Heir to Scandal (Secrets of Eden 3)

He buried his face in her neck and drove into her. Every inch of their bodies was touching, their skin heated and slick with sweat. It wasn’t long before she felt her release building up in her again. She bit her lip, trying hard to fight it off. It was too soon.

“I’m not ready for this moment to end,” she admitted. It was easier to say when she didn’t have to look him in the eye. “I want to keep this moment forever.”

Xander propped himself up onto his elbows and planted kisses along her jawline to her lips. He kissed her thoroughly and smiled. “There will be more moments. Many more. Enjoy this one.”

His hand slid up her outer thigh to her knee. He hooked her leg over his shoulder, tilting her pelvis up and driving harder and deeper than ever before. The sensation was incredible, causing Rose to cry out.

“Oh, Z,” she gasped, clawing at his back. There was no use in prolonging her release now. It was impossible. She could feel the tightening in her belly, the driving surge of the explosives getting ready to burst inside her. “Yes, yes!”

“Let go, Rose,” he coaxed in a harsh whisper. “Just let go.”

It was a hard command to follow. She spent most of her life fighting. But with Xander, she could let go. Let him do some of the fighting for her. She sucked a large lungful of air and her eyes closed. Like a tsunami, her orgasm crashed through her. She clung to Xander for dear life as every nerve ending in her body lit up and her insides pulsated with pleasurable shocks.

“Xander!” she yelled at its peak.

“Rose, Rose...” he repeated in response, driving harder and faster than before until he stiffened and groaned. He gasped her name one last time as he surged into her body, leaving him exhausted and trembling.

He dropped over to her side, sucking ragged breaths into his lungs as his muscular chest rose and fell. They both lay together quietly for a few moments before Rose pushed herself up onto her elbow to look down at him. His hair was damp and plastered to his forehead. His brow was furrowed as he lay with his eyes closed and his hands just barely trembling.

It made her think of the very first time they’d made love. Ken had loaned Xander his truck to take her to dinner and a movie, but they’d opted for a picnic by the river with a blanket spread out in the truck bed. Under a blanket of stars, she’d given herself to him, heart and soul. Afterward she remembered looking at him as he lay just like this. A dozen years had passed since that moment, but it seemed as though she’d never gotten either of them back.

He had her, still. Heart and soul.

Eleven

We have a problem, the text from Brody read. Deborah Wilder just identified the remains of her brother.

Xander’s stomach sank. Returning to Cornwall and reality after his fantastic time with Rose in D.C. was hard enough. He wasn’t ready to face this yet.

He set his glass of tea on the kitchen counter of Rose’s apartment and frowned at his phone. The moment of truth had arrived. And the timing couldn’t be worse. There was never a good time for that sort of thing, but they were on the verge of telling Joey that Xander was his father. He needed to be here with Rose and his son for this big moment, not at the farm fighting off the press and police that would come when the news broke. But that was why he was here. Why he’d returned to Cornwall in the first place.

Xander looked up from his phone. Joey was playing a video game on the television, shooting at zombies or something. He was wearing a headset that allowed him to talk to players networked in other places around the world. A far cry from the Nintendo Game Boy he’d had at Joey’s age. Fortunately, his son was immersed in slaying the undead and oblivious to everything going on around him.

Rose was in the shower. He could still hear the water running. They’d returned to Cornwall on a morning flight and then driven to camp to pick up Joey that afternoon. Rose wanted to shower and change before they shared the big news with Joey and, assuming all was received well, went out for a celebratory family dinner.

His gaze drifted back to the words on his screen. How? he managed to type despite how badly his shaking fingers were stymying him.

His ring, Brody texted back.

Xander silently cursed and refrained from texting the same sentiment. Of course. He had burned all of Tommy’s things that night, but they’d all been too freaked out by the body itself to remove anything from him. Tommy had always worn a large gold ring with a black onyx stone in the middle. It was large, like a class ring, and left a distinctive welt on the skin if it came in contact with your face. Wade had found that out the hard way. Xander had luckily not gotten close enough to Tommy’s hands to get a good look at it, but it was distinctive enough for someone, especially his own sister, to recognize. He’d always worn that ring and it had been buried along with Tommy.