“Coffee?” he murmured.
“No. I’m too wired the way it is.”
“Why?”
“Partially because you’ve made the decision regarding the center and you’re so damn good at hiding it. Partially because I’m anxious to be with you all sweaty and naked in the dark.”
He chuckled. “Soon. But I have a surprise for you first, so why don’t you make yourself comfortable in the living room?”
She spun around and placed a soapy hand over his heart. “Billy, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“I know. I wanted to.” He’d meant to say something witty, but the seriousness in those tawny depths changed his mind. “I can’t think for wanting you. Just you.” His mouth met hers in a sweet, slow, bone-melting kiss. “Go sit down before I forget my own damn name.”
She turned on her high heel and left him gawking after her like a tongue-tied boy.
Once Billy regained control, he removed the box from the fridge and dimmed the lights in the living room.
Eden was tucked in the corner of the white leather couch. She looked so small, so wary. So damn perfect his heart nearly stopped.
He handed her the clear plastic box. “This is for you.”
A beat passed. “That’s exactly like the corsage you gave me for prom.”
“I know. Remember you threw it at my head when I took off?”
“Pretty childish, huh?”
“No. It was childish I left without explaining why.”
Eden’s lower lip trembled before she firmed it. “I can’t believe you remembered.”
“I can’t believe you’d think I’d forget.” Billy helped her to her feet and slipped the corsage from the package. The heavy scent of gardenia filled the room. Eden held out her wrist, he slid the stretchy silver band over her small hand.
An eternity passed as she fingered the white roses surrounding the creamy gardenia. She lifted the corsage and inhaled. “Why?”
“To show you I’ve never forgotten you. Leaving you is the only thing in my life I regret. Can we go back in time, just for tonight and be those two people who were so crazy for each other?”
Eden fought a wave of tears. Dammit. She should tell Billy the truth. She wanted him the way he was now—the gentle, thrilling, demanding man he’d become and not the confused young man he’d been.
Before the end of the night she’d tell Billy how she felt about him. Before she found out his decision on the community center. Before she lost her nerve and let him walk out of her life again. “I’m still crazy about you, Billy.”
“Show me.”
His gentle caresses turned energetic. Mouths, which had teased with slow, deep, wet kisses, became frantic. When Billy pulled his lips away, Eden whimpered and tried to reconnect their hunger.
“No. I want to do this right. We have all the time in the world.” He opened his hot mouth on the tender skin beneath her jaw line and sucked.
She allowed him this fantasy and repeated the words she’d said that night at the Motel 6. “Make love to me.”
Billy studied her face, his blue eyes filled with longing. Slowly, too slowly, his deft fingers peeled the silky material off her shoulders and down her arms. Breathing unevenly, his hands clenched on her hips, he merely stared at her.
Her skin tightened, spreading the aching, needy feeling throughout her body. “You gonna gawk at me all night?”
“Maybe.” He tugged until her one-piece outfit slithered to the carpet. Clad in black bikini panties and a black demi-bra, she shifted on the knee-high spike-heeled black leather boots and kicked her clothes away.
“Should I call you ‘Mistress Eden’ in that get-up?” One blunt finger traveled from the hollow of her throat to the dip in her navel, sending waves of heat rippling across her skin. “Or should I ask if you have a cat-o’-nine tails hidden in your purse?”
“Seems you’re well-acquainted with pleasure tools. Got some bondage fantasies, Mr. Buchanan?” she murmured silkily.
“Only with you. Next time, leave the boots on, but for now, take them off. I want to feel nothing except your skin on mine.”
Eden sensed Billy’s control had stretched to a thin line. She sought to shatter it.
She swiveled her hips, bracing her hands on the back of the couch. With her back flattened, her ass curved up in blatant enticement. Exposing the dampness between her thighs was like waving a red flag in front of a bull, but she did it anyway. Glancing over her shoulder, she wet her lips. “A little help removing the boots? I’m having a hard time catching my balance.”
“I’m having a hard time catching my breath.” Next thing she knew, Billy slung her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold and was striding to the bedroom like his feet were on fire.
She squealed, “Billy!” when he sharply smacked her ass.
“You definitely need to learn submission.” He tossed her on the bed and yanked her boots off. Darkness disappeared as he lit the candles lined up on the nightstand.
She melted as easily as candle wax when faced with his romantic side. “Maybe I’m dominant. I like being on top.”
“You’ll get your chance later. For now,” he started to unbutton his dress shirt, “you get to be on the bottom.”
Soon as he was naked, Billy swept the bedding to the floor. Eased her panties off, unhooked her bra. In one graceful move he tumbled them both to the mattress, her underneath him.
The coolness of the cotton sheets on her back exaggerated the feverish feeling of his heated skin on hers. She couldn’t help the small shudder of anticipation.
“Cold?” he asked, smoothing tangles of hair away from her face.
She shook her head.
His hand looked enormous drifting down her body, so capable of exacting pleasure as it skimmed over her beaded nipples, past the indent of her navel to disappear between her legs.
Her breath caught.
