Waiting For Eden (Eden Series)

by Leigh, Jessica

  Things were unraveling at Ridgeway Incorporated, and there was no jetting out of the country to a Monte Carlo playground when the shit hit the fan. Marcus had to produce results for the sake of the company, and swiftly, before the government got wind of the property. It was go time.

  Why had he even attempted to woo her to his bed? Why had he let her get into his veins, warming up the ice within? He thought about her incessantly. Ridiculously. It had made him weak, when it was in his nature to invoke fear.

  The muscles in his neck and shoulder were twitching rhythmically, insistently. Was he finally losing his control? Her rejection had sent him plummeting to a place he had not been in a very, long time. He clenched and unclenched his fingers in an attempt to sooth them, and it seemed to help a bit.

  Marcus had come to terms with the darkness inside him many years ago. It was always there – a separate creature it seemed sometimes, but one that must be placated. He knew he had an “anger problem,” as his shrink would say – so okay. So what? He liked to hurt and kill things, it soothed him. He didn’t know why, it simply just was.

  To turn his darkness completely loose at this juncture would be unthinkable, a total loss of control. And Marcus needed his control – a will of iron, in fact, to make it in this rancid and cut-throat world of his. And he needed control to deal with Alexandra Winters, or he would end up snuffing out her life before he got the things he needed from her to survive in his own dirty jungle.

  Another jolt of pain shot annoyingly through his temporal lobe and he cursed out loud, and then swiftly connected back to his Bluetooth. “Dial Andrea,” he hissed through clenched teeth. He needed to let off steam. Let the beast free for a bit before chaining him again. But when he had taken all he needed from Ms. Winters, she would endure every bit of darkness that beast had within its belly in return for her betrayal. Her eventual death would be a gift.

  ~~~~~~~~

  A little Jenny-wren had made her nest in a tiny alcove within the archway that served as the garden of “Eden’s” entrance. The tiny bird flitted about the bushes and trellises, never seeming to mind Alex’s presence one bit, and intermittently peppered the mid-morning air with her bubbly, trilling call. It brought back sudden memories of her childhood in West Virginia.

  Every year, one particular stubborn pair of wrens would build their nest in the upper pole of her metal swing-set in the small section of the back yard that Alex’s father actually bothered to mow. She would watch them build away, busily above her reach, and then carefully hatch the eggs and rear the chicks. But as the babies would grow and prosper, they inevitably grew too heavy for the shallow nest, which ultimately broke and set the unfortunate hatchlings tumbling to the bottom of the hollow swing-set pole before they could fledge.

  Trapped from the aid of their parents inside the metal tube, their slow demise was inevitable. Before his departure, her father said the dead chicks were merely “nature’s way of keeping numbers in line.” How poignantly spoken, Alex thought wryly. Her father’s own method was to simply drive away and never look back.

  This particular wren’s nest, however, seemed secure and well-built, and her chicks were hearty and plump with little beaks turned upward in anticipation of the next insect they would receive. It hurt Alex’s heart to think of all the lost little babes in the world, those small creatures – or children – without protection. They sat at the mercy of fate, an icy bitch that had neither compassion nor soul.

  However, Alex had survived her childhood, and she had survived the winding road her mind had taken last night. It seemed crazy now to think that she might not of, but the fear had been there, real and persistent as she had crawled into the warmth of that bed and closed her eyes. Everything had hinged on that night: her resolve, her strength, and her sanity.

