by Anna Durand
Aidan, appearing wary and somewhat confused, took the man's hand. "Aye, I'm Aidan MacTaggart. Who are you?"
"Billy, from the rental agency."
My Scot's eyebrows knit together. "From the what?"
"The car rental agency. Your brother called about getting you an upgrade."
"Upgrade?" Aidan's confusion crumbled away, replaced by the light of understanding. "Ah, Lachlan said he was going to get me a better car. I almost forgot."
He sounded like he wished Lachlan had forgotten.
Billy the Car Guy handed Aidan the keys to the cherry-red vehicle. "It's a convertible, by the way, perfect for beautiful summer days."
Aidan accepted the keys, but his gaze swiveled to me and he smiled in his secret way that made my body hum. "Mm, perfect for enjoying a beautiful lass on a beautiful summer day."
"Exactly," Billy said, seeming oblivious of the innuendo in Aidan's words.
I understood what he meant by enjoying me — and he wasn't talking about making me laugh. The sparkle in his eyes confirmed my analysis.
Aidan hooked the key ring over his middle finger and flipped the keys around it once, with a bright jangling sound. "Billy, how are you to get back to wherever you came from?"
"I'll take the other car. The one you rented yesterday."
"Of course." Aidan extracted the keys to that vehicle and tossed them to Billy. "Do I tip you? I'm new to this country and don't know all the etiquette."
"No tip required, sir. Your brother took care of everything."
Aidan's mouth warped downward at one corner, half annoyance, half humor. "Naturally, he did. Lachlan takes care of everything for everyone, whether you want him to or not."
I slipped my arm through his, leaning into him. "Brothers. They can be presumptuous, but they do it out of love."
Billy glanced back and forth between us, his brows furrowed. "Sure, I guess they do. I should get back to work. Have fun with the car."
The youthful blond all but ran to the other rental car, apparently put off by our conversation. The poor boy must've been confused by our interactions. As the rejected rental roared off down the gravel drive, spewing dust and gravel in its wake, I rested my cheek on Aidan's upper arm and gazed up at him.
"So," I said, "shall we take your gift for a drive?"
"Yes." He straightened, determination on his face. "I planned to take you for a drive and I intend to keep my word."
"Actually, it was my idea." I stepped away from him to circle around the front of the sports car, approaching the driver's side. "Cool, it's a Mustang."
"If Lachlan could've hired an Aston Martin, I'm sure he would have."
"Here in the U.P., you aren't likely to find a rentable luxury car, especially not one as expensive as an Aston Martin."
"Lachlan owns two of them." Aidan puckered his mouth. "He keeps trying to give me one."
"Oh, don't be so petulant about it. Your brother's only trying to help." I walked back to him and looped my arms around his neck. "I think it's nice your rich brother wants to help out his family. In my experience, a lot of people who have money don't like to share it with anyone. Or if they do share, it comes with chains attached."
"Chains?" He crooked a finger under my chin, tipping my head up until our gazes met. "You say the oddest things at times. Have you known someone who — "
"Let's not talk about serious things." I tightened my arms around his neck, pulling my body snug against his, loving the feel of his hard muscles pressed into my breasts. "Let's take advantage of this wonderful summer's day."
"We will." He peeled my hands away from his neck, taking one in his big hand and leading me toward the Mustang's passenger door. Like a perfect gentleman, he held the door open while I climbed inside and settled onto the lush leather seat. I ran my hands over the upholstery. "Oooh, this is nice. I could get used to the high life."
He frowned. "Guess Lachlan should be dating you."
Before I could respond, he slammed the door shut. I watched him stalk around the front of the vehicle, tear open the driver's door, and throw his big body into the seat. He yanked the door shut with a huff.
"Oh come on," I said. "You have to get over this aversion to being pampered. Are you jealous of Lachlan? Because I'm here with you. I invited you to stay with me, not your brother. I'm sleeping with you, not your brother."
