Healing Eden (23 page)

With a ragged groan, he shifted, fingers slipping from her entrance. “Finger yourself.”

She was already on it, her damp and swollen labia scalding as her pulse pounded beneath her skin.

Cool air gusted along the back of her thighs and leather rustled.

His rich, husky voice wrapped around her, a dirty and primal sound that made her belly flutter. “Look at that.” His fingers brushed hers and his velvet hardness teased the curve of her ass. “You need more, sweetheart? Ready to spread those wings?”

A garbled groan clawed free, every muscle from her toes to the top of her head stretched taut. “Now, Reese.” She writhed against his length, mindless of anything but the edge of bliss dangling before her.

His cock nudged her entrance.

“Now, what?” The tip of his glans pressed her opening, a merciless tease that left her pussy quivering. “Say it, sweetheart. Look at me and tell me what I want to hear.”

She tried to push back, to take what she needed.

He tightened his hold on her hips.

“Reese.” She angled her ass higher, instinctively aiming for what he offered. The flared head slipped inside, but it wasn’t enough. She whipped her head around and glared over her shoulder. His eyes burned as wild as the fire blasting through her. “Fuck me.” It rolled off her tongue, the most sensual tone to ever pass her lips. She let her head fall back, her hair an erotic stroke around her ribs. “Fuck me like I need it, hard and wild.”

He impaled her in one thrust, scattering her words and thoughts with the slick, delicious stretch of his perfect shaft. His calloused hands stroked her smooth flesh, and damp air kissed her sweat-slick back. Skin slapped against skin, each strike of his balls against her swollen folds spurring a maelstrom of sensation.

She was so close, a gut-wrenching finish bearing down so hard she wasn’t sure she’d withstand it, let alone comprehend.

“Lena.” Barely a whisper, Reese’s voice curled around her, his touch decadently descending down her spine. “Hang on, baby. Let’s see how high you fly.”

His hand kept moving, her own gripping the workbench in front of her for dear life. His thumb grazed the cleft at the top of her ass then slid down, slow and torturous.

Oh, God. He wouldn’t.

He circled her anus, a simple brush, followed by a subtle push that shoved her past the edge.

Her cries filled the greenhouse and her sex clamped his length in fierce, pulsing grasps.

“Fuck.” Reese’s hips rammed home, and his cock jerked inside her core’s tight fist.

She arched and curled one arm back to bury her fingers in his hair, the other digging nails deep into his flank. Her hips writhed against his, milking every pulse of his shaft. She’d never felt anything so perfect, such a heady connection with a euphoric haze.

His arms coiled around her torso, one slanted across her breasts to collar her throat, the other angled across her hips, strong and protective. “Talk to me.” He nuzzled the space behind one ear, his breath still hot and fast. “Tell me you’re all right.”

All right? The word was too shortsighted. Woefully inept for the feminine power coursing through her veins. He’d cracked her shell before, but today he’d freed her, rearranged her perspective to the point she’d never fit inside the cast she’d worn before.

She let her head lull against him and a languid peace billowed along her muscles. She was safe with him. If she fell, he’d catch her, a fact her body had registered long before her mind.

Forcing her heavy eyelids open, she cupped his cheek. “I’m better than all right.” She tried for a smile to match the lightness in her heart and her cheeks trembled from the strain. “I’m alive.”

Galena stared at herself in the mirror, naked. Soft morning light spilled from tubes overhead, the muted pinks a compliment to the blush across her neck and chest.

She traced her collarbone. When was the last time she’d really looked at herself, not a stitch of clothes on and openly studying her curves? Yesterday the act would’ve made her blush. Today it was her memories. Even separated by an entire floor, the mere thought of Reese and all they’d done through the afternoon and night left her heated and short of breath. The shower they’d taken this morning was nothing short of nirana.

His room was quiet now. Level with the curve of her hip in the mirror’s reflection lay the tangled white sheets on Reese’s bed. She wanted back in those sheets, the crisp fabric rasping her bare skin with Reese’s heat nestled close.

“You don’t have to go.” Reese stood in the doorway with a plate full of fruits and cheeses.

Her stomach grumbled. Something more substantial than water, sex, and exhausted sleep was probably a good idea. Her breasts tingled and tightened at the sight of everything else.

