The Boss

by Stephanie Hunt

  Aiden pulled back, burying his face against the side of her neck, willing himself to slow down. It had been a long time since he’d slept with anyone, but that wasn’t really the issue. He’d never felt such a strong need for anyone before.

  Saige moaned in disappointment when he stopped kissing her. Then she felt his mouth move along her neck. When he nipped just under her ear she couldn’t hold back a cry of pleasure. None of the men she’d been with had ever found that spot. He felt her nails dig into his shoulders and it sent a purely masculine thrill of pride through him. This wasn’t going to be polite love making. This was going to be heated and just the right kind of rough and he couldn’t wait anymore.

  He boosted her up the ladder and then pulled her down onto the lounge chair so that she was straddling him. Her water slicked skin slid against his, spiking his desire even higher and he finally cupped her breasts in his hands. She arched her back, offering more of herself to him and he took it, unhooking her bra with one hand, and then cupping her once more. She was smooth and firm and all he wanted to do was taste her.

  Saige buried her fingers in his hair when he lowered his head, drawing one of her nipples into his warm mouth. When his tongue moved slowly over it, sensation flooded her whole body and she squirmed on his lap, trying to get closer to him.

  Aiden slid his hands down to the small of her back and jerked her closer, feeling her grind down onto him. He couldn’t remember ever being this hard. It actually ached. As if she’d heard his thoughts, Saige reached down and closed her hand around his straining shaft.

  She started out gentle, testing what he wanted. She moved up to the tip and dragged her thumb over the sensitive crown. His hands tightened on her ass and she felt him groan against her skin. She began pumping her fist slowly and felt him shudder under her. Maybe it had been as long for him as it had been for her.

  The slow strokes were killing him. She wasn’t moving fast enough for him to be in danger of coming too soon, but it was enough to keep him near the edge. He stood up and dropped her gently back down to the lounge chair, tugging her panties off. She didn’t pretend to be shy; instead she sat up and yanked his boxers down before pulling him on top of her.

  “Don’t make me wait anymore,” she whispered against his neck.

  He pushed inside her in one smooth, deep thrust and she caught her breath. He fit her perfectly, filling her to capacity but not in a painful way. Aiden braced himself with one hand and cupped the back of her neck with the other, kissing her as he started to move inside her. She wrapped those mile long legs around his waist and arched into his thrusts, her fingernails digging into his shoulders once more.

  “Aiden, you feel so good,” she murmured against his lips.

  He moved faster, wanting more of her...needing more of her. She moaned as he picked up the pace and she knew that it wouldn't take long for him to push her over the edge. She loved feeling his muscles slide under his damp skin and the way he had to muffle his groans against the side of her neck. She was making him feel good too.

  Aiden moved one hand down to the small of her back, dragging her even closer. He could feel her tighten up around him as he moved even faster. He needed to feel her come because she felt too good for him to deny what he wanted much longer.

  His next deep thrust pushed her past her limit and she clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her cry of pleasure. As her head fell back against the chair, Aiden pressed his face against her neck, feeling her pulse pound as she writhed against him, riding out her orgasm. He gripped her hip to keep her still, but she moved too perfectly for him to really want to stop her. He could feel her tight channel gripping him as each wave tightened her more.

  “God, Saige,” he groaned. “Saige, if you don’t stop...”

  “Come with me,” she begged. “I want to feel you too.”

  He couldn’t deny her or himself any longer. Covering her mouth with his, Aiden kissed her as they came together. Her nails raked down his back as he plunged deep into her heat. The orgasm went on and on, dragging him deeper into the spiral of pleasure with each move either of them made. By the time it was over, it was all he could do to roll onto his side and pull her against his chest.

  She rested her forehead on his firm chest as she caught her breath. So this was why people made such a big deal about sex. She’d never really gotten it before. He was content to stay where he was, with her in his arms for a long time, the two of them just relishing lying there together, naked and totally satisfied.

  After a while, Aiden traced his thumb down her cheek and smiled down at her. This time, his smile was real. Slightly proud, but he’d earned the right to some pride.

  “That was amazing,” he said, his southern accent low and rough.

  Saige ran her fingertip down the center of his chest, through the trail of dark hair on his flat stomach, until she could cup him once more. “You’re telling me,” she said with a grin. “You’re not going to break my heart and tell me that this is a one-time thing, are you?”

  “Hell no,” he said, stirring under her touch once more, amazing even himself. “I think I might just be addicted to you.”

  Chapter Seven:

  Aiden walked a knife’s edge that summer. He and Saige hadn’t stopped seeing each other. Neither had he and Victoria. He consoled himself with the fact that he and Victoria weren’t sleeping together, but he wasn’t dumb enough to believe that that made it right.

  Every time he thought about telling his parents that he wanted to break things off with Victoria, there was some new financial crisis. Apparently his father’s stocks had plummeted once again. And his mother was planning a new charity ball. And then, after a party at a friend’s house, she wanted to redecorate. And Victoria was the key to all of that.

