“God, Eden, I love how wet I make you.”
Eden groaned in response, her hips pushing against his finger and thumb that was now circling her clit. She could feel his erection against her thigh and she wanted it in her. Her hands that had remained on his shoulders now moved to his hair and she pulled him toward her.
Knowing exactly what she needed, he moved up her body, grabbing her hands from his hair and pinning them above her head with one hand. His other hand was still between her legs, now with two fingers pushed inside her, stretching her out, but he took them out and she felt him release his erection and hold it against her wet lips.
“I’m not going to be gentle, Eden. I’m going to take you. You’re mine. Remember that.” Eden pushed her hips toward him, feeling his hard erection graze her lips, letting her body agree with him. “Say it.”
It was Eden’s turn to give him what he wanted. “I’m yours, Sebastian.” And with that, he slammed into her and she cried out in satisfaction.
With one hand holding her wrists together, his other hand now held her around her hip, keeping her still as he pounded into her over and over again. She could feel the tension building up deep inside her, and as much as she wished he would release her hands so she could set the pace, she didn’t want him to let her go. She had no control over how fast or hard he pushed into her. His thrusting was relentless and Eden could feel the slow tickle that was growing deep in her belly start to move, spreading through her sex and down her thighs. Sensing she was close, Sebastian grabbed her left thigh, pulling it up so her knee was almost against her chest.
“Not yet, baby, I want you to come with me,” he said, looking her straight in the eyes. He knew there was little she could do about it, but she tried to quell the spreading heat, trying to hold out for him until he was ready.
“Oh God, Sebastian, I can’t. It’s too much, I can’t wait.” She gasped. The extra depth he created inside by lifting her knee was pushing her to the edge. Any second it would be too late. Sebastian quickened his pace now, thrusting into her with such force that Eden could feel the leather seat beneath her back and backside rubbing against her, making her skin start to burn. She brought her right knee up quickly, and that one movement was all they both needed.
Eden felt her orgasm burst suddenly, spreading through her body in a wave, moving up to her neck and down to reach her toes. She bucked under him and at the same time she could feel him emptying himself into her, over and over, their bodies writhing as one.
When they stopped moving, he released her hands, slumping over her, pressing his face into her neck, his breathing hard and fast. Finally, she was able to run her fingers through his hair again. She moved her legs just slightly so she could wrap her ankles together behind his back, pulling him into her one last time, causing them both to shiver.
“Eden, I can’t get enough of you,” she heard him whisper into her hair. He moved his head so he was looking down at her. “I need you to know that. You’re mine, Eden. Every part of you is mine.”
“I do, I am. Believe me, I am.” Eden closed her eyes as he bent down and brushed his lips against her cheek and along her chin. “Sebastian,” she murmured. How could he be so rough and so gentle at the same time with her? It was maddening and she knew there was nothing she could do about how much she wanted him.
Considering the state of her dress, Eden tried to convince Sebastian to take her to her apartment first so she could pick up a change of clothes. It was only Friday, and if the past few weekends were anything to go by, she wouldn’t be out of Sebastian’s sight more than a few minutes until Monday morning when they both had to face reality and work.
“Fine, but make it fast. We have things to discuss, not least your last text, young lady.” Sebastian’s tone was teasing but with a hint of cold beneath it. Eden knew she was going to have to reveal to him what had happened with her parents.
Upstairs in her bedroom, she quickly changed her dress, her old one now ruined, and threw a few outfits in an overnight bag. She felt her phone vibrate and her good mood that Sebastian had restored in the car disappeared. It was Joachim. Deciding to face it head-on, she picked up.
“Hi! Finally, God, you’re so hard to get hold of these days, Eden.” Joachim’s voice was full of the usual good vibes he always seemed to carry around, but she could hear that he was nervous.
“I’m busy, Joachim, what’s up?”
“Look, your mom called me. She’s freaking out about some fight you guys had today. She says you’re not responding to her text and she just wanted me to check up on you.”
“I don’t need you to check up on me. I’m a big girl and I really don’t need you running messages between me and my mother.” Eden couldn’t remember ever having spoken to Joachim with such severity, and by his silence, she knew he was as surprised as she was by her tone.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Eden. I just wanted to see that you were okay. Didn’t mean to stick my nose in where it’s not wanted.”
“Maybe you should have thought about that before you went and told my parents about Sebastian.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! Was that some big secret?” Joachim’s voice was full of sarcasm suddenly.
“No, of course not. I just had no idea you were so close to my parents.”
“Look, my parents were having Sunday dinner with them last week and I went down to spend time with my family. It was really nice to see your parents. They would really like it if you visited them more, you know. Everyone would.”
Eden bit her lip to stop herself from swearing at him. “Look, I’ve got to go. Just forget it.”
“Wait, Eden, I can tell you’re mad at me. Have lunch with me, please, next week? Come on, you’ve been dodging me for weeks now.”
Eden had a pang of guilt. What if Joachim didn’t know what their parents had planned? What if she was simply pushing him away out of anger toward them? Also considering the amount of texts and missed calls she received from him, she could see that he wasn’t going to stop any time soon.
