by Haley Travis
Unless we weren't safe, and her contradicting herself got us both injured or killed.
Forcing myself to slow my breathing, I attempted to be logical. For the moment, we could let Nana decide. If she thought we should be together, then we could revisit everything tomorrow. Maybe I could ask Mom and Eva about the whispers again, and try to figure out how accurate they really were.
Feeling like my head was spinning, I mumbled, "Okay. Let's ask her."
We went in and sat at the table, while I tried to look as relaxed as possible. Nana poured us some tea, and the fragrance of her strange blend was instantly calming.
"Thank you," Eric said, taking a sip. "Wow, this is amazing."
Nana smiled. “It's always about creating balance by blending different things together." She flashed me a pointed look. "So, what's up with you two?"
I didn't know where to start, but thankfully Eric jumped in.
"We have a very important question for you," he said. "It might sound odd. Please know that we are absolutely serious, and genuinely interested in listening to every detail of what you have to say."
"All right," Nana said. "Go ahead."
"When you state prophecies for people, how often do they come true?"
I gasped, almost dropping my teacup. Setting it on the table, it rattled against the wooden surface as my hand shook.
"Prophecies?" Nana looked at me, but I had no idea what to say. "Why would you think I would ever have prophecies?" she asked with a bright chuckle.
"Apparently the members of your family have noticed that you sometimes zone out a bit, and mutter things to the ceiling. They take note of this, and those things sometimes come true."
Nana looked at him like he was completely off his rocker.
"You don't know about this at all?" Eric asked earnestly. "They call it The Knowing."
Nana’s shoulders shook, then she absolutely cracked up laughing, setting down her teacup to push herself away from the table slightly. We had to wait a moment for her to catch her breath.
"Cheese and crackers, the things you kids think." She turned to look at me. "You think the things I randomly mutter are some sort of blessing or curse or whatever? Some sort of ancient truth telling? Honey, I’m not that old."
I realized that I was scarcely breathing, and starting to get dizzy. Forcing myself to take a few breaths, I finally said, “You told Eva never to drive in the freezing rain. Then when she did, she had an accident."
"Of course she did. Freezing rain is really dangerous. You know I watch the weather channel all the time."
"Okay. What about telling Mom that she should tell people when she's hurt? She didn't listen to that, and then she really got hurt when she fell down the stairs."
Nana looked completely perplexed. Then suddenly her eyes grew wide. “Bloody hell. Do you mean when I look up and whisper song lyrics to myself?"
I blinked hard. "What?"
Eric looked like he was trying not to explode with laughter.
Nana laughed brightly, getting up to arrange a plate of sugar cookies. "Eden, it's one of my little tricks to stay right in the head as I'm getting older. I'm not old enough to be a crazy soothsayer yet. But if I get there, I want to still have my marbles."
She placed a tray of cookies in front of us and sat back down. "Sometimes when I remember a song lyric or a quote from a movie, I say it out loud so I'll remember to look it up later. It’s a memory trick I read about. Something about looking up and to the left, and speaking the words aloud locks it in your memory better."
"So when you told Eden not to get into bed with the devil," Eric said softly, "That didn't mean anything?"
She shook her head. "That's an old country song. Fiddlesticks, I did forget to look that one up."
Nana turned to me, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "Eden, you look like you've seen a ghost. You know those things aren’t real. None of that superstitious curses and hokum and whatnot is real. I thought you had a better head about you, girl."
My mind was spinning, and I actually felt a bit dizzy. Instead of screaming, I slowly ate a sugar cookie.
Eric helped himself to a cookie as well, then flashed me a smile. "So, Mrs. Palmer–"
"Victoria, please."
"Thank you. Victoria, since my original name had slightly devilish undertones, Eden was worried that us being together might bring bad luck and destruction upon us. I desperately want to give her my heart, but I don't want to keep running after her if that's not what she truly desires."
Looking up into his warm, deep eyes that were completely fixed on me, I was completely positive about which answer I wanted my grandmother to choose.
"I told Eden that instead of flipping a coin, we should let you decide. She obviously respects your opinion. You certainly don't know me very well, but based on the evidence in front of you, and your gut feeling, do you think that Eden and I should date?"
Nana's hand flew up to her necklace, touching the small diamonds that my grandfather had given her for their tenth anniversary. She always did that when she was overcome and needed a moment.
She turned to me. “Honey, there are a lot of lazy, careless, heartless men in this world. This one here," she said, nodding to Eric as if he couldn't hear her, "Came here to beg for my approval. I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't give him a fair shot."
"Thank you," I whispered to Nana, just before my throat closed completely.
Eric reached around the teapot to grasp my other hand. "It's okay. We're going to be alright."
