Trusting Stone

by Alexa Sinclaire

  “Where am I?” she finally asked. The room didn’t have the same feel as the other hospitals she’d been in.

  “You’re in a private clinic. A few of my clients have used it in the past. No one can hurt you here. No one even knows you’re here. I didn’t want anyone to come hurt you. You’re safe here, I promise.” Eden knew he wasn’t just concerned about Joachim. He was keeping her safe from everyone else—her parents, the press, Joachim’s family.

  “Am I going to be okay?” She felt strange asking the question, but she still felt so groggy, she had a hard time figuring out how hurt she was.

  “He hit you a lot, Eden, and his hands were around your throat when I arrived. But you’re going to be okay. You had a small concussion, that’s why your head hurts so much, and you kept drifting in and out. The bruises will all heal and he didn’t break anything.” Sebastian’s voice was calm, but she could hear he was holding back.

  “Seb, he didn’t…he didn’t manage to… Did he?” She didn’t remember that happening, but she couldn’t be sure what had happened after she blacked out.

  “No, Eden, he didn’t. I had to let the doctors examine you and they said he didn’t hurt you like that. I was scared, though. You were covered in blood and I couldn’t figure out why. But I got there before he managed to do that.”

  “I stabbed him.”

  Sebastian’s head shot up. “You what?”

  “I remember stabbing him in the arm with some scissors. I think it just made him worse, though. It didn’t really slow him down, I guess.”

  “I imagine it did, Eden, there was a lot of blood.” He looked at her face, finally giving her one of his amazing smiles. “I can’t believe you stabbed him.” His smile fell from his face quickly. “I’m so sorry, Eden. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner. I let you down.”

  Eden reached her hand up and brushed his stubble. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Don’t be silly, Seb. I should have texted you back. This never would have happened if I had just listened to you about Joachim. It’s my entire fault. I never thought he would do this. He was so…angry.” Eden closed her eyes, remembering the fury in Joachim’s eyes as he had lunged at her.

  Sebastian’s voice broke her out of the memory. “It will never happen again. I made a promise to you that I would never let anyone hurt you. I’ve broken that promise once. It won’t happen again.”

  “Take me home, Sebastian.”

  He stood up and gently leaned over her, kissing her bruised face. “Soon, darling, soon.”

  The doctors wanted Eden to stay in for a few more days until the pain in her head had subsided and the bruising on her neck had gone down. Eden tried to argue that she was fine and just need to rest at home, but the look Sebastian gave her shut her up and she knew he was right. He never left her side the entire time, and finally, three days later, she was allowed to go home. Eden had tried to find out what had happened to Joachim, but whenever she brought it up, Sebastian quickly shut the conversation down and told her not to worry about it.

  By the time the doctors were happy for her to go home, Sebastian became even more agitated. He seemed convinced that she needed a few more days, if not weeks, in the hospital.

  “They’re just bruises, Seb. They’re already fading, please stop freaking out,” she had told him. “I just really want to go home and get a shower and be with you, please?”

  But Eden was surprised when they pulled up outside his building. “I thought we were going to my apartment.”

  “No, Eden, I’m taking you home.”

  “Seb…”

  “Don’t argue with me, woman, just listen to me for once.”

  Eden reached out as he offered his hand to help her out of the car. She could see he was nervous and she couldn’t figure out why. They were silent in the elevator. Although Sebastian’s arm was wrapped around her waist, he was clearly working himself up over something.

  “Seb…” She wanted him to calm down and tell her what was on his mind. He’d worked himself into a state at the hospital, never leaving her side. She knew he was worn out. He flinched as her hand landed on his chest.

  “Don’t, Eden, just don’t.”

  Although Eden knew he wasn’t angry at her, she couldn’t help feeling hurt that he was pushing her away. Realizing his abruptness had hurt her, he turned to her, gently taking her elbow and guiding her out of the elevator. He opened the apartment door and let her walk through first.