“Alright, Tuesday, can you meet me at work? I only get half an hour.”
“Of course, it’s a date!” he laughed, his jovial tone returning.
“No. It’s not a date.” With that, she hung up, grabbed her bag, and looked up to see Sebastian standing in the doorframe, glaring at her. Eden walked up to him, feeling sheepish about him overhearing the conversation, even though she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m ready, sorry I took so long. I got a phone call.”
“I’m rather intrigued as to how Joachim Benedict knows more about what happened between you and your parents than I do. Aren’t you?”
Eden tried to walk past him, but he continued to block the door. “Please let me through, Sebastian.” Slowly, he moved to the side, letting her past, and followed her to the apartment door. “Do you still even want me to spend the night at your place?” she blurted out, turning to face him. She was sick of everyone being mad at her, expecting her to behave in a certain way.
Sebastian walked up to her until they were almost touching, her breasts just grazing his white shirt. He slowly leaned down and whispered in her ear with a voice that matched his icy glare. “I always want you, Eden. You seem to not be able to remember that.”
The drive back to Sebastian’s apartment was as arctic as the ride down in the elevator. Eden smoothed her hand across the leather seat, remembering what had happened less than an hour ago. How could things swing from hot to cold so quickly? Sebastian looked out the window, seemingly ignoring her. Finally, she couldn’t hold out anymore and she reached her hand across the gulf between them and hooked her pinky into his.
“Please, Seb.” He didn’t turn to face her, but carefully entwined the rest of his fingers with hers. Eden gazed at their entwined fingers. Despite all the things Sebastian said to her, she realized that she still had a hard time trusting his actions more than his words. Sebastian had never done anything to hurt her. Every gesture, every move he made with her
showed her how much he wanted her, not just her body but her soul. But one angry glare was enough to wipe all that away, leaving her feeling exposed and lonely. The thought of it made her shudder, and for a moment, the black pit in her stomach that she had walked around with for years reopened.
What if this was all to end? Could she survive without Sebastian by her side? The confidence she felt, not just sexually, but overall, made her feel alive and, more importantly, worthwhile. Did those feelings only exist because of Sebastian? Could he take them away from her as quickly as he had helped them flourish? She pushed the thought out of her head, closed her eyes, and focused on the gentle caresses that Sebastian applied between her knuckles.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As soon as they were in the apartment, she knew Sebastian would want answers and she didn’t blame him. If some ex-girlfriend of his knew about the any of the many secrets Sebastian carried, she knew she would be livid. Throwing her bag next to the black sofa, she glanced at Sebastian, who was opening a bottle of white wine.
“My mother called Joachim. Apparently, he’s been talking to them about me, which is odd considering how little I’ve seen him.”
“I know.” Sebastian was not one to apologize and Eden knew that was the best she was going to get out of him.
“I didn’t thank you for getting me this afternoon. I don’t think I would have made it home.”
Sebastian looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
“My parents know about us. Joachim told them. But that’s not what upset me. They don’t want me to see you anymore.”
Sebastian smiled as he lowered his glass. “Well, I’ve never been one to impress the parents.”
Eden wished she could laugh with him, but she could still hear her parents’ demands in her head.
“They don’t want me to be with you because they want me to be with Joachim.”
Sebastian’s smile quickly fell. She crossed the room now and sat on the bar stool as she elaborated on what had happened over brunch, finally ending with her panic attack in the parking lot.
“What happened after your attack at St. Leonard’s, Eden?” Sebastian had clearly picked up on the fact that her parents held her responsible for that night. “I want to know exactly what happened after Joachim opened the door to that room.”
“Why? What’s that got to do with this?” Eden had relived those moments so often, she hated going over them. Sebastian knew that and she knew he must have good reason for him to ask her to do so.
“Just tell me what happened.”
Eden started talking, explaining how Joachim had suddenly been pulling the men off her, dragged her jeans back on her, and carried her downstairs. The party had died down at that point and in the mix of drunk students leaving, no one had paid any attention to a half-naked drugged out girl clinging onto Joachim. He had his car there and drove her back to her dorm room and tried to put her to bed. An hour later, she had started vomiting so he took her to the ER, where her stomach was pumped and she was sent home.
Sebastian stopped her there. “So nobody reported it? Joachim didn’t call the police? The hospital didn’t make a report as to the drugs in your system?”
“I don’t really know. I was still totally out of it and I only know that Joachim was worried I would get in trouble if they found drugs in my system, so he asked the ER doctor not to call the cops and just told them I’d had too much to drink. I don’t really remember the rest.”
Joachim had left her tucked into bed in the dorm room. When she woke up the next day, she started having panic attacks and eventually went to the student medical clinic three days later. She had partial memories of what had happened and more were coming back as the week went on. The attending doctor gave her a prescription for sleeping pills, thinking she was just another over anxious junior who was getting messed up from studying too much. Eden didn’t bother to correct him.