"If you met Lachlan, you'd probably prefer him. Or maybe Rory." Aidan jammed the key in the ignition, jerking it to stir the engine to grumbling life.
I let that go for the moment, more concerned with the nature of Aidan's statement. "Is Rory well off too? Because if he is, I'm starting to see a definite pattern."
"He's got money. Not as much as Lachlan, but at least fifty-fold more than I've got." He shifted the car into reverse, flung an arm over the back of my seat, and craned his neck to glance behind. "And of course there's a pattern. They're successful and I'm a failure."
"That is not true."
He swerved the car backward in a semicircle, so fast I was thrown forward. Since I hadn't done up my seatbelt yet, I had to thrust my hands out to stop from careening into the dashboard. I yelped.
Aidan hit the brakes hard, which flung me backward into my seat.
"Jesus Christ," I hissed, "if this is how you drive, you can forget me going anywhere with you."
He dropped his face into his hands briefly, then looked at me with regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was childish and stupid, and I could've hurt you. It will never happen again."
"Damn straight it won't. If it does, I'm out of here and you can sleep in this car."
"I'll be more careful, I swear it." He pointed at my lap. "But you should still do up your seatbelt."
"Oh yeah." I secured the belt and rested my arm on the center console. "By the way, you are not a failure. Everybody has bad times and that does not make you a failure in life in general."
He grunted, then shifted the car into drive and eased it down the gravel road.
Okay, I guessed we weren't going to talk about this anymore for the moment. Probably for the best, since I had no desire to become roadkill. Men could be sensitive about money and perceived status, even men who were otherwise self-assured. When it came to seduction, Aidan had no doubts about himself. But clearly, his brothers and their monetary success made him feel inferior. In a way, I could understand. As someone who'd suffered my own financial woes, I knew how easy it was to define yourself by the lack of zeroes at the end of your bank balance. I'd also learned to avoid that particular trap.
Aidan would have to figure that out on his own, though. I couldn't make him believe it.
Just like he couldn't make me believe we belonged together.
Sighing, Aidan relaxed into his driving with a satisfied smile on his lips. "Where should we go?"
"What are you in the mood for? Secluded or crowded?"
"Secluded." He glanced at me sideways, his smile heating up to a steamy simmer. "I have plans for you that might be illegal in public."
I sank into my seat, warm and soft and tingling with anticipation. "Take a left at the end of the driveway. We're heading north, into the wilds."
Chapter Twenty
The Mustang hugged the asphalt as it flew up the winding, two-lane highway through the woods toward the summit of Brockway Mountain. Aidan had rolled the top down. I luxuriated in the wind whipping through my hair, the sensuousness of the cushy leather seat enveloping me, and the warmth of Aidan's hand wrapped around mine. He drove with one hand draped over the wheel, his muscular body cradled in his seat. Our joined hands lay on the center console, our fingers intertwined.
I hadn't felt this relaxed in years. Relaxed and… content.
"There," Aidan said with great conviction, pointing at a turnout along the side of the highway. "We'll stop for a bit."
"Okay, but it's just a view of trees."
"It's secluded." He glanced in the rearview mirror. "And we have no company at the moment."
The side mirror
showed me no cars behind us and I noted the lack of oncoming traffic he'd mentioned. No big surprise. Even at the height of tourist season, this road wasn't packed.
Aidan slowed the Mustang, pulling off into the turnout. It was a dirt patch situated at the edge of the mountainside, hemmed in by a wooden railing. Aidan stood up and stepped out of the car over the top of the door.
I watched in awe as he strode around the front of the car to swing my door open for me. "You have something against using the driver's door?"
"With the top down, I don't need the door."
"Uh-huh." I took the hand he offered me and let him help me out of the vehicle. "I've never seen anyone get out of a car that way. Got to admit, it's kind of sexy."
"Kind of? Is that all?" He feigned a scoff. "Must've done it wrong. You should've been weak with desire after witnessing my stunning display of masculine prowess."
