Claimed (Passion in Paradise #4.5)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  “Oh, shit,” Caro muttered, wincing as she realized she’d said that out loud and in front of one of the people that had hired her.

  Seeing her discomfort, Honor quickly rushed to reassure the new librarian. “Trust me, Carolina, all us girls have been in your position when it comes to the men who claimed us. Don’t be embarrassed, honey. The menfolk are the ones that come off lookin’ like idiots when they insist on seizing us women like some kind of conquering Neanderthal.”

  “Gee, thanks, Miss Honor,” Aiden grumbled, frowning at the tiny dynamo that had stolen the sheriff’s heart.

  “You’re welcome,” Honor returned with an easy smile.

  Forcing a smile, Carolina nodded toward Honor. “I think I may be a little more tired from my drive than I originally thought. Thank you so much for meeting me here, and giving me the keys to the library. I’ll be there bright and early on Monday morning. I can’t wait to get started on our reading program with the community’s youth.”

  Zeke moved to stand by his wife as he said, “We’re honored you accepted the position, Miss Mayfair. The Library Counsel will pop by around lunch to offer a more formal welcome on Monday. Don’t make lunch plans. I think Miss Orla intends to cater your impromptu welcome party.”

  “She does,” Honor murmured with a nod. “Aunt Orla is beyond excited to have found some fresh blood to breathe life into our dusty old library. I think she’s got a list of books a mile long that she’d like you to look into ordering. Of course, most of them are X-rated, but at least she’s reading.”

  Carolina nodded before shifting her attention to Honor. “She mentioned she had several suggestions for me when she skyped me to tell me I had the job. I truly look forward to working with her. I think it’ll be fun.”

  “Oh, it’ll be something,” Zeke returned under his breath.

  “It was a real pleasure to meet you, Honor. I hope we’ll be seeing more of each other,” Caro said hopefully, her back rigid as Aiden’s fingers walked up and down her spine. “It’ll be nice to have a girlfriend in town.”

  “Oh, in a town this small, I know we will. Especially since the café is pretty much the only place to grab a sit-down meal in town. You just make sure to call me if you need anything,” she directed with a pointed look at Aiden. “My sisters and I know a few tricks for getting rid of varmints of two-legged variety.”

  Aiden frowned while Carolina laughed. “That’s good to hear,” he heard Caro reply as he dropped a hand on her back to guide her toward the door. “Gentlemen, it was nice to meet you, too,” she was saying over her shoulder as he began gently scooting her toward the door.

  “You, too,” Slade called out, a friendly grin on his face as he accepted the beer that Patience was delivering to the table.

  “Call one of us if things don’t work out with the Chief,” RJ was brave enough to add, a devious smile playing at his lips.

  “Not fuckin’ likely, asshole,” Aiden retorted over his shoulder before Carolina could get the first word past her lips. “Look up the definition of ‘claimed!” Tossing the keys he’d snagged to his girl’s 4Runner toward Zeke, he continued, “Sheriff, make sure my woman’s vehicle gets parked in front of her house tonight, will ya? Have Wrath take care of her tire, too, yeah? Make sure that old bastard knows she’s off the menu, too.”

  “Got it covered, man,” Zeke agreed.

  “Who in the world has a name like Wrath?” Carolina asked, mostly to herself, but Aiden answered her anywhere.

  “President of the local motorcycle club, but also one of the best mechanics in the state. He’ll get that tire taken care of in no time,” he explained as a chorus of deep masculine chuckles and feminine groans followed them both out the door into the cool darkness of night. Before she’d taken more than a couple of steps, Aiden reached out to wrap an arm around her tiny waist, hauling her back against his chest. “Going somewhere, beautiful?” he asked, turning her in his arms and backing her up until Caro’s back met the south wall of the café. Crowding against her, Aiden’s lips hovered just above Carolina’s and he could feel the soft curves of her body through his clothes.

  “I cannot believe you just acted like that,” Caro hissed, her eyes flashing as she blew a few strands of her rich cinnamon-colored hair that had escaped her bun from her eyes.

