She collapsed against me again and I had to will my knees to keep from buckling and continue to keep me upright. Once our labored breathing returned somewhat to normal again, she said in between the quick rise and fall of her chest, “So now that we are acquainted with my couch and my wall, why don’t we venture to my bed?” She was still clinging to me with her legs locked around my hips, so I adjusted her to make it more comfortable for me to carry her and followed her directions to her bedroom. She laughed before saying, “Why are we so opposed to beds? I feel like I just ran a marathon and we still have to travel to go lay down.”
“We? Who do you think is doing all the dirty work, transporting your ass to your bed?” I joked, which caused her to grind her heels deep into the flesh of my ass. “Ow!”
“Don’t make it sound like it’s such a chore, you should feel lucky to transport my ass,” she said with the very same twinkle in her eye that had been there at graduation. Eden was finally and thoroughly back. I finally knew for myself without her having to tell me, that she was indeed truly happy.
Chapter 18
Eden
Lying curled up next to Baylor in my bed, my fingers were lazily drawing circles on his bicep that was encompassed around me because I couldn’t sleep. I had hoped that hearing his breathing even out as he fell into a peaceful slumber would lull me into my own blissful sleep, but to no avail. I thought it was just the overwhelming feeling of happiness blanketing over me. I was excited for everything that was going to come. We had spent the entire day in bed except when we got up to order pizza and to call Dean, who I had found out was staying at a local hotel in town. I never even knew he had accompanied Baylor on the trip. We talked the day away, laughing and making plans for our future, and even added a few more rounds of lovemaking to the mix. There was just something about his primal self, rearing its head as he took me against the wall. I wouldn’t exactly call it making love, but the connection we had spiraling between us was more than I had ever felt before.
I was sad to leave Nashville and my friends behind, but it was well worth it to be able to someday soon call myself Mrs. Baylor Jenkins. We had also called Norah earlier in the day to tell her the news and ended up having to hold the phone a good two feet from our ears in order to try and avoid the shrill scream that she let out. She was completely overjoyed, and I couldn’t exactly pinpoint if it was all because of me moving there or because Petunia would be in accompaniment. Either way, I was tickled myself to gain such a witty and amazing stepdaughter.
I also texted Julia to see if she could get me in in the morning for a quick style before I left. She didn’t answer back right away and even when she did it was just single-word answers. It stung to know that she wasn’t as supportive as I wanted her to be but it was also a big deal leaving my best friend behind. She was hurt and scared to lose someone else that she loved and I understood that, so I hoped the next morning wouldn’t be filled with sorrow and tears rather than happiness and lots of laughter.
The cold, wet nose on my face and the sharp toenails of a certain dog weren’t really what I was hoping for in the form of a wakeup call. “Petunia, seriously, you have the absolute worst timing,” I groaned, whining about being woken up far too early for my liking. I moved to peel back my covers and remove myself from the juncture in between Baylor’s body and his arm, when his other hand covered mine, halting me in my tracks.
Just barely opening one eye, I turned towards him, peeking to see what he was doing. “I felt you tossing and turning all night, let me go take Petunia out and you lay here and rest for a few more minutes. I know you don’t want to be late to meet Julia,” he said in a soothing, sleep-filled voice. I turned the other way to allow him to pull his arm from underneath me and snuggled beneath my covers a bit more, curling them around my body. There wasn’t a cold chance in hell that I was going to refuse his offer; a girl could get use to this kind of treatment.
He was absolutely right though, I wasn’t going to be able to stay in bed for long, as there was too much to do. The goal was to pack up my belongings that I wanted to bring with me and load them into the U-haul that would be attached to my SUV so I could be on the road the next morning. The thirty-eight hour drive wasn’t one that anyone looked forward to, but traveling with Baylor and Dean meant there were bound to be many memories to be had. Besides, with three different drivers we could each take turns behind the wheel and make good road time.
We had discussed renting out my condo and leaving it fully furnished for the time being. There was no reason to bring all of my furniture with me to Oregon when Baylor’s house was fully stocked. I was bringing some accent pieces to try and spruce up his house; it just needed a woman’s touch and he gave me absolute free rein. It thrilled me to no end that he trusted me so wholeheartedly to do whatever I saw fit in his house.
I heard Baylor talking to Petunia from the other room and I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to get any more rest, especially when he was talking to her in such a high-pitched tone as if he was talking to a baby. I had to force back my laughter from erupting, but it was definitely hilarious. And what topped it was that when I finally made it into my kitchen, he was sitting on the linoleum in the middle of my floor giving her belly a good rub down.
The smell of coffee instantly invaded my nostrils. It was one of my favorite fragrances of all-time, only coming in second to Baylor’s natural scent. I walked towards the cupboard that housed all of my various mugs, making sure to sidestep around the little love fest that was taking place on my floor.
Removing the carafe, I began pouring two cups of steaming coffee before replacing it in the holder. Petunia was making a calming moaning noise, which was her way of showing that she was loving the attention. I wanted to grumble under my breath but refrained from doing so because it would make me seem like a jealous nitwit.
“Oh my god,” I said aloud without any intention to do so, “I’m jealous of my dog.” I turned around and took a sip from my steaming mug and leaned against the edge of my countertop. Baylor’s eyes were instantly trained on me and a smile was playing on his mouth. “Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, laugh it up,” I said to him in the midst of an eye roll. I pointed to Petunia who was still as relaxed as before, showing her belly and allowing her tongue to hang freely from her mouth, “Don’t you forget where you came from and who fed you all of those treats for so long.”
That was all it took for Baylor to go completely ballistic. He fell over to his side barking out a laugh at my expense, but all in all it was pretty hilarious that I would get so bent out of shape because my wonderful Petunia was receiving all of his attention when it should’ve been me. I joined in on the laughter because Baylor’s reaction and his contagious laugh from deep within his belly made it too hard to contain.
He braced an arm on the floor so he could push himself to a standing position, then moseyed his way over towards me to encircle his arms around my waist. I turned to place my hot mug down on the counter and turned back just in time for him to run his nose along my collarbone and up to my ear.
“Was my Eden really that jealous of the attention I was showing to my new dog?” Shoving at his shoulder I released a drawn out huff and tried to cross my arms over my chest. “Does Eden need me to scratch behind her ears?” He teased and ran his finger lightly behind my ear, descending all the way down to the swell of my breasts that were peeking out from the top of my tank top. My annoyance was quickly dissipating; all this man had to do was gently touch a random place on my body and I proved to be putty in his hands. “Maybe she needs some kisses?” He asked then leaned forward and swiped his tongue across his lips before biting down softly on the apex of my neck and shoulder, sending chills rushing down my spine while his hands moved back to my hips, lightly fingering my exposed flesh. “Or perhaps she needs a good old-fashioned,” I was lost in his words, anticipating what would come next. Would he tease me more, turning me on a little more with each movement? I wasn’t expecting what came next, “tickling!” he yelled before pinching his fingers on my sides and going to town, tickling away at my stomach and under my breasts.