  But Saige...God, he couldn’t imagine how he’d lived without her for so long. It was like seeing the sun after decades of rain. She challenged him at everything. Races in the pool at night. Knowledge of computer hardware and software. The idea of finally going to college. And, when she’d gotten his mind in a complete whirl, she moved on to his body. He had no idea how she’d gotten so imaginative, but she kept him up in more ways than one.

  When he wasn’t with her, he was thinking about her. When he was with her, he was thinking about how he could spend more time with her. He’d even taken to helping her father in the garden. He’d surprised himself by discovering that he didn’t mind the work.

  He also liked talking with Patrick. The man was intelligent and quick witted, and he loved to tell stories about Saige. That was how Aiden learned that Patrick had raised her on his own. Her mother had died when Saige was only two. She’d had leukemia. Patrick had never married again.

  “Didn’t have time,” he’d said when Aiden had hinted at it. “Had to take care of my doodlebug...and don’t you dare tell her that I told you her nickname.”

  She’d been away at college for the past four years and she’d worked summers to keep from having to take out student loans. Saige was the only graduate he knew that wasn’t up to her eyeballs in debt.

  She was still working odd jobs like the catering one, but she was applying “all over God’s creation,” according to Patrick.

  Aiden wondered what he’d do if she got a job on the West Coast. Hell, what was he going to do anyway? He picked absently at a rose that was climbing the trellis. He couldn’t keep seeing Victoria. Not when he’d fallen in love with the gardener’s daughter.

  He clenched his hand too tightly on the rose and a thorn dug deep into his finger. The stray thought had slipped into his mind so naturally that there was no denying it. He wasn’t just having a good time with her. He was in love with her.

  He knew know that he’d never really been in love before. He also knew that there was no way he could let her walk out of his life.

  He had to talk to her. But he needed to talk to Victoria first. He pulled his cell phone out and sent her a brief text asking her when she could meet with him. She answered that sh
e was free and she’d be there shortly.

  Aiden swallowed hard. He had no idea how his parents would react. He had no idea if Saige even felt the same way about him. But he couldn’t do anything about it. For once in his life, he was going to do the right thing.

  Chapter Eight:

  Victoria walked in, giving him a perfunctory smile. “Hello, Aiden.”

  He gestured for her to take a seat. He’d asked her to meet him in the library because it was the least likely place for his parents to overhear him.

  He took a deep breath, fully expecting a scene. “Victoria, I have something to tell you.”

  She raised an eyebrow, looking mildly interested, which was more than he usually got out of her. “All right.”

  “I’ve been seeing someone else.” He winced a little on the inside at how bluntly he’d spoken.

  “That gardener’s daughter?” Victoria asked. “What’s her name? Daisy? Poppy?”

  “Saige.” Aiden stared at her. “You knew?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course I knew. You think I didn’t see you at the party? You behaved yourself well there; no one else noticed.”

  He sank into the chair opposite the couch and stared at her. “And you don’t care?” He’d never expected this.

  “I thought we understood each other.”

  “Understood...what, exactly?”

  “That our marriage, if there is one, would be for show. Honey, everyone knows your family’s broke.” She patted his hand. “But what difference does it make? Daddy’s got more money than God, and I want a husband who’s content to keep his hands to himself. You’re not exactly where my interests lie.”

  Aiden was too confused to even be insulted. Victoria laughed. “Daddy just wants me married off so rumors don’t get started. Your family wants to keep pretending to be rich. I don’t care how much you slum it with the help if you give me the same leeway. Aiden, it’s win/win.”

  He stood up and she followed him to the window. He pushed his hand through his hair and tried to think straight. For a second, he entertained the thought, solely because it would be the easy way out. Marry Victoria, keep his family happy, and...what? Saige would never be anyone’s mistress.

  “You want to marry me?” he asked, his voice tight with anger. “Even if I never love you?”

  She sighed. “You don’t seem to get it. I’m never going to love you, Aiden. But I will marry you and give you everything you want. A future that doesn’t involve living in a one bedroom apartment with the gardener’s daughter and God knows how many of her relatives.”

  “It’s just me and my dad, actually.”

  Aiden’s heart stopped and then made up for lost time so quickly that he felt dizzy. “Saige.”

  “You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone,” Saige said, looking at Aiden, hoping that the hurt didn’t show on her face.

  “Oh, we’ve been together for ages,” Victoria said airily.

  “Only six months,” Aiden corrected.

  “Six months?” Saige felt sick. “Well. I came to tell you some news, but I think your engagement might take precedence.” She’d heard what the other woman had said. “A future that doesn’t involve living in a one-bedroom apartment with the gardener's daughter.” That burned the most. That Aiden’s girlfriend had known about the two of them and had just let him carry on.

  “Saige, wait!” Aiden moved to go after her, but Victoria put her hand on his arm.

  “Now don’t do anything silly, Aiden,” she said coolly. “I don’t mind you having a girlfriend, but I do mind our entire social circle knowing about it.”

  He swallowed hard and tried to keep from shouting at her. “We’re through, Victoria.”

  She smiled and patted his cheek. “Think about it,” she said. “I’ll call you in a few days.”