  “Like what?” he questioned innocently.

  “Like some kind of overly possessive control freak,” she spat, shoving at his chest and frowning when she only managed to move him a couple of inches. “For God’s sake, I’m going to work for those people. They all must think I’m some kind of easy conquest. I just met you, for heaven’s sake, and you acted as if we’re some kind of couple! Take a note here, Aiden! I don’t belong to you, and I sure as hell am not your property!”

  “Care to make a bet?” he asked, his voice silky soft as he stared down at her face. Even livid, she was beyond lovely. From the bottomless depths of those stormy blue eyes to the ruby red lips he ached to taste, she was a vision.

  A vision that was currently living in the land of denial if she thought she’d ever belong to anybody but him.

  Licking her lips, she slowly met his gaze. “Listen, Aiden,” she began quietly as moonlight bathed her exquisite face, “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here. I admit, I find you very attractive. Heck, if I’m honest, you’re probably the sexiest man I’ve ever met…and that’s saying something since I’m from California where wearing a shirt is an optional life choice for a guy. But I’m getting off track here… you’re hot. That’s true. But I’m not looking for anything serious yet. I just got into town. I need to concentrate on settling into my new job and setting up a new house. I don’t have time to invest in a relationship yet. Truthfully, I’m just getting out of something with a guy.”

  “Is that so?” Aiden asked huskily, his jaw tightening at the thought of another fucker putting his hands on what was his.

  Looking away, Caro nodded. “It wasn’t serious. At least not to him. And I probably should have gotten out of it long before I did.”

  “How long?” Aiden clipped, every muscle in his body tensing as he waited for her answer.

  “How long for what?” Caro asked, her blue eyes confused as she looked up at him.

  “How long since he touched what’s mine, Carolina?”

  Jaw dropping, Caro’s voice was choked when she asked, “You mean since we…”

  “Since he fucked you, Carolina. How long?” he bit out, feeling the overwhelming urge to find her former lover and beat the unholy hell out of him. He knew it was irrational. Carolina looked to be at least in her mid-twenties. It would be ridiculous to believe she was untouched. That, however, did not stop him from wanting to find the asshole that’d had the privilege of being inside her body and beat him to his knees.

  “It’s been at least a year,” she admitted shakily, uncertain what to make of the look on Aiden’s face. “Daniel and I… we were never really compatible in that area. He said I was too cold and average to be a good lover,” she divulged reluctantly, her gaze dropping.

  Aiden realized that he had just heard her deepest, darkest secret and she was humiliated at the admission. “So the fucker was a lousy lover and he blamed you? What a fucking moron,” he grumbled, relaxing slightly as she jerked her eyes back to him.

  “I never said…”

  “Dimples, any idiot that accuses you of being either cold or average is either a complete moron or gay. Trust me, Carolina, you are anything but average with a body like the one you have,” he explained as his gazed traveled over her body, looking at her with greedy appreciation. “Baby, you’ve got curves that would make an artist weep and any priest re-think his life plan.”

  “You’re sweet,” Carolina whispered breathlessly, her eyes filling with tears.

  “I’m honest,” Aiden countered truthfully before bending to cover her lips with his. Nipping her lower lip gently, he waited until she gasped to advance, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth to tangle with
hers. Groaning as her unique taste flooded his system, he growled into her mouth as he sank one hand into her hair and settled the other on her hip, bringing her as close to him as their clothing would allow. Sliding his tongue against hers in a slow, intimate dance, he wanted to pump his fist in victory when she lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck.

  Savoring his first taste of her, he knew this moment would be ingrained on his soul. Gripping her hip as he rocked his body against hers, he let her feel the hard ridge of his arousal where it strained behind the fly of his jeans. He wanted her to know that she was the one responsible for the effect on him. The idea that this hothouse flower could ever be cold? Fucking laughable. Her ex had been a goddamned douchebag that didn’t deserve to bask in her heat.

