Unforgettable (11 page)

Dear Lord, how was she meant to keep her hands off him when he was truly the most gorgeous things she’d seen in her life?

He started washing her again. Who knew how much of a turn on it would be to have him care for her like this? He handled her like she was the most precious thing in the world, washing every inch of her slowly, drying her off before she could chill.

Her nipples hardened, making her blush as they stood out, begging for more.

Leaning over her, he was protective and sheltering as his hands washed her gently. Each sloping sweep of the cloth over her skin left a trail of liquid fire that sizzled and singed. Then he chucked the cloth down and cupped her small breasts possessively, massaging gently.

A low moan of desperate longing escaped from deep inside her as arousal crashed through her body. Explosions of need zapped her as his teeth rasped her neck, nipping at her gently. Eden shivered as each bite scorched her skin like wildfire, setting her aflame. When she tried to twist around, to take his mouth for a soul-stealing kiss, he merely tightened his grip, keeping her in place.

“Galen,” she cried out, his name a plea of need, begging him, needing him. Arousal rode her so hard that it was almost painful, a spring coiled inside her, just waiting to release.

His husky voice swirled around her. “Stay still, kitten, or I will lose all my control.”

“I want you to lose control,” she whimpered, attempting to reach back and grasp hold of him. But he chose that moment to bite down on her neck in a move that was darkly primal and she gasped, shocked when her body instantly submitted to his will as he licked the slight wound gently.

A large hand cupped her mound and she found herself whimpering, a noise that was part need, part fear. As if he knew she was at the end of her tolerance a firm finger strummed the bundle of nerve endings at the top of her folds, making her boil with sensation until she overflowed in a waterfall of pleasure.

He finished washing her quickly after that, his movements gentle even though she could feel the tension thrumming within him. Like a rag doll she merely let him do as he wished; her body relaxed and languid, freed of all the tension that had been straining her for the last month.

He climbed into bed, clasping her tightly against his side. She expected him to continue to touch her, to do something to ease the savage arousal she sensed riding him.

“Galen?” she asked tentatively as he just clasped her close, her head resting on his chest, his heartbeat reassuringly firm beneath her ear.

“Go to sleep, kitten,” his voice was low and husky with his need. “I’ll keep the nightmares away.”

She felt shy, unsure. “But don’t you want to-you know?”

“Oh, I know, and believe me I do. But you need to sleep and heal more that I need to–you know.” His voice was warm with teasing amusement and she snorted softly.

“Was it always like that before?” Her body knew his touch, had readied itself for him far too easily. No one else had interested her at all in the last month. Instinctively her body knew and accepted his touch, and that was why she’d so easily let him touch her, care for her so intimately.

“Yes, baby, but it only gets better every time.”

“So we were happily married, I mean...”

His hand clasped her chin, gently forcing her to face him. “Kitten, you are more important to me than anyone else in the world. Now go to sleep.” She felt his lips brush across her forehead, a gesture that was both tender and loving.

“You confuse me,” she said yawning, surprised by how tired she was. Normally she’d be too tense after a nightmare to even attempt to go back to sleep. But after that shattering orgasm she felt as though she could sleep forever.

“How’s that, kitten?” he asked, his smoky voice lulling her deeper into a relaxed state as his hand rubbed softly up and down her back.

“Well, at times you seem so hard, so vicious, and I think that you can very easily be cruel. But then you do something like this, bathing me, holding me, and cherishing me. It’s like you’re two different men, one hard, cruel, and cold, the other gentle, loving, protective.”

“You’re not afraid of me, though,” he said, making it a statement.

“No. I know you’ll never hurt me.” Her eyelids grew heavy with slumber as she finally stopped fighting the warm pool of sleep and drifted off.

Chapter Eight:

“How did my parents die,” Eden asked. She lay out on the sofa with her head on his lap. She’d barely managed to convince Galen to let her out of bed. He’d insisted she spend all of yesterday there, but today she’d been determined to get up. A small victory as he’d yet to let her get any farther than the sofa.

