Page 47 of Fractured Memories

A smirk pulls at her lips as she shifts to look at me. “Because no one has broken into my room to stock it with swimwear like they have with everything else.”

I bite down on my lip to keep from laughing. I’ve argued with Eden so many times to wear something—anything—in the pool, so her comment catches me off guard.

Unable to stop myself, I answer her with a smart-arse remark of my own. “That’s because you don’t need any.” I lean back, my eyes dragging over her body before they pop back up. “No one comes out here but me.”

She scoffs. “You’ll have to try harder than that to get me naked, Kieran.”

Try harder, Kieran.

Those words give me a flash of hope.

“Are you sure about that, mo chuisle? Because, from what I remember, you like what I can accomplish when there are no clothes between us.”

She stiffens, gaze darting away, and my brows furrow. It’s no further than she went, but as I rethink the sentence, I realize my mistake. Her nickname. While I’m far too used to using it, she doesn’t seem to react well to it.

Not wanting her to bolt, I slide her gift out of my pocket and clear my throat. She hasn’t completely withdrawn yet, but she looks on the edge of it.

“I brought you something.” I keep my tone neutral, watching to see how she’ll react. If she’ll shut down or give me another chance.

“What is it?” There’s an edge to her words that I know all too well. I need to tread carefully.

And because I’m fucked up, a thrill shoots through me at knowing that Eden’s more dangerous and difficult side is making an appearance. Now that I know she still wants me, it’s easier for me to handle—and I like how hard it is to please my girl. It makes it fucking worth it when I do.

“If you’d look at me, you’d find out.”

Her head whips toward me as she pins me with a glare that threatens to make me hard. Fuck, I love how deadly she is.

And clearly I like putting myself in harm’s way because I hold up one of her favorite blades. I don’t know where the ones from the day she went missing are, but I have her special ones in our room still. The rest are in our home armory with mine.

This one has a dark wooden handle, the grain polished to perfection, and a smooth, dark gunmetal gray blade. Along the edge of the metal, it’s engraved with small stars because of how many nights we’ve spent out on this patio beneath the open sky.

Mika has a matching one. Jude and I gifted them to the girls last Wintervale—and they loved them. Mika always has hers on her, but Eden would only wear this one around the house. She said it was too important to dirty with the guards’ blood when she went to the training grounds.

Which is why I’m lucky that it’s even still here. She hadn’t been wearing it that day.

I’ve noticed how often Eden has reached for a blade she’s not wearing, and I don’t like knowing she’s unarmed. Always willing to pull a weapon on someone is part of who Eden is, and I guess I want to give that back to her. Or maybe selfishly, I want to see more of my wife come back.

I know I’m a selfish bastard, though, so it doesn’t bother me.

Watching Eden’s face as she stares at the blade, I know I made the right choice. All the anger drains from her expression, and she reaches for the knife with a look of reverence. I place it handle first in her palm, watching her take it in just like she did the first time.

“You brought this for me?” Her voice is soft, and I weigh my words. I’m not sure if I should tell her it is hers or if that reminder will make her shut down again.

I settle on, “I thought you’d want it.”

“I do.” Those golden hazel eyes look up at me in a way I haven’t seen in so long. She’s looking at me with…affection. And damn, it makes my chest ache. “Thank you.”

Swallowing hard, I pull the other part of her gift from my pocket. “I brought a sheath for you, too.” Her gaze flicks to the black leather in my hand, but she doesn’t reach for it. “If you want something different⁠—“

Eden shakes her head, moving back from the pool. Turning, she drapes one leg over my still extended one, and I freeze. She’s halfway in my lap, and I’m willing my body to stay calm—not that it’s listening.

“Will you put it on me?” Her dark curls fall to the side as she cocks her head.

It should be such an innocent question, but the way she’s looking at me isn’t. Her gaze is heated as she leans back on her hands, watching me with a challenging smirk.

I’m never one to back down from a challenge, or a chance to put my hands on Eden. But I won’t make this easy on her, either.

Sliding one hand up her calf, my fingers trailing along her smooth skin, I hook it behind her knee and drag her closer. A soft gasp escapes her as I settle her between my legs, her thigh in easy reach now.