Eden: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 2)

by Nyssa Kathryn

  "You need to get away from me, Shylah." The fury was consuming him at an alarming rate. His body itching to move. Harm. Kill. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME," Eden yelled, voice portraying the anger within.

  He distantly heard Shylah running up the stairs, followed by the click of a lock. But the waves of fury that were crashing inside of him were blinding him from everything.

  Her. He needed her. He could smell her. She was everywhere. Where the fuck was she?

  Eden searched for the scent that was all over him. He was fucking covered in it.

  Hearing the thundering of another heart, her heart, Eden moved his body through the house, not stopping to think. Pause. Stop.

  29

  Shylah's knees shook as she raced up the stairs.

  Slamming shut the master bedroom door, Shylah frantically searched the room for something to prop against it. Her heart almost beat right out of her chest at the thought of Eden rushing the door before she could secure it.

  It had only taken Ben moments to be consumed by the drug. That meant she didn't have much time. Certainly not enough time to run from the house like she would have preferred. Her key was in her bag and her car out the front, there was no way she would have made it. She had to hide. Pray that help was coming.

  Eden had hinted to her he knew something was going on. He must have sent for help. She had held off for as long as possible, but as soon as the hour hand had neared eight, she knew she'd run out of time.

  Shylah's gaze paused at the dresser. It might be too heavy for her to move, but she'd try. She had to.

  Using all her strength, Shylah leaned against the dresser and shifted it to the front of the door. Eden could easily break in, but she hoped the limited space between the dresser and the bed would slow him down.

  Sprinting across the room, Shylah slammed the bathroom door shut, clicking the lock. Eden's growl startled Shylah so badly she fell to her knees.

  Ignoring the pain of her body slamming against the tiles, she crawled into the bathtub.

  The sound of heavy footsteps moving closer to her had Shylah's blood pounding in her ears. Her whole body shook so ferociously that had she not been sitting, Shylah was certain she would have dropped to the ground.

  Please have sent for help, Eden, Shylah prayed as she pushed herself into the far corner of the tub.

  The sound of wood splintering in the next room confirmed Shylah's thoughts that no door could keep him out. As more bangs followed, it became clear that Eden was tearing the dresser apart.

  Wrapping her chilled hands tightly around herself, Shylah's nails dug into her arms.

  Eyes shooting up, Eden kicked the bathroom door inward and stood in the doorway. He was almost unrecognizable. Eyes red with fury, fists clenched so hard that his whole body looked solid. Hard.

  Huge. That was the only way to describe him. He was huge and looked about ready to kill.

  Taking a threatening step toward her, Shylah whimpered and pushed herself into the wall. Her stomach churned as a wave of nausea hit.

  Eden's breaths were coming out hard and fast. He was all predator. And she was his prey.

  Moving closer again, Eden bent down and grabbed onto the edge of the bathtub. Pausing, the sound of porcelain and brick crumbled beneath his fingers.

  Shylah's terror increased at his incredible display of strength. It was like nothing she'd ever seen.

  Hanging his head for a moment, Shylah questioned what he was doing. This was not the same reaction as Ben. Ben had blindly attacked her. Consumed with killing.

  "Eden," Shylah whispered his name.

  "Get . . . away . . . from me," Eden snarled, the words seemingly torn from his chest. When Shylah didn't move, more of the tub crumbled beneath his hands. "GO!"

  Jolting at the incredible volume, Shylah forced her legs to move, pushing herself up and sliding beside him. She made sure not to touch him. The heat came off Eden in waves.

  Once she was around him, Shylah ran into the bedroom, only making it a few steps before Eden's strong hands grabbed her, throwing her onto the bed.

  Before she could rise, Eden was there, on top of her, the flames of anger flashing through his eyes. His weight rested on his forearms, his body not touching hers. Eden's eyes were a mixture of pain and anger.

  He was fighting the drug, Shylah realized. But at the moment, he looked like he could go either way.

  "Eden." Lifting her shaking hands, she placed them on either side of his face. Every instinct she had told her to keep her distance. But this was Eden. Her Eden. And she needed him to see her. "It's me, Shylah. You don't have to hurt me." Eden's muscles bunched as his arms bracketed her to the bed.

