Begin Again novel Chapter 88

But the next time Eden opened her eyes again, the sun was setting on the horizon, painting the sky various shades of pink and red.

She sighed dreamily as she lay there, watching the picturesque view, silently wondering how closing her eyes for a second had turned into a centuries-long nap.

Eden reached for her glasses on the coffee table and put them on. She didn't remember taking them off. She figured Liam must have—along with her shoes—when he covered her with the light throw blanket to make her comfortable.

"You're awake," Liam murmured, his hair and the rest of his very toned body damp, as he strolled in from the patio, a white towel hanging loosely around his neck.

Eden could only stare at him, her gaze travelling down his muscular chest, pausing on his rock hard abs, and then lower, tracing the V-lines disappearing into his wet swim trunks.

She gulped, her cheeks heating up when her gaze lingered a little too long on the outline of his crotch.

"My eyes are up here," He smirked, pointing at his face.

"I wasn't looking!" Eden lied, shaking her head quickly as she sat up, banishing her thirsty thoughts. "You need to get dressed."

"Or not!" Liam shrugged. "I'm happy to satisfy all your fantasies, Princess."

"Clothes are a must, Mr Anderson," she insisted. "This is highly inappropriate."

Before she knew what hit her, Liam was leaning over her and kissing her thoroughly.

"I told you, every time you call me 'Mr Anderson', I'll have to kiss you," he reminded her when they pulled apart at last.

Without giving her a chance to argue, not that she could after being kissed like that, he turned to the glass spiral staircase, throwing a cheeky smile over his shoulder, leaving her breathless and her world a little off-kilter.

"Lordy Lord!" Eden collapsed back on the couch, fanning her face.

Liam, now dressed in grey joggers, a black t-shirt, and a pair of white sneakers on his feet, was back moments later.

"The lunch that you slept right through has now been moved to a dinner," he announced as he held out his hand.

She refused to take it but followed him to the patio, where a table for two was set near the sparkling lap pool. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

He held out the chair for her and draped a white napkin on her lap. "Because you were tired. You needed the rest."

"Thanks," she murmured, touched by the concern in his eyes.

"Can I interest you in a glass?" He asked, reaching for the chilled bottle of bubbly inside the stainless steel bucket.

"I told you last night, I don't drink," Eden shook her head. "Sparkling water for me, please."

He poured himself a glass, all the while looking at her, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "So you were serious?"

"Why would I joke about that?"

"When's the last time you drank?" Liam sipped his champagne and set the glass down before he turned to the sliding doors.

Eden blurted out. "Two years ago at Crush."

Eden trembled at the feel of his lips on her bare skin; she closed her eyes, taking several shaky breaths in a futile attempt to still her racing heart.

How was it that she's so aware of him, and her whole body came alive at the briefest of his touches and the most fleeting of looks from him?

"Eden?" He prodded, lacing their fingers together, his voice low and seductive.

He really had to stop with the voice thing, Eden thought as she pulled her hand away, annoyed with herself for not playing it cool.

"Why am I here? And what is this place?" She asked for the lack of something witty to say.

"Our new home," he announced.

Convinced her ears were deceiving her, Eden could only gawk at him, her mouth agape. "I'm sorry, what?"

"When you decide you're ready to be pleased, this will be our new home." He said. "I wanted you to see it so you can start thinking about our life together."

"I don't want to be pleased, Mr Anderson!"

"Not yet. Because you're still angry with me for all the shit, I put you through over the past few weeks. And I'm well aware there's a lot we need to work through. I get that. But Eden, I told you, last night was the start of our new beginning. And once I set my sights on something, I won't rest till I get it."

Eden gulped and licked her suddenly parched lips, at a loss for words.

He raised his glass at her, his eyes dark and intense as he nodded slowly. "And I've set my sights on you."