Eden

I’m coming out of my skin waiting for Donovan to arrive. It’s been three days since he left to get my dad—and since Dad arrived two days ago, I’d expected Donovan to come back then as well. He’s called and texted a ton, but all he’s told me is that he had some things to do before he could get back. I’m jittery as hell because I feel like whatever Donovan is doing is important. He’s being great, amazing even, but something in his tone tells me that whatever it is he’s doing is heavy. It bothered me enough that I asked him if he wanted me to go to wherever he is to be with him. He said no, but I got the feeling part of him wanted to say yes. Instead of doing that he told me to take the time to let Dad say all he needed to say, which I have.

Whatever happened when Donovan went to get him seems to have bonded them in some strange way. Dad is going to be staying here at the motel until he finds an apartment. In the meantime, he’ll be working at the house that Ron, Paul, and Donovan bought to renovate.

I’m shocked and also touched that Donovan went so far to make sure that Dad and I would reconnect. It was hard to hear Dad’s truth, but not harder than it would’ve been to lose him forever. It will take a while for me to trust him again, but I feel hopeful that it will happen. He’s stuck on the money and how badly he messed up, but for me, the bottom line is that money isn’t going to walk me down the aisle or tell the story about how I fell off my bike and busted my lip the first time the training wheels came off.

No matter how much losing it stings, money is just a thing. In this case, it came to me because my mother and grandmother died. I’d have foregone every last cent to have them alive and well— and I feel the same way about my dad. Death is final. Given the choice between having him safe and alive or having that money back, I’d choose him every single time without blinking. I’m at peace with that choice and I hope that someday soon my father will be too.

Looking out the window, I check again to see if Donovan’s truck is coming down the drive. When he called an hour ago and said he was heading back from his parents’, the butterflies in my stomach went crazy. With no sign of him, I go back to pacing. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never been so anxious to see anyone, which has made these last few days a test of my endurance.

The sound of a car door slamming has my breath coming out in a whoosh as I race for the door. Flinging it open, I grin like an idiot when I see Donovan. I don’t hesitate to run to him, and he’s barely taken one step away from the truck before I’m barreling into his arms. As he wraps his arms around me, I feel his frame loosen, like he’s been carrying tension and needed to see me as much as I’ve needed to see him. Unconcerned about whether anyone notices, I wrap my legs around his waist and hold on tight as he walks toward my open door. I don’t think the joy I find in his permitting me to touch him will ever dissipate.

I adjust my position a little so that I’m able to look into his eyes. The movement causes him to make a low sound in his throat, which makes me grin. “How was the drive?” I ask as he closes the door.

“Too fuckin’ long,” he rasps. “I missed you.”

“You should show me how much.”

He lets out a groan as he starts walking again, hurrying through the unit and back to my bedroom. Expecting him to lay me on the bed I grin when he sits so that I’m straddling his lap. Framing his face with my hands, I look him over.

“Hi, Stretch.”

The smile he gives me is so dazzling that it causes my breath to catch. The sadness in his eyes is still there, yet somehow it’s less.

“Hi, Shortstack. Feel like giving me a kiss yet or are you too busy checking me out?” he teases.

I lightly pinch his cheeks before sliding my hands around to the back of his head. Holding him in place, I lean in and nip at his lower lip. “How bad do you want it?” I ask cheekily.

He shrugs. “I could take a nap instead.”

Throwing back my head, I laugh. “Asshole.”

“Your asshole,” he answers.

It would seem so little to anyone else, but I hear that first word for what it is—a declaration of intent. He’s committed to this. I grin as I lean in close and reward him with a kiss that turns from sensual to desperate within a matter of minutes. Only three days have passed since our last kiss, but you’d think it was three hundred due to the intensity of it. The feel of his erection beneath me is too damn tempting to ignore. Unable to control my need, I change my position a bit and start rocking against him.

Tearing his mouth from mine, his breath comes in gusts as he stares at me. “You’ll be my undoing.”

“You needed to be undone,” I whisper.

The way he looks at me breaks my heart a little. “You’ve been able to see through me the whole time,” he sighs.

I shake my head because that isn’t true. “I don’t see through you, but I’ve known from early on that whatever made you so closed off was hurting you more than your standoffishness hurt anyone else.”

