Eden's POV"Come on," I plead, trying to escape both of their roaming, wandering hands. "It's going to be cold and—and what if a boat passes by and they—they will see—""They're in for a show," Dante breathes into my neck and shoulder.I melt at his many, pecking kisses there. "Agh, that's not fair. You know I love that.""I also know you love a lot of things, baby," Ryder hums, pushing my dress upwards and dragging his tongue up the inside of my thighs.I wince, overwhelmed."Come on, guys, please. Let's just go to the bedroom and—and—"My vision sparks spots as Ryder's mauling kisses have moved up my thighs. So far, in fact, that I can't help but dare to collapse as I hook a leg over his broad shoulder. Dante keeps me upright, one of his hands undoing the zipper of my dress.They can't be serious!I panic, looking around the dock and the river, concerned that someone for sure is already watching. I can only imagine the frenzy it would cause if there was a camera any
Eden's POVMy boyfriend Jack Ward called me a prude last night. It was unwarranted, unthinkable, and unbelievably infuriating considering the streetwalking prostitute he was sleeping with in my bedroom.He went so far as to shame me for being upset by the sight of him stark naked with some redhead wearing my robe in my bed when Jack wasn't even paying for anything at this apartment.But me? I'm a prude. I'm the problem. Not him cheating on me in our place, which I pay for!At least he had the decency to shove the woman out the door before I decided to pick an argument over the circumstances I came home to with her there. I slept on the couch when the screaming and shoving was over, and I didn't feel like starting it back up after a twelve-hour shift at the bank.Otherwise, my night was average.I live in constant fear of several things, each one specifically terrifying, but none of them are more concerning than the last. Losing my supervisor job at Grand Dominion Bank, g
Eden POVThe man marked in heavy tattoos moves first, pressing me into the backseat with a mighty shove. Whoever is driving the car doesn't veer or even flinch, as both of the handsome bank robbers grapple me into submission.The plastic ties are cut, replaced by a set behind my back. The cloth tie is reinstalled over my eyes where it is tightened this time around.I gasp, a cold coercing set of hands shoving me to sit down between the robbers. It was hard not to memorize their faces in that brief split second glimpse I got of them. They're different, but similar, their eyes bright and their auras thick.The one on my left with bright blond hair adjusts my skirt, the fabric riding up my thigh. I shudder, his fingertips dragging up my leg and pressing into my cold skin. He muffles a chuckle at my unease, the other with dark hair and darker tattoos only snarls in response."Enough teasing. She saw our faces; we have to abandon our initial plan.""Oh, brother. Relax. She's har
Eden POVAfter the chaos of sex in an immaculate kitchen, and the blur of time afterwards, I wake in bed, flanked by both bank robbers as they hum through their tired, unlawful dreams. What do bank robbers dream about?Sex with their captive?Their scent lingers on my naked body, tucked carefully under a soft, weighted blanket that relaxes my aching, sore muscles from being bent over a kitchen island and f8cked.Everything after the fact was a mindless and hazy memory. How I ended up in bed with them is the least of my issues. How do I get away from them? That's the next question.Dante is closest to me, Ryder's back almost pressing against mine, whereas Dante faces me, his hands pulled in front of his face in a protective boxing stance.Pure. Gold.Both words are marked in ink along the plane of his fists, each specifical letter designated for a knuckle, excluding his thumbs that I suppose leave a natural break between the two, oddly specific words.I try to ignore the
Eden"What the hell were you two thinking?!"I shudder behind the security of the bedroom door, watching a man who just arrived throw a fit of rage in the living room. Dante is lounging leisurely in a chair, flipping through the news on the TV that repeats my photo over and over again. Whoever this man is, he obviously wasn't clued into my abduction."We had to act quickly, Mason. Settle down," Ryder barks, sipping on a crystal glass full of scotch. He turns to peer down the hallway, his eyes finding mine. He winks. I blush. "You woke up the captive, Mason. Care to meet her?" The lanky man in a suit turns, his jaw dropping when he spots me listening in. He turns quickly to address the brothers. "You let her walk around with free-will?""She's harmless," Dante snorts. "We have an understanding with Eden. Right?"I poke my head out of the doorway to nod, but Ryder motions for me to join them in the living room. I do so, making a point not to tug at my skirt like Dante so
Eden POVThe police station is ice cold and full of detectives from all sorts of government agencies. I lean forward in my hard, metal chair, wrapped in a pathetic blanket that they give to all the terrified victims. They keep calling me a victim too, and I understand why, but I don't feel very victimized right now.I feel hollow and lonely.The detective finally gather's his paperwork, giving up in a resolute sigh after his interview went absolutely nowhere.I denied knowing anything, just like I said I would, and accepted the fact that life will just have to go back to normal now. One of the other detective's steps into the room, his smile lighthearted like I've been tortured and relentlessly abused.Instead, my experience was pleasant and thrilling and new.I've needed new for so long that I didn't think it existed. Now that I've had it in my grasp, that I've tasted its abundance, I'm lost in a flurry of my own thoughts that are filled with Dante and Ryder."Ms. Smith,
Eden POVThere's a weird silence in this hotel room. I used to pray for the same silence in my foster family's home. Everything was loud and chaotic and ever changing. I would sit still while the world blurred in movement around me.This silence is different from that.This is a penetrating, bleeding silence that slowly cuts at my surface until I fall into a lump of shredded discard. There's nowhere to hide in this room, to feel vulnerable, and they see that."I told the police everything that happened," I say at last, breaking the tensile silence.Erik waves his hand in the air, swatting away an imaginary bug. "I'm aware of what you told the police, Eden, but I don't believe you."I swallow. "I don't know anything else; I promise.""So you're gone for three days, but you don't see or hear or know a thing about where you went? Let alone, who took you in the first place? You can see how that seems very unlikely, right?"Trying to avoid Erik's eyes, I look to his son, who
Eden POVStanding in front of Dante and Ryder Golden, a wash between stress, shock and lust flushes down my face. Everything is warm in my blood, everything is hectic in my mind, and yet they stand here so calm, so collected, like nothing happened."Hey, kitten," Dante purrs.I shudder, having released them as quickly as I'd thrown myself at them, and Ryder grins mischievously."Let me come in and clean that cut," Ryder says, moving past me and into the living room.I press my hand into his chest, eyeing the bedroom doors that are open wide enough for Jack to see, and hear, everything going on. A variety of apprehension builds in my chest. I don't need to wake Jack up right now."The cut is fine," I say, wiping my cheek with my wrist. The amount of blood isn't as bad as it looks: it didn't sting too bad, it just surprised me. "I can't let you come inside. If he wakes up, he will suspect something. I don't want him running to the cops."Ryder surrenders, stepping back inl