Benevolent (9 page)

Monday morning rolled around and I picked Eden up at her condo for the trip. I had a driver since I thought it was a waste of money to pay to park a damn car at an airport. They got enough fucking money from me; they didn’t need any more. She was quiet and hesitant when she got in the car. That lasted throughout the entire trip to Texas. It wasn’t until we made it to the hotel before she spoke up.

“What do you mean one room?” she shouted in disbelief at the hotel receptionist.

She had taken the words right out of my mouth. “I booked two separate rooms and even confirmed it last night,” I spoke up, explaining in a calmer manner than Eden.

“I know, I see that right here, but one of the rooms you booked had a water leak in it this morning. We’ve been trying to find another room for you, but we’re all booked up.”

“That’s it; let’s just go to another hotel,” Eden suggested, clearly pissed off.

“The meeting is here.”

“We can’t change it? You can’t call him and let him know what’s happening?”

“No, he’s staying here, too. We decided to meet here because it was close to the airport. He’s coming in from out of town and the reservations have already been made.”

“Good, then you can stay in their room,” she said while she crossed her arms.

I couldn’t help it. I found it amusing. The thought of sharing a room with Eden scared the shit out of me, too, but I wasn’t acting like her. I knew it would be hard, and I would be hard, but there was nothing else we could do. I laughed at her attitude, furthering her anger toward me.

“You think this is funny? Let’s call Gabi and see if she thinks it is.”

I turned to the receptionist. “That’s fine, we’ll take it. But if there’s a cancelation, could you let us know, please?”

She agreed and got us checked in. As if one bedroom wasn’t bad enough, it was one room with only one bed. I really began to think God was fucking with me. Either that or it was Satan. Who knew. All I knew was that I was stuck in a room with Eden, the temptress herself, overnight. It didn’t matter how much sex I had over the weekend, there was no way my balls and I were going to make it out of there alive. I would be spending the entire time in a very cold shower.

We got dressed, separately, and then made our way down to the restaurant to meet with the men. Everything went smoothly; an offer had even been made. Eden didn’t speak much to me, but she did engage everyone else rather politely. No one could even tell that she harbored such resentment toward me.

It wasn’t until the music began to play, the lights dimmed, and people began dancing did the night suddenly turn. I was happy just sitting in my seat, watching everyone else. But Kyle, the owner of the business I had just agreed to take over, suggested Eden and I take the floor to celebrate. He had his wife with him and they stood up, waiting for us to follow. If he had seen the look on Eden’s face, he probably would’ve given up, but he didn’t. She reluctantly stood and took my hand.

We made it out to the floor and I held her hand in mine and then wrapped my other around her waist. She placed her other hand on my shoulder and began to dance with me. It oddly felt a lot like my sixth-grade dance. Cold and awkward. But everyone at the table was watching so we had to make the most of it.

Eden was wearing a simple black dress with heels that put her much closer to my height. I say simple because the dress itself was simple, nothing fancy on it. But on her, it was anything but. It fit her curves perfectly, like it was made for her. And even though her breasts were completely covered, not even an inch of cleavage showing, I had the hardest time not staring at it. The bottom clung to her thighs and with the heels, she looked as if she had played some professional sport all her life. The more I thought about them, the more I wondered if she could choke me with them if she were to ride my face.

And there it began. Once I thought about her sitting on my face, I thought about other things. Her red lips made me wonder what they would look like wrapped around my cock. Her eye makeup made me question if she closed her eyes during an orgasm or if she kept them open. Her ass made me think about what it would feel like to grab while she rode me. And those heels. I wondered what they would feel like as they dug into my back as I fucked her.

She must’ve been thinking the same things because her body became impossibly closer to mine as we danced. Either that or I pulled her closer and she didn’t protest. Her arm went around my neck and her face pressed against my cheek. I hoped she didn’t feel the erection I had going on inside of my pants. I had learned to wear boxer-briefs around her for that very reason.

“Talk to me; tell me something,” I asked in her ear as we danced. I needed something to keep my mind off her fucking her.

“What do you want to hear?” She almost sounded out of breath, just like I felt.

“I don’t care. Just tell me something.”

“My parents don’t know I’m alone in Florida. I lied to them and told them that I moved there with a friend from NYU.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I moved there to find my birth mom.”

My steps faltered at that. I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear her admit that to me. “I thought you moved because of Kauffmann? And why wouldn’t you tell your parents about it?”

“I did move because of Kauffmann, after I found out my mother works there.”

