I felt the tears threaten. “You had to go and fall for me, didn’t you?” I sniffed with a self-derogatory laugh.
“I did.” He leaned over me and kissed me softly. “I really wish I hadn’t.”
My hand ran over his cheek. “I don’t.” He kissed me deeply, and I surrendered to the taste of him once again, my hands trailing down and tugging at his underwear. I felt Aiden’s smile against my lips as he hastily removed them. As he moved over me and then in me, I clung on with everything I had, because it seemed that my time with Aiden was short.
Later when he was asleep beside me, I let the tears fall. I was in love with him. I was in love with him, and I could never have him. He was mine, but we could never be more than this.
I felt his arms tighten around me. “Don’t cry, Jem, I’ll work it out.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted with a defeated sigh. “But I’ll try.”
“Go to sleep,” I said softly. I felt him kiss me on my shoulder as I closed my eyes.
When I woke again, it was morning. The bed was empty, and I had resigned myself to him having left again, but then I heard the water running. He’s in the shower? I got up and walked over to my bathroom. Opening the door, I slipped inside. His back was to me as he washed, and with a confidence I didn’t know I owned until I met Aiden, I opened the shower door and stepped inside with him.
He turned to me with a smile, and then he was kissing me. He moved me under the stream, and squirting a lot of body wash onto his hand, he started lathering me up. His hand trailed over my body before it moved between my legs. He stroked as he cleaned me from the night before. He had used the washcloth last night. He seemed to take satisfaction from looking after me, but in the shower, he was enjoying being more thorough. Soon it was my own slickness that was covering his fingers, and I watched in a lust-filled haze as he dropped to his knees and replaced his hand with his tongue. He knew exactly what he was doing, and when he was satisfied that I had cried out enough for him, he turned me around, and then I was taking him inside me.
My palms were flat against the wall as I pushed back into him. The jet of water was hitting me directly on my back, and between the heat of the shower and the heat of Aiden thrusting into me, I was close to passing out. Aiden’s hand cupped me and then his thumb was strumming my centre, and the orgasm washed over me in a wave of euphoria. I felt him tense as I clenched around him, and then he was slumping over me slightly.
“Jesus fuck, woman.” Aiden slapped my ass lightly as he withdrew. “I don’t know where you get all this energy from.”
Straightening, I looked over my shoulder at him. “Are you joking?”
“You may be in danger of wearing me out.” Aiden kissed me softly, nipping my bottom lip. “I’m not complaining,” he whispered against my mouth.
A few minutes later, his hands were on the move again. “Stop,” I moaned. “I need to eat,” I protested.
“I could eat,” he teased me as he kissed my neck.
“Food, Aiden!” I pushed him slightly. “I mean food.”
“Okay, I’ll take you out for breakfast.” He shook his wet hair at me, and then he stepped out of the shower. I watched him in silent outrage as he used my toothbrush again as I washed my hair. By the time I was out of the bathroom, he was on his phone on my sofa.
I quickly dressed in jeans and a sweater, and then we were heading out. “Where we going?” I asked as we headed down the stairs.
“We can still make breakfast,” Aiden said as he checked his watch.
“Oooh, French toast.” I nodded in enthusiasm as Aiden opened the door of the Uber for me. “When did you order this?”
“When you were getting dressed.”
We ended up at one of the bigger shopping malls, and Aiden took my hand as he led me to a small café set behind the mall. “Best French toast in Denver,” he told me as he led me inside.
I had French toast with fruit and a side of bacon. I was so stuffed when we left the café I was laughing at Aiden teasing me about the amount of food I ate.
“And here’s my husband with his…mistress? Or are you simply his slut?” Kat looked me over with disgust. “I think it’s slut.”
“Kat,” Aiden growled at her in warning.
“Are you coming home tonight? Or do I have to spend another night explaining to my father that you’re out and I don’t know where?”
I looked at Aiden in confusion. I thought they didn’t live together?
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Aiden snarled at her.
