“And you’re not as tough as you want everyone to think you are. Also, you’re beautiful, Haylee.”
Aiden’s words were as soft as the finger he trailed down her bare shoulder and while the touch made her want to lean in like a lonely pony, the words had the opposite effect.
She straightened away from him, feeling the night air rush over her skin, making gooseflesh rise.
Beautiful.
She tucked the curl escaping from her ponytail behind her ear. “Ha. You’re good, I’ll give you that.”
Aiden put his hand on her back, stroking in large, slow circles with his palm.
“This isn’t my imagination, Haylee,” he said. “There’s something happening between us. Can’t you feel it? Don’t you want to explore it? See where it goes?”
His hand went lower, to the small of her back, and she couldn’t hold back the groan that slipped past her throat. It felt so good to be touched. It had been a long time since a man’s hands had been on her.
For the most part, she’d put that side of herself away. She’d gotten her fill of sex in her teens, not that it had been particularly good sex. But it was at least educational, if not always satisfying.
She’d paid a hefty price for that knowledge.
And when they’d retrofitted the cabins for their private use, Olivia had insisted on a few luxuries, especially in the bathrooms. Handheld showerheads were at the top of her list. When Haylee finally figured it out, she decided she didn’t need to bother with men anymore. So efficient. So tidy. So . . . detached.
But Aiden was making her rethink this. He wasn’t efficient or tidy. He was messy and complicated and confusing and big and annoying.
Right now, he was running his finger along the underside of her jaw and she was letting him. There was the tiniest bit of callus that caught on the skin by her throat and the juxtaposition of rough and smooth sent a jolt of pure heat searing through to the center of her body.
Then his lips replaced his fingers.
“Aiden,” she whispered, touching the back of his head. But her neck drifted to the side, allowing him access, as if unconnected to her brain.
“Mm,” he murmured. His warm breath was heavenly in the night-chilled barn. Something rustled in the straw and she heard a puppy squeak. She pulled away.
“Uh-uh-uh,” said Aiden, holding her gently in place. “You said if I could catch you in a vulnerable moment, I could kiss you again.”
His lips moved over her throat, to the other side of her face.
“What makes you think,” she managed, “that I’m vulnerable?”
A quick slip of tongue dampened her skin, followed by the nip of teeth, and she gasped. The sensations were incredible. She wanted more. She wanted him to leave. She didn’t know what she wanted.
“You’re the dog lady,” he said. “You’re the one who taught me about dominance and submission. Teeth and throats. Pink crayons.”
Despite her distraction, a laugh burst out of her. “You’re looking for a coloring book, I take it?”
“I’m no artist,” he said. “But I like to scribble as much as the next guy. Problem is, I’m out of practice.”
His lips moved lower, to the collar of her shirt, where somehow, he got another button undone, found the top swell of her breasts. She hadn’t thought she could feel more sensitized but with every new piece of her he touched, she felt more and more . . . raw. Exposed.
Yes, vulnerable.
She leaned back, reaching for the edges of her shirt. “This isn’t the right place for . . . practicing.”
Aiden sat back and looked at her. In the moonlight streaming in through the side window, his eyes glittered. He licked his full lower lip, then exhaled heavily and shook his head.
“Is that you talking? Or is that the fear?”
She bridled. “What fear? We’re in the barn making out like a couple of horny teenagers. What’s romantic about that?”
Instantly she recognized her mistake.
Aiden’s expression shifted, grew calculating. “So, it’s romance you want, is it?”
“No. God. I don’t want anything. I just meant—”
“I know what you meant, Haylee.”
He stood up and reached into his pocket for his smartphone.
Music drifted into the air, an instrumental ballad, dreamy and a little sad.
He drew her to her feet and pulled her close, one big hand splayed at the small of her back again, sending that now-familiar heat radiating through her. “Dance with me, Haylee.”
“I’m not much of a dancer,” she whispered. His mouth was inches away from hers.
“Neither am I,” he answered, tucking her head against his shoulder. “But who’s going to judge us? The animals? The pigeons? It’s just you and me. Can you let down your guard for once, just a little bit? You’ve seen me at my, shall we say, less-than-stellar moments. How about a little quid pro quo, hmm? You tell me something about yourself. Something no one else knows.”
She sniffed. “I’m an open book, Aiden. Everyone knows about Sage now. What other secrets could I possibly have?”
“Oh, honey,” he murmured against her hair. “I want to know you. We’ve got something starting here. I know you feel it. What I don’t know is why you’re fighting it.”
Maybe it was the unexpected endearment. Maybe it was the bald statement of intent. Maybe it was the unbearable gentleness with which he spoke, but suddenly Haylee’s throat felt like it was clogged with a chewed-up mass of mistakes she thought were long buried and far past mattering.
He sounded as if he actually did care about her and that would be a huge mistake. She squeezed her eyes shut. He had enough problems of his own without getting involved with someone like her. If something was in fact starting, as he believed it was, then she needed to shut that down, pronto.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, adding a light little laugh to make it sound more sincere. “Nothing wrong with a fling. Since you don’t even know where you’ll be come fall, we’ve got a clear end point, which takes all the pressure off, right?”