I froze. I literally stopped moving and backed away from her so that I could look her in her eyes. It was like she just admitted to kidnapping a child or something. “She what? Who is it?”

Eden shook her head and moved back to me, wrapping her arms around me and began to sway as if nothing just happened. As if she didn’t just confess that I employed her birth mother. “I’m not ready to talk about that yet,” she said in my ear. “But yes, I did come to work at your company. I was already taking accounting classes because I love numbers, and that’s when I found out about her. I learned she worked there and then began looking into the company. That’s why I didn’t really know anything about you because I was too busy looking at other things.”

“That’s what you were upset about last week?”

“That and other things.”

“Me?” I didn’t want to hear her answer, but then again, I did.

She hesitated. I didn’t like that hesitation. “Don’t you think it’s weird that I go looking for my birth mother and she works for you? I go to a bar the night before my interview and you’re there. Not just there, but we were both there alone. That moron tried to hit on me and you were there. I find a nice and quiet place on the beach and you’re there. I start dating a guy and he’s your best friend. I go out on his boat and you’re there. At what point do you stop thinking it’s a coincidence and start thinking it’s something else? There’s a fine line between coincidence and fate, but at which point do you realize you’ve crossed it?”

I didn’t answer her. I didn’t know how to. I wondered the same thing and it was strange hearing my thoughts come out of her mouth. It wasn’t that I disagreed with her. It was more along the lines of not knowing what to do about it. Leaving Gabi while she was hurting so badly was nothing but a selfish thing to do. I would only be thinking about myself and not Gabi. I had always thought of Gabi—I still did. Once my brain returned to normal function, it was always Gabi that I thought about. I thought about how much it would hurt her to know the things I said to Eden, the thoughts I had about Eden, and worse, what I had actually done with Eden. Yes, it was guilt, but it wouldn’t have been if not for Gabi.

“I don’t know what this thing is between us, but it’s driving me crazy. It’s not my decision to make, Dane. It’s yours. And I feel like I’m just sitting on the sidelines waiting to be called. I don’t want to be that person. And there is no way I will be the person that does anything with an unavailable man. I meant what I said about being the other woman. I refuse to be in a relationship that I question the other’s fidelity. I was cheated on once; it won’t happen again.”

“I know,” I whispered in her ear. “But you have to understand it’s not an easy decision to make. It’s not like I’m deciding to trade in a car. I’ve been with her since I was sixteen years old. Infatuated with her since I was fifteen. I’ve been in love with her for over ten years and have spent every day of my adult life taking care of her. She needs me right now; I can’t just walk away from that.”

“I understand. I just want you to be happy. And if she gets better—when she gets better, I hope you find that again. I meant it when I said you deserve it.”

She kissed my cheek and then walked away. I was left standing in the middle of the dimly lit dance floor, watching her walk away from me. I knew my time was ticking away. I just wasn’t sure what time that was. My time with Gabi, or my time with Eden.

Eden went back to the room alone. I stayed downstairs with the men and their significant others. We made the decision to wait until the following morning to sign the contract at breakfast. They didn’t like signing legal documents after having drinks and I didn’t blame them. They were really smart people with a great company that just needed a little help. It was the first time in a long time I wanted to help, not for the profitable gain I’d make, but just because they needed it and I had it.

After a while, I went back to the room. Eden was asleep on her stomach in the middle of the bed. She had a book next to her and the lamp on the side table was on. I walked to her, to put the book away and turn the light out but once I picked up the paperback, my curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to see what kinds of books Eden liked to read. I opened it to where she was at and began to read.

Bringing my foot to the seat of the toilet, I played with myself for the second time that day. It wasn’t even noon yet. I watched André slide down the girl’s panties and bend her over his knee. I closed my eyes, dragging my fingers through my wet slit, right to my overzealous clitoris. This was going to take two point seven seconds.

I immediately looked over at her. What the fuck was she reading? I decided to read a little bit further. My curiosity definitely got the better of me.

Thinking about her standing at the door, watching, I spread my lips with my fingers, giving her a better view of my pulsating clitoris and wet pussy. I continued to watch André’s hand come down, smacking the girl’s ass while I turned and sat on the seat, spreading myself for my imaginary Olivia to watch me come.

I flipped the book over to see what in the hell I was reading.
Domesticated
by Jettie Woodruff. I had no idea who Jettie Woodruff was, but I figured she was a freak. Why in the hell would a woman want to write about another woman masturbating? Hell, why would a woman even want to read it? The cover said she was a best-selling author, I didn’t care how many books she sold, I’d never read about another dude jacking off.

