by Wade, Maddie
“Because you smell like mine.” Her cheeks went the perfect shade of pink as she ducked her head, and he felt his dick harden underneath her soft ass. “Willow, look at me.” His demand seemed to catch her off guard, but she looked up, and he rewarded her with a kiss. “Why did you use mine, and don’t lie to me.”
“I wanted to feel close to you and your scent. It makes me feel safe.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What else does it make you feel?”
“Turned on.”
Waggs sighed and his cock, which was undeniably hard now, pressed against her soft curves. He bent and caught her bottom lip with his teeth, pulling gently until he heard her sigh and lean into him, her hands flattening against his pecs. Wanting her more than his next breath, he knew he had to take it slow, but he needed to make sure she understood he wasn’t a substitute for his twin. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, take his place or be a replacement, a sad second best. “Willow, I’m not Aaron. I won’t treat you the way he did, like a china doll or protect you from the darkness inside me. I’ll protect you bodily, but I know emotionally you’re stronger than anyone thinks.”
“I know who you are, Aiden. You’ve never been, nor will you ever be, a substitute for anyone. You may be a twin, and we both loved Aaron, but he isn’t here, and we are. We deserve to be happy, too.”
Waggs couldn’t deny that they’d both loved Aaron; he knew that. Whether he deserved happiness was a question he didn’t have the answer to. Decker would have a fucking field day with this, which brought him to another thought. “I need to let my team in on this. We have resources we can use, and if this goes south, I need them on my side, or at least aware of what’s happening. They’ll also help me with a plan of action.”
“Whatever you need.”
Waggs growled as need took him. “What I need is to be buried inside that sweet pussy.” He smiled when she squirmed against him, and he fought the groan when she brushed her lips against his, the scent and taste of her a temptation. “But you’ve spent the last two days in bed sick with flu, and as much as I want you, we should wait, take things slow.”
He saw the disappointment on her face and liked that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. “How about this, we make out on the couch like teenagers, and then you go sleep in my bed and get yourself off and think about me? I’ll go to the spare room and do the same.”
Waggs lowered his head and captured her mouth, tasting her essence. Willow had always let him guide their fucking, and that was what it had been, but now he let her explore. He kissed her thoroughly until she sighed into his mouth and she became more aroused, her fingers tunnelling into his hair, the short nails digging in as they made out like teenagers on a third date.
He’d promised her slow, wanted it even, to allow them to go into this with eyes wide open but fuck if she wasn’t making it hard, making him hard. Kissing Willow was like being struck over the head with a two by four. There was no simmer—it went from peck to all-consuming passion in seconds, and he loved it.
He pulled his head back and gazed at her kiss, bruised lips with a grin as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Beautiful.”
“Yes, well, a shower and sleep can work wonders on a woman.”
“You’ve always been beautiful, Wills.”
Her eyes twinkled, and the tiredness and fear he’d seen shadowing her beautiful face were gone for now at least.
Chapter 6
Walking into Eidolon headquarters wasn’t what she expected. In fact, it was a little scary, with the cameras and retina scanning equipment.
Aiden must have felt her nerves because he squeezed her hand. “Relax, Wills, it’s no different to a military barracks.”
She appreciated his words, but he was wrong, she’d been on base with Aaron for a Christmas ball, and the security wasn’t the same. AJ’s eyes were wide as he took in all the vehicles lined up at the front. His sense of excitement was way more adventurous than hers. She’d lived her quota for excitement in the last week alone.
With his hand on her back, Aiden led her through two sets of doors, with more security until they were in the heart of the building, and everything seemed to relax a little. The knot in her tummy was loosening slightly. A child crying caught her attention, and the sound was so out of place that it made her stop. “Is that a baby?”
Aiden smiled, and she felt it in her toes. He was ridiculously handsome most of the time, but when he bestowed that on her, it was all she could do to remain on her feet.
