They ran a company that provided financing for films, so a divorce would have damaged their reputations and split their assets. He assured me they were married in name only. That was, until I told him I was pregnant.

  “That’s when I found out the marriage was very much real and not open or anything like that. I met his wife when she showed up at my desk with a team of lawyers and summoned me into a conference room.” I choke back sobs, but the tears are flowing down my cheeks.

  “Eden.” Vito’s voice is soft as he strokes the hair back from my face. “I’m sorry if meeting Michelle opened up those old wounds.”

  I shake my head. “It’s inevitable,” I explain. “Based on what went down when I got pregnant, I am pretty sure I was not the first executive assistant he played.”

  Vito’s growl vibrates through my chest. “I’m so fucking sorry that happened to you. But I don’t understand. Why would this change how I feel about you? If anything, I am fucking furious at what happened to you, and I want to make sure no one ever does anything to screw you over ever again.”

  “Seriously?” I wipe my face with both hands and face him. “Vito, you come from a huge, close-knit family. Your ex-wife is beautiful and talented, and there’s no deep, dark secret there.” I bark out a resentful laugh. “I had to sign a contract promising I would not submit my daughter’s DNA to any of those genealogy sites until her eighteenth birthday.”

  “What?” he asks, sounding as shocked as I am pissed. “Why the fuck not?”

  I give him a sad look. “I’m sure her father doesn’t want her finding all the other siblings he’s got running around out there in the world. If the kids start comparing the deals they got…” I shake my head.

  I’m quiet then. I’m hoping the details I’ve shared haven’t in any way compromised the confidentiality agreement I signed.

  “I’m not supposed to talk about any of this,” I explain. “But Vito, I want to talk about this shit to you. I want to trust you with everything. I want you. I just hope after everything I’ve said, you still want me.”

  Vito stands from the couch and pulls me to stand beside him. “Babe,” he breathes before pressing his lips to mine, “if anything, I want you even more.”

  13

  Vito

  I slide my hands into the back pockets of Eden’s jeans and press her hips firmly against mine. “Babe,” I groan, “I want you more than anything.”

  She whimpers against my lips, opening her mouth so my tongue can tease hers. I feel her lace her hands around my waist as our kiss increases. We’re like starving people feasting on our last meal. It’s hot, it’s furious, it’s needy.

  With Juniper always around, we haven’t been able to do more than this in the weeks we’ve known each other, but tonight, I want more.

  “Eden,” I pant, palming her generous ass through the denim. “I want you so bad.”

  She pulls her face from mine, her cheeks blazing pink. “I bought condoms,” she whispers, giving me a grin. “They’re in my bathroom.”

  I groan. That means she has to leave me to go into her bedroom, risking waking Juniper.

  She laughs, and I point to the closed bedroom door behind which the sweetest little girl is sound asleep. “Think she’ll wake up?”

  She nods. “Oh, I’m a mama on a mission. I’ll get this done.” Before I know what she’s doing, she’s slipped out of my arms and is opening the bedroom door with the stealth of a ninja. I don’t even hear the hinges creak as she disappears inside the bedroom and returns in what seems like ten seconds, gripping a box in her hands.

  “We don’t have to use them all,” she says, one corner of her mouth curling up seductively. “But I wasn’t going to tear this open in there.”

  I take the box from her and tear it open, freeing a sleeve of foil-wrapped condoms and dropping them on the coffee table. “We might need them all,” I tease, watching as she wiggles her arms out of her sleeves and slips off her top.

  She’s wearing just her bra, but at the sight of her full tits, the blue veins streaking along the top of her creamy skin, my mouth drops open, and I just watch her.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” I’m panting now, like someone who’s never seen a tit before, but I don’t care. Eden is sensual and soft, her curves thick and perfectly proportioned. I could probably come from just watching her undress, but I don’t plan on losing control that soon. “Will she be okay?” I ask, jerking a thumb toward Eden’s closed bedroom door.