Tanned skin stretched across Reese’s defined muscles, marked indentions she’d outlined with her mouth and fingers through the long, delicious night. He’d thrown on leather pants, the fastenings left partially undone. He might as well have drawn an arrow and added the caption,
Lick here.

His hip muscles flexed and released as he sauntered her direction. She’d grown fascinated with the way they moved, particularly when pistoning against her core.

The plate clicked against the dresser’s surface and his warm fingers curled around her hips.

“You could stay.” A hint of forest and spice tickled her nose as he nuzzled close behind her. She wanted it back on her skin, as it had been when she’d woken. A sensual reminder of all they’d done and all he’d given her. “Let me indulge in your wicked fantasies a while longer.”

Her hips rolled and a sigh slipped past her lips. Praise the Great One, he was addictive. Already her entrance was slick and ready to take him. The woman staring back at her in the mirror was a stranger, so erotic, open and free. “I can’t let you have all my fantasies at once. We have to save something for tomorrow.”

“I could have a million tomorrows and it wouldn’t be enough. Stay. Let me pleasure you a little longer.”

Her gown lay across the oversized chair in the corner of the room. Stay here, or head back home to all of her responsibilities? Back to the pieces of her life that didn’t make for a nice, tidy fit. A shiver wracked her. “How do we do this? Us?”

“How do you want to handle it?” His emerald green eyes stayed locked on hers in the reflection, no pressure of any kind.

“I have no idea.” She settled her hands on top of his. “I meant what I said. I’m not looking to keep things a secret. I just—”

“Don’t know the best approach?” He released her hips and combed her nearly dried hair with his fingers. “You do what works for you. Until you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

He worked the strands in small sections, each pass given patient, devoted attention. He’d offered her so much and still asked nothing in return. If the roles were reversed, could she be so forbearing? So willing to wait in the shadows until he found the strength to own what burned between them?

“Bind it.” Her voice shook and a tremor snaked its way down her spine.

Reese hesitated, attention shuttling between the lock of hair resting between his knuckles and her reflection. “That’s a pretty strong statement. Your brothers—”

“I’m not asking for my brothers. I’m asking for me. For us.” Something she hadn’t realized until the words slipped free. “If my actions lay the ground work for a conversation between me and my family, then so be it.”

He pulled the strand the rest of the way through, a cautious, pensive expression on his face. He brushed it toward the center of her back, eyes locked on hers.

Stepping to the dresser, he opened the top drawer. He shifted a few items and drew out a mahogany box carved with an emblem on top she couldn’t quite make out. Inside were a handful of beads the size of her knuckle, each a pale gold so smooth they glowed nearly white. He rolled one between his fingers, thoughtful, before he turned. “Hold out your hand.”

He placed the sphere in her palm and cupped either side of her neck. The rasp of his indrawn breath sent flutters through her belly.

He gathered one side of her hair, then the other, reverent. The tugs along her scalp as he sectioned the mass into thirds rippled to her toes.

“Your commitment means everything.” Back and forth the tension shifted as he worked her hair into one long braid. “No matter what happens, no matter what actions you might need to take in the future, I’ll do all I can to be worthy of your gift.”

What actions she might need to take? Did he think she’d take it back?

“Give me the bead.”

She held out her palm and met his gaze over one shoulder. The respect and warm appreciation in his eyes shook her soul.

He lifted the tip of the braid so she could see and slipped the bead in place. His fingers shifted as he warmed and altered the metal with his mind, tightening it to hold the braid in place. “Until fate or your heart chooses otherwise, you’re mine.”

Something in her stirred. Something foreign, but comfortable and profound. The possessive tenor of his words should have struck a nerve, or made her push for distance. Instead she nearly purred, the need for intimacy coming from some place so deep she doubted it could ever be defined.

She licked her lips, imaging the slide of his tongue instead of hers.

His gaze locked onto the movement. His eyebrows dipped low at the center and his focus grew distant. He cocked his head. “Get dressed and wait here.” He was out the door without another word, leaving her alone with her thrumming heart.

Maxis.

Reese had said Maxis knew where he lived. He’d even gone so far as to say he hoped his brother would show for a chance at evening the score.

