Wicked Garden

by Lorelei James

  “The price of being semi-famous.”

  “Price,” he scoffed. “My agent, the promoters, the tour director, the radio stations, the assorted tribes, the fans; they all see me as a commodity. Dollar signs. A brand. It gets old.”

  Eden didn’t say anything.

  Jon grimaced. “Listen to me. I have everything I ever dreamed of as a poor kid on the rez and I’m complaining? You probably think I’m a self-indulgent prick, eh?”

  “No, I think you need a friend.”

  “Thanks. You are a damn good friend, Eden, and I missed you.” He kissed her knuckles again before releasing her hand. “But we’re still friends with bennies, right? Because I’m about a quart low on sweet lovin’.”

  What kind of woman even considers a round of no-strings-sex with one guy mere hours after screwing another one?

  The answer was a stab in her gut, the kind of woman who raised you. You’re just like your mother.

  “Eden?”

  She smiled tightly. “The truth is, I’m sort of seeing someone.”

  “Anyone I know?”

  “No.”

  “Is it serious?”

  Eden shrugged.

  “Doesn’t matter. I still wanna hang out with you while I’m here.” Jon gave her a shrewd look. “Tell you what. Bring him along tomorrow night. I’ll check him out to see if he’s good enough for my best girl.”

  And wouldn’t that be an awkward situation? Billy, meet Johnny. Johnny and I play naked Indian poke-her whenever he rolls into town. Johnny, meet Billy. Billy is here to fuck up my life on a professional level, but that doesn’t matter because I let him fuck me any other way he pleases.

  “What’s goin’ on in that pretty head of yours?” Jon murmured.

  “Nothing. Just wondering if I should pick you up at Jim and Cindy’s tomorrow night?”

  “Nah. Bebe and Stephie are both sick so I’m not staying with them. I’m crashing at Jim’s old condo.”

  Eden frowned. Something about that seemed familiar.

  “I’ll meet you. Silver Star at seven?”

  “Deal.”

  “You dressing up full-on bad boy rock star?” Eden asked slyly.

  “Nope. I’m sticking with the poor Indian look. So don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize me.”

  “Right, dollface,” Eden repeated his oft-used term of endearment. “You could wear sackcloth and ashes and you’d still be the hottest guy in the room and you damn well know it.”

  “Now who’s the flatterer?”

  Micah and Thomas burst in, dribbling a basketball, creating chaos and Eden was grateful for the diversion.

  Chapter Nine

  Billy’s workday was a lost cause.

  His focus centered around reliving Eden’s husky moans of delight as he slid in and out of her slick feminine heat, the satisfying weight of her lissome body wrapped around his, the remembrance of her sweet and hot kisses. Occasionally he’d catch a whiff of her scent on his skin and he’d go as hard as his protractor.

  Before he’d left Bob’s office, he’d grudgingly grabbed the files concerning the community center. The logical thing would be to hole up and decide on a course of action for the city council.

  Sometimes logic was highly overrated.

  Almost on autopilot, Billy drove to the community center. He justified the burning need to see her because they had business to discuss, preferably in a room without a bed.

  He winced. That hadn’t seemed to matter a few hours ago when he’d taken her hard and fast against the front door.

  No regrets, but there hadn’t been any finesse either.

  Her Jeep was parked in its usual spot and he wasn’t surprised she was working late. Briefcase in hand, he passed by the gym, stopping to observe a raucous basketball game. The men appeared to be his age, but that didn’t stop the cheap shots or the adolescent taunts. After a nasty elbow jab, in the next play, the jabber found himself facedown on the court courtesy of the jabbee.

  Billy squinted at the kid leaning against the back wall. Was that Thomas? He waved.

  But Thomas didn’t wave back. A stricken look crossed the kid’s face and he disappeared beneath the wooden bleachers.

  Dammit. According to Eden, Thomas wasn’t supposed to be here this time of night. Had he snuck in again? It made Billy absolutely sick to think the kid had to figure out a way to avoid getting a beating on a regular basis. He suspected Eden’s bond with Thomas was partially because she’d been in that same “duck and run” family situation. Billy’s childhood hadn’t been ideal, but physical violence hadn’t been an issue. So did he keep Thomas’s secret so the kid would be safe tonight? Or did Billy tell Eden he’d spied her young friend hiding out again?

  The empty corridors were quiet, save for the far-off mechanical whine of a vacuum cleaner and the shuffle of his hard soled dress shoes on the marble floor. Light shone through the half-closed blinds in Eden’s office.