  Eden nods. “If she wakes up, we’ll hear her. She can’t get out of the pack and play, so she won’t be able to open the door and surprise us.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief, then nod at Eden. “In that case, will you please take those fucking jeans off?”

  She flashes me a smile and then unbuttons the top button. She works the zipper down and then shoves the fabric over her ample hips. She’s wearing boy-cut underwear, a pair that’s so sheer, I can see the shadow of her pubic hair through it.

  “I want to see every inch of you.” I pull her close to me and gently kiss her lips.

  “Hmm, please.” She closes her eyes, and I reach around her and unfasten the clasp. The flimsy fabric falls away, and I toss it on the end of the couch.

  I squeeze my eyes shut as a spear of arousal spikes through my body, my legs going weak. “Fuck,” I breathe.

  Her breasts are large and soft, but when I trail the pads of my thumbs over her nipples, they go stiff and hard as pebbles. I pinch the tender flesh between my fingertips, and her shuddering gasp lets me know she likes how it feels.

  She squirms under my touch, and I move her over to the couch. “On your back,” I say, fumbling with the zipper of my jeans.

  She obeys, lying on the couch as I settle my weight on top of her as best I can. “Am I crushing you?”

  “I wouldn’t mind if you did,” she says, reaching up to stroke my hair away from my forehead.

  “Tell me if you can’t breathe,” I say, then I lower my face to her cleavage. I start with one breast, sucking the entire nipple into my mouth and working the tip of my tongue over her peak until she gasps. She grips the back of my hair with her fingers and pushes my face into her chest.

  “More,” she whimpers.

  I go feral when I hear that, and I clamp her nipple between my teeth and tug.

  She goes weak, the pressure of her fingers in my hair slackening while she enjoys every second of my attention.

  I suck and lick her nipple until she’s writhing beneath me, but then I stop and kiss her, trying to ignore the throb in my balls that’s begging for release.

  We kiss gently and wildly, tasting each other and savoring the first feel of our bare chests against each other. Eden must have incredibly sensitive nipples because while we’re kissing, she’s arching her back to press against the hairs on my chest.

  “You feel so good,” she murmurs against my mouth.

  I wish I had words, pretty words to tell her how I feel right now. How seeing her like this beneath me makes me want to look into her eyes and just hold her, naked, for days. But those words will come later.

  I move from lying on her to kneeling at her feet, and grab the waistband of her underwear before pulling them off. I spread her legs wide and lean back down so our chests touch.

  She tightens her long legs around my waist, pulling our hips closer together, and my cock jumps in my briefs. “I want you, but my body’s not…”

  I instantly know her run-in with Michelle is toying with her brain.

  I silence her with a soft kiss on the lips. “Everything about you is perfect,” I tell her. “I’m falling for you, Eden. Flaws and all.” I look down at her body and growl. “But everything I’m seeing is perfect. Flawless and perfect.”

  She nods and blinks self-consciously before pulling my head to her chest.

  I rest my face between her breasts and groan. “You’re killing me, babe. I mean, in the best way, but…”

  She laughs, and we hold each other for a minute. “I’m good,” she whispers. “Thank you.”

  “No, E, thank you.” I move back to the end of the couch and tug the panties over her hips, down her thighs, and set them on the coffee table. “For this.”

  I grip the insides of both her thighs and run my hands from her knees to her pussy. While she gets used to my touch, I lower myself as best I can to fit on the couch, but it’s not going to work. “New plan,” I say, getting up from the couch and reaching out my hand.

  I help her to standing, yank a blanket off a nearby chair, and drop it on the carpeted floor like a picnic blanket. “Now, I’ll be able to eat your pussy without wrenching my damn back.”

  She laughs and lies back on the blanket, opening her legs to me. “You’re so safety-conscious,” she teases. “At least you’re trained if one of us gets hurt.”

  “The only pain you’re going to feel is the kind you want,” I promise as I settle between her legs. I hook my hands under her knees and bend her legs so her feet are on the floor, her knees falling open.