Billy didn’t stop his indolent caresses as he pressed his lips to the delicate skin below her ear. His middle finger slid inside her sheath. He made circles inside her, lazily licking down her throat. “I want you nice and wet. Open and ready for me.”
Eden wriggled her hips higher to meet his rhythmic strokes when he added another finger. With a hint of steel in her voice she clamped down on her internal muscles, trying to pull his fingers deeper and said, “I am ready.”
“Not yet.”
With his continual attention to her clit, an orgasm rocketed through her. She moaned his name as every region of her pelvis contracted in pulsing billows that didn’t end until he gently withdrew his hand.
A condom package rustled. Billy spread her thighs wide.
“Eden. Look at me.”
She focused on those serious blue eyes as his body covered hers.
The scent of Billy, vanilla candles and sweet flowers surrounded her, making her dizzy. “You’re smashing my corsage.”
“Forget it.” Billy’s hips pressed forward and he slipped just the head into her opening. “The only thing I want you thinking about is me.” He kissed her. “About us.” He kissed her again, longer, sweeter. “How if we’d done this years ago I wouldn’t have had the guts to leave you.” He thrust inside her completely.
Their joining was as tangled as Eden’s emotions, fierce one minute, tender the next. And when neither could hold back any longer, he whispered, “With me, Eden, always with me.”
They came together in a molten rush.
As she lay crushed beneath Billy’s spent body and the weight of his words, she knew losing her job paled in comparison to losing this man.
Chapter Sixteen
Billy snored like a damn freight train.
At first, Eden was amused by the escalating snuffles. With his arm firmly wrapped around her waist and her body tucked against his, she couldn’t move and she couldn’t get back to sleep. She lifted his arm and rolled away, hastily jamming the pillow in her empty spot.
Billy didn’t notice.
She snagged
his shirt off the floor and buttoned up while creeping from the room.
Moonlight beamed through the skylight in the hallway. The ceiling fan above the dining room table whirred softly and the refrigerator quietly hummed. A shiver broke free when her bare feet hit the cold kitchen tile.
It was weird, wandering through the condo alone in the dark, knowing Billy was as much a stranger in this place as she was. A tickle in her throat reminded her she’d worked up quite a thirst. She plucked a wine glass from the dish rack, turned the faucet on low and gulped three cold glasses before the dryness disappeared.
Eden rested her backside on the counter. The digital clock on the microwave read one-fifteen. They’d been in bed roughly four hours.
Every single time he’d touched her had been different tonight, urgent, sweet, raunchy. He’d been amazingly attuned to her needs just by looking into her eyes. She was half-afraid the man knew she’d fallen in love with him again.
Again? Why won’t you admit Billy’s always had your heart?
She meandered into the sparsely furnished living room, too keyed up to sleep. No magazines littered the coffee table. The shelves held not one paperback book. She didn’t want to skulk away without so much as a thank you for the orgasms. Plus, she did have that whole confessing her love for him thing to get through.
A single window separated the living and dining areas. She skirted the small desk, pulled back the heavy curtain and stared outside, watching the moonbeams throw shadows across the pavement.
As she turned away in the darkness, her thigh bumped the desk, scattering stacks of papers and file folders. Eden muffled a curse, set down her water glass and tried to straighten the piles.
That’s when she saw an envelope addressed to the City of Spearfish.
Her stomach dropped to her toes. The contents of that flimsy envelope held her future.
Then she noticed something else: the envelope hadn’t been sealed.
Did that mean Billy wasn’t certain of his decision?
No. Billy was completely confident where his career was concerned. Still, the open flap stuck out like a sore thumb.
Or a dare.
She reached out and touched the stiff paper, then dropped her hand as if it’d been burned. She really shouldn’t. No. She couldn’t. Peeking would be wrong. Unethical. A breach of trust. If he ever found out…
But the devil on her shoulder reminded her Billy was in the other room making noise which put a chainsaw to shame.
Eden gnawed her lip, racked with indecision.
The jangle of her cell phone broke the eerie silence.
Her gaze encompassed the room as she tried to remember where she’d stashed her purse. She followed the sound to the far corner of the couch. By the time she dug out the phone, it’d stopped ringing.
The blue light glowed as she scrolled through the messages. Ten messages? In the last hour? All from Shelby?
Why would Shelby call her ten times?
She dialed Shelby’s cell number. Shelby answered on the second ring. “Eden? Thank God! Where are you? I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour.”
“Why?” In the background, Eden heard sirens, the squawk of police radios and people shouting. She felt the first stirrings of real panic. “What’s up?”
All sound stopped. For a second Eden was afraid they’d lost the connection. Then, in a normal decibel range, Shelby said, “I’m in a police car now so I can hear you.”
“Shelby, what the hell is going on?”
“I’m outside the community center. You’d better get here fast.”
After hearing Shelby’s next words, Eden plummeted to the carpet. “When? No. I’m okay,” she lied. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Dazed, she snapped the phone shut.
“Eden? Baby, what’s wrong?”
How long had Billy been standing there? In shock, she just stared at him. Through him. She couldn’t seem to make her legs work.
Billy crossed the room. “What is going on?”
“Seems your concerns about the electrical system were dead on. The community center is on fire.”
