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Eden squeezed her eyes shut, exhaling a deep breath. Her mouth tried to move, but nothing came out.

“That’s all I need to know. But maybe it’s a good thing that this happened, because now you know how I feel. I know this means nothing to you, but I need you to know that you mean a lot to me, Eden. Probably more than I should admit. And working with you has been a dream for me,” Aster said, retrieving her camera bag. “But I don’t think I can work with you any longer.” She backed up, sadness rolling through her. “Kissing you is all I’ve wanted to do since I laid eyes on you, so turning you down is something I’m going to regret for the rest of my life.”

“Aster…” Eden’s voice trembled, her feet moving as she finally found her voice. “You…”

Aster stared; she had nothing else to say. She was all out of words and almost all out of caring.

Eden lifted her hand, brushing Aster’s hair from her face. The touch was gentle, feather-like, a shiver travelling throughout her entire body. “I don’t know what happened the moment you walked into my office and my life, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to find the courage, but I wasn’t drunk last night.”

Aster’s pulse quickened. “N-no?”

Eden’s hand settled against her cheek as she stumbled back, connecting with the wall.

“I don’t know what I’m doing from one day to the next when I’m around you, but you make me feel some kind of way, and I had to tell you. Perhaps at a bar wasn’t the greatest idea, but I have all these feelings building up inside of me, and I don’t know where to direct them or how to deal with them.”

“Y-you feel the same way?” Aster wasn’t sure if she’d spoken those words, but then Eden nodded, the gentlest of smiles curling on her mouth. “I mean…y-you really do?”

Eden pressed her body to Aster’s, her light breath tickling her face. Aster’s palms, clammy and itching for something more, tentatively settled on Eden’s hips. Just the sensation of Eden’s body beneath her fingertips sent a rush of energy through Aster. God, she’d dreamt of this moment.

It didn’t matter that she was supposed to be leaving, and it was irrelevant that she was in some ways angry with Eden for leading her to believe she didn’t mean last night. What mattered was that Eden’s supple body was pinning her to the wall, ultimately grounding her once and for all.

“You know that kiss you refused?” Eden whispered, her hand slipping around the back of Aster’s neck.

“Foolishly, yes.”

“I think it’s time you made up for it. Because the more I look into your eyes, the harder I’m finding it to let go of you.”

Aster didn’t need any other invitation than that, and she was done holding back on how she felt.

Their lips met in the most passionate dance Aster had ever been subjected to. With knees already weak, she held onto Eden as though her life would end the moment she let go. Eden, her lips, nothing would ever be the same again. This woman was devastatingly beautiful with the ability to break Aster’s heart in mere seconds. But if she pushed that from her mind, arousal flooded her body. Because Eden also had the ability to make Aster come alive. And in the months since they’d met, Aster had never felt this alive. Eden…had the power to change Aster’s life.

Eden pulled back, her breathing laboured. “I…want you.”

“I want you, too.” Aster curled her fingers under Eden’s chin, her heartbeat beginning to adjust. Had Eden’s voice always been so alluring? So…sexy? “You’ve no idea what you do to me. And I’m starting to wish I didn’t have to leave.” Eden evidently felt the same way, judging by the sadness in her eyes. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Eden dipped her head, a blush settling on her cheeks.

“Thank you. For being honest with me,” Aster paused, unable to comprehend the fact that she’d just kissed Eden. “It means more than you know.”

“I…had to. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. But last night, I shouldn’t have told you. It wasn’t the right time or the right place.”

Aster wanted to spend the rest of this day kissing Eden. Honesty, in Aster’s book, was sexy. “Don’t worry about it. It’s out there now.”

“God, I thought I’d lost you in every way possible last night when I walked out of that club.” The pain in Eden’s eyes was devastating to Aster, as was the tremor in her voice. If she’d known just how much she was hurting, Aster would have been here sooner. “But I should have been honest with you before now.”

Aster leaned in, her lips ghosting over Eden’s. She held back the urgency she felt. If she didn’t, this could run out of control far too soon. “I’ll be gone all week, but I’m so coming back. For you.”

Eden sighed. “If you get back earlier, will you call me?”

“I’m about to add you to my speed dial.”

Eden grinned, leaning back in and pushing Aster harder to the wall. Her expressive eyes showed how much she wanted to say, to do, but Aster would never leave if she didn’t do so right now. “I have to be at the venue early on Friday.”

Aster feathered her thumb across a soft cheek, smiling. “I promise to come and find you.”

17

Okay, this was it. The first time Eden would be alone with Aster since the kiss. No distractions, no need to cut things short. Only the two of them. They’d spoken briefly while Aster was home with her dad, but Eden was pacing herself. At least, she had been until her eyes landed on Aster this evening during work.