Page 97 of Barron's Second Chance
"You packed light considering how long you were here for."
Eden gave a muted smile as she fingered the handle of her suitcase. "I'm a seasoned traveler," she softly explained. "If there's one thing I know how to do, it's pack light.
"Right." Her words made him remember that after New York Fashion Week, she was headed straight to Milan.
He watched as Eden crossed to their couch to sit, patting the seat beside her. "Come sit for a moment?"
"Of course," he eagerly joined her, turning his body and stretching his arm along the headrest behind her. His hand was close to a few strands of hair, and Barron itched to tangle his fingers in them.
Eden glanced shyly at him as she pushed her hair behind one ear. "So, I just wanted to let you know about the next few weeks. Fashion Week is crazy. I don't have a schedule as such; I won't have one til pretty much the day of."
Barron nodded slowly. "I understand, E. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. You message me whenever you have a free moment."
She looked relieved. As if she expected him to be annoyed at her hectic schedule.
"I hope you didn't feel any pressure from my Mom last night. I don't think she's quite grasped the concept of our situation."
Eden gave a soft laugh. "No, she was fine. I just didn't want her thinking that we weren't -" she paused, moving her head slightly from side to side as she grappled with the right words. "- seriously dating," she finished.
His heart leaped at her use of the word'serious.'
"And are we? Serious?" He swallowed the lump in his throat as he waited for her response.
A light pink stained her cheeks as she flicked her gaze down to examine her fingernails. "Well, I'm serious about trying with you," she told him softly, causing his heart to deflate a little.
"That's why I wanted to let you know that although my days will be long and busy if you don't hear from me, it's not because I'm not interested." She glanced up at him; her blue eyes were sincere. "Your Mom actually got me thinking when we told her we were playing it by ear. I'm not having fun with you for the hell of it. I genuinely want to try again, to see if our feelings are real and if we can go the distance this time."
"Baby," he grasped her warm hands in his. "My feelings are one hundred percent real. I don't need to date you to know that. But I understand that you need time. Fuck what anyone else has to say about it." He squeezed her hand in earnest. "It's just you and me, sweetheart. Okay?"
Eden returned his squeeze. "Okay," she murmured.
Appeased, he nodded. "Good."
He went to pull his hand back, but her grip tightened, stopping him. He looked at her questionably as she stared down at her hand in his. A hum sounded from her as she lazily rubbed her fingers against the back of his hand. A shiver of excited tingles trickled down his neck. Even though it was a simple touch, his cock began to swell behind his briefs, and his breathing grew slightly shallow.
"You know what I always wondered?" She slowly asked as she continued tracing the back of his hand with her thumb.
Barron swallowed back the saliva that had pooled in his mouth as his heartbeat quickened at her soft touch. How could just a simple caress cause such a visceral response from him?
"What's that?" He sounded strangled.
"How you work in an office most days, yet you have these," she flipped his hand over, palm side up. With her forefinger, she traced the raised grooves slightly lighter than his palm color.
"Uhhh..."What was happening?He hoped like hell that this was going where he thought it was. His cock was already way ahead of him.
She ran her thumb slowly up and down the ball of his palm, pausing to circle each grove.
Licking his dry lips, he finally found his voice. "To save money, Dad and I did some of the construction on The Homestead. I... uh... I-"
He lost his train of thought as Eden started to trace circles around the center of his palm, trailing up his inner wrist towards the crease of his inner elbow before smoothing back down to stroke at his calloused palms again.
Goosebumps prickled along his arms, hairs stood on end, and the back of his neck tingled with each stroke of her delicate fingers.
His mouth had dried out, and he was pretty sure he looked like a dying fish with his mouth gaping open. And as for his cock - shit, he felt like it could punch through his shorts with how hard it was.
"Uhhh..." Shit, what was he trying to say before?
"Barron?" Eden's voice was silky smooth and coy. She continued to trace the lines and groves on his palm, up and down, around and around. Her gaze was concentrated on her task.