  It was astounding how fast the engulfing darkness of her bedroom had pulled her into slumber. She had dreamed, but the content was fuzzy and slow motion, thick and dark like southern molasses. But there was one thing she did remember – Marta had been in them. She was not afraid of Marta anymore, the gentle ghost who often visited in the night, but there was something more to the dream, something wicked, something evil.

  Alex had woken with a start, staring upward at the clock that projected the time onto her ceiling: 3:10 A.M. Her heart was tripping along and her skin was clammy. She reached out beside her and felt a warm, hard chest that moved, and then mumbled at the touch.

  Jamie was still there with her. The knowledge brought on such an intense feeling of relief and jubilation that she had gasped aloud.

  He had rolled over and pulled her to him. “You okay, Alex?” he had breathed softly in her ear. She had turned and kissed him in response and felt the surprise in his lips. It was quickly replaced by desire as his kiss deepened and his hands moved down to climb beneath her nightshirt and across the warm skin under the cotton.

  His fingers on her sex had deftly brought her to a slick, wet desire. Still kissing her, he pulled her panties aside and entered her smoothly, her moans muffled against the heat of his invading tongue. The pleasure was sweet, and even more intense than the fading dream had been.

  A breeze lifted, and the hairs at the nape of her neck stirred. She shivered. Alex realized she had broken out in a thin sheen of sweat, for the mountain summer days were growing more intense by noon. She and Jamie would need to visit that beautiful hidden pool again very soon. So pleasurable… and of course the horses needed the exercise. The thought made her look toward the barn and pastures, biting her lip in consternation.

  No doubt about it, she was going to lose Michael Dalton as a client. His three horses milled in their lot of pasture, lazily swishing flies as they methodically ripped grasses with even teeth. The expensive Hanoverian’s coat glistened like burnished metal, reminding her of a Porsche in the sun. The thought of their loss made her stomach turn over in dismay.

  But there was nothing else she could do. The man had made clear that he had intentions which included much more than merely than training his horses. Alexandra nearly felt his palpable anger at the lame excuse that came to her mind at the time, seething like some sort of poison through the phone. It had literally frightened her.

  Jamie had called her for breakfast then, and she had finished the conversation as rapidly as possible before embarking on a culinary delight of eggs, pancakes, sausage, and steaming mugs of coffee. She decided not to even mention the conversation to Jamie, for a full belly and a walk to the stable to feed the animals together had made her feel all warm and fuzzy again.

  Alexandra had already told him a lot about her past. Even the most embarrassing aspects. Once she started talking, a flurry of words and emotions had stumbled out of her mouth much like a Catholic confession.

  How her father’s desertion and her mother’s resultant descent into alcoholism and aloofness had left her feeling like those baby wrens that had fallen to the bottom of a deep dark hole with no way out to the light. Only now, she had found a way. Many years later, but she had found a way.

  Alex resolved to visit the courthouse in Coudersport next week. She was changing her name back to Carter, her maiden name. She was no longer Alexandra Winters. Finding Eden was her new beginning. She was no longer waiting to be saved. Alexandra was awake and alive again, and the feeling took her breath away.

