Page 40 of Protected from Malice (Blade and Arrow Shadow Team #1)

After everything that happened last month, I wasn’t sure when Eden would feel ready to make love again.

So I tried to give her space. I held her, kissed her, but I didn’t even suggest more than that.

I even talked to her counselor about it—on my own, of course—asking for suggestions about the best way to make sure Eden felt comfortable in that part of our relationship.

The counselor told me to give Eden time. Which, no shit. Obviously, I would.

But Eden put an end to that not a week after we returned.

I was waiting for her to come to bed, just idly scrolling through my phone, when she walked out of the bathroom completely naked.

Then she climbed into bed with me and announced, “I know you’re trying to be careful with me.

And I love you for it. But I want to make love to you.

I need to. So please, don’t worry you’re rushing me. You’re not. I promise.”

When she put it like that, I couldn’t say no.

I didn’t want to.

And to my relief, she was okay with it. Not triggered, not upset, not regretful. Afterwards—that first time after we got back, I mean—she curled up in my arms and told me, “That was perfect, Rafe. I missed making love to you. Let’s not wait that long again.”

Just like everything Eden wants, I’m happy to give it to her. And in this case, I’m more than happy to.

Eden wraps her legs around my waist. “I thought we were in a hurry,” she murmurs. “Right?”

“We could always be late,” I reply as I curl my fingers inside her again. “I’m sure some people will be.”

“Oh,” Eden gasps. “Oh.”

I capture her mouth again. My fingers move in and out of her, faster and faster. Her thighs shake and her nails dig into my shoulders. A flush builds across her chest. Her gorgeous eyes fall shut.

Fuck. She’s so damn beautiful.

And somehow, in some stroke of incredible luck, she wants to be mine.

Eden drags her mouth from mine. “Rafe. I want you inside me.”

Her voice is low. Husky. Needy .

I spread her legs wider still. Then I position myself at her entrance. The urge to sink inside Eden is almost impossible to resist. But first, I ask, “Now, baby?”

“Yes, Rafe.” Her eyes open to meet mine. “Now. Please.”

Will I always ask first? I don’t know. It depends on Eden’s recovery. But for the foreseeable future, I will.

And once permission is granted…

I slowly sink into her, reveling in the sensation. In the glide of her slick skin against mine. In the way she pulls me in, her muscles tugging at me. In the soft moans and whimpers she makes. In the bone-deep knowledge that this is where I belong.

And when I’ve finally filled her, I just stay still for a few seconds, memorizing this perfect moment of joining.

In my life, I’ve never felt anything as amazing as this.

And then I move.

Slowly at first, letting the anticipation build, and then, as my urgency grows, I move faster. My thrusts grow more powerful. More desperate.

Eden clings to me, pressing her body tightly against mine. She nips my neck, sucking hard enough to leave a tiny mark. Then she smiles against my skin, and my heart swells close to exploding.

My Eden. Smiling. Giving herself to me so freely. Boldly. My strong Eden, who never lets life drag her down. My sweet Eden, who’s shown me what it’s like to be loved so completely.

As we come together, over and over, my desire for her builds until it’s everything.

My skin is alive with it.

All my muscles are tense in anticipation. In the effort it takes to hold back, because there’s no fucking way I’m finishing first. Not now, and not ever. Eden always, always comes first.

Eden kisses me hard. She spears her tongue into my mouth. Then she squeezes her inner muscles around me.

I throb painfully inside her.

Fuck.

She knows what that does to me.

“Eden,” I grit through a clenched jaw, “If you do that again… You know I want you to come first.”

“Then I guess you’d better make me,” she teases, “before I make you first.”

“Oh, Brain.” I smile at her—a wolfish, eager grin. “If that’s a challenge, I accept.”

And oh, do I.

I lay her back on the counter and lift her skirt to her waist. Then I find her swollen bundle of nerves and I rub and flick it until her hips are jerking uncontrollably.

Then I pull almost all the way out before sinking inside her again.

I lift her hips, changing the angle so I can go even deeper.

Spread out on the white marble like this, Eden looks like a perfect offering—all creamy skin and slim curves and her dark hair bursting free of its restraints.

Her breasts rise and fall in a rapid rhythm.

A flush spreads across her body. Her eyes are heavy-lidded as she gazes up at me and a slight smile curves her lips.

“I love you,” she says roughly. “I love you so much.”

“Ah, baby.” I drape one leg over my shoulder and plunge deep again. “I love you, too.”

And with that, she comes with a shout.

Her eyes slam shut.

Her walls convulse around me.

