Free Lick & Devour (Monster Novelette) by Francette Phal

 
     
    R eaching onto the dashboard of her car, Eden Mercer reset the navigation system for what was the umpteenth time since embarking on her journey. The system gave a half a second beep before the screen faded to black.
     
    "Useless piece of shit," she cursed under her breath. "Hurry the hell up!" Keeping her heeled foot on the gas pedal she continued at a steady pace down the heavily wooded road which would've been pretty ominous had it been later in the evening as some of her appointments tended to be. She couldn't believe she was running this late, but then again, considering how her day started, it wasn't surprising that it would continue on this downtrend. While waiting for the GPS system to load up again, her mind drifted to this morning and the events that led up to her being forty five minutes late to this home showing.
     
    She actually woke up in a really good mood this morning, with the full expectation of seeing her lover again, after the excruciatingly long two weeks he'd been away. He was scheduled to arrive later in the afternoon and Eden had specifically rearranged her schedule just so she could come home and see him. She'd barely gotten any sleep the night before because of her excitement. But that early morning joy she'd woken up with had taken a nose dive when Dominic had called.
     
    He was "sorry" he'd said. His trip was unfortunately going to be longer than expected.
     
    "How long?" She'd asked, on the verge of tears. Knees weak from devastation she fell bonelessly on their shared bed. 
     
    "Two weeks, my pet." Not even the softly murmured two last words that were now a cherished endearment could allay her disappointment. "Just two more weeks and I'll be home with you and Liam." He'd tried to reassure but it only made it that much worse. Made Eden ache that much harder.  "How is our son?" It was a distraction that she grabbed on to, even while her mind struggled with the fact that he wouldn't be coming home today. He wasn't sitting on his private jet right this minute flying back to her and Liam. He was instead still in Hong Kong.
     
    Two weeks he'd been away and now he wouldn’t return for another two weeks. Nearly a month without him, without his touch, without his kiss. Without the warmth of the body she's come to crave next hers, or on top of hers, the heavy weight of it, the hard, masculine ridges of sinew moving with seamless virility inside her soft, feminine core. How could she sustain another two weeks without being held in his arms, as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear while they laid in bed? All those thoughts and so many more ricocheted around Eden's mind while she told him about their son.
     
    After that, it seemed her day had chosen to go in the direction of Eden's mood. It'd been hard to leave Liam because he'd been extremely clingy, crying the same tears Eden had silently shed herself in the shower just before coming down stairs. Her heart broke for him because she knew he missed his father. They'd gotten so close over the last year, Dominic doing nearly everything with him that Eden wasn't absolutely needed for. Putting Liam to bed was probably Eden's favorite part of watching Dominic bond with his son. The rocking chair in Liam's nursery was where they typically sat, after Liam was showered and freshly dressed in his pajamas. While rocking his son, Dominic would tell him stories in that soothing baritone of his until Liam drifted to sleep. It was a routine they've all come know, to cherish, to love, and Eden's motherly instinct suspected that Liam sorely missed it. It didn't help that his mother had to go away and leave him too. Thankfully, Jacqueline, the housekeeper who'd been with Dominic since even before Eden married him five years ago, was able to distract him long enough for Eden to run out of the house.
     
    She stopped by her favorite coffee shop just minutes away from her job to grab a large cup of coffee to cheer herself up, but ended up spilling it all