Another shiver raced down Shylah's spine as he again moved closer, emphasizing their significant size difference even more.
Shylah had a damn good reason for not being at the cabin when he returned. But if she told him that, she'd have to tell him the rest.
The painful memory of what she'd lost was like a dagger to her heart.
Glancing up at Eden's hate-filled eyes, there was no way she was baring her soul to him when he looked at her like that.
"I had to get some space after everything happened, Eden. I'm sorry if that hurt you. I know you probably won't believe this, but I've missed you."
Her voice had a slight tremble in it as she spoke. She felt like she was swimming in uncharted waters.
There was something in Eden's eyes that Shylah couldn't quite identify. Something new and dangerous.
How was he so different?
Shylah had rehearsed in her head so many times what she would say to him once she finally saw him again. But this wasn't the Eden she knew. The man standing in front of her was a stranger.
"Missed me so much you couldn't pick up the phone to call?"
Shrinking back, Shylah's brain struggled to comprehend what was happening. Was this really the man she loved? The man she'd thought about every day, craving to be back at his side? There was so much anger inside of him.
Had Project Arma done this to him? Or had she?
"You're different." The words slipped out.
There was no emotion on Eden's face when he replied, "Well, being lied to and betrayed by the person who's supposed to love you will do that."
Flinching, Shylah focused on one word in that sentence.
Betrayed.
Did he mean that he knew she'd been the one to uncover the truth behind Project Arma? The government personnel she had been in contact with said they would let her tell him. She couldn't have told him while it was happening, that would have gotten him killed.
"I wanted to tell you, Eden. You have no idea how badly I wanted to tell you."
Eden took another step closer while Shylah attempted to take another step back, only to feel the hard edge of the table against her body.
The closer Eden came, the bigger he got. Easily two to three times her size. If the man decided he wanted to hurt her, there was nothing she could do.
Eden wouldn't hurt her.
Well, the old Eden wouldn't. She had no idea what this man would do.
"I can smell the fear on you, Shy."
"I keep telling myself you wouldn't hurt me, but I don't think I really know who you are."
A hint of a smile touched Eden's lips. Only it wasn't the smile she was used to. "I'm exactly who you wanted me to be. Who you made me."
"I don't understand, Eden. Who I made you? What does that mean?"
Eden reached out his hand, and Shylah forced herself to remain still as his knuckles grazed her cheek. His touch was surprisingly gentle. "Tell me something true, Shy. Something real."
That her heart was breaking? That she'd thought she was returning to the man she loved, but he wasn't there? The possibility that the man she knew no longer existed seemed very real. And it was soul-wrenching.
"Not a day has passed during the last fourteen months when I didn't think of you."
Not a single damn day.
Lowering his head, Eden's mouth touched Shylah's neck.
Not moving a muscle, Shylah stood as still as possible. The scent of him being so close was intoxicating. Her mind said run, but the only running she wanted to do was running her hands down his body. Pulling herself closer.
"Because you felt guilty?"
Guilty? For not telling him what she knew?
She didn't tell him to save him. There was no way she felt guilty about saving the man she loved.
"Because I missed you."
Eden's teeth nipped Shylah's neck, a bolt of awareness shooting through her.
Even though he didn't act like the same Eden she once knew, her body still remembered him. She wanted to sink into his warmth.
"The day I got back from my mission, the day they told me what Project Arma did to us, I went for you. When you weren't there, I told myself that you'd just popped out somewhere. There was no way you could be connected to any of that. So, I waited."
Eden's lips remained on Shylah's neck while his arms bracketed her to the table. Leaning his body into her, Shylah felt every inch of the man that touched her.
"I can't remember how long I waited. But I remember the moment I realized you weren't coming back. The moment it all became clear to me what had happened. That was the moment I lost faith in people."
Before Shylah could respond, Eden lowered his hands and lifted her onto the table. In one swift move, he widened her hips, forcing her thighs to part.
Eden's hardness pressed against her, causing a throbbing of need deep in her core. "You, Shylah, are my kryptonite. I should hate you, but here we are."
Shylah couldn't think. It had been too long since she'd felt Eden like this. There'd been so many nights where she'd craved him.
A moan released from Shylah's lips as his hand ran under her shirt against her bare stomach. His mouth moving to the sensitive spot on her neck, hand reaching up to cover her breast.
Shylah surrendered to the sensations. His hand massaging, lips sucking. Throwing her head back, she ground her hips against Eden's.
"So much of it couldn't have been real. This wasn't fake though, was it?" When Shylah remained silent, Eden halted his torment for a moment and went to remove his hand. "Tell me this was real, Shy."
Desperate need filled Shylah as Eden pulled away. "It was real, Eden." The words were torn from Shylah's lips, begging him not to stop. "It was real to me."
Always real.
Lowering his head once again, Eden moved his hand to her other breast. The combination of the sucking on her neck with the massaging of her breast set Shylah's body alight.
There was a burning inside of her where it had been cold for so long.
"Eden . . ." Not recognizing her own voice, Shylah couldn't suppress the urgency.
Moving her hands under his shirt, Shylah scraped her fingers down his chest.
