was slung over his shoulder. He’d driven over in his car, but he’d get a lift back later to pick up one of his motorcycles in case he wanted to go for a ride while he was here.

As he waited for someone to answer the door, Tex wondered if Eden liked riding, if she’d be interested in going for a ride on—

One of the double wooden doors swung open and the woman in question stood there, looking him up and down, an unreadable expression on her face. “Finally decided to deal with those roaches, huh? You know you’re rich enough to afford a cleaner, right?”

Tex squinted at her, then glanced over her head at Noah, who was mouthing something at him with eyes wide and brows raised. Well, whatever message he was trying to pass on, Tex wasn’t getting it.

Noah gave up and rolled his eyes. “You know. How your house is beingfumigated.”

Tex’s own brows rose in response, then he looked back at Eden, who was now standing with her arms crossed, regarding him with one eyebrow cocked, though he thought he could detect a hint of a smile on her lips.

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