"Ready?" Eden asked, a broad smile curving her pretty features.

"Yep. No workout today, huh?"

She grimaced. "I try to do it every other day. I probably should do a daily regimen, and for a while I did when David and Micah took over my workouts. We worked out, ran and worked on self-defense. But after I got into better shape and more toned and lean, we cut back to three days a week. Sometimes more if I just need to work out my frustrations, but who wants to put themselves through that kind of torture every day?"

Swanny laughed. "Hate to say this, honey, but you're talking to a man who has a very strict training and workout schedule. When I'm not on a mission, that is."

"Of course," Eden grumbled. "People just aren't naturally blessed with the kind of body you have."

G.o.d, but he loved the way she didn't even seem to notice the extreme scarring and seemed to really like his body. The entire package. No one had ever made him feel this comfortable. Even with the Kellys and their family he was still reserved, and most of the time he averted the scarred side of his face even though he knew his scars didn't matter to them.

"I could say the same for you, the world's most beautiful woman," he said dryly. "And you're all natural. No enhancements. Your kind of beauty just doesn't happen to most women."

"No, I don't have enhancements, though I've had a few complaints that my b.r.e.a.s.t.s are too big," she said in a shy voice.

"What the f.u.c.k?"

Swanny stared at her in utter bewilderment. Too big? They were f.u.c.king perfect. Plump, perfectly rounded with nipples that were a delectable shade of pink. And they filled the palms of his hands perfectly, as if she were made especially for him.

She flushed again. "Most top models are tall, very slender with not much cleavage. I have the tall and slender part down, but it's not like I could do a lot about my breast size and I refused to have a reduction."

Swanny looked at her in horror. "Breast reduction?" he croaked. "Who the h.e.l.l suggested that to you? That's the dumbest-a.s.s thing I've ever heard of. You're f.u.c.king perfect just the way you are."

Her eyes glowed in response to his heartfelt explosion. "Most of my gigs are cool with it. Occasionally when I'm doing a runway show they've sized a dress to fit the 'average' model and so they b.i.t.c.h about having to alter all the clothing I'm modeling. One guy was a raging a.s.shole and told me that not only were my b.r.e.a.s.t.s obscenely large but my a.s.s was also too big."

"Jesus," Swanny bit out. "I'd love five minutes with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You can be d.a.m.n sure if I did, he'd never make the mistake of criticizing you again. I'd ask him how he felt about a d.i.c.k reduction."

Eden burst into laughter, and she impulsively hugged Swanny to her. "I'm so happy around you. You just make me happy. I feel like I can be myself with you and not hide behind a facade or some fake pose for one of my photo sessions. I can't tell you how freeing that is. Till now, I've only been able to say that about my father and brothers. They certainly keep me grounded, and if I ever did get too big for my britches they wouldn't hesitate to have a come-to-Jesus session with me."

"You make me happy too, Eden," he said in a serious tone. "I know I sound like a broken record, but I have no idea why you chose me but I'm d.a.m.n sure glad you did. What we had was not s.e.x. We made love and until last night I really didn't know the difference between the two."

With anyone else he wouldn't feel comfortable baring his soul. He was the quiet, reserved one on his team. Edge was too, but perhaps not to the degree Swanny was. Except for now. When it came to Eden. He wasn't afraid to speak up and be vocal about how things needed to be. His teammates were probably thinking he'd gone off the deep end and, well, they wouldn't really be wrong.

But with Eden, he felt completely at ease with sharing his thoughts, his emotions, and he was not abashed to put it out there how he felt about her. He wanted her to know that last night was every bit as special to him as it had been for her. He'd never imagined making love could be so all-consuming. A melding of souls, hearts and minds.

He felt as though he were as much a newbie at the act of making love as Eden had been herself. Two people finding each other together. Figuring out what pleased the other. He found it immensely satisfying that though Eden had been a virgin, she hadn't shown any inhibitions, even before they'd consummated their relationship.

She'd been up front and honest with him from the start. She'd left no question as to what she wanted and that he was who she wanted. It was like Christmas, Valentine's Day and his birthday all wrapped up together. h.e.l.l, he felt like a kid at Christmas, full of wonder and excitement over something fresh and new and so intimate.