“Yes, that’s Maggie.” Aiden walked toward a partially open door and knocked before he poked his head inside. “Hey, Autumn, everything okay?”
Willow could see a beautiful black woman holding an upset toddler on her hip and a sheaf of papers in her hand.
“Yeah, she’s cranky, and I need to get these to Jack. Can you take her for a second?”
Aiden walked forward and held out his arms for the child who leaned toward him, her tears instantly drying.
“Seriously, you cry all damn morning, and as soon as one of these guys shows you some attention, it’s all smiles. You, child, are a flirt.” Autumn was pointing her finger at her child but smiling as she spoke.
Willow laughed because the little girl was batting her eyelashes at Aiden and stroking his face. Autumn turned and looked at her and AJ and grinned. “Hey, AJ. You must be Willow. I’m Autumn.”
Aiden turned, looking sheepish for not making the introductions. “Sorry. Autumn, this is Willow, and you know AJ. Willow, this is Autumn, Mitch’s wife.”
Autumn held out her hand. “Great to meet you.” She turned to Aiden. “If you can hang here a sec while I run these over to Jack to sign it would help.”
“We’re heading that way if you want us to take them?”
“Would you? And tell him I need them back and signed ASAP.”
“Sure. Can I ask a favour of you?”
Autumn crossed her arms and cocked her eyebrow. “Ask, I make no promises.”
“Can AJ stay and play with Maggie for a little while? We need to discuss a few things with the team.”
Autumn seemed to hear his unspoken request that whatever was said, wasn’t for children’s ears. “Yeah, of course. AJ can help me keep Maggie occupied with some bricks.” Autumn crouched to AJ’s level, and he nodded and took the hand she offered. “Would that be okay, AJ?”
Willow smiled at her and backed out of the room as Aiden handed Maggie back who was in a much better mood now. It was amazing how a little distraction could stop a full-blown meltdown. As she looked back and saw AJ playing happily on the floor with Maggie, she wondered if he was missing out on having siblings.
“He’ll be fine.”
Aiden took her hand, and her eyes came to his face as she nodded. “I know, he’s a good kid, he adapts so well. I’m very lucky.”
“He is a good kid, but I think he’s the lucky one to have you as his mom.”
Willow blushed and looked away. She wasn’t used to compliments any more, five years without any kind of male interaction apart from a yearly fuck had made her awkward.
Aiden pulled her towards Jack’s office and knocked on the open door. A man in his mid-thirties looked up, and Willow wondered if there was some hiring policy that mandated the men had to be hot before they got through the door. He had dark hair, broad shoulders, and an intense vibe that filled a room.
“Waggs, are those from Autumn?”
Aiden handed him the papers. “Yes, and she wants them back signed ASAP.”
“Got it. Don’t want to upset Autumn. We can’t lose her now she has everything whipped into shape.”
Aiden pulled her forward and wrapped an arm around her. “Jack, this is Willow. Wills, this is Jack, my boss and friend.”
Jack rounded the desk and shook her hand. “Great to meet you, Willow. Waggs tells me you’re having a few issues we might be able to help with.”
Willow looked up at Aiden for guidance, she had no experien
ce with this sort of thing and was so out of her depth as to be ridiculous. Aiden nodded his encouragement and tightened his hold on her hip. “Yes, I’ve somehow got mixed up in something I shouldn’t.”
“It’s potentially a sex trafficking ring, but one woman is already dead from poking around, and the same men turned up at AJ’s school, so Willow ran and came to me.”
Jack leaned back on the desk and crossed his arms, assessing them both as he did. She wondered what he made of the obvious relationship between her and Aiden, given he probably knew about Aaron. “You did the right thing, Willow. Nobody will be able to protect you better than Waggs, especially with us behind him. How about you give me the details, and I’ll see what we can offer in the way of support and protection?”
“I can’t afford to pay you.” Willow felt a knot of panic in her belly at the thought of finding the money to pay these men, who according to Aiden, also protected the Queen of fricking England.