  Finally lifting his lips from hers a long minute later, he smiled as she blinked up at him, her dazed eyes wide and bright. “Dimples, you burn bright every time I touch you. There’s not a single goddamned inch of your lush body that’s cold. The problem was with the asshole you were allowing to touch you. His ineptitude was not your fault. You’ve got me harder than stone and hot as hell and all you’ve done is kiss me. Trust me… you’re a far cry from frigid. You got me?”

  “I got you, Aiden,” she acknowledged in a voice filled with awe.

  Damn right she did, Aiden thought with no small amount of satisfaction. Picking her up in his arms, he could only grin when Carolina automatically wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her toward his truck, his long legs eating away at the distance between the café and the parking lot, each purposeful step bringing him closer to his ultimate goal of making Caro his. “That’s real good, Dimples, because I’ve got you, too, and I don’t plan on letting go. Ever.”

  Chapter Three

  Ten minutes and one short truck ride later, Carolina Lynn Mayfair knew her life as she’d previously known it was over.

  Completely, irrevocably over.

  Ended.

  Finished.

  Done.

  And it was all because of one supremely sexy, sinfully sweet, severely stimulating man.

  In short, Aiden James was rocking her world in all the right ways.

  Looking around his spacious bedroom decorated in the vibrant earth tones that she loved, Caro wondered if Aiden was a mind reader. From the huge king-sized sleigh bed with an intricate dreamcatcher dangling above it to the thick, colorful woven rugs scattered around the room to the tapestries depicting Native American life that were hanging on the wall, it was like he’d somehow managed to take a peek inside her mind and create the perfect bedroom for her. Realistically, she knew it was impossible, but honestly, the man had unwittingly crafted her dream bedroom.

  “Does that awed look on your face mean you like my room, Dimples?” she heard him ask as he finally lowered her feet to the floor and stood her in the center of his room.

  Gulping, she could only stare at him. Somehow, while he’d carried her inside, they’d bypassed the living room and landed in his bedroom. Oh, she knew they’d walked though it in order to get here, but she couldn’t remember a single detail about the rest of his house. Everything else was eclipsed by the perfection of his bedroom.

  She’d known him for only hours, and already, it seemed like he was inside her head.

  “It’s beautiful, Aiden,” she praised, spinning around in a circle to see the full 360-degree effect. “I’m not so sure I should be in your bedroom only a few hours after we met, but I can’t deny that your interior decorator is a genius.”

  “Thank you,” he said with a possessive grin that telegraphed the fact that he didn’t intend for her to ever sleep a night outside this bedroom. “As for being here only hours after meeting me, you should know that my Cherokee ancestors used to simply kidnap their brides and carry them back to the tribe, bucking and screaming in most cases. At least I asked you to come inside with me,” he pointed out as he slowly wrapped her back in his embrace.

  “Considering you had me in your arms and were carrying me into your house at the time, I’m not exactly sure how much of a legitimate request that was,” she returned with a small laugh. “Kidnapping sounds about right in our case, too.”

  Dropping his head until his nose brushed against hers, Aiden smiled. “You’re welcome to jump out of my arms and run next door if you want, love, but you shouldn’t be surprised when I follow on your heels.”

  “Do I need to worry that I got myself a stalker?” she asked with a shy half-smile.

  “Stalker’s a bit harsh, but I can’t deny that you’ve got me hooked on you, Carolina,” he responded truthfully. “Do you really mind all that much, babe?”

  “That depends. Am I gonna get more of those kisses that you gave me in the parking lot of the café?” she queried lightly, smoothing her hand over the smooth cotton of his tee-shirt. Her hands itched to slide beneath the material and see if the promise of those abdominals lived up to the fantasy she had of them.

  “Dimples, I’m gonna give you a lot more than a few heated kisses,” Aiden promised her gruffly as he ran his lips down the satiny skin of her neck. “I intend to give you everything if you’ll let me.”

  Closing her eyes as his tongue slowly trailed over the throbbing pulse in her neck, she silently tried to figure out what that meant. Because ‘everything’… well, that entailed a lot. Unfortunately for her (or fortunately, depending on how one looked at it), she couldn’t pull together a coherent thought with the way his lips moved against her flesh. Everywhere he touched, she felt in her core. With every graze of his lips, her skin burned and her body yearned for more. God, he was good. Good in a way that a guy only got from experience. Lots and lots of experience.

