Dirty Little Secret

by Wood, Vivian

  “Okay,” I say again.

  After we hang up, I look up the address she texts me. She’s right about where the party is, because the house is practically close enough for us to be neighbors. As the sun sets, I put on makeup and fix my hair, then try about five different clothing combinations. I end up in a pastel pink high waisted skirt that is the shortest thing I have and a semi-sheer white tank top.

  Looking in the mirror, I don't feel like this outfit is really authentically me. But maybe I can still pull it off anyway.

  Grabbing my purse, I sling it over my shoulder and head out of the apartment. Walking along the wooded path between my apartment and the main house, of course I run into Aiden. He’s not wearing his handyman clothes. Instead, he wears a clean pair of dark blue jeans and a white tee shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A lollipop stick hangs out of his mouth.

  If only I were that lollipop.

  Just thinking that makes me blush furiously, though.

  He takes one look at me, at the outfit I’m wearing. He pulls the bright red lollipop out of his mouth and squints at me. “Where are you off to?”

  I don't know where to look. “A house party.”

  “The same one that Carter invited me to?” he asks, frowning.

  “Maybe.” I shrug. “I’m just going to the next house over I think.”

  He studies me for a second. “Yeah, I’m going there too I guess. Give me a second to grab my phone from my apartment and I’ll walk over there with you.”

  My face starts burning. The idea of walking over there with him, of the weighted silence between us, horrifies me. “I… I’ll meet you there. I told Megan I would… um… go there right now.”

  My lame explanation is right there between us. Aiden squints at me and then shrugs. “Okay. See you there.”

  I halfway run to the house rather than walking leisurely as I planned. Then I control myself, more walking than running down the driveway. As I walk the quarter of a mile over to the house, I get honked at no less than three times.

  Although I get that you don't see a lot of cute girls in short skirts walking beside the highway, by the second one I start to wish that I’d taken Aiden up on his offer. It’s a quick walk though, no more than five minutes. I turn down the driveway where Megan told me to just as dusk settles.

  Cars line the narrow pathway. I can hear the house party from here, the heavy bass line and shouts of party guests. Wub-dub-dub. Wub-dub-dub.

  God, what have I gotten myself into? I glance behind myself and see a group of guys walking toward the party. Not wanting to get caught up in that net, I scurry toward the sounds.

  The house reveals itself to be a Gothic masterpiece, all gables and dark red exteriors, three stories tall and rambling. There are people spilling out of the open front door, laughing and talking to each other. Each step closer seems like a worse and worse idea.

  Then a familiar face turns my way. Carter spots me and trots over, wearing a dirty red button up and dark slacks. With his dark hair ruffled, his cheeks unshaven, and his dark eyes glinting, he looks like a million bucks.

  God, maybe I tried out the wrong brother.

  “I didn’t realize you were coming,” he says, giving me a hug.

  I’m beyond glad to see him, and not just because he looks like he just did a photoshoot for GQ. I flush. “Yeah, me either. Megan invited me.”

  His lips curl up. “Same. She isn’t here yet, as far as I can tell though. Come on, come inside and grab a drink.”

  He grabs me by the arm and tows me up the front steps. The music here is almost unbearably loud; we pass right by a speaker the size of my body as we head through the house. His height and broadness easily part the denseness of the crowd inside.

  Soon we reach the back porch, where there is a keg and a large bowl of something blue on the table beside it. Carter leans over and cups his hands to his face.

  “Beer or punch?” he asks, indicating the two choices.

  “Ummm… punch?” I say quizzically.

  He nods, grabbing us each a cup of the blue liquid. He hands me mine and I take a sip. Incredibly, I can’t taste the alcohol in this at all. Maybe it’s a non-alcoholic version or something.

  I turn to Carter to say as much, but my attention is drawn away from him. Aiden appears out of the back door and looks around. He lays eyes on me, then sees Carter right next to me. Instantly his face turns as dark as a sudden thunderclap.

