Edwin dropped the bags to the floor and scanned over the immaculate country kitchen, that had state of the art appliances. Then he slipped his feet from his boots. I lined them up next to mine, then hung my jacket in the closet before closing it up. Edwin hung his coat over one of the tall stools at the breakfast bar and glanced at the cozy dining space and beyond through the patio doors.
His big, shadowed silhouette did strange things to me, evoking old feelings I had long forgotten about. I turned away, in an attempt to brush off those thoughts and shake that picture of his profound stance from my memory.
I steered myself to the focal point in the room, a natural stone fireplace, perfectly centered in the living space. It was flanked with an abundance of comfy, contemporary furnishings. It was perfect. The sky light was dark, partially covered in snow, resting snugly in the high vaulted ceiling. Everything was amazing, but I found my eyes tracing their steps back to Edwin.
When my heart skipped a beat, I knew it was time to seek out some privacy. I opened the one and only solid door in the place, which I expected had to lead to the bathroom. Hiding wasn't much help at rerouting my thoughts though, when the bathroom was home to the most luxurious glass shower I had ever seen. It had twin, ceiling-mounted rainfall showerheads. It was what dreams were made of. Naughty ones. I had to escape back to reality immediately.
I turned on my heel to bolt from the spacious bathroom, but before I could take a step, my legs turned into noodles.
Edwin was leaning against the door frame, his lean hips cocked to the side, his muscular arms tugging tight on his shirtsleeves, straining the soft fabric. "Pretty amazing, huh?" He stretched a thick arm across the doorway, officially blocking my path.
"I'm definitely amazed," I breathed. I meant the house, but he could sense my desire.
Neither of us could deny that it felt like a romantic getaway for two. I only hoped that Edwin couldn't see right through me, the way his gaze said he could.
I pushed through his arm with both of my hands. "Excuse me," I said, hustling ass to the living room and plopping in the middle of a plush, brown sofa.
Thankfully, he had let me out. Because if he had stopped me, I was a goner. I could sense Edwin was behind me, even before he spoke. My sensual awareness of him became incredibly hard to understand and even more difficult to ignore. I glanced over my shoulder and found Edwin peering over the half wall to the sleeping quarters. As if I hadn't already noticed.
The bedroom was the only room in the place with three full walls, settled in the corner next to the bathroom. An oversized fan hung above the large bed, giving it the feel of a tropical oasis. The four-poster bed filled the room, with its white dressings, leaving only enough room surrounding it to get in and out of the bed.
The king sized mattress was so high, you needed a trampoline to get onto it, unless you planned on taking a running leap. One glance at the room told me it served one purpose very well, and it wasn’t restful sleep. Edwin's expression proved that he got the same impression.
"You can hardly call this a cabin, eh?" I said. My voice was raw and desirous. I hadn't realized how few words we had spoken since we discovered the space so many minutes earlier.
"It's more like a grand suite. Good thing Aliah and Hunter didn't come. There would've been no privacy for the whole week. That could've gotten awkward."
I nodded. It was only just perfectly spacious for two, but the contemporary finishes turned it into a modern day fantasy. And I would have to be here alone with Edwin.
"I call the bed," he teased, provoking me. He smirked, then dropped backward onto the fluffy blankets.
"The bed is mine!" I chased after him and bounded onto the bed. With another leap, I landed on top of him, my hands flat on his chest, pinning him against the totally dreamy bed.
Edwin bumped my crotch with his thigh, drawing me up higher, forcing me to firmly plant my hands on either side of his head. My body pressed his into the bed, our faces drawn close together. It shouldn't have affected me like that, in a way that I wasn’t ready to admit.
I forced a painful reminder into my head. Babies. Edwin doesn't want any. Feeling like I had already made a big mistake, I rolled off of him and lounged there facing the large window; away from him. I realized on a deep breath that I had been holding mine.
He turned to face me, but stayed a safe distance away, chuckling at me. "It's a big bed. I'm sure we can share it." He stretched his arms over his head and growled. "That is if you can keep your hands off me."