  Compared to him, she was a babe in the frickin’ woods. He was the big bad wolf and she was the little girl he wanted for supper.

  Yeah, it was safe to say that she was out of her element. But it didn’t matter. She still wanted more.

  More of his caresses. More of his kisses. More of him. Period.

  Canting her head to the side to give his mouth better access to the curve of her neck, she lifted one arm to wind around his neck as she melted, her back to his front. “Oh, that feels so good,” she admitted, feeling breathless and needy as his tongue traveled up her neck to her ear. Jumping in his arms when he nipped her ear lobe, she smiled as she heard him groan low in his throat. It appeared she wasn’t the only one affected here.

  “I want you naked, Dimples. Naked in my bed with your hair spread against my pillow,” he described as his hand lifted to pull the pins that held her chignon in place from her hair. “Can you do that for me, baby? Can you let me have you like that?”

  What he wanted sounded like heaven to her, but the good girl that was deeply ingrained in her psyche chose that moment to rear her intrusive head. Was she really ready to do this with a man she’d only just met? She’d had exactly one lover in her young life.

  One.

  Sadly, sex with Daniel had been nothing to write home about. Their intimacies had often been rushed and clinical, leaving her feeling mostly unfulfilled and dirty when it was over. Aiden had already shown her more pleasure in thirty minutes than Daniel had shown her in the four years that they’d dated. Overwhelmingly sad for her, but entirely true of them both.

  “Carolina? Stay with me, baby,” she heard Aiden whispering against her ear.

  Turning slightly in his arms, she offered him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be sorry, darlin’. Talk to me. I felt like I lost you there for a second,” Aiden replied, tightening his arms around her.

  Lowering her head to rest against his shoulder, Caro sighed as Aiden held her like she was the most treasured thing in his world. “I was just caught up in my memories for a moment,” she confessed softly, reluctant to bring up the name of her ex when she was being held in another man’s arms.

  “What kind of memories, Carolina?”

  Lifting her head to meet his worried gaze, she smiled, touched that he cou
ld see something was bothering her and was willing to address it head on. She didn’t need to be a relationship expert to know that quality was rare. Once the clothes came off, most men were concerned with one thing: getting in there. Aiden, however, appeared to be deeper than that. He wanted to know her, not just her pussy. “I just realized how little experience I have compared to you, and I’m worried that once we do this, you’ll lose interest pretty fast. I’m a pretty boring girl at heart, Aiden, and I’m definitely no man magnet. My idea of a great night is cozying up with a glass of wine and a really good book. To say I’m pretty boring would be a massive understatement. Compared to me, you’re positively wild. I mean, really, look at the career you chose. You fight freaking fires. You literally walk into burning buildings to save people. When everybody else is running away from the flames, terrified, you’re heading in like it’s just another day at the office. Because, well, for you, it is. I just don’ know if I’m the kind of woman that can keep up with a man like that. Are you sure you really want to waste your time with somebody like me?”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Aiden’s eyes dilated as he listened to what she had to say. “Babe, I like who you are. At least, what I know of who you are. You’re gorgeous, yeah - but that’s just window dressing. More than that, you’re also incredibly smart, sassy as hell when provoked, but somehow still so sweet that it makes me ache all the way down to my soul. With every piece of you I discover, I like you even more. Every minute I spend with you, I find something else I enjoy about you. I like that you’re not wild. I love the fact that you don’t expect me to go clubbing until three am. And I don’t think that makes you boring. It makes you settled. It’s a mark of maturity. I’m 35 years old, Carolina. Trust me when I say that I’m more than ready to be settled myself. And yeah, I’m a firefighter, but I don’t run into nearly as many burning buildings as I used to now that I’m the Chief. I’m mostly a paper pusher. So, yes, I am entirely sure I wanna spend my time with you. As much of it as you’ll allow me.”