His feet stopped moving, his arms tightened. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Aiden, we all know you don’t belong here long-term. As soon as the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins or God Almighty calls, all we’ll see of you is the dust from your new boots.”
She felt his chest moving in and out as he breathed, heard his throat tick when he swallowed.
“The first two are no longer an issue,” he said eventually. “As for God, well, He stopped calling years ago.”
The sorrow and regret was touched with a note of bitterness that struck home so hard she had to steel herself to continue.
She nudged her knee gently to get him moving again. “Come on, Dr. Mac, don’t play dumb with me. You can’t tell me the apex of your career aspirations is Sunset Bay Memorial’s little emergency room. You’re here because you lost your grip on your Superman side. Like everyone else who gets healed here, you’ll go back to your regular life. As you should.”
His arms loosened again and he pulled her closer, putting his face close to her ear, where his breath sent tendrils of hair tickling against her neck.
“Nice redirection. Well done. You almost had me.”
She swallowed hard, the sense of being caught, trapped, rising in her again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “There’s something starting between us. Don’t deny it. And don’t try to distract me.”
“So you aren’t leaving?”
He looked away, his hand at the back of her head, stroking her hair. It felt so good, so lovely, so intimate, that Haylee’s throat tightened again. She wished she was the sort of person who could love easily but she simply wasn’t.
“I’m saying, Haylee, that all we ever have is now. The future is unknown. The further away the past gets, it’s more about lessons than hard facts and none of us will live long enough to learn them all. We have sunrise, sunset, and the time in between. A new world, each day.”<
br />
“That sounds wonderful. Magical.” She wished she could believe life was that simple, but there was an angry, needy sixteen-year-old in her new world and she had no idea how to simplify that scenario. It wasn’t fair to bring Aiden into such a messed-up picture.
“There is magic.” He stroked her hair again, and followed it up with soft kisses on her forehead. “Haylee, you’ve got as many hard facts and lessons on your docket as I do, maybe more. But here’s what I know. Among all the difficulties and challenges of living, when the carousel of life hands you a pretty little horse, shouldn’t you grab it and ride?”
“That’s the worst metaphor I’ve ever heard.” She despised herself for the tears in her voice.
“You don’t think I’m a pretty little horse?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re not a pretty little anything. Though you are a . . . decent human. As humans go.”
She felt, more than heard, a deep hum run through him, like he’d found something he’d been looking for, something that had been lost for a long time without his even knowing it.
They continued dancing for a long time without speaking and when he finally bent down and kissed her forehead again, the yearning was too much and she took his hand and led him back to her cabin.
* * *
This time, when they walked through the doors of her cabin, they were holding hands. Aiden was not going to let her off on some trumped-up excuse of being overwhelmed or not in her right head.
The little dog, Cleo, wasn’t there, and Jewel greeted them both with a lick and a nudge of her big head.
“See?” he said. “This dog likes me. She must be a great judge of character. I’ll win Cleo over too. Just wait.”
Haylee pressed two fingers to his lips. “Don’t talk. Give me a second.”
A second felt like an eternity but then she called to him from her bedroom.
When he entered, she was sitting on the bed naked, her knees drawn up to her chest, her feet digging into the bedding beneath her. She looked so very young.
“I’m not doing anything romantic for you, just so you know,” she said. “I don’t do lingerie, or sultry poses or rose petals and champagne.”
He smiled. One day, he vowed, he’d change her mind about the roses and champagne but for now, she was everything he could imagine, and more.
“You’re perfect,” he said. His voice was hoarse, shaking. “You’re absolutely astoundingly beautiful. I know you don’t like hearing it but I have to say it.”
The only light in the room was a small table lamp but even in that, he could see the pleasure on her face, the brightness of her eyes, the color lighting her cheeks.
“You’re not naked.”
He corrected that situation immediately, draping his clothes across the chair in the corner.
“You’re tidy, too?” she groaned. “Can’t the great Dr. Mac have one fault?”
If he ended up staying the night, as he fervently hoped he would, she’d likely see his worst fault soon enough.
“I have flaws aplenty, but my eyes work fine.” He sat beside her and touched her hair. “I’ve never seen anyone so lovely.”
“Stop,” she said. “Kiss me.”
He did. Long, lingering kisses that she returned. He ran his hand down the side of her neck, then lifted her hair to plant kisses along her throat.
She moaned and turned her head to the side, encouraging him. Her skin felt like satin, smelled like fresh air and green leaves and tasted clean but ever so slightly as if she’d been swimming in the sea.
He imagined her emerging, dripping wet, glistening in the sun and knew that one day they’d make love in the water.
She shifted so that they were lying side by side and trailed her fingers along his body. Then, she put her lips where her hands had been, kissing down and down.
When she closed her lips over his length, he nearly lost it. The soft, wet heat, that clever tongue. He put his hand on her head to still her movements.
She looked up at him, a grin on her face.
“Good?”
He nodded, unable to speak.
She gave him another lick, then moved back up his body. She was uninhibited in her desire to please him, undeterred by false modesty or body image and it made him realize how much mental energy had gone into most of his sexual encounters, even with Michelle.
