“Levi, this is Jemma.” Aiden’s hand curled around my elbow.
“Uh, hi?” I offered.
“Didn’t see you there, you’re small.”
“But not invisible,” Aiden bit out.
“Nah, sorry.” He grinned at me, and I smiled. “She was here with that fucking prick of a bodyguard, she’s such a bitch.”
“You can tell me later,” Aiden said quietly as Levi glanced at me.
“It’s okay.” I glanced at Aiden. “I’ll wait outside. Your food was delicious,” I said to Levi. “Nice to meet you.” Turning swiftly, I left.
As I stood in the cold Denver evening, I berated myself for getting caught up in Aiden. I had given myself the talk and been all gung-ho about addressing the elephant in the room. Then, he turns up on my doorstep drunk, and I spend the day in bed with him. No questions asked, never mind answered. What am I doing? I asked myself for the hundredth time. I couldn’t hide from this.
“You want to go home alone?”
I turned to look at Aiden. He was watching me, his face guarded. The laughter from earlier was gone from his eyes. I wanted him to be happy again.
“We need to talk about it one of these days,” I told him.
“Not tonight.” Aiden stepped into my space, and I tilted my head to look up at him. “Not tonight, Jem, don’t ruin today.”
“When?”
“Soon.” He kissed me lightly on the lips. “I’ll tell you everything when I can.”
“I don’t understand why it’s a secret.”
“You will.” He kissed me again. “Can I take you home?”
I closed my eyes as I rested my head on his chest. “Yes.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered in my ear as he angled my head back again so he could kiss me.
“How?”
“You’ll see.”
“You’ve gone straight to sex, haven’t you?” I asked him suspiciously.
“Foreplay.” His grin was wicked. “I need you nice and relaxed for what I’m going to do to you.”
Break my heart? “Or we could sleep?”
Aiden threw his head back and laughed out loud. “We could…but we won’t.”
Taking my hand, he hailed a passing cab, and as we headed back, he kissed me in the back of the car. I was almost straddling him by the time we were at my apartment. As soon as the front door was closed, he was undressing me.
“Let me see, I’ve been fucking dying all night thinking about it.” Aiden pulled my dress over my head. As I stood in my hallway with just the lingerie on, his eyes feasted on me. “Jesus, Jem.”
His hands slid down my sides as he looked at me. I was a B-cup at best, but the way Aiden traced the curve of my breasts in my push-up bra, I felt like I had more than the slight handful that I did. He made me feel like a goddess. It was a gift, and I hated anyone else before me who had ever received the same look he was giving me in this moment.
“You’re so fucking perfect,” he breathed. “Perfect and mine.” He pulled his shirt off and kicked off his boots as he loosened his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. “I might have to take a rain check on the foreplay.” He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. “You ever been fucked against this wall?”
“What? No.” I laughed at his eager look.
“Excellent.” Aiden turned, and I was pressed against the wall.
“What are you doing?” I gasped as his fingers pulled my panties to the side, and his finger slid inside.
“Making memories,” he whispered against my lips.
It was me who pulled him into me. It was me who kissed him like he was the air I breathed. It was me that begged for more. It was me that fell even further under the spell that was Aiden.
In the morning, it was me who lay there empty after he left me sated and drained in my bed. I knew that we couldn’t go on like this. I just didn’t know how to stop it, and most upsetting of all—I didn’t want to.
“Jemma, I need to talk to you.” I looked at Nadine as she took off her coat and stood unsure at her desk.
“Shoot.”
“Um, I think we would be better somewhere more private.” She looked over her shoulder nervously.
Nadine nervous? I had never seen this before. “Okay.” I stood and headed to the kitchen. I watched as she closed the door behind her, and she walked up to where I was standing.
“I was out on Friday with that guy I told you about,” she began.
“Yeah, how was it?”
“Good, really good.” Nadine wrung her hands together. “I, um, I saw Aiden.”
“Upstairs Aiden?” I didn’t even feel guilty at playing dumb.
“Yes.” Nadine swallowed hard. “He propositioned me.”
“What.” It wasn’t even a question. It was as flat as I felt.
“He saw I was with someone, and he made a move on me.”
“Aiden,” I said emphatically as I watched her. “Aiden from upstairs? Propositioned you?” I cocked my head to the side. “How?”
“What?” Nadine gave a startled laugh. “What do you mean how?” She pulled her hair over her shoulders. “Just know that he did.”
“Okay.” I could feel my nails biting into the palms of my hands. “What did you say?”
“I told him I was your friend.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?” Nadine threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “I know you have a thing for him.”
“So if I didn’t, would you have answered differently?”
“No!”
“Really?” I looked at her. “He’s a good-looking guy.”
“Yes, but you’re my friend.”
“Uh-huh, you said.”
“Look, I just wanted you to know he’s a creep,” Nadine snapped.
“Surely the answer to him would have been you were with someone?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, I told him that too.”
“Okay.” I smoothed my skirt over my hips. “You done?”
“You’re taking this really well.” Nadine’s eyes narrowed on mine. “Have you already spoken to him?”
“What do you mean?”
“He got to you first, didn’t he?” Nadine sighed.