He knew he needed to be as blunt and as straightforward as she'd been with him, and he also realized that he needed to ask her some very direct questions about what was between them and what she saw in the future and if he was going to play any part of that future.

But now wasn't the time. He wanted no distractions for her shoot today, and he didn't want her pondering his questions when she needed absolute focus for the day ahead.

Tonight. Tonight when they went to bed, he'd lay it out to her, provided he didn't chicken out between now and then. But as he'd already reminded himself, she'd been nothing but straightforward with him and he owed her the same.

So when they were alone again, he would tell her what was on his mind and in his heart and just hope and pray that she was on the same wavelength.

CHAPTER 21.

THE shoot was a lot more relaxed this morning. Either the director had taken his meds or perhaps he'd gotten laid the night before, but at any rate he wasn't the barking a.s.shole he'd been the day before. He was even complimentary to Eden, praising her poses, the sultry looks she turned on like a switch being flipped, but as time wore on Swanny realized that she was focusing on him.

That he was the recipient of those s.e.xy, seductive looks, and the director was eating them up with a spoon.

"Loving it, Eden!" the director called. "And Aria is going to love it too. You're the perfect face for their new product. They're going to make millions."

"She'll make millions as well," her agent muttered. "A model at Eden's level can afford to pick and choose her a.s.signments. She's in such demand that her schedule is insane. I keep telling her she needs to slow down, but she's determined to work as long as her stock is on the rise and in a way she's right. Strike while the iron is hot. There's always new compet.i.tion coming up the ranks, so it's smart of her to bank what she's making now so when she does retire she won't have to worry about money the rest of her life."

"You think she's too old to be modeling?" Swanny asked in bewilderment. In his opinion she was the most f.u.c.king beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on, and she didn't look a day older than a woman in her younger twenties. And that was considered old?

Her agent shrugged. "Models have short career spans. Not all, but most do. Some of the more popular supermodels continue to be famous and in demand well into their late twenties and even early thirties, but for the most part it's a younger woman's field, and Eden's b.r.e.a.s.t.s are larger than most, which is a strike against her. They like tall and lean. And, well, a year ago she gained a few pounds, so it became necessary for her to hire personal trainers to keep her fit. In her career, even one pound can make the difference in landing a contract or not."

Swanny growled low in his throat and her agent took a hasty step backward.

"There is not a f.u.c.king thing wrong with any part of her," he snapped. "She was forced to hire personal trainers because G.o.d forbid she gained a few pounds? And her b.r.e.a.s.t.s are definitely not too big, and I can't believe some jerk once told her she should consider a reduction. If I'd been there I'd have ripped his G.o.dd.a.m.n nuts off and shoved them down his throat."

"She told you about that?" her agent asked in surprise.

It didn't take much perception on Swanny's part to realize that Eden was apparently a very private person, especially given the fact that she was rarely in the news, so he'd likely just given away his relationship with Eden.

"Yeah, she did. I haven't gotten over that one yet, and then you hit me with forcing her into an exhausting workout regimen on top of an already grueling modeling schedule. Are you people even human? Because you sure as h.e.l.l don't treat her like a human. More like some trained animal forced to obey your every whim. I've sure as h.e.l.l been around her enough to know she's not some spoiled diva and doesn't expect everyone to obey her every desire. What gives you the right to do that to her? Do you forget that she's the boss and you work for her? That she signs your paycheck?"

Skylar, who'd walked to Swanny's side the moment it became obvious heated words were being exchanged, frowned, her lips tightening as her eyes narrowed. Then she scowled openly at Nigel.

"Seems to me that Eden does a h.e.l.l of a lot of the work without reaping many of the benefits. She's directly and indirectly the source of income for a h.e.l.l of a lot of people. You said yourself that she's your most important client. And if this Aria deal is so f.u.c.king important and they want Eden, then one would think they would have their noses up her a.s.s on a regular basis. Not allow her to be treated like some f.u.c.king lapdog to be patted on the head, say 'good girl' and then toss a treat her way."

"I hardly think millions of dollars would be considered a mere dog treat," Nigel snapped.

"You're her agent," Swanny said in a p.i.s.sed-off tone. "Isn't it your G.o.dd.a.m.n job to protect her from the kind of s.h.i.t that went down yesterday?"

