Trusting Stone (29 page)

Eden tried to focus on the end goal—she had to get Joachim off her
somehow
.

“Okay, Joachim, okay.”

He stopped moving, lifting himself off her slowly to look at her. “Okay what?”

“I’ll be with you.” She took a deep breath,
keeping
his gaze. “In the way that we never were.”

He understood what she meant and the anger seemed to slowly dissipate from his eyes. “Really, Eden?”

“Yes, but you have to let me go to the bathroom and just get myself sorted out. I want us to do this right.”

Joachim was clearly weighing up whether she was telling the truth. She leaned forward now and pressed her lips against his, using all the courage she could find not to shudder. It seemed to work and she felt his hand loosen on her wrists.

“I just need to go to the bathroom and then I’ll be right back.” She motioned with her head to the en-suite bathroom that
led
off her bedroom. “I’ll be two minutes. I promise. I won’t even lock the door.”

Joachim lifted himself off her, holding out his hand to help her up. She smiled up at him, slowly standing and resisting the urge to pull her shirt down. Eden walked toward the bathroom and gently shut the door.

Once inside, she frantically started opening drawers, trying to not make any noise, thinking she was unbelievably lucky to have not packed the bathroom yet. There’d have to be something—a razor, hairspray, scissors.
Finally,
in the back of a drawer, her fingers wrapped around a pair of nail scissors, small but they would do the trick.

Eden couldn’t hear anything outside the door and she held her breath as she slowly walked back out. Joachim was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the bathroom. Eden glanced over and saw that he had shut the bedroom door. He’d probably locked it, too, she guessed. She didn’t have a plan besides getting through the bedroom door. She’d already tried outrunning him and that hadn’t worked. If she could just make it to the intercom, she would be able to call down to Rick. She could feel the scissors up the cuff of her sleeve as she slowly walked toward him. His eyes were glazed and his lids heavy and she knew he was still drunk. She needed to use that to her advantage.

Joachim reached out to her now, spreading his knees and pulling her in to stand between them. He rested his hands on her waist and Eden forced herself not to pull back.

“Eden, I’m so glad you want this too. I’m so glad you’ve come around, baby. It’s always been you.” He leaned his head against her chest and wrapped his arms further around her. She didn’t dare move her arms, but she knew he was waiting for her to make a move, to show him some sort of sign that she had meant what she’d said.

“You too, Joachim. It’s always been you. I just was scared to come back to you.”
Somehow,
she managed to keep her voice from shaking. This had to work. If it didn’t work, it was about to make everything much, much worse.

“What about Sebastian? You had his ring on your finger. I don’t know if I can forgive that, Eden.” His eyes were getting dark again and she tried to think of an explanation that might be plausible.

“It was the deal between our parents. I was angry that I had been kept in the dark. I just wanted to get back at everyone for lying. I never would have gone through with it, you know that. It was nothing more than a distraction. I want to be with you. Always you, Joachim. I was just being a silly girl.”

“You are a silly girl, Eden. But you’re my girl now.” She nodded in response. It’s what he needed to hear and he lowered his hands to the back of her skirt and slowly pulled down the zipper, letting the skirt drop to the floor. Joachim hissed through his teeth at the sight of her pink lace boy shorts.

He leaned his head down and slowly started kissing her bare waist, gently moving along until his tongue licked her navel. Eden bit her lip to stop from screaming. She had to keep calm to go through with this.

She ran her left hand through his hair, and for a moment, she was overwhelmed with sadness at what Joachim had become. Maybe he had always been like this and had simply hidden his true self from her. The anger and fear came rushing back as she felt his fingers hook into the waist of her panties, starting to pull them down. That was the trigger she needed—Eden slipped the scissors into her right hand, making sure she had a firm grasp before stabbing them as hard as she could into Joachim’s bicep. He roared and leapt up, releasing his hands from her hips.

Eden turned and ran to the door, quickly unlocking it and flinging it open. She was halfway there, she told herself. Just a few more feet and she could reach the intercom. She tried to block out the noise of him screaming for her and she was halfway across the living room before he had her pinned to the couch.

Flipping her onto her back, Joachim raged at her. “You fucking bitch. You stabbed me!”