“Why would you be worried what Aiden told me?” I crossed my arms. “Unless there was something you haven’t told me?” I saw the door open, and Aiden stepped into the kitchen.
“When did you talk to him?”
“I told Jem this weekend.” Aiden closed the door softly behind him. He crossed the kitchen and stood beside me as he regarded Nadine coolly.
Nadine rubbed her forehead. “Sorry, Jemma.”
“I hope you’re sorry for that story you just told me?”
“I didn’t know if you were together.”
“Why would you lie to me?” I demanded. “God, Nadine, we’re friends.”
“You’re trying to take Ben!”
“Ben? Oh my God, I’m his friend. If you got your head out of your ass, you would see he’s crazy about you.” I was pissed off.
“Well, he was.” Aiden’s smile was not friendly.
“You told him?” Nadine looked upset, and I did feel bad for her.
“You tried to hurt Jemma.”
“Aiden—” I turned to him.
“No.” His cold stare didn’t leave Nadine. “She knew it would hurt you if she had gotten what she wanted. I don’t tolerate people who want to hurt you.” He looked at me, and his eyes turned soft.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Jemma.” Nadine looked miserable.
“You can proposition whoever you want, Nadine,” I answered her tiredly. “You and whoever it is are old enough to make your own decisions. I just can’t believe you lied to me.” I tugged my ponytail. “That’s what hurts me.”
“I’m sorry, I was so drunk, but I’m not making excuses.” Nadine turned and walked briskly out of the kitchen.
“You were harsh on her,” I admonished Aiden.
Aiden ga
ve a disgusted snort. “You weren’t harsh enough.”
“Everyone’s allowed to make a mistake.” I sighed.
“You’re too nice.” He kissed my nose. “I have a meeting, I have to go.”
“You came here this morning for this, didn’t you?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said simply. “I protect what’s mine.”
Was there any point fighting it? “Okay, have a good day.”
Aiden hesitated and looked at me. “You’ll be okay?” His hand cupped my cheek.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll see you soon.” He smiled as he kissed me softly.
“And we’ll talk?”
Aiden exhaled heavily as he nodded. “And we’ll talk.”
I never saw him for the rest of the week. I heard from him but just a text or a brief phone call. Aiden was avoiding me? The longer the week went on, the angrier I got. Nadine was bending over backwards to make up for the Aiden thing. It made me angrier that she was apologising for trying to make out with Aiden and not for lying to me about it. Couldn’t she see that?
“Jem, I need ten minutes of your time,” Ben said to me as he approached. He avoided looking at Nadine, and I stood hurriedly. The tension between these two was unbearable.
“Sure.” As we walked over the office floor, I glanced at Ben. “There isn’t another parent up there that I need to be prepared for?”
“No.” He laughed. “Roof time, want to see how much damage winter made to the roof.”
“Isn’t it still winter?”
“Yeah, but we’re due for rain, not snow.”
I laughed at Ben’s face. “You seem very eager for that.”
“Sick of Aiden busting my balls.” Ben and I got in the elevator. “He’s been fucking intense this week.”
“You’ve seen him?” I asked casually.
“Huh? No, he’s been in San Diego. His other office is there. He has a big job away to start there, so he’s been more wound up than usual.”
He has two offices? I really knew nothing about this man. Ben showed me the roof, which made not one bit of difference to me, but I went back downstairs and told Richard. My update meant little to him too, except it may cost more money.
The rest of the day passed slowly, and by the time five came, I was already packed up and ready to leave. Finding Aiden on my doorstep was not what I was expecting.
“You’re here?” I said as I opened the lock over him.
“I am.”
“You making this a habit?” I asked as I pushed the door open.
“I might be.” He followed me inside, and as he reached for me, I stood back. “You’re mad…because?”
“Because you can’t follow through on a promise!” I cried. “You told me again and again and again we’ll talk, and then you either sex me to death or run off.”
“Sex you to death?” Aiden smirked. “I must be shit at it, because you seem pretty alive to me.”
“Oh shut up, you know what I mean.” I marched into my kitchen, throwing my jacket on the sofa. I opened the first bottle of wine I saw and poured an unhealthy amount into a glass.
“I don’t get a glass?”
I snorted as I took a long drink. Aiden took the glass off me. “Jem…” He kissed my neck.
“No.”
“Okay.” His hands ran up my sides, pulling my shirt free of my skirt.
“I said no.” I shied away from him.
“I heard you.” He was at my back pulling my zipper down. He tugged my skirt down my legs. “I heard you say no.” His hands cupped my ass. “Is this no?”
“Yes,” I breathed out.
“Oh, so this is okay?” He smiled into my neck.
“No.” My head was swimming.
“But you said yes…” Aiden turned me around. His kiss was as demanding and relentless as he was. As soon as I returned his kiss, he knew he had won. Whether he won or I gave up resisting, I wasn’t sure. My clothes pooled at my feet as Aiden devoured me, and eventually we ended up lost in each other in my bed.
I was exhausted. Aiden had owned every part of me. I don’t know where he got the stamina from, but in that respect, I couldn’t criticise. I lay on his chest, my leg tangled with his as he traced patterns on my bare back.
