Eternal

by Rachel Van Dyken

  “Oh!” I stepped back. “Sorry, man. This is my wife, Nat.”

  “Beautiful,” he said, his eyes twinkling, but he was staring at our baby — the only reason I was okay with him complimenting her. The more I focused on him the more I realized Demetri had been right. The guy was way too pretty to be around our women.

  “Thanks.” Nat blushed prettily and tucked her hair behind her ear.

  I pulled her into my side possessively.

  Gabe sighed and briefly closed his eyes. “Hold on.” He pulled out his phone. “Hey, baby. Yeah can you fly in? I miss you.” His face completely changed. Ha, I knew that look. “Yeah, you can bring them, sure.” He hung up and addressed the entire room. “We’ll settle it once and for all.”

  “Settle it?” Demetri asked, looking as confused as I felt.

  “You guys married beautiful women. All of you.” Gabe smiled. “But, I think mine takes the cake. I love her with my heart, my freaking soul, everything in me. I’m sold, done, totally bought and whipped. And I want her to come down here to meet you guys. That way, when we go on tour, you won’t be… weird.”

  “We weren’t acting weird.” Demetri half-pouted.

  “Yeah.” Jaymeson nodded. “You keep telling yourself that.”

  “Oh, and she’s bringing some friends.” Gabe chuckled.

  “Please don’t say Wes Michels. Please don’t say Wes Michels,” Demetri chanted loudly.

  “Wes Michels?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Hope that’s okay?” Gabe laughed.

  “Dibs!” Jaymeson called before I could say anything.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time we had to have extra security at one of our events.” I shrugged. “Everyone can stay at the beach house.”

  “Awesome,” Demetri said dryly.

  “Party!” Jaymeson did a little dance then clapped his hands. “Now let’s eat. I’m starved!”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Alyssa

  I WAS TOTALLY AND completely out of this world freaked out. Outside looking in. people probably assumed Demetri and I had been living in sin. The truth? Not at all.

  He’d taken things slow with me. I mean, really slow. We’d kissed — a lot. I mean, if there was a gold medal for kissing, we’d have it. And yeah, I’d traveled with him all over the place, but he’d never tried anything.

  What had turned into us waiting for the right moment, turned into me wanting to wait until our wedding night. I mean, especially after I saw Nat get pregnant so soon. I know that she and Alec were happy with the baby, but holy crap! I was so much younger than them. Having a baby now? It freaked me out. It made me that much more hesitant, even though I wanted to be completely and totally Demetri’s.

  After we’d all met at the house, we’d gone to dinner. It was fine until someone asked Demetri if I was already pregnant on account that Jaymeson and Pris were expecting.

  Naturally, because it’s Demetri were talking about, he started choking on his water and blurted, “You have to have sex to get pregnant.”

  Granted, Alec already knew we were waiting, but it was still super embarrassing. The entire table quieted down. They were my friends, family. I mean, it didn’t matter. But the more I thought about it the more terrified I became.

  What if I was terrible at sex?

  And Demetri was super disappointed? I mean, when I first met the guy, his sexual exploits had been legendary.

  The guy had slept with everything, and I do mean everything, on account he’d been high most the time.

  I just didn’t want to be a disappointment, which meant that sleep wasn’t actually happening.

  I flipped over on my back and glared at the clock. One A.M. Tomorrow I had my final dress fitting and a day full of pedicures and getting spoiled until the rehearsal dinner.

  It was official.

  I was going to look like absolute hell.

  I could have sworn the clock was ticking louder and louder next to me. Finally, I threw over the covers and stomped down the hall to Demetri’s room.

  Quietly, I let myself in and walked over to his bed.

  He slept like the dead most the time. He also had a serious problem with throwing covers all over the place, making his bed like a war zone. His golden abs were on full display as he lay with his arms behind his head. His muscles bulged in his arms. Seriously, I had no idea where he’d gotten that body. He really didn’t work out. And I refused to count the other day. Total fluke.

