by Lane Martin
“Don’t let her fool you. She’s glad you’re here, Rhett.” Robin stood at the sink rinsing dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. “We all are.”
“That’s kind of you to say, Robin, but I doubt she’s thanking Skylar right now.” We both grimaced as we heard the girls’ raised voices from the other room.
“You have to understand, Rhett. Eden is a skater at heart. She can take a lot of falling on her butt, but what she can’t take is being thrown off balance. We tried to do more for Eden, but our hands were tied by the courts. I’ve worried about her since the day I met her. Until the day she came here to talk to me about you, that is. She might have felt like she was in a camel spin, but I realized I didn’t have to worry anymore.”
A bark of laughter escaped me. “Eden didn’t tell me who she was, and when she did, she pushed me out, Robin.”
“She pushed you away so you could catch her, Rhett. Don’t let her fall. It’s her first-time skating in pairs.” The only problem was, I was a hockey player.
After Robin and I rejoined the rest of the family in the living room, Jenna pointed out that Eden hadn’t opened her present from me. When I told her to open it in private, Kyle and Greg both raised questioning brows. What? Did they think I brought something X-rated to Christmas morning for the woman they thought of as a sister? Angela told the men to stand down with a comment about not believing it need batteries or that it was edible. Both men groaned. I couldn’t say I blamed them. Not that I wouldn’t want to enjoy both those things with Eden, but Christmas morning at her family’s house was neither the time nor place. Plus, I didn’t even know where we stood.
Eden walked me out to my truck after I offered my goodbyes to everyone. I liked how she seemed nervous around me; it meant she was still affected by me. She hadn’t been the one to invite me, but when I asked her earlier if she wanted me to leave, she gave me an insistent no, so I stayed. Who was I to argue with a beautiful woman?
“You know you didn’t have to get me anything?” She chewed nervously at her bottom lip.
“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. But do me a favor and wait to open it.” We reached my truck. It took everything in me not to reach out to her and pull her into my arms.
“Wait for what?”
“Until you’re ready.” I thumbed a lock of hair behind her ear before turning and climbing into my seat. She stepped away and I closed my door and cranked the engine before lowering my window.
“Ready for what?” Eden stood on her tiptoes with her hands on the frame of my door. I couldn’t help myself any longer. I bent forward and kissed her. Sadly, it ended much too soon for my liking.
“For us, Eden.” It took everything I had in me to drive away.
I still couldn’t believe Rhett showed up last night and what happened. But the second I saw him, I felt how much he needed me. I had yet to open his Christmas present. I wasn’t sure if I was ready. The look on his face as he’d stood on my doorstep had told me everything I needed to know. He needed me.
As tempting as it was to lay here and continue to pretend we were both still asleep, I knew we couldn’t. “I know you’re awake,” I whispered before pressing my lips to Rhett’s bare chest. I had never been a cuddler before, but this morning I woke up with one of my legs thrown over Rhett’s rock-hard thigh. My head was nestled into his sculpted chest like it was a pillow and my right hand covered his steadily beating heart. One of his hands was lifted behind his head while the other massive paw cupped my naked ass.
When he showed up here last night, I feared his heart was damaged, broken beyond repair. He didn’t speak when I opened the door to him. Usually, I would have worried about Adelaide and Barrett knowing he was here, but the dark circles under his eyes were of more concern to me. The lack of shine to his normally bright eyes concerned me more than what they would think about him being here. Something was wrong, that much was clear. I barely got out the words, “what are you doing here” when he charged me, claiming my mouth and pushing me up against the wall with frenzied need.
“Eden.” He whispered my name like a prayer between desperate kisses. I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck. In my life, I had never felt so needed, like just my presence alone was keeping him alive. He pressed me against the wall, and I moaned in his mouth when I felt how hard he was for me. “Need you,” he groaned when I lifted my legs and locked my feet together around his waist.