He hauled her to her feet and held her.
Eden dug her nails into the bare skin of his shoulder blades. “Oh God.” Another horrifying thought jarred her. “What if Thomas snuck in and spent the night?” Hurriedly she redialed Shelby’s number and relayed the information about the young boy. She shut the cell phone with a snap and looked up.
“Come on.” Billy ushered her toward the bedroom. “Get dressed and we’ll go.”
Eden stared mindlessly out the window of her car as Billy drove. She’d called Shelby to relay the information the building might’ve been occupied.
Seemed to take forever to reach the center. Fire trucks, police cars clogged the side streets after blocking off Main Street. When Eden saw the flames licking fifty feet into the air, she bailed out of the car and ran.
She stopped and gaped at the broken shell. The windows had blown out. The roof completely collapsed. The brick interior walls were charred black. Smoke billowed and curled into the cool night air. She gripped the barricade and watched the firefighters lugging equipment. Cops trying to get control of the growing crowd. But her gaze kept returning to burning building.
Desolation took root and settled deep, increasing that sick feeling.
“Eden?”
A large hand jostled her shoulder and she looked up into the grim face of Detective Danley.
“I’m so sorry. The fire department got here as soon as they could but it was already too late.”
Was he talking about Thomas? She swallowed hard. “Did they find him?”
A frown creased the Detective’s brow. “Find who?”
“Thomas Fast Wolf. A twelve-year old boy who sometimes sneaks in and sleeps here. He has family problems…” Tears blurred her vision. Images of sweet Thomas danced in her head until she wanted to throw up.
“Eden!” Shelby trotted up and hugged her.
She was too numb to move. The detective pulled Shelby aside and they conversed in low tones. Eden didn’t bother to listen; her heart was so heavy with grief she thought she’d collapse beneath the weight of it.
Shelby returned and shook her. “Listen to me. Thomas isn’t in there.”
Eden blinked at Shelby. “What?”
“After you called me I called Nathan LeBeau. He’s had some dealings with Thomas’s parents so he drove over and checked the Fast Wolf house.” Shelby grabbed her hands. “Thomas is home. He’s been there all night.”
Immediately, Eden began to cry.
Shelby hugged her again. “It’s just a building. No one was hurt, that’s the important thing, right?”
People started to gather around her and offer support. The community outpouring stunned her, but with nothing left but a burned out skeleton, there was no doubt the direction the city would take with the community center.
Finally at about four, the blaze was under control; there was nothing left to burn.
Exhausted, Eden looked around for Billy. Several times in the last few hours she’d wanted him by her side, needing his quiet strength. Wishful thinking because he couldn’t have offered it in front of all these people anyway.
As she wound her way through the emergency vehicles, Billy stepped out of the shadows.
Tempting to throw herself into his arms and damn the consequences. Did it really matter if these people knew she needed Billy Buchanan? So what if the mayor and the whole city council saw them? Billy’s report wouldn’t matter now. Her job was history.
Billy kept his gaze trained on the building. “I overheard the firemen talking. They think it was a gas leak since it spread so fast. Not the electrical system after all.”
So cold. So clinical. Eden’s hope shriveled and died. He’d already reset the distance between them. His job, his time in Spearfish was done. She wanted to cry but she found she didn’t have any tears left.
“You okay?” he asked, finally look
ing at her.
“Not really.” Eden exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “I can’t believe it’s gone. Makes your job easier, doesn’t it?”
“Eden—”
“I suppose you’ll be heading back to Chicago sooner than expected?”
Billy’s mouth stayed unsmiling, his tone flat. “Actually, I’m leaving tomorrow.”
The sweet, romantic night she’d spent in his arms meant nothing? It’d been his way of saying goodbye? “I’m sure you’ll be glad to get back. It appears your time here was wasted.”
“Wasted? What the hell are you talking about?”
Eden gathered her courage even as her heart shattered. “I saw your recommendation letter to the City Council.”
“When?” he demanded.
“Tonight. At the condo. When you were sleeping.”
Although she hadn’t read the document, by the expression on his face, she knew what his final recommendation had been.
Billy exploded. “For Christ’s sake—”
“Don’t you dare yell at her.” Shelby bulled her way between them. “Leave her alone, Mr. Buchanan.”
“You stay out of this.”
“No. I’ve watched you waltz around the community center, charming her, getting her to trust you. She’s lost enough tonight with losing her pride, too.”
Billy reared back, speechless like he’d been slapped.
As Shelby herded Eden to her car, Eden discovered she had more tears left after all.
Chapter Seventeen
One week later…
Eden shoved the box in the backseat and slammed the door. “That’s the last of it.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. You’ve been the best boss I’ve ever had.” Shelby launched herself into Eden’s arms and sobbed.
“Hey. We promised no crying, remember?”
Shelby sniffled. “I’m gonna miss you, though.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
She shuffled back and straightened Eden’s collar. “Promise you’ll email me and let me know what’s going on?”
“Scouts honor.” They wandered through the piles of boxes spread out on Eden’s driveway.
Wicked Garden: Menage and More Anthology Page 10
