by J. H. Croix
“So what’s on your schedule today?” she asked. Hopefully, focusing on the mundane would help her muddle through this.
“I’ll swing by my office for a bit, but then I’ll be back at the courthouse.”
“Oh.” Oh? Oh dear god. He’s going to be at the courthouse every day now. Yesssss!!! Nooooo!!!! Did you suddenly develop a split personality? How about you try to breathe and calm down. Oh, and don’t forget to actually speak. You do know how to have an actual conversation.
She took another gulp of coffee and met his eyes—so blue, and so damn sexy. She suddenly recalled those eyes on her last night, dark and intent, raw intimacy held within them. Heat coiled through her. She took another gulp of coffee and finally gathered herself enough to say something other than ‘oh.’ “Right, you’re covering the courthouse now. How long will you be doing that?”
He shrugged. “At least the next few weeks. I try to rotate and cover every job once a year. With that case popping back up, I figure it’s good for me to be there. I’d like to coordinate with your boss on a protocol for situations like this.”
Somehow, Becca managed to hold up her end of the conversation. Aidan asked about her cases, and she recalled how easy he was to talk with. He was curious and asked good questions. Her anxiety eased as they exited her apartment, and he drove her to work. She forgot her tension until he pulled up in front of the courthouse and glanced her way. Before she could think, he leaned over and brushed his lips across hers.
His quick touch, and the air came to life around them. Heat buzzed through her. He leaned back and nodded. “How about I give you a ride home since I’ll be back here anyway?”
Lost for words, she nodded and climbed out of his car. She watched as he drove away, his black sedan weaving quickly into traffic. She made her way inside and immediately got swept up into the relentless pace of her job. Every day was filled with hours of fielding calls, meeting with clients, attending hearings and generally running herself ragged. Ever since she’d written off any chance of a relationship, she’d thrived on how completely her job engulfed her mind. Today, she found her mind wandering time and again to Aidan. She worried over whether she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. However, she had succeeded beyond her wildest dreams at wiping Kyle from her mind. Aidan had so completely imprinted his body on hers, her senses could recall nothing but him. As she went about her day, she caught glimpses of him around and about the courthouse and attached offices. His presence was a distraction and a comfort at the same time.
Chapter 9
Aidan’s phone vibrated as he was walking into the parking garage to fetch his car. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Ellie’s number flashed on the screen.
“Hey Ellie, what’s up?”
“Hey Aidan! Thought I’d call and let you know I’m at your place.”
“You are?”
“Yup,” she said brightly. “I have a meeting with a gallery tomorrow, so I thought I’d come down tonight. That’s okay, right? You always say to come anytime.”
He would usually have said that was always the case, and it was okay tonight. It’s just now he had to find a way to explain not being home, if by chance Becca seemed open to him staying with her again. Or, he had to adjust on the fly and accept all he’d be doing with Becca tonight was giving her a ride home. He forced his attention to his call.
“Of course, it’s fine. Want me to pick up some takeout?”
“I thought I’d cook dinner. I stopped by the grocery store and have all the stuff for drunken noodles. Maybe stop and pick up some wine though. I forgot to get some, and you have next to nothing here,” she said wryly.
“Got it. I’m giving Becca a ride home, so once I drop her off, I’ll head home.”
“Why don’t you ask her to come for dinner? I’d love to see her.”
“Sure. See you in a bit.”
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and made his way to his car. His footsteps echoed through the parking garage. Right before he’d walked to his car, he’d told Becca to meet him out front in a few minutes. She’d been busy putting away the mountains of files on her desk. As he pulled his car around to the front of the building, he considered Ellie’s unannounced visit was probably a good thing. He needed to move slowly with Becca. Dinner with Ellie would force him to keep things light.
A short while later, he walked around his car to open Becca’s door. He cornered the front of his car to find her standing there, her arm hooked over the edge of the door.
“Beat you to it,” she said with a wide grin.
He chuckled and walked past her to tug the back door open. He snagged the bottle of wine he’d picked up on the way home. “Follow me,” he said.
He led the way to the door that led from the garage into his apartment. As he entered the security code, he considered what Becca might think of where he lived. When he’d renovated the old industrial building for his business, he’d had them utilize the upstairs for apartments. He rented several out to staff and kept one for himself. It was large and luxurious and completely secure. Becca had been here once or twice with Gage. He had figured it made sense to live as close to work as possible because he didn’t have much of a personal life and hadn’t intended for that to change—until now.
Years of life as a Navy SEAL kept him far away and made it hard to forge new connections. He had a few people who were near and dear—Ellie, Gage and Gage’s family, and some of his SEAL team members that were part of his life after he’d retired from the military. Otherwise, he’d considered it perfectly fine to live where he worked. He’d never considered he’d be bringing Becca here in any capacity other than as a family friend. He’d long ago written off any chance with Becca. Yet, here she was after last night.
