IT WAS AFTER eight when I let mysel

IT WAS AFTER eight when I let myself into Eva’s apartment and found her sitting with Cary on the living room’s white sectional sofa, holding a glass of red wine in both hands.
My wife gravitated toward modern traditional furnishings, but I could see touches of her mother and roommate in the décor. I didn’t resent those pieces of Monica and Cary, but I looked forward to the day when I shared a home with Eva that reflected us, undiluted.
Still, the apartment would always be a special place to me. I would never forget the way Eva had looked the first time I’d come over. Naked beneath a thigh-length silk robe, her face made up for the night ahead, a diamond anklet winking at me. Teasing me.
I had lost all rational thought. I’d put my mouth on her, my hands all over her, and my fingers and tongue inside her. I hadn’t even thought about getting her to the “fuck pad.” I wouldn’t have been able to wait, even if I had. She wasn’t like any woman who’d come before her. Not just because of who she was, but also because of who I was when I was with her.
It was unlikely I would ever allow the property management to lease the space out again. It held too many memories, both good and bad.
I tipped my chin at Cary in greeting and sat beside Eva. My wife’s best friend was dressed to go out, while Eva wore a Cross Industries T-shirt and had her hair twisted up in a clip. They both glanced at me, and I knew something was wrong.
There were things to discuss, but whatever was troubling Eva was the pressing priority.
Cary stood. “I’m heading out. Call me if you need me.”
She nodded. “Have fun.”
“My middle name, baby girl.”
The front door shut behind him as Eva’s head fell gently against my shoulder. Sliding my arm around her, I settled deeper into the sofa and tucked her closer. “Talk to me, angel.”
“It’s Megumi.” She sighed. “There’s this guy she was into and things weren’t working out—he was hot-and-cold and couldn’t commit—so she broke it off. But afterward, he stepped it up and she let him come over. They started messing around with a little bondage, but things got out of hand in a bad way.”
The mention of bondage put me on alert. I ran my hand down her back and tucked her tighter against me. I was nothing if not patient in aligning my desires with her fears. Setbacks were expected and accommodated, but I didn’t want someone else’s misadventures to create new hurdles for Eva and me to face.
“Sounds like bad judgment all around,” I said. “One of them should’ve known what they were doing.”
“That’s the thing.” She pulled away and faced me. “I went over it with Megumi. She said no—a lot—until he gagged her. He got off on her pain, Gideon. And now he’s terrorizing her with texts and photos he took of her that night. She’s asked him to stop, but he won’t. He’s sick. Something’s wrong with him.”
I weighed how best to respond. I went with blunt. “Eva. She broke it off, and then took him back. He might not realize she’s serious this time.”
She recoiled, then slid off the couch in a rush of curvy, golden legs. “Don’t make excuses for him! She’s bruised everywhere. It’s been a week and the bruises are still dark. She couldn’t sit down for days!”
“I’m not excusing him.” I stood with her. “I would never justify an abuser—you know that. I don’t have the whole story, but I know your story. Her situation isn’t like yours. Nathan was an aberration.”
“I’m not projecting here, Gideon. I saw the pictures. I saw her wrists, her neck. I saw his texts. He’s crossed a line. He’s dangerous.”
“Even more reason for you to stay out of it.”
Her hands went to her hips. “Oh my God. You did not just say that! She’s my friend.”
“And you’re my wife. I know that look on your face. There are some battles that aren’t yours to fight. You will not confront this man the way you did my mother and Corinne. You will not put yourself in the middle of this.”
“Did I say I was going to do that? No, I didn’t. I’m not an idiot. I asked Clancy to find him and talk to him.”
I went still inside. Benjamin Clancy was her stepfather’s man, not mine. Totally outside my control. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“What was I supposed to do instead? Nothing?”
“Preferably. At most, you should’ve asked Raúl.”
She threw up her hands. “Why would I do that? I don’t know Raúl enough to ask him for a personal favor.”
I checked my exasperation. “We discussed this. He works for you. You don’t have to ask him for favors, you just need to tell him what you need done.”
“Raúl works for you. Besides, I’m not some godfather sending out hired thugs to teach people lessons. I asked someone I trust, as a friend, to help another friend of mine.”
“However you rationalize it, the result is the same. You forget, Ben Clancy is employed to protect your stepfather’s interests. He looks after you only because it gives him more control in securing Stanton’s safety and reputation.”
She bristled. “How would you know what his motives are?”
