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On my way.
Eden
* * *
Even though I know Eden is coming, I still pace around the greenhouse like a caged tiger. It’s different in here at night—waist-high lamps light the paths, and with the sky ink-black outside, the greenhouse floor is reflected in the ceiling. When I run my hands through my hair, my reflection above does that too—except smaller and warped and upside down, half blocked by shadowy branches.
The birds are quiet and still, roosting in the canopy, and the vines seem to stretch longer where they dangle down, reaching toward the paths. The trees look bigger at night.
My boots scrape against the gritty stone path. Water burbles over rocks in the stream.
The air is thick and hot and humid, and when Eden pushes through the greenhouse door, it pools in my lungs like toffee sauce.
“You came.” The words have barely scraped out of my throat when she runs to me, leaping into my arms. Eden is tall but so light, and I lift her easily, spinning us both around. High above, our reflections whirl like tops, clinging together.
Never want to put her down.
Never want to let go.
I do—but for the record, I hate it.
“I got your email,” Eden says, her cheeks pink and her smile wide, and though I don’t want to point it out and make her self-conscious, this is the first time she’s spoken to me without stammering. Want to hoist her onto my shoulder like an Olympic champ. “Something about going insane?”
She laughs when I groan, tugging her close again. Fitting her hips against mine. Screw keeping a proper distance. Screw taking things slow.
I need this girl.
“That kiss,” I tell her, placing her arms around my neck. Eden bites her lip and slides her fingers into my hair. “That goddamn kiss, Eden. I’m wrecked.”
“M-me too.”
Thank god.
It’s so hard to concentrate when Eden’s fingertips are scratching at my scalp. So hard to think of anything right now except tasting her again—everywhere. I swallow hard, fighting to keep on track.
“Listen. This isn’t a one-time thing for me, sweetheart. I don’t do flings with students. I don’t do flings, period. So this is serious for me. Can you handle that?”
She hums, twining a lock of my hair around her finger.
“Eden,” I say weakly. “Baby, I need the words.”
She gazes up at me, misty eyes shining bright. “I c-can handle that. I want that too.”
“You do?”
A slow nod.
My heartbeat is ragged. It’s everything I wanted to hear, but now I’m struggling to believe her words. Has any man ever been so lucky? What have I ever done to deserve this?
Must have been a dung beetle or something in a previous life. Must be owed some serious karma.
A bird coos overhead, feathers rustling as it gets comfy on its branch. Eden’s breath hitches when I duck down, running the tip of my nose along her cheekbone. Her skin is like satin.
“You’re mine,” I say, testing out the words.
“Y-yours,” Eden agrees, and fuck, the wave of need that rises up in me—it’s stronger than the swell that nearly knocked me sideways earlier. My knees buckle, and Eden comes with me as I stagger two steps to the left, cupping her cheeks and dragging her mouth to mine.
“Mmph!”