He still had to prepare himself for the eventuality she would keep to the path she’d declared for herself after her engagement fell apart—the path where no man had a chance with her. His thoughts flashed to the way she felt in his arms last night—wild, passionate, pulling him into the flames that twined around them. A woman who felt passion that intensely shouldn’t go through life alone. He hoped like hell she didn’t and that he got to be the lucky man at her side. He mentally shook himself. Now was not the time to start pondering the wonders of Becca and allowing himself to consider how much he wanted her.
When the alarm quietly beeped, indicating it was clear to enter, he stepped through and held the door for Becca. Her breasts brushed his arm as she passed by. His body tightened. He forced himself to hold still for a moment. He needed to get his brain and his body off of this constant loop of wanting Becca. He’d been so successful at tamping down his feelings for her for so long that it threw him to be so easily affected by her. He took a slow breath and deliberately shut the door. The door led into a short hallway, which led to another door. Becca stopped by the next door and turned to him.
“Is this some kind of super secure thing, or what?” she asked, her brow arched.
He shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“No. Just that I always wondered.”
He reached the door and punched in the next security code before glancing down at her. She’d taken a step back, but it didn’t change the current humming in the air around them. Her glossy hair fell back when she tilted her face up to look at him. Her nose turned up just the slightest bit at the end, and her heart-shaped lips were so tempting, he had to yank on the reins of his desire. He forced himself to say something instead of kissing her like he wanted.
“When I had the building designed, this hallway originally went to two separate apartments. Due to the need to expand the space for our computer servers, we remodeled the two apartments into a larger one for me, along with the additional server room. The extra security’s nice, but it’s just a leftover from when there were two entrances in here.”
He pushed the door open and gestured for her to pass. There was a bark and suddenly Oscar hit him in the knees, all eight
y pounds of his furry self. He lost his balance, but steadied when Becca caught his arm. Oscar was all wiggles and snuffling sounds. Aidan handed the bottle of wine to Becca and knelt down beside Oscar.
“Hey buddy!” He ruffled Oscar’s fur while Oscar butted up against him, rubbing his head into Aidan’s chest.
“Hey there!” Ellie called out. “As you can tell, Oscar’s thrilled to see you.” Aidan glanced up to see Ellie leaning against the counter with a wide smile. She cast her smile in Becca’s direction. “How’s it going, Becca? Glad you could come.” Ellie pushed away from the counter and walked to meet Becca, tugging her close for a quick hug.
“Of course! When Aidan said you were here and you were making drunken noodles, how could I say no?”
Becca stepped past Ellie and set the wine on the counter. “Wow, you’ve managed to make Aidan’s apartment kind of cozy,” she said with a quick grin in his direction.
Aidan gave Oscar one last pet and stood. Oscar followed him as he walked across the room. His apartment was sleek and industrial. The flooring was dark hardwood. The walls were painted dove gray. The vents were visible above. The entrance led into the main living space, which was a large living room with a half-wall separating it from the kitchen. The kitchen had all stainless steel appliances and granite counters with an island that contained the stovetop and stools on the opposite side. Ellie had instantly left her mark with bright fabrics draped over the corner of the table and two new throw pillows of deep red tossed on his couch, along with a matching throw.
Ellie chuckled at Becca’s comment. “Aidan works too much to keep his place cozy. That’s why I make sure to show up here and there. I leave a few things behind every time.”
Becca tugged a stool out and sat at the counter. Over the next little while, Aidan busied himself catching up on work emails while Ellie and Becca chatted. Oscar decided Becca was in his preferred circle and nearly pinned himself to her side after she petted him the first time.
“How long have you had him?” Becca asked Ellie as Aidan closed his laptop and approached the kitchen island.
His apartment was scented with onions and garlic and whatever other flavors Ellie was cooking up. Ellie turned away and rinsed her hands quickly. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and glanced over at Becca. “He’s been with me for over four months now. No luck on adopting him out yet. I’m trying to convince Aidan to adopt him.” Ellie caught his eyes as he leaned his elbows on the counter. “He loves you. I think you could use some company. All you do is work, work, and work. If you have Oscar, you can take him with you everywhere you do. He’s a really good boy.” Her hazel eyes were pleading as she looked at him.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t know if it’s the best idea. There will be jobs I can’t take him on. The courthouse, for one. How will he handle being alone during the day if I can’t take him with me?”
“He’ll be fine. All he does is sleep most of the day. Plus, you can have him downstairs in the office too. It’s not like he’ll have to be alone.”
Becca glanced between them. “He’s a sweet dog. You should think about it.”
Aidan grinned and shook his head. “I already told you I’d think about it. Good enough?”
Ellie grinned. “Good enough for now.” She turned off the burner with a flourish. “Drunken noodles are ready!”
***
Becca watched Aidan’s car pull away from the curb. He’d insisted on walking her up to her door. She’d been simultaneously relieved and disappointed when he didn’t kiss her. Though she’d desperately wanted to kiss him, she hadn’t the nerve to tug him down to meet her lips. She’d always loved how tall he was whenever she let herself even think about how sexy he was, but his height didn’t lend itself to easy ways to bring her lips to his. His car disappeared in the distance, blending into the traffic on the busy downtown street.
