I wrench the reins with a jerk to get my mount moving past her and catch the hurt in her eyes before fire replaces them and she steps back.
“Goddammit, Luca! You are being such an asshole!” She yells after me but I don’t look back as I head to the stable. Better for me to be an asshole as she says than a broken madman when she destroys me again.
Aiden rushes out to take care of my horse so I toss him the reins and stride to the house, not allowing myself to look Eden’s way again. I make it three steps into the house when a fist connects with my face and I go flying into the wall. Fury surges up and my fangs slide out as I find my feet to face Cade who delivered the blow. His eyes are glowing gold and the snarl on his lips shows hints of his canines lengthening as he takes a firm step towards me.
“Have we not suffered enough that you feel the need ta add more ta it by punishing her? Eden’s only crime was loving us. Loving you! Does it really lessen your own pain ta inflict it upon her?” He rages at me.
I feel the shame creep up on me. She was theirs first. Their mate and they loved me enough to include me and share her with me. I know how they suffered when she died and I saw the first true happiness on their faces this morning since then. I turn my eyes away from him and slump against the wall.
“I can’t. I can’t let myself…it broke me, brother.” I tell him in a defeated voice.
He steps closer and rests a hand on my shoulder. “Aye, it broke us all but don’t you see that Eden and all she would give us is the way ta mend it? Ta make us whole again?”
I brush his hand away and straighten. “For how long? And what of the next time she leaves us for good? Then what will mend us? No, I can’t, I won’t. Better she should hate me and keep her distance than suffer that again!”
“You are a fool ta think she will ever let that happen. You belong ta her, Luca, just like the rest of us, and knowing Eden, she will do whatever it takes ta get you back.”
Eden
Igroan from the pain in my hands, arms, and back. Washing, wringing out, and then hanging the house’s bedding all by hand was a job I was nowhere near prepared for. I have no idea how one small old lady has been managing it all. I’m sore, dirty and sweaty, and dying for a shower but make do with a basin wash. After helping with the laundry, Flora showed me to the linen closet and sent me on my way to remake all the beds with fresh sheets and blankets. I roll my head on my neck to try and loosen the muscles and decide that being a pampered princess and a kept woman has its merits. Fuck, that was brutal work having to twist and squeeze the water out of the blankets by hand.
As I rub a small bit of the body lotion I brought back with me into my sore, red hands, I start thinking about the future and ways to make life easier here. Just because certain things haven’t been invented yet doesn’t mean I couldn’t have them made myself with the right materials. Top of the list would be some kind of large tank that could be turned into a type of shower and plumbing and a roller system to squeeze out water and…
“You look deep in thought. Are you alright?” Sebastian interrupts my musings as he leans against the door frame to my room.
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’ve decided we DO need more help around here, please and also, I need to speak with a blacksmith!”
He barks out a laugh of surprise. “A blacksmith? What on earth would you need to speak to a blacksmith for?”
I shrug my shoulders causing me to groan and reach up my hands to rub them. Bas pushes off the doorjamb and moves into the room, plucks me from the side of the bed, and takes my spot, settling me between his legs. His strong hands and fingers go to work on my knotted muscles and a moan of pure pleasure comes out of me that almost sounds sexual.
He makes a noise of amusement and teases, “It would seem domestic duties may not be your forte.”
I make a sound of annoyance. “I can do it just fine but after today I’m reconsidering your offer of hiring on others to help with it. Do you know, in my time, I can do as much laundry as I did today in as little as a few hours with just a touch of a button? I already miss my washing machine!”
“Hmm, and does that bring us to the blacksmith?” He asks.
“Err, well, I’m not sure who would be the right person to talk to about what I want to build. I may have chosen to leave my modern life but I see no reason why we can’t have a few modern conveniences created to make life here more comfortable.” I arch my back and groan as his thumb digs into a particularly tender knot. “I have a list started in my head. Would you mind if I made a few changes around here?”
His lips find my neck causing me to moan with a different type of pleasure. “You, my love, can change everything you want to, as long as it makes you happy.”
I can’t help but smile at how different Sebastian is from the hard, icy man I first met. He’s so much softer and loving now. Out of all the men I love, Bas was the one I got to spend the least amount of time with before that fucking bitch, Keket, ruined everything. I was worried that the connection we had made wouldn’t be strong enough to withstand the amount of time I was gone. We had only that one amazing night together before I left so having him be so accepting and loving towards me being back is such a gift. I turn in his arms and kiss him with all the love I feel. His hands sweep up and down my back and into my hair as he pulls the elastic from it so it falls in waves over my shoulders and his fingers massage my scalp. I sigh in contentment against his lips and pull back enough to look into his eyes.
“Do you know what I want right now? I want to crawl into this big, soft bed with you, have your arms wrapped around me and…take a nap.”
His eyebrows shoot up and I can see the amusement in his eyes but then they soften and he pulls me close again.
“I would love that, Eden. I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I regret deeply that it took me so long to see that when you first came to us. I promise that I won’t make that mistake again.”
He reaches for the hem of my hoodie and lifts it over my head and then does the same with the tank top I’m wearing underneath it. I wiggle out of my leggings so I’m standing in front of him in only the emerald green bra and panty set and watch as his eyes heat up and his fingers trail over the tops of my breasts.
“So damn beautiful.” He breathes out with a touch of wonder in his tone. His hands run smoothly down my sides and come to rest on the crisscrossed bands at my hips that hold in place the small scrap of fabric that covers my mound.
I reach for his shirt and murmur, “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I won’t be getting that nap.”
His lips quirk up and then he’s sweeping his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side before standing and dragging the blankets back on the bed for me to climb in.
“I promise you will get your nap but I think you are still far too stiff and sore from all the hard work of the day. Will you allow me to relax you a bit more?”
