I rest my cuffed hands on the back of the couch as Eli’s hand moves between my legs. His fingers finally brush through my folds. I’m wet for him already, but I hear him with lube and I wonder what he’s up to.
“I need to make you really wet to endure this punishment, Eden,” he tells me, before making me gasp at the cold feel of the lubricant being pushed inside me on his thick fingers. His movements become harder and faster and I swallow a gasp as pain and pleasure inter-mingle. He’s opening me up for something specific. I’m not sure what until the buzzing sound of a vibrator hits my ears. I feel it a second later, cold with lube, the rubbery head of the toy being pressed to my clit.
“Oh,” I mumble as he continues to fuck me raw with his hand.
My climax is quick to push through me, and he stops the vibration as soon as I’ve come. I hear his belt come off and drop to the ground. His dick replaces his fingers seconds later and I bite down on my lip at the full feeling it gives me. I’m incredibly sensitive, and he feels even bigger than usual, but even so the slow grind he gives is frustrating. I’m ready for more.
Then I feel it, the slow push of something else entering my pussy in front of his dick. The sex toy! Oh. Oh, hell. I thought I felt almost painfully full before. Now? Holy shit. I think I might black-out. I gasp as Eli starts to move inside me, the first flush of my second orgasm hitting just as he makes the damn thing vibrate.
“Oh, Eden,” he whispers, running a hand along my chest and pulling me in close.
I gaze down, past my cuffed hands to the hand he’s using to keep the toy inside me while he fucks me. His fingers rub over my wet clit and I climax. My throbbing pussy can’t handle much more of this intense punishment, even if right now I’m begging him to never stop.
He fucks a little harder and comes inside of me, groaning into my ear.
He switches off the vibration and lets the toy slide out before he does. I relax my body, though my heart is still pounding like crazy. He turns me around to kiss me and I know we sated his need for control. His gaze is warm now. The dark storm that seems to run through him whenever he’s in complete control has passed.
“That was a surprise,” I tell him, glancing down at the big purple rubber toy.
“Nick brought it. I figured since he wasn’t here, he wouldn’t mind if I borrowed it.”
Of course he wouldn’t. Nick would probably only want to hear how he’d used it, covering every last detail. Damn. I still owe Nick some kind of sexy surprise after I pushed him away in the hot tub. Wait, I figured that one out already. The gig tomorrow night. We’re going to have sex backstage while Hunter’s band are playing. Now that I really think about it, the idea is more than a little insane. But given that Logan’s my security, I still think we can get away with it.
“So, what now, officer?” I hold out my arms, emphasising the fact my wrists are still bound by the cuffs.
He smiles at me. “Maybe you should keep those on for a while.”
I wonder if he’s ready for round two already, and my gaze dips to check. It’s more of a semi than a rager right now. Considering he just gave me a good, hard fucking I’m pretty sure there’ll be a wait for round two. “Maybe you can find a way to get them back on me later.”
He uncuffs me before pulling his pants back up and heading across the room to pick up my jeans.
“I suppose I should tell Asher they can come back,” he says.
“Where did they go?” I wonder if they’re just waiting in the hotel lobby or something.
“Logan had some stuff he wanted to check out back at The Snake Pit. Security concerns.”
The nerves Eli helped me get rid of start to trickle back. Logan was always tight-lipped over things he thought I didn’t need to worry about. If there’s something he doesn’t like that he won’t tell me about, then it’s bad. I haul my clothes back on, shivering a little. Please don’t tell me I have more to worry about than just an evil ex or two. I mean, besides the impending threat of the dark forces Goddess returning.
“I’m sure he’ll sort it out,” Eli says, seeming to pick up on my worry. He wraps his arms around me. “Hey, it’s going to be okay, Eden. I promise. I’ll be there tomorrow night. We all will. Nothing can happen when we’re all there to look after you.”
I hope he’s right, but I can’t shake the feeling that things aren’t going to be that simple.