“Are you wearing yesterday’s clothes?” Kat looked at him in horror before turning a hate-filled glare to me.
“Why are you here?” I asked her, so very pleased that my voice was steady.
“I was looking for my husband,” she told me.
“Stop the shit, Kat,” Aiden muttered as he moved us away from her more. “I’ve never been your husband.”
Kat stepped forward as his hand ran up my arm. “You’re just going to stand here in the street and disrespect me?” she hissed at him.
“What the fuck do you want?” Aiden stepped away from me as he glared at her.
“I should go,” I said, my voice no longer strong. It didn’t feel right to be here and witness this.
“You should,” Kat replied curtly without looking at me.
“Jem…”
“It’s fine, thanks for breakfast.” I waited a moment, but when he made no move towards me, I turned and hurriedly walked away. I glanced back once, but he and Kat looked to be in a heated argument. I didn’t fancy being Kat at this moment in time. Aiden looked ready to kill someone. For the first time, I noticed that she had two guys with her, and one of them was staring straight at me. Unease filled me as I detoured into the mall, suddenly feeling the need for safety in numbers.
Aiden had texted me later that afternoon to see if I was okay. I didn’t answer because I honestly couldn’t tell him if I was. I was a mistress? No. He didn’t have a relationship with her. Her words bothered me though. When we had been stuck in the elevator, he said they didn’t live together, but she had recognised his clothing and said she was expecting him home.
If they lived together, did that change things? Was there more to their relationship? The hatred seemed real enough between both of them. She was the daughter of a drug lord, but it seemed Aiden was the son of one. Jesus. My comment all those weeks ago that he wasn’t in a mafia movie struck home. Oh my God, maybe he was? I thought about his father. I knew nothing about Malcolm Litton, but he was known to others. How would he be okay with this? He had come to the office to see me when he knew Aiden wasn’t there. To warn me? I was no longer sure.
I was sure that I didn’t like the way Kat’s bodyguard stared at me. I didn’t want to be on these people’s radar. I was no one, I was the single most boring person in all of Denver. How the hell did I get tangled up in this? All because of a man. I could walk away? Okay, I had feelings for him—more than feelings for him, I was completely in love with him. Feelings faded though, didn’t they? If I stayed away, I could get over him. I mean, I hardly knew him, I didn’t even know what his favourite colour was or favourite movie was. They were the things you knew about a person, weren’t they? When you were in a relationship, you knew someone’s favourite book and the way they took their coffee. Okay, I knew that, he drank it black. Yay me.
I reached for my phone, and my finger hesitated over Rachel’s name. Could I tell her? She would tell Jeremy, and he would come gunning for Aiden. My brother was a reasonable man, but you didn’t mess with his family. I chewed my lip. I couldn’t involve them. Rachel had messaged once to see if I was okay, and I had told her I was. She had asked if it was sorted, and I had replied I was getting there. How did I tell her this? No, this was something I needed to fix on my own.
“The solution is simple, Jemma,” I spoke to myself. “Walk away. This is too much.”
My heart was heavy. Maybe I needed to walk awa
y.
“Hey, Richard.” I closed the office door behind me. “I need a favour.”
Richard looked up at me and sat back. “You want to see the prenup?”
I gave a short laugh. “Am I so predictable?”
“No, I expected you to ask sooner.”
“Can I see it?” I asked nervously.
“No.” He smiled softly at me. “I can’t let you see that.” He rubbed his head. “But I have studied it, and you could ask me questions if you wanted, on the condition you can’t act on anything I tell you.”
“Okay.” I walked eagerly to the chair opposite from him and sat down. “Can he divorce her?”
“Straight in there, huh, Jemma,” Richard commented wryly. Richard watched me for longer than I was comfortable with. “Yes.”
Hope surged within me, and I leaned forward excitedly. “He can?”
“If she agrees to the terms of the divorce, and he pays her a settlement of ten million dollars.”
What? “Oh.”