  He knocked and heard a brusque, “Come in.”

  Billy hesitated on the threshold. “Am I interrupting?”

  “Would it matter?”

  “No.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  A deliberate pause. “Is this a matter concerning the center?”

  Concerning the center. No surprise she wouldn’t discuss their mind-scrambling sex that’d ruined him for any other woman. “Actually, yes, I do have some questions.” He slid into the chair opposite her desk and opened his briefcase, shuffling through the papers until he found the one he needed. “My research shows nothing’s been done with the electrical system since the city took over this building twenty-five years ago?”

  “We’ve hired an electrician to put in additional outlets or fix some minor glitch, but as far as major rework? Not in the five years I’ve been in charge. Why?”

  “Seems the city only did minimal changes back then,” he said, scanning his notes.

  “Didn’t it pass inspection?”

  “Yes, but neither the city nor the contractor kept a detailed list of what’d been updated. My understanding is that this building was a temporary solution, so they only made the most rudimentary updates.”

  “Which means…?” Eden looked at him expectantly.

  “A whole different set of unforeseen problems with wiring codes.”

  “I don’t understand. How can you assume the wiring is faulty if you can’t see it?”

  Billy snapped the briefcase shut, using it as a lap desk. “That’s the crux of the problem. The only way we can determine whether the wiring is coated with asbestos is to rip out all the walls. And if we rip out all the walls…”

  “The city might as well rip out everything and start from scratch.” Her glance darted to the fire alarm across the room. “Is there a danger of an electrical fire?”

  “Certainly it’s a possibility.”

  Eden mulled it over. “What the hell else can go wrong?”

  The bitterness in her tone didn’t surprise him. If his livelihood were at stake he imagined he’d be testy, too. “The family who owns the land has no interest in buying the building. It’s a tricky situation when the landowner and the building owner aren’t the same party, but I’ve seen this type of situation before—where one party puts land in a trust and another party builds on it in the guise of civic improvement.”

  “Have you spoken with the landowners?”

  “No. It seemed irrelevant. Why?”

  Eden’s shrug was nonchalant, yet her fingers folded a neon post-it-note as if she was practicing origami. “Rumor has it if the city’s findings are against improving the center, and they level the building, the landowners will use the lot and the empty one directly behind us to construct a fitness center that’d be in direct competition with the city’s new digs.”

  Billy smiled, even if it felt a bit grim. “No love lost, huh?”

  “No. I’m surprised the land trust agreement hasn’t been challenged in court. Not only have the co
uncil members been bickering among themselves about this situation for years, the family owning the land has been stuck dealing with the bureaucracy.”

  “Have the landowners asked you to get involved if they do build the new facility?”

  “Probably they won’t, since I am a city employee. They’ll assume I have a job.” She sighed. “I hate politics. My main concern, my only concern, has been how this will affect the kids.”

  Devoted to others needs before her own—that was Eden to the core. He paused to gather his thoughts in the pretext of double-checking his notes. When he glanced up, she was rubbing her temple. “You okay?”

  “Makes my head hurt thinking about this stuff.”

  “I’m not trying to give you a headache, Eden. I’m just trying to do my job.”

  A second passed. Then two. If this were a normal relationship, Billy supposed he’d cross the room, gather her in his arms and offer reassurances. So why was his dumb ass still glued to this cheap chair? Why were his hands still gripping his hard leather briefcase instead of her soft curves? He scooted forward, determined to prove this “thing” happening between them could be permanent and he was finally man enough to stand up for what he wanted: her.

  But it wasn’t her voice that stopped him cold; it was her utter look of defeat. “So what do we do now?”

  “Have you eaten?”

  “I’m not hungry. I had a late lunch.”

  Their gazes locked. “I know. I was there, remember?”

  Eden opened her mouth then snapped it shut.

  “Can we talk about our lunch date today?”

  “No.” She wheeled back and stood, snatching her keys from her desk. “Did I answer all of your questions? Because I—”

  Billy was next to her before she could retreat. “Don’t do this, Eden. Don’t pretend nothing changed between us and we’re just opposing sides in a business disagreement.”

  “What do you want me to do? Ignore it?”

  “Yes.” Billy tilted her chin up. “Put it aside. Just for tonight. Be with me. Let me come home with you.”

  Her eyes darkened with reproach as he leaned close enough to kiss her. “Not here—”

  “Then invite me over. Please.” He swept a tangled strand of hair from the corner of her mouth. “I want to be with you.”