Chapter Ten
Eli
Eden is still sleeping soundly in my arms. I called Asher once she crashed out last night, after round two in bed, and they came back and slept on the couches so as not to wake her.
Asher’s text on the way back from the rehearsal yesterday took me by surprise, but I wasn’t going to argue about getting one last night alone with Eden. He’d found out our Goddess had fantasised about my uniform so he’d asked me to wear it for her. He’d said she needed a good surprise after that terrible one. She’d just found out her first gig was to be a warm up act for Hunter’s band and she was incredibly angry about that. He knew it would take a surprise to break her out of the funk this news had put her in.
I’d already decided I was coming with her tonight, along with Logan. Asher had to head back home today but I’d called in another couple vacation days so I could stick around. The whole thing with the Goddess of Destruction who had unfinished business with Eden made me nervous about leaving her.
She sighs in her sleep and I untangle myself on hearing low talking in the other room. Asher and Logan, I expect. I find out it’s Asher and Nick. They stop talking until I close the door behind me.
“Could you put on a shirt, maybe?” Nick teases, acting as if he’s put out that I’m in my underwear.
I snort. “You walk around naked at this time in the morning so don’t even start.”
“Fine. Walk around half naked. Don’t come crying to me if my dick gets hard.”
It’s a joke, kind of. I think. I shake my head and Asher rolls his eyes at me.
“He’s been like this all morning. Ignore it. He has sex on the brain,” Asher says.
“Well, I missed out on a whole day with Eden.” Nick says, his gaze a little on the salacious side, but not quite enough to make me run to put clothes on.
“So do we have a plan yet for the returning Goddess?” I get straight to the point. It feels like there’s been so much going on that we keep forgetting about the big important threat that’s lurking.
“Not quite yet,” Asher says. He still seems a little different. As if something’s on his mind.
“We need to make a list of people she’s going to be coming into contact with. The way all of this happened, the way it was planned, the Goddess knows what’s going on in Eden’s life. She’ll find a way back in that we should be able to predict.”
Asher nods slowly. “That makes a lot of sense, actually. Logan has her schedule. He’ll be able to compile a list from that. He should be back soon.”
We have a starting point, finally. “Okay. Good. Let’s order breakfast.”
“Nick already did,” Asher tells me. “It should be here any second.”
“How’s Elise?” I ask as I remember Nick mentioning taking the girl to rehab.
He shrugs, his expression tightening. “She’s got a long road ahead. Her sister drove her to rehab this morning.”
“Her sister?”
Nick sighs. “I’m not proud of my past. Tanya was a one night stand. She got a little stalkerish.”
I’m reminded of the underwear in his apartment. Not sure it’s the right time to bring it up, but I doubt there’s ever going to be a good time for that kind of conversation so I decide to ask.
“How stalkerish? Would she break in to your apartment?”
He frowned at me. “Why are you...Wait. You were in my apartment, right? What makes you think Tanya broke in?”
Asher frowns at me, but I choose to ignore it. I need to know. “Someone’s been living there. There was underwear on the floor, make-up scattered around the bathroom sink. Wom
en’s clothes in a closet.”
“You’re serious,” Nick says, blowing out a breath. “Holy shit. Well, now I’m going to have to go see it for myself.”
Asher raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t go home last night?”
“Elise couldn’t settle at Tanya’s place. She freaked out every time I said I should go.” He winces. “I really hope it wasn’t to protect Tanya. Fuck.” He gets up. “I need to go. She’s probably cleared everything out by now, but I’m going to have to secure the apartment so it can’t happen again.”
He leaves in a hurry. Breakfast arrives a few seconds later, and it’s way too much for just the two of us. Asher smiles wryly as he picks up a slice of crispy bacon. “Let’s hope Eden’s up soon.”
Chapter Eleven
Nick
I try to ignore the anger that burns through me at the thought of Tanya crashing in my apartment, probably waiting for me to walk through the door so she could make a move, thinking all she had to do was to tempt me with sexy underwear. All that shit with the dark forces Goddess had made things a little murky, but when that was cleared up I’d thought I knew where I stood with her.
