Eden looked up at Sterling, heart skipping a beat. Pink dusted her cheeks as she locked eyes with his. Why did he have to look so cool standing there like that? Did he know just how fast he got her heart beating when he acted like that?
Swallowing, Eden stepped closer to him. She stood on her toes, looping her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. She pressed her lips to his cheek in a soft and brief kiss.
“There you go,” she murmured against his skin. “Your kiss.”
Sterling could only choke back half the growl that came from his throat. He wrapped his arms around Eden’s waist and tugged her closer, blinking slowly.
“You know full well what I meant, Eden. And you know it was not that,” he murmured lowly, his eyes half closed as he looked at her from he corner of them.
When she heard that growl, Eden’s heart nearly stopped. Her core heated up, shivers running down her spine as her toes curled in her shoes. She hadn’t heard it wrong. Sterling growled. And then his arms were around her waist and he was pulling her closer, his beautiful eyes blinking as he stared down at her. Eden was completely mesmerized.
This time, it got a little harder to breathe. Would it be fun if she teased him a little? Deprived him of a kiss just enough to drive him mad? She’d never done that with Adrien. He never asked. He merely took and took without a single thought. Was it wrong of her to compare the two men like that?
“But you said you wanted a kiss,” Eden breathed out, bewitched by his voice. “You never specified where.”
“Eden… Just kiss me,” Sterling whispered hoarsely, looking down at her with dark, half-lidded eyes. His lips were parted as he took his breaths through them, his breathing heavy with want.
That look in his eyes… it was there because of her. She’d caused that. This reaction he was showing… she was the reason for it. Sterling wanted her. And the way his voice had dropped, gone hoarse… it was like he was doing that on purpose.
Eden couldn’t say no. She stood back on her toes, tightened her hold around his beck, pulled his head back down a little more and pressed her mouth on his.
Sterling hummed in satisfaction. Finally. Finally she was kissing him again. He hadn’t realized just how strong of a hold she had on him yet. She was mesmerizing to him, intoxicating. And he loved it.
Eden immediately melted against him, practically sinking in his hold. They’d barely begun kissing and she was already losing herself to him. His mouth moved against hers in perfect synchronization, and she pressed herself harder against him. Her fingers raked his hair, gripping it tightly. And in that moment, Eden wondered briefly. If the kiss deepened… could she endure it? Could she feel Sterling’s tongue in her mouth and not mistake it for Adrien? Could she forget his vile taste and bask in Sterling’s? Could Sterling kiss her breathless, enough to leave her mind numb with only his name on her tongue?
Sterling felt her melt against him, her body going slack in his arms. He smiled against her lips and pressed them together harder. He wanted to deepen the kiss, yes, but the way she had reacted the last time… He would refrain from doing so until a later time.
One of Eden’s hands left his hair to grab Sterling’s, lifting it to her cheek before it went back to its position. She didn’t think she could let the kiss deepen. Not right now. Not yet. But she’d do that one day. Sooner than later, she hoped. She knew she wanted it, but the fear rooted her to the spot. He had bitten her lip earlier and she’d nearly panicked. She didn’t want that again. Not today.
Sterling spread his hand over her cheek, cupping it gently. He softened the kiss again, kissing her slowly, reverently. He pulled back after a moment and rested their foreheads together.
Eden kept her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Her lips tingled, throbbing with want. She wanted his lips on hers again. He always kissed her with such gentleness. As if she was something important.
“I like kissing you,” the words slipped from her mouth before Eden could stop them. They weren’t false words, either. Not exactly. Eden didn’t just like kissing him. She loved it. “A lot.”
Sterling smiled, letting out a breathy chuckle. “Yeah? I like kissing you a lot, too,” he murmured before kissing her softly again. “We should head out now, before it gets too late.”
“It’s only twelve in the afternoon,” Eden looked at him in a daze. She lightly pressed their lips together again. “But yes. We should head out.”
Sterling hummed, smiling down at her softly. He released her from his arms and took her hand in his. “Okay, you’ll have to lead the way. I don’t know where the nearest bookstore it.”
Eden linked their fingers, stepping close to him. “All right,” she smiled up at him softly. “I’ll lead the way. Are we driving?”
“Well, my queen told me she wanted to walk, so I thought we would walk there,” Sterling hummed, squeezing her hand gently as he gave her a teasing smile.
“Your queen,” Eden mumbled, looking at their joint hands. A fond smile took over her lips. “I like it when you call me that. Your queen.”
“It’s what you are to me, E,” Sterling said softly, nudging her. “My beautiful queen.”
Eden had hated those words. My Eden. Mine. It made her think of herself as a belonging. It made her feel like a possession. But when Sterling said it… it felt nice. He didn’t say it like he was staking his claim on her. He didn’t say it like he was owning her.
“I don’t know about beautiful, but thanks, Sterling,” Eden tugged him out the door, her keys dangling in her free hand. She slid the key in the keyhole and turned the lock before looking back at Sterling. “Let’s go.”
Sterling slipped an arm around her waist as they walked. “You know that I’m yours just as much as you are mine, right?” he asked softly, noticing her pause when he’d called her his. “This is an equal relationship. Neither of us is in charge more than the other.”
Eden didn’t know what was in those words for them to leave a crack. She just never heard them before. Sure, she’d assumed they were equal in this relationship, but she’d never outwardly called him hers. Adrien had always claimed her at every given opportunity, but he never made her feel like he was hers. It was a toxic relationship where she suffered and he loved.
Eden tightened her hold on him, her mouth opening. “My… Sterling,” her voice cracked a little when she spoke. “King. My king.”
Even when Adrien was Top, she had never referred to him as king. He was never her king. Sterling was.
Sterling smiled at the words. “Yeah. Your Sterling. Your king,” he murmured, kissing her temple. “My Eden… My queen…”
Eden wrapped her own arms around his waist, hugging him tighter. This boy… she liked him too much. “All yours,” Eden whispered softly, saying the words she never dared to say before. “All mine.”
Sterling hummed, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I like you a lot, Eden McArthur,” he mumbled against her skin.
“I like you a lot, too, Sterling Ainsley,” Eden murmured. “The bookstore is five minutes away at most if we walk fast. It’s close.”