Monster(44)

“Shut the fuck up!” That struck a nerve and had him tugging painfully on her locked arms with such brute force that she heard a pop in her left shoulder. “Open the fucking door!”

The pain brought on tears, which she furiously blinked away. “The keys are on the…” she trailed off as the weight of his body was lifted off of her, and she spun around to find Carver wrestling Alex to the ground.

“Call the cops,” he growled in her direction, and though her arms and shoulders screamed for mercy, Eden did as she was told and dialed nine-one-one with trembling fingers.

They took statements, hers and Carver’s, and before they hauled Alex away, they asked if she wanted to press charges to which she replied, “Yes, I do.” For Jenna’s sake and her own, Eden wanted to put his ass away for good, at least then he would be someone else’s problem.

When the red and blue lights disappeared, Eden sagged against her car with a long, wearied sigh. She brought a hand up to nurse her left shoulder, wincing when she touched at the pulled muscle.

“There’s never a dull moment with you,” he joked in that dark smoky growl of his. “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital or something?”

“Honestly, I just want to go home at this point and maybe ice my shoulder.”

“Let me take a look?” Obliging his request was the least she could do right now, after all he’d done for her in this one night alone. She nodded and gave him her back. He handled her with gentle yet skillful hands, careful not to further aggravate the main area.

“Is it dislocated?”

“Doesn’t look like it. Try rotating it for me?”

It hurt like the dickens, but she was able to rotate it without too much complication. “That’s good. It’s probably a strain, but I would have someone check it out for you, just to be sure.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” she conceded, turning around to face him again. “How do you know this stuff?”

He shrugged. “High school and college football. You tear, strain, and dislocate a lot. After a while you start to learn the symptoms. Plus I studied sport’s medicine before opening the bar.” Yeah, she definitely pegged him for an athlete, as big as he was. That thought incited a blush that made her grateful it was dark enough in the parking lot that he didn’t see.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come out when you did. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. But like I said, you keep interesting company. First the ‘suit and tie’ and now this rat faced bastard.”

“The suit and tie?”

“Yeah, the broody guy in the suit that dragged you out like you were his own personal Raggedy Ann doll.”

“Dominic,” she quietly supplied.

“What’s his deal? Is he someone we have to worry about?”

“No, that was the first and last time, I promise. We’re…we’re actually getting a divorce soon.” It was the first time she’d actually said it out loud to anyone other than Jenna. And the fact that that other person happened to be her very sexy, very gallant boss with a killer smile made it that much more awkward. She needed to go, like yesterday.

“Which means you’ll no longer be sporting this boulder?” he took hold of her hand left hand and grinned down at her wedding ring. “This things huge, it’s a wonder you don’t have a hand injury too.”

Eden gently pulled back her hand with a sheepish smile. “I’m returning it after the divorce. It’s way too flashy anyways.”

“Yeah, I didn’t peg you for the flashy sort of girl.” If she didn’t know him so well, she would’ve sworn he was flirting with her. But flirt was part of Carver’s charm. It came to him as natural as breathing.

“I’m not, I mean not anymore. It’s a long story.” She sighed. “I’m going to head out. Thank you again.”

Having retrieved her keys from the ground when the cops came, Eden unlocked the door and stepped inside the driver’s side. Carver waited until she was settled, with her seatbelt in place, before closing the door for her. “You’re welcome.” He flashed a smile and she was again taken aback by how gorgeous he was, handsome in the way that he needed to have his own calendar, in her opinion. That smile drew attention to the devastating blue of his eyes that gleamed like sapphires. If she wasn’t already so embroiled in this very complicated thing with Dominic, Eden was sure she would’ve fallen hard for Carver. She was already attracted to him. Honestly the man oozed sex appeal so potent that any woman within the vicinity would’ve felt it. But she was emotionally and currently physically, unavailable. She had way too many issues that needed to be resolved before she even contemplated getting into relationship with someone. “Take care of yourself, Eden.”

