When Day Breaks
Finally he carefully curled his arm around her waist, anchoring her to his side. She let out a blissful sigh and laid her cheek on his chest, tucking her head right below his chin.
“I’ll rest better with you here,” she said.
He toyed with a strand of her hair with his fingers before dropping them and resting his hand back on her hip.
His body heat soaked into her, making her feel warm and contented. She yawned broadly and closed her eyes, snuggling a little deeper into his embrace.
“You make me feel safe,” she murmured.
“You are safe with me, Eden.”
It was a vow, one spoken in solemn tones.
“I know,” she whispered as her eyelids fluttered closed.
CHAPTER 10
WHEN they landed in Paris, Eden was hustled off the plane and into an armored Mercedes sedan. She barely had time to blink over the image before she was inside the backseat, flanked by Swanny and Skylar. Edge rode up front with the driver, and Nathan and Joe rode in another car that led the two-car procession to the hotel where Eden would stay.
She had only today to get her bearings and rest up because the following morning the shoot would kick off and her schedule was packed full, culminating in a formal launch party held by Aria at the end of the shoot.
They drove to the back entrance of the upscale hotel and Swanny issued a soft order for her to stay until he and the others were in position. When she finally ducked out, the five KGI members formed a tight boundary around her and hurried her inside.
Joe went up to the desk to handle the registration, and it occurred to Eden that she wasn’t sure of the sleeping arrangements. She was used to having her own suite and her own space. She didn’t even share quarters with Micah or David.
Having to share space with anyone would interfere in her plans to get Swanny into her bed. She mentally rolled her eyes and shook her head. She should be more concerned with her safety, but instead her thoughts were consumed with how to seduce Swanny and whether they would have the privacy she wanted.
When Joe returned, they began the trek up the stairs and when they reached her floor, she hesitated and turned to look at Joe, since he was holding the key cards.
“What are the arrangements?” she asked. “I mean, who’s sleeping where?”
“Skylar will share a two-bedroom suite with you. The rest of us will take the other two bedrooms on either side of your suite.”
Eden hesitated, unsure of how to put this without sounding either bitchy or just plain obvious.
“I’d rather not share a room with anyone,” she said quietly. “It’s just that I have so much stuff and I don’t want to inconvenience anyone . . .”
She trailed off, knowing she sounded lame.
Joe’s eyebrows furrowed and he exchanged quick glances with his teammates. Obviously they hadn’t anticipated her resistance to someone sharing quarters with her.
“It’s a two-bedroom suite, right?” she asked quickly, gathering her courage. Her face was flaming, she knew, but she just had to be more assertive and blunt.
Joe nodded.
“Then I want Swanny to stay in the other room with me,” she blurted.
Skylar suppressed a quick smile, but she sent Eden a knowing look, and oddly enough Eden could swear she saw encouragement and camaraderie in Skylar’s eyes.
“Edge and I can bunk together,” Skylar spoke up. “Not like we aren’t used to living together. That way you and Nathan can share the other room,” she said to Joe.
Swanny looked a little poleaxed, and she supposed she couldn’t blame him since no one had exactly consulted him in the decision making.
“I’d feel more comfortable with him,” Eden said, refusing to give in to the embarrassment crowding her chest.
“Swanny?” Joe asked, looking in his teammate’s direction.
Eden refused to look at the others, not wanting to see their expressions. She stared at Swanny, pleading with her eyes for him not to refuse her. She hadn’t lied. She really did feel more comfortable with him.
“That’s fine,” Swanny finally said. “Her being alone isn’t an option.”
Eden sagged in relief.
Joe handed her a key card and then another to Swanny. “We’ll be on either side of you, Eden, and it needs to be clear that you aren’t to leave this room without one of us. For any reason. Where you go, we go. Period.”
“Got it,” she said, taking the key from him.
She pushed into her suite, Swanny following behind. Her luggage had been sent ahead and was waiting in the living room. Swanny’s eyebrows went up.
“That’s a hell of a lot of stuff for just a few days.”
She grimaced. “Part and parcel of the business. One whole suitcase is nothing but hair and skin care stuff.”
He glanced ruefully down at his large duffel bag. “Guess I pack lighter.”
Her eyes widened as something occurred to her. “Oh my God. The Aria launch. If you all are going with me, and I assume you are since Joe said I wasn’t going anywhere without you, then you’re all going to need tuxes. Or at the very least a formal suit. It’s a really big deal. Glitzy and glamorous. You’ll need to blend in.”
The deer-in-the-headlights look he gave her was hilarious.
“A tux?” he croaked.
She nodded solemnly, keeping a straight face. “I’ll have to take you shopping and get you all outfitted. It’ll be fun.”
“Fun,” he muttered as if it were the very last word he’d use to describe it.