“Get off me, Joachim. I hate you,” Eden screamed back at him, and tried to push him off. He was pinning her shoulders down, but she still had some mobility in her arms and she lunged at him as much as she could from her restricted position. She clawed at his face, desperate to get away from him. Eden felt her nails bite through the flesh of his cheek, but it simply spurred him on. Joachim reached up and hit her with the back of his hand, hard across her cheek. It stunned her and, for a moment, she lay still, trying to refocus her eyes.

“Stop fighting me, Eden, or I’ll hit you again.” He knew she was scared and he obviously didn’t care.

Eden took a deep breath, turning to face him. She was not going to stop fighting him, not while she still could move “Fuck you, Joachim. You’ll never have me without a fight because I’ll never want you.”

He raised his hand again and she closed her eyes as he hit her. This time, she couldn’t seem to refocus before he hit her again and again. She could hear him shouting and grabbing at her shirt, holding her neck tightly. She couldn’t move anymore and she felt a darkness slipping over her.

“Sebastian,” she murmured.

Eden sensed a commotion behind her and
suddenly,
Joachim was gone. His roaming hands were off her and she was free.

It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing. Sebastian was on top of Joachim on the floor, straddling him, and was punching him repeatedly in the face. Joachim was trying to fight back, but drunk and taken by surprise, he had little chance against Sebastian’s anger.

“She’s mine. I’ll kill you,” he growled down at him.

“Stop, Sebastian!” she managed to get out. “Sebastian!” She could barely move. Something was wrong with her head. But she knew that Sebastian was here and everything would be alright if he would just turn to look at her. She needed to see his eyes, to see the blue that she so often got lost in.

Sebastian didn’t seem to hear her and it was only when she tried to sit up off the couch and slid down to the floor that he noticed her and stopped.

“Stop,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I’m alright. Stop, before you do something you’ll regret.”

Seeing her move was the key to snapping him out of his daze. He jumped off Joachim and ran to her, gathering her up in his arms. Joachim managed to struggle to his feet and moved closer to her.

“Eden, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry...please let me explain.” He stopped when he saw Sebastian’s fist tighten again.

“If you ever touch her again, I’ll kill you, Benedict,” Sebastian said. “You better run, fast.” Eden could feel Sebastian kissing her hair. He was trying to say something to her, but all she could focus on was his eyes. She could see he was upset and his lips were moving, but all she could hear was a rushing noise and then nothing.

Chapter Thirty

Eden could feel warmth on her skin and she tried to turn her head to move toward it, but for some reason, she couldn’t. She slowly opened her eyes and she raised her hands to shield the sunlight that covered her. She had no idea where she was. All she could remember was the look on Joachim’s face as he raised his hand to hit her. She struggled to sit up, to get away from him.

The act of sitting forward made her head throb and she yelped with the pain, grabbing the sides of her head. She felt hands pulling on her shoulders, trying to push her down, and she struggled to fight back, pushing as hard she could in return, twisting her arms, hitting out but not making
contact
. Suddenly, a shooting pain shot up her forearm and she screamed in agony. Unable to fight back, she fell back on the bed, closing her eyes, and again she was gone.

****

Eden could hear voices. They were close but not close enough for her to
make out
what they were saying. Through the din in her head, she made out Sebastian’s accent. He was with her! She opened her eyes. The sun was gone and the room was mostly dark, except for the light coming off the machines next to her bed. She moved her head slightly to look at them and saw an IV stand. She
realized
she was in a hospital. But where were the voices coming from? She turned her head the other way, happy that the throbbing feeling seemed to have subsided. Why couldn’t she see him?

“Sebastian?” she tried to say. Her voice was dry and she tried to swallow. She tried again, this time with more force. She needed to see him. “Sebastian?” And
suddenly,
he was there, her Sebastian. His face filled her field of vision and she frowned at him. He looked so sad and tired. Eden tried to imagine what was wrong with him. Why did he look so upset? She tried to move her right arm and
realized
she couldn’t.