  It took her a moment to take it all in. Vases bursting full of flowers covered every surface. But it wasn’t that that took her breath away. Between the endless flowers, she could see her belongings, here and there. She stepped forward further into the apartment. It was completely different to how it usually looked. Most of Sebastian’s minimalist furniture was still there, but mixed in with it were new pieces. A bookcase now stood against one of the walls where a large modernist painting had once been. It was filled with her books. She turned and saw that the few bits of kitchen equipment she had bought were on the counter.

  She walked into the bedroom. The curtains were similar to the ones in her apartment and there was a new bed, again similar but not exactly the same. The walls held the few framed images she had put up in her apartment and there were others that she hadn’t even gotten around to framing. There were so many things that were hers and not hers at the same time. It felt familiar but still strange. She walked back to the main room after realizing that Sebastian hadn’t followed her.

  “What is all this, Sebastian?” She wasn’t angry, just curious.

  “I didn’t want you to have to ever go back there. I didn’t want you to have to look at anything he’d touched so I tried to buy things that I thought you would like. I know I’m controlling and demanding but, damn it, Eden, you’ve already agreed to be my wife and we should be living together. I brought all your stuff over and I already had your lease cancelled, so even if you’re angry with me, there isn’t much you can do about it, barring finding a whole new apartment. And that just seems like the pig-headed thing you might go and do, but I won’t allow it.” Sebastian crossed his arms and looked away from her, glancing toward the windows and then the floor.

  “Why, Sebastian Stone, I do believe you’re nervous,” Eden teased him. “And furthermore, I don’t think it’s going to do you any good to insult me while trying to defend your actions, do you?” Eden continued, slowly walking toward him.

  Everywhere she looked, she noticed small details that Sebastian had thought of to make the apartment feel like hers. She loved it, but she didn’t let on until she was standing right in front of him.

  “Look at me, Sebastian.” Her voice was serious and she tugged at his arms, pulling them down from their crossed position. “I. Love. It.” Sebastian yanked his head forward, clearly shocked by her words. “You fool, of course I love it. This is beautiful, Sebastian, I can’t believe you did all this. I hated being in the hospital, but I was dreading going back to the apartment. I just didn’t want to talk to you about it because I didn’t want you to get angry or upset or…like this!” Eden gestured to him and he finally smiled.

  “You really aren’t angry? I thought you were going to bite my head off. You really love it?”

  “First of all, when have I ever bit your head off for doing something that was clearly a sign of affection? Yes, yes, yes, I love it. I said yes to marrying you, of course I knew we were going to live together at some point! This is amazing. You’re amazing.”

  “I’ll never really figure you out, Eden. You confounding woman.” Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, pulling him toward her, kissing her forehead and moving down her face with his lips and until he found her mouth. Pulling away, he moved to the bedroom to deposit her bags. “Come on then—first order of business is a delicious meal. Don’t ask me what it is, though, because I had nothing to do with it. Then a warm bath for you. The doctors said your muscles are still bruised and a long bath will help ease any aching you still have.”

&nb
sp; ****

  Eden sank deeper into the bubble bath. It felt so good to wash the hospital off her. Even though she had showered during her stay, it wasn’t the same, and nothing could really compare to the luxury of Sebastian’s stand-alone bathtub, filled with jasmine-infused bubbles. She smiled as she looked around the bathroom. She still couldn’t get over all the effort Sebastian had put into the apartment. She closed her eyes and sunk even deeper, feeling so calm she could almost fall asleep. Sebastian’s voice brought her back and she opened her eyes.

  “Do I need to worry about you drowning in there?” He was leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but his black silk pajama pants.

  “Maybe you should join me to make sure I don’t.” Eden teased him back, letting her eyes run over his beautiful muscles. She missed his touch. He hadn’t done more than hold her hand and softly kiss her in the hospital, and now that they were home, she wanted to feel his hands on her.

  “I would love to, but I think you’re turning into a raisin.” He walked in, holding up a large, soft white towel. “Let me take you to bed, darling.”