Galen had been running his hand through her hair, but he stilled at her question. She’d been answering him questions about her past and he’d been answering without hesitation for the most part. She knew he was still hiding something big. She only hoped she could live with whatever it was, because she was fast coming to need him in her life.

This was one question she’d been avoiding, knowing it could only bring pain. But she had to know.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to talk about this now.”

Eden felt a stab of pain. “I don’t know if it’s ever going to be a good time, but I need to know.”

Galen drew her up to sit on his lap, surrounding her in his heat. “You’ll never be alone again, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m not letting you go.”

“Tell me. Please.”

“It’s not a nice story,” he warned her. But with a sigh, he gave in. “You were an orphan by five, sweetheart. After your parents died you grew up in foster homes. Most of them were good to you, but you became quite withdrawn. You’re naturally quiet and reserved around people you don’t know, although when you get to know someone you’re hard to shut up.”

She punched him, knowing he was trying to lighten things up. “What happened to them? My parents?”

He took a deep breath. “Your father wasn’t right in the head, honey. From what you told me he had a form of schizophrenia that went undiagnosed. He would fly into fits of rage. And one night, he became so unstable that he shot and killed your mother.”

“Where was I?” she whispered.

“You saw everything. Luckily, he didn’t harm you. He took off when someone from the next apartment yelled out. There was nothing that could be done for your mother, though. They found your father the next day. He’d killed himself.”

“That-that’s horrible,” she said, feeling ill. Dear God, her poor mother.

“Yes, baby.” Galen squeezed her tight. “Luckily, you didn’t really remember any of it. What you know mainly comes from a neighbor you kept in contact with.”

“Where is she buried, my mother?” she asked.

He stilled. “She was buried in a graveyard in a small town in Utah.”

“Was?”

He nodded. “We brought her to the ranch. You planted a magnolia tree for her. We buried her beneath it.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” she said with relief. She’d been wondering how she was going to get to Utah to visit her. “I’d like to visit her soon.”

“Soon, baby,” he crooned. “Very soon. I promise.”

“What if I don’t ever remember?” she said suddenly, her voice low and frightened. “What it I never remember any of my past? What if I never remember you?” It was a very real fear that had her stomach tied in knots. What if she just never remembered?

“Sweetheart, you have to stop trying so hard. You’re going to cause yourself more harm than good by forcing things. The memories will come and I will do whatever I can to help you. But you will do nothing to compromise your health, kitten, because I won’t let you. If that includes stopping you from forcing the memories then that is what I have to do. When I had no idea where you were I felt like a piece of me had been chopped out.” His eyes spoke of his pain, and she immediately felt ashamed.

“You still won’t tell me everything, though, will you? I know there is something big you’re holding back.”

“I’m not keeping things from you to hurt you, baby. I’m keeping them from you because I don’t want to overwhelm you. I’ve told you as much as I think you can handle. You will remember that happened to you, who hurt you. Only you can tell me that, so I can make sure they never hurt you again. You will remember. I promise.”

Eden let out a frustrated sigh. “I feel like I’m stuck in a bad game of ‘Who am I?’, only no one will play with me, and I don’t have the answer stuck to my forehead.”

Galen chuckled. “Come on, you need to rest.” She didn’t protest as he scooped her up. Even though she was getting more sleep—the nightmares seemed to have gone on holiday for the moment—she still felt exhausted.

As Galen carried her into the bedroom she felt her breathing quicken in anticipation. It didn’t matter that he was constantly touching her, that he’d brought her to orgasm, she still hungered for him, still craved his touch. Tonight, she was determined that he would take her fully.

Reaching up, she clasped her hands around his neck, bringing him down onto the bed with her as her lips took his in a scorching kiss. Unable to let her lead for long he soon took over the kiss, commanding her response as she writhed against him in a sensuous plea.

Kissing his way along her jaw, his touch was both amazingly gentle and exquisitely hot, demanding her response with each touch of his hands, with each swirl of his tongue. Like a rich, indulgent chocolate, pleasure swam lazily through her veins as he slowly drove her up, his touch endlessly patient as though he could do this forever and never tire.

