Page 56

Eden

I waved one last time at Tallulah and Dana through the car window as Bishop drove away, then settled into the seat and tipped my head back, closing my eyes.

“We’ll stop somewhere on the way and grab lunch.”

I opened my eyes and peered at Bishop.

“You didn’t eat breakfast.”

“How do you know? You were with Crosby and Rook.”

“Am I wrong?” He kept his eyes on the road ahead.

I sighed. “Tallulah told you, didn’t she?”

“How I got the information isn’t important. You need to eat breakfast, Eden.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, not that he was paying me any attention. “Did you eat breakfast?”

His head turned, gaze sweeping over my body from head to toe and up again, pausing to hover on my thighs. His lips tilted. My cheeks heated.

Don’t say it .

“I ate earlier this morning.”

My eyes closed so I couldn’t see the amusement on his face.

“Your cheeks are on fire. Whatever are you thinking? Crosby, Rook, and I had breakfast before you woke up.”

I turned my head toward the window. “You think you’re so funny.”

Fingers touched my jaw, turning me back to face him. “I’m a little bit funny.”

“Your sense of humor is not normal.”

He chuckled. “Maybe not, but we’re still stopping for food.”

“You’re also very bossy,” I muttered.

“You like it.”

There wasn’t much I could say to that without embarrassing myself further, so I ignored him and refocused my attention on the scenery speeding past.

The truth of it was I did like it. It made me feel secure, like I knew where I was with him. He was clear and concise. There was no having to guess what he was thinking. That made me comfortable.

Not that he meant it that way. He was referring to the night we’d just spent together.

He hadn’t been there when I woke up, so I didn’t need to go through the morning after awkwardness, but that had left me with a confused jumble of emotions and was why I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I didn’t think my stomach would have been able to handle food, not when I wasn’t sure how Bishop was going to behave once we were alone.

I should have known better, though. Bishop was …. Bishop . No different from how he’d been before he’d feasted on me like I was his own personal banquet.

Oh god, don’t think about it!!

I shifted on the seat, heat flooding me as images of the night before flashed in front my eyes. Of Bishop’s head between my legs, of the way his mouth felt on my body, and the way he’d spoken.

I stabbed at the button on the door to lower the window, praying that the cool air would reduce the heat in my cheeks.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

No, I want the ground to open up and swallow me.

“Absolutely not.”

He laughed, and the sound skittered over my skin like a caress.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’m open to a discussion.”

“I just bet you are.” I slapped my hand over my mouth.

I had to stop talking. What the hell was wrong with me?

The car swerved and the next I knew, Bishop had parked at the side of the road, unclipped his seatbelt and turned to face me.

“We can do this one of two ways. We treat last night as a one-off. It was in a neutral location, away from home, and we never refer to it again, and continue forward with the original plan.”

Butterflies took off in my stomach. I licked my lips. “Or?”

Bishop’s gaze tracked the movement of my tongue. “Or we don’t do any of that, and we see where this takes us. Three weeks remain on the contract we signed. We use that time to … get to know each other.”

“What happens at the end of the three weeks?” I could barely hear my voice above the sound of my heartbeat hammering like a bass drum in my ears.

“We revisit the situation. See where we’re at, and if necessary, renegotiate the terms.”

“What about Chester?”

“I’ll deal with it.”