Aiden and Jack laughed, and she glared at Aiden and yanked away from his hold or at least tried to, but he grabbed her around the waist.
“We wouldn’t let you pay even if you wanted too. Waggs is family, and you’re important to him, so that makes you important to Eidolon. We help family here, Willow.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
“Why don’t you give me the details, and after my meeting with James Fitzgerald in an hour, I can call a meeting with the others and we can make a plan?” Jack was looking at Aiden as he spoke.
“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to show AJ the assault course. He’ll get a kick out of that.”
“Blake and Alex are out there already.”
Aiden grinned and turned to Willow. “Want to see grown men cry?”
“I have no idea how to answer that.”
Aiden chuckled and guided her out of the office and back down toward the room where Autumn worked. Willow couldn’t call it an office because it was like no office she’d ever known. It had toys, a changing station, a snack fridge, a couch, and even a playmat on the floor.
“Tip, it’s always yes.”
Willow pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “Hmm, I’m seeing a side to you that isn’t attractive, Aiden Wagner.”
Aiden grabbed her and pulled her into an empty room which by the looks of it was another office. He backed her up against the wall and kissed her hard. His lips firm and commanding as his fingers flexed on her hips and held her against his hard erection. This was a side of the man she wanted so much, that she did know and loved.
“Whoops, sorry.”
Aiden pecked her lips as he pulled his head away but didn’t move his body and he glared at the grinning man who had walked in the room. “Decker, can I help you?”
Decker was another member of the hot guy club with more dark hair and intensity than even Jack had. He also had a wicked intelligence in his eyes and gave the impression as he studied them he knew more than she was comfortable with.
“Nope, just leaving these for Alex.” He dropped two files on Alex’s desk and smiled.
“Willow, Deck. Deck, Willow. Decker is the resident profiler and head shrink.”
Decker rolled his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Willow.”
“You, too.”
Decker continued to stare, and Aiden growled. “Fuck off a sec, Deck.”
Decker chuckled and backed out of the room with a bow. “As you wish, my lord.”
Aiden rested his head against her forehead. “They’re assholes, but they’re loyal, and without them, I don’t know if I would’ve survived losing Aaron.”
Willow ran her hands up his biceps, loving the strength and muscle under her palms. “I’m glad you have them, and they seem great. One question, though. Do you have to be drop-dead gorgeous to work here?”
Aiden pinched her ass, and she squealed and laughed as he buried his head in her neck and bit down on the sensitive skin. “Woman, do not go calling my friend gorgeous unless you want the green-eyed monster to make an appearance.”
“Hmm, if this is any indication, I kind of like it.”
Aiden pulled away, and his heated gaze found hers, she shivered with desire. “You’re not making this easy, Wills.”
“Good.”
With that, she pushed him away and walked out the door. Aiden was right behind her, positioning her in front of him, and she chuckled when she realised why he was using her as a human shield.
They found AJ playing bricks with Maggie. He built them, and she knocked them down with gleeful joy. It was sweet to see her son interacting with Maggie, and she was glad her uprooting him the way she had hadn’t seemed to have done any lasting damage.
“Hey, bud, want to go play on the assault course out the back?”
Aiden crouched to speak with AJ, and she watched the two interact like they had known each other their whole lives, not just a few days. She wondered if it was some innate familial connection the two shared. Seeing Aiden with AJ hurt her heart, but it also healed something inside her she hadn’t known was broken.
“Can Maggie come too?”
Willow crouched next to Aiden and ruffled her son’s hair. “Not sure she’s big enough, AJ.” She glanced up at Autumn for confirmation.
“Maggie needs her nap, but if you’re home later, you can come over and play for a bit before you have dinner. But only if it’s okay with your mum.”
Willow smiled and nodded at her son’s hopeful expression. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Yes.” AJ pumped the air as he jumped to his feet. He patted Maggie on the head. “See you later, Mags.”