“Don’t try and move too much, Eden. Just go slowly,” he gently said, resting his hand on her right arm. “You kept damaging your IV line so they strapped your arm down.” He moved to the other side of the bed now. She could hear Velcro being torn and
finally
her arm was free. Sebastian knelt beside her bed, gently holding her right hand, stroking each finger.

“My ring, Sebastian. He took my ring.” Eden choked up, remembering Joachim ripping it off her finger.

“I know, sweetness, it doesn’t matter.”

“I want my ring back,” she persevered.

“Shh, Eden, let’s not worry about that right now.”

           
She looked down at Sebastian and
suddenly
noticed his knuckles, still raw and red. “What happened to your hands, Seb? Are you okay?”

           
Sebastian laughed now, looking up at her, his eyes filled with tears. “You were beaten unconscious and you’re asking me if my hands are okay?”

           
Eden nodded, still concerned about the bruises on his hands.

“I’m better, now that you’re awake. You’ve been in and out a long time.”

“Where am I?” she
finally
asked. The room didn’t have the same feel as the other hospitals she’d been in.

“You’re in a private clinic. A few of my clients have used it in the past. No one can hurt you here. No one even knows you’re here. I didn’t want anyone to come hurt you. You’re safe here, I promise.” Eden knew he wasn’t just concerned about Joachim. He was
keeping
her safe from everyone else—her parents, the press, Joachim’s family.

“Am I going to be okay?” She felt strange asking the question, but she still felt so groggy, she had a hard time figuring out how hurt she was.

“He hit you a lot, Eden, and his hands were around your throat when I arrived. But you’re going to be okay. You had a small concussion, that’s why your head hurts so much, and you kept drifting in and out. The bruises will all heal and he didn’t break anything.” Sebastian’s voice was calm, but she could hear he was holding back.

“Seb, he didn’t…he didn’t manage to… Did he?” She didn’t remember that happening, but she couldn’t be sure what had happened after she blacked out.

“No, Eden, he didn’t. I had to let the doctors examine you and they said he didn’t hurt you like that. I was scared, though. You were covered in blood and I couldn’t figure out why. But I got there before he managed to do that.”

“I stabbed him.”

Sebastian’s head shot up. “You what?”

“I remember stabbing him in the arm with some scissors. I think it just made him worse, though. It didn’t really slow him down, I guess.”

“I imagine it did, Eden, there was a lot of blood.” He looked at her face,
finally
giving her one of his amazing smiles. “I can’t believe you stabbed him.” His smile fell from his face quickly. “I’m so sorry, Eden. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner. I let you down.”

Eden reached her hand up and brushed his stubble. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Don’t be silly, Seb. I should have texted you back. This never would have happened if I had just listened to you about Joachim. It’s my entire fault. I never thought he would do this. He was so…angry.” Eden closed her eyes, remembering the fury in Joachim’s eyes as he had lunged at her.

Sebastian’s voice broke her out of the memory. “It will never happen again. I made a promise to you that I would never let anyone hurt you. I’ve broken that promise once. It won’t happen again.”

“Take me home, Sebastian.”

He stood up and gently leaned over her, kissing her bruised face. “Soon, darling, soon.”

The doctors wanted Eden to stay in for a few more days until the pain in her head had subsided and the bruising on her neck had gone down. Eden tried to argue that she was fine and just need to rest at home, but the look Sebastian gave her shut her up and she knew he was right. He never left her side the entire time, and
finally,
three days later, she was allowed to go home. Eden had tried to find out what had happened to Joachim, but whenever she brought it up, Sebastian quickly shut the conversation down and told her not to worry about it.

By the time the doctors were happy for her to go home, Sebastian became even more agitated. He seemed convinced that she needed a few more days, if not weeks, in the hospital.

“They’re just bruises, Seb. They’re already fading, please stop freaking out,” she had told him. “I just really want to go home and get a shower and be with you, please?”

But Eden was surprised when they pulled up outside his building. “I thought we were going to my
apartment
.”

“No, Eden, I’m taking you home.”

“Seb…”

“Don’t argue with me, woman, just listen to me for once.”

Eden reached out as he offered his hand to help her out of the car. She could see he was nervous and she couldn’t figure out why. They were silent in the elevator. Although Sebastian’s arm was wrapped around her waist, he was clearly working himself up over something.

