Be My December (24 page)

The night soon came to an end, exhaustion was hitting me full force, and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. Tonight was completely unexpected, and I never thought coming here would result in Ky telling me he wanted to kiss me again, or that I’d have girl talk on the couch and meet an Australian. It was a crazy whirlwind in my head and I was still trying to sift through the layers. After saying our goodnights, I walked out with Ky and waited in the warmed of the foyer waiting for the cab to arrive to take me back to the hotel.

I suddenly felt shy under the intensity of his gaze and his smirk hadn’t left since he walked me down. “I have every intention to ask you to stay tonight, but I won’t because I’d only want you to say yes for the right reasons and I know you aren’t there yet.” His voice was so smooth.

It was about this time that I stopped breathing.

“Don’t look panicked. I’m not asking you Eden.” The cab driver hit the horn as he pulled up and Ky pulled me close to the warmth of his body, placing a sweet kiss on my forehead. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Stay safe.”

Walking into my darkened apartment, I switched on the lights and the space immediately illuminated. It had just clocked over to midnight, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the awkward goodbye I shared with Eden.

So much had changed in such a short amount of time. I was no longer working sixteen-hour days; I wasn’t spending more time at work than I was at home. Fuck, I even had food in my fridge these days. That wasn’t Ky Crawford. She was getting under my skin at an alarming rate, and I was losing sight of what I had set out to achieve in the first place.

The sound of my phone ringing echoed through the air and as I looked at the screen, I was shocked to find Eden’s name flash on the screen.

I pushed the answer button.

“Ky, please come and get me.” She didn’t even give me a chance to speak.

“Eden, what’s wrong?” I asked, rushing back towards the door and grabbing my keys.

“Someone’s been in my room.” Her voice was so panicked and breathless with fear.

My body went rigid. “Eden, go to the front desk. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

I hung up the phone and bolted out of my apartment, determination flooding my veins. I bypassed the elevator because of the time it would take to go down fourteen floors; I couldn’t risk stopping at any floors and wasting any more time. Time was not on mine or Eden’s side right now. I ran down fourteen flights of stairs to get to the underground garage with only one goal in mind.
Get to Eden
.

I was at Hotel De Luca within eight minutes, having made five traffic violations in the process. As I pulled to the curb, I found Eden standing outside on the sidewalk with her arms wrapped tightly around her body as her eyes darted around feverishly looking for protection and any sign of danger. My car was in park before I could blink and I sprinted from the car until I was in front of her. My desperate eyes scanned her face and her body for any signs of hurt. She was shaking so violently and the look of pure fear on her face tore at my defenses. I pulled her close to my chest, one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders, allowing my hand to rest on the back of her head. She fell into my arms, and I felt the rigidness of her body soften against the warmth of my chest. I didn’t know how long we stood on the sidewalk, all I knew was that I’d give her what she needed until she pushed me away.

“I should go and see if there is another room available.” Her muffled words against my chest startled me.

“Eden, there is no way in hell that you are staying here.”

Her blue eyes flashed up to mine.

“You are coming back to my place. You can stay in the spare room until we work something out. There is no fucking way you are staying here.”

“Can you come with me while I pack up my things?” she asked timidly.

“Eden, I’m not letting you out of my fucking sight. You are going to get sick of the sight of me before this month is over. We will get your things and then head to my place. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes.”

She unwrapped herself from my body and attempted to step away.
Like hell
. My hand shot out and grabbed hers and immediately her fingers laced with mine so tenderly and so needy. We walked in silence through the foyer and toward her room and my mind felt like it was running a marathon and I couldn’t see the finish line. Eden hesitated as she slid the card through and the door unlocked.

“I’ll go in first,” I soothed and gave her hand a squeeze in a desperate attempt to offer her protection and comfort.

Her suitcase lay in the middle of the bed in total chaos. It was obvious that someone had been ratting around in it. My stomach clenched and I felt bile rise from the pit of my stomach and sit precariously in my throat as I focused on the bras and panties spilling out of it, thrown around and disturbed by some dirty fucking asshole’s hands. 

“Do you want to stay in the hall and I’ll pack everything up?” I asked softly.

“No!” She gasped and shot me a pleading look. The color in her face had drained and her eyes showed nothing but sheer terror. Her hand grabbed hold of my arm for dear life. “Please don’t leave me out here.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s get in here and get your stuff together and get out of here.”

I sat on the edge of the bed while Eden packed up her belongings at rapid speed. My eyes traced her every movement and I couldn’t ignore the fact that she was trembling and her shaking hands caused her to drop everything she picked up. 

“Eden.” I spoke so softly that she froze and turned to look at me. “Come here.”

She crossed the room and fell into my open arms and unleashed a deep sob into my chest. I felt the cotton of my shirt dampen under her tears and my arms tightened. She was completely falling apart in my arms and I felt at a loss of what I could provide her.

“I’m scared,” she admitted when she pulled away and looked up at me. “I’m really scared.”

“What can I do to stop you from being scared?” My fingers tucked the hair that had fallen out of her braid behind her ears and her eyes closed under my touch.

Her voice strained as she responded with, “I don’t know but you being here is helping.”

“How bout we finish this and then we can leave?”

“That would be good.”

Eden stepped away from me and went about collecting her laptop and camera gear and continued shoving her belongings back in her suitcase. Seeing the expensive items not touched confused the fuck out of me. A breaking and entering like this was always for the most expensive items that could be grabbed but here they still sat, out in the open and begging to be taken. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just a random act, and it sent shivers soaring down my spine.

One name kept circling in my head: Chris Edwards.

Fifteen minutes later, with Eden’s suitcase in my hands, we were walking out of the hotel and toward my car.  

