Page 15 of Fractured Dreams

While a part of Tex was sad that he wasn’t hitting the road with Noah and Zac, playing to packed audiences every night, another part of him was glad he’d be around to help Eden out. It would be nice getting to know her better.

He was smiling as he left the room and headed downstairs.

???

The distant sound of clattering pots and pans woke Tex. As his eyes drifted open, he realized he was in an unfamiliar bed and panicked for a second, thinking he’d done something stupid and stayed the night at some random woman’s place. He jerked upright, but quickly realized he was at Noah’s house, and the noises he was hearing must be Eden.

Eden cooking breakfast.

Tex grinned. After last night, he knew she was a damn good cook, and it’d been a long time since he’d had a home-cooked breakfast. Well, not one that he hadn’t slapped together himself anyway.

He flung the covers off and stood, stretching his arms above his head before using the bathroom. He debated having a shower, but decided he’d save it for later, since he didn’t want to risk missing out if he was late, not exactly sure if Eden was planning on making enough for him. Stopping only long enough to pull on a pair of sweatpants over the boxer briefs he’d slept in, he headed downstairs.

Tex stepped into the kitchen mid-yawn, his mouth snapping shut as his eyes dropped to the most gorgeous fucking ass—tight, round, and barely covered by a tiny pair of sleep shorts—currently pointing at him from where its owner was bent over rummaging in the fridge.

Eden.

Completely unbidden, a vision of him sliding those shorts down her smooth thighs, palming her ass and thrusting into her slick heat from behind practically exploded into his brain, and his cock instantly jumped to attention.

Oh fuck. No no no.

Tex slammed his eyes shut, trying too late to avoid the tempting sight and cleanse the image from his mind.Where the hell had that come from?Regardless of where, he needed to shut that shit down fast. It was Eden, his friend’s sister. His friend’slittlesister.

His eyes popped back open as he tried to reverse out of the kitchen, but he must have made a noise because Eden straightened and turned, holding the carton of eggs she’d obviously been hunting for. She smiled when she saw him, then her gaze dropped to his bare chest, seeming to almost burn across his skin. Why the hell had he decided not to put a shirt on before he went down there? And fuck, he needed to move before she noticed the completely inappropriate bulge in his pants.

But as Eden’s eyes trailed down his torso, they caught on something else and widened. “You got a new tattoo?” She stepped toward him, and he was frozen in place when he should have been backing away from her with where his mind was currently located—firmly in the gutter. But he didn’t, and before he knew it, she was running her slender fingers over his most recent tattoo, a flock of birds in flight inked across his left ribcage and arcing upward to end just below his heart.

“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed, and already aroused, Tex’s muscles clenched in reaction to her touch and the breathy sound of her voice.

Eden must have noticed him flinch, because she snatched her hand back and looked up at him, eyes big and a flush spreading over her cheeks. “Sorry, that was so rude. I shouldn’t have touched you without asking.”

Tex had to clear his throat before he could get out the words, hoping his internal turmoil wasn’t audible in his voice. “It’s okay darlin’, your fingers are a little cold from the fridge, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay.” She stepped back from him, thank God. “Well, I’m going to make bacon and eggs for breakfast, do you want some?”

That was exactly what he’d gone down there hoping for, but all he wanted now was somehow to unsee what he’d just seen in his head. Something that should never in a million years have crossed his mind, but now seemed to be permanently seared into the back of his eyelids. Sitting across from her at the table in her little tank top and shorts outfit wasn’t going to help with that. “Thanks, but I’m actually going to”—desperate for an excuse, he glanced out the window and saw the pool—“go for a swim.”

“Well, if you wait a bit, I can join you,” Eden said, turning away from him to put the eggs down next to the stove top, before going up on her tiptoes and leaning forward as she stretched to get a spatula from where the utensils hung on the wall above the counter.

Tex’s eyes zeroed in on her ass like a fucking magnet, and he groaned to himself as he squeezed his eyelids shut again. It was as if now he’d seen her that way, he couldn’t fucking stop.

And Eden in a bikini was going to be even worse. He needed to get away from her until he had himself under better control.

“Uh, I meant I’m going to have a shower,” he said.

She turned and frowned at him. “Oookay.” The confusion was clear in her voice, but he just pivoted and strode rapidly away from the kitchen, taking the stairs back to the second floor two at a time.

Tex flung his bedroom door open and headed into the adjoining bathroom, dialing the shower up full blast at its coldest setting, stripping his sweatpants and briefs off and stepping under the icy sheet of water.

He stood there for what seemed like forever, because no matter how much he willed himself not to, his mind kept replaying the vision of him fucking Eden from behind. He absolutely refused to do anything about the resulting hard-on from hell, so he was miserable and shivering by the time his body finally gave up on the idea he was going to give it some relief. Tex turned the shower off and stepped out, toweling himself off vigorously to warm up.

After dressing, and wanting to avoid Eden for as long as possible, he grabbed his guitar and headed to Noah’s built-in soundproofed music room to get in some practice. Guilt curled in his chest. He should be keeping Eden company, but until he got his thoughts under control, he needed to stay far away from her.

???

Tex put down his guitar and stretched, his joints popping. He’d been hunched over the instrument for hours, but his mind finally seemed to have cleared.

Eden was a beautiful woman. He’d known that objectively, of course, but his brain simply hadn’t made the connection between her being beautiful and being attracted to her sexually. But just because that had suddenly changed didn’t mean he had to act on it. She was off-limits, not only because she was Noah’s sister, which was more than enough in itself, but because she was young—just out of college. Not to mention she’d been cheated on and was emotionally vulnerable. He would be an absolute asshole if he tried anything with her. Exactly like the men Noah had asked him to protect her from, except worse, because he knew what she’d been through.

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