As always, Nana knew how to lighten the mood. "Now, shall we talk about your clumsy mother? I have told that woman to slow the heck down when she gets running around. The woman never listens."
We finished our tea and cookies, and listened to several of Nana’s gossipy stories about some of the other seniors in this complex who were, "Getting horizontal, if you know what I mean.” Then it was time for us to leave.
Watching my grandmother hug the daylights out of Eric almost made my heart explode. It was at that moment that I realized I felt complete again.
As she hugged me, she whispered in my ear, "Your boyfriend is fucking hot. Get a piece of that."
"Nana!" I shrieked.
She giggled girlishly. "Whispers don't count as cursin’," she said with a wink.
~ Chapter 26 ~ Eric ~
* Quiet Dinner *
Eden was quiet as we walked to the elevator. It wasn't every day that a person found out that something their entire family believed was completely untrue. Leading her out of the building, I kept my hand on her lower back, but wanted to give her a bit of space.
"Are you all right?" I asked softly.
She nodded. It didn't seem like she could speak.
"Would you like me to take you to your Uncle’s house, or get another room in my hotel for you?"
Eden looked up at me, her warm brown eyes so pretty in the light of sunset. “I'd like to stay with you."
"Okay. You seem spacey, so should I be pushy and take you back to the hotel? We can order in dinner , have a glass of wine, and chill out?"
"Perfect," she said, nodding.
Grabbing us a taxi, we got to the hotel quickly. As I checked us in, Eden was glued to my side. We weren't quite touching, she was just hovering. I hurried us up to the penthouse suite, where our luggage was already waiting.
"How did…" Eden blinked. “I was in such a rush to get to the hospital I forgot all about our luggage."
"My assistant told the plane service where we'd be staying, and they shipped it."
I walked her to the couch and sat Eden down, slipping her shoes off. "You're probably starving," I said. "What would you like for dinner?"
"I… I have no idea," she said.
"How about something simple? Burger and fries, or pasta? Maybe chicken fingers?"
Finally her eyes lit up. "Chicken fingers and onion rings, please."
Lifting her hand, I kissed the back of it, then went over to the desk phone to ord
er. I came back to sit beside her, not sure what to do. Thankfully she snuggled against my shoulder, taking my hand.
"You must think I'm an idiot," she said sadly.
"Not in the slightest," I said emphatically. "Not the tiniest bit. People believe what their families believe. You believed what the evidence in front of you stated, and what your mother told you, even if that turned out not to be true."
Eden looked up to me with a hopeful smile. "So, I take it that you were hoping Nana would say we should be together?"
"Absolutely," I said. “I adore you. I hope it's obvious by now. I need us to be together. I know we are going to be ridiculously happy."
She nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but there was a sharp knock at the door. I ran to get our food, setting it out on the coffee table while the server quickly poured the wine and left.
I found an old comedy special on TV, and put that on quietly while we ate. Eden still seemed spaced out, but after she had some food, and a half glass of wine, she started laughing at the show more naturally.
As I started to clear away the plates, she gripped my wrist. "Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," I smiled. "Was your dinner good?"
"Yes, it was better than I expected. But that's not what I mean.” Her bottom lip trembled slightly, and I saw her breath hitch. "Thank you for not giving up on us."
Ignoring the dishes, I sat back and scooped her into my lap, holding her tightly. Pressing my lips to her ear, I breathed, "I will never give up on you, baby. Never. Even if we have a little fight here and there, I will never give up on you. I’ll always put you first. You're my girl. I knew it from the second you smiled at me."
Her nose crinkled as she laughed. "Was it a deep, psychic feeling?"
"You can call it whatever you want. It wasn’t The Knowing, I just knew it."
Her fingers wound into the back of my hair, pulling my lips to hers. The entire world melted away as we kissed softly, slowly, for what seemed like a very long time. Her body moved slightly against me, but this wasn't sexual. This was the two of us bonding. This was a deep feeling that we were both completely aware of, but hadn't really said yet.
“I should tell you something," I said as I finally pulled away so that we could breathe.
"What's that?"
"Since I've already told your grandmother, it would only be right to tell you as well." Her eyes were so pretty as she stared at me, waiting.
"Eden, I love you."
Her eyes fell closed for half a second, as a shiver ran through her. Then her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at me coyly. "I love you, too. You know it's too soon to say this, though. I’ve known you for a week and a half."
"Absolutely. But I never want to keep secrets from you. So there it is."
She kissed me again, then her curvy body started moving against mine in a way that made it very clear what she was after.
“Wait,” I said gently.
She stopped moving, and pouted, forcing me to nibble her bottom lip until she giggled.