“Thank you so much for coming to get me.” She said as she watched me load her bags into the trunk of my car.

“I’m glad you called,” I said as I slammed the trunk shut and moved toward the driver’s seat. She fidgeted in the passenger seat as we took the ten-minute drive back to my apartment. The familiar ding of a text message sounded and as I looked over to her I noticed that she slammed her eyes shut and didn’t make a move to get her phone.

“What’s wrong?” I asked hurriedly, my eyes falling to the phone in Eden’s hands.

Her eyes flew open and her mouth twisted with nerves. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”

“Are you going to check your text?” I asked, not believing a word she said.

“No.”

I wanted desperately to probe further and get her to speak, but she was already shutting down and I didn’t really want to have her fleeing into the night because I had pushed too much. I bit my tongue and concentrated on the road ahead while my mind danced through scenarios of who could be texting her to get a reaction like that.

Ten minutes later my apartment building came into view, twinkling in the night sky. I pulled into the garage and grabbed her suitcase and bags from my trunk and we made our way silently to the fourteenth floor.  The moment we walked through the entrance and into the warmth of my home shy Eden decided to appear. She stood just inside of the foyer as I headed toward the kitchen. I pulled out a pot from the cabinet beside my stovetop and turned to find her looking around my apartment with a nervous look plastered on her face.

“Don’t look so nervous. You are staying here for as long as you want so make yourself at home. I’ll give you a tour once I make us hot chocolate to warm up.”

“You’re making hot chocolate?” she quizzed, the shocked expression on her face was not missed. 

“Of course. It’s minus a billion degrees outside, and I need something to warm me up. Well unless you want to hug me all night?” I teased, desperate to break the tension. “So hot chocolate it is. Do you want white or milk chocolate?

“White please,” she whispered.

I felt her eyes on me as I moved around the kitchen preparing our drinks. It felt good. Soon the delicious aroma of melting chocolate filled the air. Once I was done, we both moved to the large couch that took center stage in my living room and collapsed into its comfort. Eden pulled her legs under her and blew softly on the steaming hot chocolate I had just given her. We drank in silence, and I knew that her head was going crazy and analyzing everything that was going on around her. She didn’t say a word and I was okay with that. Knowing that she was here and not in that pathetic excuse of a hotel satisfied me. It allowed me to take care of her and to keep her safe and that was what I wanted. My eyes slammed shut as an unwanted pounding erupted behind my eyes. Memories could fuck off, I didn’t want them intruding on this moment, not now.

“Would it be okay if I took a shower?” Her voice ended my flashback, and I opened my eyes to find her gazing in wonderment at me.

“You don’t have to ask me Eden, as long as you are staying here you can use whatever you like. I’m probably going to head to bed anyway; it’s been a long day. I’ll show you to the guest room.”

I stood from the couch, and she mimicked my action. I took her mug and placed it on the glass table and then moved through my apartment and headed down the hall. Opening the door, I stepped in and switched on the light flooding the room with a harsh glow. Eden moved beside me as she entered the room holding one of the smaller bags she brought, having left the bigger one in the living room. A king-size bed, large dresser, reading chair, and side tables with iron woven lamps completed the room. Once again, Ashlyn didn’t fail in her interior decorating skills.

“It’s absolutely beautiful.” Eden’s whispered voice hit the intensifying air in the room. She lay her bag on the bed and then walked toward the window. My eyes followed her every step with interest. When she reached the window, she crossed her arms over her chest as she took in the lights of the city dancing in the night sky.

“This room is all yours,” I stated. “I’ll bring in the rest of your bags while you take a shower. The bathroom is just across the hall.”

I turned and left the guest room and rushed down the hall to the escape of my room. My body was a battle of emotions and my thoughts felt like they were running a marathon as I tried to sift through the events of the night. After I pulled on some sweats, I headed back to the living room grabbed her suitcase, deposited it in the guest room before returning to the living room and collapsing onto the couch desperate to find some calm. Things between Eden and I had changed tonight. My desperation to taste her again was taking over my every rational thought. I told her I wanted to kiss her again, to taste her, and yet she still called me. I was still trying to get my head around everything. I stood from the couch and collected the empty mugs and took them to the sink and then knowing that I hadn’t checked emails or messages, I leaned against the kitchen island and proceeded to check them. I was due back in the Los Angeles office in a few days so I hoped that Lauren had sent my itinerary.

Eden silently walked into the living room. She coughed to announce her arrival and my eyes lifted and took her in; loose cotton pants hung from her womanly hips and the tightest of camisole fit her body like a second skin; her face was completely fresh and her wet hair hung around her shoulders.  My dick decided to pay attention at the sight before me and it strained against the cotton of my pants. To make matters worse, her eyes fell and took in my bare chest.

“I am heading to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I choked out. “Goodnight.”

I shook my head, desperate to force the thoughts I had to erase. I dropped my head and took off through my apartment, toward the escape of my bedroom. I needed solitude and I needed to get away from Eden’s hot little body. Fuck she was the perfect example of what a woman should be like. Womanly curves, a small waist, delicious enticing tits, hips that she unintentionally swayed when she walked—she was a fucking delight.

Two hours later I was still wide awake. It was closing in on three thirty yet I couldn’t switch my brain off. I couldn’t tell you how many times I had counted the number of stripes that were on my comforter or the amount of times I had watched the videos on my phone; this was becoming a joke. A groan rose from within my chest as I pushed myself up and sat on the edge of my bed. I stood and quietly moved toward the door hoping that the one floorboard that creaked would remain silent. I opened the door softly but slammed to a stop. A faint noise came from the kitchen, the sound of water running. I silently made my way down the hall and looked around the corner and toward the kitchen.