  Aiden growled with frustration, but she didn’t turn back. He collapsed into a chair and covered his face with both hands. Before Saige had turned to go, he’d seen tears sparkling in her eyes. What had he been thinking? Why had he waited so long?

  Chapter Nine:

  Aiden tried her phone for days, but she was ignoring him resolutely. He was getting desperate the day he heard his mother’s voice raised in the front room.

  “What do you mean, you’re leaving?” she demanded. “Who’s going to handle the grounds for the gala?”

  “I’ve left you a list of men I’d recommend.”

  It was Patrick’s voice. Aiden hurried into the room. Saige’s father was standing in the middle of the room, his bag over his shoulder.

  “You’re leaving?” Aiden asked.

  “You’ll never get a good reference from me!” Savannah informed him, speaking over Aiden

  “I didn’t really think I would, ma’am.” Patrick turned and started to walk out.

  “Wait!” Aiden called after him, but he didn’t. After a split second Aiden abandoned his dignity and chased after him. “Please, Mr. Gilmore, hang on!”

  Patrick sighed and turned. “I’m not telling you where she’s going,” he said flatly.

  “She’s going?” Aiden asked.

  Patrick sighed again. “Best if I just shut my mouth.”

  Aiden tried to think of what to say and realized there was nothing that would excuse his behavior. “Will you please just tell her that I’m sorry?” he asked humbly. “And that I’d like to see her again before she…goes.”

  Her father eyed him for a long moment and then nodded. “I’ll tell her.”

  Saige sighed when her father gave her the message. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”

  Patrick shrugged. “Then don’t call. If you’re really sure.”

  That was the trouble. She wasn’t sure. She glanced around the small apartment. Boxes were packed and stacked neatly, ready for their departure. She could go and never have to deal with Aiden Cross again.

  But what did he want to say? With another heavy sigh, she dialed his number. He actually sounded a little nervous when he answered.

  “Dad said you wanted me to call you,” she said stiffly.

  “Yeah. I did.” He had to swallow hard before he could continue. “I’d like to see you again.”

  Her heart twisted. God, she wanted to see him too. “Aiden...I don’t see the point.”

  “I know that I hurt you,” he said, blurting out his words desperately, nothing like his old, suave self. “And I was an idiot and I handled things the wrong way--”

  “Is there a good way to handle sleeping with two different women at the same time?”

  “I never slept with her!” he said firmly. “Never.”

  “You were going to marry her!”

  “No! Well...okay, sort of. But it’s complicated. Her family has money. And my family...well you know all that.” He rubbed his temples and sighed. “I’ve ended it with her now. Please, Saige. Give me another chance. Please.”

  Her mind was running a hundred miles an hour. He hadn’t been sleeping with the other woman? And he really did sound so sorry. But then why... “No!” she said suddenly. “I don’t think that I could ever trust you again.”

  “What if I could prove it?” he asked, determination and resolve strengthening his voice. “There’s something I’d like you to hear. Even if you don’t want to be with me anymore. Will you come over?”

  She paused for so long that he was convinced that the answer would be no. His pent up breath whooshed out in a relieved rush when she finally agreed.

  “I’ll be there in about 15 minutes,” she said. “And I can’t stay long. I’m packing up.”

  She didn’t wait for him to reply before disconnecting the call and heading out the door.

  Aiden was waiting for her on the front porch when she arrived. He moved to take her hand and stopped himself before he could. He was desperate to touch her, but he recognized that that might not be his place anymore.

  “Thanks again for coming.”

  “Sure,” she said, clenching her hands in the pockets of her shorts t
o stop from touching him. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well, and he hadn’t shaved that day. “What did you want?”

  “I want to tell my parents that I’m not marrying Victoria. Or any of the other rich women they throw my way. I want to tell them that I’m moving out and going to college. I have some money stashed away that my grandfather left just for me. It’ll get me started and a job will do the rest. And...I’d really like to tell them that I’m seeing you.”

  Saige stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  Aiden nodded. “Saige, I’m in love with you.”

  She sat down on the porch swing more abruptly than she’d meant to. Aiden knelt in front of her and cupped her face in his hands.

  “Are you okay?”

  She managed a nod. “Aiden, tell me the truth. Were you sleeping with me and Victoria at the same time?”

  He held her gaze steadily and said, “You’re the only one I’ve been with, Saige. And I hope it stays that way forever.”

  She took a deep, shaky breath. “One more thing. Would you talk to them even if I stood up and walked away right now? About getting your own place, and about going to college?”

  Aiden wanted to beg her not to walk away, but he composed himself and nodded. He owed her the truth about everything and he knew it. “Yes. Even if I can’t have you, I want my own life.”

  “Then let’s go talk to your parents.”

  Chapter Ten:

  Aiden collapsed to the couch in Saige and Patrick’s apartment. Saige curled herself up beside him and took his hand. He looked drained from more than just the heat of the walk from his place to hers.

  “That was awful,” she said bluntly.

  He gave a half laugh and rested his chin on her hair. “It really was. I’m sorry for dragging you into it. I thought that if I could just get them to see how much I love you, they’d come around.”