He was all hard. Her nails ran over the ridges of his muscles.
Lowering her right hand, she covered his crotch in a firm grip.
When he didn't pull away, Shylah wrapped her fingers around him over his jeans.
Hardening in her fingers, Eden released a growl of approval.
Eden's hands moved to the waistband of her jeans, undoing the button and zipper. Pulling them down in one swift move, the underwear went with them, leaving Shylah bare from the waist down.
Not feeling an ounce of embarrassment, she moved her own hands to the button and zipper of his pants, undoing both and pushing them down.
Stepping out of his pants, Eden's hands quickly returned to Shylah's body, this time moving to her core.
The feel of his fingers against her took Shylah's breath away. As his thumb rubbed her clit, Shylah's body burned. His touch was firm as he made circular motions.
The throbbing intensified and Shylah's breaths shortened. Then he inserted a finger inside her as his mouth lowered to her breast on top of the shirt.
Shylah cried out when Eden's mouth suctioned her nipple.
"Already ready for me, Shy," Eden drawled as he lifted his head for a moment.
"Yes." Her voice didn't sound like her own. "Please, Eden."
"Tell me what you want, Shy."
Him. All of him. "You. Inside me."
To confirm her words, Shylah placed her hand back on his rock-hard penis, now bare. Tightening her grip, she moved her hand in the way she remembered that he liked.
A guttural growl tore from Eden's lips as he lifted Shylah and turned to press her against the wall. The tip of Eden's penis pressed against her entrance before sliding inside her.
A cry tore from Shylah's lips as her eyes drifted shut.
"No, eyes on me, Shylah."
Snapping her eyes open, she watched Eden as he thrust in and out of her. On every thrust, Eden pulled himself out so only the tip touched Shylah, then pushed back inside to fill her so completely.
The sound of their bodies connecting and their heavy breathing were the only sounds in the room.
Without breaking eye contact, there was an intensity with the way Eden watched her.
Her fingers latched onto his shoulders. His hands dug in where he held her hips.
As his thrusts got harder, deeper, the throbbing increased to an unbearable level. Shylah's body was close to breaking.
Moving his hand to her nipple, Eden pinched.
Throwing her head back, Shylah's body exploded.
Crying out when her whole body went up in flames.
Eden tightened and let go, experiencing his own orgasm.
Dropping her head onto Eden's shoulder, she felt sated and relaxed. His penis still throbbed inside her, connecting their bodies.
Emotions that she hadn't felt in too long moved their way to the surface.
This was the man she'd fought so hard to keep safe. This was why she'd done what she'd done and fought to make her way back to him.
Being in his arms felt like home.
"So, tell me, Shylah, when were you going to tell me you were part of the Project Arma cover-up?"
For a moment, Shylah's brain couldn't comprehend what Eden had said. When the words filtered through her consciousness, her body stiffened.
Eden thought Shylah was part of the Project Arma cover-up? Shylah had never in a million years considered that Eden's thoughts might go there when she'd disappeared.
Lifting her head, she looked into Eden's eyes, hoping that she'd misinterpreted his words.
Seeing nothing but steel in his hard eyes, a part of Shylah's fragile heart shattered.
"Get the fuck off me, Eden." Shylah's voice was hard.
The feel of Eden touching her, inside her, was suddenly too much to bear.
Placing her hands against his chest, Shylah pushed and was grateful when he let her go, setting her on her feet.
Turning, Shylah went straight over to her jeans to put them on to cover herself.
It took her longer than she'd hoped because of her stupid left hand, which wouldn't stop shaking, but she got there.
Taking a breath, she turned back to Eden, who had also dressed in that time. "You think I was in on what Project Arma did to you?"
"Yes."
One word. That's all it took to break Shylah's heart.
"Tell me it's not true."
Narrowing her eyes, Shylah placed her hands on her hips. "Fuck you, Eden. I don't have to tell you anything. Get out."
The anger felt much better than the devastation that her body wanted to express.
When Eden remained where he was, Shylah repeated the words, but this time with more venom. "I said, GET. THE. FUCK. OUT."
Without any emotion on his face or in his words, Eden spoke before moving, "This isn't over, Shylah. I want the details, and I wanted them yesterday. I'll be back."
Shylah said nothing. She knew her voice would shake, and she refused to show Eden any weakness.
As he turned to leave, Shylah kept her steely gaze on Eden until the door shut behind him. Then she let the tears fall. Lowering to the floor, Shylah broke. She had risked her life for that man. Almost died. She'd lost a part of herself for him.
Lowering her head to her knees, Shylah gave in to the pain in her chest. Never in her life had she felt so alone. The only thing that had gotten her through the healing process was the knowledge that she would soon be back with him, back with the man she loved.
So far, it seemed that man was gone.
4
Eden's fist hit the bag. Hard.
The sun still hadn't risen. Eden had barely slept, but he didn't need much.
Another perk of the damn project. Can't be a superweapon if you sleep too much.
Hitting the bag again, Eden's mind flicked back to Shylah. The same place it always went.
This time it didn't remember the Shylah from Project Arma. It remembered the Shylah from last night.
He could still feel her damn body around him. Hear her voice in his head.