  Eden rose out of the water, taking his hand as he helped her out. She looked up at him, her skin pink and glowing from the bath. She expected him to lean in and touch her, but instead, he slowly started to dry her with the towel, moving over every inch of her, taking care to move softly over her remaining bruises. It was sensual and sweet, but it wasn’t what she wanted from him. Why was he holding back from her? She wasn’t used to instigating sex with him. Usually, Sebastian couldn’t keep his hands off her and now he was treating her once again like a doll that might break.

  When she was fully dried, he took her hand and led her to the bed, still naked. He moved the soft sheets and helped her in before walking to other side of the bed, dimming the lights before he took off his pants and slid in next to her. Eden couldn’t ignore his semi-hard erection and she smiled to herself as he reached for her and pulled her against him, spooning his body against hers. She wriggled her ass against his erection, desperate for him to touch her more, to take her the way he usually did.

  “Eden. Wait, stop, love.”

  She turned to face him, pressing her body against him. “I’m okay, Seb, we can do this. It’s just a few bruises. You won’t hurt me.” She leaned in to kiss him, but stopped. The look in his eyes was painful. She couldn’t find the dark pools of lust that were usually there when he looked at her.

  “I just need to hold you, Eden. Nothing else. I thought I’d lost you. When I saw you lifeless on that couch with his hands on your neck and blood all over you, I thought you were gone and I didn’t know how I was going to survive without you. And then they sedated you and I just had to sit and wait for you to open your eyes and let me know if you were okay. It was more than I could handle. Just let me hold you now.”

  Eden reached up and gently stroked his face. He closed his eyes under her touch and she realized that he had been through something too, something more than sleep deprivation and horrible hospital coffee. He had watched his mother violently die and, for a moment, he thought he had lost Eden too in another violent attack. She couldn’t even begin to think about how it would feel if something happened to Sebastian. Just seeing his bruised knuckles made her wince. This beautiful man who drove her wild with lust and frustration, who overpowered her and made her feel like there was nothing she couldn’t do in this world, she was his Achilles’ heel and he thought she had been taken from him.

  “Seb, I’m here,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and nestled into him.

  ****

  They had fallen asleep together, but she was awake now and she sat up slowly, wanting to let him rest. At some point, Sebastian had turned off the bedside lights and the room was dark. She knew how tired he had been and she hated Joachim more than ever for putting Sebastian through hell. Eden knew that Sebastian was still worried about how to deal with Joachim and she wished he would share his concerns with her. She was reluctant to press charges, knowing her past would be dragged through the courts, and Sebastian was supportive, but still wanted some sort of revenge.

  He was also concerned about her general safety. Joachim had cracked once, having been harboring emotions far stronger than Eden could have ever guessed. She knew Joachim had always been more invested in their relationship than her, but she had never imagined that he had been in love with her all these years. Although she knew it wasn’t really love, it was obsession. A sick obsession that had almost caused her death.

  Eden felt Sebastian shift behind her and she knew he was awake before he spoke.

  “You alright, love?”

  She stayed sitting up with her back to him, relaxing as his fingers ran gently up and down her spine, as he so often did.

  “I wish I knew what made him do it. I can’t really explain why I let him in the apartment, other than, even in my worst nightmares, I never imagined that Joachim would physically hurt me. Until you came into my life, he was the only man that had ever protected me—sort of. Even my father had let me down when I needed him. I wanted Joachim to explain himself to me. The man wanted to marry me. I wanted to know how he could live with himself after all he had done to me. But I saw he was drunk and then he started to hurt me. I was so scared and really tried to fight this time, Sebastian. But he was so mad. The look on his face when he saw your ring, it was pure hatred. But you came for me. I was scared and I wished you were there to save me, to stop him, and you were.” Eden didn’t expect an answer, but she wanted to talk, to let it out.

  Finally, Sebastian spoke.

