“Is it you behind my parent’s actions? Do you have some hold over them? They’re aliens to me since your arrival,” I say as the tears dry up and an anger the likes of which I’ve never felt before wells up inside me. “I find it odd that you came here with at least two gifts for me. You had no idea about me, having never met me. Are you someone who’s stalked me online or something? There’s a chance you’re blackmailing my parents to get to me. Is that what’s happening here?”
Eden reaches for my hand and I draw it back. “Alyssa, princess, don’t think like that about me. I’m no crazy stalker. I have no hold over your parents. I’ve come to care for you since we’ve met. It is true that I would like to have something more than a friendship with you. That boy is not right for you. You’re making a mistake in thinking he is. Your life with him would be a string of trailer parks and hardships.”
“You’re a snob, Eden. A heartless snob. I’m afraid I can no longer be your friend. Once we get home, I want you to leave me alone. I want nothing else to do with you during your stay or ever again. Whatever is going on is stopping now. I’ll have no more of it, or you,” I say, clenching my fists so hard my fingernails dig into my palms.
Pulling to the side of the road, Eden takes me by the shoulder, making me turn towards him, but I look away. “Alyssa, please listen to me,” he begs, but I won’t look at him. He takes my chin and pulls my sunglasses off. “Look at me, Alyssa.” I meet his eyes and make sure he sees the anger in them. “Good. I can’t stand the thought of not being in your life. Please reconsider.”
“Fuck you!”
He flinches and I’m glad to see it. “Alyssa, please. You’re too good for this behavior. I’ll do anything you want if you don’t shut me out. Life is not worth living without you in it. Can you understand me? Would you not miss me at all?”
“Eden, I’ve never felt better or worse since I’ve met you. You’ve made me happy, and when you kissed me I honestly had to question if Kyle was the one for me. That kiss felt like we were one and the same. A sense of being whole enveloped me. But this side of you is too much to take. Judging others is not something I do or allow in my life. You speak of Kyle as if he were a piece of trash to be tossed away with no remorse. That boy, as you continue to call the love of my life, is a fine man and he will make something of his life. Truth be told, I’d live wherever he wanted. I love him that much.”
The hold he has on my chin softens and his knuckles graze my cheek. “That kiss made me feel that way too, Alyssa? I suppose the way I’m beginning to feel about you has me being something I’m not. Perhaps jealousy is why I’ve said the awful things about that boy—sorry—about Kyle. I’m no snob, and I don’t really think he’ll live in trailer parks.”
“So you felt it too?” I ask as I pull his sunglasses away from his face so I can see his eyes. He nods and I confess, “I’ve never felt that with Kyle.”
Intensity covers his face. “So we should try it again and see what we feel, shouldn’t we?”
“It isn’t right, Eden. I’m still with him. I would never want him to do this to me.” My heart aches with the struggle I’m having.
“You owe it to yourself to be sure, Alyssa. If he’s not the right one for you, it would be a sinful existence to go on with your plans when you can have a better life with someone else. A better connection with someone else might be possible.”
The constant current of electricity as his hand touches the top of mine cannot be denied. I bite at my bottom lip as I look at our hands on my lap.
Why does it do this to me?
I look up at him and ask, “What does your hand feel like right now?”
Leaning into me, his voice is but a whisper. “A current flows between your hand and mine. It’s happened every single time I’ve touched you.”
He’s right!
“Have you felt this with anyone else?”
Slowly, he shakes his head as his eyes look deeper into mine.
Damn it, this is too intense!
“Eden, I know what will happen if I let you kiss me, and it breaks my heart because I’ll have to break his and I do love him.”
The glisten in his eyes tells me much. “I know you do.”
A tremble runs through him and I feel it in my core.
How can that be?
“Take me home. I’m not ready for this.”
His eyes drop and he turns back to the steering wheel. “As you wish, Alyssa.”
He parks next to my jeep and I sit, waiting for him to do his thing. My door opens and he sets me free from my seatbelt, then takes my hand. The current of electricity is there as if on cue.