  Eden twirled her car keys on her index finger. “Who the hell am I kidding? I want to be with you too. Let me lock up.”

  “While you’re locking up, I think we should look for Thomas. I thought I saw him in the gym.”

  “That little sneak. He knows he’s not supposed to be here this late. I’ll check his usual hiding spots and meet you at my house.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “No. Actually it’d be better if you left. He might stay hidden if he sees you.”

  “Be careful.”

  Chapter Ten

  Eden didn’t find Thomas, but she’d managed to get filthy while looking. She jumped in the shower and didn’t bother getting dressed afterward. No sense pretending they wouldn’t be naked together within minutes anyway.

  Carnal images of red-hot pleasure ran through her head, heating her blood so the cool water practically sizzled on her naked skin. She imagined the prickle of Billy’s beard rubbing between her thighs. His rough fingertips trailing over every dip and swell of her body. His clever mouth doing all sorts of clever things.

  Stop. If her thoughts traveled that route, she’d melt into a puddle right there on the bath mat. She tightened the belt on her robe and ventured downstairs. Billy was gazing out the living room window.

  “Nice neighborhood.”

  “Thanks.”

  “This is a great house. How long have you lived here?”

  Eden pressed her face into the middle of his back, wrapping her arms low on his hips. She inhaled. Mmm. The scent drifting from him ought to be classified as dangerous because it certainly made her reckless. “Did you really come over so we could talk about real estate?”

  “No.”

  “The romp this afternoon wasn’t enough?”

  “If I say no will you think I’m a sex fiend?”

  She laughed. “No. I’ll chalk it up to ten years of wondering how it’d be between us becoming reality. We’d be stupid not to explore every down and dirty sexy fantasy we denied ourselves now that we have the chance.”

  His back snapped straight. “That’s what it boils down to? This is just about sex?”

  “For tonight it is.” She grabbed his shoulders from behind, pulling him down so her teeth could nip his earlobe. “I want you.”

  Billy faced her. “Eden—”

  “Let me have you.” She smoothed her hands up the crisp navy cotton of his shirt. “It’s a damn shame I haven’t taken my time undressing you.”

  “We have all the time in the world. Let’s take it upstairs.”

  “No. Here.” She closed the blinds. By the time Eden’s fingers reached the last pearly button near his groin, she saw Billy was having difficulty breathing. She slowly parted the halves of the shirt, gliding her soft hands over the breadth of his chest. So solid. So rough and silky at the same time.

  Her lips followed the path her fingers started. She slipped the shirt off his shoulders, down his muscular biceps and forearms until it fluttered to the floor. “You don’t spend all your time behind a desk.” She seeped her senses in his scent, laundry soap, a hint of aftershave and the dark manly musk of his skin. Her tongue flicked the flat coppery disk of his nipple.

  Billy groaned.

  So she did it again. And again. Sucking both sides. Worrying the nubs with her teeth.

  His groan was louder. Primal.

  She skimmed her fingertips from his Adam’s apple to his navel, loving how his belly muscles undulated beneath her touch.

  “Eden. Baby.”

  “Ssh. No talking.” Eden kissed his stomach. She dipped her tongue into his belly button and drew big, wet circles progressively lower. She licked the faint line of blond hair pointing to her target.

  “This looks promising.” She unbuttoned his pants to reveal the ultimate precision engineering tool.

  Oh yeah. Eden knew just how to fine-tune this bad boy. She didn’t tease. She sucked his cock into the wet heat of her mouth until the plump tip poked the back of her throat.

  “Jesus.” He latched onto her head and threaded his hands through her hair.

  “Mmm,” was all she managed, lost in the slick sensation of velvety male hardness sliding across her lips, looking up, seeing the raw need in his eyes. She let the end of her tongue zigzag lazily from his scrotum to his glans, licking at the tip of his cock.

  “That’s so good. Woman, you’re killing me.”

  Then she slipped her hand between his thighs to massage his balls, pressing her thumb into the strip of skin right behind the taut sac. She loved everything about this intimacy. The musky male way he smelled. His clean, salty taste. The feel of the hardest part of him stretching her lips and brushing the roof of her mouth. His tiny shudders when she lapped the sweet spot below his cockhead and at the sweet fluid coating the slit.

  “You want to come fast or slow?”

  “Ah. Fast. Christ. Please.”

  Eden circled her hand around the base of his shaft and jacked