He sat up quickly and flipped her onto her back.
“My turn.”
He held her hands in his and nudged her thighs apart with his knee. Then he let her go, making his way to her soft, pink-tipped breasts. He took one in his mouth, sucking gently, thrilled at the moans it elicited from her. He blew lightly on the wet skin, watched in delight as the nipple pebbled tightly. He did the same to the other side, then crept lower, kissing and nibbling and sucking his way to her belly.
“Aiden,” she murmured, gripping his head.
“No talking,” he said, finding her slick and ready. “So beautiful.”
Maybe it was because he’d grown up near the water and loved nothing better than the salt air and crashing waves, but everything about Haylee reminded him of the sea. He wondered if she had any idea what he’d been thinking about when he’d introduced her to the wonders of raw oysters, how he’d been longing to taste her, to gorge himself on her succulent flesh and watch her writhe in ecstasy beneath him.
Her moans increased and he felt her shudder and shake and suddenly, she bucked and cried out, her fingers gripping his shoulders.
He lifted himself up, desperate but determined to await her direction.
It came immediately. Before her shudders had subsided entirely, she took him in her hand.
“Now,” she said, hoarsely. “Inside me.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. With a groan, Aiden buried himself in her moist heat. She linked her ankles around his back, meeting him thrust for thrust and he was gone, out of this world, transported to another place where time stood still and pleasure ruled.
When he heard her cries starting again, he tried to hold back, but the sensations were too much and he exploded, pouring into her as if his very heart was overflowing. She gripped his hips, pulling him into her as if she wanted to make him a part of her.
Their cries mingled, filling the darkness with a song as ancient as time, as beautiful as a promise fulfilled, as pure as starlight on a cloudless night.
As dangerous as a dream.
* * *
To Aiden’s great relief, he’d awakened in Haylee’s bed rested and clear-headed, without so much as a glimpse of the red-eyed monster that stalked his subconscious. Unfortunately, their schedules had blown up with the sunrise, and it had been several days since they’d done more than talk briefly on the phone. He suspected she was trying to avoid him. But his sessions with the dogs kept them in contact. If that’s all she was comfortable discussing with him right now, he’d let her have the space.
For now.
Aiden rolled his shoulders as he walked through the door of his cabin. It had been a long couple of days, with a steady stream of patients coming through the ER. A flash of movement from the corner of the room startled him.
Buddy.
Right. The dog got up from a patch of sunlight by the window and greeted him with a gently waving tail.
“Hey, boy,” he said.
Haylee had suggested he try a few overnights with the dog. Aiden had gotten stuck with a late admission and had told her where the spare key was hidden so she could drop Buddy off before he got home.
He’d asked her to wait for him. She said she couldn’t.
He sighed, pulled off his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt. “Want to go for a walk?”
At the familiar word, the dog shook himself and danced over to the door. After changing into shorts and a T-shirt, Aiden took Buddy down to the beach. Other people were throwing balls and sticks for their dogs. There was much laughter and barking and the dogs always came back. Aiden was fairly sure Buddy would return to him, but not
enough to let him off the leash.
He had four days off in a row now, so maybe some focused attention would build the bond. He enjoyed the dog’s company, and was grateful that the nightmares seemed to be receding, but couldn’t see adopting him permanently. Buddy seemed . . . sad. There was no other word for it. He was intelligent, friendly, obedient and sensitive. But he obeyed Aiden by rote. Not because of an innate desire to please him.
At least, that was Aiden’s sense.
They returned to the cabin, where Aiden threw together a quick meal before he let fatigue take over. He ate, tidied up his little kitchen, and that was it. He showed Buddy to his bed in the corner of the bedroom.
“I’ll be right here if you need anything,” he told the dog. “I’m hoping the feeling’s mutual. Haylee’s talked you up, you know. I gotta say, I’m not super hopeful. Maybe you’ll take this under advisement and decide to blow me out of the water with your undying love. What do you say?”
The dog sighed and laid his glossy black and white head on his feet, following Aiden’s movements with his eyes. It was a little unnerving.
“I’d rather be going to bed with someone else, too.” He aimed his toothbrush at the dog. There was something about having someone else to talk to, even if it was just a dog. It was a hell of a lot better than talking to himself.
“You know who I’m talking about. I’ve seen you. You’ve got a crush on her too.”
The dog blinked.
He was losing it, babbling at a canine who couldn’t care less about him.
He finished his nighttime routine, turned off the lamp, and fell into bed. Haylee wanted a report on Buddy’s behavior in the morning, and that was something to look forward to.
He got almost three hours of sleep this time, before the nightmare hit.
As usual, it was the dead of night. Aiden was in a forest and the forest was on fire. Heat raged around him, crackling and spitting and hissing, but he had to go through it, he had to. He had to get to . . . something. Or someone. Who?
He pushed through rough branches that cut and burned. A wolf with red eyes snapped and howled behind him, teeth dripping with fire. Garret cried somewhere off to the side. Right? Left? Was he in the fire? Was the red-eyed wolf after him?
Sunset Bay Sanctuary Page 22
