Page 48 of Love Without Control

Not wanting to think about the reasoning behind that, I continued watching Eden. She had a nice tan, probably from being at the beach in Mexico for her Spring Break vacation that had ended so badly.

I didn’t realize until that moment how much tension she’d been carrying, not until I saw her in a completely relaxed state. Her posture was loose, and even the curves of her face seemed softer.

“Why are you staring at me, Draco?” she asked without opening her eyes, and I chuckled.

“I was just thinking we need to get some more clothes.”

She peeped one eye open and directed it at me. “Are you saying you’re tired of seeing me in the same few outfits?”

Today Eden was wearing the denim shorts she seemed to favor and a red tank top. “No, but I thought we might need swimsuits since we’re going to be beach bums for the foreseeable future.”

Her shoulders tensed, and I wanted to kick myself for bringing up our self-imposed exile. Then she smiled that teasing smile she reserved only for me. “You definitely need some new things since you would look goofy walking around in a black suit like the dark lord of the beach.”

“Hey, I can be casual,” I told her, sweeping a hand down my body to encompass my khaki shorts, black T-shirt, and brown sandals. To be honest, I was pretty sure I’d never owned a pair of sandals before in my life. But I could embrace this new look. After all, Eden was handling all the changes being thrown at her like a champ.

Probably a little too well, if I really thought about it.

“You can talk to me, if you want to,” I said softly.

“I am talking to you,” she replied, closing her eyes again.

“I mean… about what happened. You can talk to me, Eden.”

Her only reply was the pinch of her lips and a curt nod of her head. That response worried me, and I prayed she wasn’t suppressing her emotions in an effort to appear unaffected.

She was one tough fucking woman, but I needed her to know she didn’t have to be strong all the time. I needed her to know she could be vulnerable with me.

But first, she had to trust me, and I wasn’t sure if she was fully there yet.

Chapter 16

Wecookeddinnertogetherthat evening, and we moved around the kitchen like a team. While I cooked my mama’s spaghetti and meatballs, Eden prepared the salad and heated the garlic bread.

Deciding to eat informally in the living room, we settled onto the couch. Eden brought in two glasses of red wine and handed them to me as she picked up two coasters from the holder and then laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, and she held them up for my inspection. One read,I want to be sweated onand the other,I prefer being on bottom.She set the latter in front of me with a sassy wink before turning the rest of them upside down.

“I say we don’t look at them. We just choose a new one every day, like a fun little surprise.”

“Yeah, we need more surprises in our lives right now,” I deadpanned, making her bubble over with giggles. I reveled in the pure sweetness of the sound and vowed to myself to make it happen as often as possible while we were in this fucked up situation.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen24. Jack Bauer is awesome,” she said, turning on the TV and DVD player.

“That’s Kiefer Sutherland’s character?” I asked.

She settled on the couch beside me. “Yep, and each episode is one hour in the day. Twenty-four episodes per season, hence the name.”

“You’re the only person I know that doesn’t sound like a pretentious asshole when they say the wordhence,” I told her, picking up my plate. The aromas were perfect, a blend of tomato and Italian spices.

“Gee, thanks,” Eden retorted. “Best compliment ever.”

“Happy wife, happy life,” I shot back.

She puffed out an exasperated sigh. “Shut up and eat, demon spawn.”

Covering a smirk, I turned my attention to the television. Two hours later, I was hooked on this damn show. Eden had been correct. It was jammed full of action as the main character, Jack Bauer, worked with the Counter Terrorism Unit to track down terrorists. He was ruthless and a fucking badass.

When I was in the kitchen refilling our wine glasses, I stiffened at the ringing of the doorbell. Sprinting back into the living room, I saw Eden headed toward the front door. “No!” I hissed, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her to her bedroom. “Get in the closet and stay there.”

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