United Eden (25 page)

His mouth lingered longer over the skin behind the last button, right at the very last inch of skin that could be classified as back, but was more back
side
than I wanted to realize at this time in encroaching nakedness. Now was no time to let insecurities out of their cage.

For whatever reason, Wil iam loved me like there wasnt a single imperfection clouding his love. I was going to view myself from his eyes from now on when I felt the inner demons awakening.

I thoroughly enjoyed that, he breathed against the curve of my neck. Torture device warning aside.

Yeah? I asked, smiling.

His head nodded against me as his hands shrugged into the delicate cap sleeves of the gown. But Im sure Im going to like this more, he said, freeing the dress of my shoulders, pul ing one of my arms through, then the other, and then there was nothing else holding the dress up save for Wil iams fingers. Opening them, he let the dress parachute to the floor and, save for a couple pieces of silky material that were most definitely not what I normal y wore, I was naked.

If I thought Id ever experienced hyperventilation before, Id been kidding myself. The hitching of air in my lungs was keeping pace with the frantic beating of my heart. I felt vulnerable, I
was
vulnerable, but I reminded myself who was in the room with me, Wil iam.

He deserved vulnerability, I owed him vulnerability. The world had taken the concept and screwed it into something twisted that would elicit a cringe when one gave it thought, but this is what, at the core of it al , we al craved. For someone other than ourselves to know us so intimately they know what wed do before we did, what we look like better than we do.

I sighed when his hands moved down the length of my arms, twining his fingers through mine as he lifted them above and behind me, circling them over his neck.

Vulnerability”the island in the sea I never wanted to be rescued from now that Id found it.

His hands had no problem unhooking the clasps at the center of my back, letting the strapless bra spring to the floor without a reservation. His fingers moved down the length of my bare back, back up again, and repeated the journey.

Wil iam, I said, looking back at him. His eyes were skimming over my body, taking it al in, but they moved up to mine the instant I said his name.

Youre going to have to move me to that bed before I pass out if you keep doing that.

He smiled, but I wasnt joking. Passing out from the pleasure or the passion or whatever it was he was doing to me seemed like a very real possibility and I definitely didnt want to miss a moment of this. Thats the plan, he answered, pressing his body into mine, his mouth moving to mine, kissing me as his hands repeated the caresses over my front theyd just completed over my back. The pleasure was so intense it bordered on painful, but whether pleasure or pain, it hurt so good I didnt care.

One more caress down my sides and his thumbs hooked underneath the final scrap of clothing keeping us apart. Wel , at least keeping us apart on me. His pants were stil securely in place, but they wouldnt be for much longer.

In a motion so seamless, my panties ended up on top of my discarded clothing at my feet and in a motion not nearly so seamless, my hands dropped to his pants, fumbling with his zipper. Id had trouble with the darn thing without trying to perform acrobatics by Bryn definition, but it appeared desperation made my hands more adept. The zipper free”at last”it was as simple as a light tug on his pants and the rest of him was as naked as I was.

He turned me to him, cradling my face in his hands as he kissed me first, then took a step back, his eyes wandering over me without apology or speed. Taking in every curve of my body, every line of my skin, each spot no man had ever seen before. You cant be real, he said final y, his eyes sliding back to mine. There was a hunger so deep it made me want to run to him and satiate it. You cant be mine, he said, stil awed as he gave his head a clearing shake.

Real I am and yours I am even more, I replied, letting my eyes wander over him as he had me. I didnt have any doubts that what I hadnt seen of him would be any less jaw-dropping than what I had seen, but that didnt mean it didnt overwhelm me as I took al of him in.

Wil iam was mine now, and I his, I wanted to give him everything hed ever wanted, everything hed ever need, but how could a girl nearly as naïve as a nun give this man being worshipped even by the candlelight he was so exquisite, everything he wanted . . . everything he expected?

My naivety coupled with my clumsiness would make for a rol in the sack Wil iam wouldnt be inspired to recreate anytime soon, I guessed.