  I have another gulp of the punch as Aiden makes his way over to us, glaring at us like he’s ready to cause trouble. God, I’ve only been here for two minutes and I’m already about to be the cause of an incident.

  I plaster on a huge smile and move towards Aiden, stopping him with a hand on the middle of his chest. “Aiden! Glad you’re here.”

  His gaze slides between me and Carter. The jealousy emanating from him is so evident it almost makes me laugh. He looks down at me, pinning me with his gaze. “I don't trust you alone with him,” Aiden rumbles in my ear.

  My fake smile grows wider. “Okay! Okay, no problem. How about you and I grab you a drink?”

  Aiden scowls at Carter. Carter shoots him almost the same look, a glare that would kill a lesser man. I need to break this up, fast.

  Grabbing Aiden’s hand, I put on my bossiest voice. “You’re coming with me, Aiden.”

  At the sound of his name, his gaze slides to me. He quirks a brow, his lips turning up faintly. My cheeks flame; he’s obviously amused by my tone.

  I don’t care. Tugging at his hand, I stubbornly tow Aiden to the back door. Once we get inside, there are a ton of people to navigate through. The second he sees me struggling even a little, Aiden takes over. He steps in front of me and clears a path forward with his sheer size.

  Now it’s my turn to be amused, because I noticed that his half-brother did the same thing. In the kitchen, Aiden grabs us each a cup of punch, hands me mine, and then heads toward the front of the house.

  He gets through the entire house relatively quickly. People move out of his way and I just scoot along behind him. Aiden gets out the front door and down the steps without a glance back. He just expects me to follow.

  Aiden doesn’t stop when he’s outside, though. He stalks to the end of the driveways, then across the highway. I hurry to keep up, my shorter stride making it a challenge.

  When he gets down to the beach he stops and turns, sipping from his cup while he gives me a pointed look. I’m a few steps behind him, returning his gaze bashfully. His dark eyes are so intense right now, as if he sees right through my clothes and skin, right down to my bones.

  I get a chill just meeting his gaze. Behind me, waves crash on the beach with a hiss.

  One of his eyebrows lifts. “You were just going to do that, then?”

  I’m chewing my lower lip, which I only realize just now. “Do what?”

  He shakes his head and glances away, draining his cup. “Carter,” he grouses. “You were all over him.”

  My face goes red. Still, I’m more than a little annoyed at his tone and antics. “Are you seriously slut-shaming me right now?” I give a disbelieving half-laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re the biggest man slut I know. And besides, I wasn’t doing anything with Carter. We were just talking.”

  “Just talking?” he asks. “I’ve seen how that goes. First he plies you with drinks, then he makes you laugh. Then at the end of the night, you end up in his bed.”

  I set my cup down and then cross my arms. “First of all, you are wrong. I have my own mind. I make my own decisions. And second, even if I planned to spend the night with Carter, so what?”

  His expression instantly turns into a glare. Tossing his empty cup down, he circles me. “So what? That’s what you want me to say when I hear you’re planning on giving your virginity to another man?”

  I go bright red, glancing around. “Shhh! Aiden!” Grabbing his forearm, I lead him farther from the road even though no one is remotely close. The only thing around to shelter us is
two mostly dead trees, one fallen and one still standing. I tow him over to them, facing him once again under the dead branches of the one that is still stubbornly gripping the sand below.

  “I would like to keep my sex life private.” I level my gaze at him.

  His expression is haughty.

  “So what? People might think less of you because of who you choose to fuck? Newsflash, honey. Everyone judges. And everyone fucks. Everyone but you, apparently.” He’s so cocky that I want to slap him. Aiden looks me up and down suggestively. “We could fix that right now, though.”

  I blush, but I keep my head held high, looking him right in the eyes. “You’re just saying that. You just want what you can’t have, like some… some spoiled little boy!”

  Slipping an arm around me, he pulls me flush against his body. He glares at me as he leans down to whisper in my ear. “You don't want Carter, though. You want me. Am I wrong?”

