Page 20 of Fractured Dreams

“You’re right, I should have been using the pool more often. It’s beautiful,” he said, voice husky as his gaze moved lazily over her face.

Eden cleared her throat, hoping she sounded normal and not as breathless as she felt. “I love it. Even though the beach is down at the bottom of the steps, sometimes it’s nice not to have to worry about all that sand. Though I probably should go down there more often since I won’t have such easy access to it in a little while.”

Tex waded closer. “Are you looking forward to it? Your internship I mean?”

Eden smiled. “I really am. It’s the last step before I can take my exam to become a certified music therapist. It feels like I’m this close to becoming a full-fledged adult, finally out of college and ready to start living my life.”

Tex’s expression tightened, turning guarded. Surprised, Eden thought back over what she’d said, but couldn’t figure out what might have caused him to react that way. And when she looked again, his expression had cleared, leaving her wondering if she’d imagined his sudden tension.

“You don’t feel like an adult?” he asked.

She thought for a second, considering how best to explain it. “Sometimes I do, when people take me seriously. But since my parents—and sometimes even Noah—still treat me like a child, incapable of making smart choices or taking control of my own life, that’s the way I end up feeling around them.” She sighed, looking down and watching her hands as she skimmed them back and forth over the surface of the crystalline water.

“Have you ever tried to talk to them about how you feel?”

She looked back up at him. “I’ve tried, but it’s like there’s this barrier of communication where no matter what I say, or how I try to show them that I’m all grown up and can look after myself, they just don’t get it—they can’t see where I’m coming from. And believe me, it’s incredibly frustrating when you can’t seem to find the right words to make people understand you.”

“Is that why you wanted to be a music therapist?”

He was watching her intently, and Eden couldn’t stop the warmth that bloomed in her chest. She let herself drift a little closer to him. “Maybe, at least at the start. I saw these kids struggling to communicate—to share their hopes and fears, their wants and needs. To share who they are. It’s not the same thing I know, but I guess I could relate to their frustration, and I wanted to help them; to show them how music can allow us to express ourselves in a way sometimes even talking can’t.”

Tex took a step closer to her, and Eden wet her lips as she tipped her face up to maintain eye contact, nerves making her voice breathy. “I mean, that’s what music does, right? It bridges the gap between us, lets us communicate in a language everyone understands, lets us say what’s in our hearts and lay ourselves bare. Music lets us shout from the rooftops and whisper intimate secrets, sometimes at the same time. It’s a connection, pure and simple. And that’s something we all need.”

Tex’s eyes were still fixed on hers as she spoke, and sudden embarrassment flooded through Eden. He was a world-famous musician, it wasn’t like she was telling him something he didn’t already know, even if it was something she was passionate about. “Sorry, was that too much?”

He shook his head, eyes still intent on hers, some unknown emotion darkening them. “It was perfect, sweetheart. You said it better than I ever could.”

Eden flushed, then sank further down in the water and let herself drift slowly away from him. Being so close to Tex when he was looking at her like that was far too dangerous. She needed to get some space between them before she did something stupid.

Like touch him again.

After enjoying the cool water for a bit longer, Tex suggested getting a couple of beers and sitting poolside to let the sun dry them before going inside. They both climbed out, and when he headed to the outside bar to get their drinks, Eden finally let herself look her fill at him.

Her eyes traveled down, taking in his broad shoulders, the smooth lines of his back, with the eagle wing tattoos extending from shoulder blade to shoulder blade, down along his trim waist, to his narrow hips, accentuated by the low hang of his wet swim shorts.

As he turned back toward her, two bottles in hand, Eden jerked her eyes away and casually sat down at one of the tables by the pool as if she hadn’t been checking him out a second ago. But when Tex handed her the cool bottle, it was the brush of his fingers against hers that caused goose bumps to break out on her skin, not the chill of the glass.

Tex sat down opposite her, twisting the lid of his beer off and taking a long swallow. Eden surreptitiously watched as he tipped his head back, his eyes closing as he drank. Once again, she let herself take him in, running her eyes over the rock-hard muscles of his chest, and the corrugated ridges of what was a very clearly defined six pack.

And the tattoos that covered his skin only made him sexier, emphasizing how hard and toned he was. Not only the beautiful flock of birds arcing across his ribcage, but the intricately detailed tiger slinking down his bicep, the guitar on the inside of his forearm, the bars of music inked across his chest, the lines of cursive script she couldn’t quite make out low on his right side, and… She would have kept cataloging every gorgeous tattoo, but she got distracted by the hard V of muscles that directed her gaze down to where a faint happy trail disappeared under the waistband of his shorts.

Eden pulled her eyes away just as Tex opened his again, trying to get control of herself before she spontaneously combusted sitting there across from him. God, what had happened to her? Where had this sudden fierce desire come from? There was a vast difference between appreciating a man for his good looks and drooling over him like a lovesick groupie.

That thought brought Eden back to earth. Tex was used to being ogled constantly, to having women lust after him—to dream of spending a night with him. He had thousands of fan sites dedicated to him alone. Eden was only one of innumerable women that got hot and bothered over Tex. She was no one special, only his friend’s little sister, the one he was nice to because that’s the kind of person he was. The only difference was she was lucky enough to get a front-row seat to his sexiness.

But her mind went back to the night before, when Tex had held her to him, stroked his thumbs over her cheeks and looked for a few seconds, almost as if he wanted to kiss her. Was it possible he might actually see her as more than just Noah’s sister?

Lost in her thoughts, Eden let her eyes drift back to Tex’s chest, then further down, imagining what being taken by him would feel like, having him possess her in the most intimate way, his naked body moving with hers, skin sliding against skin, his abdominal muscles flexing as he…

“Eden!” The harsh rasp of his voice cut through her daydream, and as she came back to herself, she realized she was staring at his abs, biting her lip as her breaths came fast and a flush spread across her chest. Eden forced herself to meet his gaze, seeing the heat in his eyes and the tightness of his jaw.

Oh my God, he knew. He knew what she’d been imagining as she looked at him.

The flush scorched its way up from her chest to her face, and she jumped up from her chair. “I’d better get dinner started,” she said, before turning and rushing into the house.

Chapter 11

Tex closed his eyes and groaned, slumping back in the chair. Fuck, things had just gotten harder—in every sense of the word.

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