Eden's POVI throw Asher back with my forearms, breaking the kiss at once.How could he show up here in Croatia and kiss me like nothing has happened!?"What are you doing?" I bark, slapping him across the face when he steps back toward me, intending to kiss me some more. "Asher! Stop! I don't want to kiss you!"He shakes his head in dismissal. "That's not what I felt. You kissed me back, Eden Smith.""I did not," I bite out, trying to push past him, but he stops me with a grip on my wrist, pulling me into his unwarranted embrace. His lips brush mine again, and I lean far back in his hold, preventing another kiss. "Stop it, dammit! The Golden brothers are right next door and—""And if I have them killed, you can bet that my father will release the bounty over you," Asher snaps.He releases me at last, and I stumble back a few paces, my heart settling in my stomach where it ultimately falls. I've chosen the Golden brothers over him time and again, but he persists in makin
Eden's POVThe brothers don't sleep, and I don't blame them. They pack up our bags in absolute silence, moving fluidly through the small, beachside hut while I watch on in downtrodden exhaustion. Part of me knows I should have answered Ryder's question, but the other part of me is so upset that they would even think to ask such a thing of me! They should know by now that Asher Donahue means nothing to me, and they're my entire world.But after the gunfight in the club tonight, it made me too terrified to even think straight.How could they not believe my actions?I still hear the gunshots in my head, pushing out the glass doors and sinking my feet into the sand, I force myself to accept reality while my mind just wants to whisk me away to nowhere. I don't want to go home, I don't want to be accused of loving a man I don't, and I don't want to leave this beach.Sitting in the sand, I think of my last foster family.I'm sure Patrick is out there somewhere, leaning over a
Eden's POVIf the taxi ride to the airport wasn't terrible enough, the drive from the airport to the Golden Estate is even worse. They're not just upset with my words now, they've been wounded by what I've said about them, and what they think I feel toward them. I've f*cked it all up now.I'm the last one inside the house, my bare feet sink into the lawn while I think about how horrible everything has become. I've messed up my one true purpose in getting close to these brothers.I never ever wanted to hurt them.I scan the darkness of New York, the evening just beginning here after the time change. I miss the sun, and I can't sleep even if I want to, but going inside doesn't seem to be the best idea either.Mason stands in the front doorway, his brows furrowed as he looks at my odd, unmoving spot in the front yard. "Eden, come on. It's getting cold outside."I didn't even notice the dropping temperatures, feeling so hot with frustration that I guess it doesn't matter. My he
Eden's POVDante pulls me into the shower before the sun even rises. Even though we were naked all night, the wounds and the adrenaline from the day before had caused too much tension for anything fun to happen. I'm okay with it though.For once, our serene silence was enough for me to feel secure between them both.Dante takes over the task of washing my hair while Ryder sleeps in, per usual. He finally stalks out of bed, wearing a pair of pajama pants that hang just under the muscles that carve a trail right toward his arousal. My heart sputters in my chest.Having Dante press into my back as he draws soapy hands down my sides doesn't help. His erection is sputtering as well, brushing against my lower back.They're both smiling and relaxed. I am pleased with their delight after having such tension between us for so long. For once, maybe just this time, our blissful streak will carry on uninterrupted.Ryder comes close, ready to yank free of his clothes and join us, but hi
Eden's POVSomeone cuts my wrists free, and I feel a little relieved at first. I thought it would bring back the memory of the heist, but in reality, the brothers work at securing my hands behind my back, and another plastic tie loops around my wrists again.My eyes go wide behind the tie."Can't have you doing anything rash," Dante teases.Ryder joins in the snickering banter, "We know how you like to move the blindfold off your eyes."And thank god I had. Without doing that, I would have been kicked to the curb after the robbery at Grand Dominion Bank. I would have resorted back to my old, miserable life with Jack Ward. Taking that blindfold off in the car was the best decision of my life.And they're right—I'd do it again if not for them beating me to the punch and restraining my arms behind my back. I inhale sharply, the little tatters of clothing being picked off my body, piece by piece. They admire my white lingerie, pulling and adjusting and caressing my body in the
Eden's POVEvery night since the Golden brothers and I roleplayed the robbery has been amazing. We are closer than ever, and to my surprise, they have been taking more and more time off of work and ignoring phone calls when they come late in the evening or too early in the morning.The only issue is, I am being eaten alive with guilt over not telling them how I fully feel about them both. I can't stand holding onto this secret, but then again, I doubt it's much of a secret. I can't get enough of them, and they can't seem to get enough of me either.I fall backward into the office chair, bored out of my mind, and curiously I begin going through the desktop computer they keep in here. It's the middle of the night, and I can't sleep with my thoughts racing like they have been for days now.The brothers are downstairs, sleeping away in bliss after I managed to crawl ever so carefully out of bed. I scroll through the Internet and check my email, poking around to kill time until morn
Eden's POVThis whole state is impossible to navigate, but thankfully the car I took from the estate has a GPS embedded inside of it. Carol slept through the trouble this morning and woke up to a mess and an empty house. Hopefully, she hasn't already told the brothers I've left the estate.I can't have Ryder and Dante making this war worse.I race through the Lamont Lounge, looking through the bar and the nearly empty dance floor—it's too early in the afternoon to be in a dance club getting drunk, but I had to double-check. Making my way into the elevator, I keep a careful eye out.Erik Donahue still wants me dead. Being in the city with that threat overhead isn't really wise, but the weight of the flash drive in my pocket is so heavy that I forget about the threat against me right now. I make my way to the room I've been inside before and knock lightly.Asher throws the door open and yanks me inside, slamming it shut seconds later while he looks as furious as Ryder and Dante
Eden's POVThe wine cellar is freezing cold.I huddle in the corner of the cellar, between shelves of red and white wine, all of which are more expensive than the bottle before it. I can't even have any to drink, or anything to drink at all, with my hands still bound behind me.My wrists have raw, exposed cuts, and I can't even feel the sting of pain from them anymore. My face is throbbing with bruises, along with my neck and the rest of my body over the last few days of viciousness and neglect.I'm wearing a long dress shirt that Asher has managed to put me in between random beatings and atrocious lines of questioning. I try to keep my lips sealed about where Ryder and Dante are, but it won't last long. I'm breaking slowly, and the cold, relentless torment of my body is starting to wear me down even further.The door opens across the cellar, and I try to appear small, almost non-threatening, and maybe that will curb their appetite to hurt me further. I haven't had food or wa