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
Eden POVThey're trying to prove a point of some kind, but I can't determine what it is, exactly. I think they want me to feel owned by them, by their lips that swerve all around my shoulders and neck. I breathe deeply, Ryder's hand massaging my inner thigh while Dante is focused on toying with my hardened, enticed nipples.Someone tears me out of my shirt, leaving me naked and at the will of the brothers.Dante pulls me around, pressing my chest into his so he can be at the perfect angle to meet our lips together. Ryder shifts to stand behind me, his throbbing erection begging to be cut loose out of his pants. I beg for it too, dreaming of this moment since Mason kicked me out of the bed."Please," I beg, unsure for what, but it doesn't matter.Ryder latches his hands onto my hips, pushing me even closer against Dante, pinning me between them until I can't breathe. Dante kisses the front of my neck, and I let my head fall back into Ryder's shoulder.Every single touch,
Eden's POVIn my final foster family before getting booted out of the system, I was always expected to do the chores. After a while it became second nature to calm myself down, to center my hectic thoughts, by focusing my energy on cleaning.Jack always laughed when I went into my episodes of deep cleaning, and sometimes, on the days he was more disrespectful than usual, he would knock something over to cause a mess and set my nerves on fire.I'm thankful that even though Mason isn't a huge fan of me being in the brother's penthouse, he steps around me as I scrub the kitchen tiles and try to lighten the dirt in the grout. My attention is threaded between too many tasks at once, my heart racing.A suspect! They think I'm a suspect in a bank robbery!Mason leans on the counter, careful not to step on the soapy tiles of the kitchen floor. "I was thinking about making lunch but…"He gives me an exasperated look as I had spent all morning cleaning, reorganizing and perfecting th
Eden's POVI wake up in Dante's bed, somewhere I know I didn't fall asleep last night. Ryder's bedroom is light in colors ranging from ivory to beige, while Dante's room sports dark gray walls and stark black bedding. No matter whose room I wake up in, I'm just happy I wake up with both brothers beside me.Dante has my back pinned to his chest, our bodies flushed together perfectly while Ryder has a light palm relaxed on my cheek, his touch so warm and electric. There's no easy way for me to get out of bed between them without waking everyone up at once.I stay put until Dante slowly awakens next, kissing the back of my tangled, brunette curls. He drags his hand up my bare thigh, and I realize that although we are under the warmth of his blankets, I'm the only one naked.We didn't do anything sensual after the blowout argument with Mason yesterday, but I think they like making me blush more than they like having sex with me. It works, too.I stop Dante's hand as it brushes my