Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

***THEO***

T heo climbed the ladder up to the porch of the cabin, but instead of going inside, he walked around to the other side and sank down into the rocking chair. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sounds in the forest around him, glad that he'd taken Max up on his invitation. Nothing was any clearer than it had been earlier that day, but Max had been willing to listen to him, had even understood what he was feeling, something he'd need more than a solution.

Now, his stomach was full, his conscience was a bit clearer, and he was ready for a good night's sleep, something that had been missing from his life for weeks. Getting to his feet, he slipped into the cabin through the back door, stripped off his clothes, and climbed into bed without even turning on the light. He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees around the cabin, and drifted off into a deep sleep only minutes later.

He was in the middle of a dream about Eden when a scream of terror split the silence of the night. It was quickly followed by a second and then a third. Jumping out of bed, he ran for the door, slid down the ladder, and raced in the direction of the screams, wondering if the return of silence was a good sign or a bad one. But then another scream, this time much closer, rang out through the trees and awoke his protective instincts, making him run faster, his mind creating terrible images of what might be happening.

Just as a cabin came into view, a woman came streaking out of the door wearing only a skimpy tee-shirt and a lacy pair of panties, her breath coming in huge gasps. She stopped at the top of the ladder, a look of panic on her face, then with one last look into the cabin, started down, almost losing her balance when one of her feet slipped. It took him a second in the darkness to realize that it was Eden, and he rushed over to her just as her feet hit the ground.

She turned and ran right into him, letting out another scream before she looked up at him. "Oh, God, you have to get it out," she cried, a huge shiver of revulsion making her body shake. "It's so gross, I can't sleep in there with that thing……"

"Okay, okay, try to calm down," he said, instinctively wrapping his arms around her, forgetting that all he had on was a pair of boxer shorts. "Now, tell me what's in your cabin."

Eden shivered again. "Some kind of huge monster, it must be three feet long," she said, burying her face in his chest. "It's in my bedroom; it hissed at me; I swear it did. I can't go back in there. I'd rather sleep out here."

"I don't think that will be necessary," he said. "I'll go in and check it out. I'm sure I can get rid of it. Where was it when you saw it last?"

"It was kinda stuck to the wall," Eden said, making a face. "Right by the light switch. I think I might have touched it. "

"Sweetheart, I think all you saw was a lizard," he said, looking down at her and trying not to laugh. "It was probably just a gecko. They're pretty common around here. It's considered good luck to have one in your house."

"But it was huge, and it looked at me……" her words trailed off. "Well, it might not have been that big……I still think it hissed at me."

"It was probably as scared as you were," he said, slowly becoming aware of their nearly naked bodies pressed together. "Come on, I'll go inside with you. We can check it out together; I promise it won't hurt you."

Eden studied him for a second, then let out a long sigh. "Only if you go first," she said, untangling herself from his arms.

He knew the moment she realized that he was standing there half naked, and she let out a little "Oh" before her face turned a bright shade of pink. When she looked down and saw the way she was dressed, the pink turned to red, and she tried to tug the tee-shirt down.

Desire raced through him and his body began to tingle and tighten. "I'll go first," he said, turning away before it became obvious what he was thinking. "Watch your step on the ladder."

Not daring to turn around, he waited for Eden at the top, then stepped through the door and walked back to the bedroom. "Here, you might want this," he said, plucking her robe off a chair. "Not that I minded the view."

He heard her gasp, then the sound of fabric rustling behind him. "Thank you," she said, her voice cracking. "I was getting into bed when I saw it."

"Lucky me," he said, brave enough now to look over at her, disappointed to see that the robe covered her from head to toe. "Now, where is this monster? "

"It was over by the light switch," Eden said, pointing across the room. "But it's not there now, I don't even want to think about where it is. I hope it didn't get in the bed."

He spotted the little creature up on the ceiling back in a corner a few seconds later. "I wouldn't worry about that," he said, pointing to the gecko. "It looks like your new friends just found a more secluded spot."

"That thing is not my friend," she said, shivering again. "Can't you get rid of it?"

"I could, but she would probably just come back," he said, walking a little closer. "She's picked this as her hunting ground. You might be stuck with her."

Eden stared at the gecko for a few seconds, then took a few steps closer. "How do you know that it's a she?" she asked. "Not that it makes any difference; it's still a reptile."

"A reptile that will keep your cabin bug-free if you let her," he said. "Come a little closer, I'll show you how I know that it's a female."

***Eden***

Eden was acutely aware that there was a half-naked man in her bedroom, a man who made her body do things it never had before, and she sensed that it might be a mistake to get any closer to him. But when he turned and held his hand out to her, she found herself reaching out and taking it, then let out a little gasp when her fingers began to tingle where they touched his.