“Someday when we have kids, we’re going to have to keep a secret from them.”
Eden rolled her eyes. “You don’t want to tell them how Mommy nearly messed everything up because of some misheard song lyrics?”
“No,” I laughed. “We’re going to have to make up a more romantic story of how we met. There's no way we can tell them you bumped into me on a dance floor in a cheesy club. That's tacky.”
Her laughter rang through the room, making me laugh again, both of us shaking against each other.
~ Chapter 27 ~ Eden ~
* Bed with the Devil *
I was almost disappointed when Eric picked me up and set me beside him, but it gave me a chance to look around the room for the first time. I had been in such a fog when we arrived that I hadn't noticed how gorgeous the penthouse suite was. It was bigger than my whole apartment. The paintings alone looked like they belonged in a museum.
Eric noticed my wide eyed staring as he shuffled the dishes away. "One of the perks of starting your own company and having things go well," he said. "To be honest, I normally get a regular room, but I thought you might appreciate the extra space."
What I truly appreciated was the giant bed at the far end of the room.
"Do you want a bath, or shall we just go to bed?" Eric asked. "It's been a long day, and it's getting late, Toronto time."
“Bed,” I nodded, digging in my suitcase for my toothbrush and some pajamas. When I came out in my little pink shorts and camisole, Eric was already in bed, looking like he had freshened up in the guest bathroom.
The lights were dim. The focus of the lovely, elegant room was the huge bed, where a shirtless hunk who loved me waited.
My happiness won over my exhaustion. Slipping in beside him, I curled against his massive shoulder, quickly realizing that he was naked.
"I prefer sleeping in the buff, but don't think I'm trying to send you any signals." He raised one eyebrow. "Unless you want me to send signals. But I completely understand if you just want to sleep. It’s been a hell of a day. "
His hand skimmed down my spine, somehow hitting nerves I didn't even know I had.
“Do you know how I’m a bit nervous about practically everything?" I said softly.
"Yes. I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you and make things easier for you."
"Actually, I think I like it that you push me a bit. But also…" I had to pause and take a breath. "I'm trying very hard not to be scared of how intense we are together."
His hand passed down my back, then around the curve and up over my hip. I adored the way his fingers tightened on my skin, giving me a little shake.
"We can be gentle, or intense, or whatever you desire," he said softly. "As long as I know that we're together, I won't freak out and do crazy things anymore."
"Helping me speak up more means that I'm also going to be able to call you on your bull crap," I grinned.
"Absolutely, baby. I want you to keep me on my toes. I need you to tell me if I'm ever being an ass. Or if there's anything you need that I'm not giving you."
My exhaustion had already turned to an adrenaline rush, as my hand massaged his wide , firm chest. Part of me still couldn't believe that a man this breathtakingly hot seemed so obsessed with me. But a larger part of me knew that I should stop thinking stupid questions and show my man how I felt.
My hand slipped lower and gripped his thick, rock hard cock. I loved that I aroused him. I needed to give him everything. My hand moved up and down his shaft, my thumb swirling around the sensitive head while he exhaled was a long, low sigh.
"Is this your way of saying that you need to go to sleep immediately?" he grinned.
"No," I said, reaching down to pull off my shorts. “I'm giving you a very different message."
He ripped off my camisole, throwing me onto my back almost roughly. His lips met mine softly, but his wandering fingers were much more demanding. My thighs twitched with yearning as his fingertips spread me open, tickling along my labia until he parted my pussy lips and plunged a finger inside.
"Mmm, yes,” I moaned into his mouth.
I loved it when he fisted my hair and controlled how hard I kissed him back. I loved the way he thrust inside me with his fingers. He didn't just slide mechanically in and out. Somehow his fingers twisted and turned, touching every nerve ending, and finding a little place near the front of my tunnel that made my hips twitch.
"That's the spot," he murmured. His thumb began circling my clit gently as he plunged a second finger inside. The pressure was wild, as he worked my body as if I were his toy.
His tongue dragged against mine greedily, as if he were desperate to taste me. Reaching down to stroke him, I was clumsy and unfocused, already about to come.
Eric pulled back for air. I could almost feel his eyes raking over my skin as he watched my breasts heaving while I gasped.
"You are so fucking beautiful," he muttered, leaning in to suck o
n my nipple while I began to quiver. He stared into my eyes. "Come for me, Eden. Show me that you're mine."
I didn't know whether it was his pushy possessiveness, his insanely gorgeous body, or the earnest, sweet look in his eyes. Grabbing his bicep with one hand and his cock with the other, I shook from head to toe as the waves of my climax rumbled through me.
"Eric," I choked. The final shudder that ran through me was almost violent, and my eyes snapped open, locked on his.
