Chapter 90

Should she go to bed? Eden couldn't take her eyes off the monumental bed, wondering what Ian wanted from her. The bed was topped by a vast canopy of pale pink silk, which a sort of crown connected to the ceiling. 

She would never have chosen such a color, nor those rococo friezes that adorned the walls. And all those mirrors.

As for the paintings, engravings and knick-knacks, they were all very suggestive and made her feel uncomfortable, without her knowing very well why. 

The adjoining boudoir was a real bonbonniere, filled with hangings and cushions. There were no shelves to put books on, no bookcases in sight. As for the bathroom, it was of a purely Byzantine luxury. 

There was a large marble bathtub, where two people could fit comfortably, topped by a tank with a shower head. 

All you had to do was pull a chain, and the hot water would rain down on you.

Other, smaller tanks topped basins with gooseneck taps. Everywhere there were soft pink towels, a voluptuous chaise longue to lie on, more mirrors, and such large closets that Eden’s new clothes seemed quite isolated and modest. 

The young omega's instincts told her that this suite had been designed to house pleasure and celebrate the sensuality of bodies. Ivan had had it decorated to accommodate his mistresses, not a mate.

Eden thought of all that these walls had witnessed, and her nervousness grew. This was luxury in the service of lust... As she walked to the bed, Eden was displeased to see how poorly the pink sheets matched her blue negligee. 

Ian had told her that she could change anything she wanted; very well, she would start with this suite.

On the other hand, maybe she liked the decor Ian had chosen. 

What had he told her about the lingerie he had given her? That it was as much for her pleasure as for his... How much did he look like his brother? 

All the alphas were probably the same, as soon as it was about the physical act. And if that was the case, he would have the same demands as Ivan. 

Probably he wouldn't be so cruel, and would keep silent in the face of her clumsiness and appalling lack of sophistication. 

He was also too well-mannered to make any comments about her pregnancy. But he would think nothing of it. 

Eden sighed deeply. There was so much to think about, so much to learn…

“Eden?”

She turned around. Ian stood in the doorway of a door she hadn't noticed yet, for it was lined and molded like the wall it was built into.

No doubt it communicated with the viscount's suite. Ian was wearing a midnight blue robe, and his shirt was open over his muscular torso. 

Eden was immediately invaded by a flush of desire.

“Do you like this apartment?” he asked her. And he entered the room. The sound of the door closing startled her.

“Yes, I do” He raised an eyebrow, and a slight smile began to float on his lips. “Well, it's very luxurious, but a little... pink,” Eden corrected shyly.

She had never set foot in a brothel, but she could imagine that it might look like this place.

“Very pink, actually. I understand that it's not your favorite color. You can make any changes you like.”

“Thank you.”

Eden nervously tied her hands behind her back as Ian approached her quietly, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. All sounds were muffled here, as if in a dream, except for the beating of her heart. 

Ian stopped in front of her, close enough for her to smell the woody scent of his cologne.

“You look like a young virgin tied to a post to be offered as a sacrifice to a dragon. Are you waiting for someone to rescue you? It's a fun little skit to play, but maybe not tonight” His eyes glowed darkly and Eden shivered, torn between apprehension and an entirely different feeling, which she didn't quite understand. 

Ian raised his eyebrows.

“Or is it me, the dragon?”

“ -Not at all. Not at all!”

Eden definitely did not know what to do with her hands. 

Ian ended her dilemma by taking them in his hands and pulling her closer. Eden thought he was going to kiss her lips, but his mouth went down her neck and over her shoulder, getting under the silk of the negligee. 

The warm breath, the hotter tongue on her skin, made her whole body feel like it was vibrating under the caress.

Ian.

Eden thought she said his name, but no sound passed her lips. Ian let go of her hands, and Eden instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, both to hug him and to keep her balance.

“-It's all right,” Ian murmured, and Eden realized she was hugging him a little too hard. “It's all right, Eden. There's nothing to be afraid of, we'll just go to bed, for the first night.”

It was as if he were reassuring a frightened little animal. Delicately, he undid the ribbons that held Eden’s negligee and slid it off her shoulders. 

Then he opened the sheets of the bed further.

“Does this side suit you?”

This prosaic question was so unexpected, so far from the burning images that Eden had in mind, that she stammered an answer.

“Yes, well... I don't mind.”

The bed was so wide, compared to the ones she was used to. Ian waited patiently, while Eden got rid of the negligee completely and slipped between the sheets, which she pulled up on her legs. 

Then he went around the bed and took off his robe. Eden stared at the wall but was relieved to see from the corner of his eye that Ian was wearing night pants. 

Eden couldn't bear to have Ian completely naked around her. Not yet anyway. 

The box spring creaked, the mattress dug in, and the young omega felt Ian pull up the sheets, again.

“You can lie down completely, you know…” he remarked.

Could she really? Eden felt as if her limbs were made of stone. She tried anyway, ankles together, and looked up at the bed's canopy. Then Ian slid closer to him and leaned into her face.

“Only kisses for now” he murmured. “You like that, don't you? Only kisses, until you're ready.”

Ian was gentle and thoughtful, just like the other night when he had kissed her on the terrace. Eden knew it wasn't because he lacked confidence or experience.

It was just that Ian knew what he was doing, what he wanted and how to get it. Strangely enough, Ian also seemed to be interested in her, in what she wanted, not just in her breast or what was between her legs.

Ian gently inserted his tongue into her mouth, as if to taste her, and gently bit her lip. Again, Eden seemed to enjoy it, which never ceased to amaze her. 

Ian often interrupted himself, as if he was waiting for something... surely not... the other way around? Did he want to be nibbled, licked, sucked? Eden had kissed him... deeply, last night, and remembered it with embarrassment. 

Her mouth was warm and her tongue moved in a way that was... indecent... as if it were... a whole other part of herself ... Eden felt a strange sensation now. She felt warm and very much like kissing Ian, tasting him in turn. 

Eden gave him her tongue and Ian gave a kind of grunt... of satisfaction?

He held her  tighter. A little frightened, Eden moved back and kissed him shyly on the corner of his mouth. 

Eden felt Ian smile as he ran his tongue along the edge of his lip, then kissed the other corner. 

He smiled even more. It was really strange. It looked like Ian found it funny and wanted to play. He raised his head and his mouth found her ear.

Eden felt his tongue wandering there, and his warm breath. She shivered. Her nipples were hard, and she longed to rub them against him. 

A wet heat radiated down her belly. Then Ian’s lips closed on her earlobe and he began to suck on it. 

Eden gasped. It was... yes, it was indecent. But the insistent caress was stimulating the little piece of flesh in a perverse way.

Nervous, Eden straightened up a little, the tips of her nipples as hard as if she had splashed them with ice water, and erect against the silk of her nightgown.

Ian removed her lingerie in such a gentle way that Eden felt like shedding tears at such tenderness, and his shirt soon followed suit. Ian let out a kind of grunt and pressed himself against her. Eden felt his member pressed against her hip. 

Ian had promised to stick to kissing, but Eden knew that alphas couldn't stop along the way when they were excited. So "this" was going to happen.

She tried not to stiffen too much, to move with Ian, but couldn't help but tense up when he pulled himself on top of her.

“Eden?”

Eden looked up at him. His eyes were a deep, unfathomable brown in the candlelight. His lips were parted and she saw that Ian was controlling his breath.

He ran his hand over the young omega's belly, and she felt the familiar coldness of his signet ring, the same sensation as with Ivan, since he had worn it before. 

His finger plunged into her, where Eden knew he was shamefully wet and burning.

“Yes, you're ready,” Ian murmured.