I laughed and leaned in, lifting onto my tiptoes to peck a kiss on his lips. "I was very impressed. Does that count?"
He pretended to consider my question. "I suppose I'll accept it."
Couldn't help it, I laughed again.
Aidan folded his hand around mine, shut the car door, and guided me toward the railing. We admired the view for about a minute before he said, "Back in the car."
"Don't you want to absorb the scenery a little longer?"
"Ahmno interested in trees or water at the moment." He threw an arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him. His blue eyes blazed with a need I recognized. My body responded of its own volition, softening and warming. He dipped his head close to mine. "I have other ideas."
His hands slid down to cover my behind. Long, powerful fingers massaged my flesh through my jeans, arousing a fire deep inside. He tugged my forward and upward, pressing the rigid line of his erection into my groin. My breaths quickened and my head grew light, as if the oxygen content of the air had dropped and the only thing that could fill my lungs was his kiss. My gaze flew to his mouth and those luscious, parted lips.
My tongue sneaked out to glide across my lower lip.
Aidan growled low in his throat, so animalistic, so masculine and possessive. His hands gripped my ass more firmly and his fingers dug into my flesh. Not painful, the pressure whetted my appetite for more. Possessed by a compulsion to ravage his mouth, I moved to kiss him.
Clucking his tongue, he pulled his head back. "Not yet, my impatient angel. Ye cannae have me until I've had your pleasure."
An irritated little noise squeaked out of me. I flung my hands up to grasp his face, intent on dragging him in for a bone-melting kiss.
He captured my wrists in his hands, brought them behind my back, and secured them there with one hand. His free hand shifted in front of me, rushing down between our bodies, cupping my groin through my clothes, sliding lower until the heel of his hand rested on my mound and his long fingers stretched between my thighs, hot and strong against my throbbing core. I sucked in a sharp breath, desperate to rip my clothes off right here and now — or to let him do the ripping for me.
As he rubbed his fingers up and down my cleft, the friction of my panties on my bare, swollen flesh somehow intensified the glorious sensation. Oh God, yes. More of this, more of it now. I rocked my hips, urging him to rub harder, faster.
Chuckling, he stilled his fingers. "Easy. No need to rush."
"Why the hell not?"
He grazed his lips across mine, flicking his tongue out to tease the seam. Against my mouth, he murmured, "I want you to drive you wild, until you beg me to take you. And you will, that's a promise."
As if punctuating his vow, he scraped his fingers up and down my cleft three times in rapid succession. I whimpered, my knees threatening to buckle. He released my wrists to clamp his arm around my back, pinning me to his hard body and pinning his hand to my crotch. He rubbed and rubbed, fast and then slow, faster again until I clutched at his shoulders and threw my head back, lost to the bliss of his touch. The pleasure pulsated through me, stronger every second, driving me toward climax.
Just as I teetered on the brink, he removed his hand and stepped back. He took hold of my hips to keep me from tumbling to the ground.
I gaped at him, panting too hard to speak, on fire in the most intimate ways.
He turned me toward the view, his hands still on my hips, and backed me up toward the car. When my behind bumped the passenger door, he set my hands on the top of the door. "Hold on."
Before I could ask why, he knelt before me and ripped the zipper of my pants down. His fingers dived inside the waistband of my panties. He yanked both pants and panties down over my hips, all the way to my ankles. Exposed to the world, I beheld the man crouched at my feet.
Maybe I should've been nervous about his intentions. Maybe I should've worried about doing this outdoors, where anyone might stumble onto us in flagrante. He'd made sure no other cars were around, and this was a remote area. With Aidan, I never worried about my safety. He gave me a sense of security unlike any I'd known in my life, a sense that nothing bad could come of anything we did together. He would take care of me, no matter what.
A chill tingled over my scalp and down my spine. I trusted this man. Though I'd told him as much this morning, the import of my declaration hadn't hit me until this moment, with my backside squashed against the car and his head between my legs. I trusted him, really trusted him. After seven days together. Seven freaking days.