  Flushing at the closeness of his lips to my ear, I give my head a tiny shake. “No. You’re not wrong at all. But… Carter is here. And he’s available…”

  Aiden uses his thumb and forefingers to pull my chin exactly where he wants it. Then he kisses me, slow and heavy. I melt against him, even though I should be running away.

  When he pulls back an inch and looks down at me, his gaze is heavy with need.

  “I’m here,” he whispers, placing another kiss on my lips. “I’m here right now. I want you. Are you going to say no?”

  He flexes his hips against mine, making sure I can feel the outline of his cock. It’s thick and long, just like the rest of Aiden’s body. My whole body tingles with anticipation.

  This is what I wanted. It’s what I need. Letting my eyes sink closed, I offer one last reason.

  “What about Grayson?” I whisper.

  His pause is so long that I open my eyes again. His brow is furrowed, his gaze fiery.

  “I’ve been thinking about it. About how badly I want to fuck you. And I’m weak, Olivia. I want— No, I need it to be our secret,” he says at last. “Grayson never has to know about any of this. All I really want to know is whether or not I should use a condom.”

  I bite my lower lip and shake my head. “I’m on the pill. But are you… have you been tested?”

  He grins a little. “Yeah. Every month, without fail, I get tested for everything. I’m clean.”

  I blush furiously, unable to meet his gaze. “I think we’re in the clear.”

  Then he kisses me, his hands gripping my waist hard. And I put my arms around his neck, moaning as he kisses my neck. Little ripples of pleasure are already taking over my body and I don't have the willpower to resist.

  “Yes,” I answer, my response little more than a huff of air. Every nerve ending is firing, alive with need. “Take me right now.”

  I look at Aiden. His eyes bore into me. His fingers skim my cheek.

  “You deserve more,” he whispers.

  “I don't want it,” I say.

  “At least let me take you inside,” he says quietly. “Make your first time special.”

  I lean into him. “I don't care where I am.”

  He backs me toward the fallen tree, his fingers touching my bare shoulder, drawing the strap of my sheer tank top down, inch by scorching inch. I close my eyes as my ass hits the tree trunk.

  This is really it. It’s happening, after all these years of wanting Aiden.

  I close my eyes and breathe out, trying to memorize each sensation I’m feeling so that I will remember them forever.

  Then he surprises me by picking me up, carrying me toward the Morgan estate. I don't fight him on it; as long as he’s willing to have me, it doesn’t matter where.

  I just kiss his ear, bracing myself for Aiden to put me down.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Olivia

  We make it back to his apartment in one piece although Aiden stumbles with me in his arms more than a couple of times. He manages to make it inside the apartment and slam the door, carrying me to the bedroom. I giggle a little bit and he seems to drink it up.

  Aiden is everywhere all at once, his calloused fingers touching my shoulders and my breasts, his hips pinning mine against the doorway. I throw my head back as he traces his lips down the column of my neck to the firm lines of my collarbone. He shifts me impatiently, pulling me up to sit on the bed.

  He draws the remaining shoulder strap of my tank top down my arm, exposing more cleavage. “Fuck,” he mutters, sliding his gaze up to meet my own. “Do you realize how fucking beautiful you are, Olive?”

  My cheeks turn pink. He used my nickname again, one I’ve hardly heard since I was a kid. Under his relentless gaze, I feel so seen, the opposite of invisible.

  “No,” I breathe. His look is so direct and frank, so honest. It sears me from the inside out.

  When he speaks again, it’s as much a worshipful promise as it is a compliment.

  “I do.” He sucks in a ragged breath. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful.”

  My eyes widen at that. It’s a little hard to believe him, but it’s even harder not to counter that with the earnestness written across his face.

  In the next second, Aiden buries his face in the space between my breasts. I’m not wearing a bra, so when he pushes aside the material and exposes both my breasts, I’m bare before him.

  “Fuck,” he mutters again, looking at my breasts. My hard pink nipples demand attention. My whole body tingles in anticipation of his mouth on my skin.

  He puts his hands on my breasts, pushing them together, licking and kissing them both. My back bows, thrusting my nipples out and pushing my head back. I feel that familiar connection in my body, between my neck and my breasts, my nipples and my pussy. I roll my hips against his, my mouth opening to release a soft moan.