  His hand suddenly moved so quickly, it was a blur. Grabbing Shylah's wrist and pushing it to the bed.

  It would bruise for sure, but she knew that he contained as much as his strength as he could.

  More guttural sounds emanated from Eden's chest. His breathing quickening again.

  Swallowing, Shylah took a breath before she continued, "Remember . . . Remember that time in the shower. When you told me to never be afraid of you. You swore to me you would never hurt me."

  A growl rippled from Eden's chest. Lowering his head, Shylah scrunched her eyes shut, preparing for the pain. Instead, his forehead touched hers.

  "I feel so much anger," Eden choked the words out, his voice full of torment.

  Shylah's heart bled for him.

  "I love you," Shylah whispered, trying to soothe some of the turmoil inside Eden. Moving her free hand to the back of his head, her fingers ran through his hair. "You can fight this, Eden. And I'll be right here with you."

  There was still fear lurking inside of Shylah, but Eden was stronger than the drug flowing through his veins. He just needed her help remembering that.

  Just as calm was starting to enter Shylah, a growl caused Eden's chest to vibrate, sparking a new fear inside of her. But when her gaze lifted, Eden's eyes weren't on her. They were trained on the door.

  "Well, isn't this romantic," Trent sounded, as he aimed a gun in Shylah's direction. "Thank you for testing my drug, Eden. I now know that my work is not complete. The drug must be stronger." Glancing her way, Trent's brow furrowed. "What? You didn't think I was going to let you live, did you? After you killed my brother?"

  Eden's body tensed for a moment, and then he launched forward. Before he could reach the door, the sound of gunshots echoed through the room.

  Jolting upright, Shylah's gaze zoned in on the doctor's neck. Red blood poured from the wound, as his body crumpled to the ground.

  Mason then came into view, stepping over the now still body. Oliver trailed closely behind.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Shylah started pushing off the bed, only to stop in her tracks as Eden turned to face her.

  A red patch on his chest had Shylah's world stopping. Eden was shot.

  For a moment, her whole body froze as it struggled to comprehend what was happening, then he dropped to his knees, causing Shylah to swing into action.

  Kneeling on the floor beside him, Shylah applied pressure.

  A snarl tore from Eden's chest. "Get her away from me. I've been . . . drugged."

  Strong hands latched onto Shylah's arms, tearing her from the man she loved. "Get off me. I can help him."

  "Shylah, we can handle this," Oliver said as he pulled her away. Realizing he was pulling her from the room, Shylah struggled harder.

  "No, Oliver, he needs me, please. I'm a nurse. I can help."

  Wrapping his strong arms around her middle, Oliver lifted Shylah from the ground and swung her into his arms like she was a rag doll. "We know how to handle a bullet wound. He'll be okay. You here in the room is too much for him."

  Shylah squirmed and wriggled her body, but it was futile. Oliver's arms were like bands of steel.

  Eden's snarls were the last thing she heard as she was carried downstairs. Feeling a physical pain that she would be away from Eden while he was hurt, Shylah scrunched her ey
es shut.

  Releasing a sigh of anguish, she stopped moving her body and let the events of the last few hours settle inside her.

  She'd drugged Eden. But Eden hadn't killed her.

  "It was me," Shylah whispered to no one in particular. "I drugged, Eden."

  God, what if he didn't forgive her?

  "I'm sure you had your reasons, Shylah," Oliver attempted to reassure gently.

  Entering the living room, Shylah opened her eyes to see Eden's team scattered around the space. All bore blood and bruises and looked like they had just left a war zone.

  That's when Shylah remembered.

  "Oh god, the men outside . . ." Eyes darting to the window, fear entered Shylah's body.

  "We got them, Shylah," Bodie spoke from his place a few feet away. For the first time, there was no smile on his face. Or on any of the men's faces. They looked fierce. Lethal. Like they would take on any man who threatened one of their own.

  "Eagle needs some more hands," Oliver said, addressing the men. "Hunter took a bullet to the chest. Missed all vital organs though."

