Aiden knew he wasn’t alone, because Evie’s good arm was wrapped tightly around his neck, but there was no way she was in any condition for anything more than tender kisses. He reached up and unwound her arm.
“No,” she protested. “I need this.”
“Kitten, you get as many kisses as you want for as long as you want them. But only kisses.”
Her nails bit into his shoulder. “I want more. I need this.” Then she bit her lip and shook her head as if to clear it.
God, so did he, but she was weeks away from anything physical. What’s more, if she had been thinking straight, she would remember she was mad at him. They had too much to resolve before they were intimate. He didn’t want to fuck this up. Literally.
“Eva, you’re having a reaction to all of your trauma. You want to prove to yourself that you’re alive. That you’re safe. This is too important. We’re too important. In the meantime, I’ll kiss you and hold you all you want.”
Evie took some deep breaths.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am. Do you think you can rest until dinner is ready? Or would you like the TV on?”
“Can I have my laptop?”
Aiden looked at her eyes. The swelling had gone down considerably on her left eye. They had recovered her belongings from the hotel room in Turkey, so she had her laptop there.
“I’ll get it for you. But don’t strain your eyes, okay?”
“I won’t,” she assured him.
***
Evie heaved a sigh of relief when Aiden left her alone with her laptop and thoughts. What in the hell had gotten into her? Into him? She was a fucking mess. She hurt like a son of a bitch, and she’d been climbing all over him. What the hell? Tears pricked her eyelids. She didn’t want this. She didn’t need this. She didn’t trust him. It had to be the injury. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome.
She booted up her laptop.
She went to her email. There were two emails each day from Jim, and one a day from Blake. She ignored them. Trenda had sent two today. Drake had said she wanted to fly to California, but Evie knew that money was tight for her. She eyed the landline on the nightstand beside the bed. First, she perused her sister’s email.
Dammit. Trenda was already explaining how she intended to cash in one of her hard won IRA’s for the flight. It was time to call.
Evie hated making a long distance call on Aiden’s phone without asking permission, but she also couldn’t get out of bed without a whole hell of a lot of pain. So she was screwed. She picked up the phone and dialed Trenda’s number. Thank God, it was one of the two she had memorized.
“Hello?”
“Trenda, it’s me, Evie.”
“Oh, Baby Girl, it’s so good to hear your voice. Drake promised you would call me this morning.” Trenda promptly started to cry.
“Hey, hey, hey. I’m fine.”
Her sister said something, but she couldn’t understand her. She waited until the tears subsided. This wasn’t her first rodeo with Trenda. Most of the time she was a rock, but when she lost it, she really lost it.
Finally...
“God, Evie. I’ll be there in three days.”
“Bullshit. You can’t afford it. Did you tell Drake you were cashing an IRA?”
“It’s done. The tickets are bought.”
“You lie.”
“I go in and sign the paperwork tomorrow. It’s almost done,” Trenda admitted.
“Well stop it. I’m going to ask Aiden to pay. Apparently, he’s richer than God.” Evie damn near stopped breathing as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She hadn’t just said that, had she?
“He is not.”
“He is. I’m lying in a bedroom that is bigger than my entire hotel suite. He’s loaded. The TV costs more than my car.” She looked at the flat screen that took up half the wall. What? He thought his guests needed to have the TV characters join them in bed?
“You can’t ask him. You hate him.”
Evie blushed and remained silent as she thought about the kiss they had just shared. What in the hell had gotten into her? Oh yeah, Stockholm syndrome. She was definitely going with that. Except, he was her rescuer, so that didn’t really fly, now did it?
“Evie? What aren’t you telling your big sister? I recognize that guilty silence.”
“The man just saved my life. How could I possibly hate him?”
“Not hating him because he saved your life, and moving in with him and borrowing money from him are three different things. Are you being foolish?” Trenda’s Southern accent was more pronounced as she got into her mother hen role.
“For God’s sake, I’m sick in bed. I just got out of surgery three days ago. How could I have gotten into trouble already?”
“Because you’re Evalyn Lavender Avery, that’s how. Now spill it.”
Evie bit her bottom lip that was still slightly tender from the kiss she had shared with Aiden. God, she needed to talk, but would Trenda judge her? Then she thought about everything that her sister had gone through in her life and knew that she would be the last person in the world to judge.
“Something’s changed with him. I feel it. I’m beginning to trust him.”
“Of course, something’s changed. He almost lost you,” Trenda said gently.
“I think it’s more than that,” Evie persisted. She was met with silence.
“He said he was trying to protect me before.”
“What does he mean by that?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“Seriously, there are other words besides ‘fuck’,” Trenda admonished.
Evie hunched over. “I don’t say it in front of Bella...much.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be lecturing you. You don’t know what he meant about protecting you? He didn’t elaborate?”
“I fell asleep before he could. Now, he’s insisted I stay with him. He’s acting like he cares, and not because he kissed me. He’s all gentle and loving. He’s driving me up a wall. He’s even more caring than he was at the chalet back in Tennessee.”