Sliding his hand into my hair, he tugs me forward and kisses me again. The passion between us is electric. I return his kiss with abandon as the need for him builds inside of me. Only when I feel like I’ll lose my mind if I don’t get him inside of me, do I stop. Pulling away, I stand up and take off my leggings and tee. The heat in his eyes when he sees that I was braless beneath my shirt is its own kind of aphrodisiac. Keeping eyes on him, I hook my fingers into the sides of my black lace thong and slowly start pulling them down. His throat moves as he swallows thickly and watches their progress. Once they’re all the way off, I kick them away and go to him.

Standing in front of him, I tap his right knee. “Spread your legs.”

I drop to my knees and run my hands up his jean clad inner thighs. “Jesus,” he murmurs.

When I trace both hands over the obvious bulge in his jeans, his answering groan tells me I’m on the right track. I quickly undo the snap of his jeans before slowly pulling the zipper down. Reaching into his black briefs, I fist his shaft and take it out. He whimpers at the first touch, his ragged breath all the encouragement I need.

I feel pretty darn confident that I could see him naked every day and still be impressed by the erotic perfection of this part of his body. Fisting the base, I rise up on my knees and swirl my tongue over the crown. I do this several times before I open my mouth to pull him in, my eyes on his as I do it.

He hisses out a tortured sound when I slide my head back up before I descend down again. “Fuck, Angel,” he groans.

Sliding his fingers into my hair, he uses his grip to guide me up and down. I relax my throat as much as I can as he slides me down farther, so the crown of his shaft hits the back of my throat.

“Goddamn, fuck,” he moans, repeating the same motion again and again and again.

The entire time I keep my eyes on his. I ignore the fact that I know I’m drooling as well as the bit of stiffness building in my jaw as I pleasure him. It’s all worth it to be able to see the look of ecstasy on his face.

I’m surprised when he guides me off, his harsh groan filling the room. “Climb on and ride me,” he orders.

I nod as I stand. Stopping, I turn and open the drawer next to my bed to pull out a condom. I open the box and divide the dozen equally between both sides of my bed so that we’d be prepared this time. Tearing the foil packet, I take the condom out and hand it to him, then watch as he quickly rolls it on before he holds his hands out to help me onto his lap.

I hold onto his left shoulder with one hand and fist his shaft with the other as I guide it to where it needs to be. Ever so slowly, I begin my descent. Both hands now on his shoulders, I hold tightly to him as I look down and watch as his shaft goes into me. It’s different like this, like maybe I might be too full. When I pause, he settles his hands at my waist and helps guide me down.

“Take me in, Angel.”

“My God,” I whimper when he’s all the way inside and my bottom comes to rest on his thighs. “It’s so deep like this.”

Taking one hand from where it rests at my waist, he reaches between us and starts rubbing my clit. I whimper as pleasure lights up my body. Unable to sit still, I start alternating between rocking back and forth and moving up and down. Each time I slide down and take him as deep as he can go, I get wetter.

“Fuck me hard, Angel.”

I don’t need to be asked twice. Holding tight to his shoulders, I ride faster. My movements aren’t practiced or pretty, but it doesn’t matter. The way he’s breathing is a clear indicator that he’s as into this as I am.

“Donovan,” I whimper.

He pinches my clit in response, and I almost come right then. “Please, please,” I wail, not even sure what I’m asking for.

He rubs faster, his touch now focused on the most sensitive part of my clit. When he pinches that spot again, I bury my face in the spot where his neck meets his shoulder and bite down as my orgasm slams into me like a lightning bolt.

He flips me onto my back in the space between one second and the next. Bracing his arms on either side of my head, he starts to thrust frantically. “Oh God,” I cry, his shaft hitting some new spot inside of me that’s making my orgasm go on and on, so much so that it’s got me feeling faint. “Donovan!”

Rooting himself deep, he jerks inside me as he lets out a guttural moan that makes my toes curl.

“Fuck, fuck,” he moans. I watch the play of emotion and feeling on his face before his lips meet mine. He kisses the absolute hell out of me as his body shudders through his release. God, the way he comes. I think I could live on the way it makes me feel.

