“I hate you,” I seethed.
“I really don’t care.” He turned his attention to Aiden. “He wants to meet.”
“When?” Aiden asked sharply.
“Five minutes ago, but you were too busy screwing.”
“Give me a few minutes,” Aiden told him as he straightened his shirt.
“Who wants to meet?” I asked as I sat up in the bed in alarm.
“Careful, cupcake, I can see your tits.” I heard the dickhead’s laughter as he walked away as I hastily checked to make sure I was covered.
“He’s a dick,” I hissed at Aiden. “Who wants to meet?”
“Kat’s father.”
“Oh, Aiden, no, I don’t like it.” Concern for him overrode anything else.
“It will be fine.”
“I’m coming!” I demanded as I started to scramble out of the bed.
“No, you’ll stay here.” Aiden went into his adjoining bathroom. “I can’t worry about you.”
“But it’s okay for me to worry about you?”
“This is my mess,” Aiden called from the bathroom. “I’ll fix it.”
He walked out looking impeccable, and I was almost angry I hadn’t messed his hair and clothes up more. I had straightened my own top, but I knew I would still look like I had been dragged through a bush backwards.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“Don’t be. You’ll be fine.” Aiden smiled benevolently at me as he reached out to stroke my cheek.
‘I’m not scared for me, you idiot.” I swatted Aiden’s hand away from me.
“I’m not in any danger.” He sighed when he saw my sceptical look. “It’ll be okay, no one can get in who isn’t me or Raphe, understand?”
“Aiden, please, can we talk about this?” I begged, my heart in my throat.
He grabbed me as he pressed a crushing kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you soon.”
I couldn’t even run after him as he headed out the door, because my skirt was still somewhere tossed aside on the bed. Instead, I sank onto the bed in despair.
Once I was cleaned up and dressed again, I ventured back downstairs. My purse sat on the sofa. I hadn’t even noticed it before, and I raced towards it now, digging for my cell phone. It wasn’t there. I searched again and then threw the purse aside. He had taken it. The creepy bastard, Raphe, had taken my phone. On impulse, I searched the purse again. My phone and my wallet. Oh God, I could punch his smirking face in.
With a cry of frustration at his underhanded ways, I made my way to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and stared at the vast emptiness. All Aiden had in his fridge was bottles of water, a few bottles of beer and a half empty bottle of Russian vodka. I went searching for a freezer and couldn’t find one. There was no food? Did he eat out all the time? On finding no freezer, I looked at his stove, grill and oven. Immaculate. I would bet my back teeth he had never cooked on this thing in his life. I was hungry. I started going through his cupboards, ignoring my guilt at being so bold.
“He shouldn’t have locked me in his home if he didn’t want me to explore it,” I reminded myself as I found a bag of chips. “Result!” I took them and a bottle of water back to the sofa. As I sat and ate my way through the bag, I checked the door continuously. How long would he be? What if he didn’t come back? What if they hurt him? You’re stress eating. I pushed the chips away.
“Why are you still sitting here, Jemma?” I asked the empty room. “So he has your phone and your wallet? Walk away. You’re in Denver, you can walk home. Why are you sitting here waiting for them to come back? Do you want to be locked in here? Did you like it? Has he overridden all of your senses?”
I stood. What was I doing? I was sitting waiting for him like a good little pet. I ran up the stairs and tried to find the room Murdery had put me in earlier. I did hesitate when I saw the mess of the room, but after a second of uncertainty, I ignored it and grabbed my coat. I put it on as I ran down the stairs and snatched up my purse. At the door, I paused.
“You can do this, Jemma, you just open the door and walk out.” My hand hovered over the handle. “Push it down, Jem, come on, you need to leave. This is insane, you didn’t sign up for kidnappings and deals and mob bosses!”
No, I didn’t. But I signed up for Aiden. “Don’t do it.” My inner voice spoke out loud. Don’t be that girl. “I love him,” I told myself as I stood indecisively at the door. I could walk out of here and what? Cause him panic? He wouldn’t know where I went or that I went willingly. He would think someone came for me. Or he would send his sidekick Raphe to find me, and I think I had enough dealings with him to last me a lifetime.