He picked up one of my feet, moving it to the side, spreading my legs.
The chill dissolved into the sparkling fire of my passion for him, erasing my worries, erasing every thought except my awareness of his hands on my skin and his sizzling appraisal of my body. I still pulsated with a thwarted release. Catching my breath had become impossible, and as I watched him part my folds with his fingers, I lost my breath.
How did he do this to me? How —
Aidan blew on my overheated flesh.
I whimpered, slumping against the car.
He thrust his tongue deep between my folds and dragged it up toward my clitoris. The instant before he would've contacted my rigid, aching nub, he withdrew his tongue.
My head fell back. "Please, Aidan."
That devious tongue of his skimmed along my outer folds — up one side, down the other — over and over until my knees went weak. He grasped my hips to hold me up, then rolled his gaze up to me. "Please what, mo chridhe?"
"Take me, Aidan, please."
He sealed his mouth over my clit and sucked hard.
The orgasm rocketed through me with an intensity that had my heart thudding and my knees buckling, my body held up solely by the car and Aidan.
He flipped me around and laid my hands onto the top of the door again. "Are ye ready?"
Speechless, breathless, I nodded.
The zzzt of a zipper. A grunt. The crinkle of foil ripping. A heavy, relieved exhalation.
With both hands, he took hold of my hips once more. Tilted them up and back. Kissed my neck. And plowed into me in one long, powerful stroke. He froze there, clutching me to him.
"Okay?" he asked, his voice rough, almost hoarse.
"Uh-huh."
He drove into me again and again, flesh slapping against flesh, his balls slapping on my ass with each withdrawal and thrust of his velvety shaft. I threw my head, my fingers clenched over the door frame. He grunted every time he plunged inside me, driving harder and faster, lifting my hips into his thrusts with his fingers digging into me. My body tightened around his cock, gripping him like a vise as I came again, helpless to resist the onslaught of sensations. My fingers gripped the car so hard it hurt, but I could do nothing except ride the storm of pleasure, my sex clutching him with the same desperate need that pushed me to scream his name and buck my hips up to take him deeper inside me.
My cries echoed off the trees.
Aidan punched into me twice more until his own release had him shouting to the heavens, his entire body stiff as steel. He relaxed gradually, loosening his fingers
on my hips, and leaned forward to seal his mouth over my ear. "Now that's how to enjoy the scenery."
"The scenery?" I said, breathless. "All you saw was my ass."
"And your sweet, pink flesh."
He tugged my underwear and pants back into place, zipping them up for me. I heard him doing the same and I staggered in my attempt to turn toward him.
Aidan picked me up and deposited me on the passenger seat without bothering to open the door. He hooked my seatbelt in position, then strode around to the driver's side and vaulted over the door to land in his seat. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the key in the ignition.
My body thrummed like a guitar string, alive and satisfied from our surprise encounter.
Aidan navigated the car back onto the road.
"You really are sex incarnate," I said.
"I'm what?" he asked, with a hitch of laughter in his voice.
"When we first met, I decided you were sex incarnate. You radiate sensuality, like it's a part of your essence."
He cast me a sidelong look, brows raised. "I've never been called sex incarnate before."
"Never? Haven't you done this sort of thing before? To other women, I mean."
"No. Only you."
The afterglow of total satiation seemed to heighten my senses, making me hyperaware of the wind buffeting my face, my hair whipping around my head, the scent of flowers and grass and leather. I glanced at Aidan, but his gaze never wavered from the road ahead. Even when I sneaked a hand out to squeeze his thigh, he smiled but maintained impeccable control as he steered the Mustang around a sharp curve.
I raked my nails up and down his thigh, until he laid his hand over mine to still it. "Which part have you done only with me?"
"Most everything I've done with you is new for me."
"Why are you different with me than with those seven other women?"
"Because you are different. It was always casual before, but this time I want it to be more." He curled his fingers around mine on his thigh. "I want everything with you."
