Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(46)

"We should stop," I said, totally unconvincingly since my mouth met hers and I slid my tongue inside to taste her again and again. Her tongue joined with mine and we kissed for long, luxurious minutes, completely lost in each other. This. This was Elysium. This beautiful girl in my arms. I'd longed to hold her close for so long. She was so soft, so beautiful.
She broke away, drawing in air and gazing into my eyes. Her lips were swollen and red, her face flushed, and her eyes heavy-lidded with desire. In that moment, I knew I'd never see anything as beautiful as Eden's face after she'd been kissed.
"Make love to me," she whispered. "I want you so much I ache." I froze, all except for the parts between my legs. Those parts surged forward with attention, apparently under the impression their services were needed. Now.
I used every shred of willpower I had to calm my raging blood. I leaned forward so our foreheads were touching and I let her down gently onto the ground. We breathed together for a minute, our heart rates slowing. "I can't. Not here. Not like this."
She looked down, hurt.
"I want to, believe me, I want to—more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." I grabbed her hands in mine and brought them to my heart. She looked up at me. "But I have to know you're mine—"
"I am yours. I've always been yours. I'll be yours here on earth, in Elysium. I'll fight the gods if I have to. I'll stand before them and declare it."
I let out a small laugh and then smiled down at her. "Where do you find your strength, Morning Glory?"
She gave me a small smile in return. "From you," she whispered, her gaze direct and filled with trust. "What will we do?"
I breathed out. "I don't know. Something, though. Something has to be done."
She nodded. "Why did you kiss me today? What made you do it?"
I hesitated. "Hector rejected my plan. He kicked over my irrigation system." I shook my head, the humiliation seizing me for a minute. I met Eden's eyes again and took a deep breath. "That was the catalyst. But I swear to you, Eden, I swear to you on every part of me, it's because I've wanted to kiss you for so long that it was brewing inside me like an out-of-control storm. I'm sorry it started in anger. You deserved better than that."
Eden regarded me for a minute and then she smiled. "I'm not sorry. I don't care how it started. Just that it did." She paused. "As long as it'll happen again." She blinked up at me.
I leaned down and kissed her lips again softly, nipping the bottom one with my teeth until she smiled against my mouth.
I leaned back. She took one hand and put it on my cheek, her expression filled with care and kindness. I leaned into her. "I'm sorry Hector did that." She paused. "I heard him talking to Clive Richter. Something went wrong for him on the pilgrimage he was just on. I don't know what, but something . . . something's different about him. And also, he sees you as a threat, and rightly so. He saw us today."
I stepped back, took her hand, and led her to the smaller rock where we sat down together. "I know. It's part of the reason, and I see how he's different, too, but . . . I see it clearly now. I was never going to get a spot on the council. It was a pipe dream."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
I stared out at the spring for a minute, realizing nothing in me felt surprised. I turned to her and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear, letting my gaze roam over her beautiful face. She looked like a goddess sitting there, her hair cascading over her shoulders and her pale skin glowing in the sunlight. For just a second, I wanted to fall to my knees at her feet and worship at her shrine.
"This changes everything, you know. We can't go back. We can't pretend this didn't happen. I can't pretend this didn't happen."
She nodded, letting out a breath. "Yes, I know."
I nodded, furrowing my brow. "I don't know exactly what to do, but I'm going to come up with something. You trust me, right?"
"With my life."
My chest tightened and I leaned forward and kissed her again. "Okay. We need to get back now. Hector's meeting will be ending. No more coming to my cabin, all right? If you need to contact me, you leave a note in the bushes for Xander. I'll have him check every day."
She nodded her head, biting her full bottom lip. I wanted to kiss her again, but there wasn't time. I wanted to kiss her again and again for the rest of forever, and never stop. "Are we going to leave here?" she asked, her eyes pleading for some sort of confirmation.
I looked back at her for a minute, then pulled her into my chest, holding her tightly against me. She laid her ear over my heart and we just sat like that for long minutes. Could we? Could we leave here? My family? My friends? Our lives? Our destiny? "Only because we have to," I finally said.