She cut delicately into the roasted chicken and placed a tiny piece on her plate, leaving the rest for him. Then she selected some of the steamed vegetables, but as she’d promised, she left the baked potato and other sides for him.
He felt selfish, even knowing that she was extremely careful with her diet, but he hated eating so much in front of her, and her seeing it knowing she couldn’t have it.
He wolfed down his portion, partly because he didn’t want to be sitting there savoring a meal in front of her, but he was also impatient to get to the rest of the evening. He just hoped to hell he’d read the signals she was sending correctly and that he wasn’t way off base by assuming tonight would be the night they took their relationship a step further. A huge step. Because for him, sex just wasn’t casual unless he determined that going in and just wanted or needed a night to blow off some steam and have a one-night stand.
With Eden, it was a whole different ball game. She was a game changer of everything he’d experienced with women up to now. He wanted her desperately, but he wasn’t willing to let his desire and impatience ruin something as beautiful as what was growing between them.
For all he knew she might only want a one-night stand and then she’d back off or move on. He was making a lot of assumptions, assumptions he had no right making. He was setting himself up for one hell of a fall if he allowed his emotions to overtake reason and read more into the situation than what it was in reality.
“Swanny?”
Eden’s soft calling of his name jerked him from his thoughts, something that occurred with frequency when he was in her presence. In his job, absolute concentration was a must. Distractions could get him or one of his teammates killed, and so he was used to having absolute focus. But with Eden? He found himself drifting into internal conversations with himself. Pondering, wondering, self-conscious and a host of other things that crowded his mind when he was with her.
He glanced up to see that she’d set her fork aside and finished the small portion of food she’d allowed herself.
“Are you ready for bed or did you want to stay up a bit longer?” she asked.
Though the words were said steadily enough, he was now familiar enough with Eden to see behind the face she presented and the fact that her words were casual, measured even.
She was nervous and hesitant, almost as if she were worried that he wasn’t on board for taking that huge step in their budding relationship.
“I vote bed,” he said, his voice husky.
She smiled, but her lips quivered slightly. And then she rose from the table, once again giving him an eyeful of the sexy outfit she wore. He nearly cursed because his dick hardened even more and he’d already sported an uncomfortable-as-hell erection through the entire dinner. Seeing her right there in front of him, her nightwear leaving little to the imagination, turned his dick to stone, pressed uncomfortably against the confines of his jeans.
He got up and held out his hand to her, gauging her mood. She slipped her much smaller hand into his and he gave it a light squeeze as they headed toward the bedroom. It brought an instant smile to her face and lessened some of the tension he could feel radiating from her.
“I’ll climb into bed if you want to get undressed,” she said, heading toward the king-size bed in the center of the room.
It was telling that she hadn’t told him to get changed but rather undressed. The two had very different meanings. And suddenly he was nervous because he would be undressing in front of her, his faults and scars in plain sight once again.
He hesitated, uncertainty gripping him. Eden gave him a look of such caring and tenderness that he immediately felt shame for doubting her reaction even for a moment.
“I want to see you,” she said. “All of you. There’s nothing about you that will remotely turn me off, Swanny. I know words mean little, but I want to show you. I need to show you that I’m sincere.”
Her words gave him the courage to undress, pulling his jeans over his straining erection, wincing at the discomfort. He gave an audible sigh of relief when his dick burst free from its restraints. But