“The other day at La Rouge… You were right. Alexander is a persona. One that I’ve hidden behind for ages. Nobody knows about the massive wedge it forced between me and my family, how it drove us apart. I chose Sebastian over my family, only for him to strip away everything that made meme.”
He swallows hard, his chest unbearably tight. “The guilt I feel… I can’t escape it. I’ve felt obligated to Sebastian for so long, but at the same time, I regret leaving my family behind. I don’t know how to be myself when I’m at work, but I don’t know how to exist as Alexander anywhere else.”
“That sounds exhausting,” Eden says softly.
“It really fucking is.” He chuckles bitterly. “I don’t know who I am if I’m not cooking, Eden, but I don’t know if I can go back to that place. I’m lost and confused and…”
“What is it?” she whispers.
“The only time I feel even remotely okay is when I’m with you.”
Eden grasps at the collar of his shirt and pulls him in for a kiss. He leans into her, realizing just how much he’s missed the taste of her tongue and the softness of her lips.
“Thank you for telling me,” she mumbles, her forehead pressed to his. “I know that couldn’t have been easy.”
“Idotrust you, Eden. I do. Please never doubt that. I’m just… not really good at the wholeheart-on-my-sleevething.”
She smiles gently. “If my opinion counts for anything, I think you did very well.”
“You mean I get full marks?”
“Oh, definitely. A solid ten out of ten for communication.”
“I’m sorry I pushed you away.”
“And I’m sorry I pushed you into pushing me away.”
“I’ll do better going forward. I promise.”
“Me too.”
“Does this mean you forgive me?”
Eden nods. “I forgave you ten minutes ago.”
He chuckles softly. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Will you... Will you call me by my name?”
She beams, her face brighter than the sun. He realizes just how fitting her name is. She’s his ray of sunshine, his garden of Eden. She’s a breath of fresh mountain air. She’s the warmth of a calm fire in the middle of a dark winter evening. She’s absolutely everything to him, so when she opens her mouth to say his name, the world suddenly clicks into place and makes sense.
“Shang,” she whispers, so soft, so sweet.
Eden kisses the tip of his nose again.
She kisses the corner of his mouth.
She kisses him fervently on the lips.
He kisses her back, lightheaded and alleviated and so damn overjoyed. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her onto his lap so he’s straddled between her thighs, mouthing hungrily at her lips, down her jawline, the front of her throat. He sucks hard, leaving marks on her skin as a reminder to himself that she’s here. She’s really here and she’s his and he’s never been happier.
It doesn’t take long before a tight heat begins to grow deep within his core, his cock throbbing with desire. Eden grinds her hips against him, sending pleasure shooting through his system. He’d be perfectly happy to keep kissing her, but he needs more. He craves more. Judging by the way Eden clings to him, fingers carding through his hair as she groans and rotates her hips, she needs him just as much.
“Can I take you to the bedroom?” he asks, gruff and barely in control.
“Yes,” she blurts out with a gasp. “Yes, please.”