"It's okay, she won't hurt you," Theo said, pulling her up next to him. "I know she looks a little scary, but she's really very docile, that is, unless you're an insect. Then look out, it's dinner time."

The tingle from his touch had begun to travel up her arm, but she didn't pull her hand free, couldn't bear the thought. "How can you tell that it's a female?" she asked, sliding a little closer to him. "Or were you just making that up so I wouldn't be scared of it?"

"See those markings on her back? Only females have them," he said. "And her tail is rounded. In the males it comes to a point."

"Okay, so it's a female," she said, no longer as upset by the gecko's presence in her bedroom. "But I still don't think I can live with it. What if it crawls on me in the night or something?"

Theo laughed, "She's not going to come near you, I promise," he said. "All she wants to do is catch her dinner and be left alone. If you don't bother her, she won't bother you. Remember, it's good luck to have one choose you, and who doesn't want a little good luck?"

She let out a long sigh. "I guess she can stay," she said. "But she'd better keep her distance, and the bed is off limits."

"I'll tell her," he said, grinning down at her. "But it does look big enough for two."

A flash of desire erupted inside her, making her insides tingle in a way they never had before. She gasped and looked away, suddenly off balance again. "Oh, ummm……I don't know," she stammered. "I'm here by myself."

"Well, that's certainly good news from where I'm standing," he said, then reached out and tipped her chin up. "I'm going to kiss you now, Eden, I hope you don't mind. I just can't help myself."

Before she could answer, he lowered his mouth and pressed his lips to hers in a feather-light kiss, then pulled back to look down at her. He studied her for a second, seemed to come to a decision, then lowered his mouth to hers again as his arms pulled her up against him. She wasn't sure how it happened, but her arms snaked up around his neck, and what had been a gentle kiss suddenly turned more passionate. When his tongue dipped into her mouth, sending waves of pleasure shooting through her, she moaned deep in her throat, unprepared for the rush of sensation.

Theo broke the kiss and looked down at her with a groan. "I shouldn't have done that," he said, gently pulling her arms away from his neck. "But I'd sure like to do it again and more, so I think I'd better tell you goodnight."

Too shocked both by his words and her body's response to them, she could only stand staring after him as he disappeared through her bedroom door. She heard the outside door open, then close, but still didn't move, wondering for a second if she'd dreamed the whole thing. Lifting her fingers to her lips which were still tingling from his kiss, she couldn't help but smile. It had been real, there had been a man in her bedroom. A very handsome man, a man who wanted to kiss her, a man who wanted to do things to her. Just the thought made her head spin.

Shrugging off the horrible robe, she crawled between the sheets, unable to hold back the smile on her face, feeling like a woman for the first time. Switching off the light, she snuggled down into the pillows, then grabbed one and hugged it to her, letting herself imagine what might have happened if Theo had stayed, until she fell into a deep sleep filled with dreams of him.

The next morning, still floating from her encounter with Theo, she found Barbie having breakfast and sat down at the table with her, unable to keep the big grin off her face. "You look like the cat that caught the canary," Barbie said. "What happened last night?"

"I've been dying to tell someone," she said. "There was a gecko in my bedroom last night. It scared me so bad I started screaming, and Theo came to my rescue."

"Oh, my God, what happened?" Barbie asked. "You don't have that smile on your face because he chased off a lizard."

"He kissed me," she said, unable to suppress the giggle that bubbled out of her chest. "And he said he wanted to do more than that."

"Well, what do you know about that," Barbie said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "What was it like? He's a gorgeous hunk of man, but can he kiss?"

She hesitated for a second. "I don't really have anything to compare it to," she admitted. "That was my first kiss."

"What?" Barbie asked, her face full of shock. "You've never been kissed before?"

"I never wanted anyone to kiss me," she said. "Not like I want Theo to."

Barbie studied her for a second. "Eden, I don't want to bring you down, but you need to be careful," she finally said. "I'm not sure that Theo is the kind of guy who plays for keeps, if you know what I mean. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm not stupid, I know that," she said. "I don't care, I have a chance to experience something I'll never get to again. I'm not going to pass it up. I know it won't be forever, but I'll take what I can get, I'll be careful, I won't get hurt."

"I'm not about to stop you," Barbie said, shaking her head. "Just promise me that you'll be careful. Theo is a player, Eden, all you have to do is look at him to see it."

"Maybe that's just what I need right now," she said, ignoring the blush that crept up her cheeks. "I want to live for a change, Barbie, I want to feel things, experience things, and if in the end there's a little pain, I want that too."