  Then I lie on my belly and place one hand on her abdomen. With the other hand, I feel my way through her trimmed hair until I feel her drenched lips.

  She sucks air as I touch her, and I feel the sound as though she hummed it against my balls. I’m so hard I might just come against the fucking floor. But I quickly distract myself from the demands of my cock by stroking every inch of Eden’s middle.

  She is gripping the blanket with her hands and tightening her knees, closing her legs around my head, but I push them open again, continuing to work my thumb until she begs me to fill her.

  “Vito, I need you inside me. Please.” When she finally says the words, I reach for a condom, tear that thing open like there’s a winning lottery ticket inside, and shed my briefs so I can sheathe up.

  I kneel down on the blanket and settle my weight over her. “You want it like this?”

  She nods but then says, “And behind.”

  “In your ass?” I ask, trying to clarify.

  Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head, her gorgeous, soft hair shifting over the blanket. “No, I mean I want you behind me.”

  I chuckle and she giggles. “That too,” I say as I lower my weight and press the tip of my dick to her pussy.

  She is wet and sweet, and when I’m fully inside her, she widens her legs, and I swear to fuck I see stars.

  I thrust inside her, my hips and thighs burning with the effort, a sheen of sweat gathering on my forehead and chest.

  She rolls her hips, lifting to meet my thrusts with her own. My arms burn as I support my weight, thrusting deep inside her while I watch her breasts bounce and her beautiful lips move as she moans.

  “I want you to come,” I tell her, and her eyes fly open.

  “I will,” she promises. “But I want this to last.”

  I shake my head with a grin. “Babe, I promise this won’t be the last time, but I can’t hold out for long.”

  She giggles and turns a bit to her side. “Can we flip over?” she asks.

  “Fuck yeah.” I pull out of her, and her groan matches the disappointed grunt I make at the loss of contact. I check the condom’s all good, watching as she gets on all fours.

  Once she’s kneeling, I settle behind her and grip her thighs. She reaches between her legs to guide my cock inside, but as soon as I’m deep, she lifts her ass in the air, pressing into me. I hold her hips, watching her ass bounce against me as I thrust.

  “Vito, oh yes,” she moans.

  It’s the best kind of yes because as soon as she starts, I feel it. I feel her pussy tighten around my cock, and she muffles a shriek into the blanket. “Oh my God!” she yells, shoving her ass against me, writhing and grinding and panting through her orgasm.

  The second she’s done, I’m done for, and I give in to the climax that shakes my legs and drains me of every ounce of pent-up need.

  I collapse against her bare back and plant kisses along her spine until we both crash onto the blanket. I cuddle her close, both of us breathless and sweating and naked and flushed.

  “Are you good?” I mutter, tightening my arms around her.

  Her face is pressed against my damp pectoral, and she barely moves her face as she mumbles against my skin. “Great.”

  We hold each other for a few minutes until we both doze off.

  I wake up early the next morning in my bed back at home, my morning wood wishing like hell I had Eden by my side. I shoot her a text before I roll out.

  Me: I know it’s early. Thinking about you. Can’t wait to christen your new house.

  Ordinarily with a woman, I’d overthink what to do the day after we first hooked up.

  But with Eden, I am oddly at ease. Maybe it helps because I’m going to see her today at the closing. I told her I’d be there for the final walk-through of the house and to help with Juniper while she signed all the paperwork.

  I’m not nervous at all, but I am oddly excited. The house isn’t mine, but I can’t help thinking that it’s a place where Eden will make a home for herself and her daughter.

  And if there’s room in that house, in her new life, for me, well… I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself.

  But I know what I feel. It’s not just the fucking fantastic sex, her killer body, or the fact that she’s a sweetheart. Something about Eden feels right. Hanging out with Juniper alone last night never once felt like work. I never once checked the time, counting down the minutes until Eden came back to take her off my hands.

