Oh, my fucking god.
I was set up!
Chapter Six
Las Vegas passes by in a blur once again as I think about what just happened.
What did just happen?
My whole freaking life is gone, that's what just happened! Everything I owned was in that little hotel room. Granted, it wasn't much—I'm a minimalist. But there were memories in there—photos and small trinkets and sentimental jewelry that was passed down from my mother. My mother! The thought makes my breath hitch as I tuck down a sob and I turn my head as far as I can into the window so Aden can't see me.
But he hears me.
"You OK, Sig?"
This makes me angry. "Stop calling me Sig like you know me or something, OK? You don't know me!"
"Sorry," he mumbles. "I don't know you, you're right. But I like you. I don't want you to be hurt or sad, that's all. And I love your name. It's so beautiful and that nickname just rolls off my tongue. I feel like know you."
Well, that's not what I expected.
His hand grabs mine and pulls me towards him. "Look at me, please."
I swallow and turn my head slightly, just enough to see his eyes but not give him a full shot of what a wreck I am.
"I'll take care of this, I promise."
"How, Aden? If what you said was true, then I'm a target. I'm gonna have to leave Vegas! And this is the only place I've ever known. I need my phone, I need to call Jaxsen and tell him what happened."
"Your accountant?" He almost snorts, I swear. "You're not calling that guy, he's as dirty as they come."
"Like you'd know!"
"I do know, Signy. Look in the back of my truck, Peaches. Do I look like I need a job at your—no offense—crappy little PI agency? I'm decked out with more than two million dollars in equipment back there. You really think I'm a freelancer?"
My head turns slowly to his face. "You lied to me?"
He lets out an uncomfortable laugh. "You're surprised?"
I look back out the window and realize we're far out of the city now. The whole night is blackness—no stars or nothing. "Where the hell are you taking me?"
"Just relax, we're almost there."
"Almost where?" My heart starts pounding and I reach over and try and grab my phone from the seat. He swears the truck and knocks me back.
"Stop dammit!"
I pull the gun from my thigh holster, pull back the safety, and point it at his head. "Pull this motherfucking truck over, right now!"
He pulls off the highway but not off the road.
"I said—"
"Sig, you're not going to shoot me, so stop. The gun's loaded with blanks anyway."
"No, I don't think so, Aden. You made a big deal about me going in protected, so you;re telling me that was for show?"
"I lied about the case, didn't I?"
"Pull over, I said."
He turns the truck again, but we don't stop, instead we continue down a very dark and narrow road. It's impossible to tell what's on either side, that's how dark it is. But there are lights up ahead now, so I crane my neck to get a better look.
"Where are we?"
He stops the truck, puts it in park and turns off the engine. "My house. Come on, you can clean up inside and get some rest. We'll figure it out in the morning."
He's out of the truck and I'm sitting alone, pointing the gun at the empty space where he used to be. My door opens up and he stands there, waiting to see what I'll do.
"Let's just get some rest, huh? We're both pretty tense right now, so come on."
I jump out of the truck but keep the gun. He turns away and starts walking up towards his house. The windows are all dark and the outside is only illuminated by a single light on the porch next to the door. I close the door with my hip and then point the gun at the ground and fire one off.
The boom echoes and I can feel the dirt fly up and hit me in the face, but my eyes are trained on Aden.
He doesn't even flinch—but he does talk as he jingles his keys in his hand, getting ready to unlock the door. "Smart girl." He turns to look back at me, the key still in the lock. "I knew you knew, by the way."
Right. "Don't underestimate me, Aden. I swear to God, I will not hesitate. You seem to have some misconstrued opinion of me based on how this whole relationship started, but I'm not a bimbo who fell into a job running a investigations agency because her mommy died and left it to her in the will. I'm trained and I will not be led along like some pet, you got it?"
"You like coffee, right, Signy?"
"What?"
"Coffee? Come on, I'll make us some while you take a shower. Then we'll talk, OK?"