She let the curtain fall and turned away from the window. She plunked down on the couch. It had been nice to have dinner with Ellie and Aidan. She didn’t get to see Ellie as much as she’d like. Ellie was warm, kind and funny. Becca recalled the first time Aidan had brought her to a cookout at her parents’ home in Bellingham. Ellie had been somewhat quiet and hung back. It wasn’t until she got comfortable with everyone that her offbeat, quirky nature came out. Watching Aidan with Ellie reminded Becca of yet another reason she was so drawn to him. He and Ellie were close and took care of each other. Their parents had died years ago, yet they were their own tight family unit. She knew he often visited Ellie—the very reason he happened upon her the night she’d been run off the road. Aidan was a loyal, caring brother—so like her own brothers.
Restless, she stood and strode into the bathroom. A hot shower might clear her head and somehow get her brain off its endless loop of Aidan. She’d said just once. Just once didn’t seem nearly enough now. As she stood under the steaming water, she recalled the feel of his hands on her, his lips mapping her body. Liquid need swirled inside of her, her sex clenching at the memory of him surging into her. She cupped her breasts. Simply thinking about last night with Aidan and her nipples were tight. She stroked her palm down her abdomen and slid her fingers into her folds. She was slippery with desire.
Pleasuring herself didn’t even come close to what Aidan elicited. Yet, the need was too deep. In seconds, her channel convulsed around her fingers. She leaned against the tiled wall as she caught her breath. She quickly soaped and rinsed before putting on her favorite pair of sweats and curling up on the couch to watch comfort television. She’d grown accustomed to her own space. In some ways, she savored it. She’d carved out a life where she found meaning in her work and had accepted her choice to eschew romantic relationships. One night—one night!—with Aidan had made her question too much. She considered how she worked herself to the bone, all so she didn’t have to think too hard about hoping for anything personal to change for her.
She thought about how many times she buried any fantasies about Aidan. He’d been the only man who tempted her at all. She’d been silly enough to think one night would wash him out of her system. Somehow, the opposite had happened. One night had only made her want more than she’d ever let herself consider. A relaxed night with him and Ellie only added to the confusion swirling inside of her. He was a nice guy, a good brother, funny and generally easy to be with. Aidan carried himself with an edge of reserve and that sexy, military, take-charge vibe. The bonus to seeing the other side of that edge was it made you feel as if you were special. She didn’t need to go thinking she was special to Aidan, didn’t need to go hoping she could take a risk on romance. Aidan might want her. Admit it. You know damn well he wants you. Okay, okay. So he wants me. But a hard on doesn’t tell you much about his feelings and what he wants beyond mind-blowing sex.
She shook her head and forced her thoughts off the hamster wheel of Aidan. She fell asleep on the couch with the rumble of the television keeping her company.
Chapter 10
Aidan rolled his head around, stretching the tension in his neck, before he picked up the weights and did another round of curls. After a solid hour of weightlifting, he pushed through the door outside and took off on a five mile run. He set a punishing pace. By the time he got back, he’d finally knocked the edge off of his body. One night with Becca and he was questioning something he’d never questioned—his control. He’d fallen asleep thinking about her and woken up thinking about her. In fact, he’d woken up rock hard, his body entirely of the mind that he needed a dose of Becca. He figured a lengthy workout might wear his body down. It had, but only a little.
After a quick shower, he headed downstairs to the office to check in before he went to the courthouse. When he arrived at the courthouse, he was immediately directed to check in with the district attorney.
“I hear you asked to see me,” Aidan said by way of greeting when he stepped into Barry Palmer’s office. Barry had been the DA in Seattle District Court for over a decade. He gave off a d
istracted air, but he was fair and never missed a detail. He was also ex-military, an Army veteran from many years past. He kept his silver hair close-cropped and dressed in navy suits every day.
Barry continued jotting notes and didn’t look up, but he nodded at Aidan’s comment. “That I did. Good to see you around this week, by the way.” At that, he set his pen down and looked up as he leaned back in his chair. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chair opposite him.
Aidan sat down and held Barry’s gaze. “Good to be here. How’ve things been going with our team?”
“Excellent.”
“Glad to hear it. So what can I do for you?”
Barry was quiet for a beat. He removed his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on. “I know you’re aware of the Morris Connor situation. The jail’s reporting in daily. He makes a lot of noise. We get used to noise like him, but he worries me. I wanted to talk to you because I thought you’d want to know he’s still focused on Becca Hamilton. He’s got this hang up that she’s the one who got to his girlfriend to begin with. My concern isn’t her safety. He’s not going anywhere, and the charges are piling up. My concern is he’s making enough noise I think we should take her off cases for a while until this dies down. He’s riling things up inside. There are always guys happy to jump on the bandwagon of a shitty prosecutor. She’s one of the best, but she’s not much good if she’s beating back stupid rumors. I wanted to give you a heads up since I know you’re a family friend. I’ll be talking to her later today. I don’t think she’s going to appreciate this.”
Aidan considered what Barry said. On a practical level, he understood Barry’s point. He worried how Becca would react though, and he couldn’t help the thread of worry weaving in his thoughts for her safety. “You sound pretty confident we don’t need to worry about her safety?”