“Angel, let’s simplify. Focus on the fact that your mother and Stanton have been invading your privacy for some time. You’re keeping that door open by using their resources.”
“Oh.” Eva caught her lower lip in her teeth. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“You sent a trained professional to ‘talk’ to this guy. But you didn’t fully assess the possibility of blowback. If you’d tapped Raúl to help you, he would’ve known to be extra vigilant.” My jaw clenched. “Damn it, Eva. Don’t make it hard for me to keep you safe!”
“Hey.” She reached for me. “Don’t worry, okay? I told you what was happening as soon as you walked in the door. And Clancy was with me until an hour ago, when he dropped me off after my Krav Maga class. Nothing’s happened yet that would put me in danger.”
I pulled her into me and held on, wishing I could be certain she was right. “I want Raúl to escort you wherever you go,” I said gruffly. “To your classes, the gym, shopping … whatever. You need to let me look after you.”
“You do, baby,” she said soothingly, her temper cooled. “But you can be obsessive about it.”
I would always be obsessive when it came to her. I’d come to accept that. Eventually, she would, too. “There are things I can’t give you. Don’t fight me on the things I can.”
“Gideon.” Her face softened. “You give me everything I need.”
I brushed my fingers across her jaw. She was so soft. Delicate. I had never anticipated my sanity hinging on something so fragile. “You come home to another guy. You make your living by working for someone else. I’m not as necessary to you as I’d like to be.”
Her eyes brightened with humor. “While I’m about as dependent on you as I can stand to be.”
“It’s mutual.” Running my hands down her arms, I caught her by the wrists and squeezed with just enough pressure to capture her focus. I watched her pupils dilate and her lips part, her body instinctively responding to the restraint. “Promise you’ll come to me first from now on.”
“Okay,” she breathed.
The undercurrents of arousal and surrender in her voice sent my blood humming. She swayed into me, her body softening. “I’d like to come now, actually.”
“I am, as always, at your service.”
GIDEON.
The shock of hearing panic in Eva’s voice reverberated through me. My body jolted, jerking me out of the deepest sleep. Rolling to my side with a low moan, I struggled awake, shoving my hair out of my face to find her kneeling on the edge of the bed.
A heavy, inescapable sense of dread had my heart racing and cold sweat coating my skin.
I pushed up onto one elbow. “What’s wrong?”
Moonlight slanted through the room and haloed her. She’d come to me in our bedroom in the apartment next door to hers. Something had woken her, and I was afraid. Fear chilled me to the bone.
“Gideon.” She slid into me in a rush of silken skin and shining hair. Curled against me, she reached up and touched my face. “What were you dreaming about?”
The stroke of her fingertips left a trail of wet across my skin. Startled, horrified, I scrubbed at my eyes and smeared more tears across my cheek. In a corner of my mind, I sensed the lingering shadow of a dream.
The brush of memory had me shivering, spiraling further downward.
I rolled into her and pulled her tight against me, hearing her gasp as I squeezed too hard. Her skin was cool to the touch, but her flesh was warm beneath and I absorbed her heat, breathed in her scent, felt the terrible lingering grief inside me ease with her nearness.
I couldn’t grasp the dream I’d had, but it refused to let go of me.
“Shh,” she crooned, her fingers pushing through the sweat-damp roots of my hair, her hand stroking up and down my back. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
I couldn’t breathe. I fought for air and a horrible sound ripped from my burning lungs.
A sob. Christ. Then another. I couldn’t stop the violent contractions.
“Baby.” She hugged me harder, her legs tangling with mine. She rocked us gently, whispering words I couldn’t hear over the pounding of my heartbeat and the outcry of my phantom pain.