  ~~~~~~~

  Go figure that her rental car was a total piece of shit. As were the roads. God, she had only landed in a tiny airport in Williamsport a few hours ago and she already hated Pennsylvania.

  Still, Andrea had herself turned out, dressed to the nines, smelling like a dream, and causing many heads to turn in the airport. She had a job to do, as per Marcus’s instructions. It was not one of her favorites, due to the inevitable outcome, but there were always little perks along the way.

  Her drugs, the ones she needed to bring anyway, were stuffed inside the small bag of toys and dildos that the bagger attendants had smirked at during the scan. Thankfully, there had been no dogs. The las
t thing she had wanted to do was swallow anything or stuff something up into her box, like an addict. The drugs weren’t intended for her recreation. Well, maybe a little.

  Was she becoming more like him? She almost experienced a shiver of excitement at the thought of what might come, of what events he might be planning. When Marcus got this way, the outcome was always uncertain. Sometimes, she ended up losing big and paying dearly. But other times, a thrill was there, intense and sexual... and satisfying.

  It was quite true that once you had experienced elicit, titillating, even sadistic pleasures, they became even more desirable. One taste was all it took. She would do anything for Marcus, as his satisfaction pleased her to no end. No matter what he asked of her.

  ~~~~~~~

  “Hey Bro, are you in la-la land today, or what?”

  Jamie jumped at the sudden intrusion into his dream world, and felt his cheeks flush before he could contain his embarrassment. He was, in fact, thinking of Alex’s lithe little body beneath his own, sweaty and shuddering in her final orgasm of the morning.

  She had experienced three that he could count. Her face, in that ultra unguarded moment on the edge of extreme pleasure, made him harder than a drill bit. And more than ready to put in the extra work.

  He remembered, quite vividly, the way her sweat tasted, intermixed with her natural sweetness, as his tongue ran over her entire body to eventually delve into that soft, wet heaven that only a woman in ecstasy could produce.

  He had held back as long as he possibly could, starting and stopping many times, working her body and his cock into a frenzy that had culminated in him swelling to twice his normal size inside her tight walls. His own orgasm had been more intense than any he had before experienced. Christ, what a morning.

  “Nice,” guffawed Aaron at his glazed look. “Hey, give me some details to work with. I want the full visual effect.”

  “Kiss off,” Jamie laughed, shaking his head to clear the lingering fantasy. “Go hit up the internet if you need material, you perv.”

  Keister cocked his head and thumped his tail at Aaron’s feet. Scratching him roughly behind the ears, Aaron snorted. “Why, we already did that today, didn’t we boy?”

  “TMI,” moaned Jamie, and at that, the back screen door swung upon with an audible screech. It sent a shiver up his spine, and for the thirtieth time, Jamie vowed to grab some grease and fix it before the day was up. He turned, and attempted to stifle an audible groan when he saw it was Tracey who had let herself in.

  “Wow,” mumbled Aaron, and although he didn’t say it, even Jamie had to agree. Tracey was dressed in a slimming white skirt with a royal blue blouse that accented her cleavage without the usual trashy effect.

  Her hair was softly styled and her make-up was subtle, with a soft pink lipstick and matching wedge sandals. This was no small feat for Tracey, who favored Daisy Duke cut-offs and the tightest tees imaginable to man that accentuated her amply curved breasts and firm tanned thighs.

  The scent of lavender misted through the air when she came to a stop at the kitchen counter, and casually leaned a hip against it. “Hi, boys,” she said with a coy smile at their astonished looks. “What’s happening?”

  “You got a job interview or something?” asked Aaron, letting loose a whistle while scratching his head. It was puzzling, Jamie agreed, for it wasn’t often that Tracey was looking clear-eyed and put together.

  She giggled like a teenager and tossed back her fine blond locks. Keister waddled his way over to her and barked shortly for attention, but she ignored him. She was never the animal loving kind. “Sort of, you could say. I made me and Jamie some special reservations.”

  Jamie’s stomach dropped at her words. “What are you talking about?” He glanced over at his brother, whose eyes were steeling over perceptively. Yep, his little brother had a crush going again, this time a big one. All this shit was coming to a head, and going nowhere good in a hurry. Jealousy between siblings could wreck a lot, and quickly.

  “I worked a double last week, and put money away. I was hoping to go somewhere nice for dinner. And then… well, Jamie, how does staying over at that Victorian bed and breakfast outside of Roulette sound? You know, the one with the lake and the fountain? They even give couples massages there, I heard.”

  “I know the one,” Jamie managed, clearing his throat, “but I’m not sure where this is all coming from.”

  “Yeah, Tracey,” muttered Aaron, “you two have been less than the best of love birds lately.” Aaron sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers, and Jamie noticed the sudden tick in his brother’s jawline.

  “When are you two gonna give this a rest?” asked Aaron tightly. He continued with a shake of his head. “You totally suck together you know.”

  Tracey swung on him defensively, with blue eyes flashing. “We do NOT suck, Aaron,” she answered forcefully. “We just need a… a boost. We’ve been through some hard times. I want to start over, and try again. I want to clean up, and I want to make another baby, Jamie. I think it’s time. It will be a perfect next step for us. We were so good together.”

  “Another baby, Tracey? For Christ’s sake!” Jamie sunk his head in his hands, trying hard not to lose his cool. His ears had gone hot and there was that familiar nauseous dread in his stomach. He was beginning to think that every single woman on the planet was completely crazy.