I placed the book on her nightstand and just before I turned the light off, I took one more look at Eden. She was on her stomach and her right arm was tucked beneath her body. The damn images that raced through my head. It suddenly occurred to me why she’d want to read that. And the very next thing that occurred to me was how badly I needed a shower.

The shower would have been helpful had I not been obsessing over where Eden’s hand was. The image of her arm beneath her kept me hard. Was she touching herself?
How
had she been touching herself? What was she doing? Images began flooding my head. I began to stroke myself as I pictured her masturbating. She was rubbing her clit, sliding her fingers through her wet folds, and then began to pump her fingers in and out of her cunt.

I went back and forth, covering the head with my hand each time. I started off slow but then grew faster, harder as I imagined her fingers sliding in and out of her, soaking wet with her juices. My grip grew stronger as I thought about the noises she’d make. The small whimpers and heavy panting. My pace quickened and I slammed my other hand to the shower wall to keep steady as the warm feeling made its way to my balls.

I pictured her circling her clit with her thumb as she let out a cry of pleasure and coming all over her hand. That did it. Imagining her face as she reached that point made my balls tighten along with my hand around my dick. My movements stopped and my grip let up just slightly as I let it all out. My body jerked a few times as the last stream of come hit the tile wall before being washed down the drain.

Fuck. There was no way I’d get any sleep while she was in there. I didn’t know if I could be in the same room with her, knowing she was lying in the bed only a few feet from me. Knowing she more than likely fucked herself in that bed. Then again, I fucked myself in the shower. I wondered what she thought about as she was coming. Did she think of me like I thought of her?

I shut the water off before my mind wandered too far. I had been in such a hurry to get in the shower, I had forgotten to bring in clothes. So I wrapped a towel around my waist and quietly went back into the room.

Eden rolled over and opened her eyes. I was frozen in place, unable to move.

“Did you have fun in there?” she asked teasingly.

I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing I was caught. “As a matter of fact, yes. I feel much better now that I got that out. Thanks for asking. Do you feel better?”

“Should hearing you masturbate make me feel better?”

“Yes, it makes everyone feel better. Was it the grunting that did it for you or just the knowledge of what I was doing?” If she thought I would be embarrassed about jerking off, she was wrong. All guys did it, it wasn’t a secret. We start off doing it young. Just because we grow up and discover how fucking fantastic it is to actually stick it in a pussy doesn’t mean we stop going back to the hand. It was there first. As I’ve always said, just because children grow up and leave their parents’ house for bigger and better things, doesn’t mean they don’t go home to visit. My cock and hand meet up frequently, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. If a guy gets embarrassed about it, he’s a pussy. Plain and simple.

“Oh my God. I can’t believe you just said that,” she said with a laugh and rolled back over to hide her face.

“You brought it up.” I wanted to ask her about her night alone, but decided against it.

“I really wish I hadn’t.”

I grabbed my boxers from my bag and slowly got dressed. I had hoped she’d take her face out of her pillow and see me in all of my glory. But that didn’t happen. She didn’t roll back over until I started climbing in the bed with her.

“Uh, what are you doing?” she asked, her green eyes wide on her face.

“I’m going to sleep, what does it look like I’m doing?”

“In the bed? Uh-uh. Not happening.”

“Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor? I paid for the room.”

“Fine, I’ll sleep on the floor.” She grabbed her pillow and rolled off the bed.

“No. You’re not sleeping on the floor. That’s ridiculous. I’m not going to let a girl sleep on the floor while I sleep in the bed. Here, have the bed back. I’ll just call room service for more blankets.” I got up and went to the phone.

“Now you’re making me feel bad. Just get in the bed; we’ll share it. But no touching.”

I smiled, knowing I had won. I hadn’t purposely given her a guilt trip, but I wasn’t about to complain and argue with her. She wanted me in the bed with her, and that’s what she was going to get.

“Fine, but that goes for you, too. I don’t want to wake up to you all over my dick. I know it’ll be hard to resist, but you’re going to have to try. Keep your hands to yourself, Eden.” I turned the lamp off on my side of the bed and quickly got under the covers. She quietly laughed at me and it made me smile in the darkness.

I hadn’t thought it all the way through. I was in bed, in the dark, with Eden Clare. The same woman I just nutted in the shower thinking about. The same one I had fucked my fiancée fantasizing about. And the same girl I had contemplated leaving Gabi for. It was a dumb idea, but the temptation was too much when I first made the decision to get in.

