Lucas hugged her back as well. “I agree with you,” he murmured. “There’s no way I’m letting her shatter again. He’ll regret it if he’s only messing around. Once was enough for her. If she breaks again…” Lucas couldn’t finish the thought. His voice broke off, but he knew Ashley got his message.
Ashley nodded with a long sigh, glancing at the door. A contemplative look crossed her face as she looked at it before she spoke softly, “The way he held her, though… He didn’t seem like he was just messing around. That’s not the hold of someone who just wants someone for…”
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “I get it,” he admitted honestly. “It doesn’t look like that. His grip was tight on her. He held her like she’s something precious—which she is, of course. This is too shocking…”
“I honestly am having a hard time believing that I actually just saw that,” Ashley murmured, leaning into Lucas’s embrace. “Who would have thought that he, out of all people, would be able to hold her like his…”
“My sister’s taste is too weird…” Lucas mumbled, agreeing with his girlfriend. “I admit, though, it was nice looking at her like that. When she isn’t looking like she’s given up. When she isn’t looking so broken. It feels like a blessing to see her sleep, sleep so peacefully.”
“Definitely. I’m so glad that whatever that was is happening, as long as it keeps her happy. She deserves it,” Ashley murmured. “Especially after… him.”
Lucas’s face darkened when Ashley mentioned that man. Neither of them had been told what had taken place—Eden never talked about it, never once mentioned—but things were easy to put together when your best friend slash sister comes home, bruised and tattered, broken and shattered and so lost.
“She deserves it,” he nodded. “And I hope she remains happy.”
Ashley slowly nodded with him, tightening her arms around him. “We should get to bed, now… It’s running late. Can I borrow some of your clothes again?”
Lucas kissed the top of her head. “Of course.”
Eden woke up in the middle of the night due to a parched throat, the scent of cinnamon hitting her straight on. Her face was buried in Sterling’s neck, her arms around him while his own were holding her tightly. Even as he was sleeping, his grip hadn’t loosened. It brought a smile to Eden’s face, along with a pounding in her heart. She didn’t remember moving on to his lap, but she wasn’t complaining.
Then Eden made the mistake of shifting her bead up slightly in the hope of seeing what he looked like, and Sterling’s head dropped from hers slightly. Enough for their mouths to graze. Barely, but she felt the touch.
Eden stiffened, eyes wide. He hadn’t stirred just yet, which was a blessing, but his mouth had touched hers, even if it was for a brief second. His mouth had touched hers.
Sterling’s lips moved slightly, as if he had felt the touch in his sleep but didn’t quite know what to do about it, and his eyelids twitched like he was blinking closed eyes. He sighed through his nose, long and slow, but didn’t wake. His grip around Eden tightened, and his other arm shifted from her hair to wrap around her better.
Eden’s mouth burned. She’d been kissed before, and several times at that, but this felt different. Far more different than her first kiss. That had been hungry and demanding and obsessive. This was barely a graze and it left her trembling and wanting for more. More than that brush of mouth and again.
Sterling shifted, and for a second, Eden feared he felt the contact. But he merely removed his hand from her hair and wrapped it around her, holding her tighter. Eden couldn’t fall back asleep. His hold, which had once been comforting and peaceful, became hot. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she swallowed, trying to calm herself down and cupped his cheek gently, rubbing her thumb over the skin.
Sterling let out a soft hum and shifted again. His eyelids fluttered before opening just a crack to peer at Eden. His vision was blurry for a moment, so he didn’t realize who it was right away. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember in his half-asleep state.
“Eden?” he murmured, voice raspy from sleep. He closed his eyes again and leaned into the touch of her hand, a small, if not slightly confused, smile tugging at his lips. “What time is it?”
She’d woken him up. He leaned into his touch and a smile broke out on her lips. God, she was acting like a fool with a crush. Better yet, she was acting like they were dating, with her in his lap and his arms around her and all. And then he spoke, his rough, sleepy voice sending pleasant shivers down her spine. Her thumb brushed against the corner of his mouth, more to see how he would react to it.
“Around four,” Eden responded quietly. “Four in the morning. Go back to sleep, Sterling.”
Sterling turned his head to press his mouth against her palm. His hand found her hair again, his fingers twisting it around them. “You need to go back to sleep, too…”
Why was this feeling so good? Why did he feel so good against her? His mouth pressed against her palm… she wanted it pressed against her own. Then his hand went into her hair again and she exhaled through her nose, leaning against him.
“I’m not sleepy anymore,” Eden murmured. “I slept more than I’m used to. I’ll just lay here while you sleep.”
Sterling hummed, opening his eyes again for a moment to look at her. She looked flushed, but he couldn’t tell if it was because of the position they were in or…
He lifted a hand to feel her forehead, then her cheek. “You’re warm… Are you feeling okay?” he asked softly.
Eden blinked at him dazedly, letting out a puff of breath. She felt incredibly hot, her breathing unnecessarily heavy thanks to the position she was in.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, frowning in confusion. “Why?”
“You just feel hot… And while it could definitely be because of me—“ Couldn't resist the chance to make a joke, could he? “—I don’t think it is. Maybe we should take your temperature…”
Eden’s face twisted into a glare at his joke, though he definitely wasn’t wrong. Of course she was hot and flustered because of him. What was he expecting? She exhaled through her nose and rested her head in the crook of his neck.
“I don’t have a fever,” she muttered, holding him tightly. “You just never let a chance slip by, do you?”
Sterling frowned again but didn’t protest. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her again and held her close, burying his face in her hair. “If you say so. And no, I don’t. I have to uphold some of my reputation, don’t I?”
Eden took another heavy breath, her body feeling incredibly warm. “It’s hot…” Eden murmured, squirming in his lap, starting to get a little suffocated. She would have responded to his statement, but it just felt so weird. “Did you raise the temperature?”
“No… I’ve been here the whole time, Eden,” Sterling reminded her softly, cupping her cheek in his hand again. “You are really warm. We should really take your temperature.”
Eden exhaled again, squeezing her eyes shut. “I don’t want to,” she mumbled, leaning into his touch. “I don’t want to move from your lap.”
“Then I’ll carry you,” Sterling chuckled. “Just tell me where to go.”
“Do you see that cabinet with the picture frame of me and Lucas? It’s in the top corner,” Eden wrapped her arms around him tighter. “Razor’s not here anymore. Where’d he go?”