Wicked Garden by Lorelei James

beautiful eyes closed, hiding her feelings from him. “There’s only one way to find out.”
    “How?”
    “We have to do it again.” He peppered kisses down her jaw. “And again, and again, and again, until we’re sure it wasn’t a fluke.”
    Her laugh soothed his soul.
    Billy smoothed an auburn tendril from her flushed cheek. “Eden.”
    “Mmm?”
    “Baby, look at me.”
    She glanced at him from beneath lowered lashes.
    “I have to tell you something.”
    “No.” She tried to squirm away, an impossible maneuver since they were still physically connected. “Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter. And if this has to do with the community center, I don’t want to hear it right now, okay?”
    He stared at her, the words stuck in his throat. How could he tell her it wasn’t their past that caused his sleepless nights, but thoughts of their future?
    “I need to get dressed and go back to work.”
    Billy cautioned himself to keep it light as she was already on the verge of retreat. “You sure you can’t stay and play hooky?”
    She gave him a sexy grin. “The word you’re looking for is nookie . And no. I have to go.”
    “Smart ass.” He nipped her chin and she yelped.
    “The kids are probably running around driving Shelby crazy with their questions about where I am.”
    “Are you there every day after school?”
    “Without fail.” Eden’s fingers trailed a path across his shoulders and her mouth tasted the skin she’d touched.
    Another whip of desire cracked through him. “Then you deserve a break. Stay. Please.”
    “Tempting…but no.” She whacked his butt and he withdrew from the warm place that strangely felt like home.
    When her feet touched the tile, she shivered and bent to grab her clothes, muttering, “Looks like a damn yard sale in here.”
    Billy plucked up his clothing on the way to dispose of the condom. In the bathroom, he peered at his reflection, turning his profile left and right. Yep. Same guy on the outside, but the emotions jumping inside told a different tale. The last few days he’d been revitalized.
    Scrubbing his hands over his face, he slumped back against the wall. Face the facts, man. His return to Spearfish hadn’t been about helping out an old friend or an excuse to checkup on his sister. He’d come back for her. Now that he realized the magnitude of the mistake he’d made years ago, how could he walk away? Now that he was certain she’d always been the one for him?
    Worse yet, if he loved her, how could he close the center?
    A soft rapping on the door ripped him from his reverie. “Billy? Look, I hate to screw and run, but I’ve got to get back.”
    He grinned at her phrasing, hoping it indicated there’d be no awkward silences between them on the drive back to the center.

    Eden primly crossed her bare legs. She hadn’t bothered putting her nylons back on. As she surveyed the landscape out the window of the rental car, she sensed Billy’s confusion. He’d tried to delve into what’d happened and she’d blatantly ignored him. And she’d practically jumped from his car when he pulled up at the community center.
    Shelby didn’t pester her about the overly long lunch but Eden’s relief was short-lived. She’d nearly ducked into the safety of her office when a soft voice startled her.
    “Aha! I knew I’d catch you goofing off someday.”
    Eden faced her friend, Tate LeBeau. “As you can see, I’m back at the grindstone.”
    Tate’s blue eyes turned shrewd. “What’s up with those rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes?” Her gaze traveled up Eden’s exposed shins and narrowed on a spot below her ear.
    Dammit. Had Billy given her a hickey? Ten years ago he’d delighted in marking her his, everywhere, but he’d outgrown that impulse, hadn’t he? Eden resisted the urge to rub her neck.
    Unfortunately, Billy chose that moment to saunter around the corner. His contented smirk disappeared and he stopped dead in his tracks. Eden suspected their