  “I told Rick to call me if he ever saw Joachim again in your building. I told him he was an obsessed ex-boyfriend and not to be trusted. He tried to stop Joachim, but when you told him to let him up, there wasn’t much he could do besides call me. He never thought he needed to call the cops on Joachim, just that he was annoying you. You weren’t answering your phone—I just knew something wasn’t right. It took me longer than I thought to get to you. I can’t even bear to think what would have happened if I had been any later.”

  “Then don’t. Don’t think about it. Think about me and how I’m here now, safe with you.” Eden leaned back her elbow now, tracing her fingers across his chest, down to his navel. She slowly trailed over the v-shaped muscles on either side of his torso. She pushed her hand down under the sheet, taking him in her hand. “Just think about me, Sebastian.” She looked up at him, pleased to feel him growing hard as her fingers wrapped around his girth. She didn’t think she would ever get over how he responded to her.

  Eden’s eyes adjusted to the dark, and the city lights illuminated the room enough so she could make out his face. Sebastian was still and calm and she met his gaze as she moved the sheet off him, sliding across his body to straddle him.

  “Because that’s all I do, Sebastian. You are all I think about. You fill my vision until there is nothing else. You’re all I see. All I feel.” She pushed her hands against his chest, running them back and forth slowly, reveling in his strength. As much as the violence of what had happened repulsed her, she couldn’t help but be turned on by how strong his reaction had been, how she knew he wouldn’t have stopped hitting Joachim had she not caught his attention. He would have killed for her. She rose up slowly and reached down to position him against her folds, letting him feel how wet she was for him.

  “Eden,” he softly murmured, raising his hands to cup her breasts gently.

  “Just think of me and how I’m yours, Seb.” She slowly lowered herself on to him, moaning as she pushed him all the way to the hilt, filling her until her ass pressed against his balls. She began to rock her hips back and forth, letting her body guide her. She had never been in this position. She pushed him deeper inside her and closed her eyes, leaning her head back as she moved against him, reveling in how much she loved to feel him in her.

  “You have to help me, Sebastian. We’ve never done it like this. I don’t know what to do to make it good for you.”

  “Ju
st keep doing what you’re doing, baby. I’ll guide you, but you’re so fucking hot right now, Eden. Just seeing you ride me, your breasts bouncing around and your tight pussy squeezing me…you’re perfect.” Sebastian moved his hands to her hips, gently helping her find a rhythm as he began to move his hips up to meet her movements. But he let her be in control. Eden knew he was showing her what he had been telling her for weeks—that she just needed to trust her body and let go. And suddenly, the words seemed to finally make sense to her.

  With Sebastian, she could let go, she could trust herself with him around her, she could push herself to limits that she hadn’t even dared to think about until now. Sebastian moved his hand to her clit, slowly rubbing it softly with his thumb. She quickened her pace when she felt his touch, and she felt him push against her harder as she moaned his name. All she could feel was Sebastian’s touch, between her legs, on her clit, touching her thighs. All she could feel was what Sebastian did to her and she arched her back as her orgasm built, wanting to push him as far into her as she could, wanting their connection to never end. She remembered his words, “you have nothing to fear,” and as she heard him murmur her name—“Eden, baby, come for me”—it pushed her over the edge. She felt the explosion pulse through her, convulsing her for what felt like minutes. She was hardly aware of her surroundings, but she felt him thrusting into her again and again and then he was coming too, pulling her down toward his chest, wrapping his arms around her as his own orgasm rocked through him. In that moment, Eden knew he was right—she had nothing to fear with Sebastian by her side.

  Epilogue

  Six months later

  Eden hung up the phone with a huff. As much as she was happy to be having a wedding in the highlands of Scotland, it added that extra level of complication that she supposed all brides had to deal with in some way or another. Add Mara to the equation, who had not only turned into a bridezilla organizing her own wedding, but also managed to turn into the maid of honor from hell. Both Sebastian and Eden wanted a small wedding and Eden spent most of her time trying to explain to Mara why a small wedding could still be a good wedding. As far as Mara was concerned, why get married at all if it wasn’t going to be a huge event? She sighed and glanced across the office to Sebastian’s desk, where he was on the phone while staring at his computer screen.