Craving Eden

by Tianna Xander

  After one phone call, he would be. He just needed to call the boarding house and rent the vacant rooms before Eden could ask for one. Hell, he’d even pay to remodel the damn place for his sister if he had to.

  He had to keep Eden close to wear down the defenses she’d erected around her heart. If she stayed with him, she could learn to trust him all over again. Jake knew he would never survive if he lost her a second time.

  His sister had barely stopped him from committing the cara'voh the last time she left. Jake would have ended his existence had his younger sister been of age, but his parents died in a plane crash the day after Eden ran away.

  With no other close family but him and Norma, it had been his responsibility to raise Katie to maturity.

  Luckily, Jake had finally come to terms with his loss by the time his sister had come of age. He’d passed the devastation phase and into acceptance by then.

  Pulling out a pad of paper, he wrote down his address and directions. “I'll meet you there in thirty minutes. I have to walk back to town and pick up my car.”

  Nodding, she glanced at the directions, then stuck them in her pocket. “Thirty minutes, if there are no other rooms available.”

  Not much had changed about his mate since he'd seen her last. He could practically see her brain working, just like before. She was thinking of running again, but she had no money and nowhere to go. If only he could have seen those signs ten years ago. If he had, perhaps she wouldn't be on the run now.

  Jake glanced down at his daughter, then smiled and winked. “See you there.” Turning, he headed into the woods and the shortcut to town. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Kate’s bed and breakfast. “Hey there, Katie. I have a favor to ask.”

  Chapter Six

  Eden steered into the driveway of the large house and looked up at the three-story monstrosity.

  It appeared as though they would be staying with Mister-too-sure-of-himself-Blackstone after all. The boarding house was booked solid, and the bed and breakfast was closed for renovations, just as Jake had said.

  Eyes wide, she stared through the windshield at the stately home. “My goodness. Who cleans this place for him?”

  She was relatively certain it wasn't Jake. He never seemed to have time for housekeeping of any kind. Then again, he’d always had two jobs.

  Before, it had been to make extra money for his man toys. Now, it seemed, he did it out of necessity. The only way the pack alpha could do what he loved was to keep it second in priority to pack business.

  Jake had always loved being in law enforcement. When his uncle died without children, the pack’s business and leadership fell to Jake’s father. As the only son, Jake knew the title of alpha would pass to him one day. He had adjusted his life accordingly.

  He made working two jobs look easy. If Eden had worked as many hours, it would have likely killed her. Luckily, werewolves didn’t need much sleep, and the supernatural energy passed down to the alphas made them even more powerful than the rest.

  Ten years ago, Jake had slept less than six hours a night, which left a lot of time for hobbies, or in his case, running the family business along with being the town sheriff.

  “It sure is a big house.”Harper looked up at it, her eyes wide. “Is he rich?” She smiled wistfully. “I hope he's rich. It would be neat to have a rich dad. Do you think he’ll buy me a new coat?” She pulled her tattered second-hand jacket closed.

  “Are you cold?” The temperature in the car had dropped a bit since she’d shut off the ignition, but hadn’t Jake said the cold wouldn’t bother Harper?

  “No.” Harper shrugged. “I don’t like this one. It’s ugly and doesn’t look like the coats I’ve seen other kids wearing up here.”

  It wouldn’t. It was a winter coat for the south, not the northern states. The people here wore heavier coats. It was colder in Haven than it had been in southern Florida and the other places where they’d spent their winters.

  It wasn't a surprise that Harper would think Jake had a lot of money. She'd grown up with so little.

  Eden had always wanted to give her daughter the best of everything, but circumstances forced her to pinch every penny, almost until President Lincoln squealed, so their funds would last as long as possible.

  Harper had very few toys. Those she did have were precious to her and cared for with a loving hand.

  “I don't know, honey.”

  A lump formed in her throat when Eden realized they would have to live with Jake. As much as she wanted to run—would rather run—than face his inevitable rejection. She knew she had to stay at least long enough for the father and daughter to get to know each other. She couldn't deprive Harper of the safe and comfortable life that her father could so obviously give her.

  Jake didn’t appear wealthy when she knew him all those years ago. He had been a young man struggling to make ends meet as he worked his way through college. He'd been out of school for quite a long time but decided to go back when the mantle of leadership for their people unexpectedly passed to his father when his uncle died before fathering children.

  The family money wasn’t something he’d wanted any part of back then. He’d needed to prove himself, to know that he could make it on his own.

  “He wasn't when I knew him before. Your father always worked for everything he had and was proud to do it.”

  Eden's eyes burned, and her throat closed up as she thought of everything that could have been if she would have been brave enough to stay with him instead of running ten years ago. If only they could find a way to make up for all the lost time.

  Taking a deep breath, Eden blinked her tears away, looked at Harper, and patted her hand. “Whatever else he might be, he is your father first. If I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up that you’ll get every little thing you want.” Eden almost couldn't bear the hopeful look on her daughter's face. What had she done?