“Then wait.” I stepped back. “Wait until you know he is really okay and then walk out of here and get home. Where you can lock your door and figure this out. This is too much. You’re just you, Jemma, you don’t live in these palatial penthouses or fit into his world. My God, he was just supposed to be the hot construction guy. How did it ever become this?”
As I ignored the screaming from my inner voice at how much of a cliché idiot I was, I went and sat back down. I would wait, and I would make sure he was okay, and then I would leave. I needed away from him before I could think. When we were together, nothing else mattered. Look at earlier—I had been kidnapped for God’s sake, and then I was on the bed with Aiden, tangled up in a sex making session. I snorted at my ridiculousness. No, I needed away from him, he was potent. When I was in the same room with him, I forgot myself and who I was. I became Jemma the Nympho, and things were too out of control now for nymphoness.
That’s not a word. Well, I just said it, so it must be.
I smiled. It was a silly thing Jeremy and I had said when we were younger. I would make up words, and he would tell me they weren’t words. Jeremy. I looked around the living space. I knew my brother’s number by heart. I just needed to find a phone.
I found one in a study. Or library. I wasn’t sure if it was both? It was also sparse and looked like the rest of the show home. I thought about upstairs when I had been critical of the night light. Aiden was a neat freak? How the hell he ever stayed in my apartment was beyond me. I had clutter and knickknacks everywhere. He must have been itching out of his skin in my space.
“Do you want to do this to your brother, Jemma?” I asked the room. “Yes. I need out of here. And look, there’s paper; you can write him a note.”
Swallowing hard, I picked up the phone and dialled my big brother. “Jeremy?” He asked me if I was okay, and I told him no. “I need you to come get me.”
As I gave him little detail, he agreed to pick me up. I had no idea what the address was, but I knew if I stayed in the lobby, I would recognise his truck. I thanked all the angels in the heavens that he was only on the outskirts of Denver on a job, and I counted the minutes for him to be here. He had told me he would ring this number when he got to Congress Park, and I would leave the apartment and make my way down.
When the phone rang, I jumped in fear. Okay, you’re hysterical. Calm down. I dropped the note for Aiden on the sofa where he would see it. It was simple and to the point…like I used to be.
Aiden, I can’t stay here. Too much has happened today, I needed to leave. I hope you are okay and everything is sorted for you. Please try to understand. I need time, this is all too much, too soon.
Jem x
With a deep breath, I opened the main door. I had a moment of panic as I worried it wouldn’t open, but it did. I closed it firmly behind me. I waited anxiously on the elevator, which didn’t seem to need a card to go down. On the journey down, I prayed no one got on at any of the floors, and thankfully they didn’t.
As I exited the elevator, a man walked into the lobby. He stopped in surprise when he saw me. I stopped on instinct. We stared at each other.
“Unbelievable, you’ve been here the whole time?” He looked at me in bemusement.
My eyes flicked to the doorman, who looked at us but didn’t move. No, I was not going anywhere against my will with
anyone else.
“I think you must be confused.” I dipped my head, and with a confidence even Aiden would have been envious of, I walked past him. He grabbed my arm, and I was ready for it. Bringing my foot down hard on his, I yanked free as I rushed outside. Miracle of miracles, I saw Jeremy’s truck, and I hightailed it to him. I looked over my shoulder once to see the guy in the street, but I was at the truck, and I got in and yelled “drive” to my brother. With a panicked look at me, Jeremy floored it. As he drove away, I sank into the seat and dropped my head in my hands.
“What the hell is going on?” Jeremy demanded.
“Take me home,” I whispered as the tears started to fall.
“Your apartment?”
“No, I need to go home,” I said as I flicked the tears away. “Take me to Boulder.”
“Mom and dad’s?” Jeremy asked with surprise.
I nodded, and he muttered that I better tell him on the way home what was going on. I agreed and proceeded to tell him everything as he drove me out of Denver.