Like histus she’d wait here. She drew on her crimson slip, mentally fastening the buttons along the back even as she slid one arm into the corseted outer piece. Maybe she should call for Eryx or Ramsay. Or Ludan. Ludan would come just for the chance to snap Maxis’ neck and wouldn’t say a word to either of her brothers out of gratitude alone.

She hustled down the hall, stopping to slide on her sandals between steps. The bookcase hiding the stairwell was nearly shut, letting only the barest stream of light shine down the stone steps. Floorboards creaked above her and a muted clang sounded from farther away.

Silence settled for a moment, followed by muted male voices. Reese’s voice was easy to catch, but the other she couldn’t quite gauge from her vantage point. She held her breath and pressed close to the nearly closed door-a-la-bookcase. It wasn’t Maxis’. This one was too low to fit Maxis’ grating tenor, too familiar.

She reached out through her links. Eryx was at home, but Ramsay—

Praise the Great One. Why would Ramsay be here? She hurried forward, shoving the door open on silent hinges.

Reese was tall enough only the tip of Ramsay’s chocolate and sun-streaked hair showed. The way Reese gripped the barely opened door and jam made it clear he wasn’t about to let Ramsay one step farther, no doubt an attempt to save her any pain or embarrassment.

She started forward and faltered. Maybe Reese was right. Throwing her presence on her brother wasn’t the smoothest way to deliver the news. Maybe she should wait until things were calmer. Find some place with more common ground to share the direction she’d chosen.

Shaking her head, she reengaged. Reese had faced his worst fears. Had laid his heart out to her in so many ways it still made her shudder. If she couldn’t face her own brothers with her feelings she didn’t deserve him. She touched his shoulder and the muscles beneath her palm went rigid. “You can let him in.”

Ramsay’s voice faltered.

“It’s okay, Reese. Let him in.”

Reese stared straight ahead, no doubt meeting her brother’s death stare. His stern jaw looked like it might snap at the slightest increase in pressure.

She hedged back and waited.

Reese swallowed and his grip on the door tightened until his knuckles ran white. He stepped aside.

Ramsay’s scowl locked onto her then shot to Reese. “And here I thought your apology meant something.” He focused on Galena. “Stupid me. You just wanted to lay a little ground work with my sister.”

“You went to him?” Normally her brother’s nastiness would have kept her locked in place, but surprise wedged her feet free. “When?”

“Yesterday.” Reese sighed and let go of the door, letting it swing open. “A few hours before you showed up. I owed him that much.”

She swiveled her head, anger bubbling beneath her skin as her brother’s accusations registered. “And you think he made his apologies to lay a little groundwork?” She prowled forward.

Ramsay straightened, a cautionary light dawning in his silver eyes.

Good. He needed to be wary. “Are you saying he needed to get in your good graces so he could fuck me?”

The crude statement worked Ramsay as sure as a slap across the face, his head snapping back.

Reese stepped forward. “Galena—”

“No.” She waved him off, keeping her focus on Ramsay. “First, what makes you think you hold any sway over what I do or don’t do? You think he’d need to get permission from you to touch me? You think I don’t make those decisions for myself?” She straightened and shook her head. “Oh, wait. Maybe the old me did, but let me assure you, the new me doesn’t.

“Second.” She glanced at Reese, shock doing more to loosen the tension in his jaw than any amount of soothing probably would have. “Where do you get off being so judgmental? I always believed you were reasonable and decent-hearted. Do you think it was easy for Reese to be in his position? To lie to a man he considered his friend? To man up and apologize for it years later after making such serious mistakes?”

She paused, lungs burning from her fury. “Frankly, big brother, I’m beginning to wonder if you’d man up enough to match what he’s done.” She huffed out a breath and what was left of her ire evened out.

Ramsay stared at her, wide-eyed.

Damned if she didn’t feel about thirty pounds lighter. Not the classiest way to go about throwing out what she had to say, but she’d bet Lexi would’ve scored it a ten.

She smoothed out the front of her dress, cringing at the wrinkles marking the delicate crimson silk, and strolled with as much dignity as she could to Reese. She went on her tiptoes and urged him down for a kiss. “I’m proud of you.”