  When she ran from Jake so long ago, she'd done so with the protection of her unborn child in mind.

  Now she was back, asking the person she'd once feared more than death itself, to protect the child she'd been so desperate to keep from him before.

  Even now, when she knew Jake wasn't the monster she once thought him, she still wanted to run. Only this time, she would run because she was too much of a coward to face his rejection.

  She didn't know if she could bear living in the same house with him and not want to jump in bed with him at the first opportunity. God help her because Eden still loved Jake Blackstone with every little bit of her ravaged heart.

  Closing her eyes, Eden prayed for the strength to keep from throwing herself as his feet and begging his forgiveness.

  The look in his eyes at the diner told her all she needed to know. The father of her child despised her now, and there was no going back to the way things were between them.

  The driver's door opened with a jerk, and Eden jumped and almost screamed. Holding her right hand to her throat, she turned and glared up at Jake.

  “You just took ten years off my life with that stunt. The least you could do is warn a person next time. Knock on the window or something.”

  Jake just grinned down at her, the jerk. He most likely loved every minute of the situation. The creep had probably planned how to get back at her for a long time. She’d probably best get used to it because it likely wouldn’t end any time soon.

  If his expression was an indication, he loved the fact that she had to come back here and beg him for help.

  He probably couldn't wait to rub her nose in it. Well, she'd be damned if she’d give him the satisfaction. She might be nearly out of money, but no one forced her back to him, and the sooner he realized it, the better off everything, and everyone would be.

  “Sorry.” He didn't look the least bit apologetic. He looked like he wanted to laugh. “Uh… did you want to tell me something, or are you just happy to see me?”

  He cast a glance down toward his leg where she'd du
g her fingernails into his thigh when he first opened the door and scared her half to death.

  Jerking her hand away, Eden made a show of rubbing her palm on her leg. Damn, the man was infuriating. Why didn't she remember him being so damned sure of himself before?

  “I wanted to tell you that you're a jerk for scaring the heck out of us the way you did.”

  “I wasn't scared.”

  Eden closed her eyes at Harper's comment. “Well, I was.” She glared up at him. “Your father needs to learn that with two women living with him, he can't just go sneaking up on people.” No wonder he’d become the sheriff. He excelled in sneaky. Hell, he was part wolf, sneaky was probably embedded into his DNA.

  “Would you ladies like to come into the house?”

  Glowering up at him, Eden nodded. “We have a few things to get out of the trunk first.”

  Jake glanced toward the back of the car. “If you'll give me the keys, I'll get it and bring it to your rooms. Just go on in, and I'll be there in a minute.”

  Pulling the keys from the ignition and fisting them in her hand, Eden shook her head. “I don't think so. We've been carrying our things in and out of apartments for the last nine years. We can continue to do it here.” She slid from the driver's seat and glanced back. “Come on, honey. Let's get our things inside.”

  When Harper came around the back of the car, Jake knelt and took her hands in his. “Welcome to my home, sweetheart. I hope you'll like it here.” He looked away for a minute and swallowed a few times before facing his daughter again. “I want you to know… if I'd known you were out there,” pausing, he tapped her on her cute little nose. “Nothing in this world would have stopped me from searching for you.”

  Pain knifed Eden's heart. He would have gone looking for his daughter as he should have, but he had never gone looking for her. Apparently, she wasn't worth the hassle.

  Harper moved away from her father and tugged on Eden's coat, a sure sign that her fearless daughter was unsure of herself.

  Turning, Eden glanced down into the child's wide green eyes that were so much like her father's. When Harper motioned her closer, Eden bent and pulled her daughter into her arms. “What's the matter, sweetheart?”

  “I gotta pee,” she whispered. “Do you think Daddy will mind if I use his bathroom?”

  Eden glanced up at the man in question. She wasn't sure what kind of game Jake was playing.

  He acted as though there was nothing wrong between them, as though the last ten years had never happened.

  It brought Eden’s defenses up. The last thing she wanted was to stay here with him, under his roof, and at his mercy, but he needed to get to know his daughter. Staying in his home might be what was best for them, but she knew it was bad for her heart.

  If there was anything Edward taught her in few the months she lived with him, it was that payback was a bitch.

  Eden had no doubt in her mind that she deserved retaliation for what she'd done to Jake. The only question was, what price would he demand?

  How long could she stay with Jake, waiting for the other shoe to drop?

  Since she had never fallen out of love with him, she would never be able to resist him if he managed to worm his way even further into her heart.

  While Eden wanted her daughter to fall tail over teakettle for her biological father, she knew the best thing for her was to keep the man at arm's length—if he would let her.

  Walking around the back of the car, Eden couldn't seem to keep her gaze off him. Jake was even more handsome, more compelling than he had been before.

  Something about his eyes drew her. She didn't know what it was about him. He hadn't aged much. Just about the only thing Eden knew about his kind was that they lived longer than humans. She wasn't sure how much longer they lived, only that they stopped aging at the same rate once they reached the human age of thirty-five.