“He kissed you?” Trenda’s voice rose. At least she didn’t screech.
“Please stay calm. I haven’t told you the worst part.”
She heard Trenda take a deep breath. “Okay, hit me.”
“I responded. A lot. I was all over him, like bees to honey.”
“Oh, Baby Girl. Do you think it was the pain medicine?”
“I’m voting on Stockholm syndrome.”
Trenda shouted with laughter. “Only you.”
“He broke it off. God, he was so tender I almost cried.”
“Well, he damn well better be tender considering your condition. You need to be wrapped in cotton wool.”
“I do not,” Evie groused.
“Well, you will be when I fly out there. I’ll have enough money to stay close by.”
“You are not staying at a hotel. Aiden’s house has a bazillion rooms. You are not cashing one of your two IRA’s.” Evie shoved the receiver against her chest and then winced at the pressure.
“Aiden!” she yelled. She waited.
In less than a minute he was in the doorway, dishtowel in his hands, and a concerned look on his face. Then he saw the phone pressed against her chest and his expression changed to quizzical.
“What’s going on.”
Time to take the bull by the horns.
“You’re rich. Trenda is planning to cash in one of her two IRA’s to pay for a ticket for her and Bella to fly out here and stay at a hotel so she can be near me.”
He strode into the room and held out his hand for the phone. She handed it to him.
“Trenda?”
He listened to whatever bullshit she was spouting. Finally, he interrupted.
“There will be tickets for you and Bella in your email within the hour. You’re staying at my place. I have five bedrooms and six baths.”
Evie watched the play of emotions that passed over his face. Finally, he grinne
d.
“No, I really wasn’t planning that many children. I have a large family that comes and visits from Mexico twice a year. They expect to stay with me, I needed the room.”
His grin got broader.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He thrust the phone back to Evie. “Here, she wants to speak to you. I’ll give you some privacy. Anyway, I have potatoes to peel.”
He walked back out the door.
“Five bedrooms and six bathrooms?”
“I told you he was Midas rich.”
“He has more bathrooms than bedrooms. Who has that?”
“He’s got dark hair.”
“What?” Trenda asked. “You’re not making sense.”
“He doesn’t look like himself. He has dark hair. He dyed it to blend in while he was in Turkey. I felt like I was kissing someone else. Do you think that was why it was a different kind of kiss? Do you think it was the hair color?” Her toes still curled. She still got fuzzy, and God, every single girl part woke up and took notice. She needed to have her head examined.
“Definitely the pain medicine.” Trenda sighed. “I need to get out there stat.”
“It was the best kiss of my life,” Evie whispered as she smoothed the sheet. Hell, what was the thread count?
“Oh, Honey.” Trenda sighed. “Don’t get in too deep, okay? You’re still coming off a horrific event, and it’d be so easy to fall into his arms because he represents safety. You need to rest and get well. Wait until we get there, okay? You need a sense of normalcy. Once Bella and I are there, all that nonsense will stop.”
Maybe Trenda was right. Plus, there was something else she needed to discuss.
“Jim and Blake keep e-mailing me.”
“I know, Baby Girl. They keep calling me. Blake stopped by. I didn’t answer the door. If I had, I would have slapped him. Don’t even open the e-mails.”
“They helped rescue me.”
“They’re the ones that put you in that situation, to begin with. They are the bad guys. Don’t open. I don’t want you feeling bad for them. Are we clear?”
“But-”
“Don’t ‘but’ me.”
Evie looked down at the e-mails. It seemed like their names were glowing large on the screen.
“Delete them. Delete them right now while I’m on the phone.”
“But we have so much history. Jim and Blake have been so good to me.” She continued to stare at the screen. Then a large hand plucked her computer off her laptop.
“What the fuck?”
“Those assholes are trying to get ahold of you?” Aiden roared.
He had her laptop cradled in his right hand, and he scrolled through her emails.
“That’s private.”
“It isn’t now. I can’t believe this.”
“Are you clicking on those?”
“Damn right I am.” He didn’t say anything. His expression was glacial, his blue eyes glittered like ice chips.
“What, what did they say?”
She watched as he pressed keys.
“Dammit, are you deleting those?”
“Yes,” he bit out. “This is trash. They are trying to salve their conscience.”
“Of course they are. They feel bad. I was going to open them eventually,” Evie explained.
“You are never going to talk to them again. They are dead to you.”
She looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “Handsome, the hair dye has rotted your brain. You are not going to dictate who I do, and who I don’t, talk to.”
“Dead.”
“Jim made a dumb fucking decision. He’s got to live with that. It’s going to haunt him for the rest of his life. That’s punishment enough.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Trenda’s “Amen,” could be heard through the phone. Evie put the receiver back up to her ear.
“I have a situation going on here, Sis. I’ll call you back.”
“Remind her to look for the tickets.”
“Tell him I heard him,” Trenda said.
“I’ve got to go and talk to the high-handed bastard.”
“I’m beginning to like him again.”