“My father’s a powerful man.”
I held my breath but didn’t say anything—scared to interrupt him in case he stopped talking.
“I got my degree and worked for a company for a couple of years. But I’m ambitious. They didn’t like my ambition or my new ideas. I complained to my father. He asked me if I ever thought of opening my own firm. It’s everyone’s dream, isn’t it?” Aiden sighed, but his hand was still drawing on my skin, and I waited. “We were never close. My mom died when I was young, and I think she was the only person my father actually cared for. You’re right, he is intimidating.” He gave a light laugh. “I was absolutely terrified to tell him I wanted to be an architect and not follow him in business. Took me three years to tell him I wasn’t doing business in school.” His hand rubbed over my shoulder, and he pulled me closer. “He’s a cold man, but I’ve never wanted for anything. He gave me the best education, the best of everything.”
Except his love, I guessed.
“He told me he would give me the money to start my own firm. I asked him the catch.” Aiden moved, and I moved with him. “He gave me the money, a healthy amount to get me started, more than started. We were in the bank, I was all ready to sign. God, I was so eager.” I could hear the bitterness in his voice. “My father has other business deals that I have never been party to. He has never involved me and kept them separate from his main business.”
“Drugs?” I whispered.
“How did you know?” Aiden’s fingers stilled as he asked me quietly.
“Richard said there’s rumours. I told Richard about us before Valentine’s.” I turned my head to look up at him. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not ashamed of you, Jemma. I don’t want to hide us.” He smiled gently at me. “I just wanted to protect you.” He looked out my bedroom window to the dark Denver sky. “I know I’ve been slipping up. I’ve been happy, too eager to spend time with you. I’ve been careless.”
“I make you happy?” Joy bloomed in my chest.
“How could you not?” He tugged my hair playfully. “You’re so innocent and…right.”
“You were in the bank?” I prompted him.
“Yeah.” Aiden sighed and pulled himself into a sitting position. I scrambled up and pulled the sheet over me as I sat cross-legged across from him. “He said he had one condition.” His hands ran through his hair.
“You had to marry Kat?” I guessed.
“Yes.” Aiden wouldn’t look at me. “He needed a solution to a business problem. One of his associates owed a lot of money. My father refused to lend him the money. I don’t know the details, but the associate offered his market to my father. Dad’s not one to miss a takeover, so he took it. But the problem came with it.”
“Kat is the problem?” I was confused.
Aiden snorted in contempt. “No, in this scenario, she was the solution.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My father wasn’t going to pay the debt of his new territory. So, instead, he paid me to marry Kat. She’s the daughter of the guy that the money is owed to.”
“Is that legal?”
He finally looked at me. “Does any of this sound legal?”
“I still don’t understand,” I confessed.
“By marrying Kat, I’ve married into her family. I’m their collateral.” He tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “I’m the payment for the debt owed.”
“Your dad sold you?” I gasped in astonishment.
“I think I sold myself when I accepted his money,” Aiden said ruefully as he shook his head in disgust.
“For how long?”
“What?” He looked at me questioningly.
“How long do you have
to be married for?” He looked away, and I felt my shoulders slump. “You’re in it for the long haul.”
“I don’t believe there’s an expiration date.” His smile was mocking. “Only the natural expiration date.”
“How does it work? You said you aren’t with her.”
“We got married. In fairness to Kat, I think at the time, she was as much a pawn as I was.” Aiden rubbed his chest. “I met her in the church, and she looked as uneasy as I felt.”
“But that changed, didn’t it?” I remembered the hate in his eyes when he looked at her at the gala.
“Yeah, she thought we would be a husband and wife. I took my father’s money, and I started my business. I run my business. I stayed away from them all.” Aiden got out of bed and pulled on his underwear. “I built my business. I didn’t use his name or his connections. I work hard for what I have.” Aiden leaned against my dresser. “But the pressure to have a proper marriage with Kat became more.” Aiden looked at me as I sat on the bed speechless. “She’s been raised fully aware of her family’s business. She loves it. I believe she makes quite the business partner. But that isn’t me.”
“So the more you stayed away, the more she resents it?”
“She’s a beautiful woman…on the outside. She’s poison underneath. I don’t like her. I don’t like her family, and I fucking hate what she stands for.”
“And you told her that…didn’t you?” I rubbed my eyes which were heavy with tiredness.
“I did.” He shrugged. “I’m mostly an honest guy.” He grinned at me.
“Oh, Aiden, this is a mess.”
“I know.”
“How long have you been married?” I asked him.
“Four years.”
“Jesus.” I felt sick. “You can’t divorce her?” I asked dejectedly.
“No.” His look was full of pity. “I’m sorry, Jemma.”
“Me too.” I flopped back on the pillows. I felt him get into the bed with me. “How long before they start to question it?” I spoke softly, and then I realised they already were. “That’s why your dad came to me, isn’t it? He wanted to warn me off.”
“Probably.” Aiden sounded surprised at the revelation. “I’ve had women before. She knows that; she usually ignores it,” he told me. “But they haven’t been you.” His voice was almost a whisper.
Her Greatest Mistake Page 18
