Page 53 of Fractured Dreams

“In here.” His voice sounded from the living room that was located just off the foyer.

When she walked in, she found him sitting on the couch, staring down at a glass of whiskey in his hand. Eden moved toward him, surprised when he didn’t look up at her. “Hey. Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

Finally, he glanced up, but she couldn’t quite read his expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked, dropping her purse on the table, and coming to stand in front of him, cupping his cheek, his stubble rough against her palm.

He stared up at her for a second, eyes roaming her face as if trying to memorize it, before his gaze dropped back down to the drink in his hand.

“Nothing’s wrong, darlin’,” he said, voice rough.

Eden’s concern grew, and reaching down, she took the glass of whiskey out of his hand, putting it on the table before dropping to her knees between his legs. She wanted to tell him her decision to talk to Noah about them, but she wanted to erase the shadow in his eyes even more, so she stretched up and pressed her lips to his.

For a long moment, he didn’t respond, his mouth tense against hers, almost as if her kiss was unexpected—unwanted. Confused and hurt, Eden was about to pull back when he made an almost pained noise in the back of his throat, his hands coming up to tangle in her hair, his lips opening as he took control—took possession—the way she loved.

Her hands went to his chest, resting against the soft cotton of his T-shirt before traveling down to the hem and sliding underneath, her fingers stroking across the smooth skin of his abdomen.

His kiss deepened, one hand staying buried in her hair while the other skimmed down her shirt, his thumb grazing over an already hard nipple. Eden shivered, loving his touch, his mouth against hers, the taste of the whiskey he’d been drinking on his tongue. Wanting more,needingmore, she pulled her hands from under his shirt, grabbed the hem and tugged it up to let him know what she wanted.

Tex reached down and pulled the shirt over his head, breaking their kiss to do so. As soon as he’d let it fall to the floor, he was pulling her top over her head too, and then his mouth was back on hers while his fingers were undoing the clasp of her bra. As if he didn’t want to stop kissing her for even a second. There was a strange sense of desperation in the way he was handling her, a rough urgency to his touch.

He stood, drawing her up with him, then undid the button of her jeans, and she used the hand that wasn’t around his neck to push them and her panties off. He was undoing the button of his own jeans while she did that, and before she knew it, they were both naked.

Dipping his head, he captured her nipple in his mouth, his tongue teasing the sensitive peak, making it harden further. He kneaded her other breast, his fingers pinching and rolling the nipple until she was almost out of her mind. “Tex,” she gasped.

He relented, his thumb giving a final rasp over the swollen nub, his tongue swirling one last time around the other, before he dropped back onto the couch.

Eden looked down at him. His amber eyes were hooded, and she still couldn’t read his expression, but she didn’t care. He was hard and ready for her, and his hands were on her hips, his fingers massaging her flesh, tugging her down. She started to drop to her knees, intending to take him into her mouth, but he stopped her.

“No.” His voice was almost harsh, but he guided her down until she was straddling him, one hand on her hip, the other holding the base of his cock. “Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded. God, was there ever any doubt? She was always ready for him.

He positioned his cock at her entrance, then used the hand on her hip to pull her down onto him.

Even being ready, taking a man as big as Tex at that angle took some adjusting. She eased down until she’d taken him all, feeling impossibly, amazingly full. Her breathing was erratic, and she threw her head back, thrusting her breasts toward him in invitation.

Tex didn’t hesitate, taking a nipple in his mouth again as she began moving on him, her hips rising and falling as he sucked and nipped and licked at her. The hand that wasn’t on her hip roved over her skin, touching, caressing her everywhere, as if he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her.

Her hands were doing the same, running over his arms, his shoulders, his chest, everywhere she could reach. She didn’t want it to end, but the pressure was building with every rise and fall of her hips, with every swirl of his tongue around her nipple. When his hips began pumping up to meet hers, sparks of sensation flared out from where they were joined. She wasn’t going to last much longer.

“I’m so close,” she gasped, wanting to let him know, wanting him to join her.

Instead, he stood, still inside her, and turned to lay her back down on the couch. He lifted her leg and draped it over his shoulder, taking full advantage of the new position, his muscles flexing hard as he thrust into her. His golden gaze was hot on hers, as always, and with every touch of his hands on her overheated skin, every press of his lips to hers, she could feel her emotions burning out of control.

Eden didn’t know how Tex felt about her for sure, but just because he hadn’t told her didn’t mean she couldn’t tell him. So, as he moved inside her, looking into her eyes, she whispered, “I love you.”

He faltered; his eyes clenching shut for a second before he pressed his lips to hers again. He didn’t say it back, but that was okay, he didn’t need to. She could feel it in the way his mouth took hers, the way his hands stroked over her body.

Tex reared back, moving his fingers to her clit, rubbing and circling until she twisted and turned under him.

“Come for me, Eden,” he said, voice tense, hard, but she didn’t have time to question his tone, because he was hitting her in just the right spot, rubbing her clit exactly the way she needed to make her pleasure detonate. She cried out his name as she looked up at him, locking her gaze with his the way he liked, but his eyes dropped to her lips right before he gave one more thrust, exhaling harshly as he shuddered and spilled himself inside her.

They were both breathing heavily, and Tex gathered her up and turned them, so she was lying across him. She lay there, half asleep, lulled by the rise and fall of his chest, the rapid pounding of his heart. When he eased out from under her, she mumbled a sleepy, “Okay?” But he just pressed his lips to her temple.

A little while later, after having dozed off briefly, she was roused by the clink of ice. Eden opened her eyes and noticed Tex sitting on a chair across the room from her, staring into his glass again. His full glass.

She propped herself up on one elbow. “Tex?”

He turned his head toward her, in the shadows his eyes looked cool. “It’s getting late Eden. I think you should probably go.”

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