Finding Eden (A Sign of Love Novel)(57)

"Then ask me," he said, emotion filling his voice, making it more raspy than usual. "Just ask me. All you ever have to do is ask me."
Tears pricked my eyes as I stared up at his intense expression, his body perfectly still. I took a shaky breath. "Do you still love me, Calder? Am I the only woman you want?"
"God, yes," he said before I'd even gotten the last word fully out.
I breathed out and then sniffled. "I love you, too."
Warmth filled his eyes. "I never stopped loving you. I never will. Ever."
My shoulders relaxed and I wiped the tears out of my eyes. "Do you think we're making a mistake rushing back into this too quickly? We've both changed . . . we have issues."
He considered me for a minute. "It's because I cried on our first date, isn't it?"
I let out a tremulous laugh and then laughed harder when he smiled a lopsided grin. God, he was adorable—gorgeous—ridiculously beautiful. I glanced down at the bed again. He had bought it as a gift to me, just today. My heart squeezed.
"See," Calder said, going serious, "the thing is, we are both desperate . . . still hurting, probably needy," he paused, "no definitely needy." He took a deep breath. "I was dead yesterday, Eden." He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "I was trying to live, I was. But, now you're back, and I'm alive again." His eyes filled with something that looked like wonder. "I don't want to waste time 'figuring things out,' or 'taking time.' I don't need time. I need you. You're all I've ever needed."
I opened my mouth to speak, but Calder cut me off. "And before you say anything, there's something you should know about this bed. It's not just an ordinary bed." I raised one eyebrow and Calder shook his head. "No, this here is . . . uh," he smiled suddenly as if something had just occurred to him, "The Bed of Healing." He paused, his eyes warm. "This bed here has the power to heal the hurt, the pain, and all the desperation inside of us. But we'll need to stay in it for quite a while, until we feel like we can leave each other's presence without that sick feeling of dread. We'll need to stay in it until we've made up at least a little bit of the time we've lost. And once that's done, and we're both more level-headed, then you can decide whether or not you'll move in with me."
I laughed softly, shaking my head and raising my brows. "The Bed of Healing?"
Calder nodded again, his face serious.
I glanced at the bed and then back up at him, raising one brow. "I mean, it's worth a try, I guess. We could use some healing."
Calder let out a breath. "Are you saying that I can take you to bed now?"
I nodded slowly.
His eyes warmed and moved over my face.
He brushed my bangs away from my eyes and said, "You realize you might be here for quite some time working through our . . . issues. Do you need to clear your schedule?"
I shook my head. "No. I don't have a schedule. But I should text my mom so she doesn't worry."
"Okay."
We stared at each other for a few moments, my eyes darting to his lips and then back to his eyes. The air between our bodies seemed to thicken and charge. We had had sex the night before, but this was different. This was going to be different. We were going to take our time. We had a bed. Our bed. A thrill ran along every nerve ending, and a flock of butterflies took up flight in my ribcage.
I turned and walked out of his room on rubbery feeling legs, looking behind me once to see him watching me with dark eyes.
I hurried out to my purse and quickly texted my mom. I felt like a little girl checking in, but it was only polite, and I didn't ever want to cause her one more minute of pain than she'd already experienced over me in her lifetime. She deserved to know I was safe.