This can’t be normal, but it doesn’t mean love either. What I have for Kyle is love, real love. So this must be lust.
Eden is beyond hot, rich, and classy. So very worldly and so different from anyone I’ve ever known. He’s like a movie star come to life and he wants me. Of course I feel something for him, but my heart belongs to Kyle.
His arm goes around my waist and my whole body tingles as he pulls me close to his side. I want to cling to him forever, and if I lost this I know I’d miss it.
Why the hell is that?
CHAPTER 18
EDEN
Alyssa has confessed to feeling something for me. I’m so close to her deciding to be with me of her own accord. It will make things so much easier on her once she learns the truth about us and what we are.
The vibration between us is apparent to her as well. Her allegiance to that boy stops her from testing the waters further with me. I have an idea, though, and it has my plans for this evening changing.
Instead of cooking lobster for her, I want to show her how our lives will be. I’ve made reservations at a five-star restaurant in Maine.
It’s a far cry from the bar where we went to at lunch. This will show her how she should’ve always been treated like the princess she truly is.
After protesting about my invitation to fly away and have dinner with me, her mother talked her into going. I’m not allowed to call this a date or even kiss her, but I hope my actions and the serene setting will change her mind about that.
Dressed to impress, I wait for her in the living room. Toni comes in and clears her throat. She’s helped Alyssa get ready and given her one of the dresses I brought for her, though she’s told her they had purchased it and planned to give it to her as a graduation gift.
Shyly, Alyssa steps from behind the wall which has kept her from my view. Involuntarily, my heart and breath stop.
How can she be even more beautiful than before?
Soft tendrils fall from a loose pile of curls artfully placed atop her perfect head. A gold band glimmers, separating her long bangs from the many curls.
The addition of makeup enhances her natural beauty. The black eyeliner makes the sapphire color of her eyes entrancing. Her lips, like cherries, beg me to kiss them and I pray she changes her mind about kissing me.
The long white dress, held at the waist by a gold belt, is made of several layers of gossamer and it appears to float around her. The neckline of the haltered top plummets in the middle, accenting her perfectly-formed breasts.
A frown covers her face. “I knew it, Mom. It’s over the top. Way too much. I’ll go change.”
“What? No! It’s perfect, as are you, Alyssa.” My heart finally beats again and I find my voice.
Her perfect brows draw together. “But you didn’t say one word. I know it’s too much, Eden.”
I give her a grin. “I was speechless, princess. You are beyond anything I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” Moving to her side, I place her hand in the crook of my arm. “Forgive me for being so taken in by your beauty that I failed to breathe or let my heart beat.”
Strolling away with her in tow, I cast a glance back to see Toni and David. “Don’t wait up. She’s safe with me,” I tell them.
In unison they say, “Goodnight.”
Alyssa looks back at them with a puzzled expression. “Aliens. It has to
be aliens who’ve taken them over. Goodnight Mom and Dad, if that’s who you really are.”
Their smiles follow us out the door as I escort my mate to the car.
***
The jet is a shiny, black gorgeous piece of machinery. Its beauty is not lost on Alyssa. “Holy crap, Eden. Is that yours?”
I lead her up the stairs. “Do you see the emblem there?” I gesture to the fiery Phoenix on the jet’s tail. “This belongs to the organization our families are a part of: The Phoenix Foundation.”
Her head swivels as her eyes show confusion. “My parents are part of some group and they’ve never bothered to mention it to me. Do I even know them at all?”
As we step onto the jet, Lana, a woman in her late forties with tight red curls, smiles at us. “Hello, Eden. This must be Alyssa,” she says, extending her hand to Alyssa who takes it in a shake. “My name is Lana and I’ll be your stewardess.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lana. I suppose you fly Mr. Jet-Setter around a lot,” Alyssa says.
With my hand on the small of her back, I direct her to our seats. Alyssa looks back at Lana and says, “Tell me, is he always this attentive to the young ladies he takes out.”