Not able to help it, I bit my lip, glancing away from him . . . and this was no easy feat with the naked man who had a body that was meant to be seen naked two feet in front of me.

You
are
nervous, he stated, concern ebbing into his voice. He stepped into me, pul ing me tight against him in an embrace that was nothing but comforting, although the col iding of our bodies didnt exactly make me feel comforted. Burning out of control with passion, yeah, longing to have his hands running over the same parts of me they just had, yeah, but comforted . . . not exactly. Whats the matter? he asked, his arms vices around me.

The vulnerability I was immersed in brought the answer out easier than I normal y would have offered up. I dont know what to do, I said. Im afraid Im going to be an utter disappointment in the bedroom department. I dont have the faintest clue how to proceed.

Never did I imagine once Wil iam and I were al owed to be together like this would I be the one putting on the brakes, not in one bil ion years, but you would have thought by now I would have learned I never had things figured out.

I dont have an instruction manual either, he began, his voice patient. But I dont have any doubt we can figure it out. Im that committed to mastering this aspect of our relationship, he said, rubbing my back. And as for being a disappointment . . . he held my face in his hands so he could look me in the eyes. Even if I did nothing but stare at you al night long, I could die a happy right man right here, right now. His face was so serious, not a nuance of exaggeration in it, I smiled.

Right here, right now, I repeated. Before . . . I hinted, my eyes sweeping over the bed.

His eyes fol owed mine and a grimace lined his face. I could, but I dont want to.

Good, I said, doing a mental shove of my last bit of fear. Lets figure this thing out then. I took a step backwards and another, inching towards the bed. He matched my movements, step for step, touch for touch.

Think of it as a dance, he whispered, lowering me to the mattress. A dance without clothes. We already know how to dance standing up, we can figure out how to dance lying down. No matter how long it takes, he said, winking down at me as his body positioned over mine, holding his weight on his forearms. The surface fires suddenly scorched deeper, spreading through every nerve ending, knowing this was the thing forever memories were made of.

Wil iam and I would be walking hand-in-hand down a beach a thousand years from now and this was the kind of moment that would flash to the front of my mind. The kind of moments we live our lives chasing. Id chased this one down long enough, I was done chasing. I was ready to live it.

Dance with me, Bryn, he whispered, his frantic heartbeat only outdone by mine.

Youre going to have to take the lead, I whispered back, rocking my body closer to him, wanting his strained forearms to give out so his weight would crush against me.

He kissed me, probably the sweetest one hed ever given me, before positioning his face over mine, our eyes inches apart. Thats my job, baby, he breathed, slowly moving inside me.

Our bodies moaned and shuddered in unison, but it was the response taking place in his eyes from our union that gripped me. They were changing, the pale hue being drowned out by the sapphire color swirling into the irises. His eyes went soft, awed as I saw the reflection in his eyes of mine doing the same.

Forever and then some, he vowed, our bodies moving together as natural y as if wed been loving each other this way for as many thousands of years as we would forward, our eyes lost in a glimmering sea of sapphire.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

BREAKFAST HAYWARD STYLE

I awoke from the sweetest of dreams into the sweetest dream yet and had it not been for the hushed voices interrupting our sanctuary and the exhaustion I felt from a next to sleepless night, I would have thought I was dreaming stil . Wil iams body was half draped over mine, his arms holding me against him, his eyes closed.

Hed been right”we figured it out . . . and then we figured it out again and . . . wel , by dawn I was almost cocky with my newfound sexual powers.

The man was stil smiling in his sleep.

Brushing my lips across his, I rol ed over him. I think thats al the sleep youre going to be al owed this morning, love, I whispered as I heard someones laughter spewing from their mouth when what sounded like a couple of eggs cracked to the ground.

His arms stretched above him, his smile stretching wider. Again? he said, sounding anything but inconvenienced despite his best attempts. I knew youd be the death of me one day, but like I said”his hands stretched up to my shoulders before flipping me onto my back”what a way to go, he whispered, dotting my neck with kisses, his body no longer holding its weight above mine.

