Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

***THEO***

T heo wasn't sure if he was angry or jealous as he watched Eden walk away. Things had taken a turn he hadn't expected, and he had no idea what he was going to do about it. He didn't like being pushed, or blackmailed, or whatever it was that Eden had just done to him, and he was tempted to see if she'd follow through. The only problem was the rush of jealousy that filled him when he thought about her with another man, and he knew that he was stuck in a position he'd rather not be in.

Frustrated that no matter what he did, it wasn't going to be the right choice, he grabbed his bucket and stomped back down the beach, cursing under his breath, not sure how he'd gotten himself tangled up in this mess. When he plunked his bucket down with the rest, Max took one look at him, shook his head, then pulled him away from the crowd.

"What's wrong this time?" Max asked. "This was supposed to be fun."

"It was until Eden told me that if I didn't teach her about sex, she'd find someone who would," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "How the hell am I supposed to handle that?"

Max started laughing and didn't stop for a long time. "Looks like the little vixen picked up more than just some new clothes over on the big island," he finally said, wiping his eyes. "Maybe she's not as innocent as you thought."

"Oh, she's innocent," he said, shaking his head. "But she's also very smart. She figured out exactly how to get to me and used it to her advantage."

"It was a smart move, I'll give her that," Max said. "It was also a huge gamble. She can't be that sure of herself."

He was silent for a second, then let out a long sigh. "Well, there might have been a couple more kisses before we had that discussion," he admitted. "The first one wasn't my fault, she kissed me…but the second one…I was trying to prove to her that she couldn't handle me. I guess it kind of backfired."

"Kind of?" Max asked, then laughed. "This is even more fun than I thought it would be. So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm sure as hell not going to sleep with her," he said, then let out a groan. "But I can't stand by and let her do it with someone else."

"Honestly, I don't know why you're still fighting this," Max said, then held up his hand. "I know, you're trying to be noble and all that, but at some point, you're just being a stubborn fool. The woman wants you, Theo, and she is an adult, so why don't you just give her what she wants?"

He hesitated, asking himself the same thing, but couldn't come up with a good answer. "I don't know, it just seems too important," he finally said. "She's waited this long; shouldn't it mean more? I mean…oh, I don't know what I mean."

"Well, you're going to have to figure it out soon," Max said, looking back up the beach. "She's not going to wait around for you forever. "

He followed Max's gaze, his hands clenching at his sides when he saw Eden and Barbie laughing and flirting with a couple of other guests, and had to suppress a surge of jealousy. "I don't exactly know when I lost control of this situation," he said through clenched teeth. "But I think it's about time I figured out how to get it back, I'm not going to let her blackmail me into having sex with her. I know we'd both be sorry."

Max just shook his head. "All I can say is that I'm glad it's you and not me," he said. "Personally, I wouldn't fight it anymore. I'd give her what she wants, not because she's blackmailing you, but because you want her as much as she wants you."

Max turned and walked away, shaking his head, and he stood there, wondering if he was right. He could just give in, let Eden have what she wanted. Just the thought made his body begin to throb with anticipation. It also made him feel like a first-class jerk. He'd be taking advantage of Eden's innocence, taking something from her that she could never get back, and he didn't want to be that guy.

He wasn't sure why it had become so important to him, why he'd fixated on Eden's inexperience, and chose not to think about it too deeply. It shouldn't matter, he knew that, but it did, and he couldn't change the way he felt. Spotting her on the other side of the fire, her face animated as she talked, he wished he could get past the fact that she was young and innocent, wished that he was the old Theo who would have just seen it as another conquest.

Eden had challenged him in a way that no woman ever had before, and it was too bad that he couldn't see it through. He had a feeling she wouldn't disappoint him. With a big sigh, he shrugged off the thought, knowing it would only torture him. He put a smile on his face and decided to let Eden play her game. It would serve her right if she thought that he was calling her bluff, and he found a seat at the table between two couples, then sat back to watch the show.

Eden looked surprised when she saw where he was sitting, but quickly covered her disappointment. She smiled up at the man she was talking to and then let him lead her over to the table. But it was clear fairly quickly that Eden didn't have any interest in the man, and he felt a sense of satisfaction when he saw the unhappy look on her face, even as he was fighting the urge to rescue her. When the food was gone, Eden got to her feet, and headed for the village, Barbie at her side, but not looking very happy about it.