When I turned to face him, I saw the way his shirt wrinkled around each flexed abdominal muscle and it made me wonder whether I could. But after a deep breath, I also decided I couldn't let my sour mood ruin our holiday. It would be much more fun to play his game.
I leaned into him, flaunting my newfound confidence, and fluttered my long, dark lashes at him. "I think I can handle it. But maybe you’d better wear your shirt to bed, just to be safe." I slowly dusted my fingers across his wide chest, teasing, and tugging on his shirt.
Why do I insist on tantalizing myself?
Edwin was clearly amused, but he still took a sharp intake of breath to reign in his arousal. "I'm impressed with your self-restraint." His grin burst from his handsome face.
I patted his chest, releasing him from my grip, then flung myself back onto the pillows. “Oh yeah, this is the life.”
"We're gonna have a good time this week. I'm sure of it," Edwin said, equally as relaxed now.
I smiled, because I knew he was right. We always had a good time together.
Feeling ready for bed, I whipped open the blankets and crawled underneath them. I stripped off my clothes, until I was wearing nothing but panties and a fitted undershirt. It would have been just plain cruel to send Edwin off to the sofa now, so I didn’t.
"Night, night," I said, as I rolled away, to the far edge of the bed. There, I felt cozy and safe. Safe from his advances.
Edwin slid out of bed and turned off the light, then peeled off his jeans and sweater, being sure to keep on his undershirt to appease me. That night, curled up on my respective side of the bed, I relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages, and Edwin left me to usher in some surprisingly naughty dreams.
CHAPTER TEN
I OPENED MY EYES and stretched my arms out over my head, drawing in a long breath to relieve myself from my alarming dream, which I faintly recalled but desperately wanted to remember. I could hear running water and figured Edwin was in the shower. For that I was grateful. He had been the object of my dream that had left me breathless and overwhelmed with a fresh lack of clarity.
I squeezed my eyes shut and strained to remember the dream that had felt so real only moments earlier. Bits and pieces started to come back to me in vivid colour.
Tropical waves crashed the white sand shore, the bright sunshine warming my skin while the fresh morning air teased through my hair. There were endless views of tree-covered mountains, ridiculously grand rocks and crystal blue waters. All that was fine and great, but what tripped me up was that Edwin was there with me. We were isolated on this secluded island and I was completely happy.
I wore nothing but flowered bikini bottoms. Edwin wore fitted, white swim trunks that contrasted against his dark, tanned flesh. He pulled me into his arms and so tenderly kissed my exposed neck and chest. His hands gently cupped and caressed my breasts, leaving me aching with a need so deep I could feel it in my bones.
Every touch scorched my senses and I wasn't hiding my attraction to him, running my fingers through his hair and digging my nails into his back as our kiss became more heated and necessary. Edwin lowered me onto a large, white lounger with an overhang that blocked our half-naked bodies from the harsh morning sunrays.
Edwin caressed my eyelids with kisses and slowly, thoroughly made his way down my body. His hand traced down and around my curves and when it dipped between my legs, my entire body shuddered. My eyes were still closed and I had parted my lips to draw in a breath, just begging
Edwin to carry on. Through half-closed lids I devoured him. But then he stopped.
"What is it?" I breathed.
He smirked and I felt that smile everywhere. "Those aren't going to get you knocked up," he said, pointing at the moist scrap of fabric between my legs.
I smiled back. "Then maybe you’d better do something about that."
Edwin obeyed, slipping off my bikini bottoms and stripping off his own shorts, leaving us wonderfully naked in each other's arms. Edwin had every intention of giving me the child I had always dreamed of and he wouldn’t stop trying until I was impregnated. He hovered over me, his eyes gazing intently into mine as I directed him to where he needed to be.
He slowly eased inside me with a purpose. Needing more pressure, I arched my back and bucked against him, until he filled me with his hardness. His kiss softened my moan as he repeatedly worked himself deeper. He sucked on my neck and I moaned unreservedly, dazzled by the intense sensations racing through my body.
