“Huh?” She responded. Her lips were on my chest so it vibrated my entire torso and came out as more of a grunt.

“Why don’t you turn around and lean back against me?” She waited a moment before complying. I grabbed ahold of her shoulders and leaned forward to dump some bubble bath into the running hot water and to plug up the tub again before resuming our relaxed positions. Once the water had passed our knees I lifted my foot to push the nozzle down and turn the water completely off, then closed my eyes to revel in the feel of Eden’s back pressed against me.

She was lying completely still and I almost thought that she had fallen asleep until she reached across her body to grab one of my hands opposite hers and intertwine our fingers together. I took my free hand and shoveled some water onto her stomach to make sure that she wasn’t beginning to get cold.

“Baylor?” she finally spoke up and said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever regret not going into architecture?”

I released a deep sigh, “Do I regret it? Yes and no, I suppose. I really don’t mind being a plumber and I’m good at it, plus it helps out my family so that’s what really matters to me. Do I miss it? Absolutely. I sometimes just sit and look at a structure and try to break everything down to see why the architect designed it the way that they did.”

“I actually did that at Tillie’s. I was trying to admire the wooden beams and how they added to the overall ambiance of the tavern. I tried to think of it the way you would have.”

“Do you like being a radio DJ?”

She didn’t have to think of how she would answer, “I absolutely love it. I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. My cohost Blaine and I have such an amazing rapport with one another. The banter between us is easy and flawless.” I couldn’t help the jealous feeling that had come over me. I wanted to warn this Blaine to stay clear away from Eden, but then I remembered that one, it wouldn’t do me any good to go all he-man over him and two, I had absolutely no grounds to do so. Eden wasn’t mine, as much as it pained me to even think. She was leaving in just a matter of days and my life would go back to normal; going to work each and every day and taking care of Norah. If only Eden could be written into my normal.

“Oh, Baylor, don’t be getting all jealous again. Blaine is more like a brother to me than anything. I mean, I do see and interact with him more than any other human being, but it’s strictly platonic, I assure you.”

I raised a hand in surrender, thanking my lucky stars that she couldn’t actually read my face at that time, “You don’t have to defend your relationship with Blaine to me.”

“Ok…Well, can I ask you about something?”

“You can ask me about anything, always,” I assured her.

“Has anything ever happened between you and Maisie?”

I started coughing because that question totally blindsided me and came from left field. I needed to tread carefully and be cautious of how I chose my answer. “Uh…Maisie and I had something very briefly, but if you’re asking if I’ve ever slept with her then no. Does she wish more had happened between us than what really had? Yes, and she chooses to remind me every time I run into her.”

She became silent once again and I could almost picture her face, mulling over what I had just revealed. Evidently she decided to drop it because she changed the subject. “I absolutely love this tub. It’s so luxurious and I like the fact that we both fit.” She took her hands and started running them up and down my thighs that were placed on the outside of her body. I took the opportunity to run my own sudsy hands up and down her arms in a soothing motion.

“I love this tub too. When I bought the house it wasn’t here but once I walked into the bathroom I knew it would work perfectly. And right now I’m very glad that I made the decision to purchase it.” I nipped a bit at the shell of her ear for emphasis, which in turn caused her to shiver in delight. My dick started to stir about again and began pushing even more against her backside. I was holding my breath hoping that she wouldn’t be disgusted and was rewarded by a light squeal as she wriggled her ass against my cock. I travelled my hands up along her arms until I reached her shoulders and then began my descent down to her breasts. I held each mound in the palm of my hands and fondled each with the slightest of pressure until she urged me on with a long moan. “You’re biting your lip, aren’t you?” I asked. I didn’t even have to see her face to know that she was expressing her excitement through habit.

“I am…”

“God,” I groaned, “I fucking love it when you do that, I want to bite it for you.”

All was quiet for a moment until she challenged me, “Well, what’s stopping you?”

That was it. I gently lifted her up off of me so I could stand up in the tub and hoist her over my shoulder, then I stepped out of my bathtub and marched out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.

“What are you doing?” she squealed with amusement.

“You were daring me, so I’m cashing in on that challenge.” I tossed her back onto my bed and was promptly hovering over her, more specifically her mouth. “I’m going to bite that fucking delectable lip of yours, and you’re going to love it.”

Her eyes grew wide as they dilated in response to my sexual promise to come. I had never really intended to come across with alpha-like tendencies but I wasn’t about to back down when she once again pulled her sultry lip in between her teeth.

Wet bodies be damned, but I didn’t give one ounce of concern to my sopping sheets because hopefully Eden would soon be equally as soaked once I really got started with her.

When I lowered my head towards hers she waited until the last possible second to release her lip before mine descended on hers. I pressed my closed lips to hers before she opened her mouth to me, allowing my tongue to dive in. Our tongues dueled over whose could be the leader and before I relented to her I drew my head back with her pouty bottom lip in between my teeth and tugged on it which in turn caused her to release a throaty growl.

That night we ended up having to sleep on the couch due to my sheets and mattress being soaked. Wished I would’ve thought ahead earlier, but with being so wrapped up in the moment who could blame me?

So Eden was tucked into my side with her head on my arm, using it as her own personal pillow once again. I could really picture us doing this for fifty years to come. Being that Sunday was coming closer each minute I didn’t want to think about the inevitable. I could tell that she was asleep by her even breaths but I knew that sleep wouldn’t come easy for me that night.

My mind began to wander, trying to picture how things would play out between the two of us. I didn’t want that week to be the end of us but I didn’t really know how to approach the subject. She had been very clear saying that she was under contract back in Nashville at her job, not to mention she had her whole life there. Would she make an effort to visit here more often? Would she be cool with the idea of Norah and me coming to Tennessee to visit? All these questions looming around in my head and I didn’t know the answer to a single one of them. I didn’t like not knowing how things would play out and I wasn’t patient enough to let things land as they may. I guessed my best option was to confront her about it and I made the decision to do so on Sunday morning when I took her to the airport. Although, I realized that she had never really acknowledged my request to be the one to drop her off, so perhaps I needed a plan B as well.

Eden wiggled a bit in her sleep and it caused me to stop playing things out in my head and focus on being in the moment with her, even if it was just watching her sleep. I smoothed back her chestnut hair out of her face and pressed the lightest of kisses on her cheek before laying back and trying to drift off to sleep.