"I protect her best interests," Nigel said icily. "And this shoot definitely qualifies as being in her best interests even if it means dealing with a moody, temperamental director, who if you notice is a completely different person today."

"And they accuse women of having PMS. Let me tell you what PMS really stands for," she said with heavy sarcasm. "Putting up with Men's s.h.i.t. That's what PMS means. And while we women are afflicted once a month, guys have their own brand of PMS every f.u.c.king day. They're moody and difficult and act as though they're bipolar. One minute they're all smiles and the world is good. The next moment? They're p.i.s.sed at the world and start snapping at everyone around them."

Swanny had to choke back his laughter, while Nigel didn't look at all pleased with Skylar's a.s.sessment. But he couldn't really argue with Skylar. He was honest enough and didn't have a big enough ego not to recognize the truth in her statement.

"I'd love to give him a permanent att.i.tude adjustment," Skylar muttered.

"Who you threatening, Sky?" Edge rumbled out as he walked up to where Swanny and Skylar stood next to Nigel. Joe and Nathan were just behind him, bored expressions on their faces.

"Him," Skylar said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the director.

Edge shrugged. "Maybe he's back on his meds today."

The rest of the team chuckled, and Nigel, either disgusted or scared s.h.i.tless by being surrounded by the entirety of Eden's security team, hurried away, quickly finding something to do that made him "look" busy. He pulled his phone to his ear, but Swanny could swear there was no active call taking place.

"This is boring," Joe mumbled. "I never thought I'd say that about my job, but right now I feel like a glorified babysitting service."

Skylar nudged Joe's ribs hard with her elbow, but Swanny caught her swift effort to make Joe shut it down. Swanny glared at Joe in clear reprimand.

"I don't consider the safety of a woman completely vulnerable to some a.s.shole seeking revenge to be something as minor as a babysitting job," he said in an icy tone.

"I don't believe I said it wasn't important," Joe said mildly. "Just that it's definitely a change of pace and well, boring. I'm more used to being able to blow up s.h.i.t."

Nathan chuckled.

Edge shrugged. "I've never been to Paris. Pretty cool to get to see the city, even as little as what we are seeing."

"Isn't Paris supposed to be the city of loooove?" Nathan asked innocently. "Because it appears to me that the bug has definitely bit one of us, and it ain't me."

Swanny shot Nathan a withering look.

"I think it would be amazing to fall in love in Paris," Skylar said wistfully. "So romantic. Think of the stories you could tell your children and grandchildren about how you met."

"Can someone explain to me why the f.u.c.k we're talking about falling in love when we're supposed to be focusing on a job here?" Swanny snapped.

"Chill man," Nathan said. "It's obvious there's some serious chemistry between you and Eden. I'm happy for you. We're just giving you s.h.i.t. She's a beautiful woman, not to mention being genuinely nice and not fake in the least."

Swanny scowled. He didn't want his relationship bandied in conversation with his teammates, especially when he himself hadn't gotten to the heart of the matter with Eden. For all he knew there was nothing to talk about. They'd had s.e.x. He was her first. Maybe that was all she wanted. His pessimism when it came to women reared its ugly head, and the insecurity that he loathed crowded into his chest.

"Okay, that's a wrap!" the director called. "I'm granting a two-hour lunch break since we got so much done this morning. Well done, everyone. I'll see you back here in two hours. Don't be late."

"That's our cue," Joe said. "Time to go shopping."

The others snickered, and even Swanny couldn't call back his groan. This was so not on his list of favorite things. But it got him two hours to spend with Eden, so he couldn't complain.

Eden hurried over, her face alight with happiness directed at Swanny. His stomach did a quirky flip-flop number, because how could he not react to the warmth she spread no matter where she went?

"Ready to hit the stores with me?" she asked with a grin.

"Yep," Skylar said with actual enthusiasm. "You know where we're going?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. It's not a long walk, but I don't know how you all will feel about that. It might be rather conspicuous for us to take armored vehicles and try to find street parking outside the boutique," Eden said with a chuckle.

The guys exchanged looks, questions in each of their eyes.

"I think as long as we flank Eden and make sure she's covered and we have a very tight perimeter around her, walking would be okay," Swanny said. "Just how far is this, Eden?"