When he touched her like this the world around her reduced down to just the two of them. His concentration was solely on her, on her pleasure, on her wants and needs as he drove her wild. Hands claimed her breasts, fingers and thumbs pinching lightly on her receptive nipples as he mouth travelled down to the wet folds between her legs.

Then he was taking from her, sucking and licking at her like she was bowl of deliciously rich cream.

“Galen, please, I need you.” There was no pride here in this bed with just the two of them, and if begging would get her what she desired most then she would get down on both knees to do just that.

“Shh, baby.”

“No!” She refused to let him deny her, her nails scoring his shoulders, her hands pulling at his hair until he moved back up her body, his face harsh with suppressed arousal.

He rolled onto his back away from her, and Eden let out a groan of disappointment, worried she’d pushed too hard. But he merely grabbed her by the waist, clasping her gently with large hands that easily spanned her tiny waist, and using his enormous strength pulled her over and on top of him.

Then he was inside her, fusing them together as she writhed and bucked. He filled her, sliding in and out in a move that couldn’t have been smoother if it had been choreographed. Impatient, needy, she moved faster, harder, until they both found their release together, spiraling up into heaven before drifting down on the softest of clouds.

Collapsing on his thick chest, Eden could barely breathe let alone force herself to move. “You’ve killed me,” she complained. “I’m dead.”

Something that sounded almost like a purr came from deep within his chest, and she found the energy to look up at him, catching his look of deep contentment. His hand ran lazily up and down her back, making hypersensitive nerves quiver with overload.

“You’re always so warm, like my very own hot water bottle,” she murmured as she rolled over to her side, tucking herself under his arm so her cheek rested against his chest. He chuckled softly.

“Glad you find me useful for something, kitten,” he murmured.

“Oh, you have your uses.” She leaned up and licked a nipple, grinning at him as he groaned. “You’re good for changing the light bulbs, and putting out the rubbish, oh, and squashing bugs, yep you’re really good at that. Ahh—” she let out a screech as quick as lightning he had her on her back, looming over her on all fours.

“Is that all I’m good for, is it? Chores? Squashing bugs?” he mock-growled.

“Ah-huh.” She nodded, biting her lip to stop from giggling at his disgruntled look.

Splitting her legs apart he swiftly entered her, thrusting in and out gently. She was still slick from their lovemaking, and it wasn’t long until she was moaning in delight. Then he paused, ignoring her groan of protest.

“Well, if you’re sure that’s all I’m good for...” he teased, moving to roll away from her, but she grabbed him quickly, holding him where he was.

“Well, maybe you’re good for one or two other things. How about,” she gasped as he rocked his hips, “you keep moving and we’ll see if you can jog my memory.”

“Some things, kitten, are unforgettable.”

*****

 “Time for bed.” Eden threw up her hands in frustration. It seemed like she couldn’t move without Galen trying to force her to sit, or have a nap, or eat some food. Frankly, she was going mad with his over-protectiveness. It had been a week since her accident and although her bruises still lingered they no longer caused her any pain. Not that Galen could be convinced of that.

“Eat. Sleep. Eat. Sleep. That’s all you ever say!” She let out a loud, satisfying groan of frustration that had him staring at her thoughtfully.

“And don’t stare at me like you’re trying to figure out how to best manage me. I won’t be managed by you, Galen. You can’t protect me forever. I am not delicate. I am not going to break. I feel fine. I want to go back to work.”

He wouldn’t even hear of her going back to the diner and she knew they must be short without her. For the first few days, she’d been happy to lounge around, her body still sore, but she needed to get back to work.

“You need to calm down.” His voice was low, soothing, as though he was talking to a spooked wild animal. Well, she felt like a wild animal. She felt trapped, smothered, and angry, damn it!

“Damn it, Galen. I don’t need to rest. I’m going for a walk.”

“No way,” he growled. “It’s not safe.”

“It’s no more unsafe that it was before!” She gazed at him suspiciously. “Unless you know something I don’t.”

He sighed, a guilty look crossing his handsome face. “I don’t want to scare you.”