  Out of his uniform and dressed in button-fly black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt, he looked as he always had—good enough to eat.

  The cowboy boots he wore gave him an extra inch and a half he didn't need. He was tall enough at six-foot-six. And, as always, he kept his dark hair cropped short. Just the way she liked it.

  The dark stubble on his jaw told her he still needed to shave twice a day, and the fact that he hadn't bothered to do it again today, gave her at least some insight. He never forgot to shave the second time.

  At least he never used to. What changed that? Was it just her bombshell that made him forget, or was there something else going on in his mind to keep him from his habit?

  “Go on into the house,” Jake said, waving his hand toward the front door. “I'm sure you’d both like to freshen up before dinner.” He turned to the trunk and waited for her to push the button to release the latch. “There's a bathroom in the hall to the left of the kitchen when you enter. You can't miss it.”

  He lifted the trunk lid and shouted when it dropped closed, nearly slamming on his hand.

  “What the hell?” He growled. “This thing is a piece of shit. We should donate it to the school so the shop class can cut it up.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.” Eden glared at him and pressed the release again. “There’s a stick inside the trunk. Prop it up with that.”

  Harper practically ran toward the house, holding her legs together while she walked. Eden tried not to smile at the picture she made as her daughter climbed the porch steps.

  She tried not to think about how odd the front of the house looked as they entered the door until she found herself in the kitchen and realized they had come through the back door. Turning to her left, she saw the hall, and an open door she assumed was the downstairs bathroom.

  Harper reached it first, ran inside, and slammed the door behind her. It gave Eden some time to inspect a little bit of Jake's home.

  She walked back to the kitchen and looked over the breakfast bar into the family room. The house was huge. The downstairs had an open floor plan that made the home appear even larger. “God, I'd hate to be the one to clean this place.”

  “I've got a housekeeper.” Jake set their bags down with a frown. “This is all you have?”

  She shrugged. “It's easier to move on when you don't have much.” Most of what he'd carried in from the car was Harper's, but he wouldn't know that.

  She attempted to keep their belongings at a minimum. They’d never mourned the loss of something they’d left behind because they could pack everything they owned into their bags and boxes in a matter of minutes.

  Jake glanced around. “Where is…”

  “Your daughter?”

  Nodding, he swallowed. “That's going to take a bit of getting used to.”

  Yeah, she'd just bet. “She's in the bathroom. She'll be out in a minute. I told her what you are. Have I told you that yet?”

  It was his turn to shrug. “No. Yes. Hell, I don't know. I'm still trying to assimilate all of this.” He ran his fingers through his thick hair. “It’s difficult to come to terms with the fact that I have a kid after thinking I would never be so…”

  “Be so what?” Eden tilted her head and tried to read his expression. She didn’t have much luck.

  “Fortunate.” He met her gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I never thought I would have children.” He smiled toward the bathroom door. “It’s kind of hard to believe. It’s like all of my birthday wishes have come true today.”

  Eden wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot cattle prod no matter how much she wanted to know if he’d wished for her to come back to him.

  “It's almost like having someone tell you they're a creature you were certain doesn't exist, isn't it?” She bit off a smile at his stunned expression, then turned when she heard the sound of the toilet flushing get louder behind her. “You didn't wash your hands.”

  Harper mumbled something as she walked up behind her.

  “Here, use this sink.” Jake gestured to the kitchen sink set against an outside wall, looking out into th
e forest.

  “I washed my hands already.”Harper walked up to the sink and washed her hands anyway. “Geeze, Mom. I'm not a baby anymore.” She looked at her father. “She treats me like I'm three or something.”

  “It's because you are all she has.”

  “She has you, too.”

  Eden put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Stop that, Harper.”

  “Yes.” Jake nodded. “She does.” Bending, he picked up their bags and headed for the stairs. “Just let me know which bags belong to whom, and we'll get you settled. Carlotta should be here any minute to start dinner. I'll just have her order us some pizza until she can do some shopping to feed us all.”

  Chapter Seven

  “I’ll get it!” Jake called as he trotted down the stairs to answer the door. It was most likely one of his men, but the protective streak in him wanted to keep any danger from his mate and child.

  He hated the thought of going to work and leaving them alone, but he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t dare ask Norma or one of his other relatives to visit with Eden while he was gone. They’d likely have her packed up and on her way back out of his life before lunch.

  “Hey.” Sam pushed his way into the house, his dog, Charlie, following at his heels. “I thought I’d stop by and welcome Eden home.” He peered over his shoulder. “Is she in?”

  “They’re upstairs.”

  “They?” Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Who are they? Don’t tell me she brought another stray with her.”

  “In a way.” Jake rubbed the center of his chest with a sigh. “She brought my daughter with her. She was pregnant when she ran away. I terrified her that night when I told her what I was, what we are, and she was afraid for her unborn child.”

  “You’re sure it’s yours?” Sam peered up at the second-floor landing, his expression skeptical.

  “No doubt. Harper has my hair, my eyes, and if you can believe it, my smile.”