  “Dem,” I whispered.

  He groaned.

  “Dem…” I tried again, this time touching his shoulder.

  His eyes flared open. He grabbed me by the arms, and let out a little yelp. “Holy shit, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” His voice was deep and hoarse from sleep. I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of my lips. He was seriously beautiful. Golden-blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a permanent tan — he was the epitome of the Malibu surfer come to life, either that or a Ken doll.

  “Yes.” I whispered as I crawled over him and lay next to his warm body. “That’s the plan. Kill you before you can say yes on our wedding day.”

  “Lyss…” He groaned and then glanced back at the clock. “…you do realize it’s not morning?”

  “It’s morning,” I argued.

  “It’s early. Roosters aren’t even awake. Believe me, I know these things, on account I keep track of all birds near our beach house.”

  I rolled my eyes. He and his bird phobia.

  “Dem.” I laid my head on his chest.

  He started playing with my hair, his breathing even, his heartbeat strong. “Yeah?”

  “What if…” I licked my lips. I just needed to say it and stop being such a chicken. “What if I suck at sex?” The words came out in rush. My face heated to five thousand degrees, and I had the sudden urge to dive under the covers and stay there for the next day or maybe an eternity.

  Demetri was silent for a few minutes then burst out laughing.

  Hurt, I tried to pull away, but he gripped my wrists and then pounced on top of me, his body hovering over mine. “You’re kidding, right? That was you being funny?”

  A tear slid down my cheek. I couldn’t find my voice, so I shook my head and tried to look away.

  “Aw, baby.” He grasped my chin firmly and brushed a kiss across my tear-stained lips. “Don’t cry.”

  “I’m s-s-sorry.” I hiccupped. “I just, I don’t want to be horrible! What if I’m horrible, and you hate me and don’t love me anymore and—”

  His kiss was hard, possessive. His tongue slid into my mouth then retracted, adding pressure against my lower lip. “Don’t you for one second...” He growled and kissed me again. “…entertain thoughts like that.”

  Demetri’s soft lips rested against mine.

  I shuddered. “But, but you’re Demetri Daniels!” Okay, I was ready to start full on wailing. Stupid, stupid, stupid Alyssa!

  “God save me, I love it when my woman busts out my full name like that.” Demetri said in a husky voice. “You have no idea what that does to me. Actually, if I took off all my clothes and stood in front of you — naked as the day I was born — you’d have an idea.”

  I laughed against his chest.

  “I didn’t want to have to do this.” Demetri sighed and gently pushed me away. “But you’ve left me no choice.”

  Panicked, I watched as his eyes fluttered closed, his ridiculously long eyelashes fanning against his tan skin.

  “Punch me.”

  “What?” I gasped. “Are you insane?”

  He opened on eye. “Have I ever told you how happy it makes me that whenever I do something that sounds crazy, you don’t assume I’m drunk?”

  “It was my next accusation. You just didn’t give me time.” I crossed my arms and smirked. “I’m not punching you.”

  “Hey, you may like it.” Demetri closed his eyes again. “Now, come on, punch me hard.”

  “No.” I laughed, the tears drying on my fa
ce. “Are you just trying to distract me from being panicked and terrified?”

  “No.” Demetri sighed and opened his eyes, focusing in on my face. “My plan was to show you that I’m human. I still bleed, badass lead singer of AD2 or not. I’m just a guy, who really, desperately loves a girl.”

  I looked down at my hands. “I know.”

  He tilted my chin up toward him. “Do you? Do you really know? Because if we’re really going to start making confessions, here’s mine.”

  The room fell silent except for the soft waves crashing against the beach. Demetri usually left his window open but not enough for any birds to come barreling in. I shivered as his arms wrapped around me.