A peal of laughter comes from the woman’s mouth. “Oh my! No! He’s never had another young lady in here. You’re the first, Alyssa.”
The look on Alyssa’s face is priceless. With her wide eyes and her mouth in the shape of an ‘O’, I have to laugh. “Did you honestly think I was a ladies’ man?”
The nod of her perfect little head tells me she did.
The pilot comes in from the cockpit and gives us a wave. “Hello again, Eden. And this lovely young thing must be Alyssa,” he says and Alyssa gives him a nod. “I’m your pilot, Jeffery. Have you flown before?”
“Once. It was a big plane, though. We went to Disney World in it. This is much better.”
Jeffery smiles at her. “Well, let’s get this show on the road. I hear you two have a big date in Bath, Maine.”
The word date makes Alyssa frown at me. I smile back and whisper in her ear, “I can’t help that this looks like a date to the untrained eye, princess. It’s okay. You and I know what it really is, right?”
“I suppose,” she says with a slight tremor to her voice.
I must’ve left that information out when I called Jeffery earlier. People at the restaurant will think it too.
I can’t control the world, now can I?
Lana gives us a smile before retreating with Jeffery to the cockpit. The engine starts and Alyssa looks nervously out the window as the sun sets. I take her hand in mine and place a kiss on it. “Are you nervous?”
“I’ve been nervous, Eden. Now my butterflies have transformed into pterodactyls.”
The jet rolls forward and her eyes widen. “Just sit back and hold my hand as tightly as you need to. We’ll be up in the air in no time and it’ll be smooth flying. I’m sure you’ll love it,” I say, and she leans her head back against the seat and closes her eyes.
How will she feel when she can fly on her own?
Her hand holds mine in a death grip. I watch her closely as she breathes in deep breaths. We level off and her eyes open. “That wasn’t so bad,” she says. Lightening her grip on me, she smiles embarrassedly. “Oh, sorry! I just about squeezed your hand off, huh?”
Touching her bare shoulder with the tip of my finger, I trail it down her arm. “That’s what it’s there for, precious. Yours to use as you need to.”
The cherry red of her lips is proving quite impossible to resist. When I draw my eyes up, away from them, I spot her eyeing mine. Her tongue darts out to lick hers. Perhaps she wants to taste mine as well.
Please let her change her mind about the no kissing rule.
Lana pops out of the cockpit. “I’ll bring you two something to drink. Eden likes this little alcohol-free cocktail I make,” she says, then pops into the small galley door.
Alyssa giggles, and I almost grab her and kiss her, it stirs me so. “She’s adorable, Eden,” she says.
“She’s the sweetest. Jeffery and Lana also belong to the organization our parents do. I have to confess something to you.”
The tension in her body is obvious. “No! Please, no confessions.”
I laugh. “It’s nothing bad, princess. It’s just I can’t take my eyes off you. You’re gorgeous. I’ll be the envy of every man this evening.”
The fluttering of her eyelashes beats her blushing cheeks as she swats playfully at my arm. “Eden! You big flatterer. Look at your own reflection, Mr. Fashion Model. The women will all swoon as you pass their tables, silverware will drop from feminine hands, and conversations will be halted.”
She finds me as enticing as I do her. This is working. Soon she’ll choose me on her own, without being made to marry me. She’ll want to.
Please, let her want to marry me.
“You seem deep in thought, Eden. Let’s not read too much into this. Our outer appearances may be looking fine this evening, but it’s what’s on the inside which counts. Don’t you agree?”
“I agree with you, wholeheartedly, princess. I find you beautiful inside and out. Your good nature and kind spirit are as beautiful as your plump red lips and sapphire eyes. I could go on and on about all which is appealing about you.” She’s told me she thinks what we feel is lust, so it’s imperative I show her I love her thoroughly, not just physically.
“I must confess you have a few beautiful characteristics as well. Your hatred for Kyle is about all I can find wrong with you,” she says, and it makes me feel terrible that she thinks I hate anyone.