  "On it," Wyatt said as he left the room with Kye following closely behind.

  Swallowing, Shylah turned back to the other men. Exhaustion weighed heavy, but more than that was the need to know that Eden was okay.

  "We'll need to know all the details, but that can wait," Luca said as he stepped forward. "For now, how about I take you to my place, and you can stay with Evie for the evening."

  Already shaking her head, her gaze darted back in Eden's direction. "No, I need to stay with him."

  "Shylah," Oliver said softly, her gaze drawing up to meet his. "Trust us. He'll be okay. He needs time to rest and recover. You here will prolong that process."

  Tears prickled her eyes, but they were right. Jesus, she didn't want them to be right, but they were.

  "Okay."

  * * *

  It had been two days, and Shylah still hadn't laid her eyes on Eden. It was torture. Agony.

  Everyone had assured her that Eden was doing okay. But if that were the case, why hadn't she seen or talked to him? Just hearing his voice would do so much to settle her frayed nerves.

  Exiting the room she had been staying in the past couple nights, Shylah couldn't complain about Luca and Evie's hospitality. They had been amazing hosts, especially because she had been beside herself the entire time.

  Each day, without fail, they tried to keep the mood light. Luca had been encouraging Shylah to go outside and get some sunlight whenever possible. Even though all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and wait for Eden to come to her.

  Evie, on the other hand, had been shadowing Shylah as if waiting for her to break. Shylah appreciated her attention, but she was more likely to go crazy from Eden deprivation than curl up in a ball and cry.

  When Shylah had suggested she stay at the apartment she was still renting, Luca muttered something about women not accepting help while Evie looked at her like she was crazy.

  Moving into the kitchen, Shylah fixed herself a coffee. Frowning, she paused when it suddenly dawned on her how silent the house seemed. Normally, the chitter-chatter between Luca and Evie pulled her attention before she made it into the kitchen.

  The ringing of the doorbell had Shylah's head twisting around. Hesitating, she waited for Evie or Luca to emerge.

  When the room remained silent, Shylah slowly made her way to the door.

  Glancing through the peephole, Shylah had to do a second take when she saw who it was. She practically fell over her own feet when she tried to open the door quickly. When she did, Shylah looked up at those familiar gray eyes.

  "Eden." She was breathless. It had been two long days.

  "Hey, Shy," Eden said, a lopsided grin curving his lips.

  The moment that smile curved his beautiful mouth, Shylah couldn't wait any longer. Jumping into his arms, Shylah latched on to him, swearing she would never let go. Eden's arms immediately came up to wrap around her. Pulling her even tighter against his body.

  This was where she needed to be every minute of every day, in the arms of the man she loved.

  "I missed you," Eden muttered into her hair.

  "You have no idea," Shylah whispered back.

  She had been close to losing it on too many occasions in the last couple of days. Too close.

  Suddenly remembering that Eden was shot, Shylah tried to push her body away from Eden's. "Eden, your wound."

  "It's fine, Shylah," Eden said, his arms remaining around her, unbreakable. "I heal fast."

  Shylah lowered her gaze to his chest, even though his shirt covered any evidence of a wound. "I want to see."

  Walking into the house with Shylah securely in his arms, Eden shut the door after them before moving to the couch.

  Sitting with Shylah still on his lap, he leaned back. She tentatively lifted the shirt to see a small bandage on his chest. Slowly moving the bandage down, Shylah couldn't believe her eyes. There, where a bullet had hit his chest only a few days ago, sat a small, circular graze.

  Moving her fingers over the wound, Shylah skimmed Eden's skin.

  "Holy hell, Eden. It's like this is months old."

  A smile pulled his lips up. "Like I said, I heal quick."

  This wasn't just quick. This was breaking a damn record, Usain Bolt quick.

  Pulling the bandage back into position and his shirt down, Shylah lifted her head back up to Eden's face. A face that had been in her thoughts nonstop for too long.

  "I really missed you," she repeated, lifting her hand to Eden's cheek. "I was so scared for you."