“Seb…” She wanted him to calm down and tell her what was on his mind. He’d worked himself into a state at the hospital, never leaving her side. She knew he was worn out. He flinched as her hand landed on his chest.

“Don’t, Eden, just don’t.”

Although Eden knew he wasn’t angry at her, she couldn’t help feeling hurt that he was pushing her away.
Realizing
his abruptness had hurt her, he turned to her, gently taking her elbow and guiding her out of the elevator. He opened the
apartment
door and let her walk through first.

It took her a moment to take it all in. Vases bursting full of flowers covered every surface. But it wasn’t that that took her breath away. Between the endless flowers, she could see her belongings, here and there. She stepped forward further into the
apartment
. It was completely different to how it usually looked. Most of Sebastian’s minimalist furniture was still there, but mixed in with it were new pieces. A bookcase now stood against one of the walls where a large modernist painting had once been. It was filled with her books. She turned and saw that the few bits of kitchen equipment she had bought were on the counter.

She walked into the bedroom. The curtains were similar to the ones in her
apartment
and there was a new bed, again similar but not exactly the same. The walls held the few framed images she had put up in her
apartment
and there were others that she hadn’t even gotten around to framing. There were so many things that were hers and not hers at the same time. It felt familiar but still strange. She walked back to the main room after
realizing
that Sebastian hadn’t followed her.

“What is all this, Sebastian?” She wasn’t angry, just curious.

“I didn’t want you to have to ever go back there. I didn’t want you to have to look at anything he’d touched so I tried to buy things that I thought you would like. I know I’m controlling and demanding but, damn it, Eden, you’ve already agreed to be my wife and we should be living together. I brought all your stuff over and I already had your lease
cancelled,
so even if you’re angry with me, there isn’t much you can do about it, barring finding a whole new
apartment
. And that just seems like the pig-headed thing you might go and do, but I won’t allow it.” Sebastian crossed his arms and looked away from her, glancing toward the windows and then the floor.

“Why, Sebastian Stone, I do believe you’re nervous,” Eden teased him. “And
furthermore
, I don’t think it’s going to do you any good to insult me while trying to defend your actions, do you?” Eden continued, slowly walking toward him.

Everywhere she looked, she noticed small details that Sebastian had thought of to make the
apartment
feel like hers. She loved it, but she didn’t let on until she was standing right in front of him.

“Look at me, Sebastian.” Her voice was serious and she tugged at his arms, pulling them down from their crossed position. “I. Love. It.” Sebastian yanked his head forward, clearly shocked by her words. “You fool, of course I love it. This is beautiful, Sebastian, I can’t believe you did all this. I hated being in the hospital, but I was dreading going back to the
apartment
. I just didn’t want to talk to you about it because I didn’t want you to get angry or upset or…like this!” Eden gestured to him and he
finally
smiled.

“You really aren’t angry? I thought you were going to bite my head off. You really love it?”

“First of all, when have I ever bit your head off for doing something that was clearly a sign of affection? Yes, yes, yes, I love it. I said yes to marrying you, of course I knew we were going to live together at some point! This is amazing. You’re amazing.”

“I’ll never really figure you out, Eden. You confounding woman.” Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, pulling him toward her, kissing her forehead and moving down her face with his lips and until he found her mouth. Pulling away, he moved to the bedroom to deposit her bags. “Come on then—first order of business is a delicious meal. Don’t ask me what it is, though, because I had nothing to do with it. Then a warm bath for you. The doctors said your muscles are still bruised and a long bath will help ease any aching you still have.”

****

Eden sank deeper into the bubble bath. It felt so good to wash the hospital off her. Even though she had showered during her stay, it wasn’t the same, and nothing could really compare to the luxury of Sebastian’s stand-alone bathtub, filled with jasmine-infused bubbles. She smiled as she looked around the bathroom. She still couldn’t get over all the effort Sebastian had put into the
apartment
. She closed her eyes and sunk even deeper, feeling so calm she could almost fall asleep. Sebastian’s voice brought her back and she opened her eyes.

“Do I need to worry about you drowning in there?” He was leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but his black silk
pajama
pants.