  ~~~~~~~

  The bowl containing the chicken corn chowder slipped from her fingers and fell with a hollow thunk to the porch step. Alex was vaguely aware of the warm cream and potato chunks spreading over her pinkies in the open-toed sandals which she had selected for the impromptu visit.

  Jamie… and this sultry blonde girl… and another baby? Aaron must have heard the soup bowl clatter because his head swiveled in her direction and his dark, grey eyes pinned and held her through the screened door.

  “Hey there, come on in, Alex,” he barked out with a harsh laugh at her shocked expression. “You and Tracey oughta meet, hell, it’s perfect timing actually. Hey, Tracey, this is Jamie’s new girlfriend from D.C. You two meet yet? I suspect they’ve really been practicing some baby-making lately.”

  Somehow, Alex managed to open the door and step inside that kitchen, though her legs were leaden and numb. She could feel her heart thrumming up in her ears, and her pulse gushed through them like the sound of roaring water. One glance at Jamie’s ashen face and she knew that there was something seriously amiss.

  She hadn’t, in fact, heard wrong. A baby? She looked at the blond – Tracey - whose face had gone bright red. Her lips were trembling and her eyes were wild.

  All hell broke loose at that moment. The blond was shrieking like a cat at Jamie, Jamie was calling his brother a fucking, little-son-of-a-bitch, and Aaron was laughing like it was all really funny. A frightened Keister began to howl forlornly at the raised voices and tension in the air.

  “You’re screwing her, Jamie? Really? A city bitch? When I am right here, all the time, waiting for you?” Tracey shrieked before wheeling around to gape at Alex. Jamie launched himself across the room to grab a chortling Aaron by the shirt, turning chairs as he went.

  “You, just get out,” ground out Tracey, piercing Alex with a wicked glare. “We had a baby. You have no right to be here, so leave.”

  Alex, for once, found herself speechless. No witty comeback, no icy voice, no sarcasm sharp enough to cut. She looked toward Jamie, who had his brother in a headlock like rough-housing teenagers. “I told you everything, Jamie,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “It wasn’t the right time, Alex,” he muttered back through clenched teeth. “I had no idea she would show up here today with her delusions. You don’t know the whole story, yet, but I will tell you.”

  Tracey and Aaron yelled more obscenities in unison, and additional chairs fell by the wayside with a clatter as the curses flew.

  It was time to exit. Alex felt like she was in the middle of a Jerry Springer episode. She flew
out of the kitchen door, and it slammed with a squeaking bang behind her. When she passed a startled Diana coming up the walk, Alexandra didn’t stop to chat or pick up the broken bowl. She ran as fast as her sandals would let her.

  ~~~~~~~

  “I’ve never been so disappointed or humiliated in my entire life,” said Diana coldly. Aaron was nursing a black eye and Jamie a split lip. Tracey still cried softly in the corner, and her mascara was now smeared down both cheeks. “What kind of boys did I raise? Everyone here is out of control. Except for Alex, who had the sense to quietly leave the premises.”

  “Will you shut up about that witch!” Tracey wailed.

  “Tracey, we have been trying to get you into rehab for no less than four years. You have been on binge after binge, with no hint of an attempt to take responsibility for yourself. Yes, you suffered a tragedy. It’s not the end of the world.”

  “She suffered way more than you realize,” Aaron declared in her defense. “And Jamie just kept her hanging on.”

  “You know that’s not true, little brother,” replied Jamie coldly. “This situation is nothing short of a nightmare. I care about her welfare, but that’s it. After the baby died…”

  “That’s it,” ground out Tracey. “I’m outta here, I have heard enough from all of you. All I wanted to do today was move on. Start over.” She wiped at her mascara-streaked cheeks. “Look what happened to my face.”

  “I’ll go with you Tracey,” said Aaron. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “I WANT to be alone,” spat Tracey. “Away from all the Sheldons.” She stalked from the kitchen and out of the door.

  The silence that followed the tumultuous commotion and Tracey’s dramatic exit was thick and pregnant with uncertainty. Diana, who never swore, struck the wooden table with her palm and stated quite simply, “This is complete and utter bullshit. What have we been reduced to here?”