Page 73 of Love Without Control

But she didn’t.

Instead, she straightened her shoulders, adjusted the low lighting in the room, and finally climbed in behind me without a word. When her hand slipped beneath the covers and rested on my waist, I imagined this must be what it would feel like to win the Super Bowl.

A victorious smile crossed my lips as I reached for her hand and tugged until her body was snuggled right up against my back. “We both know this is how we’re going to end up anyway,” I said into the dim gray of the room.

She sniffed in indignation, curling her legs until they molded to the backs of mine. “It’s not very nice to point that out.”

“Yeah, well you should be aware by now that I’m not a very nice guy.”

“Hmm,” she hummed against my back, and I felt the peaks of her nipples harden against my back.

Perhaps I hadn’t thought this plan all the way through. Every fucking night for the past few weeks, I’d lain with this woman against me, and it had been the sweetest torture imaginable. I loved her warm softness, but it wasn’t mine to touch.

Though I wished like hell it was.

Chapter 24

NINEMONTHSINHIDING

“Merry Christmas Eve! Are you—” I halted in the doorway of the living room when I saw the blotchiness on Eden’s face. Walking slowly toward her, I crouched beside the couch. “What’s wrong?”

“Just… you know… missing my family. I’m okay though.” She swiped at a few stray tears and pushed a brave smile across her lips.

I glanced down at the phone in her lap and saw that she was watching one of the videos of Auburn and her dad. At my request, the guys I’d hired to keep an eye on her family occasionally sent clips of the Bouviers, and true to my word, I sent them on to Eden. She usually enjoyed watching them, but I knew the holidays would be hard for her.

“We don’t have to go tonight,” I told her.

Eden shook her head. “No, it’ll be fun. And a nice distraction.”

I nodded and reached for her hand to pull her to her feet. “We can leave any time you want. Just give me a signal.”

“Like press the Dark Mark on my forearm?” she asked with faux sweetness, referring to Voldemort’s mark on the Death Eaters from the Harry Potter novels.

I gave her a light push between her shoulder blades. “Go get ready, smartass. I got you something special to wear. It’s on the bed.”Our bed. Because once I’d staked my claim there in September, I hadn’t left.

Using my old room to dress, I put on the black suit I’d bought, along with a starched white button-down and no tie before going back to the living room to wait.

Thirty minutes later, my jaw fell to the damn floor. Eden walked into the room with more confidence than any nineteen-year-old had any right to have. I guessed that stemmed from her upbringing in the Bouvier family. Though her father had kept his kids mostly out of the public eye, Eden had told me that they had been taken to the occasional gala or fundraising event once they were teens and they were expected to attend parties at the Bouvier estate from a young age.

“Thank you for the jumpsuit. I can’t believe you got me aBouvier.”

“I wanted you to feel…” I shrugged, unable to find the exact words, but she nodded in understanding.

The outfit was a pretty crimson, fitted through the bodice and flaring at the calves, with just enough sparkles to make it perfect for a holiday party. The peep toe heels I’d ordered for her matched the jumpsuit, and each had a tiny silver bow adorning the top.

She’d used more eye makeup than usual, the eyeliner forming perfect wings over mile-long lashes. Her lips were the deepest red, somewhere between black and cherry, and they looked absolutely delicious. Her hair was different too. Instead of the messy, edgy look she usually rocked, tonight it was smooth and controlled, molded into a dark cap that was sexy as fuck.

“Eden, you look…” I brushed a hand over my chest as I walked slowly toward her, letting my eyes eat her up. “You look like I might have to go back on my promise not to kill any more people.”

She giggled. “Please try and control yourself. It will mostly be older folks there.”

“Yeah, hopefully they’ll all have cataracts and won’t be able to see how beautiful my wife looks.”

Tilting her chin down a notch, she looked up at me with her big, brown eyes. “My husband looks pretty wonderful too.”

My fucking heart almost fell out of my chest and at her feet.My husband. That was the first time she’d used those words in private.

“I wasn’t sure what to do with my hair,” I said, and she tilted her head, regarding me as she drifted her fingers through the strands over one ear.

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