I hesitate and look around for a moment, take in my surroundings. What I can see of them anyway. I'm pretty much in the middle of BFE, so I don't really have a choice, do I? Unless I want to steal his two million dollar truck. And something tells me that might rub him the wrong way. I holster the gun, join him on the porch, and then he waves me forward and follows me inside.
He flicks on the lights and I move out of his way so he can get by me. It's a small house, just a room with a couch and coffee table with a big screen on the wall. Figures, right? Men.
I turn and see the kitchen. Your average kitchen. Older appliances, Formica counter tops, cruddy floors.
Definitely no women cooking for him in this kitchen.
"How long have you lived here?"
"I grew up here."
"Oh."
"Family hunting cabin."
"Right."
"Shower's in there," he says pointing to the hallway. "You have blood on you."
I look down at my black outfit and sure enough, I have a gash across my thigh and the blood has found its way to every exposed part of my body. "I have no clothes," I mumble weakly. I have nothing, I remind myself. What I have on is the extent of my worldly possessions.
Aden just shrugs as he pulls a coffee can out of the fridge. "I like ya naked, but I'll let you borrow a t-shirt and some boxers. That cool?"
I just stare at him for a few moments and then he's coming towards me. I back up but his arms reach out and pull me close.
"Stop," he whispers into my neck. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Signy. Just try and relax. I get it, it's a shock. I lied to you, I knew this job was fishy from the start. I was sent in to take car of you and make sure you got out alive. You're safe with me, I swear."
"Sent in by whom?"
"Your client was under surveillance for trying to hire a hit man. We knew he had a contract, but we didn't know he'd pull that shit with you inside."
"Who is we?"
He pulls out his wallet and flips it open to reveal an FBI badge.
"How old are you?" I ask. It's a valid question, the guy looks like he's about the same age as me.
"Twenty-six."
I eyeball him.
He just shrugs. "My dad was a big shot. He got me in the Bureau after college. I was a spoiled rich kid with connections, but I'm still good at my job. I can take care of you, of this, I swear."
"But—you fucked me! That's part of your job description?"
He winces and blows out a breath. "No, that was my bright idea to get you to hire me and let me tag along on the job."
"So you used me?" OhmyfuckingGod, just when I thought my night could not get any worse, it did. I walk away, partly because I feel so stupid for falling for his charm and partly because he doesn't say anything to explain, or stop me, for that matter.
I find the bathroom and lock myself in as I lean against the door. I have no idea how long I stand there lost in my own personal hell, but a knock on the other side eventually snaps me back to reality.
"Sig? You OK? I don't hear the water."
I step over to the shower and start the water, then wait for the sound of receding footsteps, peel off my ruined clothes and get in. The hot water blasts my skin until it's red with heat and clear of blood and then I step out and wrap myself in a towel. I'm totally in some kind of fog, nothing makes sens
e and I open the door and wander back to the living room.
Aden just looks at me from the couch. I can smell the coffee but if he thinks I'm just gonna kick back on the couch with him and drink coffee like we're old friends, he's out of his fucking mind.
"Signy?"
"Clothes?"
"Oh, yeah. I put them on the bed in there. Go ahead and take the room, I'll sleep out here."
"Great," I say as I turn and walk into the bedroom.
I slip into the white boxers and t-shirt and then slump down on the bed and lie there in the darkness. I can hear Aden talking on the phone a few times, but can't make out what he says. I try to sleep, but all I see is the woman's dead body and my motel room in flames. Eventually I hear Aden get in the shower and I'm half dozing when the door opens and light creeps in. He walks as silent as he can towards one side of the room and starts shuffling quietly through some drawers.
"I'm awake, you know."
"Yeah?" he asks, turning.
The moon is shining into the window above the headboard, so he appears before me in the most beautiful light. His body is so perfect. Muscular and almost glowing in the moonshine. His wet hair stands up a little and he still hasn't bothered to shave the stubble on his face. It adds just the right amount of contrast to his features, making him look a little dark and mysterious.
Aden is altogether sexy.
And isn't that how it usually happens? The hot guys is always the liar, or the cheater, or the wife-beater. He's never the honest, loving guy who wants to make babies with you.
"You want company?" he asks.
"No."