Jeremy had taken me to his house instead. When I had questioned him, he had told me not to worry about it and simply got out of the truck. Rachel had come to the door and looked at me in surprise but stood back wordlessly when Jeremy had simply asked her if there was coffee.
I had retold the story, and even though I knew how incredibly ridiculous it seemed, they didn’t judge me. Which I wasn’t sure I deserved.
That had been almost four weeks ago.
Jeremy had gotten me a replacement phone, and with a new number, I had most of my contacts in either my brother or Rachel’s phone. I had eventually called the office and spoken to Nadine, who had told me because I had gone missing under suspension, and HR couldn’t get in touch with me, my employment had been terminated. My paperwork had been sent to my apartment. Jeremy had collected my mail once when the apartment was put up for sale. I was officially done with Denver. Tim had contacted me through the realtor, demanding his share when the apartment sold. I had sent him to my lawyer. My new lawyer.
Of Aiden, I heard no word. Dad had sent OSHA in once more, and Aiden had been present through the whole inspection. As my heart had rejoiced he was okay, I had also felt it break that he hadn’t come for me. But then, did I really expect him to? Yes. He was Aiden, for God’s sake! Dad admitted, rather reluctantly, that the site had passed with flying colours. We hadn’t told my parents the full extent of why I had run from Denver like a scared little girl. They knew I hadn’t told them the full story, but because they were amazing, they didn’t ask—content to let me regroup at my brother’s.
When Jeremy had been at my apartment, he had met Steve, who had demanded to know where I was. Jeremy had called me to ask if he was okay to give the big guy my number, and I had said yes. Both Steve and Tyler had met me at Pearl Mall not long after, and I had told them I had been let go from work for having inappropriate relations with Aiden on site during working hours. Which was kind of true. Tyler had been quiet, and when Steve had gone to get refills of our drinks, he had asked me if Aiden did the same work as his father did. I vehemently said no, and Tyler had believed me. When I asked why he believed me so readily, he laughed and told me that the sheer arrogance of Aiden would have gotten him killed a long time ago. I couldn’t defend him there, it was true.
We had spent some time together, and it had been nice to see them. I was going to visit them next time. Steve still hadn’t found alternative living accommodations. I had teased that my apartment was available, but he had flushed and muttered about being fine where he was. I had looked at Tyler, who was hiding a small smile behind his drink as he pretended not to hear. They were good friends, and I hoped they sorted something out.
“Jemma!” I closed my eyes briefly as I put down my book. That was my brother’s voice calling for me. It was also my brother’s big brother call of frustration. What had I done? I got up off the bed I had been lying on and trudged down the stairs. Rachel had taken the twins out to the park, and Jessica and Jacob were at school. Oh, I may have eaten his lunch, I remembered as I hopped off the last step. I hadn’t been sure if it had been his lunch, so I ate it on the assumption that it wasn’t. Shit.
“Okay, I know you’re pissed, but seriously, it’s Rachel’s fault she cooks so well.” I was laughing as I went into the living room and stopped dead. “Aiden.”
He was in my brother’s house. Why was he in my brother’s house? My eyes ran over him greedily. Dark wash jeans, a simple grey T-shirt and his black biker boots. His hair was combed back, but it was longer than it had been. He had a slight five o’clock shadow, and I itched to trace his stubble. His stare was hard as he looked at me.
What the hell am I wearing? My hair was piled on my head in what I was calling a messy bun but actually meant abandoned bird’s nest. I had yoga pants on and a loose black T-shirt. My feet were bare, and I hadn’t even put mascara on. I was a comfortable slob in my brother’s house.
“Aiden,” I said it again, and then I had nothing else to say, because I was rushing forward and leaping into his arms. My arms and legs wound around him as I kissed him with everything I had. He held me effortlessly as his tongue danced with mine and his hands squeezed my ass. “I’m so sorry,” I gasped between kisses. I heard the front door close, and then Jeremy’s truck started. We were alone. Which Aiden also recognised, because I was being pressed into a wall as he devoured me, his hands slipping into my hair. I whimpered in protest when he stood back and looked down at me, and my hands clutched his shirt to drag him back down to me.