I tensed beneath him and began to climax, every muscle in my body twitching around Edwin as he prepared himself to detonate inside of me. With a final grunt of ecstasy, Edwin gave me what I wanted and I screamed out in outrageous pleasure.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes, panting this time. And there I was, in bed, caught in a whirlwind of sexual anguish and mental torment. I sat up, my taut nipples brushing against my fitted shirt, only to find Edwin walking up to me wearing nothing but a small towel draped across his hips.
"Oh, you woke up." His bright aqua eyes sparkled and I knew it was because he had noticed my arousal.
I tugged the blanket to my chin to cover my chest, but it couldn't mask my flushed face. A few stray water droplets glistened on Edwin’s perfectly sculpted body and it drew my eyes to his hairless chest, looking just as good as it had in my fantasy. I couldn’t contain my residual attraction to Edwin. Especially with his own arousal now tenting from his towel.
In need of a pinch, I squeezed my eyes shut, laid back on the bed and exhaled harshly. It was a shoddy attempt to collect my bearings and, when I reopened my eyes and turned them on Edwin, it only confirmed that I was no longer dreaming.
"Do we have a problem?" Edwin asked me.
I flashed my hungry eyes away from his delicious body, terrified of what I might agree to in this moment. Edwin lifted his bag onto the bed and squinted at me, seemingly confused by my awkward awareness of his nakedness.
I put my hand over my eyes and sighed, hoping that if I didn't look at the sex-god, then maybe the attraction would fade. "I just had the craziest dream and I'm having a hard time waking up."
I heard his towel hit the floor and wished that I was back in dreamland. I kept my eyes covered, though I wanted so badly to watch. To touch. I waited for the zip of his jeans before I resumed breathing. Edwin wasted no time coming to me. I removed my hand from my forehead and looked up at him. He was still shirtless. Dammit.
Edwin rested his hand on my arm. Even through the blanket it seared my senses. "It's about Cameron isn't it?"
My healing heart winced. The thought of Cameron knowing about my dream involving Edwin, drilled holes through my chest and filled me with guilt. Even more disgusting was the fact that the sexual tension plaguing me now had far surpassed the relatively distant pain in my heart.
It was just a dream. Not to be confused with reality.
Edwin misconstrued my silence and dipped his hand under the blanket to grasp mine. I gasped, not realizing he was only trying to comfort me, while I fought the temptation to pull him onto me and swallow his tongue.
"Whenever you're ready to talk about it - whatever it is - I can handle it now," Edwin insisted. He let go of my hand and brushed my cheek, his touch so gentle and sensual. Then he returned to his bag and dragged it to the foot of the bed, where he tucked his clothes into the tall, wood chest.
He glanced back up at me, catching that I was still staring. "Whatever it is," he repeated, "I hope you can set it aside for now. You really need to get ready."
I nodded, acknowledging that I did indeed have to set it aside now and forever, though I knew Cally would love to help me decipher my dream. We used to do that all the time as kids, sitting on the front porch of her parents’ house in the country. Concentrating on that, I slipped out of the blankets and sunk my feet onto the thick carpet skirting the bed.
First, I had to get past Edwin. But after I rounded the end of the bed, instead of moving he stood up tall. I tucked my chin down, as my heart began to race, and Edwin turned his large frame to let me squeeze past him. I turned sideways myself to slip by and rested a hand on his shoulder, to make sure I didn’t bump the dresser with my shapely behind, which I then realized was on display thanks to my lack of pants.
Edwin tilted his chin down and I could feel his warm breath on my eyelids. I knew if I only looked up our lips could meet. They would meet. A breath hitched in my throat as I brushed across him, my stiff nipples skimming along his smooth, solid chest. I deliberately stole my hand from his shoulder for my arm to cover my tender nipples and hide my arousal.
I quickly tip-toed across the cold floor, hoping Edwin would ignore me, but I heard his feet padding on the floor behind me and felt his heated stare when he stopped and trained them on my backside. Terrified to visualize his awareness of my condition, I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
I was in need of privacy, while I took my unpleasantly cold shower. Luckily Edwin had left his toiletries behind, because I had forgotten mine in the other room and I certainly wasn't heading back out there to get them. When I scrubbed Edwin's shampoo into my hair, I inhaled his memorable scent, reminded of my intense fascination with him in my dream.