  “You terrify me.” He sighed into my hair. “Everything about you scares me. Forget being scared about sex. I’m petrified that one day you’ll wake up and realize I’m not worth it. I keep waiting to wake up from this dream, but that’s the thing, Lyss. You are my dream. You aren’t going to suck at sex. Mainly and honestly, I’ll be too damn nervous to even remember most of it, let alone judge your performance. Besides, what if I suck? What if I’m not gentle enough with you? Because, here’s confession number two, I have the worst self-control… ever.”

  I pulled back and blinked in confusion. “But… all these months you’ve seen so good.”

  His grin was shameless. “Right.”

  He dipped his finger in his own mouth then slid it into mine. I bit down softly. A moan rumbled from his chest.

  “I’ve always...” His breathing was ragged. “…heard that good things come to those who wait. Besides, I figured you’d reward all that good behavior with a little bit of bad behavior…”

  Demetri pulled his finger from my mouth and replaced it with his lips, hot and heavy. He kissed me deep, letting me lose myself, my fear, everything in the taste of him.

  When he pulled away, his voice cracked. “Are you still nervous?”

  Our foreheads touched. “That depends…”

  “On?”

  “How bad you want that reward.” I offered a playful wink and tried to jump off the bed but was caught from behind. Demetri swung me back against him. I tried to wiggle away, but it just seemed to encourage him.

  “Naughty girl.” He growled in my ear. “Teasing the guy who’s hanging on by a freaking thread. Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to run with scissors?”

  “Did I cut your thread?”

  “Sweetheart…” His teeth tugged at my right ear. “…the thread’s been missing for quite some time.”

  “Oh.” I grinned, feeling better than I had in days.

  “Rehearsal tomorrow,” he whispered. “And the next day we’re married. Then after that, we’ll have a little… lesson on why you shouldn’t tease.”

  “Hmm, you gonna spank me too?” I tried to get away again, but he jerked me against him so hard I let out a rough exhale.

  “I’ll think of nothing else when I close my eyes…” He released me, but not before actually spanking me on the butt and shoving me toward the door. “Now, leave before I decide to throw my self-control out the window.”

  “Dem...” I paused at the door. He got up and made his way over to me, his long muscled body lit by the moon. “…I love you.”

  “You…” Demetri kissed my forehead. “…are my life. You’re my heart. Now please go to bed so I can go have fitful dreams about you naked.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re such an ass sometimes. One minute you’re romantic, the next… naked talk.”

  He shrugged. “Part of my charm.”

  “Right.” I licked my lips and kissed him on the shoulder and walked out. When I turned around to wave, he was still watching me, his eyes heated. I half-expected him to run after me; he looked so predatory. Instead, with a curse he softly smacked his head against the door and then shut it behind him.

  How did I get so lucky to have that type of guy in my life? I fell into a peaceful sleep the rest of the night, dreaming of Demetri’s kisses and, funny enough, his promised punishment.

  A bit of spanking.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Demetri

  TO SAY I GOT no sleep would be the understatement of the year. The minute Alyssa left my room I went and took a cold shower; when that didn’t work, I decided to do pushups. Yeah. Pushups, like someone stuck in freaking prison. But what else was I supposed to do? I figured pain and pleasure were basically on the same threshold, right? So when the pushups worked, I decided to do some more and then added in some crunches until I was so wiped that I collapsed into my bed with dreams of a naked Alyssa lulling me to sleep.

  The only problem? By the time I’d worked everything out of my system, it was close to six A.M., and I had to be up early to make breakfast for her.

  Not that I was complaining. In fact, she had no idea that I’d planned it, which was also why I’d hit the sack so early the night before. I’d wanted to be able to plan breakfast in bed and not look like a zombie.

  I groaned as I made my way downstairs and started firing up the stove. One breakfast in bed for my seriously hot fiancée coming right up. Just as soon as I drink my body weight in coffee. Damn. I’d need an IV of the stuff before the day was up.

  I was suddenly super grateful that I’d bought a townhouse right on the beach that Lyss and I could share. It gave us more privacy; meaning, I didn’t have to worry about seeing a naked Jaymeson greet me in the morning.

