Eden stirred in her dreamless sleep, shifting in her lover’s arms. Finally, she opened her eyes and rolled over to face Sterling. Because of the nightlights, she could properly see his face. That handsome, relaxed expression…
Eden blinked her tire away and instead of nestling back against him, trailed her fingers across his jawline, over his lips. He’d been so patient with her, listened to her and then… told her he was proud of her. She loved him for that. For making her happy like that.
A light, tingling sensation flirted over Sterling’s face. He hummed in his sleep, his arms tightening around Eden. His eyelids fluttered open, and he looked at her sleepily. A smile tugged on his lips as he kissed her finger.
“Hey, beautiful… How’d you sleep?” he murmured roughly.
Eden shivered at his voice, that sleepy rasp, the roughness as his chest vibrated with each sound. Why did he have to sound so attractive when he woke up? It should be illegal.
She smiled, pressing her thumb harder against his lips. “Like the dead,” she answered honestly. “No nightmares. And you were with me, so…”
Sterling’s smile widened at her words, though it was broken by a yawn that he turned away for. He faced her again, that smile back up on his lips. Leaning forward, he pecked her on the cheek, then on her lips, then the other cheek.
“I’m glad. I’m really glad that you slept so well,” he said quietly, still sleepy. “Now… what time is it?”
Eden chuckled at his actions, kissing him briefly before she propped herself on her elbow. Peering over his shoulder, she looked at the digital clock she had on the nightstand.
“Three am,” she responded before nestling back in his embrace. “You should sleep. You’re still sleepy.”
“That’s because I just woke up,” Sterling chuckled, smiling up at her. “I’m fine. Let’s for find something to eat or something. I’ll be hungry in a few minutes.”
Eden smiled before pushing herself on top of him, her chin on his chest. “Then kiss me,” she said to him, eyes on his mouth. “Before we go eat. I want you to kiss me. Properly.”
Sterling raised an eyebrow, suddenly much more awake. “As my queen wishes, so it shall be,” he rasped, taking her face in his hands and pressing their lips together gently. “You’re lovely, Eden…”
Eden’s fingers coiled around his wrists as she kissed him back, hair slipping down her shoulder. “Am I?” she murmured against his mouth, though all she wanted to do was stop talking.
“Mmhm… Very,” Sterling mumbled against her lips. One of his hands slipped from her hold, finding its way down to her waist. He held her close, kissing her softly and lovingly.
Her now free hand made its way on to his cheek, and Eden propped herself on her knees, lips moving against his. “I like this,” she murmured. “Kissing you like this.”
Sterling hummed, shifting so that he was sitting up. This way, he could kiss her better, at an easier angle.
“Me too… I like it, too,” he agreed softly, pressing his lips against hers harder.
Eden pulled away from him after a few more seconds, flushed and breathless. Her lips were on fire, and so was the rest of her body. Sterling always reduced her to this.
There was one thing she had started to realize, but she was sure of it. She wasn’t even afraid of that realization.
She’d begun falling in love with this wonderful man.
“I suppose we should fill your stomach, hm?” she murmured, trailing his features again. “I don’t want you hungry.”
Sterling opened his mouth to object, to say that, no, he didn’t need to eat yet. He was perfectly satisfied with just sitting there and kissing Eden all day.
But then his stomach grumbled, and he shot a glare down at himself. With a sigh, he looked up at Eden and smiled almost sheepishly.
“Yeah, I guess we should probably do that,” he chuckled, pecking her on the lips again. “That does involve you getting off of me, though.”
Eden chuckled at the sound his stomach made to Sterling’s quiet objection. Then he was reminding her that she needed to get off of him, and with flushed cheeks, Eden did so. She slid off of him and collapsed on her back.
“What do you want to eat?” she asked quietly, though they were still on the bed.
Sterling looked over at Eden and propped himself up on an elbow. He smiled down at her, unabashedly letting his eyes trail her form before he met her gaze again.
“Pancakes? Or French toast?” he suggested, pushing himself out of bed knowing that he wouldn’t be able to control himself much more if he didn’t.
Eden shivered under his gaze, shifting on her side and curling up a little before pushing herself up.
“Pancakes,” she mumbled, sitting on her knees in front of Sterling, cheeks flushed. She then got up and wrapped her arms around his neck, noses touching. “Finally I’m taller than you…”
Sterling chuckled and rested his hands on her waist, nudging her nose with his own. “You’re cute. C’mon, now. Let’s go get those pancakes made,” he said with a swift kiss to her lips before pulling out of her arms. “The sooner we finish, the sooner I’ll kiss you again.”
Eden stepped off the bed, once again barely reaching his chin. She scowled a little before looking up at him. “What would you have done if I wasn’t even five feet, Sterling?”
“Picked you up and tossed you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes,” Sterling joked, winking at her as he offered his hand. “But from pictures I’ve seen of your parents, you wouldn’t have been less than five feet tall. Not unless you had some disease or something.”
“And be at a very nice height for my knee to sink in your stomach,” Eden muttered as she took his hand. With the other hand, she rubbed the back of her head. “Luke and I weren’t supposed to be healthy, actually.”
Sterling raised his eyebrows and looked over at her as they made their way out. “Really? Why, if you don’t mind my asking?” he wondered softly.
Eden switched on the living room lights before shrugging. “The doctor said there were two dangers. One, we wouldn’t survive. Two, if we did, we would have at least one disability.”
“But you did survive. And you’re okay. So they were wrong,” Sterling murmured, glancing down at her again before looking for the pancake mix. “You’re here, and I’m so glad that you are…”
“Actually, they weren’t exactly wrong about the disability part,” she pointed to the shelf behind him for the pancake mix. “We were born with bad eyesight. Luke takes care of his, so he’s fine for the most part.”