Okay, I was not going to be able to put together a coherent thought, let alone a coherent sentence if he kept this up. Your family, I said, already breathless. Theyre a room away and, since I think theres a very good chance we woke the neighbors three houses down last night, you better put the brakes on right now, I said, almost begging. I couldnt put up a fight against this, at least not a convincing one, so hopeful y hed find the wil power to abstain for the both of us.

He cocked an ear towards the door, the noises coming from behind it hitting him for the first time. What are they doing here? he grumbled, his arms lining with veins as he propped up on them.

Wil power real y sucked sometimes.

Making breakfast would be my guess, I said, remembering Coras more threat than warning last night that she was just as capable of improvising as we were. Is that a crime now? I teased as he looked put out, inconvenienced beyond repair.

Considering four of the five of them know what its like to wake up on the first morning of your honeymoon and want nothing else but to stay in bed”al day”yes, it should be a crime. He kissed me, but the heat of one thing leading to the next was gone from it. Hed resigned himself to family, clothing, and a break from bed.

He shifted off of me, rol ing into a stand and padding over to the dresser on the far wal .

Do you think its possible that I love you even more this morning? I asked, watching unblinking as the morning light shadowed around the lines and curves of his body. Perfection, there was no other word for the naked man before me.

After last night? he said, like it should be obvious. Most definitely.

Yeah, thats what I thought, I said, stal ing putting my own clothes on because watching him put on his was something worth stal ing for if there ever was something.

He grinned back at me, the sapphire in his eyes sparkling in a way the pale ones couldnt, or perhaps hadnt had the same reason to before last night. He pul ed on a pair of tattered Levis and shrugged into a snug grey tee before moving towards my suitcase resting on the chair in the corner.

As much of a damn shame as it is to cover that body of yours,”he smiled wickedly back at me”would you like me to grab you something to wear? He unzipped the bag, a low whistle his immediate response. As Id expected it would be.

Were you planning on not leaving the bedroom for a year? he asked, rifling through the bil owy layers of lace and silk.

Yes, I answered, shrugging. However, I think I packed a swimsuit . . . just in case we wanted to take a break.

I dont know what I did in my life to deserve you, he mused, admiring something from the suitcase before returning to the dresser. But Il be the last person who youl hear complaining.

Lets see, I said, leaving the bed and moving towards him. You searched for me tirelessly for the better part of two hundred years, loving me before I even knew who you were,”I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head into his back”have the respect of every single Guardian in existence, rescued me from the evilest man to walk the earth on two separate occasions, and theres something else, I said, tapping my fingers over his stomach as I pretended to think. Ah, thats it, I said, snapping my fingers. You saved the world, too. I cant imagine with that unimpressive line-up why youd deserve someone like me.

He spun towards me, a pair of his scrubs and a sweatshirt in hand. Have I ever told you that you tend to be a little melodramatic in the morning?

he asked, kissing my forehead.

I smirked at him, skimming my thumbs along the waist of his jeans. And have I ever told you that you tend to be a little self-deprecating in the morning?

He kissed me suddenly, this one definitely not conducive to getting dressed and having breakfast with the family. His hands roamed over my naked body and, just as I was going for the first button of his jeans, a three note tap came outside the door. I jumped like a thirteen year old about to be caught by her parents.

Alright, thats enough you two. We can hear you out here, you know? Joseph said, trying to sound stern. Put your clothes
back
on and get out here. Youve got one minute before I bust down the door, no matter what sounds I hear coming from the other side of it, you got me?

Wil iam stifled a growl against my neck as his mouth wasnt ready to give up on his attempts to delay the inevitable. Were coming, Joseph! I hol ered louder than expected, more to do with Wil iams hands than irritation at Joseph for being interrupted.

As always, excel ent choice of words, Bryn, Patricks voice carried across the room before it broke into a snicker.