Clearly, she couldn’t do ‘just friends’. I should have stuck with my gut instincts on that.
I shouldn’t have let my worry over Elise override my common sense. That’s what had screwed me over this time. I couldn’t let it happen again. I just hoped to hell Tanya had better sense than to make a detour on the way to rehab with her sister. Covering up her tracks had been important enough to drag Elise into her bullshit when she should only be concentrating on recovering from everything she’d just been through. I couldn’t count out the idea that she’d ignore her sister’s safety to come back to my place and erase any trace that she’d been there.
I march into the alley to get to the back entrance. She had to have gotten in via the night club. I should seal off those elevator doors. They facilitated my laziness, but they’d always been a bit of a security risk. At least one member of staff had a key they could let any old stranger use.
“Fuck.” I didn’t need this. I didn’t need to know that I had another trust issue with my staff. That was all kinds of fucked up. Please don’t let it be one of the girls I just promoted. I can’t go through the hiring bullshit again.
I got into my apartment the long way. It was tedious, but secure. I walked off the elevator and hit the lights. The blinds were all drawn and the living room slash kitchen was as I’d left it. The guys had been tidy when they’d stayed over. I’d put my bets on Asher for being the clean freak. He was polite enough that leaving a mess in someone else’s place would bother the shit out of him.
I look around carefully before marching to the bathroom and slinging open the door.
It’s tidier than I left it, aside from the mess of make-up scattered on the counter next to the sink. Rage builds as I look it over. I didn’t think Eli was lying, but seeing it makes it worse. I pick up the black-cased lipstick, uncapping it to glance at the color. Just to make sure it’s not Eden’s from the last time she was here. The pale pink shade isn’t her kind of thing. I throw it into the sink and stomp toward my bedroom. I stop at the door, suddenly afraid of what I might find.
It can’t be worse than the lipstick. That told me someone’s been making themselves at home. Anything else is just further evidence. Turns out, I’m wrong.
I push open the door and know immediately that this underwear doesn’t belong to Tanya. The red satin seems like her kind of choice, but the bra and panties are too small to belong to her. I feel queasy as I open my closet. I almost don’t want to look.
But I have to. I need to know.
The items hanging in front of my own are all things I’ve seen before. A little black dress that has seen better days. A royal blue T-shirt with a faded band logo emblazoned on the front. A tight-fitting hoody with holes in the arm seams and a tear in the hood. There are others. Too many.
I close the door. Tanya hasn’t been staying here. Elise has.
Chapter Twelve
Eden
I awaken alone with a heavy sense of foreboding. My dreams were filled with memories of the past. Hunter. Logan. Falling for my ex hard and secretly longing for my bodyguard at the same time. Guilt over having those feelings for them both. Time after time, making decisions that kept me loyal to Hunter. Decisions that crushed my spirit. That forced me onto anti-depressants.
I ran from them both when it all crashed and burned. If I hadn’t I might never have become a Goddess of Love. Now it’s time to stop running. Logan is one of mine, and Hunter is my past. Confronting him is overdue. Even if the thought of it cuts me up inside.
Getting up, I hit the bathroom before I head into the lounge where my men are waiting. I can hear them talking. They’re worried about me, about the return of the Goddess who tried to take Logan from me. I walk into the room in my chemise and all eyes are on me in an instant.
“Hey,” I say, my voice stretched as thin as my nerves.
“Eden, are you okay?” Asher’s concern as he moves toward me is sweet, but I wish he wouldn’t worry so much.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “Just still kind of tired. And hungry. When’s breakfast?”
“You slept through breakfast,” Logan tells me. “It’s almost one.”
“Shit. Oh, well. A girl needs her beauty sleep.”
“A Goddess doesn’t,” Nick says. “Get any more and you’ll be out of my league.”
I laugh at his bad joke. Then I realise he’s here. “How’s Elise?”
His expression sours. “Don’t ask.”