I wasn’t supposed to have hook-ups here, but I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. Rhett desired me, and as much as I like to act like I didn’t need anything from anyone, I knew I needed him as much as he needed me. “Bedroom,” was all I got out before he gripped my ass and started down the hallway. Once in my room, Rhett turned his body, me still wrapped around him, and sat on the end of the bed. He could have laid me down on the bed and pinned me with his larger body, but that wasn’t Rhett. I knew this man would never take more from me than I was willing to give. And at that moment, I wanted to give him everything. Even the parts I usually hid.
I was fully clothed, yet in Rhett’s capable hold, with him looking so desperate and needy for me I felt utterly bare. Being so vulnerable to him should have made me want to run the other direction. Instead, it made me want to be closer to him. I didn’t want anything between us. I reached for the hem of his shirt and began to lift it before he gripped the back of the neck and pulled it off the rest of the way and tossed it on the floor. His chest was well defined, and I couldn’t help myself when I leaned forward and flicked my tongue against his nipple before nibbling on it gently while I traced one hand down his ripped abs and grinded down on him. “Jesus,” he grated out before falling back on the bed. With his fists clenched at his side and his expression pained, he squeezed his eyes closed while I studied him.
One of my hands slowly traced across his collarbone from one shoulder to the other, while my other hand stood poised on the top button of his jeans. “Do you want me to stop?” His eyes popped open. At least they no longer looked void of life. Now they blazed with heat.
“Does it feel like I want you to stop?” he asked as he drove his hips up. My head fell back and a moan escaped me as his jean-encased erection rubbed against me. Good lord, the man was packing a concealed weapon.
“Fuck!” he grumbled as he sat up so quickly, I almost fell off his lap. He, of course, caught me. Rhett would never let me fall. He bolted to his feet, me still in his arms, and turned to deposit me on the bed. “I thought I could do this.” With both of his hands on top of his head he pulled at his hair in frustration. Whoa, was he putting a stop to this? He couldn’t. I wouldn’t let him. It shocked me to realize I needed him just as badly as I thought he did me. His rejection burned, but no way in hell would I let him know how bad it hurt me. I attempted to get off the bed. It was time for Rhett to go.
"Eden, baby, please.” He moved a step closer and placed his hands on my shoulders, stopping me. He didn’t need to put his hands on me; I was frozen the second he called me baby. “Don’t think for a second I was talking about this thing between us.” He came impossibly closer and wrapped his arms around me, and I unsuccessfully tried to wiggle away. “Baby, you’re all I think about.” He whispered in my ear before pressing an open mouth kiss to my neck, which turned me to Jell-O in his arms.
My thoughts and feelings were all over the place. This was why I didn’t usually feel anything but numb. Numb I could handle.
“Don’t shut me out,” he pleaded against my skin between kisses. I hated how well he knew me. “I thought I could let you have your fun with me.” He nipped at my ear lobe and I began to heat again. “Give you the control you think you need.” He traced his tongue down my neck, and without a thought, I tilted my head back and to the side, giving him more access. “You make me so hard, Eden.” He gripped my ass and pulled me flush against his hard body.
“If I let you get my pants off, baby, it would be over before it even starts.” What was it about that word? Baby. It should have pissed me
off. Instead, it made me quiver. “I’ll always put you first Eden.” I knew without a shadow of a doubt he wasn’t just talking about sex. He released his firm hold on my ass cheeks and I whimpered when he took a step back. “Did you steal this from me?” He snickered as he took in what I was wearing, as if noticing it for the first time. I was wearing my new favorite pajamas: his t-shirt. It hung past my knees.
“Borrowed.” I feigned innocence as I coyly palmed my breast over the fabric of his Miners t-shirt.
“Well, I’m borrowing it back,” he teased as he lifted it up and over my head before tossing it on the floor with his. Rhett gazed at me as I kneeled on the bed in nothing but a pair of lace hip huggers. I jutted my chin out, determined not to raise my arms to cover myself like I was so tempted to do. It didn’t matter anyway; I was already exposed to this man in every single way. Rhett saw me, whether I was naked as the day I was born or wearing every stitch of clothing I owned. “Beautiful,” he groaned before he placed both his hands on my hips. “I’m going to have to borrow these then. I think it’s only fair.” He kissed my lips while he tugged my panties off. They were soaked anyway. I had to admit, the man was fast, on and off the ice. The second I was completely naked, I was on my back and he was between my thighs.