Why he asked me the question, I have no idea, because he drops the towel that was wrapped around his waist, crawls up the bed until he's next to me, and bumps me until I move over. "This is my side of the bed, Peaches," he whispers. And then he pulls me into his arms, my back resting against his chest, and his cock pressing up against my ass.
"You're back to fuck my mind now too?"
"Shit, Signy," he groans. I wait it out because I have nothing to say. "I deserve that, I guess," he finally adds.
I snort.
"But you have to admit, it was fun, right? The foreplay? It was fun?"
Reluctantly I agree in my head, but I keep that inside, thank God.
"It was more than fun for me, Signy. I think you're amazing."
My head just shakes. "It was a set-up, Aden, and you were in on it. You used me to get in on this case, put me in danger, and now you think you're the hero or something?" I pause but he stays silent so I just let it all out. "You make me feel dirty."
He leans his face into my neck and whispers, "I'm sorry. You're not dirty, Sig. That's not what I meant to do, I swear." His hand slips down and cups my breast and then his fingertips brush around my nipple with a touch so light it perks up instantly. I draw in a deep breath and tip my head back a little with desire. "I can be soft and nice, too Signy."
I try and shrug him off but he holds me firmly in his arms. My body wants him, even my heart is beginning to want him. But I can't trust him. "You're just playing games, Aden."
"I'll lose this game if you want me to, as long as you forgive me." His fingertip drags down my belly, tickling me enough to gasp, then slides right down between my legs and I instantly feel the wetness. He's encouraged by my reaction and teases his finger up and down my slit, barely touching it, barely letting me know he's there. My breathing ratchets up a little and I can feel his cock grow as he presses himself into me. "And I didn't fuck you, Sig. We only messed around a bit."
"Whatever."
"I might like to make love to you right now though."
"I bet you would."
"But I won't."
I stop breathing for a moment.
"Because I'd much rather have you make love to me." I exhale as his finger withdraws from my borrowed boxers. "And that's all you're getting."
I let out a little laugh. "What?"
He tugs on my shoulder and makes me lie flat on the bed next to him and then his lips are on me, not in the urgent and hard way that they were earlier, but soft and tender. He starts at the little dent in my throat and lifts up my t-shirt and his mouth drifts down to my breast and sucks it gently. It's nothing like what he gave me earlier. Nothing.
I watch him and when he stops to look up at me, all I see is desire in his half-mast eyes. I swallow as he comes back up towards my face and traces the outline of my lips with his thumb. "Tell me to stop and I'll leave you alone."
"Don't stop," I breathe. I don't know why I said it, but it's already out and I don't want to take it back. I want someone to hold me tonight and if I can trick Aden into doing that with some sex, well, fuck it. I'm weak, I'm stupid, and I'm alone. I just want someone to make me feel wanted right now.
Aden smiles and then inches down the bed, pulling my boxers down with him. His touch makes me shiver as he passes my knees, stops to caress my inner thigh for a moment, then continues down my calf. He slips the shorts past my toes and lets them drop to the floor.
I am still, absolutely still, as he makes his way back up with his mouth. He stops at my bare pussy and teases me for a second with a flick of his tongue, just enough to make me break my stillness and buckle my back. And then his fingers lift up the t-shirt and slip it over my head. His eyes look down on my body with hunger as he studies my face, then my neck, and finally his attention goes to my breasts. His mouth dips down to suckle and he kneads them with his fingers. When my back arches again, he slips his strong hands behind me and pulls me into his mouth.
He grasps me to his chest and flips us over so I'm on top, his hardness is pushing against my ass and my breathing is fast and loud.
I lift my hips so he can slip inside me and then I ease down and moan as he fills me up.
"I like you better like this, Sig."
I rise up and press down again, making him growl as he holds my hips, guiding them along in a smooth motion, my damp hair sliding across my nipples as we move together. "Like what, Aden?"
"Slow," he breathes. "I like you better when we're slow."
I lower my chest to his and slip my hands behind his neck, my turn to trace his mouth with my thumbs.
And we watch each other as we make love.
And we keep it slow.
Coming June 1, 2013
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