Page 58 of Unmoored

“Fuck. Have I died and gone to heaven?”

A slow smile appears on Murph’s lips. “Just you wait, Eden,” he murmurs. “I’ll show you what heavenreallylooks like.”

Murph dips his head and kisses me like he’s taking apart every piece of my broken heart, polishing it, and putting it back together again. I just hope he isn’t going to try to hand me back my heart better than he found it… because it’s his now. Finders, keepers.

“Please,” I breathe out, and I close my eyes to lose myself in his wanting.

ChapterTwenty-One

MURPH

I wantto lose myself in the afterglow as the two of us dig into our mystery breakfast. It’s some kind of fluffy, fried pastry with maple syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream, and strawberries.

Doug’s cooking is incredible, as ever… but the best part is that we’re sharing this breakfast in my bed.

It feels like a little glimpse of the future—if I’m very, very lucky.

“I dunno how you feel,” I tell him, holding the back of my hand over my mouth as I swallow my bite of food. “But eating anything with maple syrup in bed feels like we’re breaking the law. Or at least a strongly worded rule.”

Eden coughs and laughs, swiping a bit of whipped cream off his plate to lick off his finger. “I’m surprised you even let me. The disaster potential is pretty high.”

I shrug. “I’m good at laundry. I have to deal with worse than maple syrup on a regular basis.”

“Phew. So if I suggest round two in bed with the leftover whipped cream…” Eden trails off with a meaningful smirk.

“No, Eden,” I laugh. “That’s not an excuse to be reckless.”

“You think I need an excuse?”

I shake my head as I hunt down the last strawberries. “You’re impossible.”

“Only my middle name,” Eden counters, and I laugh again. God. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this cheerful. It feels like the sunshine is so contagious that I can’t even pretend to be grumpy when I’m around Eden.

It’s just easy between us. Most of the time, it’s nice and gentle and sweet. And then there are the hot moments like the one we just shared—where I find myself knowing exactly what to do and say with him, how to move, when to let him talk and when to kiss him into letting go of his worries.

But there’s one little problem. My conscience is eating me up.

“Murph?” Eden says softly, and I quickly glance up at him, and I’m surprised to find him watching me with a knowing look on his face. “What is it?”

I thought I was doing a better job than that of hiding it. I frown at him with a little bit of alarm, then clear my throat. “How’d you know?”

Eden hums noncommittally. “I have my ways. But also, you don’t usually fidget.”

My eyes widen, and I follow Eden’s gaze down to my hands. I’m tapping a finger against the side of my plate in a quick rhythm, like a starting motor firing up. “Oh. Huh.”

“So?” Eden prompts, and I sigh.

“Okay, so… I do have news. I feel really bad about it.” I swallow hard, reaching out to put a hand on his knee. “Especially at such short notice. And after all our planning?—”

“Oh my god, Murph! Nooooo,” Eden groans, and I grab the plate from him just in time. He flops onto his back on the bed. “Not the bathtub race! Is it cancelled?”

“No.”

Eden catches his breath and pushes himself up on one elbow, suddenly genuinely worried. “AmIcancelled?” he says, plaintive as anything.

I can’t help a laugh. “No,” I reassure him, reaching out and wriggling my fingers until he gives me his hand. “You’re fine. I’m still excited to introduce you to everyone. It’s just that… something came up, with work.”

“Work? But that means… that means no barge.” Eden sits upright, taking my hand between both of his smaller, more delicate palms. “So... no party?”

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