“I haven’t even had my first taste yet, baby, and I’m already addicted.” I didn’t think it was possible to get any wetter. I was wrong. He kissed my inner thigh before moving to the other side. I squirmed. He needed to stop toying with me. “Stop moving or I’ll punish you.” I’d never been one to back away from a challenge, so I dared him by grinding my hips. He moved away and I immediately missed him. I needed him to touch me. To taste me.
“Ford,” I complained. He didn’t like it when I called him by his team nickname and I knew it, but I didn’t like him teasing me.
Rhett stood at the end of my bed. He still wore his jeans, and I could see the outline of his erection. My legs were open, exposed to him. My pussy wept with need, with desire, for the sexy as fuck, stubborn man who still had the dark bags under his eyes as when he’d arrived. Rhett and I stared at each other, neither of us willing to concede. Fuck that. I could punish him too. I cupped both of my breasts and circled my hardened nipples with my fingers, while never taking my eyes off him. His jaw ticked when I ran one hand down my body. With one hand I plucked at my nipple while I circled my belly button with the other. Rhett licked his parted lips. I continued my journey, crying out the second I touched my folds and parted them with two fingers.
“Fuck that,” Rhett exclaimed as he dove between my legs. He captured my wayward hand with one of his while the other went under me to lift me to his hungry mouth. If his shoulders weren’t so broad and preventing me from closing my legs, I might have squeezed his head between my legs because it was all too much. My hand on my breast still toyed with my nipple. He kept one large hand on my ass and our joined hands parted my folds to expose my clit while he flicked it with his tongue. Rhett didn’t let up when I screamed out in pleasure. Nope, he told me not to move my hand when he untangled our fingers, so his hand was free to be inside of me.
“Oh god,” I screamed, happy my apartment was not attached to the house and that I didn’t share a wall with any neighbors. His thick finger slid in and out of me, fast, then slow. Relentless. My body seemed to forget it was only capable of one orgasm a session. The pressure was building like nothing I'd ever felt. Hell, I wasn’t even sure the first orgasm ever wholly stopped when he moved and found the magic spot inside of me no man had ever been able to find, causing me to come again.
“We’re not done, Eden. Roll over. I want to see your gorgeous ass when I sink deep inside of you.” I looked back at him as I did what he said. He was naked and sheathed. How the hell did that happen? Did he fuck me so thoroughly I’d passed out? I didn’t want to miss anything else. I scrambled to my knees on the bed obediently. “I bet you feel as good as you taste,” he groaned as he slid inside my slick pussy. Rhett palmed my ass as he drove into me before reaching around us with one of his giant hands and flicking my swollen clit with his fingers. “So fuckin’ good. You’re going to come again. Your tight little cunt is going to milk me until I fill this condom, and then while we gear up for round two, I’m going to decide if you’re going to suck my cock or if I’m going to suck your perfect tits while you ride me hard.” Who knew Rhett was a dirty talker and that I would like it so much?
“I can’t,” I complained half-heartedly or maybe in shock as my body began to climb again. Holy shit, I had never experienced this much pleasure before.
“You can, and you will.” He removed his hand from my ass and his fingers on my clit stopped strumming, making our only point of contact where my swollen pussy lips parted around his cock as he straightened and nearly pulled all the way out of me. Desperate for more, I was about to push back against him when his hand came down on my ass cheek, while his other hand pinched my clit just before he drove back inside of me. I shattered, diffused into a million fragments of pleasure from the hardest orgasm I had ever had.