The last of my willpower dissolves and I race off the edge along with her, pulsing hard and hot inside her.

It feels…

There are no words to describe it.

Now that we’ve switched to birth control instead of condoms, there’s no barrier between us, so I can feel myself filling her. In my forty years, I’ve never wanted to go without before. But with Eden, it feels right. It feels…

“Perfect,” Eden whispers. “It’s always perfect with you.”

Oh.

How the fuck did I get this lucky?

“I know.” My voice is unexpectedly gruff. “It is.”

We ended up being only five minutes late.

We would have been on time, but Eden was worried about her dress being wrinkled. So I steamed it for her while she freshened her makeup and redid her hair. “A perk of dating someone who used to be in the Army,” I told her. “I’m a pro with an iron. And I always make sure my creases are razor sharp.”

“I guess I really scored when I found you,” she replied with a smile. “Because I despise ironing. I literally choose my clothing based on whether I can get away with just pulling it straight from the dryer.”

If she wants me to iron everything for the rest of our lives, that’s fine with me.

Just like I don’t mind doing all the cooking, either.

I don’t give a shit that some guys would consider that women’s work.

I don’t need to prove I’m a man by pushing all the household stuff onto Eden.

I can prove myself in a hundred other ways instead.

Like protecting her. Like doing repairs around the house. Mowing the lawn. Cleaning the gutters.

Could Eden do all those herself? Of course. If she put her mind to it, she could do anything. But I want to do those things. I want to share the responsibilities and make her life easier.

“Hey, guys.” Ace approaches us with a smile. He has a beer in one hand and something that looks like a mini corn dog on a toothpick in the other. “Good turnout, huh?”

I glance around Indy’s living room, taking in all the people milling around it. “For sure,” I agree. “I wasn’t expecting so many people to come from out of town.”

Eden leans against me. Her arm is looped around my waist, just as mine is around hers. “It’s a good thing Indy went with the bigger apartment,” she comments. “If he’d taken the smaller place, there’s no way everyone would have fit in here.”

She’s right. When Indy was looking for a short-term rental, he had it narrowed down to two places. The first was a modern condo about ten minutes from Eden’s house, and the other, the entire first floor of an old row house fifteen minutes away.

If he’d chosen the condo, half of us would be relegated to the kitchen. But here, at the row house, we have plenty of room to spread out. And given how many people are here, we definitely need it.

“Is that a corn dog?” Eden asks, eyeing the food in Ace’s hand with suspicion. “Did Indy seriously serve corn dogs for this?”

Ace looks at it. “I’m not sure. I just grabbed it.” He takes a bite, chews, swallows, then nods. “Yup. It’s a corn dog. A pretty good one, too.”

Eden shakes her head. “I told Indy just to pay for a caterer. Or ask Rafe to help cook. But he insisted on doing it himself.” She scans the room, finding Indy standing over in the far right corner, chatting with Tyler, Webb, and Dante.

“I think he wanted something to keep him busy,” Ace offers. “Since the new job doesn’t start for another couple of weeks.”

“I suppose.” Eden eyes Indy a little longer before turning back to us. “He looks happy. Don’t you think?”

“He does,” I tell her. I’m being completely honest about it. Indy does look happier. The gloom and despair that dogged him for years are nearly gone. He smiles now. Laughs. Teases. And last weekend, when we all went on a hiking trip together, he even suggested a dare.

Eden looked horrified when she heard him suggest a race to the top of the waterfall, but I wasn’t surprised. That’s exactly the kind of thing Indy used to do.

He didn’t do it. Not once he saw how upset Eden was. He quickly played it off like it was just a silly idea, even though I knew he was absolutely serious.

“He definitely looks happier,” Ace agrees. He pops the rest of the corn dog into his mouth. “And I don’t know why you’re giving him a hard time about the corn dogs. They’re great.”

“Did I hear corn dogs?” Finn comes up to us with his wife, Hanna, alongside him. Finn works at the Blade and Arrow branch in Sleepy Hollow, and I’ve known him for years. Back when he used to serve, he was on Cole’s team, along with Dante and Tyler.

Eden tenses a bit, but she immediately covers it with a smile. It’s not that she’s nervous about Finn specifically, but rather anyone she doesn’t know well. “Indy made corn dogs,” she says. “Next thing I know, I’ll hear he made pigs in a blanket?—”

“Are there pigs in a blanket here?” Finn brightens. “I love pigs in a blanket. Man, Indy has the best food.”

Hanna laughs. “Don’t mind my husband. He’ll eat anything.”