I was used to making smart choices, doing the right thing, but for some reason, Eden stripped me of that ability. Never had I been around a woman before that made all thought process completely leave my head before. It’s not like I had never flirted with another woman, but it was always innocent and I always knew where the line was. Eden made that line fuzzy at times, and other times it completely vanished. I was Adam, and she was the forbidden fruit. If I ate her, which I really wanted to do as she lay next to me, I would be dammed for life. I knew it. But it didn’t make me get out of the bed. It didn’t make me sleep on the floor where I should have been in the first place. No. I was in bed, next to my temptation, and I was going to be condemned to hell for all of eternity.

I slept like a baby for the first time in a while. When I woke up, I was laying on something a little harder than a pillow and had my arms wrapped around something soft and warm. My hands were also filled with something amazing. I opened my eyes slowly, not wanting to make any sudden moves. I noticed Eden was on her stomach and I was close to the end of the bed. My head was resting on her ass and my arms were underneath her body with my hands up her shirt. I quickly found out that the amazingness I had felt in my hands were her breasts. I slowly picked up my head to take a look at her ass.

“If you kiss it, I’m going to kick your ass,” I heard her say half asleep with her face in the pillow beneath her.

I smiled and moved my mouth to her ass cheek. I didn’t kiss it. I bit it. Hard.

“What the fuck?” She bucked her hips, throwing me off of her and I lost my hold on her tits. She turned and looked at me but then smirked and rolled her eyes.

“You said nothing about biting.”

“I also said no touching. I’m pretty sure you just had your entire body touching me.”

I smiled at her and wagged my brows. “Not my entire body. But I could arrange that if you’d like.”

She jumped from the bed and fixed her T-shirt before heading to the bathroom. I rolled over and adjusted my morning wood. Waking up to an erection wasn’t abnormal, it was a regular occurrence, but that one was different. Normally, I could just get up and go about my morning, take my mind off of it and it’d go away. I could tell that wasn’t going to happen that morning. Not with Eden there. And especially not with the way I woke up. Fuck. There was no way I’d be able to take another shower after she heard the one from the night before. Not to mention, she was in the bathroom. I wasn’t about to do my business right there in the bed and leave the evidence all over the sheets for anyone to see.

“Eden, I’m going to need you to get out of the bathroom before you make me do something the maid will hate us for.”

The door opened abruptly and she stood there. “Oh God, you are the most disgusting man I’ve ever met. I think there’s a name for people that have to masturbate that many times. Maybe you should go seek professional help.”

“Are you offering?” I asked and watched her roll her eyes before completely stepping out of the way. “And just so you know, this doesn’t happen that often—only when you’re around,” I said and then closed the door behind me before getting back in the shower again and rehashing the scene from the night before.

Eden was quiet that time when I came out. She didn’t look at me and busied herself with getting her bag ready to leave. Things had become awkward and I wasn’t exactly sure why. I mean, she had heard me the night before and even commented about it. I didn’t understand why that morning would have been so different. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to make things worse. I hated when things were worse with her.

We met the group down at breakfast and signed the contract to acquire their company. It was a generous agreement since they were friends of the family, and I was doing it more to help them out than to make a bunch of money from them. I was still getting something out of it, but they were getting more. I was okay with that. I wanted to see them succeed, much like all the businesses I take over, but truth be told, I probably would have done it for free. I would have just asked for my initial investment back and handed them back their company to continue on with the success. I almost did that, but Kyle, the owner, wouldn’t let me. He said it would put a bad omen on them and didn’t want that.

Omen. I thought about that all the way back home on the plane. Was there such thing as putting a bad omen on something? Was karma real? If I had done good things my whole life but crossed the line one or two—or a hundred—times with Eden, would that warrant a bad omen? I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Every time something bad happened to someone, you always hear someone in the background say, “Karma’s a bitch.” But when good things happen to people, how often do you hear “Karma is a wonderful woman?” Never. Probably because Karma was more than likely a woman, and they are very temperamental beings.

Take Eden for example. She was pissed at me when we first got to Texas and then very standoffish up until our dance. She warmed up in my arms and the ice melted away. She heard me come in the shower and then even teased me about it. We slept in the same bed and then she made fun of me after we woke up. But once I got out of the shower, she was back to being cold again. Yeah, women were temperamental people, and I guess Karma was no different.