He stared at me for a long moment, blue eyes alert and considering, before he answered. “I’m sort of an accountant. I’m not a CPA, but I’m working on that. I help the team that puts together job bids for my company. I enjoy numbers. They’re predictable. And I like scoping out our competition and figuring out how to bring a job in under budget without screwing over our workers.”
“Of course you do.” I rolled my eyes with a grin. “You always loved budgeting for my mom.”
“She never followed my advice,” he grumbled, bitter. I didn’t blame him.
“Probably why she and your dad had so many debts.” And why they fought all the time. Eddie’s Uncle Chad inserting his dick into the situation was the final nail in the coffin of their relationship. I raised Eddie’s hand to my mouth and laid a gentle kiss on the back. “Should we go to bed? If you have to work later this morning....” I gave him a pointed look.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you in there. I’ll just make sure the lights are turned off.”
I plopped a kiss on his mouth before I went upstairs in the direction of his bedroom. As soon as I got inside, I studied the area. I hadn’t come in here earlier. There was no better space toget to know someone than their bedroom, and what I saw didn’t surprise me. It was neat like the rest of the house, but it was also clutter free—so he wouldn’t fall over anything. He simply had a queen-size bed, a set of drawers, a closet full of suits, and a tall mirror. The wooden floor gleamed and the wide window above the bed had bright red curtains to contrast the sky-blue walls. Everything about Eddie was so uncoordinated, even his décor.
I glanced toward the mirror, then away again because I couldn’t stand seeing my reflection. The man who looked back was always the same pathetic version. Weak. Too scared to fight to protect himself. Too helpless to defend himself. He was the person who relied on his ex-stepbrother to take care of him.
And Eddiedid.
Even though I’d been an asshole to him, he’d let me stay in his home while he handled my problems. How long had he been doing that? Before he left New Gothenburg, I had no idea he’d had serious issues with his dad, which meant he’d hidden it from me. MaybeIwas the asshole, after all. He needed his own list and my name should be number one.
I brushed my fingers over the scars and the drooping eye on the right side of my face, then trailed them over my left arm. The scars were numb, mostly, except for the way they ached in the cold, and it was something I’d gotten used to. I smiled and tugged lightly on the gold chain around my neck. In a roundabout way, Eddie had let me keep the one sentimental thing I owned.
Hands wrapped around my waist, and I froze, so focused on myself that I hadn’t realized Eddie had come in behind me.
“They don’t change who you are. They aren’t who you are. You’re beautiful, with or without them.”
I choked out a laugh, keeping my attention on the floor, even as he turned me toward the mirror. I wasn’t going to look. I refused. “I don’t feel that way. You should see how people look atme on the street. Like I’m Freddy fucking Krueger and about to haunt their dreams.”
“What do they know about the trauma you’ve been through? They don’t know you.” His grip tightened and he laid a kiss on my bare shoulder. I shivered as he began to caress his fingers across my lower abs, right under my belly button. I was sensitive there. “I know you.” His breath tickled my neck and goose bumps rippled across my skin. “And you’re perfect. Look in the mirror. See how amazing you are.”
I didn’t. The mirror and I would stay mortal enemies. Eddie couldn’t change that.
I turned in his arms, my dick rubbing against the hard-on trapped in his sweats, and I cupped his face in my palms. The way he slid his gaze over me stole my breath. Eddie couldn’t hide his feelings if he tried, and everything in his eyes screamed he was telling the truth. He saw someone worth protecting.Worth killing for.
And I thought I was the half-blind one here.
“Let me show you just how beautiful you are.” He stroked a knuckle along my jaw, and I leaned into him, desperate to get more of his hands on my body. I took in every inch of his handsome face, from his soft pink lips, to the sweep of his rounded nose, to the mole on the side of his head, hidden beneath the buzz cut.
“What?” I whispered.
He unwrapped his arms from around me and guided me to sit on the bed before he went over to the mirror. I watched, confused, as he laid the long, thin mirror on the floor before he held his hand out to me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Showing you how I see you.”
I hesitated, heart galloping at an unhealthy speed, before I slid my palm into his. Eddie could urge me over a cliff and I’dfollow, ready to please the man who’d given me someone to depend on. Was it silly to trust him so fast? No. Not with Eddie.
He led me to the mirror and kissed me, hungry and dominating, and I fell into whatever amazing reality this was. If I was still snoozing on the couch, I never wanted the dream to end. Eddie drew me into ecstasy with his lips, which was hilarious considering how terrible he was at talking. But apparently, he was an amazing kisser.
I moaned when he nibbled my bottom lip. Once he had me all melted from a simple kiss, he moved me like a doll, and I went because I was blissed out and desperate for more. By the time I realized where I was, he had me on all fours over the mirror, with my hands and knees on either side. I paused, staring down at my reflection. My dick was hard, slapping against my belly, and my abs and chest strained. Even though the position of the mirror made my torso and thighs look strange, it was also sexy to see myself from this angle.
Heat spread across my cheeks and I resisted the urge to close my eyes. It was difficult to avoid my reflection when I was positioned like this. Had he noticed me avoiding mirrors? No, he couldn’t have. “Why are you trying to murder me with this mirror?”
“Because I’m going to fuck you here. I want us both to see how beautiful you are.” He stepped around to the back of me and the drawer near his bed opened and closed. I held my breath, sure he was getting lube and condoms. Didn’t he leave the lube downstairs? He must have another stash. Sneaky boy.
“Here?” I whispered, staring down at my reflection and the twisted skin on one side of my face. My left arm didn’t look much better. Scars from a deep fryer accident at Smoke and Sizzle snaked down to my wrist.
“Yeah. Hang on—Oh shit!” He stepped on my foot, and I yowled in a mixture of pain and surprise, but mostly shock.He stumbled and began to step toward the top of the mirror. I reached up to grab his wrist to stop him from flailing onto the glass and cracking it. I saved him just in time.
“Oh my fuck.” I swallowed around an uncomfortable fear that took hold of me, the years of living with Mom and her superstitious beliefs taking a toll. “Do youwantseven years of bad luck? Not to mention an ER visit before I can get fucked. Jeez, be careful, Eddie.”