  This is everything. This moment, these sensations, that passionate expression on his face. They are what I was missing, without even knowing it. I suddenly feel like I am on the threshold of being a whole person.

  I push eagerly onward, rolling my hips again. Aiden has whatever I lack. He’s going to fill a chasm deep inside of me that I never even knew was there.

  Burying my fingers in the short hair at his nape, I gasp as he impatiently plucks at my tank top where it’s tucked into my skirt. He rucks the shirt up and I raise my arms to help him get it off over my head.

  He groans, looking at me. Aiden’s arms encircle me, feeling for the zipper to my skirt. “It’s not enough, Olive. I want you naked, wet, and ready for me,” he grits out.

  His gaze is direct and scorching. He is a ravenous fire, threatening to burn me alive. And I am the kindling, stacked and ready, welcoming his spark to my dry tinder. We are so very close to combusting.

  “I’m ready,” I whisper, helping him find the hidden zipper to my skirt. “I need you, Aiden.”

  His fingers undo the zipper, ripping the garment in his hurry to get me naked. At the same time, I pull up his shirt, exposing his abs and then his chest. He stops and tears his shirt over his head, pressing his kiss down on me like he’s drowning and I’m the only oxygen in the world.

  I work at the zipper on his jeans, undoing it and then sliding my hands around to his ass. I slip my hands down the strong muscles I find there, pulling him against my body again. He shucks my skirt down my legs as I slip his jeans down his hips, pushing up on my tiptoes to kiss him again. Our tongues dance for several beats.

  He frames my breasts with his touch, then slips one of his hands down my ribs, down my belly, to the fine thatch of dark hair that grows between my legs. I close my eyes and moan as he probes the folds of my pussy. It’s all I can do not to spread my legs and beg for him to touch me like a bitch in heat.

  In the next second though, he nips at my earlobe and takes that away from me.

  “Scoot back,” he urges, voice gone to gravel. “Open your legs for me, Olive. Let me see your creamy pussy.”

  Dropping my head and moving a couple of inches further back on the be
d, I moan as his clever fingers find my clit.

  “That’s it,” he coaxes, looking down. He puts a little space between our bodies, urging me onward. “Spread your knees wide for me, honey.”

  Feeling a weird combination of shameless and embarrassed, I spread my legs as far as they will go. If anybody else saw me like this, so naked and utterly desperate, I would die. But I look at Aiden and the desire in his expression emboldens me.

  I want to be wanton with him, to show him how hungry I am for whatever he will give me. I’ve waited for this my whole life, so I might as well be brazen right now.

  Aiden puts two fingers in his mouth, then drops those fingers down to massage my clit. I am not a choir girl, I’ve definitely rubbed my clit before. But when he does it, it feels wholly different. It feels so damned good, like I’m stretching and reaching for something explosive that is just outside of my grasp. He looks deep in my eyes and controls me with his touch, so that I’m spread open and wet, my heart pounding.

  He grabs my breast with his newly freed hand, swapping the two. I lean back a little, biting my lip and staring at him like he’s a whole damned meal and I’m starving.

  Aiden gets this little smirk on his lips as he looks at me.

  “What?” I ask, flushing at his probing gaze.

  His smile widens just bit. His fingers dip from my clit to my core, circling and teasing.

  “I’m just watching you. Waiting to see you come apart.” He slides one finger into my core, lighting up a whole part of my body that I didn’t even realize felt good.

  I shiver against the sensation. “What if I don't?”

  God, what if I can’t? I never thought about it, but that is possible.

  Now he grins, leaning down to kiss my collarbone. When he speaks, the sound of it reverberates against my flesh. “You will.”

  He sinks down to his knees. My thighs tense and my knees start to close, but he tuts at me. “Stop.”

  Pulling both hands out to push my knees wide again, Aiden starts kissing the inside of my thigh, making a clear path to my pussy. I squirm as I ache for what I know is coming.