Eventually, she tried to swallow the whole bottle. Her roommates found her and again she was taken to the ER, but this time, the police were called and it was classed as an attempted suicide, which it was, as if there could have been any doubt about what she was trying to do. Her college advisor sent her home and told her to take time off. Eden never went back.
“What happened when you got home? To Elmbridge? Did your parents report the attack then?”
“No, it never got that far. Joachim helped me pack up my dorm room and drove me home. My parents were devastated. Joachim told them what happened at the party. I couldn’t face doing it myself. I couldn’t describe to my father what had happened. Anyway, it didn’t go down well. My father was furious with me, not just for the suicide attempt, but also for getting myself into that ‘situation,’ as he likes to call it. My mom was a bit better, but she always takes his side, so she wasn’t much help to me. It was horrible, really. I was going to therapy three times a week and then I was coming home to my parents telling me how embarrassing the whole thing was and how I needed to be more careful next time. Finally, Dr. Shepherd arranged a private appointment with just them. I don’t know what exactly he told them, but after that they stopped bringing it up and then they told me I’d have access to my trust fund if I could get back to college. I refused to go back to St. Leonard’s, so I applied for the exchange program.”
“One last question and then I promise I won’t bring it up again.”
“Okay. I’m just so tired suddenly, Seb. It’s been such a bad day.”
“Do you know the names of the guys that did this to you?”
“Eric Taylor, Damien Tine, Robert Elin, and Jonathan Young.” The names rolled off her tongue without a second’s hesitation. While she’d tried so hard to move on from that night, she certainly wasn’t going to ever forget those names. “Now you tell me why that matters.”
“Oh Eden, I thought you said you were tired?” Sebastian had come around the kitchen island and ran his fingers up her arm. He pushed open her knees and stood between them, slowly placing one hand on each of her bare legs, right above her knees. She could feel his thumbs gently rubbing little circles into her legs.
“Sebastian, don’t distract me!” Eden knew what he was doing and she tried to focus on the question she wanted him to answer.
“It’s been a very long day, darling. I think I should help you get into bed.” Sebastian’s voice had become low and rough. As he spoke, he slowly, almost imperceptibly moved his hands up her legs, pushing the skirt hem higher and higher until her panties were almost visible. Eden slowly moaned and bit her lip as Sebastian hooked one finger into the seam of her panties and gently tugged. “Hmm,” he murmured, “all this beautiful lingerie, such a waste.”
Eden looked down at the black panties she had changed into at her apartment. “What do you mean a waste...” She gasped as he suddenly lifted her by the waist and ripped the fragile lace off her, dropping them onto the floor behind him.
“Now, do you want your bra to suffer the same fate or do you want to take it off yourself?” Sebastian’s voice was growly and tough, but she knew he was teasing and it drove her wild.
“I think as you learned with my text this morning, Mr. Stone, two can play at that game.” She slipped off the counter and out of his arms, moving one step at a time as she unbuttoned the top of her dress.
She made sure the coffee table was between them before she let the dress hang open, exposing the balcony style black lace bra that had matched the panties. “The only way the bra’s coming off is if you can catch me.” Without a second’s notice, Sebastian lunged across the room toward her, hopping over the coffee table to get to her. Eden shrieked and ran around the couch, aiming for the bedroom, unsure if she would make it. He got to her just as she reached the bed, spinning her around to face him. She laughed when she saw the expression on his face—a mix of lust and irritation, exactly what she had wanted.
“Don’t run from me, Eden, or I might have to tie you up,” he threatened in the same low voice. He kissed her neck as he pushed the dres
s off her arms and dropped it on the bed. His hands swiftly moved up her back to unhook the bra. “I won’t ruin this today. Your dress, on the other hand…” He reached behind her and picked up the thin silk dress, wrapping it around his hand.
Eden looked down at her completely naked body and then at Sebastian, still fully clothed.
“You wouldn’t dare tie me up, Sebastian,” she whispered. Part of her desperately wanted him to, but she also was afraid of what that would mean. Letting him hold her hands above her head was one thing. In so doing, Sebastian was also restricted by having to pin her down. If he tied her up, he would have complete access to her body, with no hindrance.
“Are you challenging me, Miss Maxwell?” Eden realized she either had to stop him now or it would be too late. She kept silent and gently leaned against him. Her forehead was on his chest and she was slightly panting at the thought of what was about to happen. He took it as a sign of acceptance and pulled her hands around to the front of her waist. He wrapped the material around her wrists, but didn’t knot it. Sebastian bent down and lifted her into his arms. He walked to the side of the bed and put her down on the mattress so she lay diagonally across it, lifting her arms until they were above her head. Only then did he tie the dress together, after wrapping it around the bedpost.
Eden pulled at her wrists, surprised at how little she could move them. Sebastian looked down at her, running his fingers down the side of her face before settling them on her lips. She kissed the pads of them. The tension in the room had changed dramatically. Gone was the playfulness between them after the chasing game. She stared up at Sebastian, waiting for his next move. He slowly walked to the end of the bed and removed his shoes, but nothing else.
“I want to see you too, Seb.” She spoke finally, breaking the silence.
Trusting Stone Page 17