“We need to talk,” Aiden said quietly.
I nodded reluctantly as I dropped my legs from his waist. “Okay.” I looked around and pointed to one of the chairs. “You want to sit?”
“No.”
“Okay.” I sat. Because my knees were weak and I wanted to touch him again.
“I’m so fucking angry at you, Jemma,” Aiden said with a shake of his head as he watched me with hooded eyes.
“I’m sorry.” I twisted my hands together.
“You ran from me?” He stood completely still in the middle of the living room. “You needed time?”
“Yes.” This was a lie. I thought I had needed time, but instead, as soon as I had slept and came to my senses, I realised I only wanted Aiden. But my fear of his rejection had kept me in Boulder. The more time passed, the more I realised he couldn’t or didn’t want me.
“Have you had time?” His tone was cold. Completely contrasting to the heat of his kiss mere moments before.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“And?”
“I’m an idiot?” I suggested with a slight shrug.
“What do you mean?” Aiden was still watching me. Christ, had he even blinked?
“I realised almost immediately. I didn’t need time. I just need you.”
He took a harsh breath. I saw it and I saw the warmth seep into his chocolate brown eyes. “Say it again,” he demanded.
I stood and took a step forward. “I need you, I love you.”
Aiden reached for me, and his kiss was everything. He tugged at my T-shirt, and I had sense to step back. “We can’t,” I whispered with regret.
“We can.” His hands slipped under my shirt and over my back. “We really can,” he told me as he bit my lower lip gently. “I need this.”
“My family—”
“Aren’t here.” Aiden’s mouth was on my neck. “Your brother has gone to dissuade any returns.”
“You told my brother you were going to have sex with me?” My eyes popped open in alarm.
“No, I told your brother I was going to fuck you into oblivion for leaving me and not coming back.”
“Aiden!” I cried in protest. “Jeremy would have had a heart attack.”
“He laughed,” Aiden told me as he took my shirt off me. “Said he didn’t care what I did as long as it stopped you moping around his house.”
I hadn’t been moping! “But…”
“Shut up, Jem, and get
upstairs, I can’t wait much longer.”
I went to protest, but Aiden made a rumbling sound in his throat that had me running for the stairs.
Afterwards, as we lay in bed, tangled in each other’s arms, I turned my head to look up at him. Shifting, I moved into his side more so I could see him.
“Tell me what happened?” I asked softly.
“I’m divorced. As of last Friday.”
“Oh, Aiden, that’s such good news.” My heart swelled with joy. “Was it terrible?”
“No, I told you it wouldn’t be. When Raphe and I got to the meeting, Kat was already there. Her father told her to sign the paper and remember who she was.” Aiden smirked. “Him calling her out like that pissed her off. I was happy to leave them behind. When I got back to the penthouse, you were gone. I didn’t even see the note. I ran down to Leon.” Seeing my look, he explained. “The doorman. He said a guy had tried to speak to you, but you had assaulted him.”
“He was going to grab me! He did grab me,” I protested as I wiggled into a sitting position.
“I went to your apartment and almost broke the door down, but the cop threatened to arrest me if I didn’t leave.” Aiden snorted. “When I went home, I had already called Raphe, but that’s when I saw the note.”
“I’m sorry, I thought I had left it in a prominent position.”
“Why couldn’t you just stay?” His fingers traced my skin, and I reached over and kissed him lightly.
“I was taken to a place I didn’t know, by a man who threatened my nieces and nephews, I was locked in a room against my will, and then we had wild sex while some freak listened to us. It was very, very overwhelming. I was scared. Scared for myself, scared for my family, scared for you.”
“So scared for me you didn’t wait to see if I was okay?” Aiden looked away from me.
“I’m sorry.” I bit my lip. I had been so selfish when I ran that day, I knew it and I had no defence against it. “I did make dad send OSHA to the site.”
“I knew that visit was bullshit.” Aiden snorted.
Her Greatest Mistake Page 29