Pulling both her hands to my chest, I lean forward. “Alyssa, please know I have no hate for him. The feelings I have for him are from insecurity in myself. I have to admit to you that it is jealousy which I feel. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I felt something stir in me.”
A smirk forms on her precious lips. “Yeah, that was probably just your male hormones, Eden. I was lying on the ground, probably a pool of blood forming around my head, and you felt something for the poor girl laid out on the pavement. Most guys would.”
She isn’t taking me seriously. Remembering something from the hospital, I trail my fingers lightly over her collar bone. “I doubt my hormones and your accident are all to blame for my reaction to you. If I recall, you reacted to my touch much in the same way.”
Lana pops back out of the galley with our drinks in her hands. “Oops! Hope I didn’t interrupt you two lovebirds.”
Alyssa rolls her eyes. “It’s not a date, Lana. Sorry for the confusion. I happen to have a boyfriend. Eden is just being kind enough to show me how great a fancy jet ride and a meal at a five-star restaurant can be, since he’s filthy rich. I made him take me to a café this afternoon and he wants to show me how much of a dive it is since I keep singing its praises. That’s all. Don’t read anything more than that into it. We’re friends, that’s all.”
Lana hands my mate her glass of dark red liquid with a knowing smile on her face. She’s not the best poker player I’m going to guess, as she looks as if she’s about to blurt out what and who Alyssa really is.
“I see. My mistake,” Lana says to Alyssa. “It’s just that the two of you have a glow about you I’ve seen few couples have. Finding someone who can make your inner self spark so much that the outer self glows with the intensity is rare. One with such a gift would seldom think of a relationship with another, I would think. So do tell about this boyfriend, then, because he must be something extremely special if he outshines what you and Eden have going on.”
Though Alyssa has held Lana’s gaze as she spoke, she drops her head, perhaps in embarrassment. She says, “So you mean to tell me it’s obvious? I can’t hide it?”
Lana hands me my drink and lifts Alyssa’s face up by her chin, making her look at her. “Nor can he, child. I’m sure this high school boyfriend is fantastic, but the man who sits next to you brings something out in you, and you in him. I should say, if it was m
e, I’d give this thing you two have a better chance. It’s rare and shouldn’t be taken for granted.” Lana takes her hand away and stands up, retreating back to the galley, pausing long enough to look back over her shoulder. “But that’s just me, sweetheart. You have to do as your heart tells you to.”
We sit in silence for a minute or two as Alyssa stares out the window into the dark night. I pray what Lana has said is not making the wheels in her head spin out of control. I guess I should’ve stopped Lana from speaking her mind, but it needed to be said, I think.
I sip my drink, then place my hand on her shoulder. “I’d love to be able to hear your thoughts. Would you like to share them with me?” I ask.
“It’s going to kill him, Eden.” Her voice quivers and my heart breaks for her.
This is all my fault.
I toss the rest of the small drink down my throat, then rise and leave it, as well as hers, on the small table by the galley. Her eyes have not moved from the window. Tiny tears wait to fall. I drop to my knees in front of her and take her hands in mine, laying them on her lap. “Please look at me, princess.”
Her breath pulls in deep as she turns her head to look down at me. “There is nothing you can say that can make this better. I need more time, Eden.”
That is the one thing we don’t have and it kills me. “Should I leave you alone?”
Her eyes glisten as the tears threaten further. “I fear it would kill me if you did. Even as you said the words, my heart felt as if a sharp dagger had been plunged into it. I’m a mess with a boyfriend. You should want none of what I have to offer, which is nothing but a lot of drama.”
The fact she thinks she has nothing to offer makes me furious at myself. I did this to her.
“You have much to offer, Alyssa. Stop talking down about yourself. It’s beneath you. You’re special and will do amazing things with your life. You were not born to be ordinary. Not one day of your life should have been spent that way. Set him free, and he’ll begin to heal and so will you.”
One tear rolls down her pink cheek. I quickly brush it away with my thumb. “I can’t do that, Eden. I just can’t hurt him like that.”
His Sweet Torment: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 113