  Not that it still didn’t happen, on account that he’d bought the giant-ass beach house next door, and, more often than not, thought it was totally appropriate to knock on my door clad in nothing but his boxers, holding out an empty coffee cup while he read my newspaper and walked by me.

  He only did it when he was lonely, which wasn’t often, but still. Not. Okay.

  I started the coffee and cracked the eggs into a bowl. A half-hour later I had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and a cup of coffee for Lyss. I put everything on a tray and quietly walked to her room.

  “Lyss?” I whispered.

  She groaned and moved from her stomach to her back. I nearly choked on my tongue when I noticed that her shirt had ridden up way past what was deemed appropriate. Swear, I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. The damn tray started clattering. Right. Self-control? Hell no. I was seriously ready to drop the tray to the floor and just jump on her, slamming her against the mattress and taking her in any way I could. Then again, there was nothing even remotely romantic about that.

  Romance, romance, romance. Stupid Ashton Hyde would romance… not that I was thinking of him and romance in the same stupid sentence. Hell, I needed to get a few good punches in on that guy.

  “Lyss,” I repeated, setting the tray on the nightstand and lightly touching her shoulder. With a sigh, she reached for me and pulled me on top of her.

  “Shit,” I mumbled under my breath. Skin-on-skin contact: not good, not good at all. I needed like a whistle or something. Not a rape whistle but something to alert her to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to help myself. Lying next to Alyssa like that was like starving for a year and then having someone drop you off at a Vegas buffet.

  You would run.

  You would eat your fill.

  You’d get sick.

  And you’d repeat the process until you passed out.

  “Lyss…” I clenched my teeth, grinding them together. “…I made you breakfast.”

  She squirmed beneath me. Sweet death.

  “Lyss.”

  Her eyes flashed open.

  “Ah, there she is.” I tried to keep my voice light when really I was struggling so bad actual spots were clouding my vision. Huh. Maybe I was about to have a stroke from not having sex for so long.

  “Demetri?” She tilted her head. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, you know, just attacking you in your sleep. Ha ha.”

  She didn’t laugh. Right. Not a morning person.

  “I made you breakfast?” I offered.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. Tr
y again.”

  “No, really.” With great courage and trepidation, I moved my hand and pointed to the tray. My damn hand shook, demanding it return to her body.

  “Dem!” Alyssa threw me off of her.

  I nearly collided with the floor but caught myself just in time as she grabbed the food and sighed happily. “You did this all on your own?”

  “No, I hired someone to scramble eggs.” I rolled my eyes. “Of course I did this. I thought it would be—”

  “Romantic.” She looked back at me. Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you so much.”

  I crossed my arms and smirked. “Does that mean I get an early wedding present?”

  “Sure.” She crawled across the bed toward me.

  Time stood still.

  My damn heart slammed against my chest in anticipation.

  Alyssa licked her lips and then kissed me on the cheek. “Is that good enough?”

  Yeah, my body was tighter than a drum. “Yup.” I almost choked on the word. “Swell.”

  I was given an incredible view of her ass as she crawled back to the food and started chomping down. Swear, I felt every bite and moan across my body as if she was feeding on me.

  “Hey…” Alyssa clapped in front of my face. “…you okay?”

  “Um, yeah, just hungry.” For her.

  “Want some of my bacon?”

  I groaned. Hell yeah, I wanted her bacon and her eggs and her feet and her…

  Sleep. I needed more sleep before I started envisioning Alyssa as a walking chicken or something. “Sure.” I snatched a piece of bacon.

  “So today...” Alyssa grabbed the coffee and leaned against the headboard.

  “Today.” I agreed, joining her and grabbing my own cup from the tray.

  “…and tomorrow…” She sighed.

  “Tomorrow.” I linked my hand with hers and kissed it. “I make you mine.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Alec

  “SO, YOU MEETING UP with the girls at the spa?” I asked, while Nat grabbed her keys and sunglasses.

  “Yup.” She blew me a kiss. “But I promise I’ll be—” Her face froze.