“Good-bye, Trenda.” Evie hung up the phone and glared up at Aiden who looked at her unrepentantly.
“Give me back my laptop.”
He walked across the room and set it on the dresser. She watched as he scrolled through her in-box and continued to delete e-mails. “You get a lot of spam. You need a better filter.”
Evie pushed up on the bed.
“I see you, don’t you dare try to get out of that bed.”
“You don’t have eyes in the back of your head,” she protested.
He pointed to the window. She saw that her image was reflected on it. She slumped down against the pillows.
“Give. Me. My. Laptop.”
“Okay.” He strolled back and handed her the computer. She noted that all emails from Blake and Jim were gone, and her trash deleted.
Dammit!
“You’re annoying.”
He pulled out his wallet. He took out a credit card and his driver’s license. “Book Trenda and Bella a flight. Make it first class.”
“I am not going to book a first class ticket. That would just freak her out.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Think of it as retribution for me deleting your emails.”
She flicked his cards between her fingers and slowly grinned. “You do deserve to be punished.”
“By the time you’re done booking the reservations, dinner will be ready.”
“I’m not all that hungry.”
“You’ll eat,” he said in a low voice.
“Bossy.”
“It comes with the job.” He left her, and she spent long minutes finding the best prices, but she did book them first class seats. It was pretty damned exciting. She would have loved to see Trenda’s face when she flew first class. She forwarded the reservations to her sister’s email. Within five minutes the phone beside her was ringing but she ignored it. Let Aiden deal with it.
Evie had given up on her laptop and turned on the TV after Aiden left. She was still going through the myriad of cable channels when he came in carrying a tray of food. It smelled delicious.
“Did you make pot roast?”
“It won’t be as good as yours,” he warned.
“You made pot roast.” She grinned and turned off the TV. He set the tray on her lap.
She picked up her fork and scooped up some mashed potatoes. “These are homemade.”
“I told you I was peeling potatoes.”
“You made homemade mashed potatoes and pot roast.” She looked up at him, her eyes shining.
“You made the same for me the first night we were at the chalet. I thought you would like it.”
Evie cut a slice of roast and found she could have used her fork it was so succulent. She took a bite. “Oh Aiden, this is delicious.” She watched as he smiled. “Are you going to join me?”
“I was planning to, but first I wanted to make sure you were going to actually eat. I had my doubts.”
“I thought you expected to be obeyed,” she teased.
“You aren’t always that easy.”
She took another bite, then waved her fork at him. “You better hurry before I’m done.”
“Don’t forget to eat your vegetables and drink your milk.”
Evie rolled her eyes as he left the room. Soon he was back with another tray. He came around to the other side of the bed and made himself comfortable beside her. What had seemed like a huge bed just moments ago now seemed tiny. The man was gigantic.
“What?”
“You have big feet,” she said pointing to his feet. “All of you is big.”
“If you drink your milk, maybe you’ll grow an inch or two and not feel so intimidated by people’s size.”
She looked at the heaping amounts of food on his plate. Already, she was getting full.
“Eva, don’t you like the
food? I thought this was one of your favorite meals.” He took another bite. Then he picked up a spear of asparagus and waved it in front of her face. “Come on this will make you strong. I sautéed it in butter. Lots of butter. Even you should like it.”
“What do you mean, even me?”
“I mean that if you don’t use a stick of butter with every meal you cook, then you think something is wrong. I swear to God, those grits you kept making were a third butter, a third sugar, and a third paste.”
“Yeah, but that way everybody eats them.” She gave him a sideways smile.
He waggled the asparagus again. She plucked it from his fingers and delicately bit into the tip. She hummed. “Oh, my God, this is delicious.”
“Butter.” He smiled. Then he picked one up and ate it.
“So did I start you down the road to ruin?”
“No, I still eat my food steamed. This is just an indulgence for you.”
Evie felt her heart melt. She took a sip of milk so he wouldn’t notice her features going all soft and gooey. She could only take a couple of sips. She really was getting full. He must have noticed, because he didn’t try to push any more food on her. Instead, he pretended to focus on his meal, but she knew he was still aware of her. It was kind of nice and annoying at the same time.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked.
“You’re examining me like I’m going to fall apart at any minute. I’m not. You rescued me. I’m back in America. I just got to eat pot roast. I’m good.” She even managed a bright smile.
“Eva, I think it’s time for some pain medicine. You look pale.”
“See! You were watching me. I’m not some kind of bug.”
Aiden set down his fork, got up, put his tray on the dresser, then came around and got hers as well. “How bad is the pain?”
She hated to admit it, but it was bad.
“On a level of one to ten,” he asked.
“Four,” she answered.
“So a seven. I’ll be right back with your meds.”
She stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. The damned irritating man was right, she really hurt. She pressed her hand against her abdomen, then against her shoulder.
“Suck it up, buttercup. You’re safe. It could have been much worse.”
She closed her eyes, and a fist came flying at her. She jerked across the bed.
“Eva! Baby!”
Her Relentless SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 10) Page 9
