Page 31 of Protected from Malice
I’ve stayed in plenty of places worse than this myself. Places where I wouldn’t even take my shoes off for fear of picking up some kind of foot fungus. Places I wouldn’t have been surprised to see on the news as a crime site later on, after a drug deal or illicit hookup went wrong.
But Eden…
It just seems wrong to see her here.
Curled up on the mattress beside me, her curls splayed out across the lumpy pillow, her features finally relaxed, long lashes fanning over her pale cheeks and her rosy lips slightly parted as she makes this cute, humming sound as she sleeps.
Her hand clutching my leg, so delicate but strong, just like she is.
She smells clean. Fresh. Innocent. Like sweet lemonade mixed with a hint of something floral. And another indescribable scent that’s only her.
It’s a scent that’s been burned into my memory, into my senses, since the first day I met her.
Though I know I shouldn’t, I brush a curl away from her face, letting my fingers trail through her silken hair for a moment. She stirs at my touch, and I hold my breath.
I don’t want Eden to wake up. Not when she just fell asleep thirty minutes ago.
Then she turns towards me, nudging herself closer.
Her face burrows into my side.
Her hand slides up my thigh.
And my damn body reacts to it—thickening, aching, demanding.
Her hand is only inches from the rapidly growing bulge in my shorts, barely restrained by the mesh fabric covering it.
Fuck.
She doesn’t know what she’s doing to me. Of course she doesn’t. Eden’s just reaching for me because I make her feel safe. Because she trusts me, although if she knew what was going through my mind right now, I’m not sure she would.
Although.
She said she was gladI’mhere. Not Indy.
She leaned her head on my shoulder as we watched TV.
She fell asleep on me, which may have been the most perfect moment of my life. Eden’s soft breath whispering across my neck, her breasts pressing against me, giving me all of her weight…
Shit.
I need to stop thinking about this.
Stop thinking about feelings I put to bed a long time ago.
I need to think about the rest of the night—morning, really, since the clock puts the time at ten to five—and the plan for the day.
There are calls I need to make. A possible hotel change, if I can find one that fits my specifications. Finding food for Eden, since she hasn’t eaten anything aside from honeybuns and a crumpled box of Skittles since lunch yesterday.
And getting my ass back down on the floor. Removing myself from temptation.
But the moment I start to move off the bed, Eden’s hold on me tightens. She snuggles closer. A soft sigh escapes her lips.
Dammit.
I can’t make myself leave.
I don’t want to.