He grabbed her hand and then Aiden’s and pulled them toward the door. Aiden looked at her, and she knew he felt it too, the bond the three of them shared. This, right here, was what she wanted, a family, but did she have a right to want it with her dead fiancé’s twin brother?
That was the question she still had no answer for, but for now, she didn’t have to find all the answers, she could just enjoy the moment.
The weather was dry and mild if not exactly warm as they walked through the building to the back door and past some heavily secured steel doors which hid God knew what.
The outside of the building was as impressive as the inside, with a full-sized assault course worthy of an army camp. An indoor and outdoor shooting range, and she could see further in the distance the shell of a two-story building.
“What is that?”
Aiden followed her finger to where she was pointing. “That’s the training village. It’s a bit like Hogan’s Alley that the FBI use. There are fake home structures and streets etc. We can move around and practise for different tactical situations.”
“Wow that’s impressive, and what about that?” Now she was focused on a barn on the opposite side of the facility.
“That will house the new K9 unit when we get it set up and running in a few months.”
Two men walked toward them, pulling Willow’s attention away, both dripping in sweat and looking like they might die on the spot. Heaving for air, they were ribbing each other good-naturedly as they caught their breath.
“Who won?”
“I did,” the slightly taller man with a slight accent she couldn’t place said.
The other one laughed as he shoved him in the shoulder. “He cheated.”
Aiden laughed. “We all know I can beat you both.”
“Oh, fighting talk, all confident with your girl around, I see.”
Aiden chuckled. “Blake, Alex, this is Willow and AJ.”
Willow noticed every time he introduced her and AJ, he never said who they were to him. She wasn’t sure if that was an accident or if perhaps he didn’t know how to define it. God knew she didn’t have a clue either.
Both men shook her hand, and she liked the fact they treated her with respect and friendliness.
“So, you gonna run the course, Waggs?” Alex had his hands on his hips as he asked the question.
“I was going to run it with my main man here. Jack wants a me
eting as soon as he finishes his call with James.”
“I should get changed and showered then. Know what it’s about?”
“Yeah, Willow has a few problems we need help with.”
Alex’s eyes shot to her, and he nodded. He looked at Blake and then Aiden. “You think any of us can do this the easy way?”
Willow frowned not understanding what he meant by that.
“Not so far, at least.”
“It’s not like that,” Aiden denied and then shrugged. “Or maybe it is.”
Alex slapped Aiden on the shoulder and Blake did the same before he said something quietly so Willow couldn’t hear. It was a little rude, but she was damned if she was calling him out on it. These men epitomised dangerous, and although she felt no fear or intimidation from them, and they’d shown her only kindness, the idea that they could make her disappear without a trace was strong.
Aiden watched his friends go before turning to AJ. “Want to run the course, champ?”
“Yes.”
“You good here?” Aiden gripped her arm, and she could see he wanted to kiss her, and she liked that, too but with little people watching they couldn’t let their feelings run free. It would be too confusing for AJ so soon.
“Yeah, I’m just going to sit here and watch.”
Willow settled on the grass. The course was long but wove around through the trees in a way that whoever was watching could always see the competitor. As Aiden and AJ took off, she smiled at her son’s enthusiasm as his little legs sprinted for the first obstacle. Aiden was just behind him as he walked the low balance beam slowly and with full concentration, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth.
Willow smiled as he jumped down, and Aiden took his hand as they ran for the second obstacle. It was hard not to get involved with the excitement, and she cheered them on, hollering her son’s name and clapping. AJ was her world, and she’d always be his biggest supporter and advocate.
She hadn’t had that as a child. Her family consisted of just her and her parents, and when they’d died in a car accident when she was eight, it was just her and her aunt. Aunt Lou was lovely, just never wanted or planned on having children, and with having a child forced upon her, she did her best. It meant Willow was treated like an adult from that day on and lost the joy of childhood she was determined her son have.