“Long story,” Asher warns me.
I decide it’s too early for long stories so I don’t insist on hearing this one. They can fill me in later. When the anxiety from this torturous day has rendered me incapable of doing much more than listening. “Has anyone ordered lunch then?”
“We were waiting for you to get up.” Logan gets to his feet and moves toward the phone. “Breakfast, or lunch?”
“Breakfast,” I say, feeling my face heat a little at revealing to everyone that he pretty much never needs to ask me what specific foods I want. I’m predictable with that stuff. They know that. Right?
“I’m stealing some of her pancakes,” Nick says, taking my hand and dragging me over to sit on the couch between him and Asher.
“I actually need to leave, I’m just waiting for the car to come around,” Asher tells me.
Damn. It’s so soon. I feel as if I’ve barely spent any time with him. I hold off from uttering my disappointment out loud. I know he doesn’t take being apart very well. Then I remember, it’s not going to be so long this time. “I’ll be back in Rapture tomorrow night.”
Even if Amy decides to try and pull another fast one, I’ll be heading back to my sleepy home town to help Logan organise things for Diana’s funeral. I need to know what happened with Blake’s arrangements too. It’s not going to be a happy time for either of us, but we’ll help each other through it.
Asher kisses me briefly before getting to his feet. “Okay. I’ll see you all soon.”
He leaves and I snuggle into Nick’s warmth, curling my legs under me and laying my head on his shoulder. He hugs me in close and I could almost just sleep again.
“Long day already?” He sounds amused.
I mumble into his chest and he just laughs.
“It’s okay, you can sleep if you need to. I’ll take care of your breakfast for you.”
I pull away. “Those pancakes and bacon are mine, so hands off, Levine.”
Logan’s laughter draws my attention his way. He shakes his head. “Never get between Eden and pancakes. Not if you want to keep all your fingers.”
My men tease me over this inflammatory remark, but it doesn’t put me off my meal when it finally arrives. It’s going to be all I eat until after the performance tonight, so the large maple syrup covered stack and heaping helping of crispy bacon is all mine. I never consciously skip a meal, exactly, but I d
o delay one any time I’m performing. I don’t always get anxious, but I figured out early on that when I do it’s so much worse on a full stomach. I’ve learned to eat after the event that might cause my attack of nerves to avoid the problem.
I’m already nervous for tonight. I don’t need anything else compounding the problem.
“Do you need anything specific for tonight?” Logan asks while we eat.
I suddenly remember I don’t have anything I haven’t been photographed in already. If I go to the gig in something I’ve already worn I’ll get dinged on it by Amy and the media. I ponder over how much I really care. Considering Amy lied to me about tonight, I shouldn’t give a fuck. Realising I haven’t exactly been careful with the clothes I brought poses a bit of a problem though.
“I don’t think so.” I shrug as I drizzle more syrup on my food. To hell with it. There will be something wearable left in what I’ve brought. I’ll look after I’ve eaten.
Chapter Thirteen
Logan
Tonight is taking its toll on Eden before it even begins. My plan to keep her as far away from Hunter as possible isn’t going to work and it’s time I admitted that. The Snake Pit isn’t big enough for the both of them. There’s no way to keep them from crossing paths, and I’m not sure that’s really what Eden wants anyway. She’s still hurting from what he did to her. It doesn’t mean she still has any feelings for him.
She models a new dress for us while she’s getting ready, before deciding it’s too nice to ruin. The lighting always makes the band sweat. Silky materials are a bad choice under those conditions.
“Damn,” she mutters, going back into the bedroom to look for something else.
She’ll look incredible in whatever she winds up wearing. It’s not like her to care so much, but I know this isn’t really about clothes. She’s nervous about tonight. Whether that’s because of Hunter, or she’s just freaking out over putting her toes back in the water after her absence, I’m not sure. All I know is she doesn’t really care about finding the perfect outfit. She’s just trying to keep her thoughts busy with the mundane, to keep a lid on her emotions.
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