“Can she divorce him?” I asked, the despair heavy in my voice.
“Yes.”
“Same terms?” I asked.
“Five million for the wife to enact divorce proceedings.”
“She pays him?”
“No, Aiden pays either way.”
“He agreed to this?” I asked frustratedly.
“He did.” Richard watched me closely. “He wasn’t forced into this, Jemma, and I understand it is not a conventional marriage, but it is binding, and he signed the papers with no hesitation.”
“I’m screwed,” I muttered hopelessly.
“I never for one moment thought it was Aiden you were interested in,” Richard told me. “I guess I saw what I wanted to see.”
“You know him well?”
“Not really. I met him when he came in for the signing of the prenup. I had seen it when it was sent over from his wife’s attorneys, and I remember being surprised at how heavily skewed it was on the husband. We talked it over, but honestly, the thing I remember the most about the whole meeting was how indifferent he seemed.”
Of course he would. Marrying Kat was a means to an end. What a dick, I fumed in my head.
“Ok.” I studied Richard’s desk. “Is there any good news you can give me?”
“You’re a strong woman, Jemma, you can move on from him.” Richard leaned forward over the desk. “You’ll find someone better.”
“You think I need to stop seeing him?”
“Yes.” Richard looked surprised I was even asking. “They’re not people for you to be involved with, Jemma… They’re dangerous.”
“Aiden isn’t dangerous.”
“He is. His involvement with them is by association, and you don’t need those complications in your life.”
“I love him,” I whispered.
“Oh, Jemma,” Richard sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry.”
I wiped my eyes furtively. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”
“You’re going to get hurt.”
“I’m already hurt,” I said quietly as I stood. “Thank you for telling me. I won’t tell him.”
I left Richard’s office and went back to my desk. I sat there numbly before I realised Nadine was standing beside me.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” I answered her truthfully.
“Can I do anything?”
“No.” I sighed.
“I’m sorry about Aiden.”
“I don’t care if you threw yourself at him, Nadine,” I snapped. “I care that you lied to me about it.”
“I know. I should have known as soon as he laughed at me,” she said miserably.
“He laughed at you?” That seemed harsh.
“Yeah, told me he wasn’t interested in a backstabbing bitch,” Nadine told me quietly.
“Oh.” I patted her hand. “He didn’t need to be cruel. I’m sorry.”
“You’re too nice, Jemma.” Nadine looked away from me. “You should be slapping me for trying to take what’s yours.”
“He isn’t mine though.” I stood and picked up my purse. “Tell Richard I needed a long lunch.” I hurried out of the office and headed over to the bistro. The cold air froze my cheeks, and I walked faster. When I got there, I was pissed to see it was closed. Not to be deterred, I went exploring for the back door.
“Hello?” I called out as I manoeuvred around bins and bags of rubbish. There was steam escaping from the open back door. I hesitantly walked forward. “Hello there,” I called again.
“Yo.” I jumped when the boy’s head popped up from under a counter. “Who are you?”
“I’m looking for Levi.”
“Why?”
“Because I am,” I said harshly. I took a breath. I needed to calm my nerves. “Sorry, is he here?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, aren’t you helpful.” I had an intense stare off with the guy—dishwasher boy maybe?
“You a crazy?” he asked me as he looked me over.
“A crazy what?”
“Stalker.”
“Excuse me?” Was he a crazy?
“Are you stalking him?” he asked me patiently.
“No.” I shook my head. “And aren’t I supposed to be stealthy and sneaky to be a stalker?”
“Or you could be just saying that to make me think you aren’t.” He frowned as he thought about it. “He isn’t here.”
“He out front?” I guessed as I moved with a confidence I wasn’t feeling through the kitchen. I marched through the double swing kitchen doors and came to an abrupt stop when I was met with a crowd of people, along with Levi, staring at me in surprise. “Hi?” I looked around, my face burning.
“Boss, this crazy bitch came through the kitchen, I couldn’t stop her.”