Finished, he rolls onto his back and takes me with him. This is the third time we’ve made love and also the third time he’s done this, and I enjoy it very much. Connected like this, I feel treasured. I rub my face against the soft cotton of his Henley and breathe in the scent of him. After a minute or so of silence, I let out a giggle.

“What’s funny?” he asks with a chuckle.

“Your clothes are still on,” I snicker. “I’m trying to imagine what this looks like, my naked body on top of your fully clothed one.”

“Um, without a doubt the answer is that it looks fuckin’ hot,” he replies.

We lay in silence for a few minutes as he traces his fingers up and down my spine. I sigh and wiggle on top of him with a laugh when he tickles my hip.

“This is different,” he laughs.

Lifting my head, I look up at him. “Huh?”

“You’re still awake,” he says dryly. “Normally you pass out after.”

I wrinkle my nose and give him a silly look before dropping my head and nipping at his chest with my teeth. He hisses out a laugh as his body jerks in surprise.

“Gotta get this condom off,” he announces.

He lifts me off slowly, but I wince anyway. I’m still not a fan of the little sting that comes with losing him. I watch his retreating form as he heads into the bathroom to deal with the condom. With him in the bathroom, I get up and go to the dresser to pull out a nightgown. No sooner do I pull out a drawer then he’s back in the room.

“What’re you doing?”

“Nightgown,” I answer.

He shakes his head before he pulls off his shirt and hands it to me. “Wear this.”

Pulling it over my head, I snicker when I realize that it stops just short of my knees. Just like his biker jacket, the sleeves are too long, so I spend a minute rolling them up. Looking up to find him watching me, I bite my lip when I get a look at his naked chest. Good Lord, this man is hot. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me to him. “Keep looking at me like that and you’ll be fucked so hard you’ll feel me inside you for days.”

Licking my lips, I grin. “Promise?”

Not only does he promise, he follows through.

I wake up around midnight, surprised that he’s not in bed with me. Seeing that his clothes are gone, my stomach drops. Rising from the bed, I pull on my discarded pants and tee from earlier, just in case I need to go next door to kick his ass. I stop at my dresser to grab a pair of fluffy socks before shuffling out into the living room. I startle when I realize he’s still here—sitting on the couch in the dark. Flicking on a lamp, I go and sit down next to him.

“What’re you doing out here?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I came out for some water and wound up sitting here answering some business emails.” Saying this, he holds up the phone at his side. “Just finished a second ago and was gearing up to come back to bed but now you’re here.”

It’s a reasonable explanation, but I don’t miss that he looks melancholy. “You okay?” I ask.

Lifting my hand, he threads our fingers together. “It’s been an emotional few days. You awake enough for me to show you something outside?”

I’m wide awake now.

I nod. “Of course.”

Grabbing his car keys from the table, he stands, helps me up, and guides me toward the door. Watching him as we walk I note that he seems heavier somehow, like he’s bracing for something. After flicking the security latch on my door to keep it from shutting all the way, he walks me over to his truck. Stopping at the rear door, he clicks the key fob to unlock the car.

“I want you to know everything about me,” he says as he opens the door. I stare at him blankly for several seconds before he gestures for me to look inside. When I turn my head and see what’s in the backseat my brows shoot up in surprise. Far from being a mess, his car is extremely clean, but that isn’t what’s got me reeling. No, the thing responsible for that is the car seat on the rear passenger seat. Beside the seat is a little backpack with Bob the Builder on it and next to that is a pillow that has one of the Land Before Time dinosaurs on the case.

“You have a son?” I ask incredulously.

If pain had a face, it would be the expression on his at my question. I know before he says a word that whatever is coming isn’t good.

He shakes his head before he takes my hand, shuts the truck door and then guides me back toward my room. Inside, he maneuvers us to the couch. Once we’re seated, I nervously wait for him to explain.

“Had,” he says thickly. “I had a son. His name was Brady and I loved him with every fiber of my being.”

My breath catches, my heart racing a mile a minute as I realize what that sentence means. The pain I’ve seen in Donovan’s eyes makes all the sense in the world now. My breaking heart shatters into a million pieces when he tells me exactly how he lost his son.