He listens and steps back. “I can’t control myself when you’re around.” He adjusts himself so his bulge is less noticeable.
His size doesn’t make it easy, but he does his best, and I hide my want just as sloppily.
“We can’t—”
The patio door swings open.
My eyes widen, and I look to Kameron, who is holding up a finger to his mouth and sinking into a corner.
Joshua stands in front of the doors. “Eden?”
“Yes?” I say, masking every nerve that is on fire.
“Are you okay? I saw Mrs. Wellingburg leave a bit ago without you.”
“I am alright. Just needed some air. It was a lot in there.”
“I’m glad to hear. Samuel has asked me to retrieve you. He would like a moment with you in his office.”
Like Samuel, Joshua has taken on a harder exterior since accepting Samuel’s offer to be his right-hand man. Not that Joshua was ever a man of many words.
“Very well,” I breathe out.
He holds the door open for me, gesturing to enter through the doorway first.
Trying not to look back and see if I can snag one more glimpse of Kameron, I head inside.
23
Kameron
Thank whatever is above that this isn’t my first fucking rodeo. I have done many—and I meanmany—infiltration jobs with Hunter and Marcus.
But none have ever had me stunned like when my eyes landed on Elliott, who was sitting next to the new leader of the Divine Worship. My brain short-circuited for a fraction of a second before I could pull myself out of it. That moment contained so many mixed feelings. I was elated to see her face, craved to go touch her, hold her, smell her, taste her. I had to tell every muscle in my body to not take a step toward her. But there was also fear and anger that coursed through me as I thought they had taken her like they had somany other girls.
There was no way for me to have known before I arrived. Almost all the women and girls in Everton have no records of being here or even existing. The only records are of the men here and the girls and women who were either born within the community or who came along with their husbands when they were brought in.
So, I was surprised when I saw how many women were actually here attending the welcoming event of their community’s new members. I don’t want to think about how many little girls are at home and how many of them are taken from the real world and trapped here, not knowing the danger they are in.
I knew Elliott wasn’t of blood relation to the Donovans, which only gave one other option. She was brought here. That made my stomach curdle.
The whole dinner, I played a stranger, but I felt her eyes on me throughout the whole meal. She was trying her best to cover up her knowledge of who I was. I looked everywhere but directly at her, but she made it so fucking hard with how beautiful she is. I was trying to subtly watch her with Samuel Donovan and figure out her part in this.
Is she... his wife? Before our meal, Samuel introduced himself and gestured to the older women next to him and Elliott as family and gave his gratitude for their following and loyalty to the Divine. That their prayers would not go unnoticed by his father, who could not attend this event.
So, what family is she to him?
I don’t like the way he looks at her, and I sure as fuck loathed the way he touched her. Clearly, he is possessive of her, and she looked like she had to obey his every order. I mean, granted everyone in this fucking place had to, but she acted like it was her job to make sure he is happy. I already despised this family, and adding this to the list was only making it worse.
While I didn’t look directly at her, I kept myself highly aware of what she is doing and where she was throughout the dinner. Same went for whatever mingling hour this was.
When Samuel introduced Elliott with the name Eden, I was taken aback. I let the new name come out like it tasted sour. She shot the same tone at me with my cover name. I couldn’t hide the pride in my chest as I saw the confident woman I met in the bar peek her head through her submissive mask. The one she is wearing for Samuel.
I still don’t know who the fuck he is to her, but whether it is friend, boss, fiancé, boyfriend, or husband... she wasn’t staying here.
To my surprise, when I followed her to the patio, her little friend Lee was there, too.
Nothing about our brief conversation out there helped me to better understand her role to him. It didn’t help that I broke character and kissed her. God, if that fucker Joshua hadn’t come out, I would have done so much more. It only made my craving for her increase. Not an ideal thing to have to combat when I’m undercover on a mission.