I turned to the young guy and rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”
“Can I help you?” Levi asked curiously, and it was obvious he was thinking about why I looked familiar.
“Yes, please. Can I talk to you?”
“I’m busy.” His stare was hard.
“I can wait.” I clutched my purse tighter.
Levi huffed out a laugh. My waiter from the time I was here with Aiden leaned over and whispered to his boss. “Oh yeah, I remember.” He nodded as he looked at me. “Okay, five minutes,” he said to his staff, and he walked to the back of the restaurant. I realised I was supposed to follow him and hurried after him.
Levi sat at a table in full view of his staff and looked at me expectantly. “So?”
“I’m sorry to burst in here like this, but I think you may be a friend of Aiden’s?” I was remembering his words to Aiden as “that bitch who calls herself your wife” was ringing in my head.
“Aiden doesn’t exactly have friends,” Levi answered as he assessed me.
“That’s why I came to you,” I answered. “I know Aiden, he looked pleased to see you. He has a table here every Saturday—you don’t do that if you aren’t friends with someone.”
“Or he’s a contrary bastard who won’t give up one of my best tables,” Levi smirked.
He really was incredibly good looking, and I realised it was rather intimidating. His hair was loose today, and I noticed it kissed his jawline. It was so brilliantly blond. I realised I was studying him when he smirked at me. “You mentioned his wife,” I said softly. “I imagine not many people know about her.”
Levi’s smirk was gone, and he sat back and looked at me. “Why are you here, Jemma?”
“You remember my name?”
“I do.” That was a positive sign, wasn’t it?
“Has he ever told you how he is going to get out of it?”
“He can’t,” Levi said sharply.
“I’m not ready to accept that answer.”
“You should be.” Levi stood and looked down at me. “He’s going to be fucking furious at you for coming here. You’ve betrayed his trust, he told me you were different, it doesn’t seem like you are.”
“Then don’t tell him I was here,” I said simply.
“I’m not that good a friend.” Levi walked away from me.
Well, that backfired, I thought as I stood. I was impulsive coming here. What did I think was going to happen? Levi was going to tell me Aiden’s deepest darkest secrets at the same time as coming up with a plan on how to break off his marriage? I pushed out the bistro main door, not meeting anyone’s eye as I hastily left. Well, that was one place I wouldn’t be returning to.
I walked slowly back to work, the cold air clearing my head. As I walked the last remaining block before my office, my phone rang, and I knew it was him without looking. “Hey.”
“What were you thinking?” His voice was cold and hard.
“I think I was desperate.” I laughed humorously in the winter air.
“This was unacceptable.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Sorry isn’t good enough,” Aiden barked. “I thought I could trust you when I told you about Kat. Obviously, I can’t.” He hung up.
Well, shit.
I ran across my apartment as I heard the phone ringing, and I didn’t want to miss it. I snatched it up breathlessly.
“Hello!”
“Um, hi. It’s Calvin.”
“Why?” Shit, did I say that out loud?
I heard the chuckle and felt bad. “I was wondering if we could meet for coffee?”
“Why?” Jesus, Jemma.
I heard Calvin clear his throat. “I was hoping to discuss something with you?”
“Um—”
“It would be really appreciated if you could meet me. I won’t take long.”
You do owe him this, Jemma. “Okay, where?”
“The coffeehouse we went to the first time? Today?” I could hear the hope in his voice.
“Okay, what time?” I kicked at the side of my sofa as I stared listlessly at the TV. Calvin told me when to meet him, and I agreed.
When I hung up, I stared at the phone. Two weeks and nothing from Aiden. Not a text or a phone call. I had called him, and it went to voicemail. He was either rejecting my phone calls or he had blocked me. Neither option filled me with joy. He hadn’t been on site, and after the first week, I had stopped calling. Had I broken his trust by going to Levi? I probably had. What had I even thought I was accomplishing? I wondered for the millionth time.
Her Greatest Mistake Page 19