  Sometimes, as much as I love my nieces and nephews, they are exhausting. I try to be the patient uncle, but it’s hard to play the games they want, to remind them to wash their hands, to break up arguments, and to manage them every single second.

  I’d been kind of reconsidering whether I even wanted kids of my own because, while they are amazing at times, the grind of keeping four little humans alive is more than I could fathom. I was settling into a comfortable shell until I met Eden.

  Happy alone.

  As happy as I could be with my work. Lost in my own little cocoon of safety in my parents’ house. Now I’m wondering if, with the right person and the right kid, the worries, fears, and the risk aren’t more than worth it.

  My phone buzzes with a text and I grab it, expecting to hear from Eden. But the text is from a number I haven’t seen in years.

  Michelle: Hey V, it’s Michelle. I don’t know if this is still your number, but if it is, I thought I’d see if you were free for a quick coffee today? If you’re working, let me know when you’re off.

  I look down at the message, dumbfounded.

  I haven’t heard a word from Michelle in five freaking years. Now she wants to grab coffee? I rub my face and jump out of bed, ignoring the text for now.

  I storm into the shower and let the hot water clear my head. It’s early, but Michelle no doubt remembers my schedule and my habits. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that I haven’t changed.

  As I wash my hair, I think about the last five years. How lost I’ve been. How close I’ve come time and time again to reaching for what I thought I wanted, only to be passed over for the promotion, if I was even considered at all.

  After I’m dressed, I look at my phone with disgust. I don’t know what Michelle wants. Maybe nothing. Maybe something. But I don’t think I can move forward with Eden until I kick all the ghosts of my past to the curb.

  I text Michelle back and head downstairs, hoping I am not making a jackass-stupid move.

  Michelle’s office is in a nice area of Star Falls. No one is sitting at the reception desk, so I stand there and look around, unsure where to go. After a couple minutes, a man in a suit that probably cost more than my truck payment rushes out to the front.

  “Good morning,” he says. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Our receptionist is tied up. Do you have an appointment?”

  I look the guy over and shrug. “Yeah, I guess. I’m here to see Michelle.” I look down at the jeans and flannel shirt I’m wearing and suddenly feel all the old shit come back.

  How I was never enough for Michelle. The way she always wanted me to dress better. But I don’t have a lot of time to worry about it because Michelle comes through the reception door herself then.

  “Vito.” She walks right up to me and gives me a very real hug.

  I clumsily hug her back, regretting every idiotic thought that brought me here. “Hey,” I say, stepping out of the hug as soon as I can.

  “John,” she says to the guy in the suit, “I’m going to take Vito back to my office. Would you hang out up front until Gennie is back?”

  The guy nods, looking me over with a hint of suspicion. I follow Michelle back into her office, looking at the pristine carpet tiles as I follow her. Being here alone with Michelle feels like I’m betraying Eden, even if my intention is to listen to what she has to say and get the fuck out of here as fast as I can.

  Eden’s final walk-through is at noon, so I have less than an hour before I have to pick her up, and that’s about ten times longer than I plan on staying.

  Michelle’s name is posted on a plaque outside the door, and she scans herself in using a keycard.

  “Fancy,” I say, following her into the spacious, light-filled room.

  She nods. “For client security. I only have a few advisers here, and we keep our private offices locked.”

  She motions for me to sit down, then pulls up an app on her phone to order us coffee. “Still the same?” she asks, smiling. “Or do you want something different? I don’t want to assume nothing has changed since we last saw each other.”

  I’m feeling more and more irritated by the second. If she orders coffee, that means I’m stuck here for at least fifteen minutes until it gets here. I’m itching to leave so bad I can’t keep my hands still.

  “I’m good,” I say, waving her off. “I’ve got someplace to be, so…”

  She cocks her chin at me and frowns. “I’m sorry. I thought you…” She firms her lips, punches in an order, then sets her phone down. She sits behind her desk and motions for me to have a seat. I do, figuring the sooner we get through this, the better.