That’s exactly what she intended to do. With a parting smile, she turned the engine over and headed home.



It was while settling Liam in his crib and dropping a kiss on his soft, puffy cheek that Eden decided to forgo the shower and bathe instead. On silent, naked feet Eden entered the master bath, and though it had been home to her years before, it felt strange entering this place now that it was his domain. Even as she stepped inside the all-white bathroom with its reflective milk white walls and glass mosaic tiled floor, she tossed a few nervous glances behind her just to make sure he wasn’t there. Eden silently chastised herself for being silly. He was halfway around the world. There was no way he was going to come out of the shadows like some boogeyman and catch her in the act.

Her soaps and bath salts were exactly as she’d left them, nothing out of place, situated right next to his toiletries. She didn’t know how to feel about that. But that was nothing new at this point. Surrounded by sumptuous bubbles and nearly scorching hot water, Eden sank deeper into the tub that was big enough to accommodate two more people comfortably. With the painkillers she’d taken doing their job, the pain in her shoulder wasn’t as excruciating, but the dull ache was a clear reminder of what she’d faced earlier in the evening. With any luck, Alex was rotting away in a cell right now. Eden hadn’t said anything to Jenna when she’d taken Liam, but she would tomorrow. It was Eden’s hope to have Jenna press battery charges on him, something concrete that would stick and keep him in prison for years to come. She was willing to testify and would encourage her best friend to do the same. Alex had a record a mile long, the majority were domestic abuse charges he’d accrued since he’d been with Jenna. Jenna needed a fresh start, she needed some peace of mind, and Eden was sure it would start by putting Alex away.

Closing her eyes, shutting off her brain, Eden lounged back and luxuriated. Nearly a half hour later, she emerged from the ceramic tub, clean and relaxed, taking with her the distinct scent of sandalwood and citrus. She slipped back into her robe before exiting the bathroom.

She knew instinctively that he was in the room even before she saw him. The tiny hairs on her skin stood on end as slivers of both pleasure and fear licked down her spine. Her heart forgot its rhythm at the sight of him, beating erratically against her breastbone. He looked as though he’d just arrived and his first stop had been to Liam’s room where he emerged now, silently closing the connecting doors behind him. He was still in his suit, business as usual. Eden felt her body instantly responding to the sight of that suit, and she was startled to find that she’d developed a fetish over the last few months. Dominic in a suit was an aphrodisiac all on its own. It was fitted, tailored as all his suits tended to be; black slacks hugging his strong masculine thighs, while his shirt, a deep burgundy that looked amazing against his complexion, was fitted perfectly to his upper physique.

He’d discarded the jacket somewhere along the way, and Eden knew there’d been a tie at some point, but that too was gone in the way of the missing suit jacket. The sleeves of the shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and he’d unbuttoned the first three buttons so that the column of his neck and a bit of his chest was left exposed. The allure of that exposed golden skin dropped in her the need to press her lips at the point where neck met chest. When her gaze finally met his, it was to find him assessing her with the same deliberate thoroughness that she’d exercised. Heat suffused every inch of her skin, and though she knew there was the barrier of the robe to protect her, Eden couldn’t have felt more naked beneath the unerring scope of his predatory gaze.

“Hello,” he greeted in his husky timbre.

“Hi.” She licked her lips nervously, looking past his shoulder to the exit behind him. Eden knew she needed to make her escape now before things spiraled completely out of control. “I know you must be tired. I’m just going to leave.” She didn’t take two steps past him before he grabbed her arm and dragged her backwards to the wall by the bathroom door. He backed her against that wall and held her there, dominant to the very core, every inch of his hard angled body surged against her yielding femininity, rendering her immobile. He swooped down, and with a kiss that instantly set her ablaze, his tongue licked at the seam of her mouth, demanding access. His groan rumbled at the taste of her liquid sweetness, strained and muted in the depth of the mouth he took without permission, but knew was freely given.