He shouldn't have done what he did, damn it.
Then he pictured her face after he accused her of being part of the Project Arma cover-up.
Shattered.
Eden didn't know any other way to describe it.
He was such a jerk. He shouldn't have said it then. Could have at least waited until he wasn't inside her. He could kick his own ass.
Those sad hazel eyes were etched into his mind, and he couldn't get them out.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. Eden knew from the sound it was one of the guys. They knew each other that well.
Turning, he watched Wyatt step into the room.
"Lucky you're a fast healer, or that hand would need some more medical attention."
Turning back to the bag, Eden threw another punch. "Yeah, I'm the luckiest son of a bitch to walk the planet, aren't I?"
Crossing his arms, Wyatt leaned against the wall. "You know I didn't peg you as a martyr."
The sound of Eden's fists hitting the bag filled the room. "Didn't you hear, Jobs? You never really know a person until it's too late."
Pushing off the wall, Wyatt pulled his sweatshirt over his head. "Pretty sure I know you. Pigheaded. Overconfident. I got you pegged, Hunter. Now stop hitting the damn bag and hit a person like I know you want to."
"Fuck off," Eden muttered, giving the bag a kick at full force.
About to throw another punch, searing pain to Eden's mid-section made him stop. With a turn of his head, his gaze zoomed in on Wyatt. Rather than look guilty, the asshole seemed pleased with himself.
"Hit me."
Clenching his fists, Eden refused to bite. "Get the fuck out of here."
"No." Wyatt went for another hit, but Eden was ready this time. Easily blocking the punch, he clenched his jaw.
"You can't spend the rest of your life in this damn room hitting a bag," Wyatt scolded, walking around Eden, ready to pounce.
"I can do whatever the hell I want."
Raising his brows, Wyatt didn't stop moving. "Whatever the hell you want? Well, do you want to find the assholes who ran Project Arma?"
Another kick came Eden's way, this one so quick that it landed on his leg. His patience was running short.
"What the fuck do you think? You think I want those assholes running free?" Eden growled.
"I think you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself to see things clearly. To do what needs to be done."
When Wyatt threw the next punch, Eden didn't just block it, he turned and raised an elbow, hitting Wyatt in the face.
Pausing, Wyatt wiped the smear of blood from his jaw. "Felt good, didn't it?"
"What else do you think, Jobs? Seeing as you're the fucking genius of the group?"
He was the man the team went to when they needed information. A lethal SEAL, and just as good at digging up information. But right now, he was acting like a fucking therapist.
Wyatt moved around Eden so quickly that a normal man would have missed it. Eden caught every step.
Before Wyatt could wrap his arms around Eden's neck, Eden dropped and cut his legs through the air.
Falling to the ground with a heavy thud, Wyatt wasted no time rolling to the side before Eden could take advantage. Going into a crouch position, Wyatt shrugged.
"I think we've been one man short of a team for the last fourteen months, and we need you to get your shit together."
Fuck this.
Eden didn't have time for Wyatt's opinions.
Lunging at his friend with the speed only his team had, Eden landed one good punch to Wyatt's stomach.
Eden was bigger by a couple of inches, but Wyatt was just as deadly. Moving his fist back again, Wyatt then flipped their bodies so that Eden was on his stomach and Wyatt on top.
<
br /> "It doesn't matter how strong, fast, or deadly you are, Hunter. If you don't have your head screwed on straight, you will get yourself killed."
Eden tried to move, but Wyatt had him in too tight a hold.
"We need you, and we need you at your best. She's here, Hunter. She's within reaching distance. Find out what happened, where she's been, and why she's back. Then join our damn team again."
Flipping their bodies, Eden threw Wyatt's weight onto his back then jumped to his feet. Wyatt followed suit and stood in front of him, unmoving.
Running his hands over his face, the frustration was like a parasite, eating at Eden. "We had sex yesterday."
Crossing his arms across his chest, Wyatt nodded. "And?"
Of course, Wyatt would know there was more to the story. "And then I accused her of being part of the Project Arma cover-up."
Shit. It sounded even worse coming out of his mouth.
"We read her file on the encrypted Project Arma document someone sent us. It said nothing about her working with them, only that she was a nurse. That leads me to think she's likely innocent. Do you really believe that she was part of it?"
Yes. No. Who the fuck knows? What Eden knew was that he wanted to hate her.
Maybe he'd been telling himself she'd betrayed him all these months so he could channel his emotions into fury.
"Until I know where she's been, I don't think I can make a call on who she is or isn't."
Taking a step closer, Wyatt put his hand on Eden's shoulder. "We're all here to support you, Hunter. Whatever you need."
Looking into his friend's eye, Eden nodded. He didn't deserve Wyatt. Hell, he didn't deserve any of the guys after the way he'd been acting the last few months. But he'd be an idiot not to take their friendship.
* * *
The sound of her phone buzzing pulled Shylah from her sleep. Glancing at the time, she noticed it was only just past seven in the morning.
Jeez, did people in Marble Falls not know how to sleep in?
Closing her eyes again, she blindly reached for the phone. She must have gotten all of three hours sleep last night.
Eden: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 2) Page 3