As the cool water flowed over my aroused body, I touched myself, immersed instantly into my colourful imagination. Edwin and I were back on the warm, sandy beach, this time fully clothed, but Edwin's white shirt was open. It distracted me, as the front panels dangled on either side of his body, the gentle wind parting it to expose his hulking chest and amazing core.
Edwin came to me and knelt in the sand. He nuzzled his cheek against my flat belly, then pulled me down to my bare knees. I pulled him to me and he responded with a kiss so intimate that I had to touch him to stop the tears from flowing. I freed his arms from his shirt and smoothed my fingers across his chest and down his rock hard abdominals.
I tugged at his waistband and flashed him a look of desire. With a slanted smile, he took my mouth and laid me out beneath him. He lifted my flowing skirt and pulled down my panties, his glorious eyes locked on mine, reflecting the crashing waves both in colour and intensity.
He unzipped his pants, freed his arousal and with a gentle push he was inside of me. I quickly reopened my eyes, the sound of my moan still echoing through the bathroom, while I waited to hear whether Edwin had heard me. Great. Now I was daydreaming about him too. But damn, did I have a good imagination.
Had my feelings truly returned for Edwin or was I just creating something from nothing? That damn dream had shaken me to my core and every inch of my body ached with a need for Edwin.
I managed to shake the dream from my mind, but it only brought me back to my reality. Only minutes earlier Edwin had approached our bed looking naked and delicious. I couldn't help but imagine what could have happened if I had yanked that towel off of him and pulled him into bed with me. Would he have satisfied all of my fickle fantasies, if only for the fun of it?
Irritated by my own suggestions, I cranked the water to full on cold. As the water turned icy, it sprinkled over my heated body like hail, sending a chill across my skin that only intensified the heat between my thighs. Realizing it was a lost cause, I turned the water off, quickly dried my body and tiptoed to the sink, internally scorning myself for leaving my bag in the other room.
With my ear to the door, I listened for an indication of what Edwin was doing. There was only silence. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Why had I done that? When I finally got the door opened a
crack, I found Edwin looking out the patio doors at the snow-covered forest and my bags resting on the floor at my feet. Great. Edwin must have tried to bring them to me. I never lock him out. But I had locked him out.
After readying myself for the day, I burst into the living room where Edwin was still sitting a little too quietly. "I'm ready!" I announced.
Edwin didn't budge and he didn’t snap back with a smart-assed comment either. That worried me. Having regained control over my urges, I sat next to him on the couch, hoping to fix the problem I had caused.
I squeezed his knee, in as friendly a gesture as possible, and yet my arousal reignited full force. "You okay?"
He seemed to blink out of the zombie-like trance he had been in. "Just daydreaming, I guess." His voice was plain and hopeless.
"Happy dreams, I hope."
"Not exactly. I might as well get it out of the way now, or there's no way we'll be able to spend the rest of this week together." He paused and I gulped back a whimper.
Shit! He’s caught on to my weirdness.
"I realize I kind of invited myself along,” he said. “I just hope I'm not the root cause of all your unhappiness."
"I'm not unhappy," I admitted, without thinking, to my own surprise.
"You seemed fine last night, but this morning…” He trailed off, and then found the words. “Let's just say, when you woke up, you looked less than happy to see me. Then you locked me out of the bathroom. If that’s supposed to be some kind of warning, I get it."
I laughed nervously and spoke again, without thinking. "That's not it at all." I hoped he couldn’t read into that, since he was usually pretty good at getting me. I sighed. "The last thing I want to do is turn you against me too. It's not you. Well, it kind of is, but it's more me." I had already said too much.
"Oh, right: It's not you, it's me. This is the most pitiful friendship ever. Why is this so difficult when we’re just friends?"
We were never very good at being just friends. Hell, he didn’t even believe that a man and woman could be just friends.
A Twist of Fate (The Twisted Trilogy) Page 15