I wrapped myself around her, holding on to the love that could save me.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

ITU adalah setelah delapan ketika aku membiarkan diriku ke Eva apartemen dan menemukan dia duduk dengan Cary di ruang tamu putih sectional sofa, memegang segelas anggur merah di tangan kedua.Istri saya tertarik ke arah perabotan tradisional yang modern, tapi aku bisa melihat sentuhan ibu dan teman sekamar di dekorasi. Aku tidak membenci potongan-potongan dari Monica dan Cary, tapi saya menantikan hari ketika saya berbagi rumah dengan Eva yang tercermin kita, murni.Namun, apartemen akan selalu menjadi tempat khusus bagi saya. Aku tidak akan pernah melupakan jalan Eva telah melihat pertama kalinya saya akan datang. Telanjang di bawah jubah sutra paha-panjang, wajahnya dibuat untuk malam depan, gelang kaki berlian yang mengedip pada saya. Menggoda saya.Saya telah kehilangan semua berpikir rasional. Aku akan menaruh mulutku di tangan Nya, saya dia, dan jari-jari dan lidah di dalam dirinya. Aku bahkan tidak berpikir tentang mendapatkan dia untuk "pad bercinta." Saya tidak akan pernah mampu menunggu, bahkan jika aku punya. Dia tidak seperti setiap wanita yang akan datang sebelumnya. Bukan hanya karena yang dia adalah, tetapi juga karena yang saya adalah ketika saya dengannya.Itu mungkin saya akan pernah memungkinkan manajemen properti untuk menyewa ruang keluar lagi. Itu diadakan terlalu banyak kenangan, baik dan buruk.Saya tip daguku di Cary di ucapan dan duduk di sebelah Eva. Istri saya teman terbaik adalah berpakaian untuk pergi keluar, sementara Eva mengenakan T-shirt industri Cross dan telah rambutnya berputar dalam klip. Mereka berdua melirik saya, dan saya tahu sesuatu yang tidak beres.Ada hal-hal untuk membahas, tapi apa pun mengganggu Eva adalah prioritas menekan.Cary berdiri. "Aku menuju keluar. Hubungi saya jika Anda membutuhkan saya."Dia mengangguk. "Sudah menyenangkan.""Saya nama tengah, bayi perempuan."Pintu depan tutup belakangnya sebagai Eva kepala jatuh dengan lembut terhadap bahu saya. Geser lenganku sekelilingnya, aku duduk lebih sofa dan terselip dia lebih dekat. "Berbicara kepada saya, malaikat.""Itu adalah Megumi." Dia menghela napas. "Ada orang ini dia sedang menjadi dan hal-hal yang tidak bekerja-dia adalah panas-dan-dingin dan tidak bisa melakukan — sehingga dia patah itu. Tapi setelah itu, ia melangkah itu dan ia membiarkan dia datang. Mereka mulai main-main dengan sedikit perbudakan, tetapi hal-hal yang keluar dari tangan dalam cara yang buruk."Penyebutan perbudakan menempatkan saya pada peringatan. Aku berlari tangan saya turun kembali dan terselip dia lebih ketat terhadap saya. Aku tidak apa-apa jika tidak sabar menyelaraskan keinginan saya dengan ketakutannya. Kemunduran yang diharapkan dan diakomodasi, tapi aku tidak ingin orang lain petualangan untuk menciptakan baru rintangan untuk Eva dan saya menghadapi."Terdengar seperti penilaian buruk di sekitar," kataku. "Salah satu dari mereka harus sudah tahu apa yang mereka lakukan.""Itu adalah hal." Dia menarik diri dan menghadapi saya. "Aku pergi lebih dari itu dengan Megumi. Dia mengatakan tidak-banyak-sampai ia tersumbat nya. Ia turun pada rasa sakit, Gideon. Dan sekarang ia meneror dia dengan teks dan foto dia mengambil nya malam itu. Dia telah meminta untuk menghentikannya, tetapi dia tidak. Dia sakit. Sesuatu salah dengan-nya."I weighed how best to respond. I went with blunt. “Eva. She broke it off, and then took him back. He might not realize she’s serious this time.”She recoiled, then slid off the couch in a rush of curvy, golden legs. “Don’t make excuses for him! She’s bruised everywhere. It’s been a week and the bruises are still dark. She couldn’t sit down for days!”“I’m not excusing him.” I stood with her. “I would never justify an abuser—you know that. I don’t have the whole story, but I know your story. Her situation isn’t like yours. Nathan was an aberration.”“I’m not projecting here, Gideon. I saw the pictures. I saw her wrists, her neck. I saw his texts. He’s crossed a line. He’s dangerous.”“Even more reason for you to stay out of it.”Her hands went to her hips. “Oh my God. You did not just say that! She’s my friend.”“And you’re my wife. I know that look on your face. There are some battles that aren’t yours to fight. You will not confront this man the way you did my mother and Corinne. You will not put yourself in the middle of this.”“Did I say I was going to do that? No, I didn’t. I’m not an idiot. I asked Clancy to find him and talk to him.”I went still inside. Benjamin Clancy was her stepfather’s man, not mine. Totally outside my control. “You shouldn’t have done that.”“What was I supposed to do instead? Nothing?”