  "Not coming here and taking you home yesterday was the hardest damn thing."

  "Then why didn't you?" Shylah questioned, genuinely confused.

  "I'm not taking any chances with your safety, Shy. I wanted to take an extra day to make certain that Toved was completely out of my system. We don't know enough about the drug yet, and you're too important to me."

  Running her fingers down his cheek, she wanted to memorize every inch of this man. "You wouldn't have hurt me, Eden. You proved that."

  "No. I wouldn't. You're safe with me. Always, Shy. But we're not taking that chance ever again." His voice was stern as he spoke.

  Running her fingers over the place that she'd injected him, Shylah cringed. "I'm sorry I injected it into you."

  Taking her hand in his, Eden gave it a gentle squeeze. "You don't need to apologize. You were so damn strong. I knew right away something was wrong, and because of that, I could alert the guys."

  One side of Shylah's lips quirked up. "So, me being terrible at hiding something from you saved us both."

  "Me knowing you and being able to read you saved us." A shadow crossed Eden's face. "I hate that I wasn't home when that asshole threatened you."

  "I feel so stupid that I worked with him every day, and I never realized something was wrong." She could have saved them all this trouble if she'd figured it out earlier.

  "Some people are good at hiding the truth. They only show you the side of them that they want you to see." Eden brushed hair off her face. "It kills me that you were afraid of me."

  Lowering his eyes to her wrist, Eden lightly skimmed his fingers over the slight bruising.

  "Was this me?" Eden's voice was pained.

  Glancing down, she saw the imprint of his fingerprints from where Eden had grabbed her wrist.

  Eyes shooting back up to Eden's, Shylah's hand caressed his cheek. "Don't. Whatever you're thinking, don't. You fought that drug and saved my life."

  "I hurt you."

  Shaking her head immediately, Shylah didn't break eye contact. "No. Trent hurt me. Hurt us. Your strength saved us." Shylah's lips found Eden's. Raising her head again, Shylah looked Eden in the eye. "Thank you. For loving me. For protecting me. Always."

  This time Eden lowered his head to Shylah's mouth. Deepening the kiss immediately, their tongues met as Shylah's hands flattened on Eden's chest.

  "I love you so much, Eden."r />
  Eden's thumb stroked Shylah's cheek. "Not nearly as much as I love you, Shy."

  That was debatable. Shylah didn't argue. Instead, she lay her head on the chest of the man who had captured her heart. The man that she had almost lost.

  "Let's go home," Shylah murmured against his chest.

  "Our home."

  Our home. Shylah liked the sound of that.

  30

  Asher lifted the table from the floor mat. It weighed nothing in his arms.

  He should probably act like it was straining his muscles, but he didn't give a rat's ass about appearances now. Not when Lexie Harper stood ten feet from him, pretending he didn't exist.

  A rumble emanated from Asher's chest. Well, he sure as hell existed when he was giving her that earth-shattering orgasm last week.

  Moving to lift the next table, Asher's mind went back to the feeling of having Lexie's delectable body beneath him. Moaning and writhing as she reached her climax.

  Fuck. He needed to get that vision out of his head.

  Subtly adjusting himself so that no one noticed, Asher cursed himself for letting his mind go there while at Marble Protection.

  Eyes darting back over at Lexie behind the counter, he noticed her gaze cut to his before quickly averting again.

  Damn. What the hell was she playing at?

  Usually, their eyes would meet and hold at least a dozen times an hour. It was one of the reasons he always volunteered to be out front. Hell, it was the only reason. She was his reason.

  For the last week, she'd barely looked at him. Barely touched him. The frustration was building.

  "Something caught your eye? Or should I say someone?" Luca asked, coming to stand next to Asher.

  Not in the mood for their normal banter, Asher's voice was gruff. "Leave it alone, Rocket. I'm not in the mood."

  Luca put his hands on his hips. "Not in the mood for what? Me, or for Lexie to be avoiding you."

  Both damn it.

  Even though Luca was his closest friend, Asher never spoke about what he and Lexie had. That was because he didn't want to drag her into a relationship with him. His life was far from safe.