"Three blocks," she said cheerfully. "Not bad at all. And it's such a lovely day. It would be great to get a breath of fresh air after being trapped in the studio and hotel for two days."

Swanny lifted an eyebrow in Nathan's and Joe's direction. Joe just shook his head. "I don't know why you're looking to me now. It's not like you've listened to a d.a.m.n word from me on this job anyway. You clearly took the lead on this, so you make the decision and we'll make sure she's covered on all angles."

Joe didn't sound p.i.s.sy that his authority had basically been subverted, and for that Swanny was grateful because he knew he wouldn't back off even if he and Joe did get into a p.i.s.sing match.

Swanny turned to Edge. "I think you and I should flank Eden. Since she's tall she needs someone taller than her on either side. A sniper isn't out of the question after what happened before. Nathan and Joe can position themselves in front of and behind Eden and Sky can place herself between Eden and whoever takes lead. That's a lot of people to go through to get to her."

Eden stood gawking at his team, her eyes wide as she took in everything they said. Maybe she wasn't taking this seriously since in her mind the first incident had been random. He'd have a talk with her later about taking her safety very seriously, right before he delved into the discussion about their relationship or if they even had one.

"You ready, then?" Swanny asked Eden. "You'll have to lead the way figuratively since Joe will be taking the lead, but you'll have to direct us to where we're going."

Eden hoisted her designer purse over her shoulder and said, "When we leave the building, take a right. Go three blocks and it's on the same side of the street as we're currently on. I'll tell you when we get there."

"All right then, let's saddle up and get the h.e.l.l out of Dodge," Nathan quipped.

CHAPTER 22.

EDEN grinned as she sat on a sumptuous couch just inside the section where the dressing rooms were and watched the men grumble and tug at their necklines as they walked out to let her view them in their posh evening wear.

Skylar seemed to be enjoying herself every bit as much. She smirked over the men's expressions, their groans when Eden would frown and shake her head and say, "No, not quite right."

So, she was having a bit of fun at their expense. Eden herself rarely went shopping for dresses for important events because there was no shortage of designers literally begging her to wear their apparel, and three gowns had already been delivered to her hotel for her to choose from for the soiree. Although the party would be mostly the Aria staff, production team, directors and staff, there would still be key important people and plenty of paparazzi to photograph their arrival, which was what the designers counted on.

And for the launch, Aria had already chosen the gown they wanted her to wear: the flashy red dress with the long slit up one side of her leg that she'd worn in the commercials. This was their launch for their new ad campaign, so they wanted the woman from the television to come alive. She'd be playing the role of that woman the entire evening. Flirtatious. Sultry. Mysterious. She wanted to roll her eyes at some of the things her job required, but overall it was a job she loved.

She loved traveling and meeting new people even though at heart she was a homebody, much more comfortable as the real Eden she could be when she was with her family. But her job gave her the best of both worlds. An opportunity to see the world and yet still be able to come home to her father and brothers. It was a career she wouldn't change a single thing about.

And, well, she knew realistically she likely had only a few more years, so there was still plenty of time for her to turn her thoughts to stuff like marriage and children.

"Eden?"

Guiltily, she swung her head up to see Swanny standing in the doorway of the dressing room. She hoped that her face hadn't given her away because he'd been very much on the fringes of her mind when she'd begun to think about the possibility of marriage and children. Which was pretty stupid considering they were still very much feeling their way around each other. But she'd always been impulsive and one to put the cart before the horse, so to speak.

She drank in the sight of him. He looked so d.a.m.n delicious that she wanted to shove him back into the dressing room and have him against the wall while she devoured his mouth and a whole lot more.

He was dressed in a white silk dress shirt with a black coat and slacks. Usually a tie should accompany such an outfit, but there was something decidedly s.e.xy about that top b.u.t.ton being undone and getting a glimpse of that hard chest.

It was simple yet elegant and it made this beautiful man look even more powerful and dangerous than she already knew him to be.

"It's perfect," she finally announced.

"Thank f.u.c.k," Swanny grumbled. "We've already wasted thirty minutes of your lunch break and we haven't even started shopping for you and Sky."

"Oh, I'm already taken care of," Eden said blithely. "And getting something for Skylar will be a snap. Her coloring is beautiful and with all that gorgeous blond hair, I already have a very good idea of what will look great on her."