Rhett couldn’t decide what he wanted more, for me to suck his cock or ride him hard. We did both. Poor me, I know. Seven orgasms. Seven. I still wasn’t sure how it happened, but I wasn't complaining. Plus, Rhett had given me such a thorough workout I didn’t need to go to the gym for at least a week.
When I woke up in the morning, I was afraid of what was going to happen. Somewhere along the line, I’d begun to depend on our friendship, and I was scared our mind-blowing sex had ruined everything. Rhett needed me last night. Did we screw it all up by actually screwing?
I’d been awake for a while. I didn’t say anything or move because I didn’t want our time together to end. I still couldn’t understand why Eden was so closed off and I didn’t want to spook her. She needed to know why I couldn’t let things go unsaid between us, even if she wasn’t ready to hear them. I had already lost enough time with the people I loved, so I wasn’t going to miss anything with Eden.
I moved my hand from behind my head and covered her hand over my heart. I hoped she felt it beating faster. My story would be so hard to tell her, but I knew she needed to know, and she needed to hear it from me. I took a deep inhale of her hair and kissed the top of her head before I began.
“I’m not telling you this for pity, but I need you to understand certain things about me. Things have happened in my life that have shaped the way I live. I don’t want it to scare you, but I need you to know.” Eden tensed in my arms, so I took a moment and kissed her on the top of the head again before I began. “Yesterday was the anniversary of my brother’s death.”
“Rhett.” Her voice trembled as she tried to move. I moved my arm to keep her where she was.
Having her in my arms was a comfort, but what I had to say was difficult, so I couldn’t look at her while I laid it all out. After a few minutes she turned her head and pressed her lips to my chest. I ran my fingers through her short hair. “You already know his name was Beau. He died when I was eight, doing what he loved, serving our country.”
“I’m so sorry. That couldn’t have been easy.” She had no idea. “You must have loved him.”
“Beau was eleven when I was born. He wasn’t just my brother. He was everything. I don’t have an early memory that doesn’t include him.”
“What about your parents?” Eden pressed a soft kiss to my skin.
“Mom was forty-one when she had me. Dad was forty-seven. I wasn’t planned. Surprise, it’s a boy,” I added, trying to bring some levity to the situation. She relaxed a little in my arms.
“Beau was eighteen when he joined up. He was in the Special Forces serving overseas. I was a little punk. He tried to video chat with me before he left for his last mission. I was playing video games with my buddy when his call came in, so I ignored it.” Every time I thought about it, I struggled. If only I had answered.
“You can’t blame yourself; you were just a kid.”
A kid who intentionally ignored his bro
ther’s video call from a dangerous and faraway place. I grimaced just remembering how selfish I had been. The statement was ironic coming for her. Hadn’t she just been a kid too when her mother did what she did and changed Eden’s entire life like Beau’s death had mine?
“I know I’m not responsible for his death, but I can’t help but wonder what his last thoughts were before he died. Did he know I loved him more than anything?” This time Eden didn’t let me keep her down. She sat up and straddled me. My dick rose to attention, which was highly inappropriate given the conversation, but my girl was naked and straddling me. And it was morning.
Eden cupped my face and looked me straight in the eye. “He knew.” She leaned forward and kissed me softly before sitting back up and looking over her shoulder at the tented sheets pooled around us.
“Just ignore it.”
“It’s a little hard to ignore.” She giggled. In a flash I had her on her back pinned beneath me.
“First baby, don’t ever use the word little when you’re talking about my dick. Second, don’t distract me with your perfect tits.” She closed her eyes and made that noise that drove me crazy. I rolled off her, taking her with me, and arranged her back on my chest. I wanted to make love to her, but we had to finish this conversation first. She needed to understand me so I wouldn’t send her running for the hills. “Third, don’t moan like that or I won’t be responsible for what happens.”
“With your giant friend,” she teased as she wiggled next to me.
“That’s more like it. Now let me finish my turn so he can have his.” Can dicks smile? I think mine just did.
“When do I get mine?” She grinned. “And don’t challenge me. I never back down from a challenge.” Except for getting back on the ice.