“Preferably. At most, you should’ve asked Raúl.”She threw up her hands. “Why would I do that? I don’t know Raúl enough to ask him for a personal favor.”I checked my exasperation. “We discussed this. He works for you. You don’t have to ask him for favors, you just need to tell him what you need done.”“Raúl works for you. Besides, I’m not some godfather sending out hired thugs to teach people lessons. I asked someone I trust, as a friend, to help another friend of mine.”“However you rationalize it, the result is the same. You forget, Ben Clancy is employed to protect your stepfather’s interests. He looks after you only because it gives him more control in securing Stanton’s safety and reputation.”She bristled. “How would you know what his motives are?”“Angel, let’s simplify. Focus on the fact that your mother and Stanton have been invading your privacy for some time. You’re keeping that door open by using their resources.”“Oh.” Eva caught her lower lip in her teeth. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”“You sent a trained professional to ‘talk’ to this guy. But you didn’t fully assess the possibility of blowback. If you’d tapped Raúl to help you, he would’ve known to be extra vigilant.” My jaw clenched. “Damn it, Eva. Don’t make it hard for me to keep you safe!”“Hey.” She reached for me. “Don’t worry, okay? I told you what was happening as soon as you walked in the door. And Clancy was with me until an hour ago, when he dropped me off after my Krav Maga class. Nothing’s happened yet that would put me in danger.”I pulled her into me and held on, wishing I could be certain she was right. “I want Raúl to escort you wherever you go,” I said gruffly. “To your classes, the gym, shopping … whatever. You need to let me look after you.”“You do, baby,” she said soothingly, her temper cooled. “But you can be obsessive about it.”I would always be obsessive when it came to her. I’d come to accept that. Eventually, she would, too. “There are things I can’t give you. Don’t fight me on the things I can.”“Gideon.” Her face softened. “You give me everything I need.”I brushed my fingers across her jaw. She was so soft. Delicate. I had never anticipated my sanity hinging on something so fragile. “You come home to another guy. You make your living by working for someone else. I’m not as necessary to you as I’d like to be.”Her eyes brightened with humor. “While I’m about as dependent on you as I can stand to be.”“It’s mutual.” Running my hands down her arms, I caught her by the wrists and squeezed with just enough pressure to capture her focus. I watched her pupils dilate and her lips part, her body instinctively responding to the restraint. “Promise you’ll come to me first from now on.”“Okay,” she breathed.The undercurrents of arousal and surrender in her voice sent my blood humming. She swayed into me, her body softening. “I’d like to come now, actually.”“I am, as always, at your service.”GIDEON.The shock of hearing panic in Eva’s voice reverberated through me. My body jolted, jerking me out of the deepest sleep. Rolling to my side with a low moan, I struggled awake, shoving my hair out of my face to find her kneeling on the edge of the bed.A heavy, inescapable sense of dread had my heart racing and cold sweat coating my skin.I pushed up onto one elbow. “What’s wrong?”Moonlight slanted through the room and haloed her. She’d come to me in our bedroom in the apartment next door to hers. Something had woken her, and I was afraid. Fear chilled me to the bone.“Gideon.” She slid into me in a rush of silken skin and shining hair. Curled against me, she reached up and touched my face. “What were you dreaming about?”The stroke of her fingertips left a trail of wet across my skin. Startled, horrified, I scrubbed at my eyes and smeared more tears across my cheek. In a corner of my mind, I sensed the lingering shadow of a dream.The brush of memory had me shivering, spiraling further downward.I rolled into her and pulled her tight against me, hearing her gasp as I squeezed too hard. Her skin was cool to the touch, but her flesh was warm beneath and I absorbed her heat, breathed in her scent, felt the terrible lingering grief inside me ease with her nearness.I couldn’t grasp the dream I’d had, but it refused to let go of me.“Shh,” she crooned, her fingers pushing through the sweat-damp roots of my hair, her hand stroking up and down my back. “It’s okay. I’m here.”I couldn’t breathe. I fought for air and a horrible sound ripped from my burning lungs.A sob. Christ. Then another. I couldn’t stop the violent contractions.“Baby.” She hugged me harder, her legs tangling with mine. She rocked us gently, whispering words I couldn’t hear over the pounding of my heartbeat and the outcry of my phantom pain.I wrapped myself around her, holding on to the love that could save me.