The devil twin

Back on Earth, almost

*Jay*

Eden asked me not to dwell on the past, but to simply concentrate on the present for a few hours. I take her request to heart. I forget that I am the son of a convicted thief, an orphan raised by a master thief. I forget that I’ve spent my youth arranging swindles designed to line Feagan’s pockets with riches. I forget that she is my mark, my duty. I think only about the she-wolf who strolls along beside me, taking such delight in the smallest pleasures offered by the gardens. She is as entertained by the acrobats as she is by the puppets. Her smile seldom abandons her face and her eyes glitter more brightly than the gaslights that are being lit as darkness blankets the gardens.

An orchestra plays lively music. From time to time, as Eden and I stroll along, she sways slightly as though caught up in the rhythm of sound that floats through the gardens. I consider escorting her to the dance platform, but taking her in my arms and gliding her over the wooden flooring is likely to lead to disaster, because I am having a devil of a time keeping my hands from wandering over her now.

The balloon ascent is pure torture with her nestled against me. I feel the small tremors cascading through her. If I thought I could successfully carry her down one of the ropes that keep the balloon tethered, I would swing her over my shoulder and deliver her safely to the ground. However, all I can do is offer distractions. While they work for her, they fail miserably for me. I gaze into her blue eyes and all I want is to have a private moment with her. No, not a private moment… but a thousand of them. The two of us alone where intimacy can flourish, where I can truly forget the past and not consider the future. Where the present can tick along, holding all responsibilities at bay.

Eden distracts me from my purpose. I brought her back to the scene of our first meeting because I planned to gently lead her into revealing why she was truly in the gardens that night. I need her to trust me enough to confide in me so I can get to the bottom of this matter. The policeman inside me knows that.

But the man inside me has other ideas. I embrace her notion of enjoying the present, and that means ensuring that she enjoys it, that there be no subtle interrogation, no prying. A boom sounds as the first burst of fireworks fills the sky. With her arm intertwined with mine, she uses her free hand to squeeze my arm as she exclaims, “Oh my word.”

The fireworks can be seen for miles, and many a night while walking through the city I’ve spied them, until I have become impervious to their magnificence. But watching Eden, I remember the first time I saw them scattered across the velvet blackness and how they took my breath away. I feel then the way I feel watching her… as though nothing will ever compare.

Her head is tilted back slightly, her eyes wide, her lips parted in wonder. Her hair isn’t nearly as tidy as it was when we began our afternoon outing only a few short hours ago. Wisps have worked their way free of the pins and now frame her face. Even as I want to touch them, to tuck them into place, I yearn to remove her hat, release all the pins, and watch her hair tumble down her back. I want to pull her farther back into the shadows. I want to live up to my reputation as a scoundrel. I want to seduce her into revealing her secrets, I want to seduce her into revealing her body.

The sky is lit again with a flash of white stars shooting in all directions before fading into the night. Eventually, she will fade away from my life as well. But at this particular moment, she is still in it, vibrant and lovely, a touch of innocence, a touch of daring.

“My the Goddess, but they’re so beautiful,” she whispers reverently.

“Not nearly as beautiful as you.” I mumble.

Her attention turns from the sky to me. I’ve promised her we won’t leave until after the fireworks, but I am of a mind to create my own sparks. There are shadows aplenty, and as the next boom sounds, I snake my arm around her waist and urge her away from the gathered crowd and the gaslights. She offers up only token resistance, no doubt initially forgetting that we aren’t supposed to be influenced by the past this evening. Impatience has me lifting her the last few steps, and then I am ensconced in heaven: her rose scent filling my nostrils, her taste tempting me to seek more as her mouth reshapes itself to fit seamlessly against mine. Like some sort of clinging vine, her arms wind around my neck, her fingers scraping up my scalp, becoming entangled in my hair. I am taken off guard by how desperately I want her.

Nearly a week has passed since I first became aware of her existence, and yet I feel as though I’ve known her a lifetime. It is inconceivable that I could harbor such strong feelings for a she-wolf about whom I know so little.

With a hushed moan, she presses her body nearer to mine, her breasts flattening against my chest. Of their own accord, my hands slide down her sides to her hips, pushing her against my hard, tortuous arousal. I am acutely aware of her slight stiffening, as though taken aback by what I have no ability to hide from her. Of course, she’d be disarmed by it. She is a lady in the truest sense of the word.

With a crude curse to emphasize the differences in our stations, I tear my mouth from hers and back even farther into the shadows.

“Mr. Swind…”

“Dear Goddess, Eden, I would think after that blistering kiss we could dispense with formalities.”

“You’re angry.” She says.

“Not with you. Finish watching the fireworks. I’ll join you momentarily.” Once this horrendous ache leaves me in peace.

She shakes her head lightly, “I can see them from here.”

“Eden,” I grind out, hoping the impatience in my voice will be enough to drive her away.

“Jamie.”

My name whispered so sensuously and with such longing is nearly my undoing. She is too innocent to understand the torment she can so effortlessly inflict on me. What in the Goddess’s name am I doing with her?

I feel her tentative touch on my cheek, aware of the slight trembling in her fingers. Covering her hand with mine, I turn my face into her palm and press a kiss to its heart. Regret floods me. Regret over my past. Regret over my true reason for being with her. Regret that I could so easily set my orders aside and seduce her nearer with no thought to how she’d feel afterward when she realizes I am there because of duty. Dear Goddess! I am no better than Rockberry.

I have no doubt that Rockberry used her sister to his own ends. I am guilty of the same. Even as I have the thought, I pray some noble cause guides me. Prevention, protection. I’ve gone to work for the Alpha Agency because I want to save people as I’ve never been able to save my father.

The tension leaves my body, the ache dissipates. I draw her into the circle of my arms, guiding her so she faces away from me. Where moments ago I longed to see her hair released from its confines, now I welcome her bared nape by pressing a light kiss there before whispering near her ear, “You do tempt me, Eden.”

“I thought you were a scoundrel.”

“One with a conscience it seems.”

“And if I don’t want you to have a conscience?”

“Then we are either headed toward heaven or doomed to hell.”