He felt a little guilty as he watched them walk away, but he couldn't let Eden get away with manipulating him, at least not completely. There was no way he was going to let another man put his hands on her, no matter what it took, which was another thing he was choosing not to think too deeply about. He'd do whatever it took to keep her from making a mistake with some jerk who wouldn't appreciate the gift that he'd been given.

***Eden***

Sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window woke Eden the next morning, and she groggily opened her eyes, then let out a groan. Pulling the pillow over her head, she closed her eyes again, wishing she could go back to sleep. After tossing and turning, feeling guilty and horrified at the same time, she'd finally fallen asleep just as the sun started to brighten the horizon. Even then she'd had disturbing dreams about Theo, the guilt spilling over into her unconscious mind, and she realized that she wouldn't be going back to sleep.

Letting out a long sigh, she kicked off the covers and got out of bed, knowing what she had to do. After a quick shower, she threw on a bathing suit and one of her new coverups, too preoccupied to think about how much skin was showing, threw her hair up into a ponytail. Stuffing a towel, a book, and a few snacks into her beach bag, she left the cabin, planning to humiliate herself once more, then retreat to a quiet spot on the beach to nurse her wounded pride.

The whole way to the village, she alternated between hoping that Theo would be there and wishing she never had to see him again, so the rush of emotion that flooded her when she saw him was no surprise. Taking a deep breath, she marched right up to the table where he was sitting with Max, knowing she'd chicken out if she didn't do it right then.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" she asked, feeling a blush rising on her cheeks. "Alone if that's okay."

Theo studied her for a second, then got to his feet. "My lady beckons," he said, but there was no humor in his voice, and she winced. "I don't dare refuse her request."

Knowing she deserved that and worse, she didn't defend herself. "It will just take a second," she said. "Then you can get back to your breakfast."

Theo led her over to the shade of a big tree, then crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you here to give me another ultimatum?" he asked. "I haven't fulfilled your last request yet. It's a bit soon for another one."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said, the butterflies in her stomach making it hard to breathe. "I owe you an apology, I shouldn't have said what I did. It wasn't fair to you, and it wasn't true. I'm sorry, Theo, I just……lost control, I guess. I didn't want to hear you telling me no, so I tried to manipulate you. It was a mistake, and I hope you can forgive me. "

"It was a dirty trick, Eden," he said. "And an empty threat, I guess."

She studied her sandals for a few seconds. "Yeah," she admitted. "I don't want just anyone, I want you, Theo, but not that way, not with all that ugliness. You said no. I have to respect that, even if I'm disappointed. Maybe we can just forget the whole thing happened and go our separate ways. I think I've embarrassed myself enough for one summer."

He was silent for so long that she finally looked up at him. "I don't know what else to say. I'm not very good at this stuff," she said. "I know I screwed up, Theo, but I really am sorry."

She started to walk away, but he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. "Damn it, Eden, did you have to apologize?" he asked, looking down at her. "It was much easier when I was mad at you. Now I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Maybe we could just pretend I never said that and go back to the part where you were kissing me," she said, finally looking up at him. "I like that part."

He groaned, "Woman, do you ever stop?" he asked. "You're going to be the death of me."

"I already made a fool of myself, I don't exactly have anything to lose," she said. "Besides, if you don't ask……"

Theo put his fingers over her lips, making them tingle. "No more talking about kissing. That's rule number one," he said. "As to the rest, that's off limits too, at least for now."

"You mean we might……" she said, feeling a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well, you know, I thought you didn't want……"

Theo's face filled with what looked like pain. "Oh, I want to, more than you can imagine," he said. "But we're not going to talk about that either. "

"Well, what can we talk about?" she demanded, getting frustrated.

"Anything else you want, your life, my life, how blue the ocean is," he said. "Just no more talk about sex, I can only take so much."

"Well, as long as I know that it's still a possibility," she said, running her hand up and down his chest. "I guess that's okay."

He grabbed her wrist. "I think we should go for a swim," he said. "I think we both need to cool down."

She grinned up at him. "I kind of like the heat," she said. "It feels good."

Theo groaned, then started for the beach. "For someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you're making it very hard to resist you," he said. "I can see a lot of cold showers in my future."

"Well, you know there is one way to fix that," she said, thoroughly enjoying herself and the power she had over him. "But I'm not allowed to talk about it."

He froze, then turned around to face her, and the next thing she knew, his arms were around her, and he was kissing her. When he finally let her go, she was forced to cling to him until her legs stopped shaking and she could catch her breath, but it was several more minutes before the throbbing deep inside her faded away.

"Will that shut you up for a while?" Theo asked, smiling down at her. "I hope so, because I'd really like that swim now."